Best Back to School Picture Books

July 28, 2019, 12:52 pm

≫ Next: Weekly Letter Writing to Build Community

≪ Previous: My First Week of School Plans

I absolutely love sharing great book recommendations over on my Instagram account, and one of the biggest requests I get is for picture books for back to school, especially for upper grades students! While I tend to defer to the Ramona Recommends or Katie King from Queen of the First for amazing book recommendations, I've amassed quite a collection of first month of school read aloud books that upper elementary students love. These back to school books have a ton of different themes, from friendship and kindness to developing a growth mindset to accepting others and inclusion.

Kids are never, ever too old to appreciate a good picture book, and amongst all of my other first week of school plans, I always find time to incorporate picture books that are full of meaning, theme, and heart. Here is my collection of first day, week, or month of school read aloud books for bigger kids. You can click the image of any of these back to school books to be taken to an affiliate link to purchase the book, or even better, add it to your wishlist and share it with your principal or parents! Have fun choosing which ones you are going to incorporate! You can't go wrong with any of these.

...and if you still need more amazing back to school, here are a few more that I love!

What if Everybody Did that?
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun
Iggy Peck, Architect
The Bear and the Fern
The Dot
How I spent my Summer Vacation
The Juice Box Bully
The Jelly Donut Difference
Chocolate Milk, Por Favor

I'd love to hear your favorite back to school books! Please share them with me in the comments, and happy reading!

Are you looking for more first week of school or back to school lesson plans? Hop on over here to read more!

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Weekly Letter Writing to Build Community

August 5, 2019, 11:12 am

≫ Next: Using Pictures to Teach Reading Skills Part 2

≪ Previous: Best Back to School Picture Books

Years ago, I shared this idea as a free resource on TpT, but I've never gotten around to explaining my weekly letter writing procedures over here on my blog! It's definitely time.

When I was student teaching, I had trulythe best cooperating teacher I could have asked for. She was a phenomenal teacher (she's now a principal), a master at building community in her classroom, and one of the kindest people I've ever met. I got so many wonderful ideas from her that year, and many of those ideas have become teaching traditions that still live on my classroom.

One of my favorite activities that I have implemented because of her is Weekly Letter Writing. The premise is simple: I write a letter to my students every week, and they write back. It's the only homework I give (click here to read more about my homework policy), but it's also one of the most important things I do in my classroom to build community. I've implemented this every year I've been in the classroom, and many of my colleagues have started doing it, too.

Why write letters each week?

First and foremost, the purpose behind writing letters is to build relationships and connect with my students. Every single week, I get to read a personalized note from my students, and they get to read one from me. I get to know them better, and they get to know me better, too.

Second, it's an amazing way to have students practicing writing skills in a super fun and interesting way. I have watched kids blossom from two sentence letters at the beginning of the year to full-page letters by the end of the year. While they may not always be SUPER excited about the prospect of this (or any homework) at the beginning of the year, they always grow to love it.

Third, it's an important opportunity to allow students to reflect on what is going on in our world and in our classroom. Since I write the letters each week (more about that below), I'm able to incorporate current events in the world as well as address certain things going on in our classroom.

What do I write letters about?

So many different things!

I start every letter with one or two sentences about something fun going on in my life (I usually write them on Sunday evenings or Monday morning, so I do a quick recap of my weekend.) Then I decide on my "topic" for the week. When I worked in an International Baccalaureate (IB) School, I would focus on one IB attitude each week or on our central idea. If you're working on a certain social studies topic, incorporate that into your letter. If you're reading a book, think about how they can reflect on that book in their letter. Consider local, national, or worldwide events and discuss them. Look at seasonal topics. The possibilities for what to write about are truly endless.

I usually model a response to my prompt within the letter I write. If I'm asking them to think about empathy, I'll write about a time I showed empathy (or didn't show empathy...). I always include a prompt in my letter (and bold it so that it's clear what they need to write back about) that they should respond to, but students often add more details and tidbits about their lives.

I have to write to them every week? Doesn't that take a lot of work?

First, the letters are pretty short. If I'm writing a new one, it usually only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to draft.

Second, I save my letters and do use similar prompts year after year. One grade level team I worked with that decided to implement this grade-wide came up with "templates" that we all used every year (based on our current topics) and then we just added in our own little notes, current events, etc. each week. This made sending them home every week a BREEZE!

Do I grade and respond to every letter?

Grade? No. Respond? Briefly.

I am not exaggerating when I say this is the one piece of work that I look forward to reading more than any other. Kids tend to really get into this-- typing them out, adding borders, clip art, folding them into fun shapes, putting them into envelopes. They take great pride in their letters, so I really enjoy reading them.

I choose maybe one a month to use the rubric (included in the free resource below) on, but I don't necessarily count it as a grade since it's homework, and I don't know what level of help they received on it.

I write short responses to letters. Sometimes it's as simple as responding with a "WOW!!" in the margins where they've written something interesting, or a quick "Me too!" comment. Sometimes, I write one or two sentences back (on the letter they wrote me). My kids are always eager to read my responses when they get them back the following week.

How do I get started?

I usually start this during the very first week of school. Some years, I have introduced it on the first day of school. It depends what grade level you teach and how much pre-teaching of letter format you're going to have to do. But you definitely want to start this as soon as possible.

I have created a letter writing starter kit so that you can easily get going with letters in your classroom! It includes an information sheet for students, letter topic ideas and examples, and a short rubric for grading them, if you so choose.

You can download the starter kit for free by clicking the image below.

Years ago, I wrote about this idea as a guest blogger on Laura Candler's blog. Clear HERE to read the original blog post that includes a few different ideas!

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Using Pictures to Teach Reading Skills Part 2

August 7, 2019, 2:20 pm

≫ Next: Teaching Oral Reading Fluency

≪ Previous: Weekly Letter Writing to Build Community

Using Pictures to Teach Reading Skills isn't a new idea over at Teaching With a Mountain View, but it sure has evolved over the years! Before you read this post, I highly recommend reading my original post about using pictures to teach reading skills. You can find that post HERE. If you want to dig really deep into the archives, I have posts as far back as 2012 that introduce the idea of using Pictures to Teach literal vs. inferential ideas and more! This post is a follow-up to those posts with a few updates and additions.

This all started many years ago when I taught third grade. My students had a huge difference in ability levels. Some were fluently reading but not comprehending at all. Some weren't fluently reading. Some were still learning basic phonics and phonemic awareness skills. Others were fluent as could be and understood every word they read. It truly ran the gamut.

Because of that, I knew I needed a way to make reading skills accessible and engaging to all of my students, no matter what level. During my first year teaching, my husband was out hiking with a buddy and his other friend snapped a picture of the two of them debating which way to go. One was holding a map, the other a GPS, and they both looked LOST. I took one look at that picture and said, "I need that! I'm bringing it to school to show my kids tomorrow." I printed it out, and the next day, we created this anchor chart:

This inference anchor chart originally appeared on my blog HERE.

I introduced it by saying, "What can you tell me based on this picture?" The answers started very simply but quickly evolved. This is how that first conversation went...

Student: "Oh! He is wearing a red hat!"

Me: Yes... Go on...

Student: "Yeah! The other guy is holding a map."

Me: ....

Student: "THEY MUST BE LOST."

Me: BOOM! Yes!

Student: "OH! And since they're both wearing hats, it must be cold outside..."

And on and on and on, I heard my students using their literal observations to bust out some solid inferences. It was one of those teaching moments that you never want to end because you can literally see the lightbulbs going off one by one. Ding. Ding. Ding.

After that lesson, I made inference task cards that used pictures, then moved on to text. They quickly became a student favorite in my literacy centers. When I say they became a favorite, I mean they became a favorite of every single student. The ones who could read, the ones who couldn't, and those in between.

From that point forward, I incorporated pictures wherever I could. I pulled this picture from my honeymoon ATV trip when we were learning about figurative language, and boy did they come up with some creative sentences about it!

This figurative language anchor chart originally appeared on my blog HERE.

As the years went on, I continued to find different ways to incorporate pictures into my reading instruction. My students would cheer when they saw a blank piece of chart paper with nothing but a picture in the middle of it. "Oh, what are we going to do with THAT picture!?" they'd eagerly ask.

When I was moved to teaching fourth grade, I wanted a way to take what we were doing as a whole class and move it into my small groups and literacy rotations. I also wanted to make the transition from pictures to text more seamless, and that's when I started creating Using Pictures to Teach printable resources.

As my teaching continued to evolve, I moved toward reviewing multiple reading skills with one picture. The beauty of this technique is that they are making inferences for every single task we complete, but reviewing other key reading skills at the same time.

My students loved these just as much! They took a little bit more time to complete since we were reviewing multiple skills, but that made it perfect to work through over the course of a few days. Sometimes, I would put one of these in a reading center and have each group complete one section and then discuss it as a whole class when we were done.

Every time I post one of the anchor charts like the one above, I get questions about where I find my pictures, how I come up with which skills to work on, etc. That's why I created a new set of open-ended Using Pictures to Teach Printables that look just like the anchor chart above. They are ready to go! You can project them and complete them whole class, you can assign the digital version in Google Classroom, you can print them and have students complete them individually or with each other. The options are endless, but there are ten and they are all ready-to-use!

Learn more about this resource HERE!

I am not exaggerating when I say that using pictures to teach reading skills is one of the best things I have implemented in my classroom. It not only changed the way I teach, but it changed the way my students thought about life, reading, and reading skills.

I'd love to see your anchor charts that you create with your students! Don't forget to tag me in them @teachingwithamountainview on Instagram.

Happy Teaching!

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Teaching Oral Reading Fluency

August 23, 2019, 9:29 am

≫ Next: Main Idea Vs. Theme with Song Lyrics

≪ Previous: Using Pictures to Teach Reading Skills Part 2

One of the top questions I get is always about how I run my math and reading rotations. As I prepare to share those formats with you, I'll be sharing some of the components of them individually as well. Today's topic is oral reading fluency, which is one of the very first "reading skills" I teach at the beginning of the year!

First, a little bit of background about why I insist on including oral reading fluency instruction in ALL of my elementary classrooms. Oral reading fluency is always one of my reading rotations because I so strongly believe in the importance of building fluent readers who have developed the ability to read accurately, at a natural pace, and with excellent prosody/expression.

Research shows that reading fluency is a direct indicator of comprehension success. In other words, when students can read fluently, they are significantly more likely to understand what they are reading. Multi-tasking is tough for even the most skilled readers. Building reading fluency and freeing students from the task of decoding allows them to build automaticity. This automaticity (fluency) allows readers to focus on the actual act of reading and enables them to put their energy and focus into understanding and synthesizing the text. We have to place a focus on building fluent readers if we want to build efficient readers who comprehend what they are reading.

Fluency, then, simply has to be front and center in our reading instruction. Not just in 2nd grade, not just in 3rd grade, but in 4th and 5th grade, too. The words and complexity of texts they are expected to read fluently in 2nd grade are wildly different than those in 4th and 5th grade. We can't stop practicing! It's our obligation to solidify these essential reading skills to set our students up for success.

But before you have students working on developing fluency, they need to know what it is, how they can improve it, and of course, what it sounds like. I truly believe that some direct instruction on reading fluency is key to student growth.

Each year, I start out with a few mini lesson on reading fluency. You could do these fluency lessons all in one day, but I find it more effective to really focus on one element of fluency each day for a week and then combine it all. These mini lessons only need to take 10 minutes with five minutes or so of practice. I use my Fluency Task Cards in all of the lessons. Since we use them so frequently in centers, it's a good way to get them started. At the end of this post, you can get a free set of fluency task cards specifically designed to use with each of these lessons. Everything you need to implement these five days of fluency lessons is completely FREE.

Fluency Anchor Chart

Here is the anchor chart that we build as we learn about each element of a fluent reader. Remember to create this fluency anchor chart WITH you students. It does little good if you make it and then just hang it up one day. However, if you create it WITH them, they will know exactly what it says and know when to reference it.

