Happy November blog world! Ugh! November already?! Did you know that as I type this, there are only 48 days until Christmas?! BRING.IT.ON! I wanted to share with you my latest holiday themed product that I am SO excited about!! This might be my most favorite creation YET!!! Holiday Themed … [Read more...]
Understanding Comprehension and a Free Reading Inventory
I had some teacher epiphanies during this crazy-busy time of year. The kind that make you want to veer off the lesson plan, follow a kid's lead, and learn with your students. A teacher's dream right?! Three times a year we were required to give our students the DRA2 Reading Survey/Inventory. I … [Read more...]
Point of View Eyeballs!
I want to quickly share another cross-curricular project I did in my classroom this past week! We have been studying the Revolutionary War in social studies and point of view in ELA. So why not mix the two, right?! I got this idea from the fabulous blogger Sandy, over at Fearless in 5th! She has … [Read more...]
Teaching and Assessing English Language Arts in the Classroom Using Social Studies Content
This week, we covered 5.RL.7, which reads: Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, or poem). ***[Note: The first time I read this, I was like, "ummm, what?!"] Thank … [Read more...]
Character Study Part 2: Character Traits, Character Change, and More
Welcome to Part 2 of our Character Study! You can read up on Part 1 HERE! Our Analyzing Character Unit is in FULL swing in our classroom. We started by discussing the different types of characters in our books. Since we've had many read alouds and read a lot of mentor texts this … [Read more...]
Character Study Part 1: Using The Westing Game to Study Characters
Read aloud time is a very sacred, coveted time in our classroom. My kids beg for more of it and some of the best conversations and deepest thinking happens during this time. We are starting my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE read aloud in our classroom this week, The Westing Game. We are knee-deep in … [Read more...]
March is Reading Month Ideas and Freebies
I'm here to share some fun and easy ways to celebrate March is Reading Month in your classroom! Reading month is kind of a big deal in my classroom. While we're busy creating a love of reading all year long, March is when we KICK IT UP A NOTCH! So, with that being said, I want to share a few … [Read more...]
A Quick Check Formative Assessment Idea
I want to share a quick formative assessment idea that I used in my classroom this week. By quick, I mean you can whip this out in five minutes on your lunch break with half of a sandwich in your mouth (don't judge). I promise that is all it takes and it will be time well spent. So you might be … [Read more...]
Reading and Summarizing Nonfiction: Coding the Text
The lesson I am sharing with you all today is one small lesson in a GIANT Reading and Summarizing Nonfiction unit. You can click HERE to read about our fiction summaries. First and foremost, my students struggle with summarizing nonfiction. The problem is that nonfiction passages are usually … [Read more...]
Summarizing Fiction Texts Simplified!
Seems simple, RIGHT? Read a chapter, write a summary... Our students see this a lot, whether it be on our reading assessments, in our own classroom work, or on our state assessments. Bottom line, we want our kids to be proficient (and feel confident) in taking out the important elements from … [Read more...]
