Here's a step-by-step guide for teaching students to identify text evidence and support answers to questions with evidence from passages.
Ready to move beyond tired Jeopardy slides? Try a few rounds of the Flyswatter Game, a no-fail way to keep teens active and excited about test prep. Six Easy St
Exit tickets are the key to finishing the class and assessing our learners! Read this blog post and learn more about them!
These engaging 6th grade short stories are a fantastic resource to help you teach reading in your middle school ELA classroom.
Hello darlings! One of my pet peeves is seeing adults still using there, their, and they’re incorrectly. It gives me the heebie jeebies. One of the things I work hard on with my kiddos is knowing the difference between the words and using them correctly the entire year! I downloaded this cute flipbook freebie from ... Read More about There Their They’re: There’s No Excuse to Use Them Incorrectly
I love literature circles. I love giving my students ownership of their learning and choice when picking their novles. I also know that humans are social in nature, and literature circles provide the perfect setting for what I call "dinner table talk" about books. The challenge this school year was bringing the literature circle experience to the hybrid classroom. How could my students read books in groups when half of my students were home and half were in the classroom? How could we meet if we
ELL Bathroom Briefs are one page infographs offering quick, easily accessible ELL strategies that can be used across cross-content areas.
Great resource to post in the classroom...as well as send home for parents to use with their children!
There are a few considerations you should make while looking for good childrens books. You must first confirm that the books are suitable for your childs age.
Happy Halloween SLPeeps! “I love when Halloween is on a Wednesday”… said NO person who works with or has children EVER! I hope you’re surviving this crazy week! We’v…
by Valentina Gonzalez I have to admit that when I first began my role as an ESL teacher years ago, I didn’t know much about ELs other than through my own experiences. My experience growing up…
Help! My students don’t remember the parts of speech! Yep, we’ve all been there. You start a grammar lesson, only to realize that your students don’t remember the basics. It’s not that they don’t understand grammar and syntax; they just forgot the technical terms (nouns, verbs, adjective, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections) that they need […]
When attention spans are short, these do the trick!
Do your students struggle with elaboration in writing? Use concrete, manageable appraoches to help students develop this skill.
Do your students struggle to use text evidence in their writing? This resource supports students as they learn to cite text evidence like pros! It includes posters, bookmarks, and a reference sheet to guide students as they respond to their reading.CITING TEXT EVIDENCE POSTERS (set of 6)These includ...
Teaching rhetorical analysis is one of my absolute favorite units to complete with my students. I love teaching my students about rhetorical strategies and devices, analyzing what makes an effective and persuasive argument, and reading critical speeches with my students. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite speeches for rhetorical analysis.
Engage students during math stations with Number Puzzles that model second grade math strategies. My students love putting together these puzzles.
My goal is to show parents how to teach kids with dyslexia to read. There is a lot to know about teaching kids with dyslexia to read. Let's break it down step by step.
Looking for engaging grammar lessons? Engagement involves active learning, social interaction, connections, and student interest. Start here!
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
Reciprocal teaching encourages students to think about their own thought processes during reading and helps teachers explicitly scaffold learning.
