I love teaching math to 4th and 5th graders. It is full of those aha moments where students suddenly “get” it. This is the age where students are making the leap from concrete to abstract, and it is so exciting to be part of that. Understanding decimals and fractions is an important part of that journey towards abstract thinking. That’s why it is so important that teachers take the time to develop a deep understanding and not rely on tricks and shortcuts. If students have a solid foundation at this age, they will be ready for higher-level math and for the real-world applications. Building this foundation is not easy.
This blog post will explore strategies for developing conceptual understanding of decimals by connecting whole number place value to decimal place value. And I will include links to several FREE resources, including a game, and a video!
Read on to learn more about:
Building a Strong Foundation in Decimal Place Value
A strong understanding of decimals begins with place value. It is easy to fall into the trap set by math textbooks and assume students understand place value if they can complete tasks like writing a number in expanded form. But true understanding of place value means that students understand that the value of a digit changes depending on its place. In other words, a 2 is not always worth 2. It is sometimes worth 20 and other times worth .20.
…true understanding of place value means that students understand that the value of a digit depends on its place.
Connecting Decimal Place Value to Whole Number Place Value
To build this deep grasp of place value, begin with whole numbers. Making sure that students understand that the value of the digit changes depending on the place will be easier if they understand the concept with whole numbers first.
Start with a Game – Place Value Spin
A million years ago, when I was in college, I learned this game as Place Value Roll, so if you have heard of that, you may know what I am talking about. I call it Place Value Spin so I don’t have to find the ten-sided dice (and keep them from walking away during the lesson…..) If you want to download this FREE Recording Sheet and Spinner, click here! The resource includes student directions and 10 different recording sheets to play the game with whole number place value AND decimal place value!
The goal of the game is simple – build the biggest number. All you need for this game is paper, pencil, and a spinner with the numbers 0 – 9. Play the game as a whole class first. As you play the game, over and over and over, repeat the big idea for today – the value of a digit depends on its place.
Directions for Place Value Spin
Spin the spinner and write the digit in one of the spaces on your place value chart. Once you write a number down, you MAY NOT erase it and move it to another place.
Keep spinning until you have put a digit in each place on the place value chart.
Write your number on the line. Did you make the largest possible number? If so, add a tally mark to your points section. If not, try again!
Why This Simple Game Works
This game works because it forces students to confront the idea that a 5 is not always worth 5. If you put it in the tens column, it’s 50. In the thousands column, it becomes 5,000. As you play with the whole class, repeat the concept over and over. You may think it’s overkill, after all, these students probably learned this in second grade…… right?
Well, if you are lucky, they did. If they didn’t, they need to understand the concept BEFORE they can really dive into decimals. Playing this simple game with your class will help you see who understands the concept, and who doesn’t. It will also force students to confront the concept head on, or keep losing the game.
Variations on Place Value Spin
This game also works well as a partner game. In that situation, students compete against each other to see who can create the biggest number. I often put a piece of butcher paper on the board and call it the Hall of Fame! Any student who wins 2 out of 3 matches with their partner gets their name on the Hall of Fame. You would be surprised how motivated they are by that!
Another variation is to see who can make the smallest number. I usually play it both ways to really bring home the concept to students.
Connecting Whole Numbers to Decimals
After you have played Place Value Spin a few times, and you can see that your students understand the concept, ask them this question.
Do you think the same idea works with decimals? Will the value of the digit change based on its place for decimals?
I like to set this question up to get kids to move. I ask them to move to the right side of the classroom if they think decimals work the same as whole numbers, move to the left side if they think decimals work differently than whole numbers, and stay in the middle of the room if they are unsure. This works as a quick movement break if kids need one, and also a quick formative assessment. At this point in time, be curious about what your students are thinking. Don’t tell them the correct answer. Instead, probe the thinking of kids on the right, left, and center. As you probe, if a student changes their mind and wants to move – let them move! Ask them what made them change their mind. Celebrate how open-minded they are – even if they are wrong. Confusion is normal at this stage of the game, and now you know how far you need to go.
Follow Up with This Instructional Video
This video begins by explaining whole number place value, and then connects it to decimal place value, so it is perfect for this lesson.
When to Revisit Place Value Spin
Playing the game using whole numbers is powerful. But to really leverage the power of the game, you will want to play it again – with decimals. I like to wait for a week or two to revisit the game. During that time, we work on building decimal numbers on a place value chart, and plotting them on a number line. Those visual help students become more familiar with decimal numbers.
You and Mom will both smile about this easy, low-prep Mother’s Day Craft. It’s perfect for elementary grades – even kindergarten! This FREE resource includes two versions – a simple low-prep option for younger students and a more in depth version for older students. Either way, it won’t take much of your time and it’s sure to be a hit with Mom!
This Mother’s Day Craft includes everything you need to make a charming card with the text, “My Love for You Grows…. and Grows…. and Grows!” The text is spaced along several folds so that a flower grows as the text is revealed! I get rave reviews about this card every year, and you will too! I’ve used it with upper-grade elementary students and I’ve used it for the past several years in my kindergarten classrooms. It really is that versatile!
The FREE resource (which you can download from Ms. Cotton’s Corner on TPT) includes directions and templates for a simple version that I have used with my kindergarten students. It ALSO includes directions for a more difficult, and more personalized version, that I have used with my upper grade students.
With the FREE download of this Mother’s Day Craft, you get:
Detailed Prep Steps
Directions, with screen shots – perfect for showing to the kids!
Printable flower pots, leaves and flowers – two versions means choices for you!
Check Out this How-To Video
Check out this video to preview the lesson and learn how-to make this darling card!
Tips for Making this Mother’s Day Craft in Your Classroom
Crafts can be a time of quiet, focused productivity, or a time of great chaos! I’ve been teaching for a loooooong time, so here are a few tips that I find help me get to the calm, not the chaos.
