I created this graphic organizer to be used with any fictional story or novel. I also thought it would work well for the days my students e...
In this post, I'll talk about why teaching schema is important, give some ideas and tips for teaching about schema to your young readers, and discuss when we
Poster: Questions a Critical Thinker Asks Apply Reflect on your learning. Think about the following questions and write your answers in the boxes bellow. You can email your answers to yourself, but…
If you can answer “yes” to these three questions, this blog post will take your social studies class to the next level: Do you want your students to genuinely enjoy social studies class? Do you want to
Looking for writing activities that build skills for WIDA ACCESS? This ESL writing resource for grades 3-6 prepares intermediate and advanced students for the skills needed on the WIDA ACCESS writing assessment, and beyond. Lesson plans included! What's Included: 7 Writing Language Format Key Word Anchor Charts (plus header for display) Student Notebook Reference Pages Lesson Plans Lesson Plan Supplemental Resources Familiarize your students with the various language formats and prepare for the annual ELL writing assessment. Language Formats/Lessons Include: Compare and Contrast (2 lessons) Sequence Explain Opinion Persuade Analyze (2 lessons) Describe Not an ESL teacher? These writing resources support and build writing skills for ALL learners! Take a closer peek at the preview above. This resource provides supplemental materials that target both writing and language skills. Prepare English Learners (grades 3-6) for the various formats found in the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs Writing Assessments. The Lesson Plans included are mini-introductory/review lessons and are not all-encompassing units. Click here for Writing with English Learners in Primary Grades Additional Resources to Support ELLs: Language Goals for English Learners Learning Targets Interactive Bulletin Board Graphic Organizers for Fiction & Nonfiction Prefixes, Suffixes and Root Words Vocabulary Booklet for Any Topic Parts of Speech Word Wall Idiom of the Week Display and Activities Build a Sentence - A Speaking and Writing Activity Reading Word Wall Cards with Visuals Discussion Cards (a variety of topics available) Restate the Question Resources to Support Newcomers: Vocabulary Workbook Bundle Vocabulary Cards and Sorts Bundle Monthly Themed Vocabulary Year Long Bundle Word Wall Headers Bundle (variety of colors available) Vocabulary Mini-Office Retelling Practice Terms of Use: Purchasing this resource provides the purchaser with one user license and the permission to use in a single classroom. To share, additional licenses, school licenses and district licenses are available at a discounted rate. Posting any portion of this resource online, such as a classroom website or a shared school server, is not allowed. All Rights Reserved - 2018 © Kristen Vibas @ A Walk in the Chalk
Word morphology activities are great ways to boost vocabulary and decoding skills of primary grade readers!
Guided reading groups are one of the most complex areas of planning and instruction. I've narrowed the focus to upper elementary reading.
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In this blog post, we’ll look at how to effectively scaffold your instruction and help students build increasingly sophisticated skills. We’ll also look at how you can help foster growth and independence through scaffolding. Scaffolding and Differentiating The methodology behind scaffolding is multi-faceted. Scaffolding can mean providing support
What does hexagonal thinking look like? Read on to see tangible examples of how you can use this thinking strategy in many ways!
Infografik zum Thema Mediation / Sprachmittlung im Englischunterricht der OberstufeSchritte für die SprachmittlungsaufgabeTipps / BesonderheitenHier bekommt ihr
I used to do a grammar club at lunchtimes. I've had a few requests from chln to bring it back! This is year 5 :)
Take a G and an E and O, And add a little R-G-E, To a W-A-S-H, I...N...G If you add 2,000 pounds, That makes a ton, So what have you got? You've got a lot!
Often, I would use logic puzzles in my gifted classroom to encourage higher levels of thinking. My students loved it, because not only did i...
