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Wrapping Up the School Year

It’s mid May and the countdown to the end of the year is on! The end is coming and school will be over before you know it. There’s SOOO much to do! How will you get it all finished? The to-do list seems to be ever growing. My mind races between all the things to get done, finish file and organize end of the year portfolios, complete report cards, classroom inventory, clean up and organize the room, and of course we can’t forget yearbook signing day!

I have a love/hate relationship with yearbooks. I love how adorable they are and how they capture the big events of the year for my students. But, that comes at a price. I don’t like that not all of my students can afford a yearbook, and they end up missing out on all the photo memories of the year. Even worse, on yearbook signing day the students without a yearbook often sit back and watch their peers or try to pull out a scrap piece of paper to fit in.
The solution? I make memory books for each student in my class. Memory books have lots of pages in them that help students reflect on their year, What were the highlights? What was the favorite field trip? What was the funniest memory from the year? What are students most proud of learning? The memory books are a great way to keep kids engaged (and writing) at the end of the year, give each kids something to be signed for yearbook signing day, and give them memories to last a lifetime.

Memory books can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be. If you’re short on time, need something right away, here’s the folded memory book If you’re a teacher who captures lots of photos, you can easily make a few photos pages to add into the memory books. I personally like to start memory books at the beginning of the school year. I use a plastic crate and make a file folder for each student to hold the custom memory book photo pages. On field trips, class plays, talent shows, etc. I like to take a class photo and a photo of a smaller groups of students. Then I make a custom memory memory book page writing a little blurb about the field trip and include the generic photo of the trip or whole class photo along with the smaller group photo. If you want to make it easier, you can just do a group photo rather than personalizing a page for each student. Once the special page is complete, I file them away. When the pages are filed into the student folders, the newest pages always get filed at the back of the stack so the book come out in order. At the end of the year, we used the book binder to bind all of the pages together. A parent volunteers does the book binding for me and that frees me up to do other end of the year tasks.
If you’re looking for a jump start, you can click here to get a peek at memory books for any grade in 1/2 page format. If you’d rather have a full page memory book, click here. My personal favorite memory book, half page. Why? It saves paper. It seems every year we are out of supplies and saving paper is a big deal. Smaller books are just plain more fun that a big sheet of paper. Student write neater when they are writing smaller.

Have fun, and enjoy the end of the year!

Teaching Fractions in Upper Elementary – Fraction Frenzy!

Fractions can be hard for students to learn and really understand. Make it a goal to help all students master fractions while they’re in your class. Using different approaches and lots of practice, students will become confident at working with fractions. Below are a few tips that helped students in my classroom master fractions.

Master multiplication first (multiplication and division have common fact families)
When you’re learning about common denominators, you want to focus on fractions, not on multiplies and how to find them. Teach the multiplication tables and work with multiples as much as you can so the terms become second nature. When students have strong basic fact skills, they can focus on the new concept. Do whatever it takes to master multiplication facts.
Hint: Here is a link to a set of flash cards ready to print and go to master those facts to make learning fractions a breeze.
Hint: Here is a link to a reference chart that reinforces multiples and common fractions to help along the way.
Use class data and create fractions every day
Every day of the year, ask a question that students respond to, then compute the fraction, convert it to a decimal, and then change it to a percent. Do this every day and you’ll be amazed at how students really understand fractions in real life. Here’s an example: Let’s say there are 24 students in class today. Ask a question such as, “Do you prefer to eat hamburgers, hot dogs, neither, or both?” Allow students to come up to the board and make a tally mark under their selection. If 11 students preferred hamburgers, write 11/24. If 8 like hot dogs, write 8/24. If 5 liked neither, write 5/24. Make sure that the numerator equals 24 students voting. Next allow students to use calculators to quickly get the decimals and then get the percent. Make sure the decimals add up to 1 whole (class). This daily practice gives students confidence working with fractions. Confidence is key when doing math. Here are some other questions to get you started: number of siblings, vanilla or chocolate ice cream, favorite season, pencils or pens, ski, snowboard, both, or neither, etc.
Hint: Here is a link to a ready made set in SMART board sign in to get you started.
Hint: Use the online website “Decifractator” to convert fractions to decimals. It has great sounds and works great on a SMART Board.
Use money to teach fractions
Students in my classroom loved money. I also used it to teach fractions. Pull out your plastic coin manipulatives. Use each coin to teach fractions of a dollar. For example, the penny: You’d need 100 pennies to make a dollar, so a penny is 1/100th of a dollar. You can then move on to combining coins, addition of fractions, and reducing the denominator. For example 2 quarters: Each quarter is 25/100 and together they equal 50/100 or 1/2 of 1 (whole) dollar.
Use visuals & hands on manipulatives
Fractions often feel overwhelming, until you can actually see them. Fractions is a key math area where you really need your manipulatives (circular pie manipulatives, number lines, number cubes, snap cubes, etc.). Teaching about the “whole” and “parts of a whole” can feel so foreign to students. I have found that by allowing students to see with their own eyes and handle the manipulatives that this diffucult concept become much easier.
Hint: If you don’t have manipulatives in your classroom, here is a link to a FREE online manipulative game.
Hint: Here is a link to a pattern block worksheet online that is totally free and (self checking)
Relate fractions to real life
Most students love foods like pie and pizza so use them to teach fractions. If you have faction circles, use them as your “pizza” or “pie” models. Students can create a pizza/pie store, where customers come through asking for a specific amount of the pizza/pie. Students can choose to cut their pizza into any number of pieces (I like to start at 6, 8, and 12). Then you can tell students that one person would like what is 1/6 of the pizza. Use this to cement the concept of equivalent fractions. Have students draw their pizzas. You can also have students add toppings like, there’s 15 mushrooms. Put 1/3 of them on the pepperoni pizza. Cover the pizza with 1/4 pineapple. Have students record the problems, then draw the pizzas. You can also use fractions to increase or decrease a recipe so it feeds more or less people, adding in addition and subtraction of fractions. For example, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar and you want to double it, you now need 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 whole. One of my favorite activities to use with a recipe is during my teaching of the Oregon Trail. Kids LOVE to make pioneer apple crisp in Dutch oven. Take a recipe that would feed 8 people and increase the recipe so it feeds 24 people, 32 people, etc. Ask parents to volunteer to help supervise this activity. Bring in measuring cups and all the ingredients. Have students do the math and figure how much of each ingredient they will need. Students love cooking and the eating is the best part! Students can read silently as they watch and smell the apple crisp as it cooks. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and enjoy!
Hint: Here is a link to a ready to go lesson on increasing a recipe using fractions Increasing a recipe fractions lesson
Hint: Here is a link to an online fraction pizza game, Tony’s Fractions
Online practice
Practice makes perfect! There’s tons of websites that allow students to play games and practice their fraction skills. Use them! Students will learn through play what works and what doesn’t.
Hint: Take an online fractions quiz for grade 3. Fractions quiz for grade 4.
Hint: Play Fractions on a Number Line.
Hint: Play Cross the River Fractions (fraction recognition)
Hint: Ordering fractions game
Worksheet practice (ahhh…hold on a second)
Worksheets used in isolation without touching and manipulating fraction pieces can be frustrating without background and deeper knowledge. Worksheets do have a place when teaching fractions, however I typically introduce them after lots of hands on practice. If students are trying to follow rules without and understanding of what they’re doing, they won’t get to deep understanding. I have found that once students have grasped the basic concepts and have had hands-on practice, using worksheets helps, too.
Hint: Here is a link to a lesson kids love, quilt block fractions reinforcing fractions, symmetry, and ties well into teaching the Oregon Trail.
Practice, practice, practice!

