Figurative language can sometimes be really confusing for students. This is especially true if English is not their first language. My students struggle every year with figurative language. Over the years, I introduced and practiced figurative language with them in many different ways. It's actually one of my FAVORITE things to teach because you can incorporate songs and music, and picture books! ... Read More about Teaching Figurative Language with Picture Books
Halloween Activities that Teach
Halloween can be a crazy day for teachers in the classroom. In all of the excitement of the day, students are bound to be a little extra. Keeping them focused on learning can be a huge challenge. In this post, I will share some activities that I do with my students to make sure that it is not a lost day. I used to just skip over holidays in the classroom since we needed to stay on pace to cover ... Read More about Halloween Activities that Teach
Early Finishers in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Early finishers...I don't recall being taught about them in college but the struggle of what exactly to have them work on is REAL. Teacher Struggles with Early Finishers When I first started teaching, I would just have them read if they finished something early. Seemed easy enough. But some students don't enjoy reading (*gasp* I know) and I didn't want them to hate it more by having to do it ... Read More about Early Finishers in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Student Accountability During Centers
Before teaching 5th grade for 10 years, I taught Preschool (3 year olds). So, using centers to teach and engage learners has always been a part of my lessons. It wasn't until I taught 5th grade, though, that I knew I needed a student accountability piece during centers. During the time that I taught 5th grade, I had students who would play U-Know just like UNO (without answering any of the ... Read More about Student Accountability During Centers
7 Classroom Procedures Games that Students Will Love
I always knew as a teacher that I needed to teach my students the classroom procedures. What I didn't know was that I should teach EVERY procedure. I just thought that there were some things that they should just know. Boy was I wrong! Once I figured that out, I would stand up there and tell them about each one. This is how you do this and this is how you do that...and then here do it this way... ... Read More about 7 Classroom Procedures Games that Students Will Love