We have created this free "I Have, Who Has" contractions game to give students practice with forming contractions.
tw When it comes to math, geometry seems to be in a whole different league. Some kids fall in love with it instantly, while it seems challenging for other kids. One of the great things about geometry is that there are so many hands-on activities we can provide for our students, which makes it lots of fun! Here are some of my favorite geometry activities: 1. Start With Shapes I like to have students start with shapes they've known since they were tiny, like triangles, squares, and circles. We draw these on whiteboards as a whole class. Next we draw the more advanced shapes like pentagons, hexagons, octagons, trapezoids, and even the rhombus! This brings us to a discussion of polygons and we can classify shapes that way. Besides whiteboards, there are lots of ways for kids to work with shapes, like Popsicle sticks (which are also great to use to illustrate lines like parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular), LEGOS, Geoboards, and even clothespins which can be clipped together. 2. Marshmallow Geometry I like this activity because any time you add food, kids are all in! Using marshmallows and toothpicks, kids can make simple 2-D shapes, and also 3-D shapes. Plus, this activity is the perfect place to emphasize vertices since each time you add a marshmallow, you place it at a corner. If you have food allergies or school regulations which prohibit food, you can substitute the marshmallows for Play-Doh. 3. Use an Anchor Chart Once students have had lots of exploration time with shapes, it's time to discuss their attributes. I like to actually make this anchor chart with the kids' help. I explain how it will be organized, from the smallest number of sides to the greatest. We also notice patterns of sides and vertices as we create it. I do ask kids for examples of shapes, and sometimes they get really creative with this! 4. Go on a Shape Scavenger Hunt This is an activity that is great to do with some parent helpers if you have any. I like to send iPad cameras with each group, clipboards and pencils, and a record sheet. Kids record the shape that was found, the type of object it was, and where it was found. It's really fun to see what shapes they're able to find while walking around the school campus! 5. Incorporate Some Art I am a huge art proponent so I add art wherever it fits in. Geometry is a great time to do either geometric animals, robots, or people. I usually choose one of those categories but really you could make it a wide open project too! I shared another fun geometric art activity on a blog post I wrote called Incorporating Art in the Classroom. This one is from Literacy Loves Company. As a follow up to geometric lessons on lines and angles, I cut polygons from white construction paper for each child. I have kids use rulers and sharpies and follow my step by step directions of drawing lines and then finding obtuse angles, right angles, perpendicular lines, and so on. After the lesson is done, kids add color to these, making it a really fun art piece. 6. Add Some Kinesthetic Learning Kids need movement and it's easy to add some movement with this unit. For this activity, students will be on the floor working with a partner to make different kinds of lines (parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular), shapes, and angles (right, acute, and obtuse) using their bodies. An alternative is to have kids stand up and use their arms to illustrate these geometric concepts. Another kinesthetic activity is to gather Chinese jump ropes or packages of sewing elastic. If you use elastic, one package is enough for one small group of 5 - 6 kids. The idea is to have students use the elastic as a group to make the shapes you call out (types of triangles are especially good) or types of angles. Different kinds of lines can also be made if two groups work together. 7. Add Some Task Cards and Games Task cards are one of my go-to tools! Kids love the game-like format and I know that they're getting really focused learning on whatever math concept we're working on. I have used them as centers/stations, for whole class math time, for one on one, and as exit slips. If you'd like some pre-made math task cards specifically for geometry, click here; 3rd Grade Geometry Bundle 4th Grade Geometry Bundle 5th Grade Geometry Bundle 8. Read Mentor Text I love it when I can tie reading into math too! The books above are some of my favorite mentor texts for geometry. I love all of the visual examples included. 9. Use Music I just found these songs by Numberock on YouTube and they are perfect for this unit! Really great pictures and catchy tunes: Parallel, Perpendicular and Intersecting Lines Angles Types of Triangles 10. Practice Angles Seriously, next to long division, measuring angles is probably the most difficult math skill students will face in the elementary years! It doesn't help too that it is introduced in fourth grade in common core and then not even mentioned in 5th grade standards. Oh well! One activity that helps is to have kids use graph paper and write their first name in all capital block letters. Students can measure any angles created by the intersection of the letter's lines. Another favorite activity for practicing angles is to take tape and make different lines, which create angles on a desk, table, or even on sheets of butcher paper. Kids use protractors to measure angles and then write with expos (or markers on the butcher paper) right on the desks/tables! Great way to add some fun to this difficult concept! Hope you've found at least a few ideas you can use for your geometry unit! I did want to let you know that I have Math Task Card Bundles for every grade from 3rd - 5th. Each bundle has 30 sets of 32 task cards that cover ALL STANDARDS (CCSS) for those grades. I love prepping them at the beginning of the year and then grabbing whatever concept we're working on for some added practice. If you'd like to take a look: 3rd Grade Math Task Cards Bundle 4th Grade Math Task Cards Bundle 5th Grade Math Task Cards Bundle Thanks so much for stopping by! If you like this post, I would love it if you would pin it or 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 right HERE. I'd love to connect with you! Facebook Pinterest Instagram TpT Store
Learn for easy lesson ideas you can use for teaching theme to your students in upper elementary.