Classroom Management Ideas for a Chatty Class That’s Driving you Crazy

Do you have a chatty classroom? It’s supposed to be quiet work time and the volume keeps growing and growing. But how do you stop it from happening in the first place? And what do you do when things start to get too loud? Here are a few ideas.

Start out the year with class rules (and review after breaks)
Starting out the year with a class discussion of the rules and expectations is essential for a successful year. It helps set the tone from day one. Whatever you decide for rules is fine, just make sure you establish an expectation of how your room will function when it’s time to work. There will be times you need absolute silence (testing), and times when a whisper voice is appropriate. When you’re doing group work, a normal speaking voice is okay. Sometimes, there will be another expectation of the noise level. I like to use a noise meter during activities so students know what the expected speaking volume is (think traffic light, red = no talking, yellow = whisper noise, green = normal indoor voices). When the noise is too loud, you need to establish routines to get the class back on the track, keep reading for more ideas! Post your classroom rules on the wall as a visual reminder for kids to always refer to. This will ensure you set your classroom on track for the year. It’s also a good idea to review classroom rules and expectations after a long break so students can easily get back into the routine.
Hint: Here is a link to a FREE classroom noise meter, ready to print and use.
Respect all the kids in your class
This one is a no brainer, we respect all of students…don’t we? We often THINK that we are treating all of our students the same, but we might be experiencing some implicit bias. Some bias towards the kids with good behavior, or away from the kids with poor behavior. These are biases within our subconscious that we really aren’t aware of, but can be. The more we recognize these biases, the better teachers we will become. There’s always that one kid just gets under your skin, won’t listen to you, takes more of your time than any other student in your class, and has behavior issues all the time. Spend more time building a working relationship with the kids who seem to need a little extra care and compassion. When kids know that you care about them, they are more apt to work for you and follow your class rules.
Hint: Interested in learning more about your own implicit biases? Check out this Harvard survey to learn more about yourself and your social preferences. Trust me, this is unique and will start to change the way you teach.
Create a unique signal to get kids back on track
It’s inevitable that things will get out of hand, and that students will get more chatty than you’d like. In these times, it’s helpful to have a universal signal to get kids back on track. Something as simple as the quiet coyote signal that you hold up and kids do too silently reminds each other that it’s quiet work time. You can also use an auditory signal. When it’s work time and the noise level is too high, try clapping twice, then say, “Class, class”. Teach students to respond, “Yes, yes.” followed by silence, so they are ready to hear directions. This works great not only in noisy situations but it also works great on field trips!
Allow kids movement breaks
Students need to wiggle and move so let them. I really believe that moving helps learning so give Brain Breaks and have students move then get back to work. When your group is super chatty, stop and have everyone stand up and do physical movements. Set a timer and do this for maybe 1 minute. Then it’s time to get back to work. Sometimes this breaks the cycle of chatting when they should be working.
Accountability Charts
You can have each student keep track of their own behavior. You can say, “Time to evaluate”. Ask students to evaluate their behavior. Ask, “How are you doing? Are you working and doing the right thing? Is your voice level appropriate?” There are any many ways to implement this. You can just verbally ask students and they can self reflect on their behaviors. For some classes, this works great! Other classes might need a little more concrete visual. There are lots of different styles of accountability charts out there that work for each kid to keep track of their behavior throughout the day. If students need a little extra help in honestly evaluating their behavior, you can choose to sign off on their behavior chart.
Hint: Want to get started with behavior charts? Here is a link to some editable behavior charts, easy to customize to best fit your classroom!
Allow socialization time throughout the day
It’s human nature to want to chat, and that’s okay at the appropriate times. So, make time to allow students to chat! This helps control unwanted chat during inappropriate times because they’ve already gotten it out. I like to allow time first thing during the day. This allows kids to talk to each other about what they did over the weekend, the exciting thing they did the previous night, or just to catch up with friends. I also like to set a timer so students know when chat time is over (see #12 for more info on the timer). I think building in time throughout the day for partner talk and small group talk is important during lessons. This allows appropriate socialization regarding the lessons at hand.
Moving kids might not be the answer
Students who have big personalities and those who love to talk won’t necessarily be silenced just because you move them to a new location. Students don’t like to be separated from their peers and moving them might make the situation worse. Those students who are super chatty might need to have a simple behavior contract to help them monitor their chatting. Again, set a goal for the student that is meaningful.
Class points
You can give class reward points for doing the right thing. I like to make my teacher life simple so I set up a simple T chart with C (for class) and R (for Mrs. Renz). If the expectation was followed, students earned a tally point, if not, I earned the tally point. At the end of the day students did the math to see how many points they earned and lost. Students subtracted their points from my points and the difference (reinforce the language of math) they equalled the points they got to keep. Add the day’s points to the class running point total and write it on the whiteboard. It was simple for me to implement and keep up with. We set a goal of 4 points earned per student. So if we had 24 students, when the class earned 4 x 24 = 96 points, students earned a class party. The party doesn’t have to be a huge party full of food and movies. It could be as simple as an extra 10-20 minute recess that day, getting to watch a 30 minute educational video, getting 30 minutes of silent reading time, etc.
Provide activities for students who are fast finishers
Fend off chatting by making it clear what to do when the task at hand is finished. Make a list of choices and ask students to refer to the list if they forget.
Hint: Here is a link to a blog post I wrote, all about how to challenge your fast finishers.
Have student leaders help monitor group behavior
Students monitor their own behavior when they are all working together, and best yet, your job gets easier! Set up an incentive program and have student groups earn points toward a goal. Better yet, have students help decide what the goal and rewards are going to be. Students can take turns being the group leader role.
Use a noise meter
Giving students a visual helps them know the expectation. Maybe a student came in after the directions were given. If you’ve got a visual reminder posted or displayed of the noise level expectation, it sets everyone up for success. You can use a poster or an online reminder.
Hint: Use Bouncy Balls noise meter, it’s FREE, and allows you to change the theme, sensitivity, and provides reminders when it’s too noisy!!
Hint: Here’s another free noise meter
Use a timer to count down quiet work time or socialization time
It really helps to give kids a set of rules and expectations for the time frame of noise levels. If you want your classroom silent, kids may get antsy about when they can talk again, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and hour? This can cause kids to start to whisper, and all of the sudden the noise level is at an unacceptable level. Set a timer. This visually shows kids how much longer they are expected to be quiet, whisper talking, etc. It helps set a concrete expectation, and kids have less anxiety and impulse to talk knowing when it is acceptable again.
Hint: Here is a link to a great set of classroom timers that you can pick with animation and audible alerts that kids love.

