FREE 5th grade literacy pacing guide! This free 5th grade ELA pacing guide includes reading, writing, and language skills.
Take your word work reading center to the next level with these low prep and engaging word work centers! Plus, learn how to organize and run the word work center!
Did you think teaching students to write would be a snap? I mean, you are a college-educated, certified individual. How hard could it possibly be? Well, it’s a challenge, especially when just starting out. In my classroom,
So you have 100 minutes, but how exactly do you plan and schedule your language arts block for the junior grades?
Introducing your students to figurative language can be fun with picture books. Use these figurative language activities to help your students practice.
Morphology walls are a great tool in 4th and 5th grade classrooms! Read more and sign up for free posters to make your own morphology wall!
Follow this step-by-step lesson plan to teach your students how
Build a deeper understanding (and love) of language that'll last a lifetime with worksheets that boost understanding, bolster vocabulary, and challenge kids with complex text.
Analyzing writing curriculums, planning writing workshop and teaching writing lessons can be overwhelming. You might think, how am I going to fit everything in and produce successful writers? Where do I start? What skills do they need? This post will share the 7 BASIC WRITING LESSONS that every teacher should teach! With this basic knowledge, students will be able to perform other writing assignments more effectively. The following skills are not only effective in upper elementary, they are often needed at the middle school level for review or the primary level for differentiation. So yes, every teacher should teach them! If you start with these 7 fundamental skills, it will set the expectations for your writing lessons and assignments throughout the year! Frequently Asked Questions What are the basic skills and what order should I teach them? Sentence Structure 1. Complete Sentences Lesson for complete sentences 2. Fragments Lesson for fragments 3. Run-ons Lesson for run-ons Paragraph Writing 4. Topic Sentences Lesson for topic sentences 5. Relevant Details Lesson for relevant details 6. Transition Words Lesson for transition words 7. Closing Sentences Lesson for closing sentences How much time should I dedicate to teaching these fundamental skills? I recommend one day for each skill. If you spend a whole writing block for each skill, students will benefit from the practice. How do I teach each skill? First: Start with an anchor chart explaining the skill. (See each lesson link above for effective anchor charts.) Second: Provide examples. Students can share examples too! Next: Students should take notes. I love using Interactive Writing Notebooks to take notes. Research supports the use of interactive notebooks through studies on multiple intelligences, the brain and note taking. Here are a few videos to Set Up Interactive Writing Notebooks. Click photo for the Upper Elementary Version. A Primary Version is also available. Then: Identify the skill. Provide practice sheets and task cards for students to practice identifying the skill in sentences and paragraphs. Last: Apply the skill. Students should have the opportunity to write their own sentence or paragraph to apply the particular skill. What if I can't fit the lesson in one writing block? If you can't extend the days to complete them, there are other ways to get the whole lesson in. You can put practice sheets or task cards in a center, or you can have students apply the skill for homework or morning work the next day. What if my students, some of my students, or absent students can't do interactive notebooks? Make a small anchor chart to put in their notebooks with the same information! If you don't have a printable poster, take a picture of the anchor chart you used in class and print them off! I hope you found this post helpful and your students become successful writers this year! Connect With Me! TPT Store Facebook Pinterest My Blog
Teaching figurative language is easy! Start with good definitions and examples, add a little practice, then apply in kids' writing.
Printable back to school crossword puzzles for elementary students of grade 2, 3 & 4. A fun way for kids to work on vocabulary & spelling. Downloadable pdf includes answers.
Want an intentional way to increase your students' morphological skills AND vocabulary? Try a morphology word of the day routine!
Analyzing character traits is a key fiction reading skill that is needed for successful comprehension. In most cases, authors do not just come out and tell readers the traits that a character possesses. By teaching
Each Monday we collaborate with our building's new and Dual Language staff members for a professional development session based on what they highlight as their needs and/or desires for learning! This week we focused on Daily 5 ideas as all of our staff are currently working hard to get their stations and guided reading up and running! The teachers who attending the session came up with a variety of wonderful ideas and activities that could potentially be used throughout the year in these work stations. I thought some of you may enjoy taking a gander at what they came up with as well! Just a little background... we utilized a strategy many of you may be familiar with called "Round Robin" to gather ideas during our meeting. The staff were given the anchor charts with only the titles and asked to add any activity ideas they were doing, would like to do, etc. based on the title on their paper. We gave each group 1 minute to brainstorm and write their ideas, and then they were asked to pass the poster to the next group. We continued to do this until all posters had made it to all groups. This is a great strategy that you could use with your students as well to assess their background knowledge and/or learning of concepts. You could even do it at the beginning of the year to see what activities they already know and enjoy doing during Daily 5 if they are familiar with it from the year past! This may give you some insight as to what they may want to do in your classroom as well! Alright now onto the posters...keep in mind these were quickly written by our staff and we discussed them a bit after as well, so not everything may make perfect sense! But feel free to ask questions in the comments if you have any and I would be happy to try my best to answer! After our meeting, I also took some time to type up all of their ideas onto one page for them to hold on to and refer to throughout the year. You are welcome to a copy if you'd like- just click on the image below :)! (Graphics: Scrappin Doodles, Priscilla Concepcion)
5th-grade homeschool curriculum resources with reviews. Choose the ones that are a perfect fit for your student. Daily schedule included.