If you'd like to make your anchor chart look like mine, you can download the printable elements for free HERE, but again, please make sure you make it an interactive experience with your students... especially the handwritten part!

Here is an overview of the lessons I teach each day as I introduce reading fluency.

Day 1: Accuracy

On this day, we focus on reading accurately as a component of fluency. I define that for them as:

If I'm reading accurately,

I don't eliminate words, word endings, or word beginnings.
I don't add words that don't belong

In other words, fluent readers don't make very many mistakes when they are reading. I used to add that you shouldn't "guess" at words, but now I am sure to clarify that they shouldn't guess at words without making sure they make sense within the context of the sentence.

Accuracy Activity: I put up a short fluency task card on the document camera and then give them each a black and white copy of it and tell them to mark any, but at least ONE, errors that I make while reading. Then, I do a fairly abysmal job of reading it out loud to them. I read it nice and speedily, but I throw in extra words, I add or eliminate some prefixes or suffixes, and sometimes I totally misread a word because I'm going too fast. Then we have a little discussion about all the ways I was not an accurate reader and why, even though I read fast, it isn't going to help me become a better reader with all those mistakes! I like to jot these down in our reading notebooks, too!

Day 2: Expression/Prosody

On this day, we focus on reading with expression, or having excellent prosody. This is always a favorite day because we get to be a little bit silly! I define that for them as:

If I'm reading with appropriate expression,

I don't sound like a robot
I rein in the dramatic actor living inside of me

This one is pretty straight forward, but it's something they need to be reminded of.

Expression Activity: I have blogged about this activity before, so you can hop over to THIS blog post about the activity I do to encourage expressive readers. I use the book Good Boy, Fergus for this activity. You can use this one for punctuation as well!

Additionally, I pull out the same task card that we used yesterday. This time, I explain that my accuracy is going to be on point, but that I want them to pay careful attention to my expression. I read it robotically and I read it like a stage actor presenting Shakespeare. Then I read it normally. We talk about the differences in my reading and which one makes more sense.

I end by giving them each a different fluency task card and having them read it all three ways: like a robot, like an actor, and normally. (This is when you'll use the Expression task card included for free in the set!)

Day 3: Punctuation

Today, we focus on using punctuation to become more fluent readers. This day flows really well after expression day because it reinforces how to use your expression appropriately. If you didn't use Good Boy, Fergus yesterday, you can use it today, and if you DID use it yesterday, I highly encourage you to pull it out again and talk about how the punctuation in the book contributes to your appropriate expression.

If I'm paying attention to punctuation while I read,

I look for commas, periods, exclamation marks, and dialogue markers
I look for words in bold or italics to be emphasized

Punctuation Activity: For our main activity on this day, I make a copy of one of my punctuation-specific fluency task cards and use White Out to eliminate all of the punctuation in it. I have them read it out loud. It's obviously a hot mess, and they know it! Then, I give them a copy WITH punctuation, and we talk about the difference.

Day 4: Pace

PACING is what most kids think about when they are talking about fluency. It's the rate or speed at which they are reading. I define it as...

If I'm reading with natural pacing,

I'm not pretending to be in a speed reading competition.
I read as though I'm having a natural conversation.

Pacing Activity: Yep, you guessed it. We have a speed reading competition. Things get crazy. Nobody can understand a word. Nobody can retell what they just read. Another big old mess of a reading! We also go nice and slow... too slow. On this day, we usually do a choral reading as well. I'll read it with exceptional pacing, then guide them in reading it all together at a nice, natural pace.

Day 5: Comprehension

Day 5 leads us into our essential reading skills. Since I do this series of fluency lessons at the very beginning of the year, after this week, I dive right in to teaching reading skills. (You can read more about how and when I teach reading skills HERE.) Therefore, I don't spend a ton of time talking about comprehending other than telling them that it means they understand what they are reading.

If I'm comprehending what I'm reading,

I am always checking for understanding
I read to learn

Comprehension Activity: I use one of my longer fluency task cards (usually from the Back to School set) and combine everything that we have learned over the last four days (accuracy, expression, punctuation, pacing) to read it. I've included one in your free set to use. Then I have them turn their card over and ask a few basic comprehension questions about it (Think: who, what, where, when, why questions).

After we have discussed all of these concepts, our anchor chart is done, and I post it up on the board, I also have small versions that they glue into their reading notebooks. This, along with a checklist for fluent reading that mirrors the anchor chart are available for free HERE.

Fluency Anchor Chart

Day 6 and beyond...

Now that your students know all of the components to fluency, it's time to actively work on improving those fluency skills! I have a set of fluency task cards in my reading rotations nearly every single week. Back in 2012, I was in a reading interventionist role, and the only fluency resources my school used consisted of long passages where students read as much as they could in one minute, then read it again, and again, and again. This wasn't motivating for my students, it required a teacher to be done well, they weren't really reflecting on the progress they were (or weren't) making, and engagement was almost zero. At that time, I was super into using and creating task cards, for their myriad benefits, and I thought, "WHY NOT FOR FLUENCY!?" That's when I created the concept of fluency task cards and posted the first set of Fluency Task Cards ever available on TpT.

Here's what I love about using fluency task cards:

They are short passages specifically designed around critical fluency concepts.
They aren't designed to be timed. So instead of worrying about getting further into the passage with each read, students are instead focusing on actively improving all components of their fluency, not just their speed.
They are designed to be visually appealing and the content is relevant and interesting so they are engaging to the kids.
Students see immediate growth with research-based repeated reading.
Students interact with one another and give each other feedback about ways they can improve.
They are low prep and can be used year after year! Teacher win!

Most of the time, I have students read their fluency task cards with partners. I make sure they have the fluency checklist that I linked to above so that they can "rate" themselves at the end. We use a simple rating system of green, yellow, and red, and we talk a lot about what a red reading looks like (several accuracy errors, robotic pace, etc.) and what a green reading looks like (have they followed the checklist as best they can?). We aren't looking for perfection to get a green, but improvement and overall excellent fluency.

During one rotation, they read each card at least 3 times, taking turns and discussing their strengths in fluency and areas they can keep working on. They are encouraged to use the language that we have already reviewed and therefore need to refer back to the rubrics and posters often. I try to give them a wide variety of opportunities to work with different partners so that they get new feedback, too. They can usually get through about three cards during a 15 minute rotation.

Are you ready to try out even more fluency task cards and put them into your reading rotations? Grab your free cards to complete the introduction lessons below. Then, consider your options! I recommend starting with concept-based fluency task cards focusing on specific fluency skills.

After your students have worked through those (or at the same time), you can start incorporating seasonal fluency task cards as well!

I do mix in other fluency activities into my rotations, so they are only doing the fluency task cards about three days a week, but I have seen major growth in my students since I implemented them. Here's how I use them:

I also have a huge blog post about ways you can increase fluency, and it features ten different ways you can practice it in the classroom (primarily during centers rotations). Be sure to stop by that post to get even more ideas, too! There are some tried and true gems there, too!

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Main Idea Vs. Theme with Song Lyrics

October 1, 2019, 1:44 pm

≫ Next: Teaching Students To Use Observations to Infer

≪ Previous: Teaching Oral Reading Fluency

Hands down, one of my most popular posts is teaching about Main Idea vs. Theme. Ever since I started teaching the concepts together (in the upper grades), it has completely changed how my students think about and generate their main idea and theme statements. Now, I have one more FREE theme and main idea activity to add to your repertoire that is a perfect whole group or small group addition to my main idea vs. theme task cards!

I have posted before about how I adore using song lyrics to teach specific reading skills. Cause and Effect is definitely one of my favorites to teach with song lyrics, because who can resist that song!? However, there are so many songs that lend themselves so, so well to teaching main idea and theme. If you aren't teaching both at the same time, you can absolutely still use the songs and the ideas here. Just leave out the other skill!

I also wanted to create something that would take things a step further than just simply identifying the main idea and theme of a song or story. As I was thinking of the perfect songs to use for this, I decided to make it a sort of "Paired Passages" activity by comparing the themes and main ideas in two songs. Instead of just identifying the theme and main idea, they are actively drawing comparisons and contrasting the main idea and themes as well.

This is a very easy prep activity. You can get the FREE printables below, so all you need to do is print them out and find the accompanying videos on YouTube. All of the songs I have chosen are from significant moments from popular children's films, so they are all readily accessible and appropriate to watch. Many kids will have seen or at least know the premise of the movies, which is also helpful in doing some more inferring of the themes and main ideas!

I have included multiple activities here and multiple opportunities for students to compare the main idea and theme of different songs that go well together. Choose which you'd set of paired passages you'd like to start with. I like using "Something There" and "I See the Light" to start because the themes are quite evident and the parallels are easy to find. Using "Baby Mine" and "Out There" is a great next step.

I start out by showing the videos for the two songs. I make sure they have a copy of the lyrics in front of them to take any notes (such as speaker/character changes) as they watch. Then we walk through the lyrics step by step, almost like we are completing a close read. This is a bit different, though, because we are really taking note of character actions and how all of the lines fit together to form the main idea and/or theme. Remember that all of these notes are always taken as discussions occur with students, so some may be written in shorthand.

It's so interesting to see the lightbulb moments students have when they are analyzing song lyrics. So often they listen to this music and even memorize the words without realizing what a beautifully woven story the lyrics are telling!

After we have thoroughly analyzed the songs themselves (be sure to incorporate any other reading skills you have already reviewed!) we move into the task of analyzing the main idea and theme. Here's an example of one completed page. Be sure to reference the notes you took as you did a close read... often your students will have already determined the main idea and theme throughout their notes.

That's it! The whole lesson takes around 30 minutes, and it's so meaningful for students. I often have students bring in their own songs to analyze, too!

If you'd like to do this lesson with your students, you can sign up for the free download below. Remember to use a personal email address, as some school addresses can block the email.

Teach Main Idea and Theme with Song Lyrics!

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Teaching Students To Use Observations to Infer

October 9, 2019, 3:39 pm

≫ Next: Teaching Precise Math Vocabulary

≪ Previous: Main Idea Vs. Theme with Song Lyrics

If you've ever tried to teach students the concept of making inferences, you know this is never a simple task! That's why I have always taught my students how to tell the difference between literal and inferential questions and observations. I've written extensively about this in the past, but I have a new inference anchor chart and free lesson for you if you are just getting started, or if your students need more practice with this!

Inference Anchor Chart

You may remember THIS post about how I teach my students the difference between literal and inferential observations or THIS post that dives into using pictures to teach. This is not a one and done skill! I find a way to reinforce inference ALL YEAR LONG.

This lesson and anchor chart are similar concepts to those I've shared before, but it scaffolds it even more for students who need more explicit instruction. It's also a great way to introduce those two lessons because it even more explicitly teaches inference than those do!

The inference anchor chart above really speaks for itself. I start by explaining to my students that our literal observations (what's right there) help us make inferences. Then, we use the green sticky notes to brainstorm as many literal observations as we can about the picture. After that, we discuss as a group some inferences we can make based on those literal observations. Soon, students realize that they are actually inferring ALL the time! It's a great lightbulb moment. It's also great for them to see that you can infer multiple conclusions from the same observation (and that not all inferences are right all the time).

I also made a free inference printable for you to use with your students to reinforce this skill. You can download it (which also includes the picture I used in our anchor chart) for free HERE.

Inference Activity

Then, we use one of my literal and inferential text task cards as a whole group to apply this skill to text. We color code our answers again so that they can see how we must use our observations in order to make an inference.

I hope that gives you one more idea about how you can use pictures to teach inference, especially to students who don't understand the concept the first time around. Be sure to reference those two posts I mentioned above so that you know where to go AFTER this!