Remember, whatever you choose to do within your classroom, make sure it’s consistent. When you’re consistent, students will understand the expectations. Cheers to a quiet(er) classroom!

10 Tips To Effectively Teach Poetry

Are you gearing up to teach poetry but just aren’t sure where to start?! Have no fear, here’s a list of tips and tricks to make teaching poetry an cinch, AND get your students loving it too. Yes, even the boys!

Introduce poetry with poems that your students can relate to.
This is huge. You have to hook students on poetry from the get go. My of them have a preconceived notion that poetry is boring, for older folks, for girls, you name it. It’s your job to hook them! My 2 favorite poems to read to students are “Sick” by Shel Silverstein with reasons that . . . “Little Peggy Ann McKay cannot go to school today. She has the measles and the mumps, a rash, a gash, and purple bumps.” {You have to put on your silly acting hat and use a great voice when you read this poem!} At this point all of the students are with me and are starting to see that poetry can be silly, fun, and creative! Next up, I read Silverstein’s poem, “Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out.” Once students have hear these two poems, the walls of resistance start coming down. Most of my students can connect with these two themes of being sick and not wanting to take the garbage out.
Hint: Here’s a link to the poem, “Sick” by Shel Silverstein.
Hint: Here is a link to a video of the poem “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout” read by Shel Silverstein.
Hint: Here’s Shel Silverstein reading his poem “Ickle Me, Tickle Me, Too” on YouTube.
Read each poem aloud to students more than once
I am a firm believer in reading a poem at least twice. Often on the first reading because students are so engrossed in the story the poem is trying to tell that they miss all the poetry elements. By reading a poem a second time, students can start to listen for the important components, and they’ll discover things not seen before.. When you reread the poem, ask students to listen for patterns and for the overall flow of the words. Do any words stand out? Why do you think the author chose the words she or he did to convey the meaning? These pieces of the puzzle help create the mood, feeling tone, and message of the poem. Most importantly, do this process with students the first few times so they realize you can’t read a poem once and “get” the meaning on the first go-round. It takes many readings.
Set up a poetry corner in your classroom
I love getting students excited and keeping them excited about reading poetry. One of my favorites is to transform my reading corner into a poetry display corner. I pull out all of my books relating to poetry and put them on display. Use post-it-notes with arrows and put them on the pages of the poems you enjoy and write things like, “Great use of alliteration!” and “The author repeats the word, ‘thump’ three times.” etc. This simple task shows students what’s on your mind when you read the poem.
Learn about the poet prior to reading their poetry
A lot of poets write poems about their mood, life events, family and relationships, and nature. First, learn as much as you can about the poet. Where and in what time period did he or she live? Understanding the time period the poem the poem was written and the background of the poet is essential to drawing conclusions about the poem’s meaning.
Spend time analyzing poetry to really understand the authors purpose
The fun part of analyzing poetry is figuring out what the poet was trying to say. This is where the use of figurative language comes in. It’s what makes the poetry have that music-like rhythm and flow. It’s the flow of the words, the rhythm of the beat, the pattern of the syllables, it’s the words carefully chosen to create images in the reader’s mind. It’s really important that you spend time reading the poems yourself and fully understand it before you attempt teach it to students. Teaching children to analyze poetry isn’t one of those things you can just pick up and teach; some poems really are hard for adults to understand, let alone ask students to understand. You really need to spend time thinking, reflecting, asking questions about what you’ve read, and really understand the poem yourself.
Hint: If you’re not sure where to start with poetry analysis and need some help getting jump started, check out these task cards that guide students through analysis of 9 poems that are also on the CCSS-ELA text exemplars list.
Start each day with a read aloud poem
I like to start off each day during the poetry unit with a read aloud. Kids really enjoy hearing poems and the writing voice of different authors. If you aren’t big into reading, you can put a youtube video of someone performing poetry reading as well. Shel Silvertein has recorded quite a few videos on youtube and uses a great voice to read them. Remember to read a variety of poems so that you can reach all of your kids.
Hint: Here is a link to the Shel Silverstein Books youtube page with lots of videos to choose from.
Teach figurative language to help students better understand the poem’s meaning
Some poems require very basic surface level understanding while other poems are challenging to grasp what the poet is really trying to say. Poems often use metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, idioms, and other figurative language. Teach students the meaning of these kinds of figurative language. Understanding these poetic devices will help unlock the meaning hidden within some poems and allow for deeper critical thinking.
Hint: Here is a link to a set of quick reference wall posters for figurative language and poetry
Hint: Here is a link to an interactive notebook all about figurative language Figurative language interactive notebook
Hint: Here is a link to unique Cootie Catchers that reinforce figurative language skills
Get excited when you teach poetry, let loose
When you really enjoy reading and responding to poetry, your students will pick up on your excitement. Use the funny voices when you read aloud. Laugh at the funny parts. I’m totally an introvert, so this is hard me, but my students really enjoyed when I read poems
Give kids a chance to write their own poetry
To solidify students love for poetry, let them write! You can provide them with many different styles, alliterations, haikus, “I am”, 5 senses, concrete, etc. As long as students are writing poetry, I don’t mind! Teach students that poetry doesn’t have to rhyme. Let them experience the fun of writing their own poems about what interests them.
Hint: If you’re looking for a little more guidance, click here for a fully prepared, ready to teach independent poetry project.
Hint: Here is a link to a FREE lesson on writing a 5 senses poem.
Encourage students to share their poetry
Once students have written some poetry of their own, let them show it off! There are a few ways I like to do this. #1: You can pair up students allow them to share their written works in buddy pairs. This is great because it’s a small group and helps build classroom relationships and confidence. I then encourage students to share kind feedback the poem their partner wrote. #2: Have students read their poems aloud to the class. I like this as well because it helps foster public speaking skills and students get to share with the whole class a poem they wrote and are proud of. #3: Display their written works on the wall! Often times my students write their own poetry and add pictures to go with it, and it makes decor in your classroom.

