Teaching cause and effect using informational text in the upper grade classroom can be tough. It takes a bit of logical thinking, a touch of common sense, and making a whole lot of inferences...which can be a tall order for kids this age. We can make it easier though, by giving the kids lots of opportunities to practice in a variety of ways. Here's my game plan: 1. Review the Concept of Cause and Effect My kids are 4th and 5th graders, so by the time they get to me, they should (hopefully) have somewhat of a handle on cause and effect...at least the idea of it. It's always good though to start with a review, so I like to have an anchor chart handy (always a great visual reference) and have the kids play a matching game. To do this, I pass out sentence strips with either a cause or an effect on them and have the kids walk around until they find their match. When we're done, we quickly share out our answers. Great way to add some movemen...
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Prepare your students to be ready for test day! This will ease their anxieties and students will be able to take the test without the added stress. These are the TOP TEN TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES that have been effective for TEST PREP for my kiddos over the years. I hope you find a useful strategy to share with your class! There is a printable download at the end if you would like to share these strategies with others. 1. SHOW A POWERPOINT OR HAND OUT THE EXACT DIRECTIONS FROM THE TEST TO REVIEW ALONG WITH IMPORTANT VOCABULARY Take the actual test directions and show them to your students so they get familiar with it. Review words they will find in their test like STOP at the bottom of the page, the word EXCEPT, and also words like NEVER, NOT, ALL, and ALWAYS. Also review important subject-area vocabulary that your students found difficult throughout the year. This will not only help your students with answering questions, but also understanding the question! 2. CIRCLE...
"We are going to have literature circles next week!" Making this announcement would always result in cheers in the 4th and 5th grade classrooms where I served as reading teacher a few years back. They loved literature circles. It was always an exciting 8-10 days when students were allowed to depart from their normal guided reading group in which they sat around a table with a teacher and often the same 5 other classmates. (In my school district, teacher-directed guided reading groups had to be utilized nearly every day between kindergarten and fifth grade.) During literature circle weeks, however, we mixed the kids up, let them sprawl out on the floor, and have their own discussions about the book they were reading. The other teacher and I would rotate between groups and listen in, but would try to stay silent if the group was having an acceptable discussion. Organizing the literature circles took some work. I always tried to choose a theme, and then s...
If any of you follow me on my blog over at The Teacher Studio, you know that math is one of my passions. I love to teach math. Do math. Learn about math. I take it very personally when my students come in NOT liking math--and I take it as my mission to change their minds! One thing that I think is SO important about math is that students need to be explicitly taught some of the "behaviors" needed to be successful mathematicians! Whether this be a willingness to persevere and "give it a try", an ability to organize one's work, the careful "proofreading" of their math, or even knowing when and what tools/resources to use--math "behaviors" can really open the door to success for students who, previously, didn't think they could do it. One thing that I know to be true is that students will rise to the occasion if the expectations are reasonable, clear, and modeled. I love to have my students begin to recognize quality work, eff...
I moved from first grade to 3rd grade several years ago. I have to say - I LOVE this grade level. I still remember my first year - I loved how quickly students became independent. I loved how easy it was to get math stations and guided reading going. I enjoy many things about this grade level. One thing that I don't love so much is the 'Big Tests'. Talk about stress! I am going to share a few things that I do in my classroom to have my students prepare for the big math test. They are little things, but they help to break away from paper and pencil practice. ---> Making Small Group Review Fun I dedicate two 20 minute math rotations three times a week in the afternoon to review for the big test. One item that my school purchased for us is a Test Prep Math Book. It is not the most attractive and 'fun' item that I have, but it's a must. I saw on Pinterest (of course I did) a cute idea about using these circle dry-erase dots. They are the coolest...
Our teachers at my school have invested many hours in learning some of the best practices in teaching reading strategies. In fact, we just attended a workshop this week that helped us validate that the lessons we have been teaching and applying in our classrooms are exactly the type of lessons that we should be using with our students. One of those lessons that my fourth graders had recently was a nonfiction reading strategies lesson on using details to write a summary of the text. What fourth grader does not love reading about animals? That is one reason this lesson began with the book Polar Bears by Gail Gibbons. Another reason was that it was also a great tie-in to the animal studies that the fourth grade had been doing in science. I gave each student 3 sticky notes before I began reading Polar Bears . The students were told to listen for and jot down information that they heard about what polar bears are , what polar bears have , and where they live . I color cod...
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