I serve more than 70 gifted and talented 4th- and 5th-grade students from across Oakland County in ELA, math, science, and social-emotional learning. My students come from diverse backgrounds and bring a wide range of strengths and growth areas, making every day both different and exciting.
Students sit in L-shaped pods, which ensures they are never facing completely away from the board or directly toward other students. This arrangement allows for collaboration without distraction and makes it easy for everyone to stay engaged.
Students keep all their supplies in lockers and personal supply bins. Additional materials are stored in labeled cabinets, allowing students to access resources independently. For collaborative work, we often use the Wipebooks that are hung on my walls to encourage group problem-solving and discussion.
My classroom features visual supports such as a scientific word wall, ELA elements posters, and SEL posters to reinforce learning throughout the day. It is decorated colorfully and thoughtfully to create a fun, welcoming, and encouraging environment for all students.
Each morning begins with a soft start, giving students time to ease into the day through a low-stakes activity of their choice. They might work on our collaborative jigsaw puzzle, journal, build with Legos, create with tangrams, complete Mad Libs, free write, or mindfully color. This calm, purposeful start encourages creativity, focus, and independence.
After the bell, we begin social-emotional learning through the Positivity Project (P2). Each week highlights a different character strength that helps students grow as individuals and as thoughtful community members. My favorite part is the Other People Mindset, which reminds us that our words and actions affect those around us and that we all have the power to make our school and community a better place.
On Mondays, we kick off the week with Good Things, when students share one positive thing happening in their lives. It is a simple but meaningful way to build connection and start the week with gratitude.
In ELA, my fifth graders learn the sixth-grade Wit & Wisdom curriculum, which challenges them to think deeply about literature, history, and the world around them. The lessons are text-based and discussion-driven, giving students lots of opportunities to build knowledge, vocabulary, and confidence as readers and writers.
I place a strong emphasis on formal and academic writing, helping students learn to organize their thoughts, use text evidence effectively, and express their ideas with clarity and confidence. We focus on fluency and comprehension over speed, creating space for students to read thoughtfully and make meaningful connections to the texts.
To support grammar and language skills, I supplement with Evan-Moor grammar lessons and IXL practice. These resources help students review the basics of writing clearly so they can apply them in their essays and discussions.
In math, I teach a split class of fifth and seventh grade, while also supporting two students who are taking Algebra 1 online. All of these learners are a mix of fourth and fifth graders, which makes for a unique math community.
We use the Big Ideas Math curriculum as our foundation, and I incorporate Building Thinking Classroom strategies to promote problem-solving and collaboration. Students often work at the whiteboard stations and on Wipebooks, where they can take risks, share ideas, and learn from one another in real time.
I teach through guided notes to help students organize new concepts, and we use IXL to reinforce skills and track progress toward mastery.
I have the pleasure of teaching all fifth-grade students in an afternoon rotation this year. We use the FOSS Pathways curriculum, which provides hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences. Students explore topics such as Earth and Sun, Mixtures and Solutions, and Living Systems through discussion, experimentation, and student-led investigations.
I place a strong emphasis on vocabulary so students can access high-level scientific ideas and communicate their understanding clearly. Science was my focus in undergrad and is ultimately reason I became an educator. I love teaching science because it is the key to understanding the world around us, and I love empowering students make connections between academic concepts and real-life experiences.
Students demonstrate their knowledge through performance tasks, where they choose how they want to demonstrate their understanding (as long as it meets the success criteria). This approach encourages ownership of learning and allows students to apply science in meaningful and authentic ways.
For gifted students, it is not always appropriate to differentiate by simply giving extra problems. Instead, I provide choice boards that allow for student-driven scaffolding. Options include coding challenges, computational thinking activities, mind mapping, high-interest reading, and puzzles. These choices let students extend their learning, explore topics more deeply, and take ownership of their progress while staying engaged in meaningful work.
Early Finisher Choice Boards.pdfI aim to use technology intentionally, minimizing unnecessary screen time so that students engage with devices only when it truly enhances learning. Students access IXL for skill practice and instant feedback, Curipod for interactive activities, and coding challenges to build computational thinking. They use technology for research, reading Newsela articles, watching supplemental videos, and occasionally drafting final writing pieces. Each use is purposeful and designed to support deeper understanding, engagement, and skill development, rather than just using technology for technology's sake.
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