Many teachers have "tried and true" resources that they pull from year after year. I've been an elementary ESL teacher since 2005 working with grades 1-6. During this time I have used a ton of resources with my students; and my favorites have stuck with me. Even though my "classroom" can change year to year, from pushing-in, co-teaching, to predominantly working with small pull-out groups, these tried and true resources are ones that I wouldn't want to do without. Here's a look at a few of my top favorites... Graphic Organizers This resource is #1 for a reason! I almost always use graphic organizers to teach reading comprehension. I find them to be highly effective because they are not text heavy. Students read with a purpose, then complete an activity that supports that specific reading skill/strategy. No matter my students' level of reading or language proficiency, a simple graphic organizer is what I need to reinforce that skill or strategy! I keep these graphic organizers on my desktop, and when I'm planning my lessons I can quickly pull up the organizers I need, then print and go! Tip: When I print, I reduce the setting to 80% and then trim the sides. Students glue the graphic organizer into their reading notebooks which makes for a great collection of student work and visual reference of student progress and effort. Leveled Books for Reading Instruction I have been very lucky to work in schools that have had awesome book rooms full of guided reading sets. I hope that you have the same access to books in your school. Finding books on my students' levels is one thing, but finding relevant books, especially for my upper elementary beginning ELs, is another. It's a challenge, for sure, but with a good book room I know that I can almost always find what I need. Click here for a free modified guided reading lesson plan template! Don't have a stocked book room? I also order several grade levels of the Scholastic News Magazines. (I think 10 magazines per grade level is the minimum order; that's what I get.) I mostly use grades 1, 2 & 3 with my ELs. With your order, you also have access to the online magazines, which is awesome! You can project to an interactive whiteboard, or have students read on an iPad or computer. These various grade levels make it easy to differentiate text levels. Since I use the magazines for reading instruction, students do not take them home. I keep the magazines organized by grade level and time of year, then I reuse the ones I love, year after year. Reading instruction is a big part of my day, so having access to leveled reading materials is a must! Visual Reading Word Wall Cards I love this resource because of the visuals. and the versatility. When introducing a reading concept, such as "making predictions" or "plot," to beginning or intermediate English learners, a meaningful visual is definitely worth a thousand words! These reading word wall cards provide my students with the visual supports they need as they are learning new concepts in English. I use these cards at my reading table, as a word wall, in anchor charts, as sorting headers, and in my learning objectives that I post on the board. Guided Reading Table Anchor Chart Lesson Objectives Words Their Way for Word Study For ELLs, learning spelling patterns in English is important. I especially like this resource because I can differentiate it according to the needs of my students. First, I assess what my students already know, as far as consonants, short and long vowels, word families, digraphs, etc., then start from there. We systematically work through the sorts building their knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns. A bonus with this resource is that it's another exposure to new vocabulary! Each Monday my students receive their list of words, and each day of the week they have various independent activities to do with their words. Then on Fridays, we finish up with a quick spelling quiz. Click for a free download of Weekly Word Study Activities To start, I set up their notebooks with their weekly Word Study Activities. We do this together the first week or two, so that I know that they understand what's expected. This is a word sort that my newcomers might be working on. And this is a sort that my intermediate ELLs might be working on. After I copy the page, I'll cut the page so that they have about 15 new words per week. My advanced ELLs might have 18 to 20 words. Once my students understand their weekly activities, these Word Study Activities become independent activities during the week while in Reader's Workshop. Students are responsible for completing the weekly work and learning their words. I set them up on Monday with their new words, then quiz them on Friday. It's up to them to do the work Tuesday through Thursday. Vocabulary Mini Office This is a MUST have for my newcomers! When they arrive, this is the first resource I give them. It's basic vocabulary that students use everyday. The Vocabulary Mini Office is kept at their desk to use during independent work time. Whether during Writer's Workshop, Reading or Vocabulary practice, it provides them with access to everyday vocabulary. My newcomers love this resource and they use it often. For my older newcomers I put the pages inside their reading folder. When they practice their writing, they can easily find the vocabulary they need. Daily Language Review I often use this resource as a warm-up activity. With my beginner and intermediate students, this is a group activity we do together. I want them to get used to the format of the questions so I do a lot of guided practice and modeling with this resource. My advanced kiddos do this as a quick independent warm up and then we go over it together. It takes about 5 minutes. Depending on the language level of my groups, I pull pages from either the first, second or third grade book. It also provides a great jumping off point. I can see in which areas of grammar my students need direct instruction, such as contractions, sentence structure, mechanics, etc. It's just a quick warm-up. My students like it and I get good information about them from it. As a teacher of English Language Learners, these are some of my must have resources. When I plan my lessons, these are many of the first resources I grab. They make my instruction consistent, effective and meaningful. Yes, there are other resources that I would not want to do without, and perhaps that would make for a follow up post, but if I were to pick my top resources, these would be them! I'd love to know what some of your favorite resources are! (Affiliate Links Below)
Just in time for the March 9 movie release!