Give Kids Structured Choices
Choice is an important motivator for kids, and it’s especially important when they are making something as a gift. This is such a great moment to help kids get outside of themselves and think about others. BUT, too many choices causes chaos.
So, when I use this craft, with my kindergarten students OR with my older kids, I offer choices, but not too many. In this photo, you can see how I spread the different flower colors out on a table for my kindergarten students to choose from. I sent them to the table, three at a time, and told them to think about which flower their mom would like best. Choosing the flowers took about 2 minutes, but the choice helped the kids feel invested in the craft, and helped them think about someone besides themselves for a moment.
Never do something for a kid that they can do themselves…
Folding this Mother’s Day card correctly is what makes it so charming. Be sure to check out the video tutorial if you haven’t already! That said, I folded the cards for my kindergarteners in advance and then checked them all at the end to make sure they were folded correctly. I knew that folding the card would be a HUGE challenge for my kinders. They are not great at lining up corners or creasing, or folding with precision. And, I wanted them to put their focus and attention on gluing the card together precisely. That was enough of a challenge to keep them engaged, but not overwhelmed.
With upper-grade students, I did NOT fold the cards. I cut the paper and then showed the kids how to fold. For some, that was a good challenge. It’s all about knowing your students, and your professional judgement is what you should rely on here. Ask yourself, “Can my kids fold this without feeling frustrated? Will folding this Mother’s Day Craft engage them, or overwhelm them?” If they can do it themselves, they should. It’s not about perfection, it’s about growing. Trust me, even if the card is lopsided, Mom will love it!
Prep Steps and Materials
Once you download the FREE resource from TPT, you will want to print the pages. You will need these supplies to complete the project:
Half of a 12×18 piece of construction paper for each student (cut the long way)
Copies (I prefer bright cardstock, but any colored paper will work.)
Flowers – there are 4 per page, so 6-8 copies for a class.
Flower pots – there are 6 per page, so 4-5 copies for a class.
Leaves – each project needs 3 leaves, so there are enough for 5-6 students per page.
One 1-inch strip of green construction paper per student for the stem of the flower.
The FREE Mother’s Day Craft resouce on TPT includes linked directions. Just read through, choose the version that fits your students, and click to jump right to the pages that you need.
More Simple Solutions for Your Classroom
I am a big fan of low, or no-prep classroom options, and I’ve collected a lot of ideas over my many years of teaching. Be sure to check out these blog posts for more ideas that will save you time and help your students learn! Click the image to check them out!
Do you have 15 minutes to hook kids on books? Engage students with a simple Reading Strategy – Book Pass! This blog post gives clear directions for using this no-prep strategy.
This blog post includes a video tutorial and directions for how to make a Spiral Thinking Strip – a versatile foldable that is great for summarizing, recording math facts, and more!
What’s New?
Check out these recent blog posts for more resources and insights to grow your teaching!
December can be a crazy time! Keep the learning going strong with Christmas kindergarten math activities like this gingerbread-themed number sense game. This FREE download includes 2 versions – Make 5 AND Make a Ten! You also get spinners, differentiated recording sheets, and two independent practice pages. It is easy to prep, and engaging for…
Recently I’ve been blogging about my journey of exploration into the Science of Reading. Be sure to check out some of these other posts if you’ve missed them: The more I dive into the Science of Reading, the more I am using the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough’s Reading Rope to guide instruction in…
This blog explores the importance of foundational understanding of decimal place value and whole number place value. Strategies include using games like Place Value Spin to build concepts of place value, connecting whole numbers to decimals, and a free instructional video to use with your students.
Pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, naps….. I really love Thanksgiving – in fact, it’s my favorite holiday of the year. Not as hectic and busy as Christmas but still plenty of tradition. I’m gearing up to bake pumpkin pies with my class this week (a tradition in my classroom since the late 90’s!), and it seems like a perfect time to share these Thaksgiving Books with you. I had some trouble, but I managed to curate the list down to 10!
Read on to learn more about how I use these Thanksgiving books in my classroom and to download a FREE resource to use in your classroom!
As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small amount if you click on these links and make a purchase at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
How to Catch a Turkey – a favorite Thanksgiving book
by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
This hilarious book is a hit with young students – it’s perfect for pre-K, kindergarten and first grade! I love How to Catch a Turkey because it’s a wonderful way to teach setting and sequencing – two important concepts for building comprehension skills in the primary grades. And it rhymes, so there are great opportunities to build phonemic awareness skills as well. I introduce the book by writing this excerpt on the board.
“Turkey? Stage? No way! No how!
Had I really heard that right?
I broke out of my pen and ran away
with a case of bad STAGE FRIGHT!”
There is a lot to teach with this short excerpt. We talk about the rhyming words right and fright (and how crazy it is to have a silent g in the middle!) Then we brainstorm other words that rhyme with those two words – night, knight, light, fight, sight…. There are a lot! Then we talk about what it means to have stage fright. This is often a new idea for young children, and something they will need to understand to fully comprehend the book. Finally, I tell them that the problem in the book is that the turkey has stage fright, and we will read to see how he solves the problem.
Once I’ve set the purpose for reading, we read, and enjoy, the book! In his desire to avoid the stage, the turkey runs and flaps his way through the school – making this a perfect book to reinforce the idea of setting. As I read, we talk about the different settings, and use our background knowledge about our own school to predict where he will go next! In the end, the turkey faces his fear, and as with so many things in life, facing that fear leads to a wonderful new opportunity!
Be sure to check out this resource on TPT for printables and activities to teach phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension and writing with this Thanksgiving book!
Don’t have the book? Check out my YouTube channel for a FREE video read aloud of How to Catch a Turkey!
This book is a perfect way to expand students’ love of a tradition (the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade) and bring non-fiction to your classroom. Depending on your learners, there might be too much text for pre-k or kindergarten students. Luckily, the illustrations are absolutely marvelous – there is a reason Balloons Over Broadway was a Caldecott Honor winner! If I notice my kiddos getting antsy, I “tell” the story through the pictures.
