Teaching Ideas

You can enjoy teaching. But first, you must survive. How? Just organize, plan, and simplify. Then it's time to thrive. Learn new things. Engage your students. And finally - dive in!

Wax Museum Project Ideas for Upper Elementary Kids

February 14, 2021

Brenda Kovich

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

No Comments

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

Brenda Kovich

Organize, Plan, Simplify

don't take work home, simplify your teacher life

No Comments

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

How to Get to Work on Time | 5 Tips for Being Punctual

January 31, 2021

Brenda Kovich

Organize, Simplify

get to work on time, punctual, punctuality, tardiness, tardy

No Comments

Can you get to work on time? Or are you perpetually tardy? Read these five tips to improve punctuality. Then pick one or two. It’s guaranteed to reduce your daily…

How to Organize Teaching Stuff in Your Google Drive

January 24, 2021

Brenda Kovich

Digital Classroom, Organize, Simplify

color-coded Google Drive, Google Drive, Google Drive folders, organize Google Drive, organize your Google Drive

No Comments

Organize your Google Drive! First, select a set of letters to represent each of the broad areas you teach. Second, create a folder for each unit of study or standard…

Scaffolding Argumentative Writing: One- to Five-Paragraph Essays

January 17, 2021

Brenda Kovich

Engage, English Language Arts, Plan

argumentative writing, opinion writing, persuasive writing, scaffolding writing

No Comments

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 the Five-Paragraph Essay with an Example

January 10, 2021

Brenda Kovich

Engage, English Language Arts, Learn

five-paragraph essay, fourth grade

No Comments

The five-paragraph essay provides a strong, well-structured text. What’s more? It’s easy to compose. All you need is a good organizer and an example. (more…)

Teaching Persuasive Writing – Organize, Elaborate, Improve!

January 3, 2021

Brenda Kovich

Engage, English Language Arts, Plan

fourth grade, opinion writing, persuasive writing, third grade

No Comments

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…

Writing Constructed Response with Text Evidence – Hamburger Style!

December 28, 2020

Brenda Kovich

Engage, English Language Arts, Learn

fifth grade, finding main idea, fourth grade, informational text, summarizing, summarizing nonfiction, summarizing nonfiction text, third grade

No Comments

Constructed response is easy to teach with this hamburger craft. First, kids find text evidence. Second, they write it as detail sentences. Then they answer the question and write a…

Mystery Elements | Genre Study Vocabulary for Kids

December 14, 2020

Brenda Kovich

Engage, English Language Arts

elements of mystery, mystery elements, mystery genre stufy

No Comments

As with other genres, mystery elements include characters, setting, and plot. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary kids need to know. (more…)

Mystery Powders Lab for Kids – CSI in the Classroom

December 13, 2020

Brenda Kovich

Engage, Plan, Science

CSI for kids, mystery powders, teaching mysteries

No Comments

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

Logic Puzzles for Kids – Teaching Deductive Reasoning

December 6, 2020

Brenda Kovich

Engage, Math

deductive reasoning, logic puzzles, mystery activities

No Comments

Logic puzzles for kids build deductive reasoning – and they’re fun! First, teach them how to eliminate possibilities. That way, they can uncover solutions. Then teach them to create their…

Fingerprinting Activities for Kids – Detective Work & Art Projects

November 29, 2020

Brenda Kovich

Engage, English Language Arts, Science

fingerprinting, fingerprinting activities, fingerprints for kids, fun fingerprint projects

No Comments

Fingerprinting activities bring fun to the classroom! Kids love studying dactyloscopy, or the science of identifying fingerprints. Recording their own prints, analyzing others, and even some creative art projects will…

Teaching Ideas

Wax Museum Project Ideas for Upper Elementary Kids

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

How to Get to Work on Time | 5 Tips for Being Punctual

How to Organize Teaching Stuff in Your Google Drive

Scaffolding Argumentative Writing: One- to Five-Paragraph Essays

Teaching the Five-Paragraph Essay with an Example

Teaching Persuasive Writing – Organize, Elaborate, Improve!

Writing Constructed Response with Text Evidence – Hamburger Style!

Mystery Elements | Genre Study Vocabulary for Kids

Mystery Powders Lab for Kids – CSI in the Classroom

Logic Puzzles for Kids – Teaching Deductive Reasoning

Fingerprinting Activities for Kids – Detective Work & Art Projects

Visit my TpT store for 25% off on August 3rd & 4th!

Brenda Kovich

Sign-Up for Updates

Site Links