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Like so many teachers, we worried about about what school would look like for 2019 - 2021. We were especially concerned about our Literacy Centers and how distance learning for kindergarten or 1st grade would work. We worked frantically to find ways to work in-class,...
In our classroom we focus our morning meetings around diversity in February. We have some great discussions about our differences. Black History Month Bulletin Board After Read Aloud Time We use our read-aloud time to read texts that help us learn more about black...
Building Proficient Readers, Writers, and Thinkers Readers. Writers. Thinkers. ----> Three critical educational goals we have for every student. With no time to waste, the beginning of the school year is a perfect opportunity to develop and refine these skills....
Impress your principal, parents, and even yourself as students engage in both fun and learning right up until the last bell rings before Winter Break with the 5 Day Classroom Countdown! All teachers know the last week before the winter break is difficult to fill. ...
Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler Bonaparte is afraid of going to school because he is literally falling apart. His friends try to help him with creative solutions, but they fall short. Finally, a "service" dog comes to the rescue by fetching Bonaparte's bones,...
Teach growth mindset, perseverance, and building friendships with read-alouds. Planning our Back-to-School Interactive Read-Alouds truly gets us excited to start a new school year. This summer, we met at the Cheesecake Factory to select books and sketch out plans....
Thelma the Unicorn Read Aloud Lesson Plans and Activities I discovered "Thelma the Unicorn" by Aaron Blabey at our school's Scholastic Book Fair. I instantly fell in love with this darling story about learning to love who you are. Thelma dreams of being a glamorous...
When Spring Comes Kindergarten and First Grade Read-Aloud and Activities. Husband and wife Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek collaborate to create the story, "When Spring Comes." This beautiful book captures the magic of seasonal change. Henkes' lyrical words, along...
and then it's spring Kindergarten and First Grade read-aloud and activities. "and then it's spring" by Julie Fogliano is the perfect book to read to your class those first days of spring. Everyone gets spring fever as they wait for the temperature to raise just enough...
How to Catch a Leprechaun A clever book for St. Patrick's DayI am hooked on the "How to Catch a..." books by Adam Wallace. They are extremely clever and kids love studying the details of the illustrations. In "How to Catch a Leprechaun" the witty and mysterious...
Creepy Pair of Underwear Lesson Plans and Craftivity It's now February and when I asked my students what their favorite read-aloud from the year was so far, at least half of them said Creepy Carrots. We read Creepy Carrots back in October and they all absolutely...
Weather Read-aloud and Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade My students can't get enough of these National Geographic Kids read-alouds and I love them because it allows them to meet the reading informational text and the science standards at the same time. It...
Mother Bruce Lesson Plans and Activities After reading the reviews I knew I had to get "Mother Bruce" by Ryan T. Higgins. He is a best selling author and his new book 'Mother Bruce' does not disappoint. In this story Bruce is a grumpy bear who...
Marvelous March Read-alouds for First and Second Graders We chose 7 Marvelous books for our March read-alouds. We picked 'The Luckiest Leprechaun' by Justine Korman because it is an old favorite of ours. We chose to do a compare and contrast with 'The Three Little...
Memoirs of a Goldfish Read-aloud for Kindergarten and First Grade I absolutely loved 'Memoirs of An Elf' by Devin Scillian (and so did my students!). When I saw 'Memoirs of a Goldfish' I knew I had to have it as an interactive read-aloud in my class. Our class...
February Read-alouds for 1st and 2nd Grade February is a month full of fun holidays. We chose our books for this month to help students celebrate. We LOVE every book selection this month. We closely read each book and spent 3 to 4 days asking text dependent questions...
Discussing Kids' Cell Phone use to improve on-demand writing skills It seems that younger and younger children are walking around with their own cell phones these days. You have probably seen plenty of students bring their devices to school and maybe even right into...
The Snowy Day 'The Snowy Day' by Ezra Jack Keats is the perfect read-aloud for Kindergartners in January. They love following the little boy on his adventures through the city on a very snow day. If you haven't had a chance to read this Caldecott award winning story,...
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner is the perfect read-aloud for January. My class loved reading 'Snowmen at Christmas' in December so much, I just had to bring out 'Snowmen at Night' for January. This book sparks the students imagination as to why snowmen look so...
The Emperor's Cool Clothes Lesson Plans 'The Emperor's Cool Clothes' is a new and modern retelling of the classic tale 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. Lee Harper is a great author and illustrator. He turned this classic into a fun story that kids will love. His...
Wonderful Winter Holidays Around the World Integrated Lesson Plans and Art Projects Before I start our 12 Days until Christmas in the Classroom Countdown, I love to teach about Winter Holidays around the world. Every year this is always one of my class' favorite...
Comparing digital and board games to improve on-demand writing skills If your students are like mine, they potentially spend hours playing digital and online games such as Fortnite, Minecraft, Just Dance, and Pokemon Go. With so many video gaming choices, kids...
6 Delightful December Interactive read-alouds! We have 6 delightful December read-alouds for you to use in your classroom. Embrace the Christmas spirit during the crazy month of December with these stories. We promise your students will fall in love with all six of...
Too Many Toys FREE Interactive Read-aloud Try our text dependent questions, lesson plans, graphic organizers, writing, and craft instructions for FREE Teachers are loving our interactive read-alouds. They are saying things like, "This is my favorite TPT purchase ever!...
Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry A great read-aloud for teaching how to stand up for your friends. We fell in love with Stick and Stone the second we came across it at our public library. All three of us had a copy shipped to our homes before returning it. This book...
