Hi there! It’s Deb Hanson from Crafting Connections , and I’m going to share a free character traits lesson with you today. This lesson is based on one I did a few years ago for a formal observation. My principal at the time loved the lesson… I hope you will, too! If you do decide that you want to try this activity with your students, be sure to click on the following image . Everything you need for this lesson is FREE! (Well, almost everything… you’ll have to provide your own anchor chart paper and cups!) Part 1: Anchor Chart I almost always start my ELA units with a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the topic . Therefore, the lesson I am describing would occur on Day 2 of our character traits study. Prior to class, I would create the base of my character traits anchor chart. To start the lesson, I would use the anchor chart to review how good readers analyze clues provided by the author in order to infer character traits. Next, I would read four short passa......

Whether you call them literacy centers or literacy stations, big kids at the upper elementary level love center time and get so much out of it! How do literacy centers benefit kids? They add variety to learning and to the routine. They allow teachers to easily differentiate learning. They are a great way to help cover and reinforce all of the standards. They give students a place to practice important social skills, like collaboration, problem-solving, and communication. So how do you set up literacy centers and run them successfully? ...

Your literature book selection is off the charts. You are set for guided reading groups for the next ten years. But then you realize, you lack a good selection of informational text. Your class library doesn't have enough titles to make one guided reading group, and your school book room is inadequate as well. You want to make informational text not only a part of your teaching, but you want to make it engaging for your students as well. Believe it or not, there are some great informational text websites out there that you can start using right away. Here are some great websites (many of which are free) that will help teach informational text to your students. 1. Readworks This is probably our favorite informational text website. It does a great job of finding informational text articles that relate to many different areas in both science and social studies. For example, there are many articles on Westward Expansion, Civil War, Slavery and so many more. The great thing a......

        I love it when I find a teaching tool that has so many benefits! Playing games in the classroom is actually one of my favorite teaching tools because besides being fun, it helps kids in so many ways.                   There are lots of different kinds of games, from digital to whole class, to board games, and each is beneficial in different ways. In this post, I'll share some of the reasons low-tech board games for learning can still be a valuable tool in every classroom. Benefits of Board Games: 1. Increased Engagement         Board games allow teachers to add variety to the types of activities offered in the classroom, and games add  a certain excitement to the classroom!  Best of all, even though the game may be a learning game, to students, board games feel like play. This element of fun may mean that kids have more buy-in for the activity and are more ......

Creating a positive classroom culture is the first thing every classroom teacher should do the first week of school. But it shouldn't stop there. You should continue to work on class culture the entire school year. We are hear to offer some tips, advice, and activities for you to use in your classroom to build on what you started the first month of school. Interest Inventory If you have not yet given an interest inventory to get to know your students you should. We have a simple one that we have created that you can download here for free . It contains thirteen questions that will help you to know your students better. You may be surprised at some of the answers! Use the surveys throughout the year by incorporating students' interests. Your students will be excited to see that you are interested in what they like. Cooperative Challenges Another way to build a positive classroom culture is through cooperative activities. One of our students' favorites is the Ma......

        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 . ......

          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......