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Teaching with a Mountain View

Prepping for the Academic Year

Simple upper elementary activities, lesson ideas, and book suggestions you can use to increase student engagement mid-year.

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4 Easy Activities to Increase Student Engagement

Learn how to integrate daily grammar practice into your routines to save valuable time and strengthen grammar skills too.

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6 Ways To Integrate Daily Grammar Practice Into Your Routines

Math tips and activities to start the year strong in upper elementary. Includes ideas for morning work, centers, and review.

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Math Tips To Start The Year Strong

Literacy tips and activities to start the year strong in upper elementary. Includes ideas for morning work, centers, and review.

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Literacy Tips To Start The Year Strong

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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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💡 Fun Fact: I originally posted the OG GROUPS p 💡 Fun Fact: I originally posted the OG GROUPS poster on my blog over 10 years ago! 💕💕 Comment below, and I’ll send you a one-page printable version for student reference!

Letters on my new board are from @steppintoelementary and so cute and easy to cut and use …. Also, please pay no mind to my wrinkly paper. 🤣
✨ This is the anchor chart that hangs in my clas ✨ This is the anchor chart that hangs in my classroom ALL year long!!

👀 Is it okay to not understand something? 10000000x YES! 💯 BUT, it’s not okay to simply say “I don’t get it.” 

Instead, at the beginning of every year, it’s my goal to equip students with strategies so tricky tasks don’t become roadblocks.🚧 👍 This anchor chart has become a STAPLE in my classroom. 

✏️ The top section comes from 7 Steps to a Language-Rich Classroom. I added the tricky problem sentences to give students clear strategies and sentence stems for tackling tricky tasks.
Back to school activity that you can use all year Back to school activity that you can use all year long. 👏 Giant Scrabble has been a staple in my first month of school plans for YEARS, and today I used the giant letters to play a human-sized version of Tapple! 

Comment below, and I’ll send you ready to print letters so you can implement it immediately! 👏 

This is always one of our first lessons and experiences with productive struggle. It’s always amazing to see them complete the task — and they beg for its return all year long. 🧩 💡 We also used it as an opportunity to talk about how some students work better under pressure and it can be intimidating to others. That doesn’t mean anyone is better than another person. 💕🩷

We don’t REALLY keep score on either of the games. The point is to get them excited about overcoming obstacles and continuing a task that seems impossible or difficult. Most kids aren’t familiar with the games, so some variations and exceptions are allowed. 

Shoutout to @topdogteaching for the idea to use the letters and adapt to Tapple! 👏
🚨 This has been a HUGE highlight for me and my 🚨 This has been a HUGE highlight for me and my students during back to school season for the past several years, and this year will be no different! 

I am so excited to have students select their one word as part of their goal setting, make bracelets or keychains as a reminder of their goals for the year, and proudly display it their words in our classroom to encourage EVERYONE! 😍

Here’s how I’ve implemented One Word in my classroom:

💖 We read the wonderful book One Word for Kids during morning meeting, and each of my students determines what their word for the year would be. We talked about how their words can apply to situations both at home and at school and how the words will serve as a guide for each student throughout the year. I like to give them a list of words and have them take it home and discuss with their families and friends, too!

💖 As a reminder of their word, each student made a bracelet with their word. I did it in small groups so it didn’t take too long, and they LOVED this. As a teacher, I loved seeing them wearing their bracelets ALL year as a reminder of their goal for the year. 

🗓️ In January, we do a check in and revisit how it’s going! The beauty of One Word is that these words can apply to SO many situations and grow long with students. Whereas we often end up tweaking our academic and personal goals in January, the words stay the same all year! 

Want a link to the book and the beads I used? Drop a comment below, and I’ll send it your way. ❤️💖
Enjoy some pictures of just a few of the ✨ blank Enjoy some pictures of just a few of the ✨ blank ✨ walls in my classroom at the beginning of the year. They’re ready for student work, collaboratively develops anchor charts, and other student guided and created materials! This is your gentle reminder that reference material that is up on the walls should be explicitly introduced, taught and regularly referenced — Less is definitely more to start the year!! The mere presence of word walls, anchor charts, etc. doesn’t equal learning or retention. 😉🩷
FREE! ✨ 🧡 I love incorporating a variety of f FREE! ✨ 🧡 I love incorporating a variety of fun critical and creative thinking games into my classroom, and back to school is a great time to start! I compiled my favorites and gave a bunch of prompts to make it super easy to implement this year. 💥 Comment below, and I’ll send it to you!
Meet the teacher!! 🩷🩷🩷I love this night, Meet the teacher!! 🩷🩷🩷I love this night, the excitement it brings, and the smiling facing of excited kids! It’s my last year that I’ll have my daughter, too. 🥹 Let’s do this. 👏
Do any of these books catch your eye?? 👀 Old fa Do any of these books catch your eye?? 👀 Old favorites? 🤗 New to you books? 💥 I am a firm believer that books are the best decor in ANY classroom, and I am OBSESSED with building book collections to help teach units in my classroom! Drop a comment below, and I’ll send you a link to read all about how I create learning units out of picture books! 👏 

#kidlit #kidsbooks #childrensbook #teacher #homeschool #teachergram #teachers #backtoschool
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