Take a G and an E and O, And add a little R-G-E, To a W-A-S-H, I...N...G If you add 2,000 pounds, That makes a ton, So what have you got? You've got a lot!
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8 FREE online resources for finding historical primary source documents.
Are you looking for ways to teach similes like a Rockstar? You’ve come to the right place! Students will be engaged while they learn about figurative language. It will also help you when you are discussing word choice in writing and author’s craft in reading! Read on to learn
The Best Anchor Charts for your ELA classroom all together in one place! You will find outlines to utilize in Reading Literature, Reading Informational, Writing and Language. Explained in this blog post is about the purpose of utilizing anchor charts in your daily instruction. Along with tips to organize your charts. Below is a collection […]
Have you ever heard a comment similar to this in the work room or teachers' lounge? "My principal wants me to differentiate. Why doesn't he/she differentiate, too?" This conversation is usually referring to a change the administration is making based on something that is happening with a small percentage of the staff. If you are not part of the small percentage, you might feel resentful towards the small percentage, and irritated that your administrator didn't address the issue where it needed addressed - with the small group. Reflection is a part of growing as a professional. I often mull over conversations like this and try to apply them to my job as a teacher so that I can continue to improve. Is there some part of my job that affects a small group of students that I apply to the entire group? If so, is this really fair or in their best interest? Or reverse that, is there something that I do that the fits best for the majority of my students but isn't the best fit for the small percentage of my students? How can I differentiate more so that my students needs are better met? After one of these conversations about lack of differentiation on the management's part, which seems to be a frequent concern, I went back to my class and noticed that I had a cooperative group activity planned for later that day. So, I decided to try something new. I told my students that I was going to give them choices today when it came to our cooperative group lesson. I had my students get out a scratch piece of paper and write: Do you prefer to work alone or with a group? Answer yes or not If you like to work in groups, do you prefer groups of 2 or 3? If you prefer to work in groups, list the names of 3 classmates that you would like to have in your group. I cannot guarantee these will be your partner but I will try to match up groups as best as a I can. Just like you have fellow colleagues who prefer to plan lessons and do his/her own thing, it worked the same way with my students. I had a small number who wanted to work alone. It wasn't that other students rejected these students. This is a simple matter of preference. Other students preferred working with a partner rather than a small group. When I matched my groups to my students' preferences, I had fewer discipline problems and more engaged students. Do not always put your high ability students with your struggling students. It is not fair to the high ability students to be put in the role of tutor. They need to be paired with other students of similar ability so they can work like little spark plugs with each other. You will get complaints for their parents if you do it too often. There are benefits for all of your students when you incorporate cooperative learning into your lessons. The best way I found to save time, respect our differences, and have cooperative groups is to have a mixture of groups that you use for different lessons. You can make cooperative groups by subject or generic groups ahead of time so students can quickly get with their group or partner when it time for a cooperative activities. Sometimes your students that prefer to work alone will be allowed to work alone. Other times, these students will be in a group. So, one group may be formed by students' preference from the buddy list (see below), another group may be formed by who you think would work best together, another group might be formed by academic level (low-middle ability) and (middle-high ability). Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Reading Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Do you have a cooperative learning idea to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
As a teacher, there are so many things to love about April. In many locations (including my own state of Iowa), the weather is getting warmer and the likelihood of a winter storm hitting the area dimi
Maths this week - we've been consolidating everything we've learnt about fractions. We're ready (and excited) to make the transition to decimals next week! #MathsThisWeek #PrimaryRocks #MathsWorkingWall #MathsMastery #Year5 #NQT
There are so many different places you can start from when creating a Curriculum Outline. A curriculum outline is a broad overview of your entire program, across all grade levels. It’s a zoomed out picture of what concepts you want to cover, and what grades will cover them. I’ve written about a c
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