If you are new to teaching 5th grade, you have come to the right place. This is a collection of blog posts and resources for 5th grade teachers.

Teaching writing to fifth graders doesn't have to be intimidating. This post details exactly how I teach writing in 5th grade.

This post breaks down how I teach reading in 5th grade and how my reading block is structured, including the materials needed.

If you are new to teaching 5th grade, you have come to the right place. This is a collection of blog posts and resources for 5th grade teachers.

If you are new to teaching 5th grade or thinking about teaching 5th grade, here are my top things to know about teaching 5th graders.

So, you're a new 5th grade teacher... Are you overwhelmed? Excited? Terrified? Maybe you're all of these things! It is my hope that after reading this blog post, you will feel prepared and confident to meet your new

Are you a first year 5th grade teacher? Find out how to have a great first year with this post! Get tips that work well in ALL 5th grade classrooms.

This post breaks down how I teach math in 5th grade and how my weekly instruction is structured, including the math resources needed.

First days of school can be stressful. There's an insane amount of pressure to make a great first impression. The administration wants you to go over the handbook of rules for the district. There's tons of forms that need to be filled out. You need to learn their names and it's hard because half the names don't match your class list. His name is Samuel but he goes by S.J. Her name on your roll says Mary, but she goes by Mary Beth. You want to start off the year on the right note regarding procedures and expectations, but you also want it to be a little bit fun, too. Yes, it can be complicated to plan out the first day. My first day was absolutely fantastic. Yes, I learned names. Yes, I went over the handbook. Yes, I went over forms. But we also did some quick exciting things that started us out on the right foot. In no particular order, here is what made my first day FANTASTIC. 1. I let my students collaborate on a story. I started a story on the whiteboard and each student could only add four words to the story. It ended up being hilarious and making ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE but no one cared. It was fun. They worked as a family. 2. That bring me to my next point--we don't call our classes, um, classes. Or homerooms. We call them families. So I have Mrs. Johnson's Family for my 1st period class and Mrs. Anderson's Family for my second period class. (Homeroom teacher names were changed for this post.) You get the idea. And it really does reinforce this idea that we need to work together like a family should. 3. I embraced and addressed my students' biggest fear. Each teacher has his/her students coming to the room with a big fear. Go ahead and address it. Since I'm the first year of middle school, the big fear is the locker. Will I ever get into it? Will I have enough time to get everything out of it? My students can't begin to learn procedures until we address the locker issue. Once they feel confident with their locker, they are ready to learn procedures. So, what did I do? I lined up my wonderful parents to come work with my students one-on-one the very first day of school on their locker. And it was the best thing for that first day. Address your students' fears with a solution. Don't think, "Oh I need to teach procedures! I'll help them with that later on in the week." No. Their Big Fear is ALL THEY CAN THINK ABOUT. Fix the fear, then they can face all the procedures and rules head on! 4. If you know me, you know that I ABSOLUTELY DETEST GETTING TO KNOW YOU GAMES. Why do I have to name a fact about myself that starts with a J just because my first name is Jordyn? Nothing starts with a J that I like! I hate jelly beans. I'm ok with jolly ranchers but they aren't anything special. I. HATE. GETTING. TO. KNOW. YOU. GAMES. I think I've made my point clear. Soooooo---what did I do to get to know them? I made a statement and pointed to two sides of the room. The students moved to the side of the room for their answer. Examples: 1. Team Cat or Team Dog 2. Would you rather travel every day or never leave home? 3. Team Math/Science or Team Language Arts? 4. Alabama or Auburn? (I live in Alabama, so this is a big deal around here. Feel free to change to whatever sports teams works for you. And by the way, the correct answer to me is the side of the room that was yelling WAR EAGLE!) We didn't do this as one big activity. I broke up the reading of the district handbook by doing a couple of these, then back to the handbook, then a couple more of these, then back to the handbook, a couple more of these, then going over forms. THEY LOVED THIS ACTIVITY! It didn't force the quiet kids to talk, but they did participate by moving. It let the other ones announce why they were on that side. It was just a great icebreaker for those of us who are anti-icebreaker. --->Do you need a GETTING TO KNOW YOU ACTIVITY perfect for the first few days? (And not icebreaker questions that tweens dislike---actually questions they enjoy answering!)

