8 Tips for the Writing Classroom

If you teach, then you are ultimately responsible for helping teach the ELA standards. Some teachers embrace this fact, while others completely deny the responsibility. Regardless of your opinion, it is imperative that all teachers incorporate ELA into their lessons. Honestly folks, my personal philosophy is if students can write about a topic, then they truly understand it. Below, I have gathered a few tips that I think are crucial to a productive, effective writing classroom.

1. Teach Students To Pick Out A Seed
I like to make a reference to a watermelon when introducing this concept to my students. I have them think about a favorite trip/memory. I tell them this is like a watermelon. Then I have them pick out their favorite part of the trip/memory; this is like a slice of the watermelon. Then we narrow it down once more to the part that sticks out the most; this is the seed. The seed is what they will use to write their story. I will often remind them during our conference time that they aren't telling me about the "whole watermelon", but instead, only about a seed. This really seemed to help my students!

2. Form A Plan
Most writers will agree that a well though-out, organized plan is the best way to produce a fantastic piece of text. I always stress to my students that the planning stage is the most important stage! I believe my exact quote is, "The better you plan, the easier it will be for you to write your essay/story." Most of my students buy into this saying and end up producing wonderful text. One more thing, give your students options. Teach them a variety of ways to plan, then set them free! This helps them take more ownership in their writing.

3. Discuss Show, Don't Tell
Students need to understand the difference between showing and telling. One way to help students understand the difference is to have them act out different verbs to see the difference in their meanings. For example, write the sentence, "Sally walked into the classroom." on the board. Give several students a notecard will a different verb on it to replace the word "walked". (i.e.-slithered, dashed, etc.) Then, have the students act out their card and discuss the different meanings with the students. This activity can be repeated with a variety of verbs to help the students understand the importance of their word choice.

4. Draft In Ink
I was recently at a conference, and this idea was presented. At first I thought, no way! But I quickly changed my  mind when I heard the reasoning behind this idea. Have your students write their rough draft in ink. Will it most likely be messy? Probably. Will your students love it? Absolutely! Will you be able to see that they have truly revised their work? You betcha! This is what sold me on this idea. I always tell my students to go back and revise, and they always say that they have; however, you can't truly keep up the changes that 25+ students have made. If they draft in ink, and then they use a different color (or even a pencil) to revise, then woolah! Their revisions are suddenly clear as day to the teacher, and they can't erase or lie about what they have revised.

5. Refer Back To Plan Often
Teach your students to refer back to their plan OFTEN! As they write their draft, have them refer back to their well though-out, organized planned. This will help keep them on topic, as well as help their thoughts stay organized. You will have to remind them to add in more details that aren't apart of their plan, but they need to refer back often to make sure that they don't stray from their topic. This one definitely takes a lot of training and patience.

6. Read The Draft Aloud
Once students have finished writing their draft, they often times want to simply copy it over and say they're finished. Make it mandatory that they read it aloud to someone else in the room. Another option could be to have their partner read it aloud to them as well. Hearing their draft read aloud will help them revise their work and catch mistakes at the same time. This might be uncomfortable for students at first, but as with most everything that involved partner work, they will get better over time and more comfortable. Providing them with a checklist, might also help students focus on their task.

7. Conference & Highlight Something Positive
Conferencing is one of the most effective classroom practices that any teacher can use. It's relatively easy, automatically pulls in differentiation, and provides students will specific feedback. Conferencing does take some practice, and you will get better (and faster!) over time. One of the most important tips to remember is to begin every conference by pointing out something positive that the student has done in his/her writing. I try to follow the glow/grow format. [Give the student 1 glow (something they did well) and 1 grow (something to remember for next time)]

8. Type The Final Draft
With the push for technology integration, as well as state testing beginning to be administered on computers, students need to be familiar with computer keyboards. Fortunately, students love to use the computers and are usually more engaged when doing so. Once your students have written and revised their drafts, have them type their final draft on the computer. They will be more engaged and they will be so proud when they see their published writing printed out and displayed. The best part? You will be killing two birds with one stone!

As always, these are only a few tips that I have picked up along the way. There's a ton of other tips, and I'd love for you to leave them in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine, Teaching Lane

A Teacher's Thoughts During State Testing...

