One day during this last school year while I was circulating throughout my classroom, I came across one of my students who was working on writing. I noticed that besides her pencil, she also had a handful of colored pens lined up next to her Writer’s Notebook. I watched over her shoulder as she wrote. Every time she added a descriptive word to her writing, she would write that word using one of the colored pens. Then she would continue with pencil. Her descriptive adjectives and verbs were ... [Read More]
Lattice Multiplcation
Teaching Blog Addict is hosting a Multiplication Madness Workshop!! Lattice Multiplication is one of my favorite strategies for teaching multiplication.Here's how it works:Let's say you are given the problem254 x 37 = ?First, line up the first number across the top and the second number down along the side:Next, multiply the single digits on the top by the single digits on the side to fill in the squares accordingly:Last, add along the diagonal columns to find your answer. ... [Read More]
New Reading Resources
My grade-level partner and I have been thinking about revamping our reading and writing programs. To help us develop new ideas we are reading a variety of books about literacy this summer. I just finished a great book called The Inside Guide to the Reading-Writing Classroom by Leslie Blauman:As usual, when I read a book about teaching, I find wonderful new ideas. At the same time, ideas from the book often spark other ideas of my own. After reading this book I developed the following new ... [Read More]
Book-A-Day Challenge
Check out my Book-A-Day tab at the top to see what books I am reading for the Book-A-Day Challenge. I am constantly looking for new picture books and novels to read aloud to my students. So, that's mostly what I will be reading this summer. Please share any book ideas you have! ... [Read More]
Summertime is Here!
Summer has officially begun! Although I have been on maternity leave since the beginning of March, today is the first day of summer break for my husband (also a teacher) and my 8-year-old daughter. That makes it official. Summer is such a nice time to relax, have fun with the family, and take vacations. However, I do find that we get a little stir-crazy after a few weeks. So, besides spending time with my wonderful family, here are my plans for filling those idle moments:1. First, I ... [Read More]
Creating a Class Thesaurus
A few years ago when I was teaching 6th grade, I had my students create a Class Thesaurus. It turned out to be an amazing activity. While going through my old 6th grade files, I came across the Thesaurus we created and realized that this same idea would work with my 4th graders. I can't wait to do this activity next year!Here's how it works:1. I typed up, printed, and cut cards for 30 common verbs and adjectives.2. I put all of the verbs in one paper bag and all the adjectives in ... [Read More]
Response Starters – Cards for the Board
Earlier this week I posted about the Response Starters that I am going to have my students use at home in their Independent Reading Notebooks. I also would like to use them in the classroom after my read-alouds. (My students respond in a Read Aloud Notebook-- they have a lot of notebooks and do a lot of "responding". Poor kiddos!)Anyway, I made up cards with individual Response Starters on them (see below). Each day after my read-aloud I plan to choose one or two for the students to respond to. ... [Read More]
Summer is Almost Here!
Summer for my 8-year-old daughter is one week away and I am already thinking about how to keep her little mind active for the next two months. We went to Barnes & Noble today and picked up a bunch of chapter books for her to read over the summer. I created a sheet for her to keep track of the books she reads this summer. (She will want to take the AR tests for any books she reads when school starts again!) I think I will also send home a copy with my students.To share, click the picture ... [Read More]
Daily 5
Jen from Runde's Room inquired about Daily 5 for upper grades. So, I thought I would share my implementation and success with the Daily 5 in my 4th grade class this year...o We do the "Daily 4" in my classroom: read to self, work on writing, word work, and listening (I left out read to someone).o Unfortunately for my students, they do not get to choose when they participate in each activity. I have a rotation schedule set up (mostly ... [Read More]
Response Starters
Response Starters can be used in reading journals. I am thinking of having my students use them for homework in their "Independent Reading Notebooks" AND at school in their "Read Aloud Notebooks". Click on the pic below and enjoy! ... [Read More]
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