Balloons Over Broadway is the true story of Tony Sarg, creator of the amazing balloons that float down Broadway and across our screens every Thanksgiving Day. Students who love to tinker will be inspired by Tony’s story. After we read this story, I like to give the students pipe cleaners, balloons and sharpie markers so they can design their own balloon. The draw a character on the balloon, and sometimes even tape extra details. Then they attach pipe cleaners and we parade around the room. It is sooooo much fun!
For more ideas about how to use this book to teach comprehension, phonics and sight words, be sure to check out this resource on TPT. Included in this resource is my favorite emergent reader – it is pretty heartwarming, perfect for this time of year AND perfect for teaching the sight words big and little. Grab the Balloons Over Broadway resource today!
The Story of the Pilgrims – a Thanksgiving book about Plymouth
by Katharine Ross
This Thanksgiving book tells the story of the Pilgrims and the Indigenous Peoples who helped them. The simple text and charming illustrations cover all of the basics – why the Pilgrims immigrated, how difficult life was, and their early dependence on Indigenous People. I like to read this book in the morning, and on the same afternoon, I read….
Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving
by Kimberly and James Dean
These two Thanksgiving books are a perfect pair! Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving features Pete performing a Thanksgiving Day play. He plays the lead, of course. This book has similar content to The Story of the Pilgrims. Except, it is fiction, and that opens up the teaching point.
After I read both books to the students, I draw a Venn diagram on a chart paper, and we compare and contrast the books. Because they have similar content, it is easy to help students see the differences – a talking cat for example. As we list the similarities and differences on the chart, I reinforce the concepts of fiction and non-fiction.
This is a charming Thanksgiving book with a sweet lesson about counting your blessings. Although it does not specifically mention Thanksgiving, the story follows Betsy as she learns to practice gratitude with the help of her gratitude stone. It is a perfect lesson for pre-k, kindergarten and first grade students – really, a good reminder for us all!
After I read this book to my students, I help them create their own gratitude stones to carry with them. For step by step instructions on how to do that in your class, check out this blog post from a few years ago.
Stickers – I like these hearts, but any small stickers will work. Look for stickers about a half inch so that they don’t wrinkle when you put them on a round surface.
This is a beautiful book about being grateful across the whole year – that makes it a perfect Thanksgiving book! It’s not an accident that the cover is full of medals. The illustrations are colorful and vibrant. The text is simple and powerful. The message is timeless.
As you can tell from the cover, We Are Grateful, Otsaliheliga features Indigenous People from the Cherokee tribe. Words from their language are sprinkled throughout. The book follows the People across the seasons as they express gratitude. One of the things I love the most about this book is that it depicts Indigenous People in modern life. Students often have the misconception that Indigenous People only lived in the past, and this book is a perfect counter to that idea.
When I use this book with my kindergarten students, in addition to the message of gratitude I reinforce the idea of seasons going round and round. Before reading, we do a picture walk to identify the seasons. This helps my students think like scientists and use their sense of sight to find clues for the seasons in the illustrations. By doing that picture walk BEFORE reading the book, I set the stage for students to understand the larger message. This book helps students see that gratitude is something to practice all year long, not just at Thanksgiving time.
This is another sweet, rhyming Thanksgiving book! Counting our Blessings has the extra benefit of helping students with counting order. The mother dog and the puppy count their blessings, from one to ten. I read this book to my kindergarten students this week, and they all gasped when they saw the golden illustration of the sun. You will too!
After we read this book, I ask the kids to stand in a circle. I stand in the middle of the circle, and count them, one by one. As I count, I call each one a blessing. They love to join in, and pretty soon, you can hear, “One blessing, two blessings, three blessings….” It’s a really simple response the story but it can be powerful to name the kids as blessings. Powerful for you and also for them!
10 Fat Turkeys is a laugh out loud Thanksgiving book. Seriously. You will all giggle at the antics of these crazy birds! And, while you are chortling, your students will be counting. So, a math lesson and a giggle – what could be better!
10 Fat Turkeys is a counting backwards book, so it helps give students practice with that process – which will help them be more confident with subtraction! The book uses playful language throughout, including this phrase.
“Gobble Gobble Wibble Wobble do a noodle dance!”
When we finish reading the book, I challenge the students to a noodle dance! This is a lot like the game Simon Says. The students start by standing in their rug spot (mine are defined boxes, which is important for helping them stay in their own bubble). We count all of the students, and I write that number on the board. Then I start some music. The kids’ challenge is to show me what they think a noodle dance would look like WITHOUT leaving their rug spot. As they dance, I walk around and tap 2-3 on the head. Those students sit down. Then, I stop the music and we figure out how many students are sitting down. We count backwards on the number line to find the number of students who are still dancing. The game continues until all of the students are sitting down. This is a fun wiggle break that is also a big math problem!
You probably recognize the author of this Thanksgiving book. Dav Pilkey wrote the very popular Captain Underpants series. Before you turn away in disgust, I encourage you to give this sweet book a try. It is well worth reading to any pre-k or kindergarten class. The illustrations alone make this a great read.
Dav Pilkey does a superb job of keeping to the rhythm and lilt of the original The Night Before Christmas. In this version, a class of students go on a field trip to a turkey farm. While there, they encounter Farmer Mack Nugget, who looks strangely like the farmer in the famous painting, American Gothic. Farmer Nugget has a bunch of turkeys, and the kids have a great time exploring the farm, until they realize the turkeys are destined for the Thanksgiving table. When the children load the bus, they are mysteriously quite fat. As the bus wends its way home through a sky remarkably similar to The Starry Night, it is clear that love has saved the day – and the turkeys!
