When it comes to complex sentences, things quickly become... well... complex . At the mere mention of independent clauses, dependent clauses, and subordinating conjunctions, many young eyes immediately glaze over. One year, when I was about to introduce the topic of complex sentences to my fifth graders, I decided on a whim to use an image of a nurse helping a patient walk. I was amazed  by how much this simple image helped my students. I told them that the nurse in the picture was like the independent clause. Just as the nurse can stand alone, so also can an independent clause "stand alone" as a complete sentence. Then I told my students that the patient with the crutch leaning against the nurse was like the dependent clause. The patient could clearly not stand on his own, just as a dependent clause cannot stand alone, either. A dependent clause depends on the independent clause to help it be part of a complete sentence. This idea resonated so well with my students that ......

        One strategy which all good readers have in common is the ability to use context clues effectively. When students encounter words they haven't seen before or words which they don't fully understand, context clues can help them problem-solve to determine what a word might mean in that particular context. By directly teaching your students these five main context clues, they will have some of the tools they need to greatly increase their reading comprehension.   Here's my anchor chart for Context Clues Types. I think anchor charts are great to help document learning and for kids to be able to reference concepts when needed. The five types of context clues I like to teach can be remembered  by the mnemonic  LEADS. These include Logic, Examples, Antonyms, Definition, and Synonyms. I also introduce Word Parts (base words, prefixes, and suffixes) later on in the year, after we have had plenty of practice with Latin and Greek Roots . ......

        Teachers know that having a rich vocabulary is an asset to students as readers and as writers. We know that students who are avid readers, tend to have more advanced vocabularies than those who don't and that vocabulary acquisition is a wonderful side effect of reading quality books.          One of our jobs as teachers is to not only encourage our students to love reading but to provide instruction and activities which promote vocabulary development.          Since students need repeated exposure (experts say 8 - 12 times!) for words to be able to be understood and used successfully, students need lots and lots of practice interacting with words. Variety is key, as the more fresh and the more fun we can make it, the greater the engagement.         Here are 23 vocabulary activities you can use with your students to help reinforce vocabulary. Most activities may be played as a who......

                         Finding the main idea is one of the most challenging reading strategies to teach. On the surface, it doesn't seem that hard... I mean, we're just asking students to find what the passage is mostly about.          But when faced with the task, kids not only have to comprehend the passage, but they have to figure out which information is the most important, without getting sidetracked in the details.         Main idea is one of those concepts which needs to be revisited over and over. Even though upper grade students have been introduced to the main idea, they still need so much practice, especially as the text complexity is increased.           I've found that for the main idea (as with any difficult concept really) it's always good to use a variety of tools and activities in order to reach as many kids i......

          If you're new to teaching paired text, or if you just want a few new ideas to add to your paired reading lessons, this post is for you! I'll explain how I use paired text in my upper elementary classroom step by step, to make it a really successful reading tool. 1. Get Students Ready for Paired Texts         Before I ask my students to jump right into a paired text, I make sure they have the tools they need to be successful. One of the things I like to do is to focus on the skill of compare and contrast ( click here for more ideas on compare and contrast on this blog ). Reading similar mentor texts (picture books) is an easy and quick way to review. We might read two versions of Little Red Riding Hood or read two biographies - one on Jane Goodall and the other on Dian Fossey, to help us note the similarities and the differences between the characters, and the stories. As we read these mentor texts and compare them, I make......