5th grade writing doesn't have to be a struggle! This blog post will provide all of my best tips and ideas for teaching your fifth graders to succeed as writers. I’ve had classes where writing

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

Introducing your students to figurative language can be fun with picture books. Use these figurative language activities to help your students practice.

This post breaks down how I teach reading in 5th grade and how my reading block is structured, including the materials needed.

Learn 3 tips to help you teach your students how to use context clues. You'll learn the 5 types of context clues and how you can teach them to your students.

Just print these 5th Grade Math Worksheets to get extra math practice at school, at home, or for summer learning - NO PREP, fun way to review!

Visualizing the text is such an important strategy used for building your students’ reading comprehension. It is very versatile as it can be used in different ways with students of all ages and reading levels. I

Up-level how you teach grammar with these Grammar Game Shows that get students excited about mastering their grammar rules.

This post breaks down how I teach reading in 5th grade and how my reading block is structured, including the materials needed.

Analyzing character traits is a key fiction reading skill that is needed for successful comprehension. In most cases, authors do not just come out and tell readers the traits that a character possesses. By teaching

Morphology walls are a great tool in 4th and 5th grade classrooms! Read more and sign up for free posters to make your own morphology wall!

I’ll be honest with you – I was a student who REALLY struggled with math in school. I couldn’t see how it applied to every-day life or other learning subjects. I know that if my teachers had provided me with this tool growing up, it would have been a GAME-CHANGER. I created this math tool

Follow this step-by-step lesson plan to teach your students how

This post breaks down how I teach reading in 5th grade and how my reading block is structured, including the materials needed.

Plot is not my favorite thing to teach, or it hasn’t been in the past. However, that changed this week. I think I never liked teaching it because I felt I didn’t have a solid, engaging way of teaching the concept. Now, I have a great way of teaching it! The kids loved it, I […]

Have you read this book by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser?The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy in the Elementary Grades

Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...

I love grammar. But convincing my students to love grammar sometimes feels like trying to convince a bobcat to enjoy a nice, relaxing ice bath.

Teachers often have questions about what a literacy block should actually look like. How do you structure your time? When do you pull reading groups? How and when do you teach grammar? The list of questions is lengthy, and with good reason. No one really ever told us what to do! Probably because there is […]

The following two pages are found in all of my units. I thought I would end them to the end of this post to show you the evolution of how I have changed as a teacher and as a teacher who teaches with

This entire blog is full of my 5th grade teacher advice. I thought you might want to hear from some of the amazing veteran teachers who were eager to share their wisdom with new 5th

I have used the reading workshop model for about 8 years now. It has changed a lot over the years! One thing that has stayed the same is the ‘Respond to Text’ station. This is a time where students get to write about their reading. The station stays the same all year, but the activities in the station change. Below is a list of activities you can add to your ‘Respond to Text’ station at the beginning of the year. 1. Bookmark Book Report At the beginning of the year, some students struggle to finish chapter books. I find that this bookmark book report helps them stay engaged in their reading. The students keep track of the pages they read, and complete activities as they read their book. There is a fiction and nonfiction version available for download. 2. Text Structures Tri-fold Students can use this trifold to ‘hunt’ for different text structures. Just put a basket of nonfiction books at the station and you are set! It’s a great way to get them reading nonfiction books. 3. Choice Board Students get to choose what activities they’d like to complete. This is great because it can be used for the story of the week (if you follow a basal) or the chapter book they are currently reading. You can have the students glue this page inside their reading notebook, or have them staple their responses to this sheet and turn in. Download the Printables: Click here to download the bookmark book report. Click here to download the text structures trifold and choice board. Add editing tasks to your reading workshop block! Math Resources: 1st Grade Tri-Folds 2nd Grade Tri-Folds 3rd Grade Tri-Folds 4th Grade Tri-Folds 5th Grade Tri-Folds Thanks for reading! I hope you will find these printable helpful :) Visit my blog @ Learning With Mrs S. Visit my TPT Store Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on Facebook :)

Check out these fun teaching materials for teaching comma rules to upper elementary including an anchor chart, videos, and graphic organizer.

FREE 5th Grade Math I Can Statements! Download free I Can Statements for 5th grade math and read ideas for how to use these in your classroom.

Are you a new or "new-ish" 5th grade teacher? The 5th Grade Teacher's First Day Survival Guide is just for you! It happens to all of us every summer... Happily steering your cart down the aisle

Morphology walls are a great tool in 4th and 5th grade classrooms! Read more and sign up for free posters to make your own morphology wall!