If you are a new fourth grade teacher or returning back to teaching 4th grade, you'll find everything you need to be successful here!
Steal these for your writing unit!
Visualizing the text is such an important strategy used for building your students’ reading comprehension. It is very versatile as it can be used in different ways with students of all ages and reading levels. I
Teaching prose, drama, and poetry is quick and easy. Your third and fourth grade students just need a little vocabulary and practice.
Use these fun and easy techniques to teach exponents to beginners in fun and engaging ways your students will love.
Whether you're new to teaching or a veteran, this list has you covered for 4th grade.
I have so much to share with you about writing interventions, but first things first: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW BLOG DESIGN?!?!? Please share your thoughts! Every year, I meet lots of middle schoolers who struggle with writing. And every year, I play around with lots of different interventions to meet their needs. Last year, I made establishing sound writing interventions one of my big goals. I spent lots of time (and money!!) on resources that I could use, and by about March, I had something that I thought I was pretty happy with. This year, I'm starting off with those interventions that worked so well last year and I couldn't be happier with the results! In fact, I'm so pleased with how they are working, I feel confident enough to share my practice with my blog readers. I can say that these are definitely KID TESTED, TEACHER APPROVED!! Creating a Time and Space for Intervention within your Classroom I teach by myself. There are no aides, special ed teachers, BSI teachers... just little, ol' me! So, when I want to create and manage small groups, I'm on my own. This is hard. It would be so much easier if there was another adult in the room to help, but there is not, so I just have to deal! It's work, but it absolutely can be done! A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Power of Bell-Ringers. Establishing a quiet and smooth transition into writing class is a great way to get started, but it also provides me with a window of time where I can pull a small group! By mid-October, my bell-ringer time gets extended to 15 minutes. The kids get started immediately and are clear on the expectations during this time. Now the environment for working with small groups is set: the room is quiet and engaged, allowing me to focus my time on the handful of kids in my group. I pull my kids to a table that I have set up in front of our classroom library. I have a "teacher station" at one end where I do my instruction. I usually stream some jazz or piano music during this time so my group doesn't distract the rest of the class. Establishing Interventions In my district, by middle school, there are no longer district-mandated interventions in place. There are no clear resources for teachers to use or personnel to help. So, when we have a struggling reader or writer in 7th or 8th grade, it's the job of the classroom teacher to meet their needs. In my tenure of working with middle schoolers, I've found that there are two types of students who need more support than my writing curriculum provides (and please remember... I am not a researcher/specialist/writer of books/etc. I'm just a teacher, like you, who loves my job, tries to do the best by my kids, and is compulsively reflective about what I see happening... to me, teachers are the best EXPERTS, but I know that we are hesitant these days to trust a "lowly" teacher and rather find ourselves relying on big publishers and educational researchers to show us best practices... I don't have lots of "data" to support what I'm sharing with you... just my actual observations I've made while working with real, live kids in an average classroom setting!!). Type One: Students Who Struggle with Structure The first type of students who need intervention are those who struggle with structure. These are the kids that can't organize their thoughts in a way a reader could follow. They simply write whatever their brain thinks at the time. They can generally stick with a broad topic, but because they are just writing whatever pops into their head at the time, there are lots of places where their writing veers off track and becomes confusing. Here is an example written by a former student struggling with structure: My dog Henry is my most special treasure. He is always there for me whenever I need him in sad times and happy. In many ways, he's my best friend. He has brown fur and a white chest. He is such a good dog to have around when you are sad because he always knows just how to cheer you up. His eyes are brown, like a Hersey bar. His favorite toy is a yellow tennis ball. Once he almost got hit by a car chasing the ball down the street. I have loved him ever since he was a puppy and we first got him. I was only 4-years old when that little ball of fluff was brought home by my parents to be best friends. His soft fur is always so smooth and warm when you pet him while watching TV on a cold night. He is my best friend and that is why he is my special treasure [sic]. This student is clear about his topic - his dog, Henry - but he cannot organize his thoughts. He is thinking about his dog and writes down everything he knows about his