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Teaching With a Mountain View

April Fools, Earth Day, Poetry Month, Titanic... It must be April in the Classroom!

Published 14 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader,

I am waving a big, huge "hello" from my couch. Last week, I had surgery that requires me to be out of the classroom until the beginning of May (which I am already dreading). April is actually one of my very favorite months of the year to be a teacher because there are SO many seasonally engaging topics to teach! I've been super bummed about missing them this year, so I figured I'd live vicariously and share all my April favorites with you!

⭐⭐ I know I'm late sending this, but if you're looking for an easy, last-minute April Fools prank (or two) to use with your students, I've got you covered!⭐⭐

Mary

✍️ National Poetry Month

My students LOVE poetry, and I love sharing it with them -- especially during testing season which can feel especially heavy. I love incorporating authentic poems into our studies, and I've compiled my favorite books of poetry below.

Last year, I finally finished my complete poetry unit, and I just LOVE how comprehensive it is! It includes SO many fun poems, teaching slides, flip books, and more. Your students will be analyzing poetry in no time!

🚢 Teaching the Titanic

It's no secret that I love sharing the Titanic with students. I have loved the ship and her stories since I was a child and had the honor of authoring two children's books about her! Now every year, I share her story with my students.

I've shared my books and favorite resource below, but I also have a Titanic Podcast for Classrooms, FREE Titanic Math, and Synthesizing Sources about the Titanic (Great for test prep). The options are endless!

I use both of my books in tandem to immerse my students in the story. Voices of the Titanic focuses on individual crew and passenger's stories and Titanic Q&A gives rapid fire information in bite sized bits that kids love! If you'd like to use them in your classroom, click the link below.

Of course, I've also created a comprehensive Titanic unit complete with passenger tickets, research, an informative intro slide deck, debate activities, and SO much more! Don't worry -- I always keep it academic, too!

🌎 Earth Day

I’m a big believer in using pictures to make reading skills more engaging, and this FREE Earth Day Using Pictures to Teach Resource does just that! It includes 4 Earth Day-themed texts with pictures that are perfect for introducing or reinforcing inference, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and point of view.

I have also created an extensive math and literacy unit to solidify your Earth Day Plans! I LOVE teaching this unit, and I'll let one of the reviews speak for itself: "Absolutely incredible. Students loved all of the activities. I'll definitely be using it again this year. Thank you."​
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Teaching With a Mountain View

Mary Montero

I am a teacher who loves sharing research-based practices, resources, books, and more!

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