The Blog
Tips for Organizing Student Work
Whether you’re a new teacher or have many years of experience, odds are you still find yourself trying to find your desk under all.that.paper from time to time. Then you add in students who forget to turn in assignments and…
The Complete Guide to Teaching Multiplication and Division
Multiplication and division are major math skills for upper elementary. I have compiled FREE lessons, key skills, anchor charts, book recommendations, and several differentiated activities for teaching multiplication and division in this post for you. Download Everything You Need– for…
Teaching Students To Make Nonfiction Inferences
When we make inferences, we help students draw conclusions and gather deeper meaning about the text using a combination of their background knowledge and clues in the text itself. This is a skill that naturally lends itself to fictional texts,…
Teacher Appreciation Week 2023 Giveaways
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! We’re celebrating you all week long here at Teaching With a Mountain View. We know how busy you are, so here’s a quick rundown of what you can win and where to enter. Be sure to…
The Complete Guide to Teaching Inference
Skilled reading requires students to become adept with many different cognitive processes. Being able to make inferences sets students up for success in reading comprehension. One of the best ways to develop automaticity with inference (being able to make inferences…
How To Encourage Critical Thinking in Math
Critical thinking is more than just a buzzword… It’s an essential skill that helps students develop problem-solving abilities and make logical connections between different concepts. By encouraging critical thinking in math, students learn to approach problems more thoughtfully, they learn…
Teaching Regions of the United States: Cross-Curricular Learning Projects
I began my teaching career in an International Baccalaurete school that focused on units of study, so I really love thematic teaching and cross-curricular learning projects! When we dive deep into topics across multiple subject areas, students are more invested…
The Complete Guide to Teaching Addition and Subtraction
Addition and subtraction may seem like basic skills for upper elementary students, but there are numerous ways to extend addition and subtraction skills with our students. I usually teach this unit right after place value (since they are so closely…
April Read Alouds and Related Seasonal Activities
I love April in the classroom! By this point in the year, we really have become a community of learners that’s like a little family. Our classroom routines are well established, we’ve covered most of our new standards for the…
Improving Inference Skills
When you hear the word “inference,” does it make your head spin? If I had a penny for every time my coworkers and I talked about improving inference skills, I’d be rich! Inferencing is always a big topic of conversation…
The Complete Guide to Teaching Main Idea and Theme
Determining the main idea and/or theme of a text are critical reading comprehension skills. While it may seem like main idea is a pretty simple skill for upper elementary, once you start digging into the complexities of adding theme as…
Math Concept Pictures
Math + Drawing = Win! Over the years, I have created several math picture activities to use throughout the year in order to practice math skills. Some of these math concept pictures have been created for seasonal use while others…
