One of the best parts about teaching early elementary students is teaching them to read. Don't get me wrong. It's a tough task, but one that is so rewarding. All you need is a list of fun and creative reading strategies, and your students will be reading in no time! "Ask and you shall receive!"
These sentence editing strips are perfect for early elementary students to work on capitalization and punctuation in a fun, hands on way!
Jenga game cards are easily my favorite way to teach and reinforce basic math fact, phonics, or grammar practice.
Cultivate lifelong reading skills.
The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
Each of these pictures shows a story with three parts! In this early reading worksheet, your child gets practice identifying what's happening in each picture and figuring out what comes next.
We want our learners to be successful with math skills. But are we teaching them to be math literate? One strategy to promote math literacy is by purposefully instructing and using math vocabulary every day in our classroom. Math Literacy Reading math books is a great way to engage learners, but that is not what […]
Explode The Code is a workbook-based phonics curriculum for Early Elementary students. This blog post shares my honest review of the curriculum and gives a look inside the workbooks.
Discover my favorite activities that are aligned with the science of reading curriculum to help your young learns master reading fast.
Here are some great grammar games, ideas, and activities that will help early/middle elementary aged kids enjoy grammar just a bit.
This blog post features a contraction anchor chart. Plus, two free concentration games are provided... one contraction game for lower elementary and one for upper elementary!
This blog post features a contraction anchor chart. Plus, two free concentration games are provided... one contraction game for lower elementary and one for upper elementary!
Learn about life in Ancient Rome with FREE printable history readers about the powerful Roman Civilization that ruled Europe for 1,000 years.
The English language is a tricky one. There are so many rules for kids to learn, that only require them to
Spanish task cards are versatile, engaging language practice for kids. A free download of 30 task cards to practice animal words and early reading skills.
Rabbit Trails through Literature is an early elementary language arts curriculum that uses quality literature as it's spine!
Decoding drills for building fluency helps students apply phonics skills when reading. Perfect warm ups and a great tracking tool, too.
I have a fun reading resource for you! Book Talk is loaded with ideas to use for retelling stories, comprehending reading, and using books and tools to share some good conversations. Click here for a preview. Students will have plenty to do during reading time. Plus, there are some great homework ideas too! I recently updated this cover and added more graphic organizers and activities to this resource. Here are just a few examples of what's included: Questions to ask partners or questions for parents to ask their child about the book they are reading. It helps start and guide the conversation about books. If you ONLY want the Book Talk Questions, scroll to the bottom of this post. The questions come in a variety of ways. You can get them all on one sheet or on small papers like below. I put a ring on these and students have a ton of questions to ask themselves or with their partner. These are handy and ready to go on a moments notice. You can use these questions for any genre you are reading. This pack includes 5 book reports with directions and rubrics! Just copy and send home for homework projects. This pack has graphic organizers to keep the conversation going through writing. Over 40 graphic organizers included! Also some reading activities for students that finish early or need some more enrichment. One sheet is for partners to do together and one sheet is for the individual learner who can work at their own pace. You will be sure to find some reading logs in this pack too. There is even one for the entire class to keep track of the books you read together as a class. Plus so much more!!! All activities can be used with any book or any reading program you use in the classroom. You can find Book Talk here on my blog for a discounted price: Discounted Price:Sell ebooks If you ONLY want the Book Talk Questions, click the picture on the left. This pack has 10 pages full of questions students should be answering while reading their story. You can only purchase these questions here on my blog. Click to read more about it. If you ONLY want the book reports, Click on the picture below. Book Reports have 4 book reports with directions and a grading rubric. There are also 3 extra reports to use at anytime! You can ONLY buy this on my blog right now. Thanks for stopping by! See you soon,
For teachers, getting the curriculum right the first time is of utmost importance. Try a Free Week of reading lesson plans to make sure it is right for you!
Mrs. Thompson’s Treasures is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. This post may contain affiliate links. Do you remember those Highlights magazine hidden picture pages like these? I remember always having fun with those in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. I wanted to create something similar, […]
How do I get students excited about books? There are so many ways to get students excited about books! Here are just 10 ways to share just how wonderful reading can be! 1. Read aloud Reading aloud to your students (at any age) is the most important thing you can do to encourage students to
Are you concerned that your students are not getting the most out of your phonics instruction? It's easy to become frustrated and feel like we're not doing
Phonemic Awareness is an important early reading skill for preschoolers and kindergarteners to develop. Do you know what it is and how to teach it?
Jenga game cards are easily my favorite way to teach and reinforce basic math fact, phonics, or grammar practice.
The Science of Reading is all the rage in today’s classroom and for good reason! It has created a lot of shifts to happen in our schools with its scientifically based research. It’s all about the science behind how we learn to read and it’s pretty fascinating! While many of us may have thought reading […]
Teach your preschool child important pre-reading skills with these great ideas and activities from Empowered Parents.
Teaching your child to read can be a daunting task especially if they are struggling, but these resources make the job easier.