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Teaching Precise Math Vocabulary

January 6, 2020, 4:20 pm

≫ Next: Teaching Character Conflict

≪ Previous: Teaching Students To Use Observations to Infer

A few years ago, I was heavily pregnant, and my students were scheduled to go on a field trip three hours away from the school. Since I was so close to my due date (and we all know how school buses are...), we decided it would be best if the interventionist and I swapped duties for the day. As she was going through her schedule with me, she made a quick aside.

"Make sure they say 5 plus 5 EQUALS 10, and not 5 plus 5 is ten," she reminded me before quickly apologizing with an abrupt, "I know you know that. Sorry." It gave me pause because, while I did, in fact, know that many educators believe this to be best practice, it occurred to me that I rarely put this into action in my own classroom. It was just the reminder I needed about the importance of math vocabulary and just how critical it is to use formal math vocabulary as much as possible during everyday conversation with my students...and encourage them to do the same.

I know I've seen it said that using math vocabulary isn't crucial to student success- some opponents even argue that it is confusing for kids and adds an extra degree of difficulty to math tasks. However, I truly believe that encouraging students to use correct, precise math vocabulary increases their comprehension and ability to tackle math word problems, improves performance on standardized tests (which almost always use proper, precise math vocabulary), and gives every child a little boost as they progress through the grade levels.

While it takes a bit of extra time to incorporate this vocabulary as you are teaching concepts, my students love it when they sound like official mathematicians! I do a lot of pre-teaching to explain that while some of the more informal terms aren't always inaccurate and certainly not wrong, it's so much more impressive to use formal math terms. I also explain to them that it will help them in the long run and helps them better understand math concepts. I make a big deal out of it (you don't usually learn this until 6th grade, but we're tackling it today, because I know you can handle it). They eat it up!

Here are a few ways that I encourage my students to routinely infuse formal math vocabulary in the classroom, and a few terms that I'm a particular stickler about with my students:

Expression, Equation, Number Sentence

I'll admit that I previously used these terms interchangeably, just hoping my students would recognize them when it came time for testing season. I know there are still anchor charts on my blog that use the terms incorrectly, and I cringe every time I see one (note to self: fix that!). Eventually, though, I decided I needed to explicitly teach these terms to my 4th and 5th graders, and they did an amazing job! Here's a sample anchor chart to teach students the difference between an expression and an equation.

You'll notice that "Express" is underlined under Expression and "Equa" is underlined under Equation. Expressions are short, hence the "express" and "equa" is similar to equal. This helps my students remember the difference.

Decimal Points

If you were to ask my former students what I'm MOST picky about when it comes to math talk, this would probably be it.

1.24 is not one point two four or one point twenty-four.

Well, technically, it is, but my students know they need "permission to use point," which is granted only in specific (and usually hurried) situations.

1.24 is one and twenty-four hundredths.

Reading Whole Numbers

Along the same lines as the decimals points, I am hyper picky about students not adding "and" when they are reading whole numbers. 105 is not one hundred and five, just one hundred five. "And" is reserved only for decimals, even with my young students who don't know how to read decimals yet.

Reading Fractions

If I student reads 1/4 as one over four, I usually ask them to rephrase it to either one fourth or a quarter.

If a student tells me the "top number" of a fraction is one, I ask them to rephrase it to, "the numerator" is one. Same goes if they tell me the "bottom number" of a fraction is four. They rephrase it to "the denominator" is four.

Greater Than > and Less Than <

So often I hear kids say, "The arrow is pointing at the smaller number!" or "The alligator is eating the smaller number." I know these are all techniques we use to teach young students how to use the symbols, but as they get older, it's so important that they can read an expression like 456 > 87 as "456 is greater than 87."

Regroup and Decompose

I know this one is controversial, but they aren't borrowing any numbers, they are regrouping the numbers. This definitely causes a bit of a generational divide, as I grew up with the term borrowing and carrying, as did most of our students' parents. However, if we are really focusing on using math vocabulary to help our students understand the math concepts, they will learn to understand what "regrouping" and "decomposing" mean just as we understood the function of "borrow" and "carry." The only difference is that as they get older, they will understand that these terms are literal (and they are great for mini lessons on prefixes, too!)

Improper Fraction and Fraction Greater than One

I'm going to admit that I'm still not completely fluent with this change, but did you know that the more up-to-date and accurate term for an improper fraction is a "fraction greater than one?" It's literal, and it's a great teaching moment. Since "improper fraction" is still used regularly in textbooks and other resources, I teach both terms and use them interchangeably.

Reduced and Simplified Fractions

This one is very similar to the one above. I still use both terms interchangeably and make sure that my students understand that we really aren't reducing the fraction or making it smaller, but putting it into its simplest form.

Geometry Terms

Those aren't corners. Those are vertices. :)

Dimensions (Area & Perimeter)

I can't tell you how many times I've had students get to me in 4th grade and have a good grasp on perimeter and area concepts but have no idea what a dimension is or how to read dimensions (ie. 4 x 3 is four by three or length times width). This is an easy, easy fix, and there's something that kids love about the word dimension.

Along the same lines, I tend to always refer to the "outside" of a shape as the perimeter of it and the inside of it as the area.

Operations

I constantly ask my students, "What operation did you use to solve this problem?"

I have also stopped saying, "What's the answer?" whenever possible and replaced that with, "What's the sum/difference/product/quotient?" anywhere that I can.

Digits

This is another important one. There are three DIGITS in the number 453. It's so important that students understand the difference between the digits and the number, just like they understand that letters are different than words.

Attending to Precision with Informal vs. Formal Math Talk

I want to emphasize that I don't call my students out as wrong or tell them that the more informal terms are inaccurate (unless they are). To me, having my students practice their math vocabulary during conversations and math discussions is just like having them practice their reading fluency, and it becomes just that-- fluent.

Do you teach the Standards of Mathematical Practice in your classroom? If so, you'll recognize that this all really comes down to the Mathematical Practice of attending to precision. When students say, "To solve this problem, I did take away," I think it's completely reasonable to ask them to be more precise with their language and say, "To solve this problem, I subtracted..."

What are you a stickler for when it comes to math vocabulary?

A special note: Please note that I have used these strategies and expectations with all students, but students needing extra support or English Language Learners may need additional scaffolds, support, and accommodations.

Formal vs. Informal Math Talk Anchor Chart Inspiration:
Building a Bridge to Academic Math Vocabulary

Teaching Character Conflict

January 13, 2020, 3:52 pm

≫ Next: Tips for Teaching Interviews

≪ Previous: Teaching Precise Math Vocabulary

I've posted about teaching character conflict before, but I have a few updates to share and a NEW free resource for teaching the types of character conflict! Here's a link the original blog post if you are looking for even more ideas.

No matter what grade I'm teaching, I always start off my character lesson the same way: By watching the clip of Anna and Elsa in "For the First Time in Forever." After we watch it, I ask the students to write down as many words as they can think of to describe Anna and Elsa. Then we talk about the difference between character traits and character feelings and create an anchor chart like the one below. After we've talked about the difference, we sort our descriptive words we came up with into the categories.

Once they have a good handle on this, we are free to move on to the more tricky task of tackling character conflict. For teaching character conflict, I start off by talking about internal vs. external conflict and what the main difference is. We talk about times we felt conflicted about something. Most of those conflicts end up being man vs. man conflicts, but we discuss what makes their conflicts different.

Character Conflict Anchor Chart

Now, here's the next step that students love so much. Once they know what the four types of conflict are, we watch four different short clips from popular Disney movies. Each of these clips is a great representation of its respective character conflict. I made a short recording sheet for students as well so that they could record their work and write a one-sentence summary that describes the conflict.

You can download the free character conflict printable HERE.

Man vs. Self

Tangled: This is the movie I was watching that prompted me to start using Disney clips to teach character conflict! Poor Rapunzel has just left the tower and is feeling mighty conflicted about what she has done by defying her mother's wishes. This scene is the perfect example of Man vs. Self conflict.

Click HERE for the clip, though you really only need to let students watch the first minute for them to identify the conflict.

Man vs. Nature

Moana: Moana is determined to see what's beyond the horizon, but nature (the ocean) has different plans. She struggles to make it past the waves, and this scene is an ideal Man vs. Nature conflict.

Click HERE for the clip. It's less than two minutes long.

Man vs. Man

Frozen: Anna and Elsa disagree about whether or not Elsa should return home. We all know this ends with Elsa striking Anna. This scene easily represents Man vs. Man (or person vs. person, in this case!) conflict.

Click HERE for the clip.

Man vs. Society

Mulan: The emperor needs men, and only men to help him defeat the Huns. Mulan's father is called to war, and when Mulan tries to step up as in his place, she is disgraced.

Click HERE for the clip.

After we are done with this lesson, it's time for them to practice on their own! This is when I have them work through character conflict task cards together. You can see the character conflict task cards HERE.

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Tips for Teaching Interviews

January 28, 2020, 11:35 am

≫ Next: Engaging and Meaningful Ways to Prepare for State Testing

≪ Previous: Teaching Character Conflict

It's that time of year! Schools are beginning to look at their staffing for next year, current teachers are making plans for their future, and new teachers are keeping a close eye out for teaching job opportunities. Here, I've compiled some tips and information on how to ace teaching interviews. This definitely won't be one size fits all, but it's a good starting point!

I will be the first to admit that the number of interviews that I’ve HAD is a much smaller number than the number of interviews where I’ve been the interviewee. My perspective here comes from both angles— The teacher interviewer and the teacher interviewee.

What to Expect During Teaching Interviews
What should you expect during a typical teaching interview? You’ll almost always be one of many teachers that an interview committee is speaking with that day, as most districts have protocols they follow about how many people must be screened before making a selection. They also have protocols about the number of people giving input on a hiring decision, which means it’s fairly rare to go into a one-on-one interview. The most common scenario I’ve seen is the principal, the assistant principal, and 2-3 teachers (some who will be on your team and some who won’t be, since positions change) doing the interviewing. When you sit down in the interview, most of the time, everyone on the interview committee will read a question round-robin style. When you’re answering, speak to the whole room, but I typically recommend that you make more eye contact with the person who asked you the particular question.

The Interviewers

There are a few types of people you need to be prepared to meet during an interview:

There are interviewers who try their hardest to be warm and welcoming. They take plenty of notes, smile the whole time, and make eye contact while asking questions. They nod their head while you answer questions, and they tend to ere on the side of being overly accommodating, which can make even the most unqualified candidate feel like they are nailing it.

On the other hand, I’ve seen the sweetest colleagues of mine go completely stoic when they’re interviewing. Their goal is to get down to business and see who you are as an educator. They want real answers, and they don’t necessarily want to make you feel like you’re nailing it when you’re not. These interviewers will make eye contact, but they usually won’t smile. They’ll furiously write down every word you say (or on the other hand, they won’t write down anything, which will make you equally as nervous), and they’ll probably give you a nod or two when you’ve answered their question. You'll leave the room wondering if you bombed it, but they will probably smile big and say, "She was amazing!"

These are the people that will cause you to question your interview skills and make you give a big “I don’t know” when people ask how your interview went. Again, I want to emphasize that neither style is better, but I feel like it’s so important to be prepared for both as you are going into your first few teaching interviews. Don’t let people like me leave you feeling like you nailed it, and don’t let people not-so-like-me intimidate you to the point that it impacts your ability to ACTUALLY nail it.

Now that you have a good idea of what you’ll encounter when you sit down to a teaching interview, here are some more general tips I can offer you having been on both sides of the proverbial table.

On Portfolios

Every college preparatory program I’ve ever known requires that teacher candidates create a portfolio full of lessons, their mission statement, etc. I’ve never pulled one of these out during an interview, and I’ve never witnessed someone pull one out during an interview. It’s not a bad thing to have with you if you get stuck, but time is often of the essence, and fumbling through a portfolio can take up precious time. Instead, find every opportunity to show your awesome communication skills by explaining different lesson plans, giving an example of parent interactions, and giving a casual but heartfelt impression of your “teaching mission statement.” Half of an interview is seeing who you are as a human. Instead of spending precious moments leafing through your portfolio to give an example, use your words and use your heart.

