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Best2BBack2Bto2BSchool2BPicture2BBooks
Literacy | Back to School | Book Recommendations | Picture Books | Seasonal | The First Few Weeks of School

Best Back to School Picture Books

I absolutely love sharing great book recommendations over on my Instagram account. One of the biggest requests I get is for picture books for back to school, especially for upper grades students!  I’ve amassed quite a collection of first month…
READ POST Best Back to School Picture Books
free first week of school lesson plans, back to school lesson plans
Classroom Management | Back to School | Classroom | Classroom Organization | Free | New Teachers | Seasonal | The First Few Weeks of School

Free First Week of School Plans

Have you already started your first week of school plans? I’ve always spent hours upon hours upon hours perfecting my first week of school plans. Then I usually get about half of what I planned done, which usually makes the second…
READ POST Free First Week of School Plans
Supporting2Bkids2Bat2Bhome 4
Back to School | Building Community | Classroom | Free | Homeschool | Seasonal | The Parent Connection

Supporting Student Learning at Home

At the beginning, middle, and end of every single school year, I always have parents ask me for tips about how they can support their child’s learning at home.  Sometimes they are looking for worksheets or workbook recommendations. Oftentimes, they…
READ POST Supporting Student Learning at Home
Brain2BBreak2BVideos
Classroom | Classroom Management | Critical Thinking

Brain Break Videos that your kids will LOVE!

While GoNoodle has always been a staple in my classroom, I’ve found that the older the kids are, the less enthusiastic they tend to be about getting their groove on in front of the rest of the class. I’ve tried…
READ POST Brain Break Videos that your kids will LOVE!
free reading skills quick reference guide
Literacy | Classroom | Classroom Management | Classroom Organization | Comprehension | Free | Reading Skills

Reading Skills Quick Reference Guide

Well, to say it’s been a while since I’ve posted would be an understatement! Although I haven’t posted a new update here, I’ve been busy sharing ideas on Instagram and Facebook. I am also constantly updating old blog posts as…
READ POST Reading Skills Quick Reference Guide
Analyzing2BMath2BErrors
Anchor Charts | Classroom | Critical Thinking | Math | Math Anchor Charts

Analyzing Math Errors: Conceptual vs. Computation Errors

It’s not secret that I’m a huge fan of error analysis.  I have blogged extensively about explicitly teaching error analysis and find that it increases student understanding of individual concepts in incredible ways! How I Teach Error Analysis I am…
READ POST Analyzing Math Errors: Conceptual vs. Computation Errors
Topple2BBlocks2BGames2521
Comprehension | Free | Literacy

One Reading Game: Five Ways

I’m popping in with a quick post to share a few new ways to use my Reading Games for reading comprehension review! I get a ton of questions about different ways to play this game, so here are a few…
READ POST One Reading Game: Five Ways
Once you've taught all of the reading skills, it's the PERFECT time for reading skill review. I love this sort to get students to think critically!
Literacy | Reading Skills

Reading Skill Review

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love coming back to my classroom in January.  By this point in the year, our routines are solid, and it is a great time to really dig in to content. It’s also…
READ POST Reading Skill Review
top ten holiday activities
Holidays | Christmas | Seasonal

Top 10 Educational Holiday Activities for Big Kids

The holidays are coming, and you might be scrambling to incorporate some Christmas activities into your lesson plans! You want to keep things fun and festive, but you also have to keep things rigorous and academic. Finding the perfect balance…
READ POST Top 10 Educational Holiday Activities for Big Kids
thanksgiving writing upper elementary
Literacy | Holidays | Seasonal | Thanksgiving | Writing

Thanksgiving Writing Activity

Hi there! Can you believe there is only a week until Thanksgiving!? I am in total disbelief that it’s already November 14th… Time sure does fly. I’m popping in to share an always-popular Thanksgiving writing activity! This activity was inspired by my wonderful…
READ POST Thanksgiving Writing Activity
Skittles2BCircle2BGraphs2B2
Math | Graphs and Data

Skittles Math!

There are a few reasons that I always keep Skittles on hand in my classroom. First of all, they are one of my favorite sweet treats. Second, I never know when I am going to need them for some math!…
READ POST Skittles Math!
Over the years, I've come up with a few different ideas, anchor charts, and activities for helping students master solving multi-step word problems!
Math

Multi-Step Word Problems Mastery

How many of you cringe at the thought of teaching your students multi-step word problems? (RAISES HAND!) I get it. I know. It’s tough. It is overwhelming, and it’s not necessarily something that just “clicks” for kids. They need practice,…
READ POST Multi-Step Word Problems Mastery

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I’m Mary

Welcome to my blog! I started blogging in 2011 and have amassed hundreds of posts full of engaging, research-based, and classroom-tested teaching ideas. Enjoy exploring!