Fast Finisher Challenges

“I’m done. What do I do now?” Have you ever heard this phrase? Better yet, have you heard this phrase during a guided reading group or math intervention group? Aargh!

One of the most important things you can do is to teach students what to do so you never have to hear that phrase.

Decide what works for you with the materials you have. Here’s what worked for me.

Finish all Classwork.
This is huge for me. If you have unfinished work, you don’t have free time. Students who have unfinished work often end up taking it home as additional homework (and incentive to finish classwork during the allotted time). When students finish up their work early, I am happy to allow them to work on any unfinished work they may have. They are continuing to learn in the process, and less homework to take home, feeing up precious after school time.
Work on Homework.
I’ve had different systems. I’ve passed out homework on Mondays and it was due Friday and I’ve also passed it out Friday and homework is due the following Friday. Regardless, I allow students to work on their homework when they’re finished with the current assignment. I have found that this is a huge motivator because student’s have less to do when they get home after school, which means more free time with their families, sports, clubs, etc.
Learn a Mastery Club Challenge.
I can’t say how much Mastery club has saved my sanity over the years! Mastery Club is student directed and very open ended. Students get to choose from 86 challenges in 5 different subjects to further their knowledge base varying from name the 7 continents, name 15 mammals, score 100% on a grade level addition test, etc. I allow students to learn and study and challenge that interests them and work in any order they choose. Students love choice. I also allow students to suggest personal challenges. My personal favorite is the addition of the hall of fame. When students mastered 16 challenges, they received their name on the hall of fame wall. I kept mine posted all while I taught 4th grade (it even made the move as I changed schools within my district). This was a fabulous motivator as students loved to come back to my classroom year after year to see how they continued to rank on the hall of fame wall.
Hint: You can get the whole Mastery Club unit ready to print and go unit here!
Read Independently
Encourage independent reading! It doesn’t matter what book, picture, kids magazine, novel, etc. As long as students are reading, I’m one happy teacher! I also think it’s important to have a robust classroom library, because it makes picking out a book that much easier. To start collecting books, check around at local garage sales, they are a very affordable place to pick up books. I have often been able to get books for a quarter or less. If you do book club orders, that’s another great way to build class sets of novels and books for your library. Use your book order points. I used Scholastic, Troll, and Lucky Book Clubs to build my library. Another way to encourage independent reading is to bring in fun seating for reading. Bring in camping chairs, a reading bench, carpet rectangle samples, and other fun spaces to allow students choice of reading location.
Practice Math Facts
When students are finished with work early, I love encouraging additional math fact mastery. I use a variety of instructional techniques. I find that flash cards, math “coloring” projects, and just plain and simple math worksheets are one of the most effective ways, but they have to be FUN for older kids to actually use them. For online practice, I like Xtra Math. It’s a free online math program where the teacher creates a classroom account for each student that allows them to practice their basic math facts online. Then students log onto their individual account and do customized multiplication practice. Best of all, the teacher and parents get a summary of the child’s progress. Students can log on from home, too, so parents are happy to encourage math practice.
Hint: If you’re looking for flash cards that kids think are “cool” check these out that encourage addition and subtraction fact mastery, and multiplication and division.
Hint: If you’re looking for coloring sheets that reinforce math multiples, check these out here.
Play an Educational Game Online
I love when kids are learning without realizing it. I have found that my students LOVE to play online games. I have compiled a list of student friendly websites and games sorted by subject ranging from math, science, social studies, and beyond. The best part, it’s all FREE!
Hint: For the full list of FREE online student friendly educational games, click here.
Organize your Desk (quietly!)
We all know there are two types of students. Those who keep their desk immaculate, and those who have stacks on stacks of paper, pencils, and books crammed in their desk where the lid barely closes. For some students, getting time to clean out their desk and organize is great motivation, for others, well…you get the hint. This one is hit or miss.
Help a Classmate
I allow students to buddy up when they are finished to help coach a friend through the remainder of their work. The key here is coach. I make sure that students know they are not doing the work for the friend but assisting them and answering their questions. I find it helpful to have these helpful students sit at the front of the classroom as designated student ambassadors. When students have questions they need assistance with they can approach the ambassador, and if the ambassador is unable to assist, students can then come see me. This helps free up my time as well. I find this helps foster friendships and develop leadership qualities within my students.