On Communication

In order to use your words, though, you are going to have to go into this interview completely prepared. Think through the types of questions that might come up (more on that later) and practice your answers. If there is a specific learning experience that you want to make sure you highlight during your interview, THINK THROUGH exactly what you are going to say about it. In fact, brainstorm a list of specific experiences that you would consider highlighting during your interview and think about what you would say about them.

On Research

Researching the school and district is absolutely crucial to your preparation. It will help you anticipate what types of questions might come up, and it will help you brainstorm talking points. YOU MUST RESEARCH YOUR SCHOOL/DISTRICT.

If you ask a question at the end of the interview that could have easily been answered with a quick swipe through the school’s website, the interview team will get the feeling you aren’t taking the interview seriously. Likewise, if you ask a question based on something you saw when you researched, they’ll know you’re taking this more seriously.

On Honesty

Have you ever met someone who looks really good “on paper” but then ends up treating you poorly in real life? Don’t be the person in an interview who looks great on paper and in the interview and turns out to not be who they say they were. I’ve seen this happen several times over the years and have thus become wary of those who appear overly book smart in interviews and who give obviously canned or "perfect" answers.

If you’ve never taught using a math workshop approach, don’t talk about how you’re a pro at that or how you love using a workshop approach. If they ask, or if your research has revealed that they use math workshop at the school, tell them about what experience you DO have that would support math workshop and emphasize the fact that you are excited to implement it (if you are, of course) and know it will be great to learn alongside the children.

If you’ve never used Daily Five, but you know the school does, research the heck out of it to show that you’re willing to do so, but own the fact that you’ve never taught with it— just be sure to emphasize that you are eager and willing to learn about it and implement it alongside your teammates.

95% of the time, your lack of experience in a school-specific implementation will not eliminate you from the running. I previously taught in an International Baccalaureate school, and while having IB experience was a plus, we would ALWAYS choose an enthusiastic, willing teacher over one who wasn’t as enthusiastic and willing but had IB experience. Teaching is learning, y’all!

The Truth About Jobs

NOW, before I go any further, this is an important note, especially for first-year teachers who are newly navigating the waters of teacher interviews. I want you to keep in mind that you may end up in an interview situation where, no matter how amazing you are, you will definitely not get the job because someone else already has it.

Let me give you an example: In my former district, any teacher hired after August 1st is automatically considered an INR (Intent Not to Rehire) and their contract is only for one year. At the end of the year, no matter how much of a rock star they were that year, their position still has to be reposted, and interviews still have to be conducted for that position. In most cases, that person will get rehired on an actual contract and admin is just going through the protocol. I’ve sat on many interviews just like this, watching the poor interviewees pour their hearts into the interview, not realizing that the person in the position is actually staying in the position.

Another example of this scenario is when there is movement within the school. Depending on tenure and contract terms, I’ve seen teachers have to reinterview for specialty positions (interventionists, reading specialists) when they are already a “shoo-in.”

**TAKE HEART!** Even though you likely won't know this is the case until after the interview, even if you suspect it's a formality, give it your all. These interviews are not a total loss, as I’ve also seen many people in these interviews get called back for later interviews who are subsequently hired on in a different position. Every single opportunity that you have to interact with the administration is an important one. Rockstar teachers will stand out, no matter if they have a job for you right then or not.

General Tips for Teaching Interviews

Use “we” as often as possible when referring to your experience in schools. It shows that you are a collaborative team player and willing to work with others and give credit where credit is due.
While it's important to show a growth mindset and a willingness to adapt and learn, be prepared to talk about failures, both in the classroom, with colleagues, with parents, and with students. Do not sit in an interview and say you can’t think of any failures or professional weaknesses.
It’s okay to thoughtfully pause between a question and your answer. Take a moment to pull your ideas together. It shows that you are thoughtful rather than impulsive, and you’ll almost always come up with a better example the more time you think about it. There have been several times that I haven't followed this advice, finish my answer, and then end up saying, "ACTUALLY, I need to add to my answer."
Ask for clarification or to repeat the question as needed, especially if they are long questions with multiple parts. Again, don’t try to skim over an answer when you don’t know what they’re asking.
Never, ever, ever talk poorly about former colleagues, students, parents, or administration. Seriously, never. You can put a positive, learning-based spin on any negative situation, and this is the time to do that. I can’t think of a time we ever hired someone who talked poorly about former positions.
Many schools have a school-wide behavior management program implemented (Love and Logic, Responsive Classroom, PBIS, etc.). Be sure to look it up ahead of time so that you are familiar with it and possibly reference it at some point during your interview.

S.M.I.L.E. I will be the first to tell you that when I walk into an interview (or really, any situation that requires me to talk in front of people), I have a very physical reaction that I can’t help. My face and neck turn bright red, my breathing gets funny, and my hands get shaky. Every. Single. Time. I know this happens to me, and I always go in prepared with a line like, “Eek! I can stand in front of kids and sing songs about verbs all day, but a room full of adults is something else!” It’s a good way to break the ice, acknowledge that physical reaction that you can't control, and get things started. Smile. Be human. I’ve said it a few times before, but they are not only looking at your pedagogical knowledge, but the interview team wants to know your heart, too. Show it to them.

Sample Teacher Interview Questions

Note: Most interview questions are lengthy and have multiple parts. These are some of the more basic questions that you should know YOUR answers to ahead of time, but be prepared for more detailed questions, too.

How do you accomplish vertical and horizontal articulation within a school?
How do you structure your reading/math block so that a wide variety of students’ needs are met?
Give an example of a time you had a difficult interaction with a parent and how you handled it.
How do you encourage students to show grit (growth mindset) in their learning and in the classroom?
What does rigor mean to you, and how can you be sure you are providing a rigorous experience for all students?
How do you incorporate cultural awareness, worldwide views, diversity, and equity into your lessons and classroom?
How do you promote a cohesive classroom community?
How do you keep students engaged while still maintaining a rigorous classroom environment?
Give an example of a challenge with a student and explain how you handled it.
What is your policy on grading?
How do you decide on homework requirements?
How do you ensure ample communication between home and school?
What is your classroom management policy?
How do you incorporate technology into your classroom in a meaningful way?
How do you collect and use data to inform your instruction and monitor student growth?
What is your philosophy on working in a grade-level team?
What strengths do you bring to your grade-level team?
How do you handle [insert specific classroom management crisis/scenario]? (My favorite version of this has been when a principal asked me what I would do if a student refused to call me by my last name...)
What is the most recent education-related book you have read or PD you have attended? Tell us about it.

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Engaging and Meaningful Ways to Prepare for State Testing

March 9, 2020, 3:27 pm

≫ Next: Supporting Student Learning at Home

≪ Previous: Tips for Teaching Interviews

It's March, and that means it's time to start preparing our students for state testing. If I'm being honest, I try my hardest to not make "test prep" a big deal to my students. Instead, my goal is always to integrate test prep seamlessly into our normal routine. That way, students never get the impression that we are doing something solely to prepare for a test--instead, we are just learning and growing like any other day at school.

Here are a few ways that I add in review/test prep this time of year that are still engaging and meaningful to students.

Task Cards: Task cards are still a staple in my classroom because there are SO many ways you can use them! Go on a scavenger hunt, play SCOOT, use them with board games. The options are endless. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use task cards for test prep:

With games! It's easy to prep and students LOVE it. I like to choose fast games like Candy Land (yes, even big kids love this), Chutes and Ladders, Guess Who?, Connect Four, etc. Each time it's their turn, they get a task card and complete it in order to take their turn.
As a "Passport" activity. Students get a passport of tasks they have to complete for a variety of different topics. I love this because you can totally differentiate it. I usually end up with multiple different passports because students have different needs. I separate my task cards into concepts, and I usually put 2-3 sets in each concept area so that they get a VAST review of concepts. I do not use the entire set of task cards for this. I usually pick out 10-12 for students to complete from each set since it's just a review. You can use the rest throughout the year! You can grab the FREE, mostly editable passport HERE as well as suggested task cards that I use for review (you can use any task cards AND you can include reading skills as well).

As a Jeopardy-style game show. I have blogged about this before... click HERE for more information on using task cards for a game show style review! It's always a huge hit in my class.

I have hundreds of task cards (including many free versions) for READING and MATH.

Math Projects: Math projects are a staple in my classroom, so it made so much sense for me to incorporate a math test prep project into my schedule. I created this years ago, and I absolutely LOVE using it! It reviews every single standard for 4th and 5th grade, and it's such fun, too. It is a school-themed project, so I usually do a mini room transformation to make it look extra "schooly." Think: yellow tablecloths for school buses, red apples, etc.

I have both a 4th-grade version and a 5th and 6th-grade version.

Topple Blocks Games: Talk about ENGAGEMENT! When I use Topple Blocks as a review, I typically combine several games and have them do one color from each game as a review. I've heard of some teachers doing stations, too, where they work through as much uch of one full game at each station. You can read more about how I use Topple Blocks HERE.

Paired Passages: In the past, I'm guilty of using rigid "test prep" passages with students. They were always so, so bored, and I felt like we were just doing them out of obligation. Recently, though, I have come up with a much more engaging (AND rigorous AND meaningful) way of incorporating paired passages into my reading test prep. I created two different types of booklet format reviews.

The first style uses paired passages to review certain reading skills. While these are really great for use year-round, they are also great for test prep time, too. Here is a sample of my Cause and Effect Paired Passages Booklet:

This next set of paired passages booklets is TRULY made for test prep! It covers two stories in GREAT depth and reviews a wide variety of reading skills. There are TWO sets of paired passages in this resource. Click HERE to learn more.

Error Analysis: When we teach our students to think critically about math concepts, we are setting them up for success during state testing. There are SO many multi-step questions and problems that require students to evaluate errors, so I always incorporate several of these tasks as I am prepping my students. HERE are all of my error analysis units, including a FREE addition version!

Strategy Reviews: This is key! In both math and reading, I incorporate specific skill strategy reviews. In Math, this is usually done in the form of reviewing CUBES for problem solving. In reading, I usually make comprehension skill review foldables with them.

HERE is a huge blog post about how I teach and review problem solving. it also includes some great FREE resources for reviewing multi-step problems!

HERE is a huge blog post about how I teach and review reading skills that includes a FREE reading skills sort.

HERE is another post that includes a FREE anchor chart and interactive notebook resource.

I know this blog post featured more paid resources than usual, but I just had so much I wanted to share! Are you looking for a HUGE post of even more test prep ideas, including anchor charts, motivators, etc? Here is an old blog post chocked full of ideas.

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Supporting Student Learning at Home

March 13, 2020, 9:43 am

≫ Next: Using Picture Books to Support At-Home Learning

≪ Previous: Engaging and Meaningful Ways to Prepare for State Testing

Hi There!

This feels unprecedented. This feels scary. This is unknown territory.

Ever since the cascade of school closures began (including all of our schools in Colorado Springs), I have been wracking my brain about how I can best support teachers across the country. I want to do something, anything to take the burden off of you and enable you to fully support your students while you are away from each other.

Literacy Resources: I have taken some of my most popular, most wide-reaching resources and compiled pages from them into a FREE At-Home Learning Resource. It includes twenty pages of free, very high-quality and rigorous resources that you or your students can print and complete at home. The following skills are covered in the PDF:

Main Idea
Theme
Text Features
Text Structures
Informational Text Comprehension Review
Fiction Comprehension Review
Language Skills
Oral Reading Fluency
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quoting
...and more

Math Resources: I have done the same with my math resources. The following skills are included in the math version.

Error Analysis (Elapsed Time, Place Value, and Subtraction)
Graphing & Data
Daily Math Skills
Multi-Part and Multi-Step Math Problems
Operations Review
Perimeter and Area
Decimals
...and more!

I have also added a folder of all of my free digital access resources for easy access and organization.

