Engaging ELA Resources and Ideas to Help You Cultivate Critical Readers
Vocabulary instruction is crucial to helping our students increase their reading comprehension and become better writers. That’s why I think it’s so important to make time for vocabulary instruction every day. Here’s an easy to follow weekly schedule of ideas to help you fit quick, simple, and meaningful vocabulary instruction and practice into each day.
Context clues has always been something that I've needed to spiral throughout the entire year with my third graders, so finding fun and engaging activities has been a huge priority. I figure a lot of you are in the same boat so I've decided to share some of my best go-to context clues activities with you.
How to teach your students to identify the plot’s main events, sequence main events in the story, and understand how events influence future events and help develop the plot. These tips will ensure a deeper level of understanding of plot structure. Great read for second grade, third grade, and fourth grade reading teachers!
These 6 tips will help you use interactive notebooks effectively in your classroom. Perfect for second grade, third grade, and fourth grade teachers!
You and your crew have worked to the bone preparing for the BIG TEST. You may be a little crankier and your hair is a little grayer, but it’s worth it because your students are a lot more prepared. They are ready for this test. Now, it’s time to give them that little bit of extra motivation to do their best.
Our students feel the pressure. There are many things I love about teaching but watching eight and nine-year olds trying to cope with test anxiety is definitely not one of them. Read alouds go a long way with helping students calm their fears.
Academic vocabulary is huge. A student who understands the development of the plot in a passage can still miss a plot question on test day if he/she isn’t familiar with tier II and III vocabulary such as contribute, develop, conflict, or rising action. We need to make sure we are repeatedly exposing our students to academic vocabulary and teaching them use it in context during discussions.
There’s no rule that says test prep has to be boring. Spice it up a little. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
March Madness isn’t just a term for basketball; its what teachers go through every year during testing season. Don’t get discouraged. You don’t have to be super woman, but you also don’t have to feel like the world is crashing down on you. Know that you are not alone. We'll discuss strategies to keep you and your kids sane and entertained throughout the testing season in this 5 part series.
Why you should stop saying that author's purpose is as easy as PIE and what to do instead.