When I read this book to my class, we just start by enjoying the book. After we finish, I flip back through the illustrations and we discuss how they enhance the story. When we get to the page that resembles American Gothic, I project it on the screen and we talk about how the two images are the same and different. We do the same with the page the looks like The Starry Night. I love that Dav Pilkey was inspired to bring in those two great pieces of art. Showing them to my class exposes them to two amazing pieces of human culture and adds depth to this book which is both heartwarming and funny.
This First Thanksgiving Day – a Counting Story and FREE resource!
by Laura Krauss Melmed
I really love this Thanksgiving counting book for it’s delightful illustrations and beautiful, rhyming text. The book features Wampanoag and Pilgrim children – and their expressions are so charming. Your students will love finding the children on each page – and counting each one!
I introduce the book with a book walk. We simply enjoy each picture, and try to use the clues in the illustrations to predict the chores that the Pilgrim and Wampanoag children will complete on each page. We also count the children on each page. The text builds to 12, giving preK and kindergarten students practice with numbers up to 12.
After the picture walk, I go back to the first page and read the text to the students. This is our opportunity to check if our predictions were correct. As I read, I reinforce the concept that the pictures and the text should match. This is actually an important concept that helps young writers begin to organize their writing!
Once we finish reading the book, I have students respond to the book by predicting what the Pilgrim and Wampanoag children will do after the feast. Download this FREE resource to get that response sheet AND a math practice page for counting to ten.
I am always uploading new read alouds to my YouTube channel. Check out Ms. Cotton’s Corner on YouTube for my latest video. In the meantime, share this with your class and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing! And don’t forget to tell your friends! Sharing is Caring!
Room on the Broom is the perfect book for the Halloween season in your preschool, kindergarten or first grade classroom! Julia Donaldson, the well-known author of The Gruffalo, has written another crowd pleaser. Your students will love it, and so will you! Read on to find teaching ideas to bring this book to your classroom!
Room on the Broom is a delightful rhyming story with a wonderful message about friendship. This is a perfect book to help your young readers master rhyming, an essential phonemic awareness skill. It also has plenty of opportunities for letter naming practice, building vocabulary, and comprehension skills like sequencing and story grammar. This book offers you a lot in a charming story that your students will love. If you’d like to know more about how these components fit into the Science of Reading, read this blog post.
I use Room on the Broom in my kindergarten classroom to teach phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehenion, and writing/vocabulary. Here are a few of my favorite ideas to use with this book. Be sure to grab the resource on TPT to get all of the lesson plans and reading activities for your classroom.
Teaching Letter Names with Room on the Broom
It’s October and my kindergarteners are working hard to learn letter names and sounds. One of their favorite lessons is Letter Friends. I use the letter cards from this resource for this activity. There are two ways to play the game.
Version 1 – If I don’t have a lot of prep time, I just give half of the students an uppercase letter and half of the students a lowercase letter. Then, I play a little music while they walk around, finding their Letter Friend. It is great practice with letter naming. You hear things like, “Oh, I have h, not n. See, h is tall. I think Phoenix has n.” The game takes just a few minutes, and then we swap cards and play again.
Version 2 – If I have a little more prep time, I “hide” the uppercase letters around the room. Then I give each student a lowercase letter and play music while they find their Letter Friend. They love to help each other, and the activity reinforces the match between uppercase and lowercase letters. I follow up the lesson with the Letter Matching Center or one of the letter learning printables, like the witch hat dot-to-dot!
Phonemic Awareness Practice
“The witch had a cat and a hat that was black, And long ginger hair in a braid down her back.”
First sentence from Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Isn’t that a charming rhyme? As I read the book, I ask students to listen for the rhyme. There are so many, we can’t identify them all! Then, I use the 24 Rhyming Cards from the resource. Many of the words in the Rhyming Cards come from the book, and we practice identifying which words rhyme, and which do not! I place the cards in a pocket chart, and then I pull one of the cards. Students take turns coming up to find the rhymes. They can also play that game as a pocket chart center!
The resource also includes Rhyming Center Cards that students use to find the rhyme. I like to laminate them and put sticky dots on them so that the pieces stay together. And there are also Rhyming Sorts and other Printables to help students really grow their phonemic awareness skills!
Comprehension with Room on the Broom
The goal of reading instruction is skilled readers who comprehend text. In the primary grades, teachers need to prepare students for the literary analysis they will do when they are older. And that means talking about books.
My favorite comprehension activity is the Sequencing Sticks. The Room on the Broom resource comes with color and black-and-white. I like to make several sets of the colored images. I place each set in a bin, and students work together in partners or groups of three to retell the story. They love this! They think the Sequencing Sticks are like puppets, and you can hear them talking in their dragon voice or barking like a dog as they retell the story. I use the Sequencing Printable as independent practice at the end of the lesson. It’s a great formative assessment!
My students would probably say that the Character Hats are their favorite activity. I like to give my kiddos choice, so I let them choose between the witch and the dragon. I use the word protagonist to describe the witch and antagonist to describe the dragon, and they love those big words! It is so fun to watch them at play time as they wear the hats and act out the story!
Writing and Vocabulary
If you read this blog often, you know that vocabulary development is something I write about frequently. Check out this blog post if you want to know WHY!
With kindergarten students, vocabulary instruction and writing go hand in hand. My kinders are still figuring out letters and words and sentences. I love Write Around the Room Activities because they get kids moving, and they help students connect words with pictures. That reinforces the vocabulary and builds their ability to write about their reading!
This resource includes three different types of paper so you can choose what works best for your students. The resource includes 12 Word Cards and 2 Writing Practice Pages (each with 6 words). I like to spread out all 12 Word Cards. Then, I give half the class one Writing Practice Page and the other half gets the OTHER Writing Practice Page. That means that the kids are not all trying to write the same word at the same time. And, I can swap the groups the next day and get two writing lessons!
Click to Get the Lesson Plans on TPT!
