Blog - The Owl Teacher

Introduce growth into your classroom with these five hands-on plant growth activities!

Tackle Plant Growth Cycles with 5 Hands-On Activities

Let’s be real: there’s TONS of growth in your classroom. Your kiddos–and you!–are both growing daily, and it can be difficult to keep track of

Level Up Your Teaching with 6 Unique Instructional Strategies

Teaching in the modern age is EXHAUSTING. It seems like students’ attention spans are getting shorter by the year, and there’s overwhelming pressure to keep

Ensuring your lesson on animal structures align with NGSS while still covering all the important information doesn't have to be overwhelming. Check out these effortless activities to ace your unit!

5 Effortless Activities to Ace Animal Structures

Animal structures: how do they work? What’s the 411 on both internal and external structures of animals? Beyond that, what are all those functions?! There’s

8 Valuable Volume Activities for Hands-On Learning

When it comes to complicated concepts in your upper elementary math classroom, volume is up there as one of the Great Intimidators. There’s no doubt

Climate vs weather isn't always clearly understood. Let's examine how to clarify the differences as well as emphasize their relation.

3 Effective Strategies for Teaching Climate vs Weather

Climate change has been trending upward, yet as I type this, my backyard (and driveway…) are covered in 18 inches of snow. I don’t know

7 Ways to Captivate Classroom Engagement in Upper Elementary

Are you ready to captivate the clever kiddos in your curious classroom? I know you are; classroom engagement is an amazing thing, and it’s not

Check out these seven quick and easy ways to prep your science activities to make sure your students get the best possible experience with their resources

7 Quick & Easy Ways to Prep Science Activities

I don’t need to tell you how valuable your time is as a teacher; chances are, you already feel the time-crunch pressure constantly. If you’re

Scaffolding is a strong intervention strategy that has tons of merit in just about every situation, including tricky lessons such as area and perimeter. Check out the methods here!

10 Methods for Successful Scaffolding in Area and Perimeter

Scaffolding is one of the most important strategies you can employ in your upper elementary classroom, especially when it comes to math. Your students are

By utilizing inquiry-based learning, you empower students to feel confident in their learning and build upon their successes to become lifelong learners.

Inquiry-Based Learning Round-Up #1: Stimulating Excitement

“If IBL [inquiry-based learning] is effectively implemented by a skilled teacher who is willing to teach, reteach, and model patterns of thinking, then students will

Let's take a dive into the benefits of optimizing morning work as well as the strategies we can use to ensure you're truly making the most out of the block.

The Magic of Morning Work: 5 Research-Based Strategies to Optimize Morning Work Time

In the rough draft of this blog post, I had planned to list out every NGSS and Common Core standard that you’re expected to teach

To explore Earth's landforms when field trips aren't an option, what's a teacher to do? Check out these engaging, hands-on activities that align with NGSS!

3 Unique Activities to Engage with Earth’s Landforms

Here in Michigan, it’s easy to fall in love with Earth’s landforms. From our natural peninsula and archipelagos to our dunes and sandstone cliffs, there’s

5 Smart Strategies to Crush the Achievement Gap

Buckle up, friends. Today, we’re tackling that pesky problem that plagues every single classroom: the achievement gap. The world is recovering from COVID-19, but its

Let's dive in to a few ways you can teach your math classroom to add and subtract decimals with minimal struggle!

3 Thrilling Activities to Add and Subtract Decimals

When I mention “add and subtract decimals,” your mind likely immediately jumps to money. That’s great! … For us, anyway. Your kiddos, however, don’t yet

Let's take a look at a handful of methods that we can use to make learning about Earth's systems and landforms smoother than a plain but a million times more exciting.

5 Constructive Ideas to Rock Landforms with Earth’s Systems NGSS

As both a child and an adult, I made the journey between Michigan and Georgia many times, and always by car (or big clunky van,

5 Lessons to Smash Earth’s History (with Fossil Activities!)

If you could bring your kiddos (safely) back in time to any period of Earth’s history, where would you go? Imagine the enthusiasm for learning