While this will never take the place of the experiences you would have provided students during your time with them, I hope it is able to take some of the burdens of planning off of you.

I would also encourage you to download this FREE at-home support printable to give to your parents.

I am also hastily working to convert many of my free resources into digital formats if you are able to assign them via Google Classroom.

Please click HERE to access all of the resources that INCLUDE a digital version, including 6 (and growing) free resources.

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Using Picture Books to Support At-Home Learning

March 19, 2020, 3:19 pm

≫ Next: Distance Learning Lessons You Can Implement Tomorrow!

≪ Previous: Supporting Student Learning at Home

Wow! When I published my last post nearly a week ago, I don't think anyone could have anticipated exactly where we'd be today (and who knows where we will be at this time next week).

Over the past week, I have watched as our teaching community has come together to share resources with one another in hopes of helping get them started on this new distance learning journey. It has been truly amazing!

One thing that I've seen come out over and over again is to just let the kids read. Make sure the kids are reading at home, being read to, being read with. Although I firmly believe they should still practice some other skills during this time, I am also a firm believer in the power of picture books as a teaching skill.

I've had a blog post drafted for FIVE YEARS titled "10 Ideas for Using Picture Books With Big Kids." It occurred to me that now would be the perfect time to adapt that and make it a printable for parents to use as a guide for reading picture books at home with their children.

Before I go any further, I want to preface this with the idea that picture books should be read once through FOR PLEASURE AND ENJOYMENT before taking on any of these discussion ideas. We want students to grow a love of books, immerse themselves in the story, and build their own thoughts about the story before we start questioning them or trying to teach them something based on the story. However, after they've read and digested the books, they can become POWERFUL learning tools that anyone can use!

So, I've compiled this list of eleven suggestions (plus a handy cheat sheet for parents) for parents to use after they've read a picture book with their children. These are easy to implement, fun for students, and straightforward for parents.

Please feel free to save it to your drive and upload it for parents to use as a resource. You can access and save the file HERE.

If you are continuing to look for more distance learning and digital resources, I have converted many FREE and paid resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Here are a few snippets of information of my digital updates:

Digital Reading & Math Projects: I have finished converting ALL of my reading projects and all but two of my math projects to digital formats. They are included with the original files, so if you've already purchased them, you can download them at no additional cost. Click HERE for reading projects and HERE for math projects.
Free at-home learning: If you haven't already visited my most recent post, you'll want to! It includes a wide variety of free resources to help you during this transition. Click HERE for access.
Digital Resources: You can see all of my digital resources HERE, including so much engaging reading review, advanced reading task cards, and more to help you plan for the next several weeks. I will continue to add more digital updates so that you can use the same resources you know and love.

Keep on keeping on! You've got this.

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Distance Learning Lessons You Can Implement Tomorrow!

April 8, 2020, 7:24 pm

≫ Next: Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway!

≪ Previous: Using Picture Books to Support At-Home Learning

Over the past few weeks, I've thought a lot about how I can best support teachers right now. I've spent days converting my existing resources to have digital components, and I continue to do so. This morning it dawned on me that I have SO many lessons that I developed and shared while I was teaching in a 1:1 model. However, I rarely shared that part of the lesson because I knew that most teachers and students simply didn't have this type of access. Oh, how things have changed!

So today, I want to highlight some of my favorite lessons that you can easily adapt to be used with your students via any online platform. There are a few new lessons, and for those that have been shared on Teaching With a Mountain View before, each one includes both a new digital access link and a link to learn more about the original lesson here on my blog!

A note on YouTube videos: While I preview all of the videos I share, I still can't control the advertisements that pop up or any changes that may occur. If possible, I'd recommend using Safe Share to share the YouTube videos with your students. I have also worded these lessons so that you can swap out videos that you'd like to use if you don't like the ones I have selected. :)

Distance Learning Lessons

Text Structure Candy Videos

This resource was originally one that was only sent to my subscribers, but it's SO perfect for distance learning, I'm including it here! Students watch a variety of videos all on the same topic (candy!) and determine which text structure it most likely represents. Click HERE for the free distance learning version of using videos to identify text structures and click HERE for even more text structure ideas (You could easily still do the collaborative activity with students, too!).

Character Conflict with Movies

I just added a DIGITAL version of this one so that you can easily assign it to your students! It requires them to watch four different clips from popular movies and identify the character conflict. It's such a great lesson, and totally doable in a distance learning situation! Click HERE to get the free digital version and make a copy into your drive. Click HERE for the original, printable version and the lesson in its entirety.

Dialogue and Using Quotation Marks Lesson

This one is so much fun and kids can totally do it at home! HERE is the original blog post with more information about it, but here is a quick rundown. I had the students get into groups of 3 and record themselves having a brief 15-20 second conversation with each other. For distance learning, I'd encourage them to record a conversation with their sibling or parents. You can give them a topic, or a topic of their choice. Then, they had to transcribe their little conversations into a dialogue. They thought it was the coolest thing ever, and it was a super quick but super effective way to work on their types of dialogue and quotation mark rules! This one doesn't really have an assignment sheet, although they could upload their videos and transcripts into Google Classroom or slides!

Point of View and Perspective Lesson

This is one of the most widely-implemented lessons I've ever shared, so I wanted to be sure you could still do it with your students! In this lesson, students watch a clip from a popular movie and identify all of the perspectives in it. Then, they either rewrite the story from a given point of view or they identify the point of view and perspective from rewritten stories, depending on their level. HERE is the original lesson and HERE is the digital-ready version.

Text Structures Magazine

This is another very popular lesson that many teachers have already made digital. HERE is the original post about making the magazine. I have digitized the planning sheets, and I'd recommend having students create their magazine in Google Slides for ease of use. Alternatively, they can still create their magazine with pencil and paper and share during a Zoom/Google class meeting!

Using Google Draw to Make a Map

This activity is SUCH fun and a great way to incorporate some map skills and geography into your distance learning plans. We live in Colorado, so making a rectangle to represent our shape was easy. You will probably want to find an outline of your shape unless your students are well-versed in using the drawing tool. :) Here is an example of how ours looked when we were done. You can also have them make a map of their street, their room, their house, etc.

Titanic Webquest

April was always "Titanic month" in my classroom. I love passing on my love of Titanic to my students. I did make my entire Titanic resource packet digital (you can view that HERE), but I am also adding the assignment I've had students complete for years. It's a Titanic "Webquest" of sorts, where students scour the web (with many site suggestions) to write a diary from the perspective of someone on board Titanic. HERE is a link to the Webquest that you can assign students.

I hope these ideas are helpful to you as you navigate this uncharted territory. Remember, I've updated over 100 of my printable resources to also include a digital component. That means that if you already own something that has been converted, there is no need to buy it again. You can access all of my FREE Digital resources HERE.

Here are three more posts that you might find helpful:

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Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway!

May 3, 2020, 8:41 pm

≫ Next: Day #4 of Teacher Appreciation Week!

≪ Previous: Distance Learning Lessons You Can Implement Tomorrow!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! 🍎 This week may not look the same as every other year, but YOU deserve the very best.

This week, I'm thrilled to be giving you some of my very favorite teacher goodies. Each day will be new and exciting and geared JUST toward teachers and the things you love the most. You can find out more about each day's giveaways here, on my Facebook Page, or on Instagram.

Today I'm giving away SEVEN of my very favorite picture books. I chose each one of these for a specific purpose and reason, and I can't WAIT to give them away to two lucky teachers.

If the World Were a Village: I do one of my ABSOLUTE favorite lessons using this book. Even if you don't teach decimals and fractions, it's such an eye-opener for kids. Absolutely amazing book.

The Girl With a Mind for Math: This book encourages ANYONE who might need a little math confidence-booster. I chose this one to read at the beginning of the year during math.

Being Frank:This is the other Back to School book I included. IT IS A GEM and so funny. I have never met a kid who doesn't giggle at how frank Frank is. :)

The Bravest Man in the World: I chose this one because 1) Patricia Polacco and 2) Titanic. It tells the story of Titanic's musicians, a story often forgotten.

The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors: This book goes down as my girls' absolute favorite book ever, and it's one of mine, too. It's just that good.

Sophia Valdez, Future Prez: This book is every bit as wonderful as you'd expect it to be. It is so captivating and RELEVANT, especially with the upcoming elections.

Voices in the Park: I included this one because it is a beautiful book to teach point of view as well as inference. I use it to teach THIS lesson, but you can truly use it in so many ways!

Entering is easy. Fill out the form below to enter any time TODAY ONLY. I will select a winner on the morning of May 5, 2020. By entering, you agree to receive occasional emails from me, but please know you can unsubscribe ANY time. The links to each book above are affiliate links.

This giveaway is open to US Residents only due to shipping restrictions (Don't worry! Tuesday and Thursday's giveaways will be open to EVERYONE).

If the form below to enter does not show up, please CLICK HERE to enter!

Stop by again tomorrow to see what I'm giving away. I can't wait! :)

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Day #4 of Teacher Appreciation Week!

May 7, 2020, 6:00 am

≫ Next: Final Day of Teacher Appreciation Week!

≪ Previous: Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway!

We are on Day 4 of my Teacher Appreciation Week giveaway! So far, I've given away books, school supplies, and a whole bunch of TpT Gift Cards. Today's giveaway is especially for loyal Teaching With a Mountain View Fans.

I am giving away FOUR $50 Teaching With a Mountain View credits.

That means you can tell me exactly what you want from my store, and I'll send it straight to your inbox! Will it be math projects? Back to school resources? End of the year awards? So many choices.

You have four different opportunities to enter this giveaway by visiting me all over the internet. :) Look for this picture of me to know you are on the right post.

Sign Up: I send out emails once a week (or less) with teaching ideas, exclusive free resources, and more. I'll choose one winner who enters HERE. New and existing subscribers are eligible. Unsubscribe any time.

Facebook: Click HERE to enter via my Facebook post. Just LIKE the post and drop a GIF that describes how Distance Learning is going for you, and you'll be entered to win.

Inspired in Upper Elementary: While you are on Facebook, pop over to my Facebook group, Inspired in Upper Elementary and enter that give away by finding the post and telling me your favorite subject to teach. (You may have to request to join before you can answer. I'll be keeping a close eye on requests all day and will admit you ASAP!)

Instagram: Follow me on Instagram and say "Hello" on the giveaway post with your #1 used emoji. Mine is 😂.

That's it! Don't forget to check these spaces tomorrow to see my grand final giveaway (it's big!). Be well.

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Final Day of Teacher Appreciation Week!

May 8, 2020, 6:00 am

≫ Next: How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Teacher Edition

≪ Previous: Day #4 of Teacher Appreciation Week!

Hi there!

I have had so much fun engaging with you all this week. Yesterday was my personal favorite... all of those GIFs you dropped in the comments on Facebook to describe how you were feeling about distance learning? Gold! Thank you for that.

Today's giveaway is so much fun and classic Teaching With a Mountain View. :) Today, I am giving away a Task Card Organizer and SIXTEEN sets of task cards to go inside of them! The winner of this giveaway can choose any sixteen individual sets of task cards, and they will be sent digitally. The container will be mailed to an address of your choice, but only US addresses are eligible.

Are you ready to start cutting and laminating?

Click HERE to view the task card organizer you could win.
Click HERE to peruse all the task cards you can choose from!

Enter HERE to win! If the contest does not show up, click HERE for entry!

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How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Teacher Edition

June 14, 2020, 10:21 am

≫ Next: Making the Leap: Moving from Primary to Upper Elementary

≪ Previous: Final Day of Teacher Appreciation Week!

Before I even attempt to write this post, I want to be 1000% clear that I don't believe any teacher anywhere needs to work on schoolwork or preparations during the summer. However, I know that at some point in the middle of summer break, many teachers get an itch to start working on their classrooms for the upcoming year! Further, many teachers simply don't get enough prep time before school starts, which means they have to start thinking about school well before their contract hours begin.

