Plan

Dive In, Engage, English Language Arts, Plan

Biography, biography activity, biography project, biography unit, history project, living history, living history project, living wax museum, wax museum, wax museum project

Host a wax museum in your classroom! First, pinpoint a group of people. Second, set guidelines. Third, ask kids to research and select 10 memorable events. From their timelines, students…

Don’t Take Work Home with You | 4 Tips to Get Your Life Back

February 7, 2021

don't take work home, simplify your teacher life

Organize, Plan, Simplify

Don’t take work home with you. Sound like a fantasy? Not necessarily. Take these simple steps to get your life back. (more…)

Scaffolding Argumentative Writing: One- to Five-Paragraph Essays

January 17, 2021

argumentative writing, opinion writing, persuasive writing, scaffolding writing

Argumentative writing in third, fourth, and fifth grades moves from one to five – or even six – paragraphs. Teaching specific structures and strategies scaffolds with ease. (more…)

Teaching Persuasive Writing – Organize, Elaborate, Improve!

January 3, 2021

fourth grade, opinion writing, persuasive writing, third grade

Teaching persuasive writing to third or fourth graders? Begin with a simple graphic organizer. Then elaborate, improve word choice, add transitions, and vary sentences. Before you know it, kids writing…

Mystery Powders Lab for Kids – CSI in the Classroom

December 13, 2020

CSI for kids, mystery powders, teaching mysteries

Engage, Plan, Science

Try a mystery powders lab in your third, fourth, or fifth grade classroom. Your students will love it! You can use it as an activity in your mystery genre study,…

Power of Observation Activities Improve Kids’ Attention to Detail

November 8, 2020

observation activities, observation games, power of observation

Engage, English Language Arts, Learn, Plan, Science

Observation activities help kids tune in. Try memory games, sensory activities, hidden pictures, and drawing to heighten awareness. Then apply these skills in classroom instruction. (more…)

Teacher Talk: Strategies for Teaching Incidental Vocabulary

October 25, 2020

teacher talk, teaching incidental vocabulary

Dive In, English Language Arts, Learn, Plan

Are you purposely teaching incidental vocabulary? Improve your teacher talk. Simply weave definitions and pictures into daily lessons. From this, kids’ vocabularies grow. Furthermore, they learn how to determine meanings…

4 Ways to Teach Kids to Find Word Meaning in Context

October 20, 2020

determining meaning of unknown words, finding word meaning, teaching kids to find word meaning, teaching vocabulary

When kids find word meaning in a text, comprehension improves. How can you facilitate this? First, use direct instruction to teach kids the strategies they need. Second, ask them to…

Teaching Elements of Poetry for Kids

August 9, 2020

elements of poetry, poetry for kids, teaching poetry