Posts in Language Arts
ELA Test Prep: 7 Ways to Seamlessly Integrate for Grades 3-6

Elevate your ELA curriculum with our guide to integrating test prep into daily lessons for grades 3-6. Discover practical strategies that prepare students for standardized tests without compromising on engagement or learning depth. Transform test prep from a chore into an enriching part of your teaching journey.

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5 Ways To Boost Student Engagement And Rigor During The Holidays

Unlock the secret to keeping your classroom learning-focused during the festive season with our top five strategies. Discover how to blend holiday excitement with educational rigor and keep your students thoroughly engaged. Plus download a free resource that will help you master the holiday teaching challenge!

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How to Celebrate Earth Day While Boosting Close Reading Skills

Close reading lessons are more effective when teachers use resources specifically designed for close reading practice. Learn how non-fiction seasonal close reading resources allow students to celebrate school holidays while practicing important reading skills.

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5 Tips For Reaping the Benefits of Upper Elementary Close Reading Activities

Close reading helps students gain skills that will help them grow as complete learners. In this blog post, I’m sharing more about why close reading is so important for our students and practical ways teachers can incorporate close reading into our classrooms.

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How to Use and Organize Task Cards in Your Classroom

Task cards are used by teachers in classrooms across the country. They work for nearly any subject and students feel successful using them. Task cards allow for targeted practice and review and provide students with an immediate sense of accomplishment. It’s no wonder they are popular with teachers and students.

Task cards are incredibly versatile. In fact, they are so versatile that there are probably ways to use task cards you’re not familiar with. Let me share 10 ways to use task cards in your upper elementary classroom.

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What are Task Cards and Why Should You Use Them

Task cards are a go-to resource in classrooms across the country. Teachers love them. Students feel successful completing them. They work for nearly any subject. In short, it’s easy to see why task cards continue to gain popularity.

If you’re not already sold on using task cards in your classroom or if you would like to use them even more effectively, keep reading!

Today I’m going to dive into what task cards are and how they benefit you and your students.

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Step by Step Guide to Using Year Long, Editable Reading Logs

We’ve talked about how students can only become stronger readers by reading. And we’ve talked about how providing students with choice builds enthusiasm for reading as well as reading stamina. And of course, we’ve talked about how traditional reading logs do little to support goals for student reading. See previous blog posts here, here, and here.

If you’ve read the blog posts linked above, you know why I developed a new kind of reading log. And you know what a difference it made with my students. My year-long editable reading logs are available in my TPT store. I have them available for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

I wanted to walk you through how to use these reading logs. Click below to watch the video. I’ll also take you through the steps below.

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5 Reasons Traditional Reading Logs Don’t Work

How do you assign reading homework?

For years, student reading homework has looked like this.

  • Student sits with a book and a timer.

  • Student reads only until the timer goes off.

  • Student fills out reading log and gets parent signature.

Students don’t like traditional reading logs. Neither do parents. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, teachers don’t like them either.

For years I assigned nightly reading as homework for my students. I knew getting my students to read more was crucial. Research has proven over and over that the more a child reads, the more successful they will be in school and in other areas of life.

Like many teachers, my reading log required students to read "x" number of minutes each night and needed to be signed by an adult before being returned to me at the end of the week.

This traditional reading log system had flaws. Lots of flaws. Students weren't completing the assignment correctly, notes had to go home when logs were returned unsigned, students "fudged" their work over and over again, etc.

It became painfully clear that my well-intended assignment wasn't delivering its intended results.

If you’re still using timers and parent signature lines, I encourage you to ask yourself why.

Is that reading log helping you achieve your objectives - is it building reading stamina and independence?

When I asked myself those same questions, the answer was loud and clear. “No.”

I removed reading timers and parent signatures from my weekly reading log and never looked back.

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Why Current Practices have Killed Students' Love for Reading - and What to Do About It

Current classroom practices are killing students’ love of reading.

Does that sound dramatic?

Probably. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

Look at how we’ve been approaching reading in our classrooms.

  • Only allowing students to read books “at their level.”

  • Requiring students to answer comprehension questions and complete worksheets after every book.

  • Not providing sufficient time for students to read independently.

Have you ever told a student he couldn’t choose a particular book to read because it wasn’t the right level for him and seen the light go out of his eyes? I have.

Have you ever seen a student close a book in the middle of a sentence because the timer went off and she had no interest in reading past the required amount of time? I have.

Have you seen students fudge their reading homework because they weren’t interested in the book they were reading and, in their words, “Just didn’t like to read?” I have.

These are only some of the reasons I decided to take a long, hard look at how I was teaching reading and assigning reading homework in my classroom.

I knew I needed to make changes. My students’ abilities to become motivated, independent readers depended on it.

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How to Build Reading Stamina and Independence

Students become stronger readers by reading. There are no shortcuts and no other paths to get there. Teachers need a way to hold students accountable for getting their reading practice in. The result? Reading logs.

Traditional reading logs have a bad reputation. Students don’t like them. Parents don’t like them. And teachers are often frustrated when logs are not filled out properly or at all. We can all agree that there needs to be a better way to encourage students to read and keep track of that reading. A way that doesn’t involve students sitting next to a timer, waiting for it to go off.

For reading logs to be successful in your classroom, you need your students to get on board.

Work together in the classroom, building reading stamina and trust before those reading logs ever go home.

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How to Build Students’ Writing and Spelling Independence

Confident, independent writers are the goal, right?

Teaching writing is challenging. So many students come to the classroom as reluctant or struggling writers. Writing intimidates students - there are so many different things they need to get right in order to feel successful. As a teacher, your goal is for your students to gain confidence and competence as writers - and to work toward independence.

So how do you take beginning of the year writers who ask endless questions because they are afraid of being wrong and turn them into independent writers who produce quality work?

It’s all about following a solid process and providing them with tools to help them succeed.

You no doubt have a writing program you follow that focuses on the process of creating various types of writing. Today I’m going to talk to you about some tools that can accompany any writing program. Your students can use these tools to gain independence in writing and spelling.

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How Personal Spelling Dictionaries Help Students AND Teachers

Watch students take a big step toward spelling independence.

Teachers answer questions - all day, every day. It’s what we do. And it’s what we should do. After all, we teach because we want to inspire and encourage students, sharing knowledge and helping them learn important concepts and skills. Questions are a natural and vital part of learning.

However…

There’s one question that every teacher answers at least 20 times a day every day.

No, I don’t mean, “Is it almost time for lunch?” or “Can we have extra recess?”

The question I’m talking about is, “How do you spell…?”

Students who are not confident, independent spellers often turn to the most convenient of dictionaries - you. If you’re ready to retire from your role as a human dictionary (or at least greatly reduce your hours), keep reading. I want to share some resources with you that will help your students take an active role in their own spelling.

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How to Use Spelling Fluency Practice to Improve Accuracy

Learn how to use Spelling Fluency, a trusted Orton Gillingham practice, in your classroom to help students improve spelling accuracy.

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Why Spelling Fluency is the Best Method for Teaching Students to Spell

Learn about the Spelling Fluency method and why it’s the best way to help your students gain automaticity in spelling high frequency words.

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The Best Books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Book Clubs

Are you looking to start Literature Circles or Book Clubs with your upper elementary students, but don’t know which books to use? I have a short list of titles - some new and some classic - to get you started. You’ll find a range of reading levels and genres included including a graphic novel or two, which are perfect for reluctant readers.

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