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SnackCollage
Classroom | Teacher Ideas

Smart Eats: More Healthy Snacks and Lunches

Happy Sunday!  I’m a little bit late posting this week as it has been a very busy weekend.  I had fun with my snacks this week, and the theme turned out to be GREEK YOGURT!  I used almost an entire…
READ POST Smart Eats: More Healthy Snacks and Lunches
Slide1 4 3
Classroom | Teacher Ideas

Smart Eats!

Welcome back to week #2 of Smart Eats!  I’d love to hear if any of you tried the recipes I posted last week.  I know we enjoyed having snacks and lunches ready to eat, and even my husband commented on…
READ POST Smart Eats!
AlgebraicExpressionsFoldable1
Anchor Charts | Math | Math Anchor Charts

Properties of Operations & Algebraic Expressions

I have a few random anchor charts and foldables we have done in math recently that I thought others may be able to grab some ideas from.  We are working on properties of operations and using variables in algebraic expressions….
READ POST Properties of Operations & Algebraic Expressions
CollageofSnacks
Classroom | Teacher Ideas

Smart Eats: A New Blog Series

Happy Sunday!  Doesn’t it always come around much too quickly? I would like to introduce you to my new blog project (if you can call it that).  I’m going to admit: this started as something for me!  Something that I…
READ POST Smart Eats: A New Blog Series
Upper elementary ideas to teach character traits and character conflict using anchor charts, interactive notebook templates, and task cards.
Reading Skills | Anchor Charts | Literacy | Literacy Anchor Charts | Task Cards

Characters, Characters, and more Characters: How To Teach Character Traits & Character Conflict

We have gone a little character crazy in my room.  We went over Character Traits which I talked a little bit about HERE, but we have been going strong learning about characters even more. Here’s how I teach character traits…
READ POST Characters, Characters, and more Characters: How To Teach Character Traits & Character Conflict
Anchor Charts | Math | Math Anchor Charts | Task Cards

Teaching Exponents

We have been busy in math working on exponents!  I have an accelerated 5th grade group, so we needed to cover 5th and 6th grade standards on exponents.  We haven’t quite gotten to evaluating expressions with them yet, but they…
READ POST Teaching Exponents
AllSummerInaDay
Literacy | Task Cards

Getting busy!

We had such a busy week this week, but I feel like we got so much accomplished in such a short time!  I wanted to share our week here, if only because I felt like it was so successful.  I…
READ POST Getting busy!
mathrulesanch
Math

Back to School Math!

Hello!  Radio silence, anyone?  It can only mean one thing… back to school!  We began last week, and it has been go, go, go ever since.  I wanted to stop in and share a few of the fun back to…
READ POST Back to School Math!
Anchor charts serve as daily references for your lessons, empowering students to solve problems independently. Here are 8 of the best anchor chart tips!
Anchor Charts | Classroom | Classroom Organization | Free | Homeschool | Literacy Anchor Charts | Math Anchor Charts

8 Anchor Chart Tips & Tricks

It’s no secret that I have a “thing” for anchor charts.  My readers know it, my students know it, my colleagues know it, my husband knows it… I can’t help it–they have changed my classroom!  They have made my walls…
READ POST 8 Anchor Chart Tips & Tricks
diypencilorganization
Classroom | Classroom Organization

DIY Pencil Organizer

So, ask my students, and they will tell you that I have a thing about “Pencil Thievery.”  Since I work in a unique situation where students come in and out of my room all day long, I have to supply…
READ POST DIY Pencil Organizer
washitapeposter
Classroom | Critical Thinking

Increasing Critical Thinking Part #1 (of ?)

One of my main goals this year is to up the critical thinking skills of my group of talented and gifted kids.  They are so “outside the box” so much of the time, but other times they can be painfully…
READ POST Increasing Critical Thinking Part #1 (of ?)
Whenyoumarryateacher
Classroom | Classroom Organization

Teacher Toolbox Organizer…At last!

Tap, Tap, Tap…Is this thing on? I took quite the blogging hiatus at the beginning of summer.  Our family spent a week in Disney World, and I have been soaking up all the time I can with my kids.  When…
READ POST Teacher Toolbox Organizer…At last!

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hey there!

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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🍂👻 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! ❤️❤️
Podcasts in the classroom are SO fun while still b Podcasts in the classroom are SO fun while still being academically worthwhile! 👏 🎙️ I designed them to address listening and reading comprehension skills in an engaging, relevant format. Each one comes with show notes and assignments and covers topics ranging from sports and science and tales and more! 🥰 Comment below, and I’ll send you all the info.
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