Where to Get Room on the Broom?
If you don’t already have the book, check it out from your library or grab a copy here. (As an Amazon Affiliate, if you click on the link and make a purchase, I make a small commission, at no charge to you! Thanks for supporting this teacherpreneur!)
Or, check out this video recording of the story on Ms. Cotton’s Corner on YouTube.
More Great Fall Resources for Your Classroom
This Balloons Over Broadway Reading Unit has a similar focus as Room on the Broom and is perfect for kindergarten and first grade. Click to grab it on TPT!
The Leaf Thief is the perfect book for fall! The resource focuses on Science of Reading aligned content like rhyming, letter naming, and comprehension practice. And the story is so cute!
I love Clip Cards because they help students build fine motor skills AND practice important content. This bundle is growing, and will include at least 12 sets by the time it is done. Grab it today, and save money!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing! And don’t forget to tell your friends! Sharing is Caring!
Word Walls are such a valuable tool for teaching content vocabulary. You will love this resource featuring 52 Science vocabulary words for the States and Properties of Matter. Read on to learn more, then hop over to TPT and grab it today! Be sure to read all the way to the end to see the FREE video that you can use to teach five of these terms to YOUR students!
This resource includes more than 50 full color Word Wall cards – each with an important term related to the States and Properties of Matter and a kid-friendly definition.
It’s perfect for grades 4 – 7!
The video teaches five of the important terms from the Word Wall, and uses the same images to reinforce students’ understanding of the concepts. The five Science vocabulary words featured in the video are: solid, liquid, gas, evaporate and precipitation.
Read on to learn more!
What is Included in this Science Vocabulary Words Resource?
This set includes 52 Word Cards – each with a definition and a high-quality photo to teach important Science vocabulary words related to the States and Properties of Matters. The photos add context to the definition, and often feature diagrams and scientific situations that bring the word to life! Your students will quickly master the important Science concepts with the help of these vocabulary cards.
Each Word Wall card is half a page, which makes them a perfect fit for a pocket chart or a teaching bulletin board. The font is large and easy-to-read so that students can access this Word Wall from anywhere in the room!
This resource includes these 52 Science Vocabulary Words. The * marks the terms included in the FREE video!
(If you click on the link and make a purchase, as an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small amount at no extra charge to you. Win win!)
Why Teach Science Vocabulary Words?
Building a strong vocabulary increases reading comprehension as well as understanding of the key Science concepts. This Word Wall will help you improve reading AND Science understanding – win win!
Teaching vocabulary explicitly can be a quick routine that pays off with big results. These Word Wall cards make it easy to teach these Science terms. No prep needed, just grab a card and teach! Consistent, easy routines that you weave throughout your day, in multiple content areas, will help you explicitly teach the vocabulary your students need to know.
Want a FREE e-book with vocabulary routines? Grab this one today – it’s always FREE!
And check out these other posts for more tips and information on vocabulary instruction.
This is the second in my series on inspiring Civil Rights Leaders. Today we are going to focus on Thurgood Marshall, but make sure you check out my previous post on John Lewis. It’s one of my best sellers for a reason – John Lewis was such an inspiring Civil Rights Leader!
Thurgood Marshall is often overlooked in the history books, but students who are passionate about justice and about solving problems democratically really resonate with Thurgood Marshall. His persistent approach of arguing for equal rights for all eventually earned him a seat as the first Black Supreme Court Justice. That story of persistence and determination is a great one to share with students.
And if you need even more inspiring biographies, be sure to check out this bundle of 12 biographies about Civil Rights Leaders. Each biography is short – just one page – and focuses on comprehension and vocabulary skills so you can meet your standards AND inspire kids! Win win!
Read on to learn more about this biography resource about Thurgood Marshall and how to use it in your classroom.
Table of Contents
Why Teach About Thurgood Marshall?
Thurgood Marshall had a passionate, lifelong committment to justice that many fifth and sixth graders find relevant. One year I taught this passage to my fifth graders, and I will never forget one girl’s response. Cute as a button, and knee high to a grasshopper, people often underestimated her intelligence and her committment. When she read the passage about Thurgood, she felt such a kinship with him that she went on to read more biographies and do more research about his life. When I asked her what made him so special to her, I will never forget her response. She said, “He’s just like me, Ms. Cotton. Because he was Black, people didn’t think he could do things, or be things. But he could. And he makes me know that I can too.” This student is White and has the blondest hair I’ve ever seen, but she felt a real connection.
And that’s why I continue to teach about Thurgood Marshall.
Ideas for Teaching About Thurgood Marshall
I like to introduce Thurgood by first introducing the key vocabulary term, segregation. I usually introduce the term with M&M’s. In the morning, I give each student either a yellow M&M or a red M&M. I also give each student a colored dot that matches the color of their M&M because they will almost immediately eat the candy! Then, I tell them the rules for the day. No yellow M&M kid can talk to, sit with, play with, or interact in any way with a red M&M kid. We move the desks to opposite sides of the room, and begin our day.
At first, the kids think it’s funny. Then, I pass out the math papers. Oops! Somehow I only have enough copies for the kids on the yellow side of the room. No worries! I give the red candy kids a piece of paper, and tell them to copy the work from the document camera. See? Everything is the same. Everything is equal. Everyone gets to do the same math assignment.
The day continues, and I deliberately favor the yellow candy kids in any way I can. They are usually sitting on the side of the room with the drinking fountain, and if a red candy kid wants a drink, they can’t cross into that territory. Too bad, no drink for you! And so it goes.
At the end of the day, I give each kid a red and a yellow candy, and we have a talk about segregation. How did it feel to the red candy kids? How did it feel to be a yellow candy kid? And what would happen if it continued for many, many years? And then finally, I show the image of Thurgood Marshall, and ask, “How would you feel if this man came to say segregation was wrong, and everything had to change?”