buddy exactly as it comes to his mind. Clearly, he has mechanical and conventional skills, and you can see evidence of where he is practicing what we learned in our mini-lessons and from studying our mentor pieces. But, because there is no organization, it is too difficult to follow and all of the skills he has are lost to the untrained, teacher-eye. Kids who write like this need an intervention that focuses on structure and organization. Typically, I LOATHE teaching step-by-step process writing, but in cases like this, I'm left with little choice. The lessons that I put together for kids in need of this intervention consist of learning how to write a well-organized paragraph. Together, we will work on writing topic sentences, creating strong and clear supporting sentences, and finish up with writing a closing that sticks with our reader. My favorite plans for this type of writing come from Michael Friermood. His Fact-Based Opinion Writing products are geared toward teaching elementary students (grades 3-5) how to write a good opinion paragraph, and they are PERFECT for my struggling 7th graders. They also lack a lot of the "cutesy" images that you find with products for this age group, so my big kids don't feel like I'm making them do "baby stuff." (I do not use the stationary he provides for the final writing piece... it's adorable, but it would be pushing in with my kids! So, we just do our paragraph writing in our intervention notebooks!) My plan is to pull the intervention group for one week (at 15 minutes a pop, this comes to 1 1/4 hours of learning). Long before I ever pull a group, I work hard to make sure that my lesson is broken down into five succinct 15-minute increments. Since time is so precious, you need to make sure not one minute is wasted! I can say that it takes me much longer to plan for a small-group lesson than a 50-minute whole-class lesson because efficiency is so crucial. The first few times you plan a small-group lesson, don't be surprised if your timing is mess. It definitely takes practice to be an effective small-group instructor! After their week is up, then I send them back to completing the bell-ringer at the start of class. I will watch them closely and conference with them lots to make sure that I am seeing a transfer of skills. If I don't, then it is likely that I will put them back in an intervention group in a few weeks to practice again. This intervention model will continue all year. Right now, I have 8 intervention students in one writing class, and 6 in another. By the end of the year, those number should reduce to 3-4 and 2-3. Never in all my years of working with small groups, have I had 100% of my intervention students "graduate" from small group. Don't be frustrated if this is the case! If you can improve 50-60% of those kids, then consider that a huge success!! Type Two: Students Who Struggle with Motivation The next group of kids that I work with are those who struggle with motivation. These are the students who complain a lot about not having anything to write about, spend more time doodling or coloring in their notebook than writing, and who will write the absolute bare minimum for any writing assignment. Many times, these kids produce too little for me to gauge whether or not they also need help with structure. But typically, once I can get them writing, they will likely find themselves in a small group for structure work :) Come October, after we've spent lots of lots of time list writing, the kids who are still struggling to get their pencils moving find themselves using a very special Interactive Writer's Notebook called "Musings from a Middle Schooler." This product contains loads of interactive writing pages that will motivate even the most reluctant writers. The pages can be printed out and glued into a marble notebook. (Most often, I'll have the kids create their own... I don't always have them use all the pages, rather I let them pick and choose the ones they like!). Cover Table of Contents page Table of Contents cont. and an "All About Me" page "My Life Story in Two Pages" My Favorite Thing Comics I created this project just last school year and it's been an absolute smash! The kids (especially my boys!) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! In absolutely no time, they are writing like crazy. And once I can get their pencils moving it doesn't take me long to get them producing some actual pieces. I don't necessarily pull these kids and work with them in a small group. The first few days, we will assemble our books all together at the back table, but then they go right back to the big group. Rather than do the bell-ringer with the rest of the class at the start of the period, they will work in their "Musings" notebooks. Fifteen minutes of that is usually enough to get them into writing mode for the rest of class. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * So, that's how I make writing intervention work in my classroom. Phew!! That was long, folks!! I apologize for my wordiness and I am grateful if you stuck it out until the end! Also, I'm sure that I've left out some crucial details of my practice, so please do not hesitate to ask me any questions you still have! Do you have any good intervention tips or strategies that work for you? I'd love to hear about them. Drop me a comment and share! Happy Teaching!!
