5 key reasons to teach students to analyze differing perspectives
It seems like every day there is an endless stream of students reporting behaviors or incidents that happen in the classroom. On one hand, we want to help our students feel heard and validated so they know we are a safe person for them to talk to. On the other hand, we certainly don't want to feed into the tattle machine. It's a fine line to walk. So how do we handle tattling in our classrooms?
Whether they're completed on a piece of paper, a tablet, or a whiteboard, exit tickets are a powerful tool to use in your classroom. Exit tickets are formative assessments that provide a quick snapshot about your students' learning and understanding of a topic faster than any other tool in the classroom.
Free parent-teacher conference forms to help guide your conversation and make sure you share everything you want and need to with parents.
Hello, everybody! And happy summer! In this post, I am going to show you how to teach some basic critical thinking skills to young ch...
Our principal has really been encouraging us to add more writing into our daily lesson plans. "They should be writing all day long" he tells us. The research is there to back him up. I bumped into this Roll and Retell page from Fun In First on Pinterest awhile back and finally figured out how to add it to our learning day. I printed and laminated four copies of the Roll and Retell page to hand out to each of my four table groups. After a round of Daily 5 I handed them out. I also gave each table one die. Each student at the table took turns rolling the die and then answering the question based on the number they rolled. They each used the individual book they were reading to answer the questions. I felt like it would be a great advertisement for new books for each child to read when they were done with the one they were working on. I also knew it would be great oral practice BEFORE they started writing. Once they had a chance to talk about what they were going to write, I set the timer for 5 minutes and let them write. Then we shared our responses. Here are a few of their responses. I had so much success with this activity with my students, that I created versions that cover the standards for 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. There are 6 different Roll and Respond Sheets that cover all of the Second Grade ELA Common Core Standards for both literary and informational text. There are 5 different Roll and Respond Sheets that cover all of the Third Grade ELA Common Core Standards for both literary and informational text. There are 7 different Roll and Respond Sheets that cover all of the Fourth Grade ELA Common Core Standards for both literary and informational text. Before you go, head on over to our giveaway page to enter our current giveaway! Every week one lucky winner gets a $25 Teachers pay Teachers gift card! Dr. Susan Hall, literacy leader and founder of 95 Percent Group, mentions this Roll and Retell Activity as a Reading Comprehension Game that Students Will Want to Play Over and Over! Check it out for the other ideas there as well! What have you tried in your classroom lately? Link up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday and share! This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love. I would love to hear from you! ❤️ Have a question? Idea for a resource you might find helpful? Be so kind and leave a comment below.
Teaching nonfiction text structure so your students can successfully read and understand informational texts
This introduction to poetry gives teachers ideas on teaching poetry minlessons that make a difference in how your students think about poems.
First grade anchor charts are great tools for reminding kids about concepts in math, writing, spelling, science, and more! Check out these great ideas.
Hurray! You're here. Let me help you with fun resources for your primary students to keep them excited about learning!
If you have followed the discussion over the past years about "21st Century Skills" or have been on this planet long enough, you know that the ability to work with others is just as important as any "content" knowledge that we, as teachers, can provide. That being said, working "cooperatively" is NOT natural for all people, especially young children, and we have to make sure we are thoughtful about how we help students learn this valuable skill. Today I thought I'd share three key things to keep in mind--and then offer a few suggestions to get your brain thinking about ways to incorporate more learning partnerships in YOUR classroom! Partnerships are the perfect "starting point" for cooperative work! Think about how difficult it is for us, as adults, to get 4 or 5 of us to agree and be productive! Young students simply haven't been around long enough to know how to do that "delicate dance" of sharing, contributing, listening, and more. Learning how to actively listen is easier with just one other person. Sharing with just one person is so much easier for student who are more shy--and it's easier to have a back and forth conversation than try to balance several people. As students become accustomed to working with pairs, then it becomes easier to add people to the group. When forming partnerships, be mindful of your students' feelings. Be careful about the "find a partner" direction--because that is SO difficult for so many students. Whether they be shy, slower thinkers, worried about other students' feelings--asking students to form partners on the fly is often a tricky situation. Think about those who struggle finding partners and make sure everything is safe for them. Ideas? Use a "people picker" like popsicle sticks or index cards. Premake partnerships whenever possible (in addition to avoiding popularity contests, this allows you to encourage students to work with MANY other students, not just best friends). If you DO have students pick partners at times, consider a disclaimer, "If you don't find a partner in 15 seconds, come to me." so you can quickly help pair off those last few students. My students get very used to working with EVERYONE in the class (males, females, tall, small, etc) and they actually REQUEST me to pick popsicle sticks to take the partnering process out of their hands. We need to explicitly TEACH partnering skills Before I ask my students to work in partners, we have a number of discussions where we talk about what partnering LOOKS like, SOUNDS like, and WHY working in partnerships is beneficial. Together we made a list that we continue to refer to as we refine our partnering skills. The students did a pretty good job, I thought! Consider making a similar list with your students to make sure they understand that partnering isn't always easy--but it's worth it! As students start to work in pairs, you may need to stop and review some of these...and