The time is here. The time of the year that every teacher loathes---state testing. We all dread reading the same mundane directions, pacing around the room, staying silent, and counting down every last second until we can finally utter a word. It's more than boring, it's torturous!

During this time, we have a lot of time to think....a lot! As I was walking the aisles of my classroom this week, I chuckled (in my mind of course) as I realized that my thoughts were so random. I decided then that I MUST write a blog post to try to capture a glimpse into a teacher's mind during state testing. The thoughts are random, and they certainly don't follow the same train of thought throughout the entire duration of a section. Here's a little peek into a teacher's mind while "actively monitoring" students taking state assessments:

"Okay, here we go. I hope I've taught them everything they need to know. Shoot! I hope they remember everything that I've taught them. Oh no! Johnny can't have already answered 6 questions in the first minute! What are you doing child?! Well, I guess I'll know why his scores come back lower. I think I want to have a western theme in my classroom next year, wait, maybe that's too babyish. Maybe I should do a CSI theme. Oh look at little Lucy! She is really working hard to use her scratch paper. Wow! Look at her go! Yay! Uh, oh. Who sneezed? I bet they need a tissue. Let me quickly tiptoe over to my desk and get one for them. Geez! Johnny can't be on number 20 already! He's going to bomb this section for sure. I wonder what grade level I'll be in next year. I wonder if I'll have to change classrooms. Let me check the time, surely it's been 45 minutes already...shoot! No way it's only been 30 minutes. Let me walk around the room and check the time again to time my laps. And, go! Oh no! Joe isn't focused. Quit playing with your pencil dude! Let me go over there and pat his back. Oh yeah, I need to check the time again. Shoot! It's only been 2 minutes. Man, my feet are tired already. I knew I should have worn different shoes today. What was I thinking? It'd be nice if I could sit down for a few minutes. Do I see a hand or is she stretching? Yep, definitely a hand. That child knows I can't help them with that word. Let me check the time again...yes! Finally, 45 minutes! Let the countdown begin. I think we should watch a movie for the rest of the afternoon; we can't though because I still need to review for Social Studies. Goodness, Evan and Lola are still working so hard; why couldn't the others work that hard? Time check - 50 minutes. Whew! Almost there. If I'm still in this room next year, I think I'm going to hand the Writing Process over here and my anchor charts there. Maybe I'll move that table over by the door. Ok, so Evan just finished. Now we're just waiting on the time and Lola. I know Joe did not just try to make Annie laugh. There that look fixed that problem. Time could not be moving any slower! Tick, tock. Tick, tock. I seriously think that we're going to just have a little free time when we finish. Their little brains are fried! Time check - 59 minutes. Yes! Come on sweet Lola! As soon as you finish, we'll be ready to stop! Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Is she finished? Yes! I think she is! Time check - 60 minutes! Hallelujah! Another section bites the dust!"

Okay, so your thoughts may not be exactly like these, but you have to admit, they're pretty similar! It is nearly impossible to walk around a room for at least an hour and not talk, write, or sit and only think about the same thing. State testing is not fun at all.

Here's hoping that all of our students did well (& that we hold up throughout the duration of testing!),

Elaine, Teaching Lane

Grading in the Digital Classroom

As many classrooms begin transitioning toward a 1:1 ratio of devices to students, many teachers are left wondering, "How in the world do I grade this stuff?" and "How do I inform my students' parents about their digital grades?" Trust me, I'm right there with you. I've lost sleep over this issue, so I did what a lot of other teachers would do, I created my own solution. Is it perfect? No way. Does it have kinks? Absolutely. I wanted to go ahead and share what I've decided to use in my own classroom, so that it might trigger an idea that works for you in your own classroom.

How do I grade digital assignments?

Rubrics and checklists: both of these have been preached to many of us in the traditional classroom. Well, if you're afraid that you won't be able to use these any longer, don't fret! I have found a way to use checklists when grading digital assignments. Simply print out a roster, list the content that you are looking for across the top of it, decide how many points each area is worth, and get to clickin'! You can quickly determine students' grades by going across the columns and totaling the amount of points. (I've even used the same roster to grade more than one assignment!) Rubrics can still work as well! You can either print a rubric to use in the traditional way and send home OR you can include the rubric at the end of your digital assignment. When you grade the assignment, simply use the drawing tool to add a circle to the area of the rubric in which the student scored. Type their grade, and
woo-lah! You just used a rubric to grade a digital product.

