5th
Latest Content
Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet
Julie Johnson provides helpful tips and a letter for parents to help keep students safe on the Internet.
Writing Leads Minilesson
A writing lead is a door — readers will either want to walk through it or shut it and move on to something else. That's the analogy Karen Terlecky uses in this video of a fifth-grade writing workshop minilesson.
Emphasizing Empathy: September Literacy Contracts
Megan Ginther and Holly Mueller are Emphasizing Empathy in their September literacy contracts for middle school students.
Literacy Contracts: Introduction
Megan Ginther and Holly Mueller present Reading Contracts, a system for middle and high school teachers that involves students contracting to complete specific texts and tasks each month.
Using Pinterest for Professional Development
Franki Sibberson finds Pinterest is a useful tool for professional development.
Using Technology to Connect Young Readers and Writers
Julie Johnson reflects on how technology is changing her own reading community, and builds on this knowledge to connect readers and writers in her classroom with others through the Internet.
Reimagining Reading Notebooks
When premade reading notebooks no longer fit into her reading budget, Katherine Sokolowski comes up with a unique design starting with generic notebooks, and in the process figures out what’s most important to include.
First Read Alouds (ROUND-UP)
Choice Literacy contributors share their picks for the first read aloud of the year.
Fireflies and Background Knowledge
Karen Terlecky writes about the importance of building understanding before more complex read alouds.
Using Instagram to Sell Summer Reading Options
Tony Keefer taps into the Instagram craze among his students, and finds it is an ingenious tool for encouraging summer reading while kids are on vacation.
Reflecting All Year Long
Katherine Sokolowski finds the impulse for reflection is strong at the start of summer, but reflection works best when it’s built into routines all year long.
Launching a Fiction Writing Unit with Fifth Graders
Katherine Sokolowski finds late in the year is the perfect time for launching a fiction writing unit with her fifth graders.
Football Field Writing
Katherine Sokolowski adapts an idea from Jim Burke to get her fifth graders outdoors and envisioning their growth over the summer.
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.
Assessment to Grouping: Fifth-Grade Group on Character Traits
Karen Terlecky meets with two fifth graders who both share the same need identified on a recent formative assessment, inferring character traits.
Cooking Up Interest in Words with Fifth Graders
Maria Caplin continues her series on sparking vocabulary learning, this time highlighting fun activities.
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.
Slice of Life: Challenging Student Writers
Katherine Sokolowski brings the popular web “slice of life” challenge to her fifth-grade classroom.
Guidance and Choice in a Fifth-Grade Conference
Karen Terlecky confers with fifth grader Jillian the day after she has selected two books Jillian might enjoy reading during workshop.
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.
Audioboo, QR Codes, and Authentic Reading Response
Katherine Sokolowski uses audio recordings and other tech resources to build her fifth-grade reading community.
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.
Supporting the Transition to Middle School: An Elementary Teacher’s Perspective
Maria Caplin shares how and why she began to collaborate with Gretchen Taylor, a sixth-grade teacher who would soon be the middle school teacher for some of her students.
Getting Rid of My Teacher’s Desk
Katherine Sokolowski discovers getting rid of her teacher's desk opens her mind to many new possibilities in her fifth-grade classroom.
Building a Reading Community with Edmodo
Katherine Sokolowski discovers Edmodo is a wonderful tech tool for helping her fifth graders become more independent and supportive of everyone’s reading choices.
Weaving Word Study into Writing Workshop in 5th Grade
Maria Caplin describes how she integrates word study with intermediate students in writing workshops.
Highlighting Language in a Writing Conference
Karen Terlecky confers with fifth grader Nora about her evocative language during writing workshop.
The Power of Read-Aloud Notebooks
Karen Terlecky shares the process of launching and sustaining read-aloud notebooks with fifth graders.
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.
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