I've always been one of those people who has a steady stream of school projects going on all summer long, and over the years, I've wasted a lot of that time working on things that don't matter. I have an extensive blog post about what you need to prep for the first day of school and what you can leave behind, but it's been over five years since I wrote that original post, and I have even more to add. Here's my list of summer to-dos that actually make a difference come day one and my list of dont-dos that can wait!

2020 Disclaimer: I've had this post in drafts for a few years and was finally able to finish it up. While this school year may look a lot different than a typical year, this list doesn't include any distance-learning specific must-dos.

Organize Reading & Math Block: I am a huge proponent of setting these expectations from day one, which means diving in right away! That means on the first day of school, I do have my students start a very modified version of math workshop since that's what our everyday routine will look like. For that reason, I advise teachers that they should have some idea of what their reading and math blocks will look like for the rest of the year.

This also gives you time to prepare some of your resources. I'm working on a blog post about math workshop specifics, but here is a quick overview and how it impacts my summer planning. I typically have three rotations on any given day. One is always Meet with Teacher. The others will vary between Task Cards, Independent Work, Math Games, Fact Practice.

Ways to Prepare for Math and Reading Workshop:

Prepare labels for each of the rotations or decide how you will display the different activities students will be doing. I print and laminate titles of each rotation and then put student names on magnets so they are easy to move around and group for different units.

I prepare a TON of task cards over the summer. A ton. I use them in both my Task Card and Math/Reading Games station, and I have a set for just about every topic. I love the feeling of having them all printed, laminated (if you laminate) and ready to go before the school year even starts. HERE is a blog post about how I organize my task cards.
Gather Games. For me, this means I am looking for games at Goodwill, really great deals on mini travel games over the summer, and also preparing content-specific games. I also use these for indoor recess!
I gather and prepare materials for several ideas for fact practice over the summer, and I always seem to change this up. HERE is one of my favorite math fact practice games that you can prep over the summer.

Daily/Weekly Routines: Decide on some basic routines and think through as many scenarios as you can so that you are prepared with answers for them. I have a list of routines and procedures in my First Week of Schools plans that are free HERE.

Design your Best Plan Book: Decide how you are going to plan out your weeks. I'd caution you to REALLY look into any plan books you are thinking of investing in. I feel like I've had them all and, well, I rarely use anything other than the weekly/daily plan sheets within them. While I loved my fancy bound planners, I always revert back to a very basic, full page (or two page) daily plan that I hole punch and place into a binder. Find what works for you!

Homework: While you don't need to have a complete plan (see below re: implementing too much), you should have some basics ready to go. I guarantee you that some parents will ask about the homework right away! HERE are my thoughts on homework.

Get to know your teammates: Seriously! Get to know them outside of school, meet for lunch, plan together, etc. Especially if you are new to your school or to teaching, get to know as many people as you can. Some of these people will very likely become an extension of your family. Find your marigold and hold them tight!

Organize Your Library and Build a Book Collection: I was at Goodwill every week when I was still building a classroom library (don't forget to look for games while you are there, too)! You can also reach out to friends and neighbors. I have found that people are more than willing to give away children's books to teachers!

Make sure you have a library full of different, diverse characters and settings (see @diversereads on Instagram for a good definition of "diverse" and so many wonderful suggestions), a variety of levels (both picture books and chapter books are a must), and include books that challenge your students' perspectives. Decide how you are going to organize your library. I did mine by topic, and never by level.

Morning Meeting Outline: I start Morning Meeting on DAY ONE, and I've always been more successful if I am prepped from the beginning. First, I'd recommend reading the official Morning Meeting Book (affiliate link). Then, I'd start compiling a huge list of greetings, activities, and books that you'd like to incorporate over the year. That way you aren't scrambling every morning to prepare for your meeting. I always made greeting and activity cards, laminated them, and put them on a ring so that I could just flip to one and be ready to go!

Plan your first week: This is a BIG one! The first week of school is huge, and it was always the week I spent the most time planning. I finally figured out my "ideal" first week of school. I shared those detailed plans for free HERE.

Pacing Guides/Scope and Sequence: Your school or district will likely already have this planned out for you, but it is really crucial that you have a master plan of what your year is going to look like and become intimately familiar with it. There is so much (SO MUCH) to fit into every school year, and you can easily get off track. You also need to be ready to pivot. Teaching long division is probably going to take you infinitely longer than you are prepared for. Identify places in your calendar that you can wiggle a little bit and know when diversions are likely coming.

Decor: Unless you thrive on the pretty and truly enjoy doing this, resist the urge to emulate your favorite Instagram classroom. Instead, look at small spaces within your favorite inspiration rooms and choose one or two bring those into your classroom. If you take one thing away from this, let it be this: Your students will not learn better if you have a perfectly decorated classroom.

Anchor Charts: I am a huge, huge advocate of creating anchor charts WITH your students while you are learning about certain concepts. Unless required by your school, you really need very few reference materials hanging on your walls at the start of the school year. That being said, I do recommend you have a designated space for anchor charts, reference materials, and student projects for each subject you teach. Just leave them blank! :)

Seating: Do not stress about the perfect seating arrangements. They will change quickly and likely frequently over the school year! If you are considering Flexible Seating, you can read my posts about that HERE. Design a simple seating system that will work for the first week or so and then reevaluate.

Implementing too much: One of the biggest mistakes I see new teachers make is being overly ambitious about how much they are going to implement their first year. Make a list of all of the things you'd love to implement into your classroom (classroom management, academic routines, homework requirements, traditions, etc.) and prioritize them. In my experience, it's easier to add things throughout the year than it is to drop something you've already started.

What would you add to either of these lists? I know my to-do list is always seven miles long before the school year starts!

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Making the Leap: Moving from Primary to Upper Elementary

June 26, 2020, 9:19 am

≫ Next: The Pros and Cons of Departmentalization in Elementary Schools

≪ Previous: How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Teacher Edition

When I student taught, I spent half a semester in 5th grade and half a semester in kindergarten. It was jarring moving between 5th grade and kindergarten, to say the least! When I got a job that spring, I was hired for a 3rd grade position... smack dab in the middle of what I'd been prepared for. Through the years, I have worked with students in all grade levels K-5 in a variety of positions: classroom teacher, interventionist, and gifted coordinator. While it's obvious that each grade level and age level will present its own unique celebrations and challenges, there is a general shift that occurs between the primary and upper grades.

A question that often comes up in my Facebook Group, Inspired in Upper Elementary, is: "Help! I've always been a primary grades teacher, and now I'm moving to the upper grades. What do I need to know?"

If you are considering or facing a move from primary to upper elementary grades, here are some things to think about to help make it a smooth transition.

Stages of Development Impact Classroom Management and Social Situations

Children in the lower primary grades are truly “littles.” Sticky hands, hugs, and innocent wondering questions are all a part of the teaching package. As their teacher, you are tasked with teaching them the very foundations of how to be a student. Sure, this includes a ton of academic skills, but also how to listen attentively, how to walk in a line, and how to be a good friend/classmate. Spoiler Alert: You'll still be teaching those same skills in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, but you'll need some new tricks up your sleeve. Holding bubbles in your mouth while walking down the hall just won't have the same effect as it did in kinder.

Once students hit 3rd or 4th grade, they are seasoned veterans of school. They know how they should operate within a classroom, and they know the basics of functioning within a classroom community. However, they all need reminders, practice, and reinforcement of appropriate behaviors. (I should also add that for ANY teacher beginning a new school year, it's so important to remember that your expectations may vary widely from their former teacher. Keep this in mind as you embark on a new school year.)

When I welcomed my first group of 3rd graders after having student taught in 5th grade, I thought their three years of school would have prepared them for the basics of studenthood. I gave them way too much freedom far too quickly, and I learned that they still need ample guidance on how to work and learn in a new classroom.

Of course, there's more to the upper grades than just mastering lining up a rowdy group of 10-year-olds for recess. In the upper grades, social relationships get more complicated, and some of their earlier innocence has matured.

Third graders are sweet as pie, and most are still learning about exercising their independence in a school setting. In third grade, we really focused on developing confidence through a growth mindset and analyzing multiple intelligences and learning styles so that they had a greater self-awareness of themselves as learners. The growth from the beginning of the year third graders to the end of the year third graders is ASTOUNDING. Truly. You will watch them mature before your very eyes. I think third grade is one of the most significant years of change in elementary school.

Fourth graders are still so sweet and kind, and they are becoming much more independent. They are typically starting to function really well in small group settings, and fourth graders have an AMAZING sense of humor. Most third and fourth graders still really love their teachers and school, and they will do just about anything you ask of them. Some will really start to dabble in "big kid" issues toward the end of the year but are usually still receptive to teacher advice and guidance.

By 5th grade (sometimes 4th grade), students are like mini-tweens. I love, love, love 5th graders (can you tell I really love upper elementary kids?). They are funny, independent, and really figuring out who they are are PEOPLE and students. Friendship challenges are common, so building a classroom community and open communication are crucial. Keep an eye on recess-happenings so that you have a good idea of friendship dynamics and any trouble that might be brewing.

Upper grades children are articulate and can do all of those things you used to teach - things like reading and math! Chances are there will be things that you will miss about teaching “littles,” but understand there are positive trade-offs you will definitely appreciate (fifth graders know a good corny joke when they hear one!).

Academic Material

Yep. Academics are very different in the upper grades. I know this is a given, but think long and hard about those differences as you embark on this new journey.

In the upper grades, I really find it crucial to let my students explore topics that interest them. At this age, many are finding sports, activities, and topics that they can't get enough of. LEAN into this because this is a way to nearly guarantee engagement. Incorporate student choice as much as you can -- it fosters independence, too!

When students enter third grade, they are often transitioning from learning HOW to read to reading TO learn. Oh, this is the BEST time, and one of the reasons I love upper grades so much. While you will definitely still have students who are learning to read, there is so much more you can do with books and text and research in the upper grades, and kids LOVE it. In the upper grades, you get to build on the beautiful foundation that the primary grades laid and really dig deep into those comprehension skills. (Here is the order in which I teach reading skills in the upper grades!)

Since most of the country is using some form or adaptation of Common Core-based standards, you will probably see similar strands of standards from grade to grade. Take a look at the standards from not only your new grade level but from the previous year as well. You are really lucky to have experience in the grade they have already been through, and you know just what academic skills they already should have. Now you just need to consider how you can extend those skills. Each year presents more intricate levels to learning expectations that can be a big shock if you aren’t prepared.

While you’re at it, review the district-adopted curriculum for the upper grades. Make sure you grasp the “big picture” scope and sequence and understand the curriculum. Look into online learning platforms for the upper grades, and familiarize yourself with supplemental programs you can use for practice, intervention, and enrichment. Start gathering new resources that you want to use. HERE are all of my resources that I've created for upper grades students.

Who’s on your team?

My grade-level teams have always been my rock! You may be leaving a well-oiled team with solid relationships to join a new grade level. Don’t be shy about meeting and interfacing with the upper-grade teachers. If there is an opportunity to visit or observe upper-grade classrooms, DO IT! Tap into their professional experience, and feel out the dynamics. As the primary source of support for you during your transition, forming positive professional relationships with the new grade level is critical. I have blogged about fostering relationships with your colleagues before, and you can check it out HERE.

Teacher-supplied Resources

Chances are, if you have been teaching in one classroom for some years, you have built a cozy nest of supplies in addition to the curriculum. Think about what can go with you to a new classroom, and what will not work in a higher grade level. You will be really surprised how easily you can adapt some of your favorite activities and manipulatives to meet the needs of your new grade level. Think pattern blocks are obsolete in the upper grades? No way! I use them to teach fractions in grades 3-5. Can't think of a way to incorporate your favorite picture book into your classroom? There are a MILLION ways! Don't think pictures have a place in your reading instruction? Using Pictures to Teach Reading Skills in the upper grades has changed the way I approach reading skills.