Teaching similes and metaphors is the first step in moving your students beyond literal meaning and teaching them to mature as writers. Students need to see and hear figurative language many times before they will use it in their own writing. Transferring these skills into writing is a long...
While I am a firm believer in students reading real books that they choose and doing this often, I also love to include reading games and reading centers in
Teaching writing to fifth graders doesn't have to be intimidating. This post details exactly how I teach writing in 5th grade.
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
Do you think reading centers are only for the littles? Think again! Learn why you should be using upper elementary reading centers.
Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!
Free reading comprehension passages for grades 2 - 3
Do you want to keep your students engaged and reading during reading time? Read this post to learn about 10 reading centers for upper elementary.
Whether you call them literacy centers or literacy stations, big kids at the upper elementary level love center time and get so much out of it! How do literacy centers benefit kids? They add variety to learning and to the routine. They allow teachers to easily differentiate learning. They are a great way to help cover and reinforce all of the standards. They give students a place to practice important social skills, like collaboration, problem-solving, and communication. So how do you set up literacy centers and run them successfully? Here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. Plan Centers and Center Spaces Plan Centers: Since I've been teaching for quite a few years, I have a pretty good idea of what I'll be teaching and when. Of course, I make small changes as needed with each class, but generally, my pacing is pretty set. This information helps me make a skeleton plan for the major concepts, games, and activities I'll plan for the year. If you aren't sure of your yearly schedule, maybe you could schedule them a month ahead of time as you go. Another idea is to meet with your grade level team to talk about your reading themes for the year and to plan together. Plan Center Spaces in Your Classroom: Classrooms never seem big enough, so this can be a challenge. I like to have 4 - 5 kids at each center (the smaller number the better) but it depends on the class size. If I have 28 kids, that means about six center areas. Since my classroom is pretty small, when kids do the independent reading center, they stay at their desk/seat. That leaves me with 5 center areas to plan. 2. Types of Centers One of the questions teachers often ask is what kind of centers to include. Here are some suggestions that I've used in my classroom. I don't use all of the centers suggested at the same time but do mix up some of the centers every now and then for a bit of variety. Each center lasts 20 minutes long and the total center time is one hour, which means students should visit 3 centers each day. A. Independent Reading - This is one that ALL students do every day! It's important to me that students self-select books based on motivation and not reading level. One of the rules is that kids need to have a book ready before reading time. I don't want them to waste time searching the classroom library during this time. B. Teacher Time - This could be guided reading in a very structured setting or it could be reader's workshop style, where students meet with me to read a bit and to discuss concepts. C. Word Work - At this center, students work on spelling, grammar, context clues, and vocabulary. They may have a worksheet but more often they play a game. Since I couldn't find any games already made, I created a bundle of 30 Grammar Games, one for third grade and one for fourth grade to cover all language standards. They target grade-level skills and really make grammar fun. A huge time saver for sure! D. Magazine Center/Informational Text - This center is filled with children's news magazines (some from last year) like Scholastic News. I also include kid's magazines, like National Geographic Kids. I have graphic organizers I use for a bit of accountability. Students read an article, fill out the template, and then are free to continue reading whatever they'd like at this center. E. Technology Center - Every school is a bit different but whether you are blessed with tons of technology or are scraping by with a few older computers, there are still lots of great websites students can access with your direction at this center. Here are some you might want to check out: Freckle Education (formerly Front Row) Edcite Newsela MobyMax.com ABCYA.com Edmodo National Geographic Young Explorers Big Universe Spelling City I've also created standards-aligned reading units for 3rd - 5th grades. They give lots of focused, paperless practice. CLICK THE PHOTO BELOW TO LEARN MORE. F. Genius Hour - If you've never done Genius Hour with your students, you'll want to definitely look into it. I used to call these independent projects. Students are able to research and read about topics of interest and then prepare some type of presentation to share what they've learned with the class. Genius Hour projects are ongoing projects which students complete on their own time table, although you can set guidelines for how many they need to complete a semester for example. I tend to let it be more open-ended, as long as I see them engaged and focused. I know that some projects may take a number of weeks, while others may take two center rotation times. G. Reading Skills - At this center, I tie in worksheets that match our current reading strategy. Reading is my very favorite subject so I have lots of reading units already