MINDS IN BLOOM BLOG

Ideas for Teaching Poetry

25 Great Ideas for Teaching Poetry

Ideas for Poetry Are you ready to embark on a whirlwind journey of teaching poetry that will stir your students’ creativity and boost their appreciation for this beautiful form of expression? Teaching poetry is much more than mere lessons from dusty textbooks. It’s an opportunity to instill a love for language, rhythm, and imagery in our students. And what better way to do this than

5 Main Ideas to Teach Main Idea in Elementary

It may seem silly to read about ideas to help you teach main idea! It seems like such a simple… well… idea! But, even though the main idea of a text is the most central and important underlying idea, it can often be difficult for young students to recognize. Most main idea practice is just that – practice. Many textbook worksheets have students read a

The Ultimate Guide to Implementing an Independent Literary Genres Program

Some of the best lesson plans are those that span over the course of many months. They build on concepts, helping students to develop learning strategies along the way. You may have a certain project or lesson that sticks out in your memory. Was it a one-off worksheet, or an intensive project that required your time, attention, and knowledge? Maybe it was a science fair

how to teach parts of speech to elementary students

8 Exciting Ways to Teach Parts of Speech to Elementary School Students

You may remember learning about parts of speech oh, so long ago in your own elementary school days. Perhaps your teacher just discussed the different parts of speech and then handed out a worksheet or Daily Oral Language (DOL), expecting you to figure out how to use the parts of speech in an actual sentence.  How intimidating is that? But learning about the different parts of

This is a graphic showing a young boy with the words, "How to Inspire Your Students to Love Researching" on it.

How to Inspire a Love of Research in Your Students

We are thrilled to welcome Chloe from Lucky Chlover Writing to Minds in Bloom today! Chloe has written a really informative and insightful blog post about how to inspire a love of research in your students. If you’ve had a hard time engaging your students in research projects and informative writing, then you definitely want to keep reading to learn from Chloe! If you teach

How to make learning easier for non-english speaking students

Why Visuals Are Important for ELLs

Minds in Bloom is pleased to welcome Nikki Lubing to the blog today! Nikki has experience teaching English language learners in foreign countries, and she’s written an extremely helpful post for our readers about why visuals are important for ELLs. Keep reading to learn her tips and suggestions! Have you ever been in a full immersion foreign language class? If you have, then you understand

In today’s world of digital media, our students often only hear about current events in passing, sometimes even over social media. Utilize these 23 no-fuss printable worksheets and activities to engage your students in the learning process while teaching current events in the upper elementary classroom! #currentevents #upperelementary #teachingcurrentevents

17+ Ideas for Teaching Current Events in Upper Elementary

In today’s world of digital media (mostly social media), our students often only hear about current events in passing. For instance, they may overhear a parent stream a news story broadcast on Facebook Live or accidentally catch a few seconds of the six o’clock news while flipping the Smart TV input to Netflix. Long gone are the times when a family would gather like clockwork

Close Reading Strategies for Informational non-fiction texts

3 Effective Close Reading Strategies for Informational Text

Ask many students how they feel about close reading informational text, and they’ll tell you it’s a bore. Informational text is full of just that, information. Without a fun story or interesting characters, some view it as a one-way ticket to Snoozeville. Throw in close reading strategies, and you’ve entered the Humdrum House. But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Well chosen informational text

how to help students grow their reading comprehension skills

5 Easy Ways to Help Students Read More Deeply

Hey teacher friends! This is Tanya G. Marshall from The Butterfly Teacher! I am so excited to guest post again for Minds in Bloom! It is an honor to join this community of passionate educators who are looking for ways to engage students and improve learning. This post shares tips for helping students read more deeply and comprehend better. These close reading strategies can be

Reading teachers never stop working on reading fluency skills, even in the middle of winter! Our guest blogger wrote a fantastic post about how she uses Rachel Lynette's reading fluency task cards in her 2nd grade classroom. Click through to get all of her tips for encouraging fluency fun for students!

Fluency Fun in the Classroom

We are so excited to welcome a new guest blogger today, Terri Maples! Terri is a second grade teacher and spends a lot of time teaching reading fluency in her classroom. Her post today is all about fluency fun in her classroom and how she uses Rachel’s winter-themed reading fluency task cards to engage her students in practicing their reading skills. Keep reading to get

How to teach my students about prefixes and suffixes

15 Engaging Ways to Teach Prefixes and Suffixes

As you well know, your students need to have a clear understanding of prefixes and suffixes. But these concepts (especially suffixes!) can be tricky to teach.  Of course your activities need to be related to the standard, but you also want them to be fun!  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!  This post is your one-stop shop for effective and engaging lessons that will teach,

5 Easy Ways to Add Academics to Video Games

We are excited to welcome Erin to the blog today! Erin has written a really inspiring post about ways to add academics to video games, which is something I’m sure many teachers would shy away from. Read on to learn more about Erin’s ideas and suggestions! At the end of the school year last May, a parent asked to speak to me after class. She

Nonfiction text features is an overwhelming topic to teach in English language arts, especially because it's not a very exciting topic and because there are so many. However, our guest blogger has broken down how to teach nonfiction text features into bite-sized, easy steps to make it accessible for both teachers and students. Click through to learn more about these strategies for upper elementary classrooms!

Nonfiction Text Features: Books and Lesson Ideas

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the thought of teaching all of the different nonfiction text features? Don’t be! We’re excited to have Molly from the Sassy Apple guest blogging for us today, and Molly has written an excellent post all about how to successfully teach nonfiction text features. Her ideas are accessible for both teachers and students, and she’s included a freebie at the end.

Teaching idioms is an important part of every English language arts teacher's job. Our elementary students often don't know what idioms are or what they mean when they hear or read them. Additionally, teaching idioms is an essential skill for English Language Learners to master. This post shares fun ways to teach idioms as part of language acquisition. Click through to read more!

Teaching Idioms as Part of Language Acquisition

Minds in Bloom is thrilled to welcome Christine to the blog today. Christine, who is a former reading teacher and a current librarian, has written a great post about teaching idioms as part of language acquisition for us. Enjoy! The power of idioms can often be taken for granted. It is easy to think of them as “old sayings” and perhaps dismiss them as worn

There are so many life lessons to be taught when we read children's literature! Our guest blogger chooses a children's picture book and analyzes three life lessons it teaches in this post. It gets you thinking about exploring other pieces of literature to teach the themes and life lessons inside. Click through to get more ideas for teaching life lessons in the elementary grades!

Teaching Life Lessons with Children’s Literature

  Reach high! Reach high up!  Up to the top!  To life lessons!  It is the very reason we read.  Open a children’s book, and open a window to the world of wisdom.  Bringing the literary world to your students in the early years nourishes them in ways that they will hunger for more pages of worldly advice and admirable characters as they grow older. 

how to help englsh language learners transition into the classroom

10 Tips to Help Your ELLs Transition into the Classroom

Hi, my name is Jill Richardson, and I have been teaching English Language Learners for about six years.  It is a joy and a privilege to help these students transition into the classroom, as well as to learn to read and write in English. Try these 10 tips to help your English Language Learners transition into your classroom: 1. Smile!  Remember that your students are

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