How to Teach Scientific Inquiry and Prepare for Science Fair

It all starts with a question. When you teach Scientific Inquiry the essential component to enforce with your students is to question everything. All of our big discoveries, innovations, and new ideas come from someone questioning the current beliefs with hopes to gain new knowledge, make something better or different, discover something new, etc. In my classroom, that’s the most important ingredient. When students start to question and wonder, they automatically start creating their own hypothesis, testing it, coming up with conclusions, and even re-testing their hypothesis. Read on for some ideas to get students questioning, teaching the whole scientific process, and ideas for simple less mess science projects!

How to Introduce the Scientific Method
- I love starting my lessons with videos. I think it really helps get kids engaged and interested, it’s much better than them listening to my voice. 😉 Below are a few videos that kids love.
  Hint: Here is a great link to an introductory video that teaches the scientific method as a rap song.
  Hint: Here is a link to a Ted-Ed talk about How Simple Ideas Lead to Scientific Discoveries. (Please preview this video prior to showing your class to ensure it is appropriate for your grade level, although I believe the first 1:24seconds is appropriate for all grades.)
- Put references materials at the fingertips of your students that remind them of the steps in the scientific process and definitions of each step. This is a great way for students to independently take charge of their learning throughout your lesson.
  Hint: Here is a link to a great set of wall posters for easy and quick student reference.
How to Teach Students to Question– This is the essential step in the inquiry process. All science starts with a question and a “what if”.
- Use everyday objects and ask students for other uses of a common item. I like to get kids thinking by presenting with an everyday object as asking them what is it? I further their questioning and thinking by asking what else it could be? Example: Start simple with a tennis ball. Other uses could be a dog toy, something to go on the bottom of chair legs to make it quiet, a coin purse if you cut a hole in it, etc.
- Use a common read aloud and question why the characters did what they did in the story. A great book that I love to use the Jack and the Beanstalk. There are many things that you can use as examples in the story to teach questioning, and surely your students will being to question too. Example: Why did Jack trade beans for a cow? What was he thinking? Why did Jack think it was safe to climb the beanstalk? Why did Jack break into the Giant’s home? Why did Jack think it was okay to take things from the Giant?
  Hint: Here is a link to a youtube video of Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Use demonstrations to spark questions. A fun and visual lesson involves comparing densities of different liquids like water, oil, and corn syrup. Have students pour each of the liquids into a jar and see how they layer on top of one another. To add pizzaz, use food coloring to the liquids. Use this to get kids asking questions. Have students do this experiment and walk them through the scientific process as they conduct the experiment.
  Hint: Here is a link to a detailed lesson plan for comparing densities of materials.
Easy to Teach Hypothesis & Scientific Process
- Present students with the question. This takes one of the tasks away from students so they can focus on the hypothesis and experiment. One that I find easy to implement in the classroom is the classic paper airplane. I fold a typical paper airplane, and we measure how far the plane flies. Then I ask students, how can we get the plane to fly further? Students then make their predications/hypothesis. Some ideas I’ve found kids like to test are changing how the plane was folded, the weight of the paper used to make the plane, cutting the wings of the plane, adding weight to the plane with paperclips, etc. Then as a class, we pick a few options to test and again measure the distance. Once we have our distances, we compare and draw conclusions based on the changes we made and either support or refute our hypothesis.
Teach Students to Record Evidence as they Conduct their Experiment
- Write it down! Record it! To have a good science experiment it must be repeatable. This means students need to write down the steps precisely and accurately. Start with an expository writing assignment and ask students to explain how to make something like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a veggie wrap, or how to cook French toast, etc.. Then, bring in peanut butter, jelly, and bread. (**Be cautious of peanut allergies before doing this with your class.) Have the student who wrote the steps read them while a classmate follows directions exactly as they were written. Watch the laughs! This is fun and helps demonstrate the need for precise writing.
- Use the analogy of a defendant and his/her attorney in court using evidence to convict or prove the innocence of someone. Before the jury can decide the guilt or innocence of the defendant on trial, the evidence presented by the attorney must be enough to tilt the scales of justice. The evidence in the forms of written statements, photos, physical evidence, data, charts, and anecdotal notes helps build the case in court. It’s the same in science inquiry, you have to have evidence to support your hypothesis in order to support or refute, just like in the judicial system. Scientists don’t just say, “Trust me, I know t’s true.” They have to have PROOF to back up their claims.
Give Lots of Opportunities to Practice Doing Experiments
- Hand washing: Connect with your school nurse and ask him/her to help you do a hand washing experiment to see how germs are spread. Nurses may have access to a special UV light foam that kids can put on their hands to simulate germs. Prior to touching anything shine the UV light on it to prove how clean it is. Then ask students to touch the object and repeat shining it with the UV light. You can also have kids put the foam on their hands, then wash their hands to see how good of a job they do washing hands. They’ll know they did a good job if their hands don’t react to the UV light, if they do, they need more hand washing! You could also use this as an opportunity to ask more questions, does the length of time washing my hands impact the cleanliness, will just water clean my hands does the kind of soap used change the cleanliness of my hands, etc.
  Hint: Here is a link to a CDC lesson on hand-washing.
- Another idea is to see how germs on our hands affect bread, a slice of cheese, and a potato slice. Get three slices of bread, three slices of cheese, and three slices of potato and nine zipper plastic bags (three for each food type). Use a glove to place one slice of bread into a bag. This is the control group. For the second slice, wash your hands and then place the bread into a bag. For the third slice, allow each student in the group to touch the bread before placing it into the bag. Repeat this process using a slice of cheese and then again using a potato slice. In students’ science journals, ask them to record the date you began the experiment, the steps you took to do the test, and write daily observation notes in a table. Take photos if you can and post them day by day. Watch what happens!
How to Tie it All Together
- Throw a Class Science Fair! Allow students to come up with their own question and hypothesis. Then let them carry out their experiment and draw conclusions. Kids have a blast creating their own project. The key ingredient to this is ensuring that it’s simple enough for kids to complete on their own without parents. Here are a few ideas to spark student interest: . Once students have completed the process, they document their findings, and present their project at your class science fair.
  Hint: Need help throwing a science fair but not sure where to start? Here is a link to a science fair lesson ready to use.

