I used to feel like the standard that required students to reference characters in mythology was a bit random. I struggled with how to tie this in to my reading instruction. But, when looking at the standards in totality, you can see how this builds upon previously taught
Teaching Theme Lessons
Teaching theme has to be one of my favorite topics in reading. It's probably become of the amazing collection of mentor texts that can be used for teaching theme, as well as how these lessons require students to dig a little deeper. This post shares some of my favorite mentor
Point of View Worksheets
These point of view worksheets, lessons, and activities are a great way to introduce point of view. Even though they're not exactly the same thing, I also introduce perspective during these lessons. I typically spend about a week teaching point of view and then circle around back
Main Idea Worksheets & Ideas
Main idea worksheets and activities don't have to be boring and full or rote learning. This challenging concept is often difficult for students to understand, so they need meaningful lessons. Over the years, I've learned that my main idea worksheets and activities need to be
Teaching Character Traits
Teaching character traits and characterization through mentor texts is always fun. After I teach basic comprehension strategies, I begin teaching story elements. You can read my post on teaching setting here. Upper elementary students are typically familiar with story elements,
Pacing Guides for Literacy and Math
I've worked on A LOT of resource updates this summer, so I wanted to share my corresponding pacing guides with you. You can read more about how I develop these pacing guides here.
As always, it's important to remember that this is just a guide. I try to never let the pacing
Teaching Setting With Mentor Texts
Teaching setting is one of those reading topics that is so much fun. It's relatively easy for students to understand, and there is so much great literature that can be tied into upper elementary setting instruction. My greatest challenge in teaching setting is having students use
Making Sense of Reading Assessments
Reading assessments can have a tremendous impact on the upper elementary classroom. However, it's imperative to understand what assessments we're giving and the purpose of those assessments. Otherwise, we fall into the trap of over-assessing, which is when we assess for the sake
Teaching Through Novel Studies
Novel studies are the perfect addition to any elementary classroom. I LOVE children’s literature. I love picture books and chapter books, and I’m always torn on which I should use for my mini lessons and small group lessons. When I originally created my reading units, all of the
Reading Comprehension Strategies
Reading comprehension strategies are the focus of my first reading unit. Even though not all of these reading comprehension strategies are specifically mentioned in state standards, they're still an essential component to reading instruction. It doesn't matter how good of job we