It's no secret that vocabulary is a major predictor for student success. Unfortunately, academic vocabulary has always been one of my students' greatest challenges. Academic vocabulary words are the words that are traditionally used in academic text, which are words that are not
Search Results for: social studies science vocabulary
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
Strategies For Teaching Vocabulary
This post shares some of my favorite strategies for teaching vocabulary. As a reading teacher, the quote below certainly hits home. These are such powerful words concerning the importance of upper elementary vocabulary instruction, which is often neglected in today's
Teaching Elementary Science and Social Studies
State and federal mandates and high stakes testing have made teaching elementary science and social studies a battle for time in the classroom. This battle has resulted in minimizing social studies and science instruction to focus on tested areas. While I agree that the content
Social Studies Interactive Notebook
A Social Studies Interactive Notebook is a great way to engage students and to help students focus as they organize social studies content and/or take guided notes. One of the great things about this social studies interactive notebook is that you can adapt it to meet the needs
Vocabulary and Standards Posters
I know that many teachers, myself included, are required to post standards or daily objectives. I like to post my standards, as well as essential questions, and vocabulary together to create a focus wall of classroom instruction. I've recently added all of my focus wall materials
Increasing Student Stamina and Independence
It's not a big revelation that this year is an incredibly challenging school year. What has been surprising is that academics aren't most teachers' biggest concern. Yes, there is an academic impact from the past two years, but the behavioral effects appears to be even more
Favorite Back to School Resources
When it comes to shopping for your classroom, never forget you do not need all the things! As a new teacher, I felt an immense amount of pressure to purchase things that I later realized I absolutely did not need. My advice is to focus on the essentials and the resources that
What 4th Graders Should Know
Do you ever wonder what 4th graders should know or be able to do? Changing grade levels is difficult. I still remember crying my eyes out the first time I had to change grade levels. It was devastating! It’s hard to sort through years worth of blog posts, resources, and articles
What 3rd graders should know
Do you wonder what 3rd graders should know? Are you new to teaching third grade? Or, is it your first time teaching third grade in a long time? If so, you're in the right place! If you're looking for the same post for fourth grade teachers look here!
It's no secret that