Hi, this is Kelly from Teaching Fourth. Back-to-school has always been such an exciting time to me. Even as a child, I loved going back to school. It always meant new shoes, new clothes, and new school supplies! Even after teaching 25 years, the beginning of school is still exciting to me. It still means a new pair of shoes, a new outfit, and new school supplies, but most importantly, it means a new group of kiddos who are going to become very special to my heart.  To celebrate this exciting time of year, Upper Elementary Snapshots has some fabulous back-to-school ideas, some fantastic freebies, and an amazing giveaway planned just for you! Each one of our bloggers has a wonderful back-to-school tip and a fantastic freebie just for you! Simply visit each of our blogs below to find some great ideas and freebies for your classroom.  Once you have visited each blog and claimed all of your freebies, come back here to enter in an amazing giveaway! You will have a chance...
What do you do when you run out of wall space for your anchor charts?  How do you display your anchor charts? Do you make new anchor charts every year? Hello, friends! I am Deb Hanson from Crafting Connections , and you may or may not already know that I am addicted to using anchor charts in the classroom! I frequently blog about the ones I create, and I'm constantly pinning great anchor chart ideas I find on Pinterest ! Because of this, a few questions about anchor charts are sent my way throughout the school year. I must admit, a few years ago, I hadn't figured out any great solutions to these common anchor chart problems. However, thanks to Pinterest, I have found some answers that I'm going to share with you today! Question 1: How do you display your anchor charts? Before I found the creative solution shown above, I hung my anchor chart tablet on some hooks that were previously attached to my white board... or I used about 10 heavy-duty c...
Teaching writing is hard.  REALLY hard. As many of us are starting to get ready to go back to school, we have lots of "structures" and procedures to think about.  Some of us use published writing programs, others have district curriculum documents to follow, and still others are out there on our own!  There are so many components to teaching writing--from dealing with students who have fine motor issues to difficulties coming up with ideas to challenges getting ideas on paper to spelling to organization to...I'll stop.  You teach.  You get it.  For many years, we have worked to develop writers who can plan, draft, revise, share with peers, respond to feedback, and create final products.  Unfortunately, when it comes time to evaluate where each and every writer is, I struggle to give good information to students and parents when the writing has been "touched" and coached by so many hands. By far one of the biggest “difference makers” for me as a “teache...
Before the start of each school year, I spend a lot of time reevaluating the routines and procedures that I use in my classroom. Establishing routines and procedures early on, sets the stage for a well-managed classroom and helps ensure "smooth sailing" for rest of the school year!! Below is a list that I refer to each year when establishing routines and procedures for my classroom.... {Click here to download!} Like anything else we teach our students, these routines and procedures need to be taught , modeled , practiced , and reinforced !! The following are the routines and procedures that I focus on the most, and the ones which I believe help foster a high-functioning learning environment.... Entering the Classroom "Ready to Learn" One of the first procedures that I teach my students is how to enter the classroom, and what to do once they come in. I strongly emphasize that they need to enter the classroom "ready to learn". We spend a l...
Hi Everyone!! I hope you all had a very safe and relaxing 4th of July! I can't believe this is my first official post as the newest member of the Upper Elementary Snapshots Collaborative Blog! I will be heading out to Vegas for the TpT Conference this Tuesday and I hope to get a chance to meet as many of you as I possibly can!! I've been so busy planning for my session, From Sketch to Digital Masterpiece , that I will be so happy to get a chance to just enjoy spending time with everyone in person! I wanted to keep my first post short and simple, so I decided to offer you all a free set of photos I recently took. I have been taking a lot of pictures and I've been a little obsessed with hummingbirds lately. They are so stinkin' cute.  I have about five hummingbirds that frequently visit my backyard and they have become accustomed to me taking their photos! There are two in particular, that really seem to like getting their photos taken. One is a beautiful Cos...