Can you believe it’s already February? For a short month, there sure is a lot to do! This month has so many great things to celebrate: Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, Black History Month, and much more! Here are some fun February activities your students are going to love.
As the new year begins, it’s a great time to kick off with some fresh ideas in your upper elementary classroom. January marks the perfect opportunity to energize your students’ learning and get them thinking differently while exploring exciting topics! This blog post provides eight engaging winter activities for grades 3-5. Each resource is designed to help your students build collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Keep reading to discover activity ideas, tips for success, and printable resources that will prepare you each step of the way.
The autumn chill is in the air, and Thanksgiving is around the corner! Planning activities to keep your upper elementary students engaged and motivated during November is important. From reading comprehension and Thanksgiving writing activities to hands-on math – let’s dive into what types of engaging challenges are out there that will keep student minds thriving! Here are some fun, creative ideas that can be implemented in any upper elementary classroom this month!
Discover the secret to boosting student engagement with seasonal and holiday-themed activities! Join me as I share my top fall reading activities for upper elementary classrooms. Witness the power of this simple approach in enhancing student learning!
It’s time for October classroom activities to make their debut as you start to gear up for the holidays! It’s such a fun month full of seasonal activities and sugar-filled days! Students love Halloween-themed topics, and there are so many ways to keep students intrigued and focused while continuing to build on skills and knowledge. This time of year is also when students get that ‘holiday brain.’ Instead of fighting against the ‘holiday brain,’ you can use it to your advantage. Here are 7 great October activities for upper elementary.
The morning is one of the most hectic times of the day in the classroom. There’s attendance to take, lunch choices to make, bags to unpack and homework to stack. There are people moving in different directions and greetings and questions that occupy your time. If you’re teaching virtually, there are daily check-ins to complete, the daily agenda to share, and assignments to submit. So why not create a morning routine that allows the classroom (or virtual classroom) to run itself during this busy time. Morning meeting slides are a classroom management #teacherhack that can help you start your day the right way.
With the sudden increase of digital activities and assignments, student feedback and grading of work can lose the personal element. Students turn in an assignment digitally, teacher checks, records grade . . . next. It’s all pretty mechanical. But just because the work has gone digital doesn’t mean that we have to lose all the personal and sometimes fun feedback and encouragement students receive from the teacher. Enter Digital Stickers! I’m so excited to teach you how to use digital stickers so you can add a personal touch to your digital grading. Keep reading, because I have some free digital stickers for you to try at the end!
If you have been a teacher for longer than 1 day then you already know the importance of having good communication with parents. Add to that distance learning and the stress of a pandemic and the need for solid parent-teacher communication is vital. Here are some ideas for stellar parent communication during distance learning (but you can really use them any time)!
Looking for a new way to engage your upper elementary students? Today I am super excited to share with you why using Boom cards in upper elementary classrooms is a perfect way to get your students engaged in practicing core academic skills and concepts.
The end of the school year is quickly approaching and it is definitely one for the record books. I can’t recall anything like it – ever! The COVID pandemic has redefined the current state of education. Unlike pandemics of the past, our current state of technology has allowed “school” to continue. So why not let the End of the Year celebrations continue too! These digital end of the year activities will have your class remembering and celebrating their great year!
How would you like your students to have skills-based practice in a self-correcting format? What about an engaging activity like an app without ads? Maybe you’d prefer a practice or review activity without the need for making copies? If you answered yes to any of these, then I have the answer for you: digital task cards! In fact, digital task cards are all of these rolled into one!
The end of the school year is an exciting time! I know what you’re thinking – “Yes, Summer is coming!” But summer aside it is still an exciting time. It’s a time to celebrate the learning, the friendships, the hard work. But it’s also a busy time for teachers with so much to do. I’m here to help with both of these things! I’ve gathered some amazing End of the Year Activities for the Classroom!
Third grade is a pivotal year when it comes to reading instruction. It is the year that we focus less on “how to read” and we begin focusing more on “reading to learn.” Along with this change comes a push for students to be thinking at a higher level while reading. Teaching with paired reading passages is a great way to do this. With paired reading passages, students have the opportunity to work on thinking skills that they generally don’t get with a single passage. Paired passages are great opportunities for comparing author’s purpose, drawing conclusions, comparing & contrasting, and inferencing.
Learning to read is a process, a long process. I have found that there are two primary phases. From kindergarten through 2nd grade, students are ‘learning to read.’ From about 3rd grade forward, students move into a phase that I refer to as ‘reading to learn.’ Learning to think critically while reading is a goal of this second phase of reading instruction. Using paired passages is a great way to teach these important thinking skills.
December is here and that brings so many thoughts and feelings. On one hand, I’m amazed that it is already December. On the other hand, December is a month unlike any other (except maybe the last month of school). The students are filled with energy and excitement about the approaching holidays and school break. I am focused on finishing the month strong while also trying to balance all that December brings (gift buying, decorating, parties, and so much more). These December activities for the classroom are a great way to focus the students and keep them learning while making life a little easier for the teacher too!
I’m Kim, the founder of A Love of Teaching. My ultimate goal is to empower teachers to reclaim their afternoons and weekends, all while feeling confident in their role as educators. I’m passionate about inspiring teachers with fresh ideas and providing them with time-saving materials.
I’m happy you’re here!
