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Literacy

Literacy

Teaching reading and writing are two of my passions, and I absolutely love sharing lesson ideas here. From quick lessons to complete units, scroll down to see all the different literacy lessons I’ve shared over the years.


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Elevate Your November Literacy Lessons with Engaging Passages & Picture Books

November can sometimes feel rushed between the excitement of Halloween and the upcoming magic of the Christmas season, but it has plenty of exciting themes of its own to integrate…

Beyond the Curriculum: The Best Supplemental ELA and Math Resources for Upper Elementary

Teaching ELA and math in upper elementary can feel like juggling plates… while tap dancing and trying to feed an elephant. You have the curriculum (or lack thereof, in some…

Narrative Writing Mentor Texts

Teaching narrative writing in upper elementary isn’t just about meeting your state writing standards… It’s about empowering your students to tell their own stories and build deeper connections with one…

The Best Strategies for Differentiated Instruction (Without Burning Out)

Each year, our classrooms are full of diverse learners with unique needs, and no two years are ever alike –  this is part of what I love so much about…

Units of Study Using Rich Picture Books

I’ve shared before about my love of project-based learning as one way to make learning more engaging and authentic. Teaching with units of study based on beautiful picture books is…

How To Use Student Assessment Data: Practical Tips for Differentiation and Growth

We’ve all been there, staring at our stack of data from recent assessments and wondering how to make the most out of it. Score breakdowns, performance bands, growth indicators, percentiles,…

Literacy Resources

  • 2024 Presidential Elections Math and Literacy Activities | Ultimate Bundle

    2024 Presidential Elections Math and Literacy Activities | Ultimate Bundle

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  • Analyzing Poetry Lesson Slides | Step-by-Step Poetry Analysis

    Analyzing Poetry Lesson Slides | Step-by-Step Poetry Analysis

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  • April Spring Reading Skills and Enrichment Task Cards

    April Spring Reading Skills and Enrichment Task Cards

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  • Author's Purpose and teaching slides with student slide guide

    Author’s Purpose Reading Lesson | Slideshow and Lessons

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hey, I’m Mary

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

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This is my new favorite ornament project in my cla This is my new favorite ornament project in my classroom! 👏 🎄 We are reading Peter Brown’s new book, The Gift of Words, and creating ornaments with messages of positivity, hope, and joy for the year to come and in celebration of this year! Comment below, and I’ll send you all the info and a link to this absolutely beautiful book. 

✨ While there are Christmas themes in the book, it never mentions Christmas. 🩷 We will leave our adornments on the tree throughout the winter season. 

✨ You can also combine this idea with another I’ve done in the past, where students write a positive compliment to each other students the class and place it into their ornaments. These are a favorite every year, and ours still hang on our personal tree at home (see the last video).
❄️ ⛅️ The shortest day of the year is almo ❄️ ⛅️ The shortest day of the year is almost here! 🥶 Winter Solstice is such a fun concept to teach both before and after winter break. I sure do LOVE a good paired text selection, so I carefully chose three picture books that present winter solstice in three very different ways — realistic fiction, informational text, and through poetry/verse — and I even added in an extra informational text passage and video. ✨ Over the years, it has become the perfect lesson on compiling and synthesizing information from multiple sources! We use this anchor chart to gather the info in one place. 

❄️ 🌞 Drop a comment below, and I’ll send you the book and anchor chart info!
We created 14 podcast episodes with 75 minutes of We created 14 podcast episodes with 75 minutes of content highlighting holidays across the globe, and I am LOVING using them with my students. 🌍 

Comment below for the link. 🧡

Zero prep, super engaging, and perfect for listening and reading comprehension now and after winter break. ❄️ 🔔 Includes over a dozen holidays — NOT Christmas exclusive! 💕
True story: I had a current student’s sibling fo True story: I had a current student’s sibling four years ago, and my student came in today asking if we were doing that “really fun travel the world math project my sister told me about.” 🥹 

Yes, yes we were, and I just love that his sister still remembers this little blip in her third grade year! 

So it’s true, my kids were GIDDY about starting this one today, and it’s a favorite for me every year, too. 

Comment below, and I’ll send you all the info. 💕 🌍 

#teacher #teach #classroom
Comment below, and I’ll send you links to everyt Comment below, and I’ll send you links to everything, including my new Holidays Around the World PODCASTS! 💕🩷

It’s my favorite two weeks of the year! Between readers theatre plays, festive math projects, beautiful picture books, and TONS of informational text, it’s just the best!
If you give your students gifts in December, this If you give your students gifts in December, this is the perfect practical and adorable option that they will LOVE! 💕

This year, I added FREE labels for you to print to make your life super easy. 💕🩷 Comment below, and I’ll send you all the links, including the labels to add your name to, print, and go! 👏 

This is the third year I’ve given my students something similar, and the pens and notebooks are always a HUGE hit. 

P.S. I don’t always give out student gifts, and you should never feel like you have to …. but when I do, this is it!
I LOVE teaching about the Rockefeller Center Chris I LOVE teaching about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and you can get my plans and resources for FREE! 🌲 🎄 

Drop a comment below, and I’ll send you the link to the 10-Page Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree FREEBIE!

This week, we started with reading the informational text passage and will continue synthesizing sources and exploring perspectives by using four books about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The books all have similar themes and similar characters, so they lend themselves well to exploring point of view and perspective. 

The freebie includes so many high-interest, academically focused tasks: 

🎄Two differentiated passages
🎄 Central Idea Tracker
🎄 Depth and Complexity Discussion Cards
🎄 Comprehension Discussion Cards
🎄 Student Anchor Chart
🎄 Fact Collector
🎄 Postcard Activity
🎶 It’s tiiiiime!! 🎶 I absolutely LOVE teac 🎶 It’s tiiiiime!! 🎶 I absolutely LOVE teaching and learning about holidays around the world, and the next three weeks will be filled with synthesizing information from these beautiful books, listening comprehension podcasts, and pen pal letters as we take a deep dive into these celebrations! 👏 

Comment below, and I’ll send you everything. 💕 🌍
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