We finish up the introduction by biting the red and yellow candies in half, and talking about the differences on the outside, and the similarities on the inside. And then we complete the vocabulary practice page about segregation, and I promise that the students wil learn more about Thurgood the next day.
I’ve written a lot about the importance of teaching vocabulary. If you need a resource to help you teach the vocabulary in this biography, and in the other biographies about Civil Rights Leaders, be sure to check out this Civil Rights Word Wall! It is low prep, and makes a great teaching bulletin board in minutes!
And check out these other blog posts for more ideas.
This resource includes Google Slides, Google Forms, and PDF Printables so that you have the maximum amount of flexibility. Personally, I prefer to have my students work on the vocabulary as a printable. This allows them to add the pages to their Word Work notebook, and makes it easy for them to find and use the words later. But, I prefer the Google Slides text and Google Form comprehension questions practice. There are two reasons.
Reading online text is an important skill and students need practice. This resource is formatted so that students read a paragraph, and take notes right on the Google Slide. The slides also include highlighting bars so that the students can easily highlight important information.
Google Forms are so easy to grade, and that saves me time! Want to know more? Check out this video where I walk through my process of grading a Google Form, and you will see how easy it is! The Google Form in the video is from my John Lewis resource, but follows the same format as the Google Form in the FREE Thurgood Marshall resource.
What Do Teachers Say About this Resource?
This resource will inspire your students, and help you meet goals in reading, comprehension and vocabulary. Plus, it’s versatile and easy to use! But don’t take my word for it. Here is what other teachers are saying!
“Students loved the lesson. I will be using this resource again in my next school year.”
-Yvette P.
“Great Resource! Helpful to students. Well made. Thank you!”
-Brittney V.
Next Steps
This resource will help you inspire your students as they learn about this amazing Civil Rights Leader. Ready to download this FREE biography resource about Thurgood Marshall?
If you want to dive into Civil Rights more deeply, you will want to check out these resources that make a perfect companion to this resource.
This Civil Rights Activists resource includes the Thurgood Marshall resource featured in this blog post AND features biographies about 11 other Civil Rights Activists, including John Lewis, working for equality for women, blacks, hispanics, farm workers…. This resource is perfect for introducing students to many Civil Rights Leaders across time and a great jumping off place for a research project. Click the image to grab it now!
Future blog posts will go into greater detail about each of these resources. Check back soon!
And this Civil Rights Word Wall makes teaching important vocabulary terms easy and fun! Click the image and grab it today!
I hope these resources help you inspire students to be leaders as well as learners. And I hope they help make your teaching life easier.
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
One of the things that makes teaching meaningful for me is the chance to open a student’s eyes and help them see new possibilities. Know what I mean? But, it can be challenging to fit that in with all of the required curriculum, and it can be hard to find resources that help make that happen. That’s why I wrote 12 biographies about Civil Rights leaders like John Lewis. I researched about 20 leaders so that I could choose 12 leaders who fought for equality for women, blacks, hispanics, and farm workers. My goal was to help my students see themselves in these leaders, and I hope yours will too.
Each biography is short – just one page – and focuses on comprehension and vocabulary skills so you can meet your standards AND inspire kids! Win win!
This resource about John Lewis includes:
a one-page text in PDF format AND Google Slides
3 Vocabulary Practice sheets, also in PDF and Google Slides
Text Dependent Comprehension questions in PDF format AND Google Forms
vetted student friendly links for further research
Answer keys, Teaching Suggestions, Schedules, and more supports for you!
Read on to learn more about this biography resource about John Lewis and how to use it in your classroom.
Table of Contents
Why Teach About John Lewis?
This biograpy about John Lewis will introduce your students to a key Civil Rights leader who worked for equality from the 1960’s to the present day. Because John overcame discrimination as a teenager , I think he is especially inspiring to students. Maybe one of your students will follow in his footsteps and end up in Congress someday, fighting for a cause they believe in!
As a teenager, John experienced discrimination in his daily life. Luckily, he had a wonderful teacher who encouraged him, and he was able to attend college. His career as a Civil Rights leader really began as a Freedom Rider, and eventually, led him to run for Congress, and win! John’s example is definitely one that can help students see how to overcome the challenges in their own life and reach great success.
Ideas for Teaching About John Lewis
John Lewis first came to national prominence as the President of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and he spoke at the March on Washington right before Dr. King spoke. I like to introduce my students to John Lewis by playing this video clip. In the clip, an older John Lewis reflects on that experience, and clips from his speech are woven throughout. This quick video gives students a wonderful introduction to John as a young man and as an older man (and the link is included in the Teaching Suggestions page of the resource as well!)
After playing the video, I introduce the vocabulary. The resource includes practice sheets for teaching these target vocabulary terms: discrimination, segregation and nonviolent. You can choose to use the PDF printable OR the Google Slides version of the practice sheets. I use my Civil Rights Word Wall cards to introduce the target vocabulary and prepare my students to understand the text. It is a perfect companion to this resource!
OR, introduce the vocabulary using one of your favorite strategies? Need some ideas? Be sure to check out this blog post which gives quick and easy strategies for introducing new vocabulary terms.
This resource includes Google Slides, Google Forms, and PDF Printables so that you have the maximum amount of flexibility. Personally, I prefer to have my students work on the vocabulary as a printable. This allows them to add the pages to their Word Work notebook, and makes it easy for them to find and use the words later. But, I prefer the Google Slides text and Google Form comprehension questions practice. There are two reasons.
Reading online text is an important skill and students need practice. This resource is formatted so that students read a paragraph, and take notes right on the Google Slide. The slides also include highlighting bars so that the students can easily highlight important information.
Google Forms are so easy to grade, and that saves me time! Want to know more? Check out this video where I walk through my process of grading this Google Form, and you will see how easy it is!
What Do Teachers Say About this Resource?