prepared which are no-prep, print and go. Click here if you need some fresh reading units for this center. H. Writing - Students may create poetry, write a letter to the principal, or create a personal narrative in their writer's workshop notebook. This is NOT our main writing time, however. It's more of a chance to let students experience low-pressure writing which is not specifically connected to a writing lesson. I. Reading Games - I love this center because it is rigorous while masquerading as fun! Kids at this center play games which are connected to the topic we are highlighting, like main idea, cause and effect, theme, or character traits. I actually created a whole series of reading games, just because I really needed them for my classroom and thought others might too. There is a game for each standard and they provide so much focused practice. I really love these! There's a set of 20 Reading Centers for 3rd Grade and 20 Reading Centers for 4th/5th. Each bundle of reading games has 10 Fiction Games and 10 Nonfiction Games. I also have digital reading units too. J. Read to a Friend - In this center, I have a variety of materials like poetry books and mini-plays to read together, to practice fluency. I also like to place high-interest picture books in this center! Even for 5th graders, you might be surprised at the complexity level of many picture books! Kids love them and they really are beneficial for them. Sometimes I have students bring their own independent books to share with each other. Other times, I have a book sampling basket at the center filled with book underdogs! These are some lesser-known books that I want kids to try. Their job is to read the book summary on the cover and to take turns reading either a paragraph or a page at a time. 3. Prepare Centers Once you've tentatively planned out your centers, the next step is to make or purchase the centers you'll need. I really do like to get the majority done in the summertime or at the beginning of the year because it's great to just pull out the center I need and it's ready to go. You can store the centers a number of ways. I really like the gallon size plastic baggies because I can put game boards, task cards, and anything else I might need (game markers or spinners...) in that bag. I just label the bag with a sharpie but you could make cute labels on the computer too if you want. You'll also want to have plenty of baskets and trays to organize center materials as you use them each week. The Dollar Store always has a great selection of these! 4. Decide How to Structure the Centers You can either have students do a rotation schedule that you create, or allow them to self-select within your parameters. Either works well, so you just need to decide which one works best for you. If students self-select, kids need to know expectations. For example, how many students can be at a single center at a time? How many centers do students need to complete each day or each week? I actually prefer a rotation schedule. I make some simple cards with center titles on them and create the schedule in a pocket chart with the days on the left side (vertically) and the center titles across the top (horizontally). 5. Set Expectations for Center Time Just like anything in the classroom, rules and procedures have to be explicitly taught and reviewed or chaos is bound to occur. First, I think through all of the possibilities of what could happen, and then I prepare for that by making up my list of rules on an anchor chart for all to see. We do some modeling of good and bad examples of behavior and discuss them together. If centers are going to work, this piece is crucial!!! There is no way for you to have quality teacher time if you are interrupted every few minutes to put out fires, answer questions, and give more directions. Take the time to set up centers well and you'll find it to be worth it. 6. Teach Each Center to the Whole Class Before Kids Use It Getting kids ready for centers is truly a process. To make it successful, you'll want to introduce the center to the whole class before expecting them to participate on their own. This is a great time for thumbs up and down questions to check for understanding, as well as modeling when appropriate. Once you've tried centers and have them operating smoothly, I think you'll really enjoy them. Want more information about why literacy centers are beneficial for kids in grades 3rd - 5th? Click here to read Why You Should be Using Reading Centers in Upper Elementary. If you like this post, I would love for you to pin it or to share it with a teacher friend. For more ideas and strategies focused on upper elementary, be sure to sign up for The Teacher Next Door's free email newsletter! Bonus, you'll also gain access to my FREE Resource Library which contains exclusive upper elementary freebies that you won't find anywhere else! Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to read it! I'd love to connect with you! The Teacher Next Door's Website Facebook Pinterest Instagram TpT Store
As teachers begin planning for back to school, I see an abundance of creative classrooms filling my Instagram and Pinterest feeds. I love seeing how other
Thinking about implementing a Daily Three reading structure for reading rotations? Check out this post for details and example activities for each roation.
I have had the BEST first week! It was jam packed and the days went by in the blink of an eye. I've been use to have 18 kids for the whole day in first grade. Since I'm just teaching reading, I have three different classes and 72 kids! That is definitely going to take
Teaching a split class is a complex act. Click through to learn what a typical day in a split grade class looks like and get some ideas!