your students may come up with different ideas as well. Students need to realize that partnering isn't easy--and they will have to work at it! For some students, understanding that "balanced power" means that BOTH people have to share and both people have to listen is key--they can all relate to times they have had someone try to take over a group...and trying to work with someone who is NOT engaged or on task. So when should I use partnerships? All day long! Think about all the different ways that "Two heads" might be better than one...try some of these! Creating a climate where students work peacefully together will help increase engagement, improve learning, and increase the amount of academic discourse in your classroom. Another added bonus? As students work well TOGETHER, you are free to circulate, coach, and get a better sense of what is happening with your students' learning. Buddy reading Whether your students read with younger students or with others in your class, learning to read so others can hear, taking turns, staying on task, and using an appropriate voice level are all easy to practice with buddy reading. Try making copies of a fun poem for students to experiment with--or have them partner read an article. If you really want to dig in, have students read a novel as partners where they have discussions and buddy reading over an extended period of time. They can even complete a culminating project together! Checking for accuracy One of the first "partner routines" my students learn as we start the school year is "check for accuracy". I start this with basic math problems, math homework, and other tasks--where students work alone, then compare answers with a partner. We then practice how to handle when answers are different...and learn how to re-solve the problem together to see who was wrong and how to "fix up" any mistakes together. This really helps create a climate for collaboration, not competition and is a great way for students to check homework, to check over practice work, or to test the spelling of a tricky word! "Turn and Talk" One of the classic partner activities...and a GREAT way to get all students involved in discussions--turn and talk is a way for students to participate more frequently. This DOES need to be explicitly taught as well. If you simply say, "Turn and talk to a partner", you can sit back and watch certain students immediately turning to a best friend, other students sitting back and waiting to be asked (often ending up sitting silent)--and this doesn't lead to productive talk. Teach students to turn and talk by first checking around them to "include" students (may mean creating a trio!) and to make sure that each partner has a chance to share their ideas. This is a great way to get everyone talking--especially when asking questions ALL students should have access to. Not all students will know the answer to all math problems...but everyone should be able to answer questions related to opinions...to read alouds ("What do you think Ally should do next?")...or other easily accessible ideas. Math games Math games are a fun and easy way to teach the give and take of partnering. When students struggle, you can sit with them and coach the fair play and sportsmanship...but with games, the turn taking part is more automatic and students can work on some of the other factors such as voice level, on task behavior, using supplies wisely and more. This is one of the games in one of my "Partner Play" resources! Partner journals One thing my students enjoy once in a while is what I call "partner journals". You can do a lot of different things with this--but essentially in involves "sharing a notebook" to reflect back and forth on a read aloud, an article, a math problem--anything. Check out THIS POST for more information. It is a great way for students to realize that they write so that others can understand--and if they don't, communication breaks down. Try it and see! Challenge problems Putting students in situations where they need to solve difficult problems can be a great way for partners to learn how to make suggestions, listen to ideas, and politely disagree. When the answer isn't immediately obvious, it becomes clear that "two heads can be better than one"...and students can take their learning to higher levels. What about when students WANT to work alone? This is when coaching might be important...students need to see that other students might have great ideas, might help them find errors in their own thinking--and can make the entire process more fun! My students did a great job partnering on this back to school shopping challenge! These algebra thinking cards were MUCH easier when partners started working together! The math discussions they had were fantastic--and they found lots of misconceptions and mistakes they were making as they worked! My favorite quote? "I knew I could never do math this hard by myself!" And so much more! These are just a few suggestions to get your students working in pairs--but there are so many more! Keep stressing how important collaboration is--and how it takes practice to get good at it...but when we ARE good at it, working together can be so much fun! Follow me on... Facebook Pinterest Instagram @Fourthgradestudio Twitter @FourthGrStudio Periscope @ FourthGrStudio Teachers Pay Teachers Store Blog
Differentiation and scaffolding can help students better understand and learn. Here are teaching ideas and tips to use in class.
Every English language arts teacher needs a variety of successful, student led discussion strategies that will provide opportunities for student learning.
Basic vocabulary, like knowing prepositions, is necessary for beginning readers. Teach prepositions with this simple game.
In this blog post, read about my best teaching strategies to teach writing narrative endings. Grab all the freebies to help you teach.
Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner. The beginning of the school year has gone by SO fast! I am wanting to try something new
Download our classroom icebreakers printable and "go fishing" with your students as they ask and answer questions of one another.
We've been learning about the parts of speech in the most fun ways. A parts of speech printable and flip book, writing our own mad libs, and more.
Teach poetry tools for kids successfully with a visual anchor chart. Here is a visual anchor chart that you can create with your class as you study a unit of poetry. Practice each poetic device (personification, imagery, repetition, alliteration, metaphor, line breaks, simile and rhythm) and add it to your anchor chart to help students see that they can be successful in writing poetry too.
Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!
Understanding characters can be tricky! Learn my favorite strategies for helping students master character traits and changes.