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I’m obsessed with every single one of these fall b I’m obsessed with every single one of these fall books! 🍁 🎃 👻 They are all beautiful stories that kids actually love all while mastering the art of integrating important character education topics! Some stand alone wonderfully (Prunella, Little Ghost, Gustavo), while others provide AMAZING opportunities for paired texts (the leaf books and Millie Fleur) and character development and comparison. Comment below, and I’ll send you my FREE lessons I’ve designed to make these high-impact read alouds in your classroom! 🧡
🍂👻 The leaves are changing, so it’s the perfect ti 🍂👻 The leaves are changing, so it’s the perfect time to share THREE of my FAVORITE fall picture book lessons, and they are PACKED with meaningful reading comprehension skills and can be adapted for a huge range of grade levels. These are tried and true lessons that I’ve used in my classroom and absolutely LOVE! 🧡

🍂 Comment below, and I’ll send you the links to more info about all three lessons, including the FREE printable for the Leaf Peeps.

I LOVE pairing picture books that share similar themes, and I’ve come up with MANY different paired sets. It’s research-based and gives students opportunities to compare characters, analyze how different authors develop similar ideas, and make connections across texts—all while keeping fun, seasonal themes with authentic texts!

Here are the three lessons I’ve been LOVING over the past few years:

🍁 The Leaf Peeps: We read four adorable leaf-themed books and compare their topics, themes, and important life lessons. These books pair together extraordinarily well and work well anytime between now and Thanksgiving. BONUS: I have a FREE lesson guide and reflection for this one!

👻 Gustavo’s World: You can use any combo of these books, and the kids just love them. We explore character traits, character change, and theme with these sweet spooky stories. Then students create their own characters (with Play-Doh!) and imagine a new book for the collection!

🎃 Stand Out: We pair Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden, Beatrice Likes the Dark, and The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt to explore what it means to stand out and embrace our differences. The discussions are SO good, and the lessons behind the books are so impactful!

These are the kinds of lessons I always LOVE most. Simple to prep, rich in discussion, and full of opportunities for students to think deeply about what they’re reading AND grow as little human beings. 💗
Picture books are one of my FAVORITE ways to teach Picture books are one of my FAVORITE ways to teach character development skills in upper elementary, and these are some of the very, very BEST! 📚❤️

Every week (and sometimes more often), I use a carefully selected picture book to help my students explore some big personal growth concepts! I incorporate books about everything from managing big emotions and navigating friendships to embracing differences, building confidence, and working through challenges. 🫶 

I love how a single picture book can lead to some of the most meaningful conversations we have all week!

I’ve rounded up several of my favorites, along with a specific learning objective for each one, so you can see exactly how I use them in my classroom.

And YES, picture books absolutely belong in upper elementary classrooms! 🥰

Which of these have you read with your students? Any favorites I need to add to my collection?
Can I tell you about one of my FAVORITE types of n Can I tell you about one of my FAVORITE types of novels to teach (I mean, if you know me, you know they are ALL my favorite, but this type is a ✨ students ✨ favorite — and not just while you’re teaching poetry)!📚🩷

🥁 Novels in verse! If you haven’t tried teaching one with your upper elementary kiddos yet, this is your sign.

I’ve found they’re the perfect way to get my readers to actually SLOW DOWN and pay close attention to the text — what’s said and what’s left unsaid. When there are only a handful of words on a page, every single word has a job to do. A line break changes everything. A word sitting all by itself on the page? Figurative phrases that tell more than an entire paragraph alone could? There’s a reason the author made every single choice. 

🌟 And for teaching inference? Oh my goodness. So much is left unsaid in these books. Truly, so much. My students have to piece together what a character is feeling from tiny details, and the conversations we have are AMAZING.

I just put together a whole blog post with everything I love about teaching them, my favorite titles for grades 4, 5, and 6+, and a giant list of annotation ideas you can use right away. 🎉 Comment below, and I’ll send the info your way!
Book beads ➡️ Book Lanyards ⭐️ No matter which one Book beads ➡️ Book Lanyards ⭐️ No matter which one you choose, your kids are going to love this reading celebration!! 🥰 

Comment below, and I’ll send you all the info or both options!
❇️ I have a few must-have anchor charts in my clas ❇️ I have a few must-have anchor charts in my classroom each year, and these are two of them! 🚨 BUT, I don’t just hang them up and go. It’s so important to spend time teaching my students how to use the prompts in their reading responses, how to develop their questions using each prompt, and discussing how to answer each type of prompt. 

Once students are familiar with how to use the prompts, they are able to have so much ownership over their reading response while also thinking critically about the book or chapter being discussed!

🎉🎉Comment below, and I’ll send you a link to three free sets of reading response resources and my favorite reading response task cards!
You won’t ever catch me in an ELA teaching positio You won’t ever catch me in an ELA teaching position where I’m not teaching word parts. 🩷💚 I believe wholeheartedly in the value of teaching morphology, especially in the upper grades! 

Comment below, and I’ll send you info on ALL my resources, including an entire FREE starter kit for teaching your students the basics of prefixes and suffixes!
🎉We start every math class the same: I read just a 🎉We start every math class the same: I read just a few of these mental math cards orally, step by step, and when I’m done, I count down from three silently using my fingers. When my students see a closed fist, they share their answers in unison. It’s so quick, simple, and low stakes for kids. They increase in complexity throughout the year, and I’ve seen massive gains in my students’ mental math abilities.

Comment below, and I’ll send you the info! ❤️❤️
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