Novel Units from The Owl Spot

 

Our students LOVE a good story. It's what keeps them engaged in their learning. So, if you teach with novels or use them simply as a read aloud, you'll want to check out these units. Each image is a link - click and discover something new to use this year!

1. Frindle by Andrew Clements - includes printable and digital access! Newly updated.

2. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - includes printable and digital access! Newly updated.

3. Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan - includes printable and digital access! Newly updated.

4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - includes printable and digital access! Newly updated.

5. The Giver by Lois Lowry - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

6. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

7. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

8. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

9. Wonder by R.J. Palacio - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

10. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

11. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

12. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia McLaughlin - only printable unit, but will receive an update soon! Purchase now at lower price and you won't have to pay the increased price when updated.

13. Magic Tree House Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne - This is a printable only unit. At this point, there is no plan for a digital update.

My Favorite Classroom Read Aloud

I think my favorite read aloud for school is Jon Scieszka's "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs." If you've never read it, you need to stop what you're doing now (well, after you read my post) and read it! I'll post a link at the bottom of this post for a YouTube read aloud of it. 

Scieszka seems to write with a bit of sarcasm that my 5th graders get. One of my favorite parts is when the wolf tries to explain why he eats the pigs: "If cheeseburgers were cute, people would think you were big and bad, too!"

The story ends with the wolf pleading for the reader to believe his side of the story. Lots of discussion here about whether or not the character is believable. There's plenty of ways to teach reading comprehension throughout the book. 

Since my students love this book as much as I do, I continued the story in a Readers' Theater play. The play picks up where the book leaves off. The wolf is being interviewed by the media about what happened. He, again, tries to argue his case while one of the pigs is defending his side. Super cheeky! 

If you want the script for your students, click on the link below. It's available in my TpT store. Included with the script are a bunch of reading comprehension activities to do with the script. My kids favorite activity is always having to choose the wolf's jury from a bunch of fairy tale land characters. 

My students are ALWAYS engaged in learning with these. One teacher told me that she landed an amazing observation when her principal observed while her kids were busy with these activities! You can't go wrong!

For more great readers' theater scripts from The Owl Spot, click HERE. 

To listen to a read aloud of "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" click HERE.

As always, happy teaching!

Martha from "The Owl Spot"

Is it too early to start planning for Back to School?

I know, I know... We don't want to think about going back to school yet. It's only the beginning of July! 

But if you're like me, a little part of your teacher brain is still working ahead, thinking about everything you need (or want) to do before things start back up. 

So, if you're up late at night thinking about what you need to do, let me give you a short little list of things that I use frequently in my classroom that you might want to think about. 

(These are all links to my TpT store, The Owl Spot.) 

1. Daily Review 

Whether you're teaching ELA or Math, daily review is necessary for students to practice and master their skills. Here are a few links that will help you with this! 

ELA Bellwork for Upper Elementary Grades

ELA Bellwork for Grades 2-3

*** Both of these can be used digitally or printed for your students. The daily structure helps your students review key, grade level (and some review) skills to keep their understanding fresh all year! Super easy to use! 

Math Word Problems - 180 problems to use all year!

 

*** These are perfect for grades 3-4! Simple word problems. A Daily Word Problems for grades 4-5 is coming soon! These will focus more on multi-stepped and higher math skills.

2. Poetry

If you struggle to teach poetry, know that you are not alone! While poetry isn't a huge focus in the elementary grades, it's still an important concept to teach. Most (if not all) state and national testing have poetry questions. And if taught in small chunks throughout the year, this could be an area that your students can excel in. Also, teaching and reading poetry frequently helps with reading fluency, so it's a win/win for everyone! Here's some tools that will be a perfect addition for you this year.

Daily Poetry for Upper Elementary Grades (10 Minute Poetry Lessons)

Daily Poetry for Grades 2-3 (10 Minute Poetry Lessons)

*** These can both be used digitally or in a printed format. Simple to follow teacher steps for teaching poetry. Don't miss out! 

Elementary Poetry Lessons Bundle

** If you want to dive a little deeper into the poetry lessons that are in the Upper Elementary Grades product, this BUNDLE is ESSENTIAL! Extended lessons are included (along with your instructions). Perfect to use all year - also perfect for SUB PLANS!

3. Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important part of any reading program. I've always been disappointed with the little available instruction in my curriculum. So, I created this AMAZING set of lessons that I've used in my classroom and have seen my students' knowledge of words, synonyms, and comprehension increase. 

Each lesson focuses on learning synonyms for new words, understanding and practice using tools (digital or hard copies of dictionaries - I gave a link to an online dictionary, but it's your choice), and then transferring their new word knowledge to sentence revisions and reading comprehension in texts. This is listed as a 4th grade resource, but I used it with my 5th graders to "catch them up." It can easily be used with 3rd grade as well. The link takes you to the Full Year Bundle, but you can also see details for each quarter.

4. Classroom Decor

Now, this is the fun stuff! I like to change up my decorations/theme every year or 2, so I'm always looking for something that's fun. There's also some great classroom posters below, too. Here's some items you may want to check out!

So, please enjoy relaxing and getting all of your summer bucket list done. When you're ready to start thinking about August, make sure to take a look at some of these things. I promise they will make your year easier!

Martha from "The Owl Spot"