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
If you have ever struggled knowing the best way to teach grammar to your students, you are not only one! Whether you infuse your grammar instruction into your reading and writing units or whether you teach from a more traditional curriculum, I think it is safe to say that none of our students have mastered […]
Supercharge your morning work with I Heart Literacy! Each page features a fun theme so your students will not only be practicing reading and ELA skills, but will also be learning about a curriculum-based topic. A wide variety of Common Core skills are addressed. Try these five free pages for free! Happy Teaching! Rachel Lynette ... Read More about Morning Work ELA and Reading Freebie!
Usually when I make an anchor chart, it's for students. This one, however, is for a special group of educators I'm presenting for at an upcoming convention. I thought the resources were too good not to share!
Find resources for teaching story elements to kindergarten, first, second, and third grade students including books and hands-on activities.
I have always loved words and am a self-proclaimed word nerd. I actually read the book Word Nerds, met the authors at a conference a few years ago, and got to lead a PLC in my school all about it! Research shows that a child's vocabulary is a key component to their success in school, on standardized tests, and in life in general! Those three reasons alone should be proof enough to any educator that VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION IS IMPORTANT! What I love about vocabulary instruction is that it's cross-curricular. The words found in children's literature are just as important as those found in content areas, like science and social studies, which, in my opinion, makes it almost effortless to incorporate into your instruction. However, the hard part of vocabulary instruction is making it interesting and engaging to students. Merely writing definitions can only go so far. One way to make vocabulary instruction more engaging is to provide your students a variety of ways for them to engage with a vocabulary and then allowing them to choose what type of activity will help them best learn the word and internalize its meaning. A vocabulary menu can accomplish this. Students are instructed to choose from the ...
Do you need some interactive listening videos for your ESL students? I've collected these videos from numerous Online Listening Websites for ESL Kids sources and I though I'd share them in this post.
Grade 4 Sight words are the most frequently used words in the English language. This grade four worksheet includes the 76 sight words in alphabetical order. Sight words are a great literacy tool for all students.
We know how important it is to teach our students to make inferences when they read. It's a tricky concept, and one that needs to be taught again and again. Students often confusing inferring with making predictions and observations, and some are just confused all together! Som
Teaching summarizing? Try using story element examples. When kids learn to pick them out, writing a summary is easy.
I love Oh Boy 4th Grade so much that I don't even mind, as Farley puts it, "the lack of sentence structure!" I read her blog tonight and felt compelled to join the "Currently" linky party: I also want to share some back-to-school printables for all you hardworking writing teachers out there! They've been uploaded to my TpT Store, but I have yet to post them to the blog! I'm proud of this one: Revising vs. Editing. I've learned that acknowledging them as two different steps of the writing process really is important if you want your students' writing to grow. Revising is typically more challenging for young writers since it can be so vague at first, but it's so worth all the hard work! I will board that soapbox another day. Anyway, we have a couple chants that go along with this printable: Teacher: "Revising is..." Students: "...making it SOUND better!" *make a hearing gesture* and Teacher: "Editing is..." Students: "Making it LOOK better!" *make hand binoculars* Then, I'll throw examples at them. I'll ask, "If I read my first draft aloud to you, would you be able to hear that the word "august" needs to be capitalized?" etc. The possibilities are endless... Download it HERE! My other printable is a FREEBIE that will help ease the pain when your students hear the tragic news: "Said is DEAD!" We had so much fun with this motto/theme last year, and I can't wait to do it all over again with our new group! Download it for free HERE! I hope I've given you a little inspiration for a brand new school year! May your workroom be stocked and your coffee be caffeinated!