How do I communicate my students' grades with parents?

I personally don't think that the "how-to grade" part of the digital classroom is the most stressful part. In my opinion, the "how-to communicate the grades" is the toughest part. In my classroom, I have converted to a close 50% paperless environment, so this means that I have a fair amount of digital grades to share with parents. I've toyed around with several ideas for how to communicate these grades. For my students, I can simply post their grade on the assignment, but for their parents, it isn't that easy as some of them don't have access to their students' digital platforms (i.e. Google Classroom, etc.). Printing out the assignments to give to parents is too time consuming AND it defeats the purpose of being a paperless classroom. Not giving parents any feedback, well, that's not even an option. I began brainstorming different ideas to solve this problem. Here's the products of my brainstorming session. 1) Print a list of grades by subject area on a sheet of paper. 2) Use labels and a notecard. 3) Use labels and a sheet of paper that's returned weekly.

1) Printing a list of grades by subject area. This may be feasible for some, but for me, it wasn't my top choice. I felt like this option would take more time each week (& more paper).

2) Using labels and a notecard. This option requires students (& parents....& you) to keep up with a notecard that is supposed to be returned weekly. This isn't a bad solution; however, the notecard is only good for about an 8-9 week period.

3) Use labels and a sheet of paper to record grades weekly. This method is my FAVORITE! For me, it's what works the best in my classroom. I simply print all the assignments that I've graded in a list on a label. I copy and paste the list onto each label. Then I record the students' grades on the label. Once the labels are ready, I simply peel and stick onto my yellow sheets. My yellow sheets are initialed and returned every week (sometimes it's every two weeks). The awesome part about my yellow sheets is that they can be used for a total of two, yes TWO, nine week periods! This means you only have to print two sheets for the entire school year! How awesome is that?! Take a look below to see what I've been using. You can download your own copy HERE!

Again, these tips aren't flawless, but they are what's working for me in my busy classroom. I hope that you find a tip here that will help you in yours!

Also, just in case you were wondering, you can check out some digital products in my store that you might be able to use in your classroom. Happy browsing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine, Teaching Lane

Digital Learning Day 2016

To say that the face of classrooms around the world have changed since I was little is an understatement. Wouldn't you agree? When I was in elementary school (which only seems like yesterday, but in the, er, 90's) we had a computer lab that contained the old box-type apple computers. Our classrooms didn't have any computers, so we were lucky to go to the computer lab  about once a month, maybe. Technology was basically obsolete when it came to my education.

Now, fast-forward to 2016 and you are sure to find technology in nearly every classroom in some form. Sure, all classrooms aren't created equally, but you are sure to find some kind of technology that is used on a pretty regular basis to assist in the education of the students in that particular classroom daily.

It's amazing how quickly times have changed for sure! Some teachers have entered this new era of education kicking and screaming, while others have embraced the awesomeness of technology with arms wide open. Me? I have embraced it, which is the purpose of this blog post; today is Digital Learning Day. 

Digital Learning Day is a day that is being set aside to help others learn to embrace the 21st Century Classroom! Click here to view a few of my digital products that are geared toward getting 4th-5th grade students engaged through the use of technology.

My sweet friend, Meghan, from Keeping Up with Mrs. Harris has graciously created a link-up of several digital products that are sure to tickle your technology fancy! Be sure to click on over and check out all of the amazing products that can help you either jump start your digital classroom or add to your digital resources! You're sure to find something that you can't live without!

Many of my friends have linked up to form an awesome Blog Hop about DLD. In these different posts, you may find tips, tricks, and products that you can use in your very own classroom! You can start reading these various posts by clicking on the image below. Enjoy!

Be sure to check back often for updates to my digital teaching experience along with tips/tricks that can help you!

Thanks for reading,

Elaine, Teaching Lane

Changes and a New Year

Y'all the struggle is so real this year! Not because this year is bad, because this year is so full of changes. Good changes, but changes that require a lot of me.

