5th
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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.
It’s Not About the Tool — It’s About the Learning
Maria Caplin explains step by step how she integrated the use of iPods into her writing workshop, helping students use them to record notes and create persuasive texts.
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.
Catching Up with Tommy
Karen Terlecky meets with Tommy, a boy who has flown under the radar for a few weeks in her fifth-grade reading workshop.
Choice and Reading Response
As more intermediate classrooms become departmentalized, grades 4-6 teachers find they are dealing with 80 or more reading response logs instead of 25-30 each week. Katherine Sokolowski tackles the issue of providing personal response to readers and still having time for everything else.
Teaching the Rule of Three to Writers
Aimee Buckner finds that teaching the rule of three to young writers adds variety to student texts.
Writers Inspiring Writers
Melissa Styger invites colleagues and family members into the classroom to share their writing process with students.
Rethinking Mrs. T Letters
Karen Terlecky reconsiders one of her favorite writing assignments.
Peer Conferring: The “Try It On” Phase
Amanda Adrian continues her series on how teachers can scaffold and model peer conferring. In this installment, Amanda uses the fishbowl technique with students.
Book Matchmaker: Fairy Tales for Older Readers
Renew older students' interest in fantasy and fairy tales with these suggestions of recent titles from Franki Sibberson.
Poetry Friday in the Computer Lab
Mary Lee Hahn provides a wealth of web resources and practical suggestions for using technology for poetry instruction.
Common Core Booklist: Writing Personal Narratives
Personal narratives are an important part of the Common Core in 4th grade. Franki Sibberson shares a booklist of some of her favorite mentor texts for teaching narratives in the intermediate grades.
Peer Conferring: The Modeling Phase
Amanda Adrian provides a framework, sample model lesson, and peer conferring guide for students to use as they learn how to respond to their classmates.
Conferring for Conventions (Conventions Series Part 5)
Heather Rader gives examples of convention conferences in this final installment of the conventions series.
Creating Anchor Charts with Multiple Classes
It’s a dilemma many middle school teachers face. How do you construct anchor charts with multiple groups of students, when only one chart will be hung in the room? Katherine Sokolowski explains how she ensures all classes have input and a “clean slate” in constructing charts.
Aligning the Common Core and Conventions Instruction (Conventions Series Part 4)
Heather Rader works with a team of intermediate teachers as they connect their plans for conventions instruction and the Common Core.
Ten Classic Ideas That Still Work
Teachers are always on the hunt for something new, even as we cherish what works well year after year. Franki Sibberson lists the activities that have stood the test of time in her classroom.
Between Inquiry and Instruction (Conventions Series Part 3)
Heather Rader works with a team of intermediate teachers as they pore over student work together and analyze which conventions should be taught.
What Anchor Charts Are Essential?
Katherine Sokolowski considers what anchor charts are essential in her fifth-grade classroom, and where they work best for posting.
From Reading to Writing Informational Texts
Aimee Buckner makes some surprising discoveries about what types of texts support writers working in nonfiction genres.
Shifting from Spelling to Word Study in 5th Grade
Maria Caplin explains how she made the shift from spelling to word study in the intermediate grades.
The Joys and Challenges of Co-Teaching
Katherine Sokolowski explores the challenges and joys of co-teaching with special education colleagues.
Do They Care? Empathy Book Clubs
Do they care? That’s the question Karen Terlecky asks herself as she sets up book clubs in her fifth-grade classroom with a focus on empathy.
The Blank Page and Better Teaching
Aimee Buckner learns some important lessons about how images and words work together for student writers when she moves between second- and fifth-grade classrooms.
Appealing Book Displays for Boys
Are your book displays enticing to the boys in your classroom? Tony Keefer has suggestions for making classroom libraries more appealing.
Field Experience: Writers’ Notebooks
Writers’ Notebooks are an important tool for writers. Ruth Ayres designed a field experience to showcase how elementary teachers use notebooks with young writers.
Field Experience: Social-Emotional Learning in Workshop
Compassion and understanding are as important to workshop instruction as strategies and routines. Ruth Ayres compiled a field experience to highlight the way understanding the social-emotional needs of students (and ourselves) allows for safe learning environments.
Field Experience: Craft Moves for Elementary Writers
This field experience invites us to consider a handful of craft moves to teach young writers in minilessons, conferences and share sessions.
Field Experience: Classroom Tours
Spend time noticing the details that reflect beliefs and influence instruction. Ruth Ayres set up room tours for a field experience focused on more than trendy spaces.
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