Blog – Page 4

5 Different Ways to Use State Animal Passages in your Upper Elementary Classroom

My upper elementary students love reading about animals! Do your students too? A couple years back, I decided to mix their love of animals with reading and standards that we were learning in class. My students loved this and there was instant engagement!! Instead of using these animal passages with one practice activity (let's be real, that is how I normally used passages), I decided to use ... Read More about 5 Different Ways to Use State Animal Passages in your Upper Elementary Classroom

Math Rotations Series: 3 Tips for Differentiation in Math Rotations

What are your first thoughts when you hear the word, "differentiation"? Some of you may be thinking about all the staff meetings you have sat in where that word has come up. Some of you may be thinking about all the extra work that you may think comes with differentiation. There may even be some of you that want to cover your ears and run the opposite direction. What I think we all can agree on ... Read More about Math Rotations Series: 3 Tips for Differentiation in Math Rotations

5 Tips to Help Your Upper Elementary Students Identify the Math Operation in Word Problems

One of the most frustrating part of word problems for many students is often identifying which operation to use. Our students may be able to use strategies to solve each operation, but if they cannot identify the correct operation, that won't matter. I have found over the years that most of my students who highly dislike word problems (we don't say hate in my classroom), highly dislike them ... Read More about 5 Tips to Help Your Upper Elementary Students Identify the Math Operation in Word Problems

5 Ideas for Practicing Academic Vocabulary Daily in your Upper Elementary Classroom

I made a BIG mistake my first couple of years teaching vocabulary in upper elementary! I used to teach my students new academic vocabulary, have them memorize it throughout the week and give them a vocabulary quiz at the end of the week. Yikes!! Did my students really understand these vocabulary words? Could they use them in context? The answer to that unfortunately, is some of them, but not ... Read More about 5 Ideas for Practicing Academic Vocabulary Daily in your Upper Elementary Classroom

5 Tips and Tricks to Help Your Student Engagement Increase in Upper Elementary

One morning, I was having a discussion (more like a lecture) with my students about engagement. I was telling them that it was so important for them to stay engaged during a lesson and they were just staring back at me with a blank look on their faces. I couldn't figure out why they weren't understanding what I was saying (this was not our first conversation on engagement). Then, it hit me, do ... Read More about 5 Tips and Tricks to Help Your Student Engagement Increase in Upper Elementary

Math Rotations Series BONUS Post: Using Guided Math With a Curriculum

I am so excited about this bonus blog post for this Guided Math series! Many of you have asked me how to use Guided Math with a curriculum and even though, I know it is possible to teach Guided Math with a curriculum, I do not have experience with it myself. So, I have reached out to 4 other elementary teachers who have successfully used Guided Math while using their district curriculum to share ... Read More about Math Rotations Series BONUS Post: Using Guided Math With a Curriculum