Blog - Your Thrifty Co-Teacher

Easy Ways to Teach Grammar

Grammar can be a teacher's nemesis, can't it? As stated in my last post, "Why Spiral Review Can Save Your Sanity" (which discusses how and why spiral review works), sometimes it can be so frustrating to see students forget and not apply concepts we've already taught them through our grammar instruction. To add insult to injury, it can take so much precious time out of our already very ... Read More about Easy Ways to Teach Grammar

Reading Strategy: Teaching Students to Use Visualization

A couple of years ago, the parents of one of my fifth grade students sat across the table from me and explained to me that their child had difficulty with the concept of visualization. She had a hard time visualizing characters, settings, and events in books as she read. When I later spoke to that student and inquired about this, she explain to me that she didn't see the pictures or movies ... Read More about Reading Strategy: Teaching Students to Use Visualization

2 Easy-to-Make Paper Booklets in the Classroom

Multi-page booklets are extremely handy in the classroom. They are great for many activities including organizing research or publishing finished work. However, the costs can quickly add up when you purchase these types of booklets at stores. Here are a couple of thrifty, easy-to-make, multiple page booklets that will save you not only money, but time in the classroom. The only materials you ... Read More about 2 Easy-to-Make Paper Booklets in the Classroom

Great Back to School Read Alouds for Upper Elementary

Using read alouds with your upper elementary school students at the start of the school year can be extremely powerful. Read alouds are an engaging way to help build community and set expectations for the rest of the school year. In this post, you will discover a few books with different messages that can help spark meaningful conversations between you and your students, and help set the tone for ... Read More about Great Back to School Read Alouds for Upper Elementary

Best Ways of Teaching Character Traits in Upper Elementary

Teaching students about character traits beyond the standard 'kind and mean' can be challenging, especially in the upper grades where not only are students expected to identify specific character traits, but also discuss how events in the story change the character, and how the character impacts the plot. The good news is that providing them with scaffolds and a variety of examples can really ... Read More about Best Ways of Teaching Character Traits in Upper Elementary

6 Ways Page Protectors Make Life Easier in the Classroom

Page protectors are a great reusable resource that can help you keep things in your classroom organized, as well as helping you save from making an abundance of copies. Here are 6 different ways you can use page protectors in your classroom: 1. Pockets in a Binder Page protectors make perfect pockets inside of binders. You can use them to add collections of various things including ... Read More about 6 Ways Page Protectors Make Life Easier in the Classroom