10 Reading Week Ideas No comments Read Across America, Reading, reading week, Teaching Ideas Once a year we get the opportunity to dedicate a full week to all things related to reading. Reading Week, or Read Across America, is such a great way to instill a love of learning in students. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link. My school does a lot of school wide events to make Reading Week special, but I always like to do a few things of my own. If you're looking for some simple ways to make this week extra special for your students, then keep on reading. Book Snack During a read aloud, let your students enjoy a special snack. This can be as cutesy and themed as you want it to be (or not at all). Trust me when I tell you that your kids will love snacking on Goldfish as you read Mercy Watson to them. But, if you want to amp it up a bit, here are a few suggestions to work with: Read Corduroy and let students eat a button shaped cookie Read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and give them a cookie (or pair any book in this series with its food item) Read The Watermelon Seed or Watermelon Madness and let the students eat a slice of watermelon or some watermelon sour gummies Read Diary of a Worm and let students eat a few gummy worms Random Themed D.E.A.R. Times Rather than offer silent reading at the same time each day during Reading Week, switch up the times each day. Better yet, make that D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) time themed! This is such a simple way to make silent reading more fun. Invite your students to participate in daily themes such as reading to a stuffed animal, laying on a pillow, or reading in the dark with a flashlight. Send home the note below home the Friday before Reading Week so students can prepare over the weekend for day one. You can grab this D.E.A.R. note by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. :) Schedule some D.E.A.R time for Read Alouds D.E.A.R. time isn't just for silent reading. It can be for read alouds too! So, drop everything and read to your students. They'll love it. Flashlight Read If you don't like the idea of themed D.E.A.R. time, then opt for a day or two of flashlight reading. Finger flashlights are always popular with students. Turn down the lights, give each student a finger flashlight, and let them read. Easy peasy. Find a New Place to Read Weather permitting, maybe you can take your kids outside to read one day. Is there anything more fun than sitting on the play structure and reading? If the weather isn't cooperating, then find other places in your building to read. Maybe you could let them read: on the school stage in the hallway in your computer lab in your school library (if it's available for use) Buddy Read Partner up with a different grade level for some buddy reading. I remember having Big Buddies in elementary school (and then one day becoming a Big Buddy myself). It was always so fun to read with kids in a different grade. Have a Read-In Let your students participate in a read-in. This could be a full day event, or a half day. Let students bring a blanket and pillow so they can cozy up as they read. And, if you're feeling bold, let them build reading forts. Set Out Baskets of Special Books Put out some special baskets filled with books. These books can come from your own classroom library, or even the school library. Choose some fun themes, new titles, or Caldecott winners and invite your students to read these featured books during D.E.A.R. time. Book Share Throughout the week, let the students take turns sharing a favorite book. This is an easy way to incorporate some speaking and listening into your week. Once students choose a book, they can explain why they like it. It would also be a great way to get students excited about reading new books. Make a Bookmark Let your students make a bookmark. They could make one from scratch (give them a plain white template and let them have at it), or let them color a bookmark like the one shown below. You can grab this fun bookmark by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. :) Extra, Extra A few fun extras you might want to consider are sending home Reading Bingo to encourage more reading at home. Or, a fun reading themed graphing activity that allows you to get in a little extra math practice. You can grab both of these fun extras by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. :) I hope you are able to use an idea or two from this post! Happy reading, my friends. And, don't forget, you can grab all of the fun resources featured in this post for FREE by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:
Each set has six packs that cover the following sounds:ALPHABETSHORT VOWELSDIGRAPHSBLENDSLONG VOWELSDIPHTHONGS
Learn how to introduce the new Science of Reading Strategies to help your primary students decode unknown words.
What is early literacy and more importantly how can we develop it? From the best read-alouds to engaging playful activities, you'll discover them all.
You can easily incorporate children's literature into the elementary music classroom and I especially love using children's books for movement exploration.
Let's discover science of reading aligned centers. You will be able to fully integrate science of reading into your literacy centers.
It is a common phrase in the world of education today, but what is science of reading exactly? In short, we could say it is a field of study that explores how individuals learn to read and what strategies can be used to support readers. What is Science of Reading?
Many primary classrooms invite family and community members to visit the classroom as a guest reader during the school year. However, not all of these visitors know exactly what book they should share. Instead of scrambling to find a book at the last minute, you can put together a special collection of read aloud books for guest readers. Here are some book suggestions that are sure to be a hit with the class.
Learn about the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy. Then get a FREE resource that provides you with actionable steps for bringing Science of Reading-aligned instruction into your classroom.
Let's discover science of reading aligned centers. You will be able to fully integrate science of reading into your literacy centers.
It can be overwhelming to prepare a reading lesson in a way that supports English Language Learners' (ELLs/ESL) reading comprehension alongside their non-ELL peers, but it doesn’t need to be. Research shows that best practices
All about the science of reading - what it's based on, the research behind it, and how you can help ALL students become fluent readers.
The Science of Reading is all the rage in today’s classroom and for good reason! It has created a lot of shifts to happen in our schools with its scientifically based research. It’s all about the science behind how we learn to read and it’s pretty fascinating! While many of us may have thought reading […]
Shifting from guided reading to the science of reading groups is a big change. Take a look at how I organize me, kids, and parents for small groups.
Time to play a fun little build-a-word beginning reading game we call Roll, Read, Write. This idea comes from the awesome new book just out called Busy Bags Kids Will Love by Sara McClure, a