Looking for a way to help your students gain a solid understanding of affixes and the way they change the meaning of the root or base word? These prefixes and suffixes interactive notebook pages are just what you're looking for. This interactive notebook offers a hands-on, engaging approach to teaching prefixes and suffixes. They are designed to help students understand that the meaning of the word grows up through the root and is changed by adding a prefix and suffix. This notebook doesn't just give you interactive pages to use with your students. It also gives you tools to help you plan a fun, engaging unit. What's Inside: ⭐ Interactive Notebook Pages That Include: Prefix and Suffix Tree - This can be used as a mini interactive anchor chart that the students can refer back to throughout the year. A Blank Page of Tree Leaves to Add Any Prefixes and/or Suffixes You Want A Simpler Version of the Prefix and Suffix Tree for Simplified Cutting Interactive Notebook Page for Use with Any Text Prefixes Included: un-, anti-, bi-, re-, under-, over-, pre-, mis-, dis-, non-, in-, im- Suffixes Included: -ly, -y, -en, -fy/-ify, -tion, -ment, -able, -ness, -or, -ful, -er, -less Versions Compatible with Google Slides™ are Provided for Each of the Interactive Notebook Pages to help you move seamlessly between in-person and virtual learning as needed. ⭐ Resources to Help You Plan: Book List for Prefixes and Suffixes Lesson Ideas for Teaching Prefixes and Suffixes Explanations and Examples Please take a look at the preview to see examples of the prefix and suffix notebook pages in use. And please let me know if you have any questions. ⭐ What Other Buyers Are Saying: "Super helpful in creating a visual students can understand and remember." "I liked how this was a great visual for students. They really enjoyed putting the trees together." "This resource greatly helped with saving time on my lesson plans. It was interactive and effective." "Such a great activity to solidify root words in their mind before adding prefix and suffix." _________________________________________________________________________________ ⭐ Save by purchasing this in the bundle: The Reading Interactive Notebook ⭐ What Others Have Said About The Reading Interactive Notebook: "This resource has been such a stress reliever for me!! Whenever I am ready to start a new unit, I just go search and see what resources there are. I like that there are several options for each skill." "After buying a few of the pieces separately, I finally purchased the entire notebook for my centers. It is a great rotation that reinforces the skills students are already learning." "WE love this resource in my classroom. It helps to put reading skills in easy terms for my students. They love the visual to refer back to. Well worth the investment in this resource!" _________________________________________________________________________________ ✨ All my new products are 50% off for the first 24 hours. Click here to follow my store and receive notifications when I create something new so you don't miss out on the savings. I’d love to hear from you if you have any questions, issues, or requests! ❤ Laura Heinen [email protected] cultivatingcriticalreaders.com _________________________________________________________________________________ ✨ Leave a review to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: Each time you give feedback, TPT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases. You can easily do this by clicking the "Provide Feedback" button next to the items you've purchased on your "My Purchases" page.
Figurative Language Anchor Chart - Professionally Printed on Heavy-duty Polyester Material with Grommets Foldable for Easy Storage Stain Resistant (Protected by Scotchguard) Ready to use in the classroom from year to year (machine washable) Contact Seller for custom Anchor Chart Designs (any topic/standard) Hard Goods (This is not a download - The item ships to you.) *****FREE SHIPPING PROMOTIONS APPLY TO DOMESTIC ADDRESSES ONLY***** * 3 YEAR PRODUCT QUALITY GUARANTEE! *We will replace any Anchor Chart 3 years from the date of purchase that: * FADES * DISCOLORS * FAILS DUE TO WORKMANSHIP
Learn how to teach quadrilaterals conceptually rather than having your students memorize the names of shapes. Tips for teaching quadrilaterals are included! Implement in your 4th grade or 5th grade math class today!
You can reuse these recycling anchor charts year after year!
Free essays, homework help, flashcards, research papers, book reports, term papers, history, science, politics
In first grade reading comprehension is something new, challenging, and difficult to teach because even though they’re all 6 or 7 they’re developmentally so different. Head over to my blog to get this comprehension page. Depending on what grade you teach it’d be great for: homework individual assessment small groups partners intervention challenging gifted students ... Read More about Reading Comprehension
This is a document with 4 pages of content. We have presented all the important spelling words that is required in the 4th grade. The fourth grade students can use these and learn them. These are helpful if you are attending any spelling competition too. Please download the PDF 4th grade spelling words
Find powerful point of view teaching activities and ideas including strong books and anchor charts to strengthen students' understanding.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Well, it’s that time of year again, and after reviewing our learning goals and materials from the past year, I think I’ve finally got the next one figured out! Maybe. It’s been a busy year with my 5 year old joining us for some of our formal learning for her “Kindergarten” year. […]
Multiplication made fun! Ideas, strategies, and anchor charts to help you teach multiplication!
