Set your ELA block up for success with this 5-day close reading plan for upper elementary. Close reading is a powerful tool for boosting students’ reading skills and critical thinking.  A structured approach is key to getting the most out of your close reading sessions.  Here’s a simple 5-day close

Ideas for using collaborative close reads in upper elementary to improve reading comprehension and fluency. As students move into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, their need for collaboration and sharing with each other tends to grow. Using collaborative close reads in upper elementary can be a fantastic way to

9 Thanksgiving Day Parade activities that engage students while still working on classroom skills. We’ve talked a lot about Thanksgiving on this blog over the years, but we’ve never talked about the Thanksgiving Parade or ideas you can use to discuss/celebrate it with students. Today, we’re going to provide a

Make math more meaningful for students with these real-world applications for adding and subtracting whole numbers. When are we ever going to use this? As teachers, we’ve all heard this sentiment from students many times over, and despite all of our best efforts, our students often just end up leaving

A staple of the upper elementary curriculum is teaching and learning the United States of America’s states and capitals. By the time they leave elementary school, students are expected to be able to identify the states on a map and name their capital cities. Although this is a general recall

In upper elementary, we cover a variety of ELA skills, AND we like to celebrate holidays. Today, let’s talk about tips for incorporating Halloween into your ELA lessons!

40 Halloween-Themed Figurative Language Examples Halloween Onomatopoeia Examples Halloween Simile Examples Halloween Personification Examples Halloween Alliteration Examples Halloween Idiom Examples Halloween Hyperbole Examples Halloween Metaphor Examples Additional Halloween Resources If you are looking for even more Halloween activities to use with your upper elementary students, check out some of these!

Let’s go through the 5 types of resources all new upper elementary teachers should have as they head into their first school year. Being a first-year teacher is really hard as there are so many things you have to think about. You have to figure out how you’re going to

Start using Close Reads with Mystery Pictures to improve reading comprehension in upper elementary. Working on reading comprehension with students is an ongoing battle. As students age and the emphasis turns from being able to read to understand what they read, teachers must find creative ways to keep reading comprehension

What do subs really want to see in their sub-plans? Today, we are digging into the mind of an elementary sub to get some suggestions on how we can create the BEST sub-plan. One of the greatest complaints I hear from new and veteran teachers is about having to create