One part of my Social Studies curriculum was to incorporate current events into our classroom. However, I wanted my students to have the opportunity to think about and research topics that truly interested them. We incorporated Article of the Week. For homework, students would find an … [Read more...] about Article of the Week
Fifth Grade
Making Novel Studies Engaging
Novel studies are a great way to teach reading in the upper elementary grades. However, they can also make or break a reader. If you, as the teacher, build engagement and enthusiasm amongst your students, a novel study can be an amazing experience. Here are a few tips to making the … [Read more...] about Making Novel Studies Engaging
Moving Up Grade Levels?
When I taught second grade, my previous students would always ask me if I would ever change grade levels. I would tell them no, because second graders were the only kids in the school shorter than me. Fifth graders are too tall! Totally not the reason, but they got a kick out of … [Read more...] about Moving Up Grade Levels?
Walking Club
Are you ready to get all your students really moving at recess? At our school, we have Walking Club. They receive a punch card, to keep track of the miles that they walk. Then, at recess time, the students walk laps around the field in our play area. We have a parent … [Read more...] about Walking Club
Indoor Recess Program
I don't know about where you are, but here in New England, our winters are cold and snowy. This means that we often have indoor recess or, if we do go outside, it's not terribly fun. Our PTF (parent-teacher forum) came up with the idea of a Recess Program. Students are given a list of a … [Read more...] about Indoor Recess Program
Building a Community of Readers
As a child, my friends and I would talk about the books that we were reading while we ate our PB&J at the lunch table and on the bumpy bus rides home. Something tells me I wasn't your typical kid though. So, how do we get our students to discuss books? To share their favorites? To reveal why … [Read more...] about Building a Community of Readers