This resource will inspire your students, and help you meet goals in reading, comprehension and vocabulary. Plus, it’s versatile and easy to use! But don’t take my word for it. Here is what other teachers are saying!
“My students loved using this resource! It was very engaging and convenient to use! I will definitely use this again in the future.”
-Holly O.
“I used this with our week of learning on activists and our focus on the Selma march. I was looking for a resource to support my students’ ability to read more about John Lewis on their level. This was so helpful, thank you!”
-Lindsay D.
Next Steps
This resource will help you inspire your students as they learn about this amazing Civil Rights Leader. Ready to buy this biography resource about John Lewis?
If you want to dive into this more deeply, you will want to check out these resources that make a perfect companion to this resource.
This Civil Rights Activists resource includes the John Lewis resource featured in this blog post AND features biographies about 11 other Civil Rights Activists working for equality for women, blacks, hispanics, farm workers…. This resource is perfect for introducing students to many Civil Rights Leaders across time and a great jumping off place for a research project. Click the image to grab it now!
Future blog posts will go into greater detail about each of these resources. Check back soon!
And this Civil Rights Word Wall makes teaching important vocabulary terms easy and fun! Click the image and grab it today!
I hope these resources help you inspire students to be leaders as well as learners. And I hope they help make your teaching life easier.
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
Update: This Math Spiral Resource was offered as a FREE Giveaway in December. Although the Giveaway has passed, you can still grab the Math Spiral Review Resource on TPT! Be sure to follow this blog, and follow Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram and TPT so you never miss a FLASH FREEBIE again!
Today’s featured resource is a Math Spiral Review for 5th grade. It’s a standby in my classroom during testing season, and it will be in yours as well. Grab it today – you will thank yourself later!
You will love this Math Spiral Review for 5th grade! It’s perfect for review right before a standardized test, or to keep skills strong all year long. The format is simple, and includes 4 different standards per page. The questions are based off released items from PARCC and SBAC, so the rigor is high and the standards are ALL covered!
This was part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the subscribe button on the sidebar, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to forward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
What is Included in this Math Spiral Review for 5th grade?
This Math Spiral Review gives your students practice to master fractions, multiplication, division and decimals. Every Math Standard is practiced at least twice! It is perfect for homework, morning work, bell ringers, centers or test prep, and it now includes a printable PDF and EASEL for digital!
This resource contains 6 weeks of spiral review covering every 5th grade math standard with a bonus 7th week! This resource contains 35 daily practice pages. It’s perfect for review right before the test! This also makes a great beginning of the year review for 6th grade. Another way to use this resource is to have students complete one page per week, which then keeps the review going for the entire school year! You choose how to use this to meet the needs of your students and your teaching style!
The questions are based on released items from PARCC and SBAC, so there is a high-level of rigor. Four standards are practiced each day, and each standard will be practiced at least 2 times over the course of 6 weeks. The review focuses heavily on the major work of fifth grade – decimals, multiplication, division and volume. Fractions are also practiced multiple times. In my experience, these are the standards which students need the most support to master. The bonus 7th week spirals through every decimal and fraction standard at least one more time!
3 Reasons You Will Love this Math Spiral Review!
First, what is spiral review? The idea of spiral review is a systematic revisiting of key concepts at spaced intervals. Spiral review helps students deepen their understanding, use their knowledge in new ways, and remember it! Math Spiral Review is especially effective at increasing long term mastery.
You will love this Math Spiral Review resourcebecause it works! This resource includes every 5th grade math standard, and some 4th grade math standards. The systematic spiral gives extra time to the content students typically struggle with – fractions, decimals and multiplication/division.
I believe that teachers and students deserve choices. You will love this Math Spiral Review because you have choices. There are 4 rigorous problems on each page. Choose to have students do one page a day for 6-7 weeks OR choose to have students complete 1 problem a day. The review can take you weeks, or months! Do what works for you and your students!
Have you ever had a student say, “I’m just not a math person?” That lack of confidence can kill a student’s ability to learn and achieve. Math Spiral Review builds confidence because the repetition makes the problem content and types feel familiar. Familiarity boosts confidence, and that boosts achievement! This Math Spiral Review will help your students find their inner mathematician.
What do Other Teachers Say About this Math Spiral Review?
“Great resource for a spiral review of skills. Prepares my kids for state testing.”
-Michelle K.
“This is great daily test prep! I’m extremely satisfied with this!”
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram and TPT too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources!
I hope this Math Spiral Review, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Grab it today!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
“Snowmen at Night” is a delightful read aloud about the hijinks of snowmen while everyone else is sleeping. Your students will love the adventures and the rhyming text. This FREE resource includes phonics, comprehension and Vocabulary/Sight Words activities to go with the book, “Snowmen at Night” by Caralyn Buehner. If you love this book, be sure to check out this blog post about the companion book, “Snowmen at Christmas”!
Grab a copy of the book on Amazon here. (I may earn as an Amazon Affiliate, at no additional cost to you.)
This read aloud unit includes activities to teach Reading Comprehension, Phonics, Sight Words and Vocabulary. The lesson includes supports for teaching the concepts, a fun Story Sticks sequencing craft, center activities and practice pages.
This is part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the black button to the right, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to forward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
What is Included in this Kindergarten Read Aloud Resource?
This resource features a variety of phonics and reading comprehension activities based on the delightful book “Snowmen at Night” by Caralyn Buehner. Your students will LOVE this fun story with its imaginative illustrations, and have a blast practicing phonics skills of letter names, reading sight words, and the connected text of the emergent reader. You will love these reading activities that keep students engaged and learning.
The included lesson plans give you plenty of ideas for using these reading activities to teach important literacy skills such as uppercase and lowercase letter match, sequencing and retelling the story, word families, and sight words. Students will love the Story Sticks craft that helps them reinforce the concept of sequencing. They will also love the Spin and Read circles that help them practice reading word families!