About two weeks before school started, our new principal called me and told me that our grade level was getting an additional teacher. I know what you're thinking, that's awesome to get another teacher! And, yes it was and has been phenomenal. The struggle came in when I was told that I would be self-contained. Don't get me wrong; I've always wanted to try self-contained, but I am also new to my grade level. I have not only had to learn new standards for the subject area that I usually teach, but I've also had to learn ALL of the standards for every subject for 4th grade...whew! Oh, and I'm the mentor teacher for the new teacher to 4th grade. Our 4th grade team is comprised of 4 newbies to the grade level and a second year teacher. (We're a dream team together though!) It exhausts me to just type that! (Can I get an AMEN?!)

I started my teaching career in 4th grade, but my second year I was moved up to 5th grade. I have spent the last 8 years in 5th grade, so I'm accumulated LOTS of stuff to teach ELA and SS. I could plan on a dime. I didn't have to spend hours upon hours planning. This year, that's not the case. I am finding myself spending an extra 1 1/2-2 hours at work afterschool nearly every day (Fridays I usually don't leave the school until 7). I've become a TpT buyer instead of seller because I don't have time to create resources. Am I complaining? Absolutely not! Let me share with you why I'm not complaining...

First of all, I asked for a change. Yep, I asked for it. I wanted to learn more about elementary education as a whole rather than just one grade level. I feel that I was becoming close to an expert in the ELA/SS standards of 5th grade. I didn't want to get "stuck in my ways" as many teachers do after so many years in the same grade level. I asked for the change. I didn't not specify a grade level, I just asked for something different.

My self-contained class consists of 28 students. Yep, you heard correctly: 28! But let me tell you something, they are a wonderful group of kiddos! It doesn't feel like 28 at all. They are chatty, but that's the norm in the upper grades. I think the group of kids in a classroom definitely help set the tone for the year. I feel like I know my students better than I've ever known a group. I know who struggles with subtraction across zeroes but is also a strong reader. I know who needs to work on their fluency to help with their comprehension. It's amazing!

I have so much flexibility! I literally have a ton of alarms set on my phone to help me stay on track throughout the day; however, the flexibility that has come along with my big change has been awesome! If we have some kind of interruptions (as is the case many days, right!?) I just move subjects around accordingly or reduce the amount of work we are going to do to squeeze what we would have missed. With flexibility of time, also comes the flexibility to combine subjects.

I am spending hours away from my family (that's not a plus side at all). I'm working harder than every before. I'm spending countless hours working for free. But, I'm growing in my professional knowledge which was my desire. I am enjoying every minute of my new journey!

I Like Children's Book, and I Know It...

This is a fun link up about favorite children's books brought to you by Primary Polka Dots...get ready to create an even longer wishlist for new classroom books as you click through the different posts!

I can remember listening to my 4th grade teacher read Shoebag to my class. As she read, I could envision the characters and all of the events that took place throughout the book. I, along with most of my classmates, fell in love with Shoebag, a cockroach as he endured the trials of becoming human for a period of time. The book is hilarious, but the spoiled little girl that he lives with also learns a great life-lesson at the end of the book.

One of the things that students always enjoy about the book is discovering how cockroaches get their "names". I won't spoil it for those of you who have never read this book.

A few years back, I was fortunate that my school's librarian decided to purge our school's copy of the book (which was in pretty good condition!). She knew it was my favorite and was sure to give it to me! It is sitting on my book shelf right now, just awaiting me to open it back up and share it with my 4th grade students!


One of my all time favorite authors is Gordan Korman. His books are geared toward upper elementary grades. Some of his books make up series, while others are stand alone books.

His writing style lends itself well toward accelerated students because of the level of vocabulary he uses. With each Gordan   Korman book that I have used, I always try to emphasis the new vocabulary that students encounter.

Although I haven't read all of his books (I'm far from it!), some of my favorites are:
*The Dive Series
*39 Clues
*Swindle
*The Island Series
*The Everest Series

One of my favorite illustrators is Patricia Polacco.
I know, I know. She's most known for her books, not her pictures. This is why she's my favorite! Her books are phenomenal and link so wonderfully with different points in history. I adore the way she tells her stories with emotion that draws the readers in and makes you love the characters!When I read Thank You, Mr. Falker for the first time, I cried like a baby! Pink and Say is the perfect addition to any Civil War unit. (btw, I cried during that one too! Sweet MoMo Bay!) And, of course, I treasure EmmaKate because that is my middle child's name (& I love the creativity
that is sparked from the story!). All of her illustrations go perfectly with both of these stories as well.

