The beginning of teaching setting is just having students figure out the time and place of a story. By upper elementary grades (especially 4th and 5th), we’re ready for the deep dive into analyzing the role of the setting and how it affects the story. Historical fiction is the best
Combining subjects is a great way to gain more instruction time and help students to have a deeper understanding about a topic. It’s also going beyond just written response paragraphs to text based questions. If you have a limited time for teaching each subject, this integrated approach to reading &
When I moved to my current school three years ago, I completely switched school systems. Through orientation and examining their curriculum, I quickly learned they had an obsession with minilessons. While I’m resistant to change, I did learn a lot about planning minilessons and they can be really effective when
January is the month that never ends, but February can fly by! Yes, I know it’s the shortest month, but it also has a lot of important dates. Here’s what I’m planning on sharing with my students in February. First and foremost, February is Black History Month. This should NOT
Often when I see posts and activities about growth mindset, they usually include some amazing picture books. While I love picture books, novels are a huge part of my classroom. My yearlong curriculum is based completely on using novels (with some additional resources, especially for non-fiction). This is when I
The first FIVE days of lesson plans for the beginning of the year.Visual, clickable resource grid.Free & delivered to your inbox. 