Christmas Activities in the Classroom (and Other Holidays)

The holidays are quickly approaching…and student attention spans are quickly fading. Do you notice more behavior issues around the holiday season? Decline in attention span? Decline in engagement in activities? Kids are just so excited for the holiday season and break from school…can you blame them?! Below are a few ideas to keep kids engaged and learning all the way up to Christmas (& other holidays) break. I found that these few simple, easy to implement, and free ideas help to bring attention back to the classroom in a fun and engaging way during the holiday season.

Adopt a Buddy Class and Read Together
I taught fourth grade, and we had first grade reading buddies. During the holiday season, we buddied up our first graders to do buddy reading. I let my students pick any book to read, because it allows for inclusion of all holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, and those who choose not to celebrate a holiday. Students practice reading their chosen book to a classmate during reading time. This allows them to hear a book, and also practice their reading skills. Once they have practiced, we have a “buddy reading party” our first grade partner class. The students LOVE getting to buddy up and “teach” their little buddies, and their first graders look up to them like they’re celebrities!
Countdown to Holiday Vacation
Embrace the time prior to vacation by counting down the days with themed days in the classroom! I like to start about 1-2 weeks before vacation. Theme each day, such as wear red day, bring a stuffed animal to school day, thank a staff member day, etc. My personal favorite to include in the countdown is thank a staff member day. It reminds students to be thankful during the holiday season, and allows them to express thanks to someone they appreciate (all while sneaking in those writing skills)!
Compare and Contrast a Holiday Movie and Book
My personal favorite to compare and contrast is using the Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. I just love that book and movie! They’re so different, this task is perfect to sneak in some reading skills. I like to read the book first to students as a read aloud then show the movie. Try using a simple Venn diagram and challenge students to fill in their diagrams, then have a class discussion.
Hint: Here is a link to a reading of the Polar Express on YouTube.
Decorate a Christmas Math Tree
Put up a butcher paper Christmas tree on your bulletin board. Then challenge students to create presents to go under the tree. Each student designs their own present made out of graph paper. Ask them to calculate area and perimeter of the present they have designed. You can use 3D boxes and incorporate fractions, asking them to calculate what percentage of the package is a certain color. You could also calculate what percentage of the package is covered by ribbon. The possibilities are endless. Decorate ornaments for the tree in geometric shapes, and have students again calculate area and perimeter.
Make a Class Wishes Paper Chain
Have students each decorate a strip of paper to add to the class paper chain. On the strip of paper have students write down their wishes (either for presents they want to receive or things they hope happen on vacation).
Teach About a Famous Artist and Have Students Emulate the Artist’s Work
My personal favorite was to teach about Grandma Moses & Norman Rockwell. I like to use this as a time to introduce the artist, their accomplishments, and life. Once students have learned about the artist, I have them create an art piece using the same style that the artist drew or painted in. You can use the completed works of art to make a holiday themed bulletin board.
Hint: Here is a link to Grandma Moses’ biography. Here is a link to Norman Rockwell’s biography.
Create a Gift/Craft for Students to Give Their Families
In my classroom we created something that all kids could create no matter what holiday they celebrated, think snow related crafts. We made pine cone skiers. I used a pine cone as the body, popsicle sticks for skis, a wooden bead or glass bead for the head, pom-pom for the hat, pipe cleaners for the arms, and then placed a variety of other materials out for students to embrace their creativity. There are many other crafts you can do, such as snowflakes, handprint art, clothes pin snowmen, etc.
Give Students the Chance to Color!
Allow students to get their creative juices flowing and color. I liked to use math multiples that ask students to color in spaces based on the multiple or common multiple. Kids don’t realize that they’re learning because they’re having so much fun coloring!
Hint: Here’s a great Christmas/winter coloring set that integrates math multiples!
Implement a Reward System for Good Behavior
When behaviors spike during the craziness of December, it’s time to implement a brand new behavior system that kids love. It’s called the Holiday Bonus Box. Who doesn’t love to enter a drawing and win something? That’s what the Holiday Bonus Box is all about! It’s a simple program that saves your sanity and keeps things positive during December. Get a big (Costco size) cereal box, cut hand-size hole in the top of the box and wrap it with a shiny red red holiday paper. Add notes printed on red paper for fun rewards students will draw and win, things like sit by a friend for the day, use the teacher’s roller chair all day, be the line leader all day, and so on.If you’re up for some more fun, you also work to help your students with less than desirable behaviors to give them a chance to turn something negative into a positive. You can implement the Grouch Box. This box only works if you are super positive with this and know how your students tick. It’s is not a punishment; rather, a fun way to get kids laughing and making better choices by doing a good dead to “undo” the grouchy deed. Wrap this box with a grouchy green paper. Add notes telling students thanks for being a good sport and to do something nice for others, like go wish the secretaries a happy day, to thank the custodians for all they do keep our school shiny and clean, and help the librarian organize books, etc. Choose fun things that are acts of kindness and other good deeds. Kids love this and if they love it too much, (if you know what I mean!) you might need to pack it away until next year.
Hint: Here is a link to an easy to implement Holiday Bonus and Grouch Box Behavior program
Teach the Math and Language Arts of the 12 days of Christmas
Use the holidays to sneak in tons of math, grammar, and geography review! It’s a different twist on learning, and the thinking skills and review are much needed and are well received when it’s holiday themed. Best of all, when you use themed curriculum, students stay engaged and working right up until the holiday break. Students go on vacation with positive vibes and smiles on their faces.
Hint: Here is a link to a great 12 Days of Christmas Language Arts Lesson.
Hint: Here is a link to a great math lesson about the 12 Days of Christmas.
Hint: Here is a link to 12 days of Christmas Problem Solving

