The Blog
Fall Read Alouds and Literacy Activities for Upper Elementary
I love using seasonal books and activities as a way to keep things fresh in the classroom! Here are some of my favorite fall read alouds, along with different fall literacy activities that are all great for upper elementary. I…
The Complete Guide to Place Value Lessons
I always start the year with teaching place value, whether I’m teaching 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade! I compiled a ton of ideas, an introductory lesson, essential skills, book list, freebies and more into one gigantic (and FREE!) PDF Guide to…
Tips for Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation
I’ll never forget my first year teaching (for a lot of reasons!). I was fretting over my first formal observation when someone joked about them all being dog and pony shows anyway. I didn’t really understand what she was saying…
Differentiating and Meeting the Needs of Gifted Learners
We often have meetings and professional development about helping struggling learners, but I’ve found that it’s rare to talk about differentiation for gifted learners. While helping our struggling learners is extremely important, providing differentiated opportunities for our gifted students can…
Factors, Multiples, and Math Facts… oh my!
Working with factors and multiples is an important upper elementary skill that helps students solidify number relationships. However, it isn’t a skill that comes easily for all students. Here are numerous ways I teach and reinforce factors, multiples, and math…
Incorporating Podcasts in the Classroom
Have you ever wondered how you could bring podcasts into your classroom? Using podcasts in the classroom has gained popularity over the past few years and with good reason! They are a great way to challenge students’ listening skills, and…
Classroom | Back to School | Classroom Management | Classroom Organization | New Teachers | Seasonal | Teacher Ideas
The Ultimate List of Teacher Hacks
After you’ve been in the classroom for a few years, you pick up teacher hacks and strategies for classroom management that make you think – how did I ever live without this?! Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are amazing resources for…
6 Ways To Integrate Daily Grammar Practice Into Your Routines
Grammar. It’s a part of English whether you love it or hate it (I’m a love it kind of girl! My grammar college courses were some of my favorites, and I LOVED diagramming sentences!) and we have so many opportunities…
4 Spelling Strategy Tips for Upper Elementary
Teaching spelling to upper elementary students can be somewhat of a head scratcher. When I was in school, we were given spelling books. Each week, we would be required to memorize a list of words, complete activities, and then pass…
Tips for Using Literacy Centers in Upper Elementary
Reading centers, literacy centers, reading stations… whatever your school calls them, they are often overlooked tools in the upper elementary classroom. However, reading centers are an integral and successful part of my literacy instruction. In fact, I’d dare to say…
Activities for Teaching Punctuation: Quotation Marks, Dialogue, and Apostrophes
Students who don’t use punctuation often miss the point. Get it?? That’s a lame joke, but it speaks to our upper elementary students’ larger struggle with using quotation marks and apostrophes. By the time students enter upper elementary, they have…
How To Organize Student Supplies
There’s just something about back to school time that makes my heart so happy! In the weeks leading up to our first day, I can’t pass a store display of school supplies or organizational tools without swooning. Give me all…
