Learning Events - Engagement made easy!

I am loving transforming my classroom to enhance student learning!  It has been such a creative outlet for me as well as my kiddos! I want to share some reasons why these learning events are so fun and how they are tied to content.

1.  Plan around what your kids love!  Mario, Pokemon? Plan a video game day with different levels tied to "content skills." We did this already this year and students went absolutely GA-GA for it!  They had to save Princess Peach and raise the flag.  We got temporary tattoos as prizes.  Easy and cheap but unforgettable!



2.  Take one subject to the EXTREME!  Last year we had "Grammar Surgery" that focused on 9 different skills we had worked on throughout the year.  The "heavy hitters" for our grade level.  We had supplies donated and it hardly cost anything to put together plus I'll have it all ready for this year!

now tell me that's not going to stick with them forever!

3.  Builds Anticipation - Learning is Fun!   Students cannot wait once they see me start to put things together or any sign that says they have to wait.  Sometimes it's weeks in advance that I lay clues.  They are always dying and so excited to come into class. Can you remember that feeling from school? Even if it is only a couple times  year (because hey these do take some planning!) they will remember THOSE experiences all tied to content.  Usually mine are planned around reviewing skills not teaching anything new but still so valuable....especially before testing.

This was from our Awesome Cave Day - which coincides great with Missouri history!

Stretchy headbands with touch lights attached - they were on sale at Walmart.  We live in a hunting community so headlights borrowed from students was possible as well.

4.  Extend learning to places not thought possible! 
After reading the BFG we extended our learning by drinking Frobscottle (which causes farts in the book) and reading articles that discussed why we fart/burp tying in some science.  We then had a mission from the CIA to create lunch menus (health) that would have students producing "less gas in class" it sounds hilarious but boy did they take it seriously when working for the CIA.

I had a fingerprint scanner app (that didn't do anything but looked cool) they had to do that before we started work so CIA could keep tabs.

They had to write official letters (writing, parts of a letter) back to the CIA with their specific menu and reasoning for choices based on what they read - talk about deep meaning of a text and APPLYING it to a real world (albeit funny) situation.  UNFORGETTABLE!!

My special CIA detectives read nonfiction from @notanothersara about what makes a fart/burp. Took a google forms assessment and had to write a letter back to the CIA with a one week meal plan to reduce gas in class! Might have been gross but they took their job so seriously!!! #setthestagetoengage #iteachtoo #iteach345 #reading #engagement

A photo posted by Amber Nicole (@sssteaching) on Mar 23, 2016 at 3:18pm PDT

We've also done a 

Patient Prefix and Suffix Surgery

Test Prep Campout 

Amazing Race - Classroom Style

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Point of View in the Elementary Classroom

Below are some of my favorite books to teach Point of View! Don't have them in your library? Listen to them on Youtube as read alouds.  Still great opportunity for modeling and stopping and taking notes.  We does this a couple times a week to focus on a skill or these are also available in a listening center 

Two Bad Ants is a great and funny story following 2 ants and some trouble they get into. Written from the ants' perspective it is great to introduce this concept!














I, Doko is a beautifully written story with a simple and thoughtful message.  This book is timeless and really hits the heart of readers.  It adds a great cultural perspective for students as well and can bring up many discussions.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is quickly becoming a classic.  This fractured fairy tale sheds light on the wolf's feelings in the story.  Such a unique story really easily helps identify point of view.













 A. Lincoln and Me is a great story that touches on historical notes while focusing on point of view.  The main character recounts similarities between himself and Lincoln.  Learning facts and searching for clues through this historical context is a great addition to a point of view study.














I love a 2nd person POV book and not many for upper elementary exist.  This book definitely fits the bill.  It engages students and gets the point across.  The tone (no matter who is reading) helps students realize 2nd person POV.  Such a fun read aloud to incorporate!
















I love the Flocabulary Point of View song and using pictures to help determine and write our own point of views as well. Below is a link to the listening center with focused point of view questions for the stories above.

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Inferring in the Elementary Classroom

 The Sweetest Fig is about a man who makes an unwise choice not to believe in the special figs.  This book leaves you to make inferences until the very last page.  It makes a great inferencing book because so much is left up to the reader to put together.

Teammates is an awesome historical book about a rough time in American history. I love that this book appeals to the boys in my class as well.
This provides a perfect example of how to make inferences about characters in the book and proving them with details.

How Many Days to America is another great historical tale that leads readers to put the whole picture together. A family's journey to a new land is the perfect background for students to infer about characters, setting, and plot.















Fireflies is such a descriptive book.  It leaves the reader deciding important information about the boy's decision and what will happen in the future. I think the illustrations really give this book a leg up and help the reader understand better the story.

You could apply so many skills to this amazing traditional tale. Theme is extremely important but is easily tied in with the plot where the reader must infer what happened to the people.  Although this book appears to be less "modern" I do think it has great value especially in lessons for bigger kids - upper elementary.

All 5 of these stories are in a Inferring QR Listening Center pack in my store or you can read on Youtube.  They come with rigorous test prep questions. 

I love to start the year with inferring as we need this skill with every book we read on our own or with the class.  Knowing what this big word means also helps students feel more confident when it comes to testing time.

I also have a Drawing Conclusions Listening Center available.  All the research I found showed that inferencing and drawing conclusions were very similar both not proved in text but what a reader decides.   I do believe the language of "what conclusion can you draw?" or "What conclusion can be made?" are important for students to be exposed to as well.  I use them almost interchangeably because of how close they are and students only need them to help break apart questions. 

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Setting in the Elementary Classroom

This might be my favorite book I've found since really up-ing my picture book game! This is excellent for setting as each person in the family vividly describes their favorite place and how it all ties together with a new sibling.  So Precious!!














 This book is great for details that reflect the setting.  You can feel the imagery used as if you were actually there.  It provides great discussion points as well!

This story is so heart warming.  Not only does it have a great lesson but is set in a place that is intriguing.  Students dive right in and are caught up immediately.  Paying close attention to details leads to a great discussion of setting.

My Great-Aunt Arizona is an awesome nonfiction book to use with setting.  I love getting the chance to use nonfiction in this context.  The places/time period discussed are easy to connect with history and backing them up with text evidence is a great bonus.










  Silver Packages is a great story! I love the imagery in this book.  It's a fun story set in Northeast region of the United States.  The change of setting for a short time in the book is a great focus as well.  A boy receives packages each year by a mysterious donor and it follows his life as he learns a lesson coming full circle.

I love finding details to support setting and focusing on the time, place, and year, season, date --- all of the parts that show exactly what the setting is. 

All 5 of these stories are available in a QR Listening center in my store.  There are also available to listen to on Youtube. 

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