Enjoy time off and spend time with your loved ones. Happy holidays, everyone!

Reasons to Teach Word Stems and Roots

Are you feeling the pressure of “teaching to the test” to ensure passing scores on those standardized tests? I was too, until I stepped outside the box, and thought, why am I not teaching word prefixes and suffixes? There is just no practical way to teach my students all of the vocabulary words they may possibly encounter when taking a standardized test OR in their reading novels. Cue the entry of…WORD MASTERS. I started teaching my students word roots and stems from day 1, and the results I saw were incredible, much improved test scores, and significantly improved reading comprehension, and confidence. If you aren’t already convinced that word roots and stems are the best way to teach vocab, read on…

Improved vocabulary comprehension.
The English language is derived from Greek and Latin and many words that we encounter have meaning behind them that help us understand the word. By having an understanding of prefixes and suffixes, students can break apart the word into its roots, and make their best educated guess on the meaning of the word, no matter how familiar the term is. For example, say a student is reading their favorite novel and comes across the word, barometer. With understanding of roots and stems, students can deduce the meaning of the word, baro- meaning pressure -meter unit of measurement. Ah ha. A barometer must be something relating to measuring pressure.
Hint: Check out this 50 common roots and stems, meaning, and example photo below. These word stems are included in my handy ELA lapbook for easy and quick student reference.
Increased number of vocabulary words mastered.
This is one that really hits home with me. I used to teach 5 new vocabulary words each week. In a 36 week school year that’s just 180 words. And how many words are there in the english language?! What in the world was I thinking?! By using word stems and roots, students learn 5 new word stems and roots a week. Okay, so they they still learn 180 new prefixes and suffixes a year…BUT how many words have the root aqua-, bi-, bio-, circum-? A ton! So in theory, students may learn the meaning of 20+ words a week by unlocking the meaning using prefixes and suffixes, that’s 720+ words a year vs. 180!!
Improved test scores.
Let’s face it, as teachers we constantly feel the pressure to improve student test scores. Our success as a teacher is often defined by the test scores our students get. The pressure was just too much for me to handle, and I knew there had to be a better way. Far too often there are vocabulary words that tend to come out of left field on a test, and you’re thinking, shoot we didn’t learn that word! Have no fear. Using stems and roots allows students to unlock the meaning of those tough words, and make their best guess. While they may only know a piece of the word, they can make an educated guess, rather than just sitting and staring. Example: A student comes across a passage talking about pathology. But with the help of Greek and Latin stems and roots, they know that -ology means “the study of.” The student is able to deduce that the passage is talking about the study of something. While they may still be stumped, kids are a few steps ahead in picking the correct answer, by understanding even just a part of the word. This method has helped me improve reading scores tremendously.
Word stems and roots transfer to other content areas.
It’s all about reading and writing right? Think again!! Word stems and roots cross all subject areas. Math? You bet! Think about, centimeter, centi- means one hundredth, meter means measurement. Voila! Science? You got it! Hemoglobin, hema- means blood. History? Of course! Antebellum, ante- means before, -bell means war. It’s amazing how useful word stems are roots are for ALL content areas!
Improved confidence with reading.
With stems and roots, kids can stretch outside of their comfort zone with novels. We all know that the range of reading levels in a classroom can be tremendous. In my 4th grade classroom I had readers at the 1st grade level all the way to 8th+ grade level. By learning word stems and roots, my readers started reading at a higher level, challenging themselves, because they were confident in their reading abilities. Students knew that they could comprehend a harder text than what they were currently reading because they were confident that they could understand the vocabulary.

Helpful Hint: Are you ready to start improving student vocabulary skills but not sure how to get started? Check out the Word Masters Unit featuring 36 weeks of lessons ready to print and go! Here’s a little sneak peak at what’s included.

Helpful Hint: Want to try out Word Masters, but scared to take the leap? Try one week FREE!

Understanding Story Elements

How do you help students understand story elements? The plot diagram is a go to classic…but HOW are you using it? I’ll give you a few tips to really knock this one out of the park. Hint: It starts out with a read aloud picture book.

