Ninja Notes

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English Language Arts

22 Amazing Ways to Use Word Wall Words

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Are you trying to use a word wall, but are running out of ways to make it worth the time? Come check out this big list of ideas for how to make your word wall interactive and useful for all your students.

What are word wall words?

A word wall is an organized display of a collection of words that are usually left posted on a wall or bulletin board for a long period of time. The words are typically high-frequency words. Posted word wall words can provide a visual reference for students throughout a unit of study, a term, or a year. Teachers and students use these words continuously. 

But are you guilty of hanging up your words and then forgetting about them? Come learn how we make our word wall more interactive.

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End the School Year With Lasting Memories

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Are you looking for ways to celebrate the school year with your students? We've collected some of the best ways we spend the last month of school in our upper elementary classroom (and of course we're still learning right up until the end). Come check out these ideas.

Every group of students you teach over the years will leave a special place in your heart. The names and faces might fade a little or get mixed up as the years pile up, but there are always some groups, names and faces that will stick with you. We try to make the end of each year special for our students. For some, the end of the year is a joyous occasion, but for others, it’s sad and summer break is not always wonderful for them. Here are some of the ways we end the school year in special ways to create lasting memories.

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Practical Strategies for Reluctant Readers

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Do you have students who avoid reading? Check out these step-by-step effective strategies for reluctant readers so you can get all of your students to enjoy reading.

Do you have students in your classroom you would label as reluctant readers? A reluctant reader is usually considered to be a person who doesn’t read for pleasure, but we’re about to debunk that myth and help you out in your classroom by giving you strategies to engage reluctant readers in ways you didn’t even know you needed.

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Disguise Research Skills as a Scavenger Hunt

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Give your students meaningful practice doing research by completing scavenger hunts. They're fun and serve a purpose. Come find out how we use them in our classroom.

Sometimes students don’t understand how time is of the essence when doing research. They lack the research skills to use text features, skim materials, and find items quickly. Not only does this slow down their work, it often results in incomplete research and general frustration.

It is a struggle year after year.

However, we have managed to find some activities that help students refine their research skills: scavenger hunts. It turns out that making research fun and game-like can have a positive impact on how students complete research.

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