This reading response worksheet is ideal for practicing story elements, reading strategies, comprehension, text connection, author study, vocabulary work and so much more!
With the Common Core Standards in place, students are being asked more and more to use critical thinking skills to analyze literary and informational text. Inference is a prime example of a critical thinking skill used in classrooms today. Students are asked to read text and analyze it by
Teaching the meanings of prefixes and suffixes is undoubtedly a skill that needs to be scaffolded over multiple grade levels. When I taught second grade, my main goal was to teach students how a prefix or a suffix affected the meaning of a word. We started with five basic prefixes and six basic suffixes. (Check out this affix blog post at my personal blog if you want to view my anchor chart, or read about my favorite way to introduce prefixes and suffixes to younger students.) Then, with each passing grade level, a few more prefixes and suffixes are added to the list. When I work with 4th and 5th grade students, I like to use concept circles to provide an opportunity for students to analyze affixed words in a more challenging way. (If you're interested in using these with your own upper elementary students, don't miss the free student worksheet version near the end of this blog post!) This activity involves four steps: Students read the four words written inside the concept circle, and determine which one does not belong. Students draw a line through the misfit word. Students determine the meaning of the affix used in the other three words. They write the meaning in the innermost circle. Students think of another word that uses the featured affix. They replace the word they crossed out in Step #1 with their new word. In the outside rim, students write the meaning of each word. Here are a few photos of some concept circles I have done with students: Click on the image below to download this packet of concept circles for FREE! It contains the three large concept circles picture above, 5 students worksheets like the one pictured below, and blank versions so you can create your own concept circles! Also, if you're looking for additional resources for teaching about prefixes and/or suffixes, feel free to check out some of the bundles in my TpT store! (Just click on an image to check one out!) Thanks for stopping by today! FREE Newsletter! Blog TpT Store Instagram Facebook Pinterest My YouTube Video
Fun ways of teaching your students how to cite text evidence when speaking & answering a text-based prompt. Tips & Ideas for ELA teachers
WHY TEACH STUDENTS TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA? Being able to find the main idea and supporting details of a text is a complex and important nonfiction reading skill for upper elementary students (3rd-5th grade). "Learning
Are you looking for ways to make reading standards easier for your students to grasp? Fables are a great way to introduce and integrate these learning targets. Here are 5 reasons why fables make teaching key reading standards much easier for students to understand.
☘ Full video previews are available for the first 24 hours after a resource kit is uploaded. Follow my store to know when a new resource is available! ✎ Give your students an educational, yet much needed brain break! They can color and doodle in the first doodle page, then fill in the blanks on the second page, and then color and doodle some more! If you like this doodle resource, please come back to the product page and give it an A ⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and positive feedback. You can see the doodle pages before you download them in the preview! ❤️ Thank you :) Want to test your students' comprehension of the literary terms? Check out the Literary Terms Self Grading GOOGLE QUIZ! and the Literary Terms Digital Task Cards! Related Products ⭐ ELA Poetry "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (Daffodils) Video & Activities ⭐ ELA Poetry "The Arrow and the Song" by Video & Activities ⭐ ELA: Poetry "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll Video & Activities ⭐ English ELA Writing I Bet You Can! Basic essay form/structure VIDEO KIT ⭐ English Language Arts ELL ESL Video & Activities Bundle ⭐ Poetry ELA Robert Frost BUNDLE The Road Not Taken & Stopping by Woods ⭐ Poetry Video & Activities BUNDLE - Jabberwocky, Daffodils, Road Not Taken +More ⭐ FULL YEAR VIDEO Writing Prompts Discussion Prompts + Worksheets Thanks to Illumismart for some of the clipart used in making this resource!
Hello darlings! Do you teach vocabulary to your students? I think this is one thing we are missing in the upper grades and we are doing a disservice to our students. As they move up levels in reading, the thing that I notice that holds my students back the most is the challenging vocabulary they ... Read More about Adding Vocabulary to your ELA Block
As teachers we spend countless hours searching for the perfect activities to go along with our lessons. Having a list of go-to resources that can be used the
