These Thanksgiving worksheets and activities are based around a Thanksgiving Choice Board. You can absolutely skip the choice board and have students complete a few (or just one) of the Thanksgiving worksheets and activities a day. If you do choose the choice board, you can have students complete one activity from each row, or complete […]
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Have you ever had a moment when every single students’ eyes were completely glazed over, and you were pretty sure no one actually heard what you were saying? That was me on Thursday. I was seven days into my government unit, and I thought we were doing pretty good. Students had completed a few interactive
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This year I’m recycling some Halloween Choice Board activities that I made way back in 2010. I actually used the same activities YEARS before that. Back before I knew how to make tables and insert images, I created the choice board and activities by hand. One day I’m going to dig through my old school
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When I first started teaching, informational writing was one of my least favorite units to teach. I could spend months on narratives but would have been happy to skip informational writing altogether. Part of my problem was that I misinterpreted writing workshop training and was under the impression that students should just start writing. I’d
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As an upper elementary teacher, student independence is extremely important to me. When my students are “stuck” or struggle, I don’t want to be the first option for my students. Instead, I try to give my students strategies and tools to problem solve and foster essential independence. This has nothing to do with me not
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Phonics activities are not just for young students-they’re for older students too. Every year I have a couple students who need a little {sometimes a lot} of extra work on phonics. This can be quite a challenge, because that isn’t something I teach in a whole group lesson. This instruction is completed in reading group
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I’ve always struggled to make addition and subtraction of large numbers fun. I can teach it, but it’s not all that exciting. It is difficult to make three digit addition and subtraction, with regrouping, fun for third graders. One of my goals was to create addition and subtraction worksheets that were rigorous yet engaging for
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This post is quite a bit different from my typical blog post. This summer I’ve had the opportunity to talk with several teachers (new and experienced) who were new to third grade, and I wanted to create a blog post that condenses some of my favorite tips, posts, and products. I know that changing grade
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I don’t always include literacy stations in reading workshop, but when I do, I make the activities purposeful and authentic. Anyone catch the reference? In the spirit of full disclosure, there are years when due to scheduling requirements I can’t fit in literacy stations. Those are hard years, but I’ve learned to adapt. How I Incorporate Literacy
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Introducing paragraphs is never easy, especially at the beginning of the year. I always struggle at the beginning of the year with determining how long to spend teaching rules, procedures, and various classroom management lessons. These management lessons are essential for a smooth school year. I’ve tried to skip some of these lessons in the
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