The Late, Great Dick Hart is an older novel that one of my favorite colleagues of all time introduced me to a few years before she retired. As with a lot of novels, it can cover several standards at once. I wouldn't recommend reading this book with below 5th grade because it is about two friends. One of the friends die, and the other one learns to deal with his death throughout the remainder of the book. The students LOVE the book, and it is a fabulous read aloud

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine, Teaching Lane

It's a TpT Sale!

Hey y'all! As most of you might know, there's about to be a MEGA TpT Sale! You guys will be able to score items for up to 28% off of the original price! I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE a good sale! Before you ready your wishlist and push the "purchase" button, I want to tell you about a few of my favorite products in my own store.

Like all teachers, this is the time of the year where I am searching high and low to find some of the "best" activities for my students to complete during those first few days. You know exactly what I'm talking about; time fillers, introductory activities, procedure lessons, etc. Here's a few of my favorites from Teaching Lane:

 Who doesn't LOVE a bundle? That's right! You can usually save money by purchasing a bundle! This Back to School Bundle is sure to save you a lot of money! It includes 7 activities (6 of them are sold separately in my store). These activities are sure to be exactly what you need to get your school year off to a great start!

 Raise your hand if you like to teach procedures... Yep, me either! These Back to School Procedure Task Cards are just what the doctor ordered! They help you reinforce your procedures through the use of movement. The students will be engaged as they role play, explain, and help each other complete certain tasks that are sure to drive your specific classroom procedures home! Take a look!


If you need some "new" for your Open House/Meet the Teacher night, look no further! This packet has 28 different forms just for you, your students, and their parents! It includes everything from a parent sheet to give you info about their child to a students seating request slip! There's even a list of tips and ideas for how you can use the different forms that are included!

 This set comes with three different activities that are sure to engage your students during your Roaring 20's unit! The task cards are the perfect way to review, and the best part is that they have QR codes on them, so they are self-checking! When I used them in my personal classroom, I placed them around the classroom and let the students walk around to answer them. They were quiet as mice during the activity! The Cloze Paragraph can be used as a review or quiz. This is a versatile pack that you should check out!


This activity is a differentiated. You can use all three or just pick the activity that you need for your particular students in order to help teach them the Bill of Rights. This product can be used individually or in groups. The best part? It makes a nice display once it is completed! Who doesn't like to kill two birds with one stone?!







This product was LOVED in my 5th grade classroom last year! I have had several people purchase this product and leave feedback as well. It will be the perfect addition to your Civil War Unit. The task cards can be used as a review, quiz, etc. An answer key is included as well.

 This is one of my newer products. I can't wait to try it out in my own classroom, and I look forward to creating more centers just like this one! This is a self-checking center because students choose their answer by marking it with a paper clip or clothes pin. Once they are finished with the card, they can simply flip it over to see if their answers are correct or not. Easy, right? This product includes 10 different cards! This is a wonderful way to expose your students to new vocabulary.

 This product is very similar to a few others in my store in that it is a puzzle format. I used the Synonym Puzzle Center last year in my classroom, and the students were more than engaged! I was amazed at how hard they worked to complete each puzzle! This product comes with five puzzles. Be sure to check out my store to find more products like this one! I have Orders of Operations, Synonyms, and Equivalent Fractions. More are coming soon!

Click HERE to view the Whole Numbers Puzzle.



This product is similar to the Clip and Check Center above; however, it is in a different format, AND it is differentiated! If you are responsible for teaching similes and metaphors, this is the product for you! Students simply read the sentence, decide if it is a simile, metaphor, or neither (on the higher level), then flip over to check their answers! An idea sheet is also included to help you take this center a step further for your higher achievers!

I hope this quick product overview of some of my favorites has helped you find just what you're looking for to use in your classroom this school year! As always, if you have any questions, or suggestions, please leave a comment or email me at selainewhite5@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine, Teaching Lane