Read a short picture book to your class (yes a picture book!)
I like to read my class a short little picture book that is interesting and captivates their attention (you will use this book to later teach the concepts of story elements). Read the book before introducing the lesson. It allows students to really enjoy the book and listen to the story without thinking about the lesson and story and getting lost. This also helps to reinforce that reading ANY book is positive. I find this really helps with my struggling readers, as they often attempt to pick up books far beyond their ability level, and spend more time staring at the pages than they do actually reading. When students feel comfortable, they will read and reading helps them become better readers. If you want to learn more about why I love picture books, See my previous blog post
Hint: Here is a list of a few books that I enjoy teaching with along with a link to aYouTube read aloud.
– “A Case of the Bad Stripes” by David Shannon. Click here for YouTube read aloud link
– “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister. Click here for YouTube read aloud link.
– “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!” by Jon Scieszka. Click here for YouTube read aloud link.
– “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf. Click here for YouTube read aloud link.
Introduce the concepts of story elements
I like to start out by introducing a plot diagram with all of the main story elements labeled and defined. This helps give students a visual understanding of what they are going to learn.
Hint: Click here for a free story elements planner, and click here for a great ELA lapbook for quick student reference, with plot diagram.
Re-Read the picture book
When you re-read the book, be sure to ask students to keep in mind the story elements they just learned. I like to re-read the book again because students are now able to focus on story elements, rather than the suspense of the book, because they know what to expect. By re-reading they really get to focus their skills on listening for the story elements.
Discuss the story elements
Have students participate in a small group or partner discussion regarding story elements that they heard during the re-read of the story. Then have a whole class discussion and sharing time. I like to put a blank plot diagram on the board and write in student answers. When students give answers regarding a part of the story and story element it goes with I ask them to explain their reasoning. This helps guide dialogue in the classroom.
Watch a short film
I also like to reinforce story elements with a short film. It’s another way to get their gears turning, and really helps your students who have a hard time connecting with reading, books, and written language. I find that a video often really helps my struggling readers grasp the concepts, and my students have a BLAST watching a movie in school (all while learning, but shh we’ll keep that our little teacher secret).
Hint: Here are 2 short films that you can find on YouTube that would be great to show your class, and have a good message behind them, “Soar” and “The Present”
Give students book buddy partners and plot diagram a new book
Buddy up students of varying reading levels. I prefer to buddy up my low readers with middle level and my middle level with high level. This allows my students to mentor each other through the process. I encourage students to pick out a second picture book to plot diagram. At this point, students have had 2 chances to diagram out a story, and have improved confidence. They also have a buddy to assist and help fill in the pieces they might be missing. It also allows for a great opportunity for students to lead and guide others who may be struggling.
Start a novel study
Now that students have a good grasp on how to use a plot diagram and really understand story elements, they are ready to give it a try with a book that’s a little longer and more challenging. Always remember to keep the novel within each students reading ability level to decrease frustration level and help foster the love of reading.
Hint: If you’re looking a good way to start novel studies, check out this resource.

Creative Book Projects for the Whole Year, Story Elements Posters & Genre Posters BUNDLE
Story Elements Map (Freebie)
Plot Diagram Anchor Charts, Blank Plot Diagrams, Interactive Notebook Reference Tool – Digital and Print

Make the Most of Indoor Recess

It’s the dreaded call over the loudspeaker…rainy day recess. All sense of being productive, a moment to breathe, and a second to scarf down my lunch, out the window. Or is it?? Here are few tips and tricks to make the most of rainy day / indoor recess to keep kids busy and give you back a few seconds of your precious time.

Put on an educational video.
My personal favorite is Bill Nye the Science Guy. It’s a wonderful show that teaches kids to love science and sparks their interest. It also helps to keep their attention. By the end of the year, I have kids begging for indoor recess to watch Bill Nye. So much so that we started watching Bill Nye during lunch hour in our classroom! I also really like the Schoolhouse Rock series and there’s tons of PBS Kids videos that sneak in some science, too!
**Hint: Bill Nye Episodes are on Netflix if you have an account!
Pull out your math manipulatives.
Why not make indoor recess an educational moment? I love pulling out the base 10 blocks, tangrams, snap cubes, fake money, etc. I find that kids get really excited about free play with the manipulatives. After all, they are unlike any other “toy” they might have at home, and with a little luck, they are even learning and reinforcing math skills! It’s a win-win for all.
Allow kids to access online math games.
I was fortunate enough to have classroom with multiple classroom computers, and my students loved the opportunity to play “games” on the computer. Again, squeezing in so much education during the rainy day recess. How perfect is that?!
**Hint: I have compiled a list of my favorite student friendly sites, check them out here.
Allow silent reading in reading corner.
I find rainy day recess a great excuse to let kids curl up with a good book and read away. I let kids pick any book, picture book, short story, novel, etc. because it helps build their confidence and curiosity with reading.
**Hint: Interested in my favorite picture books to read? Check out this post.
Put on a just move video.
Losing time to run and play, kids often get squirley in the afternoon and have a hard time paying attention. I typically notice more behavior issues in the afternoon after indoor recess. How do I combat that? Before we start work again, I find that kids like to move around. I love putting on a video that kids can move and dance to.
**Hint: Check out “The Learning Station” on youtube for lots of kid friendly song and dance.
**Hint: Check out “Go Noodle – Get Moving” on youtube for more kid friendly song and dance.
Allow students to be creative.
Letting students be creative is the best way to nurture their growing minds. I let kids use colored paper and white computer paper, crayons, markers, etc. I try to limit the use of scissors during craft time, as my room looks like someone threw confetti all over at the end of the day if I let kids use scissors as they please. Seriously, why do they love cutting paper into the tiniest of bits?! If you do allow use of scissors, I try to create a very small “craft station” to limit the mess, and I set a timer 5 minutes before recess is over to ensure everything is cleaned up.
Encourage Independent Learning.
Indoor recess is a great time to let kids take charge of their own learning, however, try not to use indoor recess as a punishment to catch up on late or missing work. So how do I get kids to use their time wisely and independently choose to catch up on late work? I use Mastery Club in my classroom which allows students to learn about 86 different topics of their choosing. Once they have researched and learned about the topic they can demonstrate their mastery. Students love using the extra free time at recess to master their topic and add their name to the hall of fame. Most students are so motived to participate! If a student has late work or missing work, they must finish that before they can “master” a challenge in Mastery Club. I won’t ever stop a child from learning and researching, but the motivation is there to finish their late work to earn mastery of a challenge.
**Hint: Interested in learning more about Mastery Club? Check it out here.

Mastery Club Challenge – For Your Fast Finishers