5th
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Environment Small Group: Habitat
Katherine Sokolowski leads a small group of fifth graders who have chosen similar topics for their projects in an environmental unit.
Dabbling: Reviving a Focus on Play
Mary Lee Hahn finds a focus on play and "dabbling" renews student writers during a unit on narrative nonfiction.
Reading Workshop Non-Negotiables
Scott Jones finds working with a student teacher forces him to explain what the “non-negotiables” are in his reading workshop.
Sketchnoting as a Response to Reading
Dana Murphy tries sketchnoting during professional development, and soon finds herself sharing the fun technique with students. They hone their skills during read alouds and while annotating texts.
Building a Next-Read Stack
Katherine Sokolowski helps fifth grader Abby build her next-read stack of books.
Student-Designed Development Cards
Melanie Meehan finds that student-designed development cards are a great way to get students invested in literacy goals.
Practical Ways to Connect Students and Goals
Kate Mills and Tara Barnett provide some practical tips for connecting students and goals.
Monday Headlines
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills use Monday Headlines to energize students after the weekend, and get a peek into what’s going on at home.
Brainstorming Writing Topics with Drew
Katherine Sokolowski confers with Drew about writing at home, brainstorming possible topics. In the process she shows how much she knows about Drew's life outside of school.
The Ocean Research Project: From Launch to Celebration in 10 Days
Ten days from the launch of student research projects to a celebration with families? Katherine Sokolowski shares how a tight time frame that concludes with an evening event can bring energy and high student interest to the research process.
The Riskiest Writing
Mary Lee Hahn tackles the riskiest writing of all — in front of students and improvised with no advance drafting or planning.
Research Through Picture Books
Katherine Sokolowski explains how picture books can be a potent tool for teaching intermediate students research skills.
Supporting Introverts in Fifth Grade
Katherine Sokolowski was that shy child hiding behind a tall classmate in the back of the room when she was a student. As a teacher, she makes sure there are many ways she helps bring out the voices of introverts in her fifth-grade classroom.
Environmental Group Notes
Katherine Sokolowski meets briefly with a group of fifth-grade girls to go through the notes they are taking for their environmental studies project and talk through next steps.
Free-Range Learning with Nonfiction Part 2: Infographics and Maps
Andrea Smith shares the final installment of her series on the value of free-range learning in helping students explore nonfiction.
Minilesson on Facts and Sources
Katherine Sokolowski presents a minilesson on ferreting out facts while completing independent research projects.
Free Range Learning with Nonfiction (Part 1)
Andrea Smith's students explore nonfiction through free-range roaming. She explains how she sets up expectations and resources early in the year in this first installment of a two-part series.
Teaching Students How to Give Revision Suggestions
Franki Sibberson shares a lesson progression to help students learn how to give helpful revision feedback. She uses online videos and resources to support her work.
The Power of Group Conferences in Fifth Grade
Katherine Sokolowski explains why group conferences can be a powerful tool for building a reading community. The article includes a video of a group conference in her fifth-grade classroom.
An Identity of Success
Mary Lee Hahn is a bit flummoxed when a parent asks about her management system at an open house. The experience sparks reflection on what makes a classroom community gel.
Loving Books or Reading?
Justin Stygles wonders why a love of books doesn't necessarily translate into a love of reading for his fifth and sixth graders.
Teaching Revision Strategies: Introduction and Modeling
Heather Rader shares a process for teaching peer editing and revision skills that helps students learn how to assist each other kindly during writing workshop. This is the first video in a three-part series.
Teaching Revision Strategies: Partner Work
Partners confer over revision in fifth grade in this second installment of a three-part video series.
Guidelines for Posting Online
Katherine Sokolowski describes a wall display with guidelines to ensure students are respectful and aware of the pitfalls of posting online.
Padlet Possibilities
Katherine Sokolowski finds that electronic charting of learning with Padlet has almost endless possibilities for use in her fifth-grade classroom.
Adding “Girly” Books to a Next-Read Stack
Katherine Sokolowski helps a fifth grader add more "girly" books to her next-read stack.
Mentors for Process and Habits
Ruth Ayres shares some of her favorite mentors and mentor texts for developing good writing processes and habits.
Introducing the Classroom Library
Andrea Smith shares a sequence of lessons she uses to introduce the classroom library to her fourth-grade students.
Student Interest Board
Katherine Sokolowski shares a wall display from her fifth graders that students build to celebrate who they are and people they love from home.
Conferring with Ben: Brainstorming Writing Topics and Genres
Katherine Sokolowski helps fifth grader Ben brainstorm ideas for writing, and in the process encourages him to try a new genre.
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