Consider how you will use the classroom library and what types of books you have. Don't be fooled: Upper grades students still LOVE picture books, but you'll also want to provide them with ample chapter book choices, too. How will you update your library?

Testing, Testing, Testing

Nobody can forget this one. Most states start mandated testing in third grade, which signals a huge shift in responsibility for teachers AND students. You must be prepared to fit in some test prep time, ideally seamlessly integrated into your curriculum throughout the year.

Talk to your grade level partners and admin to learn your school philosophy on test prep, make sure you can get through the bulk of your academics before the testing season begins, and mentally prepare yourself for days/weeks of pacing back and forth in your classroom as you proctor. I have been lucky to teach in schools that do not overemphasize test prep, and we almost never actually referred to it as test prep!

The truth of the matter is that effective teaching skills are universal. You may feel nervous or uncertain about tackling the challenge of working with older kids, but take a deep breath. You've got this, and maybe, just maybe, you will find your new grade level to be your favorite one yet! Cultivate a growth mindset and a positive attitude, and you will be ready to take on this positive challenge working with a whole new population of learners!

Looking for even more posts about preparing for a new school year? Here are some of my favorites!

How I Spent my Summer Vacation: Teacher Edition

My First Week of School Lesson Plans

8 Things to Have Prepared Before School Starts

5 Changes I made in My Classrooms that SAVED my Sanity

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The Pros and Cons of Departmentalization in Elementary Schools

July 6, 2020, 10:55 am

≫ Next: Incorporating Classroom Traditions to Build Classroom Community

≪ Previous: Making the Leap: Moving from Primary to Upper Elementary

Collaboration is one of my favorite things about my Inspired by Upper Elementary Facebook group. It’s a safe place where upper elementary teachers can ask questions, share ideas, and collaborate with one another. If you haven’t visited, you should definitely check it out!

Recently, a teacher asked about the pros and cons of departmentalizing in upper elementary. The discussion that followed was amazing and included a ton of great thoughts, tips and ideas. The whole discussion had me reflecting on the pros and cons of departmentalizing in elementary schools...

Based on my experiences and the comments in the group, I've boiled it down to five key areas to consider when deciding whether departmentalizing is right for you, your team, and your school. If you are considering departmentalization, I hope these help you make a well thought out decision that helps you meet the needs of your students.

Teacher / Student Relationships

The relationships we build with our students is a key factor in the learning process. A mentor once told me that building a relationship at the beginning of the year is key because once you have that relationship the students will do just about anything for you, and she could not be more right. I saw these words in action year after year. It's important to consider the impact departmentalization will have on your relationship with students.

CON:

By departmentalizing, you are not spending as much time with your students. You lose time and activities that help to build relationships with students. Numerous teachers that transitioned from a self-contained classroom to a departmentalized approach felt that they did not have as strong of relationships with their students as they had in a self-contained setting. They also felt that they did not get to know their students as well as in previous years. (Note: Many teachers shared that although they were worried about this at the beginning of the year, it really didn't come to fruition. They were able to be more intentional in their relationship building and didn't see as much of a difference. I will note that when I was co-teaching and only seeing my students half the time, I was still able to build great relationship with my students.)

PRO:

Departmentalizing gives students multiple teachers they can go to for support in academics or life. Sometimes a student does not “click” with one teacher but they will with another teacher.

I really hesitated to mention this one, but I think it's important. We all know that not every student and teacher can have an ideal relationship. When students/teachers don't necessarily see eye to eye, many teachers note that challenging relationships are usually less strained when students move to another teacher(s) for part of the day. Moving from class to class seemed to actually benefit some of the more challenging relationships, caused less teacher stress, and made for a better learning environment for everyone.

I loved reading how much passion there was from both sides of this issue. I love that teachers want to build strong relationships with their students. If this is something that is important to you (and it really, really should be), then I believe it can happen in either setting. Yes, it might look a bit different in a departmentalized setting, but that doesn’t mean good student/teacher relationships can’t happen. Be intentional about making building relationships an important part of your classroom environment.

Recommendations: If you decide to go with this approach, it's best for students to have a homeroom teacher and a "home base." This way, students still get the benefits of having daily morning meetings, team building activities, and more. On the same topic, be sure you have plenty of opportunities for students in separate homerooms to work with one another.

Consistency

Whether you’ve been a teacher, parent, or both, you probably know that kids thrive with consistency. Children do best when there is a consistent routine and consistent expectations. So how does departmentalizing impact consistency?

CON:

By changing teachers multiple times throughout the day, students lose the consistency and routine that they so thrive on. They tend to struggle more than in a self-contained classroom because of the differences amongst teachers, changing expectations and classroom environments.

Students with special needs tend to have a much more difficult time adjusting to the change and transition from teacher to teacher.

PRO:

While consistency is very important for young children, as they get older they are better able to adapt to change. As students enter middle school, changing classes and teachers will simply be a requirement. Departmentalizing with a team of 2 or 3 teachers in elementary school helps to prepare students for the future and ease the transition later on. Departmentalizing in upper elementary is a good baby step to help students get from self-contained elementary classes to middle school.

Consistency does not mean nothing changes. Students in a self-contained classroom often change for specials, so they've likely already been prepared for the next step of changing core teachers. Students can have consistency in a departmentalized setting even when they change teachers and classrooms. The consistency comes from classroom expectations.

Students with special needs have been successful in departmentalizing. The switching of teachers becomes their consistency. Helping them know what to expect and preparing them for the changes is a great way to help them learn the new routine that comes with departmentalizing.

One of the common themes in this online discussion was the need for team teachers to work together. Many teachers were quick to say that consistency can happen when teachers work as a team to provide consistent classroom management routines, student expectations for behavior and work completion. However, these same teachers also said that when the team teachers are too different and don’t work well together that the consistency will not be there and the students will be the only ones that suffer.

Recommendation: Consistency can be achieved by having a consistent routine each day within your departmentalized schedule. Try not to deviate from that routine on a regular basis.

Mastery in Subject Area

CON:

In a self-contained classroom, the teacher is responsible for teaching all of the subject areas. It is difficult and time-consuming to truly get to know the standards for all of the curriculum (possible understatement of the year! Ha!).

Teachers spend a lot of time with lesson planning for all the subject areas. A. Lot. Of. Time.

By only focusing on one or two subject areas, you can become out of touch with the standards and best practices in other areas.

There is a great benefit to cross-curricular, transdisciplinary teaching for students to see how different skills and ideas can work together. Having taught in an IB school where all learning is supposed to be transdisciplinary, it would be a huge challenge to only teach one subject.

PRO:

By focusing on one or two subject areas, teachers can dig deep into the standards and develop a teaching specialty. Students benefit from a more focused teacher.

Less time is spent on lesson planning freeing up more time for developing new lesson activities for students.

Teachers can work together to create cross-curricular lessons that help meet standards for different subjects.

With less time spent on lesson planning, it makes teacher/life balance a lot easier.

Students benefit when a teacher gets to focus on the subject they are passionate about or that is their strength.

It is important to note here that numerous people added this thought: Departmentalizing works well when teachers are assigned to teach an area they are strong in. However, it can be disastrous when this doesn’t happen. One teacher shared about being placed in a situation to teach language arts and social studies despite her strengths being in math and science. She described the struggles she had and how difficult it was. Ultimately, she said it was the hardest year of teaching she had ever had and that she felt like she was not as good of a teacher for her students as she had been in previous years.

Recommendations: Communicating with the other teachers on your team will be so important so that you can still integrate cross-curricular themes as much as possible. This can be as easy as a quick 10-minute meeting each week where you discuss your themes and concepts for the upcoming weeks so that you can start considering how you can integrate them into YOUR content.

Use of Time

Another factor to consider when deciding whether to departmentalize or have self-contained classes is the use of time.

CON:

Transitioning from class to class wastes a lot time, no matter how well-prepared our students are.

You lose flexibility when you have to stay on a specific schedule. In a self-contained class, if you finish early you can move on, or if a lesson runs a little over you can adjust the schedule or activities.

When activities like assemblies, field trips, and class pictures happen, one class ends up losing time in a specific subject matter while other classes would not.

It is more difficult to adjust to the needs of the students when you have multiple classes, and you are trying to keep them all together. Not all classes learn the same and some classes may need more time on a skill or concept and another class may move quickly through. (Personal Note: This can be alleviated somewhat by grouping your classes, but that is a blog topic for another day!)

PRO:

Transitions make great brain breaks. Students truly do need a little downtime between lessons, and the transition from one class or teacher to another provides not only a break but is also a great visual for the mental switch that has to happen when you move from one subject matter to another.

Transitions do not have to take a long time. Students can learn how to transition quickly with well-defined procedures and expectations.

When team teachers work well together and understand how important it is to be flexible, they can adjust class times to account for occasional schedule changes. One teacher shared how they teach on a block schedule so that each class has the same amount of time together but also the same number of mornings and afternoons since students often do better in the morning.

Collaboration

The ability to work together to solve problems or create amazing learning opportunities is a such an important part of teaching. I am a firm believer that we can do great things on our own, but we can be even better together.

CON:

In a self-contained classroom, there is only one teacher to figure out how to address the needs of struggling students, behavior issues or other concerns. While other teachers can give ideas they do not have in-person and first-hand experience with that student like the primary teacher.

In smaller schools especially, departmentalizing often means that there is only one teacher per grade level teaching a specific subject. This leaves the teacher as the sole creator of lessons with no one to share ideas with, collaborate with or learn from.

PRO:

Departmentalizing allows multiple teachers to have first-hand insight into problems a student may be having. Teachers can work together to help resolve behavior issues or learning struggles. Numerous teachers mentioned how helpful it was to have another teacher who was seeing similar issues in a student. Not only was it a good confirmation, but it helped to have someone to talk to about a student’s issues.

Teachers can collaborate on what is working well in a class to help students in other areas.

When doing a two way split where each class has two teachers, there are often multiple teams per grade level. This gives each subject area two or more teachers that can plan and collaborate together. If this isn't possible, be sure to join subject-specific Facebook groups for support and request special PD opportunities to help hone your craft!

Much of collaboration comes down to the people involved. If teachers choose to collaborate and work with each other, it can be beautiful in both a self-contained or departmentalized setting.

A Note on the Research...

Beyond anecdotes and advice, it's also important to consider the research on departmentalizing in the elementary classroom. HERE is a really interesting article on it.

My Take-Aways . . .

If you are looking for an answer as to whether you should departmentalize, you are not going to find it here. Why? Well, because there are many factors that must be considered in this decision. Every school is different, teachers are different, students are different. What might be best for my school might not be best for yours. So while I won’t tell you what to do, I will share some of my take aways from this important discussion:

The pairing of team teachers is really important. Whether this is done by the administration or the teachers, this is something that must be done with care. It’s important to make sure that teachers that are teamed up work well together, communicate well together, have consistent expectations, and are willing to work together and practice flexibility.
The teaching assignment is another important decision that must be made. Teachers should be able to give input into areas they feel they are stronger in, subjects they enjoy teaching or are passionate about.
Teaching assignments should be fairly distributed. Language Arts instruction is more than one subject (Reading, Writing, Grammar, Spelling) and often carries with it the task of teaching and grading essays. This work load is not the same as other subject areas and this should be taken into consideration when making teacher assignments.
In upper elementary, a teacher team of 2 or 3 appears to be more successful and less overwhelming for students than switching classes with 4 or more teachers. This seems to be the “sweet spot” for helping prepare students for middle school while still providing them the consistency and guidance they need at this age.
Not all pros and cons are equal. It’s important to prioritize the things that will make the classroom learning environment the best it can be for our students. One teacher recommends making a pro/con list and then categorizing each as: pro for the student / pro for the teacher / con for the student / con for the teacher. I really liked this suggestion and found that it helps to keep the decision focused on what is best for the students. And remember that just because it is pro teacher doesn’t mean it is con for the student. A happy and less stressed teacher can make for a better learning environment which is a pro for students too!

