Reading
READING
Reading is a valuable and critical skill that students need to develop. As teachers, we are always in need of fresh ideas and tips to help our kiddos soar to new reading heights. Explore this section to get started.
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MTM: The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket
I love when libraries put books on sale or when our school librarian pulls books to be discarded that we can take for free. Recently
MTM: The Princess and the Pig
Let’s get back to the funny, cute mentor text stories! The Princess and the Pig, written by Jonathan Emmett, is a wonderful
MTM: 11 Experiments That Failed
Are you looking for a good mentor text to introduce the concepts of the scientific method to your students? Perhaps you are about to have
MTM: Crow Call
Have you ever read Owl Moon by Jane Yolen? It seems there are very few people who I have met who have not read it.
MTM: Red: A Crayon’s Story
I love sharing all the various texts that I use in the classroom each week for every mentor text. It is so powerful when students
Polluting a Fish for Earth Day (or any day really!)
For Earth Day, I had my students explore water pollution through the Freddie the Fish Activity. There are many variations of this on the internet,
MTM: The Invisible Boy
This week, my mentor text is The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. I don’t know about you, but it sure seems that each year I
MTM: Sam & Dave Dig a Hole
How many times have we thought to ourselves that we won’t give up until we get or find something spectacular? Many times, I’m thinking. My
Shaping Up with Text Complexity
When I was in school, chin-ups were the worst thing any physical education teacher could make me do. I hated them with a passion. My
MTM: Memoirs of a Hamster
I often hear that there is not a place for read alouds and picture books in upper elementary. I couldn’t disagree more. When I taught
Not Your Traditional Cause and Effect Chains
Cause and effect. The Cause: The students not understanding cause and effect. The Effect: The teacher banging her head against the wall. Don’t we all
Spicing Up Text Structure
Not too long ago, I was teaching nonfiction text structure to my students. In reality, it can get a bit boring, and I felt I
Take Back Your Weekends
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