"When students are actively reading and applying multiple reading strategies as they read, they are able to understand the text at a deeper level."
Have an Attitude of Gratitude
Top 10 Books to Read that Help Students to Be Appreciative and Thankful
Llama Llama Gives Thanks by Anna Dewdney
Otis Gives Thanks by Loren Long
Thanks from the Very Happy Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Thank You Bear by Greg Fowley
Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings by Jan Berenstain
I am Thankful by Suzy Capozzi
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
My First Gratitude Jornal by Creative Journals for Kids
More Great Ideas to Use This Year
Feed the Turkey
Great for sight words, vocabulary words, historical dates (SS), and definitions (science) and this actually can be fun for students of all ages.....not just the little ones.
Readworks.org
This free site can take care of all of your ELA needs for grades K-12.
Strategy-specific texts
lesson plans
assessments
online or offline
SHAMPOO Figures of Speech
Teach poetry and allow students to better remember the different figures of speech using shampoo!
Eight Smart Strategies for Teaching Writing
Use Mentor Texts
read a book and stop to talk about the structure of the writing.
Demonstrate
write in front of your students and let them hear you think aloud.
Use Sentence Starters
Sometimes giving students one sentence to get started can make a world of a difference. It's more the intimidation of staring at a blank page.
Color Coding
A good color-coded graphic organizer should translate into good, colorful writing.
Integrate Vocabulary
The perfect way to get students to learn vocabulary words is to make them use them in their writing.
Use a rubric, a checklist, and a worksheet
All are equally important: rubric - standard, checklist - all the things you want your students to check in their writing before they hand it in, worksheet - is a much better way to make sure students don't copy and paste into their writing. They should write every word, even if they are typing or writing it.
Peer Conferencing
The best way to maximize your "teacher time" when grading writing is to have other students swap papers and look them over first to find corrections that need to be made.
Create an Incentive
Writing is a difficult journey from beginning to end, so any way to celebrate the process of successfully making it to the end is welcomed. Hang up every paper either in or outside of the classroom.