What Are Your Thoughts?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on departmentalizing. Join the discussion by leaving your comments below. If this is something you are looking into, then make sure to pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can come back when you need to. Also, feel free to share this with other teachers or administrators as part of your discussion on departmentalizing in upper elementary.

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Incorporating Classroom Traditions to Build Classroom Community

July 13, 2020, 8:43 am

≫ Next: Incorporating the Outdoors into Classroom Instruction

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Every year that I walk into a classroom, I have the same goal: build our class into warm, welcoming community that functions like a great, big extended family. The goal is to take 20 to 30 people who might not know each other, who might not have a single thing in common, and who might not always get along, and bring them together in a way that they look forward to being together, support and encourage one another and help each other through the learning process. It might be a lofty goal, but it’s an important one that helps to create an overall safe and effective learning environment. Here are some of my favorite tried and true activities to help build community in the classroom.

Daily Class Traditions

There are some things we do in class every.single.day that help to build the classroom community! No, I’m not talking about taking attendance or getting lunch count, although I HAVE heard of some teachers adding a fun little twist to these daily tasks (like singing it) and that could become a tradition.

Here, I'm focusing on special activities that make students feel welcome and like they are part of something bigger than themselves. Having spent years working in an International Baccalaureate (IB) School, it was always a goal of mine that students see that there is so much more beyond the walls of their home, school, city, state, and country. Building this type of community is one small way of doing just that.

Class Greeting

Every day, I greet my students at the door to our classroom. I know the mornings are busy, but this is top priority for me as students enter.

I want them to know that I am happy they are there and welcome them in with a smile. Most days we give each other a warm handshake, some days we high-five, some days we fist bump and others we use silly voices. But my most favorite way to greet my students is with a “secret handshake” that has become popular on social media over the years. A few years ago, I started coming up with a special way to do this. Sometimes I create the movement (it’s not just a handshake - that would be too boring) and other years we create it as a class.

You can use it when students arrive in the morning, when they leave for the day, or any time you need a moment of connection during the day. It’s ours and it becomes a special form of communication just for us.

Want to create your own secret class greeting? I’d suggest keeping it short, like 2 or 3 simple motions, no more than about 5 seconds, and have fun with it. Sure, you might look silly, but at least you’ll look silly together.

I know that social media has popularized each student have their own personal secret handshake, but I have never done that, primarily because I have the coordination of a donkey (?? are donkeys uncoordinated? That just felt like the right analogy to me in the moment) and it would take me all year to memorize 30 separate handshakes.

Morning Meeting

Now, before you stop me and tell me that Morning Meeting is only for primary grades, hear me out. Morning meeting can be a very valuable and special time for older kids too! I will never have a classroom where I don't incorporate some form of morning meeting every day.

You don’t have to review the calendar or sing a song every morning (although kids of all ages LOVES a good song, whether or not they will admit it upfront). Instead, make it an important part of the day that helps everyone get on the same page.

I have a big post about Morning Meeting coming soon, but here are a few suggestions of things you could do to make morning meeting a community building time in your classroom.

Review the schedule for the day and help everyone mentally prepare for the day ahead. This is especially helpful if you have any schedule changes that need to be discussed.
I always let a few people share each day. In the lower grades, I would have students sign up to share, but in the upper grades, I was able to make it more flexible and allow children to raise their hands to share whatever is on their mind.
This Day in History is a fun way to learn some fun historical facts while focusing on the day. You’d be surprised at how quickly the kids begin to anticipate it.
It is during morning meeting that we share our reflections on the Quote of the Day from Think it Through. We usually do this on Friday. I have students share out what they think the quote means, and it always ends up in a beautiful discussion. This is a great time to reinforce growth mindset principles, dig into character traits or connect our daily lives with important people from history.
Word of the Day is a great way to build student vocabulary in less than a minute. Share the word and the definition then write it on the board so the kids see it all day long. Have a special class cheer or small reward for any student who can use the word correctly during the day.
Have a quick write journal that gets your students writing for about 5 minutes every morning. Use a writing prompt that will lead to class discussion, or just have a discussion based on the prompt. Limit the writing time and then have a time of sharing or discussion. Writing prompts that focus on emotions, character traits and encouraging classmates is a great way to build community.

Now you don’t have to do all of these at one time. Choose one or two you like best and do them every day. If you like many of the ideas, choose a different one for each day of the week and develop a weekly morning meeting routine.

Daily Praise & Reflection

At the end of each day, I like to have a time of daily praise or reflection. Sometimes it’s me giving praise to the students and other times it is peer praise. What’s great about this is that depending on the time available it could be a super-fast 30 seconds of praise or it could fill 5 minutes. It’s a great way to build up students, acknowledge their effort and to let them know that you notice the little things. One of the things that I am very intentional about with praise is focusing on the action, the character trait or the skill that was shown, and I teach my students to do the same. In my room we don’t typically focus on praising appearance, clothes or possessions.

Although I don’t have a set list that I follow or an order for giving praise, I do make sure that every student receives public praise. Not only does it go a long way in building the teacher/student relationship, but it also helps to reinforce positive choices. Find the positive, reinforce it, and watch as your students repeat it day after day. I have watched students who have struggled with poor classroom behavior or self-esteem have dramatic improvements because of Daily Praise.

I also love hearing my students reflect on their day's work. Sometimes instead of Daily Praise, we also do a daily reflection. We talk about the best parts of the day (doesn't HAVE to be academic in nature), and we even reflect on some parts of the day that didn't go as well as they could have.

Special Occasion Class Traditions

I also like to incorporate some class traditions on special occasions too. These might only happen occasionally during the year, or they might be a once a year event that students experience together. Oftentimes, these are the traditions that kids may even already know about before they come into my classroom because they've heard about them through the grapevine!

Mini Room Transformations

I am a huge proponent of mini room transformations when you can apply them to specific skills you are teaching. They most often coincide with my math and reading projects, but we also do a Book Tasting several times throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, I always transform my room into a little detective zone for our Place Value Detective Project. It's super basic-- I just hang up some caution tape, purchase magnifying glasses at Oriental Trading, and get a stamp pad for students to fingerprint their papers when they finish each section. I do this for several different units (or anytime I can apply it to academics), and it has become a tradition in my classroom that students rave about! It does NOT need to be over the top to be engaging and meaningful!

Class Rewards

This is a pretty personal tradition, and you have to find one that works really well for your class, your students, and your classroom management style. I have done a variety of different reward systems, but students seem to gravitate toward a "ticket" system most often. They can earn tickets as "gotchas" for literally ANYTHING positive. They can't lose them. The best part is that at the end of the week or at random (they especially love when I randomly pick up the ticket tub), I pull a few tickets out of the jar and they can choose a small prize. SMALL is key. They are usually pencils, cool markers and pens, little doodads, etc. I ask for donations at the beginning of the year and then collect things on sale as I see them.

Big Kid Show and Tell

Kids love show and tell...ESPECIALLY the big kids. They love sharing things about themselves and their lives. Building relationships happens when we share and get to know each other at a deeper level. So although I know the rigorous demands on your time, I also know that there is a great benefit to show and tell. I usually try to incorporate show and tell into morning meeting, but here are a few extra ideas about how I connect show and tell to the learning standards so that we can meet both a community building and academic goals:

Use show and tell to meet the speaking and listening standards
Have a themed show and tell that is connected to something you are learning about
Have a written show and tell where students bring in a picture of themselves with the show and tell item and then write about it

I try to have a different sharing topic once a month for morning meeting, but there are times when we skip a month, and I DO let students choose their own sharing during morning meeting, too. Here are a few themed show and tell topics to get you started:

This week we are learning about different types of angles. Bring in a show and tell item that has at least 1 obtuse angle, 1 acute angle and 1 right angle. Yep - all three angles in one item! You will have 1 minute to tell about the item and identify the angles.
This month we are focusing on the character trait of bravery. Bring in a picture or an item and share about a time you witnessed bravery or you yourself were brave.
In science, we just learned about Sir Isaac Newton and his laws of motion. This month’s show and tell will focus on things that move. Bring in an item or a picture of a moving object and be ready to tell us what Sir Isaac Newton would have to say about it. No living things may be brought to class - bring a picture instead!

With some creative thinking, Show and Tell can be used to not only support your standards, but also to get your students applying and analyzing their learning and connecting it to real, everyday life.

Throwback Thursday

Have you ever had a great teaching idea on the spur of the moment? That’s how Throwback Thursday started. You see, it was a Thursday afternoon after a long week of test prep and I found myself staring at the glazed-over eyes of my students. I knew I couldn’t just keep going, so I started thinking of something to do to take a break. Then I remembered the social media post I saw that morning - a Throwback Thursday image of my friend and her family. Before I realized what I was really saying, I excitedly announced “It’s time for Throwback Thursday!”

My students looked up at me a little confused and so I explained that I was going to set a timer and for the next 5 minutes we were going to share some of our class favorite days, activities, memories and stories from the year. Hands started shooting up all over the room and for the next 5 minutes we re-lived some of our greatest moments. There was energy in the room as we laughed and remembered together. It was just what we needed to break up our day.

The next Thursday a student asked, aren’t we going to do Throwback Thursday? When the class cheered I knew it would become a weekly or almost weekly class tradition.

Stand Up Comedians

If you've spent much time in an upper grades classroom, you know how much kids LOVE to share and tell jokes! I encouraged my students to collect jokes, and when we had a few extra minutes, we'd have STAND UP time! It can take as little as 2 minutes out of your day, and students love, love, love it. File this under Brain Break ideas, too!

Fun Friday

Most Friday mornings, I would bring my class outside for a quick 10-15 minute game. You could always tie this into your classroom management system, but I rarely took this away because it was such a special time for us. There are so many easy games to play (Captain's Coming is a favorite), and over time they get GIDDY with excitement when they arrive on Friday mornings.

Year-Long Class Traditions

Picture Board

I strongly suggest that you find a way that you'd like to document your year in pictures and reflections. My first year teaching, I did something called "Reel Reflections" and took pictures each month to print out. On the last day of the month, we would talk about ALL the things we did and learned that month, and I would type them out and hang them next to the pictures. It stayed up all year, and was so fun to see all of our learning! I wish I had a picture of it, because it was such a great display.

A few years ago, I put up an Instagram bulletin board that I would change out monthly with different pictures. Students absolutely loved this. I kept all the pictures from each month and gave them out at the end of the year. It was the best walk down memory lane at the end of the year and keep smiling faces on the walls all year! (Tip: I hung up pictures of my family at the beginning of the year so students could get to know me and my family.)

Time Capsule

Have you ever put together a time capsule at the beginning of the year to be opened on the last day of school? It's pretty fun! I take a class picture, we all write down our hopes and dreams, and I print out some local news articles. It's always amazing to look back and see how much changes in a year.

Make Your Own Traditions

Remember Throwback Thursday? You see that wasn’t an activity I had on the lesson plans and it wasn’t even on the schedule. In fact, it wasn’t even in my head until that very moment. I share that to encourage you that not all community-building activities have to be thought out. In fact, some of the best start with a spontaneous thing that happens in class. It might start with an inside joke that only your class gets or maybe it’s an activity or way of your learning that your class really enjoys. It could be anything as long as you make it yours!

Be intentional about building community in the classroom, but also be flexible. An activity that was loved in previous years might be a flop and new activities, like Throwback Thursday, might be born. Each class has its own personality that will come out in its own unique ways. Go with it, have fun with it, and watch your group of random people become a family.

Pin It and Come Back!

If you are anything like me you vaguely remember a classroom idea but have no idea where you saw it. I started pinning ideas that I wanted to use in my classroom on my Pinterest boards. Now I go to Pinterest and can quickly and easily get back to my favorite classroom ideas and activities. So, pin this now so you can come back later for more classroom community building ideas.

How Do You Build Community in the Classroom?

I’d love to know some of your favorite community-building traditions. Come join the discussion in my teaching Facebook group or on Instagram.

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