4th
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Grateful Journals
Beth Lawson began her own gratitude journal as a troubled teen, and finds that the daily routine of Grateful Journals is a powerful tool for reflection and building community in the intermediate grades.
Conferring with Ben
Franki Sibberson confers with Ben, a fourth-grade writer trying to figure out the best audience for his writing when technology presents many options.
Decoding and Meaning: Conferring in 4th Grade
Tony Keefer confers with Amanda, a fourth grader who comprehends texts well, but struggles at times with fluency, decoding, and book selection.
Conferring with Pierce
Franki Sibberson demonstrates how much ground can be covered in a three-minute conference with a student. She helps fourth grader Pierce think through the audience for his writing, how to add visuals to blog posts, and enlists him to teach others new skills as he acquires them.
Death in Books: Finding Our Way After Loss
Books can help children deal with the toughest challenges in life. In a new booklist, Andie Cunningham shares her top picks for stories about characters grappling with the death of a loved one.
Using Shared Writing to Build Argument Skills
Shari Frost explains the power of shared writing in intermediate classrooms, especially for struggling learners.
They Can Sing and Define It, But Can They Use It?
Melissa Styger rethinks the way she teaches reading strategies, emphasizing putting them to use over defining them.
The Lunch Lady and Gender in Reading
Franki Sibberson has her students read a blog post about books written for boys and girls, which begins a fascinating discussion with the class about gender in reading choices.
Shared Reading in the Intermediate Grades
Shari Frost explains why shared reading is valuable for older students, with examples of the practice in the intermediate grades.
Between the Brain and Page: Working with Gifted Student Writers
Michelle Kelly explains how gifted student writers have needs that vary greatly. "Carolyn the Voice," "Alan the Verbose," and "Bailey the Perfectionist" are all gifted writers who need different workshop structures and guidance to do their best work.
Understanding the Middle East Through Children’s Literature (BOOKLIST)
Sheiks, harems, and terrorists — the stereotypes of the middle east from popular culture may not be realistic, but they sure are pervasive. Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham find authentic alternative views to present to children in their new booklist.
Embracing the Growth Mindset with Audiobooks
Jennifer Vincent explains how recorded texts were a potent tool for reaching a struggling fourth-grade reader.
Tips for Effective Family Communication from “The Mouse”
Jennifer Vincent details strategies and shares survey templates she uses in reaching out to families.
Teacher-as-Writing-Model Minilesson in Fourth Grade
Beth Lawson models her process as a writer for her fourth-grade students, describing her emotions as well as creating a draft.
March Book Madness
Basketball’s March Madness has many possibilities in schools. Tony Keefer tries a similar format with brackets and voting for March Book Madness.
Beyond Text Features in Nonfiction Instruction
Franki Sibberson considers how the demands of the Common Core and the complex mix of online and offline nonfiction texts are changing the skills she teaches students.
Science Challenge
Franki Sibberson’s fourth-grade students share results from the weekly science challenge.
Getting More from Wonderopolis
Franki Sibberson uses Wonderopolis with her 4th grade students, helping them learn to research and dig more deeply at the site.
From “Show Me the Lessons” to Sustainable Planning (Part 4 of the Opinion/Argument Writing Series)
This is the final installment in Heather Rader's series on argument and opinion writing in the intermediate grades.
Peer Conferring: The Release Phase
Amanda Adrian concludes her series on peer conferring, analyzing the value of students working on their own after instruction and practice.
Looking for the Open Door
Midyear is a wonderful time for taking conferences to the next level, now that you know your students well and they trust you. Beth Lawson gently challenges a young writer in her fourth-grade classroom to reach his full potential.
Touchy Topics for Opinion/Argumentative Writing
When students take a stand in writing, they will almost inevitably bring up touchy topics. Heather Rader considers the challenge in part 3 of her opinion/argumentative writing series.
Lists, Facts, and Reports: Conferring with Anna
Franki Sibberson confers with fourth grader Anna to help her connect report writing with her love of animal lists.
Lifting the Quality of Peer Response
Tony Keefer discovers that his fourth-grade students need focused instruction and support to strengthen their peer conferring skills. Tony shares tips and two video examples from his classroom.
Thank You For Arguing
In the second installment of our teaching argument/opinion writing series, Heather Rader uses a continuum dialogue and modeled writing with intermediate students.
Brainstorming Student Blogs
Franki Sibberson works with a group of students who want to create a collaborative blog of interviews. The discussion reveals some of the challenges of blog writing, including consistent posting and developing topics that might endure over time.
Helping Students Develop Independent Previewing Skills
Franki Sibberson's goal is to provide her students with more tools for previewing books independently and making wise selections. In this lesson, she makes full use of technology to set up sites and resources for students to browse at school or home.
Book Talks in 4th Grade
Tony Keefer previews Infinity Ring with his fourth graders, and talks about the value of book talks for building a reading community.
Fun in January: A Mock Caldecott Unit
Katherine Sokolowski discovers a seven-day Mock Caldecott unit is a fun way to build a reading community by predicting the winners, and Skyping with another class to share results.
I Love a Good Argument
As Heather Rader works with teachers and teams on opinion/argumentative writing, she’s considering the anatomy of an argument and engaging ways to teach it.
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