Lyon

Clean and concise Story Mountain or Parts of Story graphic organizer for reading or writing. Kid-friendly language and fonts. Includes descriptions of rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Includes fill-in boxes for main character, setting, problem, plot, climax, and resolution. Fill-in boxes include guiding questions and lines! Based off of the work from the Columbia Teachers College Writing and Reading Project. I use this with my fifth graders during the Personal Narrative Un

A great integrated project for classes studying space or the solar system. I use this with my fifth graders and it is a highlight of the year! The project incorporates writing, reading, researching, science, technology, and communication skills. Students are asked to chose a topic of study related the space (a list of possible topics are included in the download). From there, they collect four valid resources, generate five complex questions to guide further research, and then the compile their

Thoughtful, higher-order thinking discussion questions for literature circles or book clubs. The book is broken down into six different sections, based upon chapter length and difficulty level. Questions target reading skills, as well as social studies ideas. Appropriate for fifth grade and above.

A huge hit each and every year! The students actually beg to work on it! Easily usable for fourth through eighth grade. A great unit through which to address narrative and expository style writing, developing and supporting a thesis, descriptive writing, similes and metaphors, using mentor texts, composing formal letters, and addressing envelopes. Plus, it is a lot of fun! Local restaurants have responded really well to the project and have actually written students back (and even sent gift car

A great kid-friendly graphic organizer! Perfect for teaching/scaffolding the structure of a basic paragraph. Include fun, kid-friendly fonts, definitions of each paragraph piece, and lines! Many hamburger paragraph graphic organizers don't have lines... this one does! I use this with my fifth graders while exploring non-fiction, text book structure, and main idea and supporting details. Also a great resource for shaping summary paragraphs for book reports or literary essays! It is appropriate f

An investigative activity that leads students to discover the qualities of valid resources when conducting research. Students explore a website about a bogus animal species, engaging in a guided activity worksheet. Then, a teacher leads a discussion on valid versus invalid resources. Guided activity worksheet, complete lesson plan, and thoughtful teacher notes included. I use this lesson every year and it is a huge hit with both the students and the families. It is specifically designed for 5th

I spent an entire summer analyzing the Columbia Teacher's College Reader's Workshop Curricular Plan for Grade 5. This is the breakdown of Unit 1: Launching Reader's Workshop. We all know that Lucy Calkins is amazing, but she tends to be a bit verbose! This table breaks down each lesson into connection, teaching point, teaching strategies, active engagement, mid-workshop interruption, and a link. The unit is also broken into three parts. Each part includes a skill checklist. The unit also includ

Perfect for book clubs or literature circles. Guided reading forms or worksheets for a variety of different book club or literature circle jobs. Now with grading rubrics! My entire fifth grade team uses these forms! Each job targets a different Common Core standard: Discussion Director (question development), News Reporter (summarizing), the Gossip (character development), Word Smith (vocabulary development), Travel Agent (research skills), Super Sleuth (research skills), Literary Luminary (in

A fascinating lesson plan integrating poetry, music, and history! Students listen to a coded slave song, analyzing key words, feelings, images and symbols, structure, and the main idea. This is one of my all time favorite lessons. It works as a stand-alone lesson, or as a part of a poetry, song lyric, or African American history unit/project. Students love the fact that it is "coded," just like a mystery! And the music gets them moving and grooving! Appropriate for fourth through twelfth grade

A highly engaging math project! Always a big hit in my classroom! Students choose a number between 10 and 100, exploring both its mathematical and real-world significance. A great way to extend studies of even and odd numbers, factors and GCF, multiples and LCM, primes, composites, prime factorizations, etc. Also great for making math real, accessible, and interesting! Now includes a grading rubric based upon the Standards Based Grading system (or the Four-Point, A-F scale). Appropriate for thir

A great, creative math project for your geometry unit or class! Provides just enough instruction and scaffolding for your struggling students or the black-and-white thinkers, but is also open-ended for your gifted or creative students! Builds on knowledge of polygons, measurement, and angles. This project can be used as a homework assignment, an in-class project, or as an extra credit or challenge credit project! Fun, kid-friendly fonts! Explicit, step-by-step instructions! Includes detailed

A questionnaire geared towards identifying the preferred learning styles of students (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic) and social preference (introvert or extrovert). Finally, student take time to identify what they bring to a classroom and also what their area of discipline is (what is it that they need to work on). Students choose their preferred learning style based upon some learning style specific "I" statements. Their social preference is indicated by a detailed checklist. This question

The worksheet asks students to complete three sections: one before they read, one while they read, and one after they read. The idea is that students take past knowledge and information they collect while reading to develop more complex thoughts, opinions, and questions about the text at hand. Helps to develop synthesis, analysis, inferencing, and prediction.

Thoughtful, higher-order thinking discussion questions for literature circles or book clubs. The book is broken into seven different sections, based upon chapter length and difficulty. Questions target reading skills, as well as social skills. A great guided reading resource for read-aloud, novel study, book clubs, or literature circles. Appropriate for grades 4-8.

I spent an entire summer analyzing the Columbia Teacher's College Reader's Workshop Curricular Plan for Grade 5. This is the breakdown of Unit 2: Following Characters into Meaning. We all know that Lucy Calkins is amazing, but she tends to be a bit verbose! This table breaks down each lesson into connection, teaching point, teaching strategies, active engagement, mid-workshop interruption, and a link. The unit is also broken into three parts. Each part includes a skill checklist. The unit also i

A great graphic organizer to help students dissect, analyze, and synthesize literature. Works for novels and poetry. Encourages higher-order, deeper thinking! Appropriate for fifth through twelfth grade, or third and fourth grade gifted or highly capable. I've seen it use on adults and yield fantastic discussions!

Perfect graphic organizer for students that are learning or are struggling with identifying the main idea within a paragraph. The organizer has students work through the process backwards by first identifying details. Then, they look at the details and ask themselves, "What do these details all have in common?" From there, they are able to determine the main idea of the paragraph. Includes lines! Students can also use this organizer during writing to make sure their paragraphs are focused. Gr

Ten aesthetically pleasing posters. Bright titles in creative fonts. Short and concise, kid-friendly definitions of each genre. Book covers from both modern and classic texts provide visual examples for both students and teachers or parents. Designed for third grade through eighth grade. I use it with my fifth grade classroom and it is an invaluable resource! My students seek them out all the time during Reader's Workshop! I post them in my classroom above my library. They look great when print

Thoughtful, higher-order thinking discussion questions for a novel study, literature circle, or book club. Questions target reading skills, as well as social skills. The book is broken into sections based upon chapter length and difficulty. Appropriate for fourth through ninth grade.

Thoughtful, higher-order thinking discussion questions for literature circles or book clubs. The book is broken into six sections, based upon chapter length and difficulty level. Questions target reading skills and social studies ideas. Appropriate for fifth grade and above.