Teaching Data Analysis for 5th Grade Computer Science Students
By the time your fifth grade students reach the middle of the school year, they have seen enough charts and graphs to know that numbers exist, but they often struggle to see what those numbers actually communicate. This Using Data to Tell a Story lesson bridges that... read more
Supporting 5th Grade Readers with Comparing Characters and Settings
The California standard CA.ELA.RL.5.3 asks students to “Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).” That sounds clear enough on paper, but... read more
Strengthening Fifth Grade Place Value and Decimal Skills
When you start teaching decimal operations in fifth grade mathematics, you quickly notice a persistent error: students often view decimals as whole numbers in disguise. They look at 0.4 and 0.04 and assume that because four is four, the numbers are somehow equivalent... read more
Teaching the Geography of the Westward Movement in 5th Grade
When I taught 5th grade social studies, one of the most common questions I heard was about why settlers chose such difficult paths to the West. It is a natural curiosity for a ten-year-old, and it points to a gap in how we often teach history. We tend to focus on the... read more