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fourth grade science, life science, science

Teaching leaves and photosynthesis in fourth and fifth grades can be tricky. Just take it slow and easy. First, teach the basics of cells and chemical reactions. Then move on…

Roots and Stems – Ideas That Will Make Your Teaching Shine

September 4, 2022

biology, fourth grade science, life science

Teaching roots and stems? To convey their structures and functions, try these ideas. First, try a quick experiment that compares plants with three types of roots – taproots, fibrous, and…

Fantastic Ideas for Teaching Flowers – Pollination, Dissection & More!

August 28, 2022

biology, fourth grade science, life science, science

Add some pizzazz to your plants unit by teaching the structure and function of flowers. Need some ideas? First, introduce kids to pollination and pollinators. Second, engage them in a…

Amazing Ideas for Teaching About Seeds – Parts, Germination & Dispersal

August 21, 2022

biology, fourth grade science, life science, science

When teaching seeds, focus on their parts, germination, and dispersal. To do this, kids can grow their own seedlings and participate in a cool STEM challenge. (more…)

How to Find Main Idea and Supporting Details

August 14, 2022

finding main idea, informational text

How can you find main idea and supporting details in informational text? First, locate the thesis statement in the introduction and/or conclusion. Second, determine the topic sentence in each of…

Finding Main Idea of a Paragraph – Hamburger Style!

August 10, 2022

finding main idea, hamburger analogy

Finding main idea of a nonfiction paragraph is easy with the hamburger analogy. First, teach kids to find the topic sentence and supporting detail sentences. Second, explain that paragraphs may…

Teaching Elements of Drama & Plays for Fourth Grade

August 7, 2022

drama, literature

Elements of drama include cast of characters, dialogue, and stage directions. Each play may also be broken into scenes and acts. When teaching, provide lots of examples – and let…

Teaching Elements of Prose in Fourth Grade

August 3, 2022

fourth grade, literature

Prose is ordinary language. Through it, we express complete thoughts in sentences. Then we group sentences into paragraphs. In longer works, we group paragraphs into chapters of a novel. Read…

Teaching Forms of Poetry with Examples from Famous Poets

July 31, 2022

literature, poetry