Holiday Movie and/or Book Activities for ELA Grades 3, 4, 5, & 6

 

It's that time of year! The most wonderful time of the year... except in my classroom where my kids are bouncing off the walls! 

Just kidding! 

(Sort of.)

Seriously though, the month of December can be a little rough in the elementary classroom. Teachers are exhausted from juggling their busy lives and cramming in extra holiday activities and the students are bubbling over with holiday cheer and energy galore. Perhaps it is different in your neck of the woods, but here in the Virginia mountains my students are quite literally bouncing!

As the countdown to Winter Break nears into single digits, I've found a fun Reading activity that keeps my kiddos busy, practices important reading comprehension skills, teaches about different holiday traditions and customs, and is so low-prep that it makes my life a lot easier.

Five Tips for Preventing Teacher Burnout

 

Let's be honest.

Teaching is a hard job. Harder than any of us imagined it would be. And the pandemic has increased the problems and difficulties, and it looks like it will be a very slow return to "normal." In fact, according to recent surveys conducted by the National Education Association, "high percentages of teachers [are] thinking about leaving the profession." 

I have been one of them.

Teacher burnout has always been around, but it seems to be especially high right now. The good news is that you can come back from burnout and feel excited about teaching again. Let's talk about 5 tips for preventing (or reversing) teacher burnout.

Five Tips for Preventing (Or Reversing) Teacher Burnout

Brain Breaks FREEBIE!!! (And doesn't everyone like free stuff?)

Confession Time: When I first began my teaching career I made a dreadful mistake. (Pathetically, I admit I repeated this mistake for years.) I only used breaks when they naturally occurred or, even worse, when my students began to resemble CW zombies in need of "food." Don't get me wrong! I love watching CW's iZombie, but in my classroom?!?! Yeah. Not a good thing.

This was a horrible mistake, as I learned, because a break before the glazed-over stage takes place is ideal for student learning and the brain's memory storage. Once the glaze occurs, well, it is too late. That is when breaks help students the most. (I highly recommend all teachers reading up on the research that backs this.)

Anyway, I now use brain breaks more than ever. Sometimes we use GoNoodle, but my students really seem to enjoy using our brain break jar too. On my desk sits a plastic jar with neon green polka dots and lid that I found at a local dollar store a few years ago. Inside the jar are 18 slips of paper, each one detailing a fun, but quick, brain break activity. I'm telling you, they love it! We take turns pulling a slip from the jar and then doing whatever crazy activity is written on the slip of paper.

These brain break activities have been such a great thing in my classroom that I decided to retype them for you to have. They are FREE and can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. I really hope you'll download them and enjoy using them in your classroom. Please let me know what you think.

To access them, please click on the image above or the TPT link in this post or near the top of my page. Thanks!