This resource includes everything you need to teach students how to use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots to determine the meaning of a word. Everything you need is here! These materials will allow you to explicitly teach, reinforce, and assess this important language concept. What’s Included: •PowerPoint Lesson (Monday) •Practice Printable (Tuesday) •30 Task Cards (Wednesday) •Sketch Notes (Thursday) •Assessment (Friday) •BONUS: Interactive Notebook Activity Download the preview for a detailed overview of the resource. NOTE: This resource was written based on fourth-grade content standards. However, none of the student materials are labeled with a grade level. This will allow teachers to use this resource across grade levels.
This reading worksheet's a good way for 4th graders to boost vocabulary and spelling, and a great tool to get in shape for standardized testing.
Paper Type: Value Poster Paper (Matte) Your walls are a reflection of your personality, so let them speak with your favorite quotes, art, or designs printed on our custom Giclee posters! Choose from up to 5 unique, high quality paper types to meet your creative or business needs. All are great options that feature a smooth surface with vibrant full color printing. Using pigment-based inks (rather than dye-based inks), your photos and artwork will be printed at the highest resolution, preserving all their original detail and their full-color spectrum. Browse through standard or custom size posters and framing options to create art that’s a perfect representation of you. Gallery quality Giclee prints Ideal for vibrant artwork and photo reproduction Matte finish with an acid-free smooth surface Pigment-based inks for full-color spectrum high-resolution printing 45 lb., 7.5 point thick poster paper Available in custom sizing up to 60” Frame available on all standard sizes Frames include Non-Glare Acrylic Glazing
I found this Math Reference Sheet many years ago on Ms. Sanchez's class website. Her download is still available. I printed out 25 colored copies and mounted on card stock. On the backside I made a sheet of cut and pasted resources that fit my students' needs like measurement charts, number words, etc. I then laminated the cards. They held up for four years and it is now time to remake them. If this is too old for your class, there are a variety of sheets available on TPT for free that might fit your needs. Link Here are my math tool kits that I will have the children store on their desks. It will become the Math/Science tool kit. I need to come up with a clever name for them. We do not use Everyday Math anymore and will be adopting Go Math. While looking for her website, I stumbled across her Science Sheet that I will also be making for my students. Link
Generalizations Anchor Chart! After using the anchor chart to teach students about generalizations (and warning them of faulty generalizations), students complete the FREE generalizations worksheet!
Summary writing is a vital skill, which any English Language Arts student should acquire; learning to summarize will help them learn to analyze what they read, write concisely and paraphrase. This lesson will work well as part of a larger writing unit, or when studying writing. However, it would als...
Reading nonfiction texts can be overwhelming for students, especially when it comes to a topic they are unfamiliar with at a reading a level that is even slightly above theirs. With a push to read
Book digitized by Google from the library of the New York Public Library and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.
Would you like to decorate your classroom with fun, hand-drawn anchor charts/posters? Do you simply not have the time to get them done? Well, you have come to the perfect place! I love making these engaging and appealing anchor charts. I also can draw/create any other topic you would like, just contact me directly and ask! My students absolutely love these posters and references them every day. Many of them are visual learners, so the colorful images really help them connect and remember what they have learned. This particular anchor chart is for readers/writers practicing prefixes and suffixes. It helps students see base words and adding prefixes/suffixes to them. The pug puppy helps my students see the separation of the base words with their prefix/suffix and they have so much fun with it! It will be approximately 32 x 24 inches, and will be a copy of my original. **These will be copies unless asked otherwise for a custom poster. They are not laminated, and are printed on normal, anchor chart paper. I ship these out ASAP after being ordered, but please keep in mind once shipped, it is outside of my control. Therefore, if shipping does not meet your expectations, I highly encourage you to please reach out to me first, and we have always been able to work something out to make up for anything that may have occurred after I have sent your package, thanks so much!! Hope you love it :)
5 Activities to Teach Angles
Practice grade 4 math with these FREE 4th Grade Math Worksheets and print as many as you need. Fourth grade math answer key included!!
