Students have loved My Side of the Mountains for several generations. The story is timeless. Many tweens have wondered what it would be like to run away from home and live off the land. Sam does just that in this fantastic novel.
My Side of the Mountain Book Summary
My Side of the Mountain is written as a flashback. Sam often makes comments about how he felt or what he didn’t know back then that lets the reader know that Sam is telling about something that happened in his past. He also references notes that he wrote in a journal.Continue Reading
Add a little fun to Halloween with these five activities. First, students will practice reading a table of information and then have a trivia scavenger hunt to learn some interesting facts about Halloween. The interesting topics are fun to research and to learn about. Students will also learn how to write an analogy poem. Your students won’t grumble over this unusual writing assignment. A Halloween craftivity is included. The craftivity includes a writing space where students can add their own Halloween trivia or Halloween analogy poem. The end result makes a terrific bulletin board. Finally, activities for two Halloween picture books will add a little pizazz to your classes.
Get all activities in printable format along with the link to the Google Slides version by clicking on this button.Continue Reading
Students love watching animated shorts. You can find dozens of Halloween animated shorts with just a few searches; however, many are not classroom-friendly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a really good film to reach the last few seconds and hear an inappropriate word. So, I’ve done the viewing for you. These films vary from funny to scary with no blood or bad words. I hope your students enjoy these this Halloween season.
Get the printable activities plus links to the Google Slides version by clicking on this button.Continue Reading
Are you tired of the same spelling routine? With this Teaching Spelling with Animated Shorts Series, students will be highly engaged in learning how to spell. With weekly animated shorts and monthly review games, students will be excited for spelling class to begin.
One important skill for fourth and fifth graders is to know the differences between firsthand and secondhand accounts. This skill is not difficult for students to understand with a little practice.Continue Reading
Teaching analogies is a great way to improve vocabulary skills beginning in the upper elementary grades. The Common Core State Standards include analogies beginning in seventh grade; however, teaching relationships between words begins with the younger grades.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.5.c Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.5.b Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., cause/effect, part/whole, item/category) to better understand each of the words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5.b Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words.
Analogies are such an important skill for students to master. Many standardized tests use analogies to check for vocabulary mastery. Common Core states that 4th graders should “Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).” This makes 4th grade a great time for teachers to introduce analogies. Begin by practicing with just synonyms and antonyms.
