As teachers, we try to make our classrooms an inviting place to be. We want our students to be excited about learning, and to be engaged in the content we are teaching. We want them to look forward to coming to school. But the reality is that not all of our students will be excited about school. Even still, we must give our best effort to make school as appealing as possible. We can do this through a myriad of ways. Rather than immediately jumping into the lesson for the day, teachers can take a few minutes at the start of class to warm students up and get them ready to learn.
One way to warm up students at the beginning of each class is through simple journal prompts. You don’t have to be a language arts teacher to incorporate journal writing into your curriculum– it can be used in any content area! Giving students a “question of the day” can help them get their minds ready to learn, focus, and participate. The question doesn’t even have to do with the content; it can be a silly, funny, or random question. Regardless of the kind of question it is, giving students a fun way to begin class can help ease them into learning and get them ready to focus.
You can even go beyond just having them write by having them share their answers with a neighbor, then have a few students share with the class. This can be a fun way for everyone to think about the question in different ways, which encourages critical thinking. It also gets students talking to each other, helping foster class communication and relationships.
Thinking of a question to ask every day can sometimes feel a bit daunting. In case you need some question ideas, I’ve compiled a list for you! You can download the list and print a copy to keep in your files, ready to be used any time you need a question suggestion.
**This download is for personal or classroom use only. Do not sell, repost, or claim as your own.**
Have you ever read a book so good you couldn’t put it down? You devoured the story line, related with the characters, and could imagine the whole plot in your mind- it was SO good. Then, a week after you finished it, your friend asks you what your favorite part of the book was or what it was about, and you are completely stumped. For the life of you, you cannot remember any details– just a simple plot summary.
I know I can’t be the only one who has had this kind of thing happen to them. I think that this happens to us as adults because of a few reasons: we’re reading through material fairly quickly, which doesn’t give our brains enough time to fully process and store what we read, we have so many other things competing for mental storage space as adults that the details of a story often get pushed out, or maybe our reading is interrupted. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons this happens is that we subconsciously know we aren’t being tested or graded on what we read like we were when we were in school, so our brains kind of filter out the smaller details, without any real effort from us. When there are higher stakes, we tend to focus on something more intently, and therefore remember more about it. In school, we often ask students to write down things about their reading– because we know it will help them retain information better.
Giving them an assignment associated with the reading makes them accountable and will help encourage more active reading. But just taking notes on a story sounds kind of boring, if I’m being honest. If we make it relatable and/or engaging, students are more likely to remember and make sense of what they read– and they are more likely to want to participate in the assignment. When students write down information, it creates a mental connection, which helps to cement information in their minds.
I’ve created two different worksheets you can print off and use. Each worksheet uniquely asks students to recall information from their reading, and does so in an engaging way. Feel free to print them off and use them with your classes. Both worksheets would be most effective for students in upper elementary grades or students in middle/junior high.
**Downloads are intended for classroom or personal use only. They are not to be sold, reposted, or claimed as your own.**
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been quite invested in the Winter Olympics since they started just over a week ago. There’s nothing quite like watching the world come together to cheer on top athletes as they live out their dreams. It’s inspiring and heartwarming. We’ve been able to sit down as a family and watch some of the events, and it has been so much fun!
I thought it might be fun to also bring the magic of the Olympics to the classroom. There are so many neat activities you can do with your students to bring the spirit of the games to the room:
Hold your own class Olympics– think minute-to-win-it type games or even make up your own “sports”
In small groups, have students construct ski jumps with cardboard, tin foil, paper, and whatever else you can find
Research the host country and learn about its customs, food, language, and geography
Make a large chart and keep track of the medal count together as a class
If you have a connection to someone who does a sport that is in the Olympics, invite them in to talk to your students about that sport
Have students draw themselves doing one of the sports
Graph medal counts as a math activity (see free printable below)
Survey the class on their favorite sports (see free printable below)
Pick one of the countries competing and learn some words from their native language
There are endless options to pick from to bring the Olympics to your classroom. Find what’s right for your class and have fun with it!
**The free downloads are for personal or classroom use only. Do not resell, repost, or claim as your own.**
January is one of those months that seems to drag on and on and on. There aren’t any big holidays to look forward to, and the weather is usually cold and dreary. As a teacher, inclement weather typically means indoor recess, and depending on your class, that could mean extra chaos. If you need something to keep your kiddos entertained in such an event, look no further! Attached below are two Winter Find & Count worksheets– one in color, and one in black and white– that you are welcome to print off and use in your classroom. (Parents, also please feel free to use in the event that the dreary January days get a little extra long and you need a quiet minute!)
** This resource is strictly for classroom or personal use. Do not resell it, repost it, or claim as your own. **
My kids excitedly reminded me yesterday that we only have TWO weeks until Christmas! How did it sneak up so quickly?! As promised a few posts ago, here is a Christmas Find & Count activity page in black and white. You can find a color one here.