Bring together comprehension and sight words with the emergent reader – Where do Snowmen Go?. The books gives students practice with sight words, setting of a story and emergent reader skills such as left to right, concept of a word, and more! There are plenty of reading activities to keep the learning going!
How Does This Unit Fit with the Science of Reading?
I have been learning and writing a lot about Science of Reading lately. The Reading League is the driving force behind helping educators bring Science to our classrooms. They advocate for the Simple View of Reading.
The Simple View of Reading is WR x LC = RC.
The Simple View says that Word Recognition (WR) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC). In other words, Reading Comprehension is the goal, and students reach comprehension when they understand the language and recognize the words.
This unit fits into that formula in a number of ways.
Word Recognition depends on letter recognition and the ability to use the sounds of letters to pronounce words. Those skills are supported in the Phonics section of this resource. The Sight Word practice is also key for building strong Word Recognition skills (there are two included sight words activities in this resource). The Spin and Read activity is also a fun phonics activity that helps students learn to read word families. Sound Mapping is another great phonics activity included in this resource.
Language Comprehension is more complicated. Vocabulary development is one piece of that process, and the Write Around the Room activity supports vocabulary development.
Literacy Knowledge is also considered part of Language Comprehension, and this unit supports Literacy Knowledge with the Text Dependent Questions, The Sequencing activities, the Story Sticks
This Reading Comprehension Unit brings Science-based components together to help students grow as readers. For more information on all that is included in the Science of Reading, be sure to check out these blog posts.
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE this December! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram and TPT too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources this December!
I hope this Reading Comprehension Unit, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Grab it today!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
Update: This Giveaway has passed, but you can still grab this resource on TPT. Missed the FREEBIE? Be sure to follow this blog, and follow MsCottonsCorner on Instagram and TPT so you never miss a FREEBIE again!
And if you need a similar resource, that is always FREE, be sure to check out this blog post about Thurgood Marshall and download the FREE resource today!
Today’s featured FREE Resource is a biography of John Lewis. This inspiring Civil Rights activist worked for social justice from the 1960’s until his death in 2020. This biography is simple to teach and includes everything you need to help your students grow their vocabulary and increase their comprehension of non-fiction while learning about this amazing leader.
This one-page biography features John Lewis, a long-time Civil Rights activist. His leadership began as a Freedom Rider, and took him to the United States Congress as a Representative. Your students will be fascinated by this true life story. You will love how easy this resource is to use – just print and teach!
This is part of my 12 Days of Giveaways in December. Want to get more freebies? Follow me so you don’t miss a single one! Just click the black button to the right, and the blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. Or, find Ms. Cotton’s Corner on Instagram – the daily freebies will be posted in both locations!
Do your teacher friends like free resources? Be sure to forward this to them – they deserve free resources too!
What is Included in this Biography?
The one-page text is leveled for 5th and 6th grade, and includes comprehension and vocabulary activities. As students read, they take notes on an included notetaking sheet, and there are additional online resources for helping students do more research if they want to. The resource also includes text dependent questions and Frayer diagrams to help students learn the key vocabulary – discrimination, segregated, and nonviolent. And of course, there are answer sheets to support you!
This short biography about this amazing Civil Rights Activist won’t take much time, but it is time well spent. Students will be inspired, and you’ll love watching their eyes light up as they explore the life of this amazing civil rights leader.
Why Teach about Civil Rights activists like John Lewis?
Across the US, only an average of 10% of the day is spent on Social Studies in elementary classes. I have been an elementary teacher since the mid-1990’s, and I have seen the decrease in focus during my time in the classroom. But, one area of strong consensus across party lines is the need for more civics education in our schools. (See this article by the American Bar Association for more about that.) Integration is one strategy that can help teachers bridge the gap. This biography will help you teach your students about civil rights and leadership, and also help them grow as readers.
Not only will integrating content and literacy help students directly, it also helps them build background knowledge, which results in stronger comprehension in the long run. The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler is a marvelous book that explains that the Knowledge Gap and the Achievement Gap are the same thing. If American schools spent more time teaching students about science and history content, their reading comprehension would soar. This resource gives students basic background knowledge about John Lewis, and the additional resources set them off on a journey of exploration, fueled by their curiosity!
What do Other Teachers Say About this Civil Rights Resource?
“My students loved using this resource! It was very engaging and convenient to use! I will definitely use this again in the future.”
Hollye O.
“My students enjoyed the challenge of this activity. It was engaging and allowed students to show what they know.”
Corinna H.
“I used this with our week of learning on activists and our focus on the Selma march. I was looking for a resource to support my students’ ability to read more about John Lewis on their level. This was so helpful, thank you!”
Lindsay D.
Love this Biography? Check out these Civil Rights activists, and more!
This John Lewis biography is part of a bundle of 12 biographies about Civil Rights activists. Grab it today and you will have all the resources you need to teach about leadership across American history! The leaders feature little known activists like Jeanette Rankin (A US Congresswoman BEFORE women had the right to vote!) and famouse activists like Harry Belafonte. He is well known for his music and film career, but this biography focuses on his civil rights work, something that was part of his life for over 60 years.
The bundle includes the same format for each biography, plus BONUS Student Sheets!!!
Double Venn Diagram
Word Search with the key vocabulary about civil rights
Triple Venn Diagram
Somebody Wanted But So Then Summary Sheet
The BONUS file has the ENTIRE LINKED unit in it so that you can print easily without opening multiple files. OR, get the resource from the individual files. Do what works best for you!
Make sure you don’t miss a single FREEBIE this December! Follow this blog by clicking the black button to the right, and follow me on Instagram and TPT too! While you’re at it, forward this post to your teacher friends and share the love. Everyone deserves free resources this December!
I hope this biography about this amazing Civil Rights Activist, and the 11 other free resources I’m giving away in December help you have a wonderful holiday season, and your students too. Grab it today!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing!