Looking for games to play with a classroom? This list of English games in the classroom is exactly what you need to engage students!
Student anxiety is at an all time high. With grade level standards becoming more rigorous, and state tests looming, teachers are feeling more pressure than ever to prepare students. That pressure is also felt by
special education, behavior, behavior plans, BIPs, writing a behavior plan
If you want to be an effective English teacher you need to know how to use punctuation marks correctly. Check out this handy guide from our grammar corner.
Many kids and young adults struggle with executive functioning challenges. Some are easy to spot, such as when a student can't focus on a lesson or comes to class without their entire binder. Other EF challenges are less obvious, though. A learner might take two times as long on homework because th
Do you need some help with opening and closing statements for writing? I have a list of ideas that will help any student begin their writing or end it with a bang! Opening and closing statements can either make or break the student's final piece of writing. Does their opening statement hook readers? Or does their ending leave the reader hanging? Years ago, I met with a group of teachers to create a list of ideas and examples for opening and closing statements. The list below is what we came up with together. When I started using these examples with my students, their opening and closing statements improved instantly. They were always trying to come up with a better opening or closing each time they wrote a piece of writing. I think these examples below will help improve opening and closing statements. Opening Statements: Open with dialog Describe a character or setting Open with a question Open with a riddle or joke Open with a quotation Open with a bold fact or statement Open with a sound Open with a feeling Open with a personal experience Closing Statements: Close with advice for your reader Close with a quote Close with a question Reword the beginning Close with humor Close with a feeling Close with a fact These opening and closing statements can be found in this pack below. This pack is set up to be kid friendly and work for any genre of writing. It includes 2 posters with a list of variety of ways to open and/or close writing. Students pick from a variety of ideas for their openings and closings statements. These ideas are listed above. Students will be able to see the statements on one sheet. The posters can be hung on your writing wall or placed in their writing folders. You will also get a blank template to practice writing opening and closing statements. This will help students create their own statements and revise it to their own writing. I also included examples for a personal narrative writing and for a report writing. Your students will get how to write good beginnings and not forget their ending. You'll be amazed how much better your students' opening and closing statements improve! Also included are black and white versions for those that do not want color. These posters will work great in writing folders or on a bulletin board for all to see. This is my most popular resource here on my blog and in my TPT store! It gets a ton of views and comments each month. I know these posters work. Your students will just get it and begin writing good opening and closing statements without you reminding them. Purchase Opening and Closing Statements right here on Teacher's Take-Out for a discount price. Here are some writing resources you may need to get started for opening and closing statements for the classroom. I linked them to Amazon to make it easy for you. Just click below to read more about each one.: Writing Posters Writing Process Bulletin Board Set Dr. Seuss Writing Posters Paragraph Writing Bulletin Board Writing Books Thanks for stopping by today! See you soon, Click here for more writing resources
Expanding Sentences Anchor Chart and Mini-Lesson
Solutions for Social Emotional Learning & Executive Functioning
Compare and contrast singular possessives and plural possessives with this anchor chart.
Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I just can’t wait to teach grammar?” I mean, we know that grammar is important and that we do need to teach it, but let’s be honest…It’s not usually one of the more exciting subjects to teach. That’s why I came up with some games, to make teaching parts […]
How to Write Circular Gallifreyan (Doctor Who): Today We are gonna learn how to do the easiest form of Circular Gallifreyan!
If your non-English speaking students aren't ready to do the regular class work, what should you have them do instead? This handy tool can help.
Are you looking for some activities for teaching suffixes? Check out these free materials including activities for Google Slides, videos, anchor charts,
Speaking cards are a very useful tool in an EFL classroom as they allow students to practice the vocabulary and grammar they have learnt in previous lessons.
We’ve been working with shapes in math and focusing on writing dialogue with the correct use of quotation marks. Have you ever noticed that when you start teaching about these that suddenly, “every” “single” “word” “gets” “them”? Ha! As we practiced identifying shapes and their attributes, here’s how we tied in our writing and practiced the correct use of quotation […]
Metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, alliteration, hyperbole, personification, and more!
Happy Sunday, friends! Tonight I want to share with you one of my favorite Kagan structures – Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up (SU, HU, PU). Kagan Structures are all about cooperative learning – not group work – with frequent modeling, celebrations, community building, and brain breaks…sounds fun, right? Kagan structures hold every student accountable...
Got a talkative class? Check out these 5 ways to quiet the chatter!
Boggle is such a great game for pattern recognition and spelling. You can even get a little math in there with the scoring. Kids (and adults) love it! Here is a template you can use with your class. The color version is for using with your document camera, while the grayscale version is perfect for ... Read More about Boggle Template: Make a New Game Each Time!
This is a fun game to play with a pair of dice. Read a story and help recall the various features of the story with this creative activity.
A colourful poster to show the difference between their, there and they're with pictures and explanations.Includes a full colour, semi colour and black and white.I also have a poster of the same style for Your and You're available here.Idea adapted from Artline AU.