Trendy Tricks that Help Students Produce Higher Quality Writing After 15 years in the classroom, I have found that using relevant or trendy topics as a springboard for writing really helps to motivate my students, especially my most reluctant writers. Here is the...
ISH BY PETER H. REYNOLDS An Interactive Read-Aloud and Lesson Plans This is a wonderful story about a creative boy named Ramon, who loves to draw until he is teased by his older brother for the way his pictures look. The boy’s younger sister helps him learn to...
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires Growth Mindset activities, lesson plans, and craftivity I can't say enough about this new picture book by Ashley Spires. This inspiring story presents the idea of perseverance and growth mindset to young kids. The little...
Fidget Spinners Paired Texts To Improve On-Demand Writing Skills Students love fidget spinners (and much to a teacher's dismay), these trendy gadgets have found their way into classrooms everywhere. What is a teacher to do? When you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Here...
Hoverboard Paired Texts To Improve On-Demand Writing Skills Do your students own (or wish they owned) a hoverboard? This familiar transportation trend is a very engaging topic for students in the classroom. The controversy surrounding board safety makes a great...
6 Back-to-School Read-Alouds that Build Classroom Community These lesson plans will get your class discussing friendship, bullying, manners, kindness, self-assurance, perseverance, and growth mindset at the beginning of the year. We chose our first set of books...
5 Fantastic February Read-alouds for Kindergarten and First Grade We hope your students enjoy read-alouds as much as our kindergartners and first graders do! We love seeing the students' excitement as we introduce the new...
5 Adorable Christmas Read-Alouds for Kindergarten and First Grade Here are some of our favorite books to read to kindergarten and first grade students during the month of December... Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold This first story is one...
Lesson plans, text dependent questions, graphic organizers, writing, and craftivity for each book Here are the titles and a brief overview of our November K-1 read-alouds: Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson We can't seem to resist any Bear books by Karma Wilson....
October K-1 Interactive Read-Alouds Lesson plans, text-dependent questions, graphic organizers, and craftivtites for each book. We are excited to announce the beginning of a new product line. We've had so much success with our 1st and 2nd-grade read-alouds in...
6 Best October Read-Alouds for 1st and 2nd Grade Lesson Plans, Graphic Organizers, Text Dependent Questions, and Craftivities We recently revised our October Read-Alouds. We are in love with this combination of new best sellers and old favorites, so we chose not...
Using Multiple Texts in the Classroom With the introduction of more rigorous standards across the country comes the expectation for elementary students to be able to read, scrutinize, analyze, and then support their thinking using multiple texts on the same topic. As...
Teaching students about 9/11 with sensitivity. Discuss the sensitive events of September 11th, 2001 with elementary children. Let's be honest...it is no small task to teach students about September 11, 2001 without scaring them, becoming too political, or...
Life Cycle of a Chicken Research for Primary Grades We love learning all about life cycles in the primary grades! Students watch caterpillars form chrysalises and turn into butterflies as we learn about the Monarch butterfly life cycle. They explore the life cycle of...
May 1-2 End of Year Bundle: Interactive Read-Aloud Lesson Plans Curriculum We can’t believe it is almost May and another school year is winding down. Our kids are getting a bit antsy waiting for summer vacation. It is getting a little harder to keep them engaged in...
Meeting the Common Core Reading Literature Standards can be challenging. Like many teachers out there, we are using old basils,. A booked published published before the newest Core Standards were implemented. The result? In order to meet our Core Standards, we...
As we enter April, spring fever is in full effect at our school. Our kids are getting a little restless and wishing they were outside enjoying the nice weather instead of being cooped up inside a classroom. The one special time of our day is our read-aloud time....
Why Do We Celebrate Valentine's Day? We're very excited to teach the students about the legendary history of Valentine's Day using our "How Valentine's Day Came to Be" text. First, students will read the text (or have the text read aloud to them). Then students will...
Flipping through the Scholastic book orders I knew right away I had to get this book. The Snow Beast was just published in 2015 and it looked like the perfect book for January. As soon as I read it the first time I fell in love with it and the ideas started flowing....
Civil Rights & Black History Month Research for Grades 4-6 I am excited for school to resume in January so my class can experience these lesson plans! These lessons provide an engaging way for students to research four heroes from the Civil Rights Movement- Martin...
Spaghetti with the Yeti Interactive Read-aloud We found the perfect read-aloud for January. Take your students on a fun adventure with a boy named George as he tries to find the Yeti. George is sure the Yeti will love some spaghetti! This book has fun rhyming text and...
Martin Luther King Jr. Interactive Read-aloud and Lessons We wanted to teach about Martin Luther King Jr. this month during our read-aloud time so we picked an old favorite: Martin's Big Words. We wanted this to be a meaningful read-aloud for the students so we...
Bear Snores On Interactive Read-Aloud for Kindergarten and 1st Grade I can't resist any of the Bear series by Karma Wilson. They are my go-to, favorite read-alouds. I enjoy noticing Wilson's ingenious craft and new details as much as my students. I chose "Bear...
Footprints in the Snow Interactive Read-aloud for First and Second Grade I honestly can't believe I haven't been introduced to this story by Mei Matsuoka before now. I came across it in this month's Scholastic Reading Club order. I instantly fell in love with this...
Our class read-aloud time has quickly become our favorite time of the day. My students can't wait to see what our next story will be. Their love for reading is unfolding through each read-aloud. It is entertaining to hear their answers to the text dependent questions,...
In this article we breakdown the 4 key commonents of an elmenetary lesson plan and how to select activities for a lesson plan. Get tips for easy lessson plans, ideas for engaging kids and more!