Apple Blossom Teachers

     We've all sat through PD sessions that were less than engaging. It doesn't feel great to be sitting through a session covering content we already know, or that has us sitting and listening for the bulk, rather than actively putting the new content into practice.      The same goes for our students. Today I'm sharing a quick acronym to help you self-check lessons to get the most bang for your...

(TLDR - reading logs don't work, but this FREE printable bookshelf can!) Traditional reading logs - we've all seen them, used them, most likely fibbed on them...GASP! It's the truth though - in every post I see about reading logs, so many teachers and parents share anecdotes about how they have encouraged fibbing, even from voracious readers, because it's just something extra to fill out. We do kn...

Student centered norms and classroom design are important to establishing the ownership and engagement we desire. But what about when we get into the day-to-day, actual content area instruction?  Many of our teacher manuals aren't particularly designed to be student-centered, primarily because the big publishers don't know our actual students! There are somethings we can do, though, to adapt our c...

Today I'm sharing a quick run down of tips to keep in mind as you plan your class procedures and how you will introduce them during that very busy first week of school.  The short version: Pre-teach things that are essential to starting a task Mention that you may pause their work mid-activity to briefly introduce the next system they need to know Layer the teaching into activities that use it - d...

With student ownership over their learning comes a need for shared responibility over the space and systems. Today I'm sharing 3 activities you can do within the first few days of school to support positive classroom management and gain student buy-in. Anchor charts to open dialogue about our shared vision for a succesful learning environment. Class commitments that will bring that shared vision t...

Let's look at a few easy swaps and considerations for setting up a student-centered classroom.  Today we'll talk: math manipulatives classroom library student supplies writing station and more! Links and resources: Interview with Mona Iehl of Mona Math - hear a bit about the math journey I mentioned in today's episode, plus Mona's tips that have been game changers for my teaching! Equitable (Stude...

     Today we are kicking off a mini series all about student-centered learning environments. What is student centered learning and why is it important in upper elementary?       Today's episode will be a little more philosophical…overall what does this mean to us and other educators? How has this looked in upper grade classrooms? What are the outcomes - pros and cons- of creating a student- cente...

 In honor of Earth Day, I'm RECYCLING and REPURPOSING an incredible interview with Amy Louise Davis, of Alou Artist, all about how we can reduce "throw away culture" in our classrooms while also supporting mindfulness and creativity in our students.     Amy is a textile artist and embroiderer who is fascinated by pattern and sculpture. Influenced by environmental and social issues, she created alo...

What was the BEST class you've ever been in? What made it so? Great teachers have a knack for seamlessly weaving inspiration, passion, and content together in a way that creates a community of curiosity & excitement.  We no doubt always start the year with the mindset of creating this type of learning environment for our students, but come May? No amount of sparkly motivational teacher quotes or g...

We've been chatting a ton about higher order thinking skills and getting our students really digging deep with our grade level content. 🤷‍♀️But what do we do when students are struggling to simply meet that grade level content? How can we simultaneously scaffold our instruction while also supporting all learners in applying HOTS and complex application of grade level content?  It's absolutely pos...

Looking for some fun ways to teach informational text structures, author's purpose, nonfiction text features, and more that go beyond the usual activities and anchor charts?  Here's a quick mini-lesson and an exploration activity you can use to engage your students authentically with informational text analysis. Watch how this frame of thinking shifts the complexity for all your informational read...

Let's chat about an easy way to push students' observations, analyses, and questioning to a higher level. Using a strategy known as "Think Like A Disciplinarian," students are challenged to take on the perspective of an expert in a field or topic. Students ask questions, make observations, and draw relevant conclusions that a specific disciplinarian would note about our topic of study.  Why is thi...

I'm sharing a tool, known as the Icons of Depth and Complexity, for getting our students to think deeply about the texts we read, events we discuss, and situations we encounter. This simple tool for helping students access and apply higher-order thinking skills is a game changer for so many reasons!  🌟🌟🌟 Spelling lessons not sticking for your students? Learn how a few easy shifts to science-inf...

These 2 strategies had my students asking if they were allowed to go back and reread! Yup, a great reading response prompt can be the difference between "I have to go back and find text evidence." and "I've gotta find evidence to prove my point!!" Strategy 1: Add a Likert Scale to yes/no questions. Strategy 2: Have students add themseleves to the scene or event. 🌟🌟🌟 Did you hear? I'm kicking of...

Today's quick win strategy is all about keeping our students moving forward, allowing them to deeply engage with complex upper elementary skills, by just giving them the key information. Literally, just give them the key! Fluently solving multiplication facts, figuring out how to spell a word, finding key details from a story...yes, there is a time and place for teaching our students these things....

Over the last few weeks, we've been chatting all about how we can bridge high quality reading instruction to strengthen our students' writing. Today I want to share this throwback episode to give you some project ideas your students can actually apply all these lessons to. I hope this juicy past episode gives you some ideas on how to motivate and engage your young writers, and provides a frame of...

We've talked about using physical texts such as novels, picture books, and poems as mentor text for writing and reading standards. But what if instead of just learning from the author's writing, we actually learn directly from the author themselves? Today I'm sharing all about why and how you can use author chats (live experiences or prerecorded) to study authors crafts moves for upper elementary...

Today's focus will be literary mentor texts - using one text with paired reading and writing standards to maximize our class time, increase student engagement with the content, and create learning that lasts. One picture book can tackle authors craft moves, author's voice, tone of the story, point of view, sentence structures, and research for writing, to analyzing literary elements, word choice,...

One strategy to really deepen complexity and understanding beyond memorization, to a place where students are truly applying that skill, is to be very intentional with pairing reading and writing. Today, we're chatting all about using your weekly reading lesson plan to truly guide your writing plans. Why is this a huge help for BOTH reading and writing understandings? How does this increase studen...

It boils down to this: Students can't love reading without knowing HOW to read.  The good news is, teaching students how to read and creating a class community full of students who love to read can definitely happen simultaneously. And in upper grades, it absolutely needs to. Reading conferences are a great strategy for reading instruction in upper elementary, really helping you meet your students...

These are 3 common novel study and read aloud no-no's, all 3 that I've definitely done myself! Teaching the BOOK, not the READER. Choosing a book that doesn't resonate with your current readers. Choosing a book that will take too long, OR taking too long on a short book. Today's episode shares what we can do instead that will increase student engagement and propel their learning forward. Resources...

Want 5 simple ways you can support a strong reading culture in upper elementary, and surprisingly have some strong classroom community building as a bonus?!   Allow for reading choice  Make time for book talks & reading life chats Use reading journals instead of traditional reading logs Incorporate reading conferences to individualize reading progress Share novels primarily for the love of reading...

You've heard of speed dating, right? What if I told you that model works for efficient and pretty thorough peer editing, too?! "Speed Proofread" eliminates some of the challenges and pressure that come with exchanging papers with one peer, and shifts proofreading and revisions to a whole-class, collaborative effort where everyone supports everyone's growth. The best part? It can be done in just 15...

This is a simple, no-prep method for helping students give authentic, skills-focused feedback on peer projects. Having students set up art projects, STEM designs, etc. around the room in a gallery format, then having students leave sticky note compliments around peer projects using content-specific vocabulary we were focusing on. Check out examples here and here of how we've done this with an art...

Short on time, but still want students to regularly practice formally presenting to peers? Enter - Gallery Walk Presentations! This is a great strategy for building students' presentation confidence, and great for assessing peer listening comprehension. Listen in for a quick run down of what this can look like in upper elementary. Links and Resources: Biography Presentation Listening Comprehension...