The Power of Chloe Cho: The Importance of Diverse Books for Kids
A few years ago, I read Mike Jung’s Unidentified Suburban Object to my fifth-grade class for the first time. As always, I introduced the protagonist before I began. Her name is Chloe Cho, so I wrote that on the board. One of my students, who shared her last name, shoved his hand up in the air and asked why his name was on the board. “Because that’s the character’s last name,” I said…
Breathing Life Into Your Upper-Elementary Read Alouds
Read aloud time is my favourite time of day in my classroom, and my students love it too. In fact, on the very rare occasion where we have a day without a read aloud, I am almost guaranteed to hear grumbling. This didn’t just happen on its own! Check out this post to see some ways you can breathe life into your read aloud time!
My Favourite Read Aloud Novels for Grade 5
I love how whole-class read alouds level the playing field and help build community by letting all the kids share a reading experience. These are some of the books that my fifth-graders have loved best!
Inclusive Classroom Posters and Language Policies
I’ve had a few conversations now with educators who firmly believe that their classrooms should be ‘English Only’ zones. We have to stop doing this!
Life Groups in the Classroom: A Community-Building Routine
About three years ago, I moved to a new city. It wasn’t far from where I’d grown up, but a few months in I started feeling really lonely. My husband and I had left the church where we had gone for years and I wasn’t feeling connected in our new one. That changed overnight when we joined a Life Group, and I am so thankful!
How I Structured Online Class Meetings for My Fifth Grade Class
When we transitioned rather abruptly to online school last Spring, I wanted to make sure that I kept my students connected with one another in our new virtual classroom. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that, but I knew two things right away:
1) I was NOT going to teach in my meetings.
2) My class meetings needed to be about connection and shared experiences.