profile

Teaching in Room 6

Ideas from MY Classroom to YOURS (and a FREEBIE!)

Published 8 months ago • 2 min read

Teaching in Room 6

Ideas for YOUR Classroom from MINE

Hi Reader,

I don't know about you, but the week after winter break is always such an awkward time. I want to hit the ground running, but I don't want to overwhelm the kids with new idea after new idea. Because of this, I have found that easing into content and curriculum with high-skill, standards-based activities, but still having a bit of fun is the way to go. Here are three tried and true weeklong activities that I do year after year that pay off big time for my students.

Winter and Hot Chocolate...the perfect pairing!

What do kids love more than sipping hot chocolate on a cold winter's day? Nothing! So I have taken that love and turned it into a set of reading, writing, math, and science activities that the kids beg for! From experimenting with hot chocolate temperatures to conducting data surveys on favorite toppings, these ready-made lessons always get the kids back into the swing of things. All while having a little fun too!

New Year Writing: Wish Poet-Tree

This cool POET-TREE is a creative poetry and craft project that sparks student reflection and writing skills. I use this to ease back into writing in a fun, yet rigorous way. The students learn about haiku, lune, and tankas. They then use the poetry forms to help the students set goals, make resolutions, and think into the new year. This makes a stunning bulletin board when done that can last the entire winter!

Writing Boot Camp Anyone?

Get your students back into the swing of writing with the POTW Boot Camp! It is the perfect way to remind them what makes a great paragraph and hit the ground running. January is such a good time to start fresh and set the standard for what you want writing to look like, and POTW Boot Camp is the way to go. I use this every year and it just works wonders.

đź’ˇ STATE TESTING FREEBIE FOR YOU: Coming back from break is a great time to work on lessons designed to get the kids more familiar with the prompts in the style of the state tests. I find that teaching them all about dissecting prompts, reading sources, and including that source information in their own writing as we get back from break really helps to lay the groundwork for when they have to do it on their own in a few month. It is long process but is SO worth it! I put some extended writing passages together for narrative writing (in the style of POTW) that I am using in my classroom. Here are a few of them for you in this EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER FREEBIE Hopefully they will help you to get your students started with writing prompts.

Here's to a great week ahead for you and your students! Happy Teaching!

Stephanie

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, Washington 98104-2246
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

Teaching in Room 6

I'm a educator and blogger who loves to talk about education. Subscribe and join over 0+ newsletter readers every week!

Read more from Teaching in Room 6
California studies with latitude and longitude

Hi everyone! Can you believe we are already heading into Week 5?! At this point, the routines are starting to feel much more natural, the kids are settling into being fourth graders, and we are really starting to get into the good stuff! This week we will continue our California studies, move further into our narrative reading and writing work, and keep building those strong math foundations. 🗺️ What’s Happening in Class California Studies:We are continuing our California studies as students...

3 days ago • 3 min read

It’s Week 4, and we are officially settling into the rhythm of the school year. The beginning-of-the-year activities are behind us, and we are diving into the real work of fourth grade. This week has been one of those weeks where I look around the room and think, “Okay...we’re really doing this!” What’s Happening in Room 6 We are moving right along with our California studies! After starting with our introduction letters, students are now researching California’s different regions and...

11 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Hello Reader, We are heading into our third week of school, and this is usually when I feel like I can finally start taking a breath. The first two weeks have been all about getting to know each other, learning procedures, figuring out where things belong, and practicing how our classroom works. Now we're getting to the part I really love: settling into the actual academic routines that we will use for the rest of the year. I thought I'd share what a typical day looks like in my classroom...

19 days ago • 3 min read