Whether you're a homeschool mom looking for a great book for your 5th grader or a classroom teacher trying to build a great library, finding texts that are engaging and a great fit for your readers can be tough. I've compiled this list of the best books for 5th graders to help save you time and give you a
These 3rd Grade Word of the Week: Daily Academic Vocabulary Activities are great for morning work and ideal for ESL students or those who are struggling with gaps in Tier 2 vocabulary. Limited vocabulary, especially academic language, can be a huge barrier to student success in middle school. Effectively build your 3rd graders’ academic vocabulary skills in 10 minutes per day with this Word of the Week resource that focuses on building a strong foundation of word knowledge. Available no-prep Word of the Week printables, these simple, targeted academic vocabulary activities focus on critical Tier 2 vocabulary to help transition students from word recognition to application using the framework derived from Marzano's study of vocabulary acquisition. YOUR 3RD GRADE WORD OF THE WEEK DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: • Instructional guide with implementation suggestions • Word list • Word cards for word walls or personal dictionaries • 36 weeks of daily vocabulary warm-ups • 4 Quarterly review quizzes to monitor retention • Answer keys for review quizzes In this Third Grade Academic Vocabulary Resource you'll: ✔️FIND QUICK, EFFECTIVE DAILY PRACTICE TO BUILD ACADEMIC LANGUAGE When used as a daily warm-up, this word of the week resource gives your students a chance to discuss and utilize academic language through the research-based format identified by Marzano and colleagues. ✔️DIG DEEP INTO COMMONLY USED (& TESTED) ACADEMIC VOCABULARY This bundle includes 36 purposefully selected vocabulary words commonly seen on third-grade assessments and academic tasks, and daily practice scaffolds from identification to application and analysis as students build a deeper understanding. Perfect for classroom use, intervention groups, or tutoring. WORDS INCLUDED IN THIS RESOURCE: ✔accurate ✔additional ✔anticipate ✔arrange ✔alter ✔assist ✔classify ✔critical ✔constant ✔construct ✔defend ✔develop ✔disagree ✔exclude ✔identify ✔illustrate ✔impact ✔investigate ✔irrigate ✔justify ✔mend ✔minimum ✔occur ✔peer ✔persaude ✔prior ✔purpose ✔recall ✔recognize ✔repair ✔response ✔request ✔ridiculous ✔scatter ✔similar ✔specific ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's how this Word of the Week Academic Vocabulary Bundle Works: ❏ Monday: Introduction to the word of the week, including part of speech ❏ Tuesday: Define the word & create a non-linguistic representation (visualize) ❏ Wednesday: Identify synonyms & antonyms for the vocabulary word ❏ Thursday: Apply student knowledge through paragraph writing ❏ Friday: Assess student understanding & provide application opportunities Here's why teachers love these novel units... ♥ Thanks so much for this detailed thorough product and for making vocabulary instruction easy! The one word a week format with many opportunities to use and understand the word will definitely benefit my class of ELLs. ♥ I have been looking for a way to help my students have a better understanding of academic vocabulary and this is the perfect resource for that! ♥ Loved using this with my reading tutorial/resource class. It helped break material down to students' instructional level in order for them to understand the basic concept, and from there we were able to increase the rigor! ♥ I LOVE these pages and used these for our "word of the week" students enjoyed completing each daily task as a warm up. I even purchased the same resource when I moved on to teach fifth grade because I found it so valuable to build student's academic vocabulary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This product is also available for the following grade levels: 2nd Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language 4th Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language 5th Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language 6th Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language Middle School Word of the Week for 7th Graders & 8th Graders Other Vocabulary Activities Your Students May Enjoy: Math Vocabulary Activities for Word Work or Stations Science Vocabulary Activities for Word Work or Stations Social Studies Vocabulary Activities for Word Work or Stations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terms of Use: © Rebecca Davies. All rights reserved by the author. These materials are intended for personal use by a single classroom only. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. For use in multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Clipart and elements found in this PDF are copyrighted and cannot be extracted and used outside of this file without permission or license. See product file for clip art and font credits.
Reading Response Activities for Wonder
Embrace your students’ excitement about Halloween with these Halloween activities for grades 4-5, including math, science, and reading! Freebies included!
These FREE book report worksheets for a simple, fun way to make kids understand what they read. Print free printable book report template here
Teachers often have questions about what a literacy block should actually look like. How do you structure your time? When do you pull reading groups? How and when do you teach grammar? The list of questions is lengthy, and with good reason. No one really ever told us what to do! Probably because there is […]
