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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…
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…
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…
Mother’s Day Freebie
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! I hope that all of your students treat you well this week, and I also hope that your PTA has something special planned for you. Our celebrations look to be rather caloric, but I’m still very…
3 Words End of the Year Activity
I wanted to share a little activity our school does at the end of each year. As a class, we all watch one of Good Morning America’s 3 Words Videos (I always screen them and make sure I find an…
Top 10 Tips for Building Reading Fluency
We have all heard about the shift that happens, usually between second and third grade, when students (should) go from learning to read to reading to learn. Unfortunately, for some students, their ability to read to learn is stifled by…
Dividing Fractions Anchor Chart, Game Freebie, and Math Journal
We tackled dividing fractions this week! I was a little bit apprehensive about it since these are wee little fourth graders working on this tough stuff, but they did GREAT! Although I follow the CCSS, I thought it was a…
Perimeter and Area
We finished our perimeter and area unit several weeks ago (right before fractions!), but I never got around to posting some of the engaging activities we did. This was really a review for my kids, so it was fun to…
Anchor Charts | Literacy | Literacy Anchor Charts | Novel Study | Novel Study | Novels & Picture Books | Reading Skills
Independent Reading Response Anchor Charts
I’m excited to share these anchor charts with you! We have been using these for quite some time now, and my students are becoming pros. A lot of the time, I do have students answering specific questions, but depending on…
Engaging Lessons for Multiplying Fractions
Teaching Multiplying Fractions in 5th Grade We finished adding and subtracting fractions right before the break, and now we are moving on to multiplying and dividing fractions. We began with multiplying fractions, and we created a mega-anchor chart. I teach…
After Break Activity: Learning Never Takes a Break!
Looking for an engaging after break activity to get brains going again? When I ask kids what they did over spring break, I so often hear “nothing.” Horse Hockey! Even if you didn’t go on an extravagant vacation, you most…
Novel Preview Quick Write
We began our new (and maybe last of the year) Novel today. I am so thrilled to share My Side of the Mountain with my students. My students were also very excited to read it…we have been keeping a theme…