Teachers, print this out for your students if you need a festive but quiet activity as we get closer to Christmas Break. Parents, print this out if you need a festive but quiet activity once the kids are out of school and at home for Christmas Break! These Find & Count pages also make great activities for long car rides, quiet waiting rooms, or for early finishers in class.
Please only use for classroom or personal use. Do not resell, repost, or claim as your own.
Turkey Day is just a couple of weeks away, and I can hardly believe it! The days leading up to holiday breaks are often filled with excitement— which is fun, but also sometimes translates into extra energy for the kids and extra exhaustion for the teachers (and parents!). Holiday themed activities are always a fun way to engage your students and attempt to wrangle the chaos a bit during those days.
I’ve created a couple of fun word activities you’re welcome to use. These are geared more for upper elementary, but can definitely be used for kids of other ages if they are able to do them! Below you will find a downloadable word scramble as well as a Thanksgiving word making activity.
Print them off and use as a sanity saver on those crazy days, as an activity for the car ride to Thanksgiving dinner, or print them off for the kids to work on while the turkey cooks on Thanksgiving Day! However you choose to use them, have fun!
**Printables are free to download, but may not be sold, reposted, or claimed as your own. For classroom and personal home use only.**
Have you ever sat down to write something, only to find that you just can’t think of any ideas? Or maybe you start off with lots of ideas, then hit a road block part way through your piece. Either way, it can be really frustrating when the ideas just aren’t flowing. Students can have this happen to them, too. Teaching our students to use the writing process can equip them with the tools they need to ensure their writing is the best that it can be, and can also provide them with the skills they need to keep their thoughts and writing organized.
The general structure of the writing process begins with brainstorming or prewriting, where ideas are written down, research is gathered and organized, and the overall plan for the piece of writing is laid out. Next comes drafting— putting the ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Editing and revising come next. Here, the piece is proofread for errors, flow, and consistency, then the necessary revisions and corrections are implemented. This step, along with drafting, may be done several times during the course of writing a piece. The last step is finalizing, polishing, and wrapping up any edits or changes and making the final draft ready for readers. While all the parts of the process are essential, today I will be focusing on brainstorming and prewriting.
The way a person brainstorms might differ depending on what kind of writing they are doing. If they are writing a fictional story, they might begin with outlining the characters, setting, and conflict. If they are doing a research paper, they might start by choosing their topic, then picking a few key points or areas to cover, followed by researching their chosen topics. If they are writing an argumentative or persuasive piece, they first would choose which side of the argument they are going to defend, then generate their supporting arguments. Regardless of the kind of writing being done, prewriting is an important step in the process of writing.
There are many ways to brainstorm ideas, and, as noted above, the method changes with each kind of writing. Below are some methods that can be effective as students begin to generate their ideas prior to writing.
Bubble/Spider/Cluster Map
With this method, students begin with writing their central idea in the middle of the page. Then, they draw lines connecting to other bubbles, which would contain the sub-topics they are going to cover, with additional lines and bubbles drawn to accommodate any other ideas. This method is particularly effective for research or argumentative papers.
If writing a fictional piece, a writer might begin with the story title or idea in the center, then devote individual bubbles to characters, setting, conflict, and plot.
Outlining
Here, students would begin with their main idea at the top of the page. Next, they would focus on one sub-topic or section at a time, writing down key elements, quotes, or facts that they are going to use. This is a great tool for research or argumentative papers as well. It can also be effective for narratives. Students would begin with their story topic/title, then outline the order of events, the conflict, characters, and so on. In the case of writing a story, sketching out ideas on a simple plot diagram would also be an effective way to outline.
Free writing
Free writing is the process of setting an amount of time, then writing about the chosen topic for the duration of that time. Writers can write down what they already know, what they want to know, questions they have, and so on. It is a great chance to just kind of brain dump onto a piece of paper (or computer screen). The free write can then be used to facilitate a more organized prewrite, such as an outline or cluster map.
Listing
Listing is a great way to generate ideas when doing a compare/contrast paper, research paper, or even an argument piece. It’s effective for listing pros and cons, story ideas, ideas for character names, potential settings or conflicts, or any other number of things that might need to be included in a piece.
Timelines
Timelines can be helpful when writing a research piece. It can be useful to map out events in chronological order so that when drafting the piece, the writer has a clear idea of when things happened so as to ensure that they get their facts right in their writing.
Researching
In addition to this type of prewriting being effective for research papers, this form of prewriting is also extremely helpful for argument pieces. Students can combine researching with outlining or cluster mapping to organize their findings as they search for information. One very important thing to note here is to make sure that students remember to record where they find their information and research so that they can properly cite their sources, and, in the event that they need to revisit the source, they will know right where to look.
The writing process isn’t something that only Language Arts teachers might use; it can (and should be) employed by any teacher who is having students write papers or pieces. It is a very effective way for students to get their ideas down, organize their writing, and prepare for the drafting stage of writing. Think of it as “preheating the oven” when you bake— you’re getting things ready for the final product. Check out the resources below if you need some ideas for getting your students started!
** Please note that these resources are for classroom or personal use only. They are not to be sold, reposted, or claimed as your own. **
