Sure--I really had fun with the older grades with the topics and tried to work most topics around whatever they were reading in the classroom.
Around Charlotte's Web.....Write a descriptive paper about the life of a spider, pig, farmer, etc. Write an persuasive paper about why Fern should be able to keep the pig. Or fun things like, imagine you are a pig, describe what your life would be like, what you would eat, where you would live, etc...
I liked things like.....describe the best day ever, what would you do with 3 wishes and why (all kids liked this one), what is your favorite part about yourself, and why, or if you could be any character in any book, who would you be and why.You can also pick sayings, and have them write about that. Like "a penny saved is a penny earned. Depends on grade.
Or "if I were a parent (teacher, police officer, principal, president)--always a good one. You can google, writing prompts, and get lots of ideas.
The book I have is "If I ran the School" by Bruce Lansky and is about 35 pages. It came through Scholastic. Stinky Cheese is a GREAT one. I always sat a chair in the front of the room, and picked students who had been great all day to come up and read. They loved it. Especially 2, 3, 4 graders. 5th was always so ify, depended on their moods. Also, "If you are not here, pelase raise your hand" is another good book of poems.
You will do great! Have fun and enjoy the kids. Remember though, if they smell fear, especially the older ones, you are a gonner.
At the begining, introduce yourself and tell them a little about yourself. Tell them you know they have a "normal" routine, and you will try to stick to it as closely as possible, but that may not happen. (you can get lots of "that isn't how we normally do it" from some students). Always put the positive comments at the beginning of your note and some at the end too! If you have to leave something negative, make sure it is the big things, not the regular things like Johnny talked alot. Those were my management battles to work on and improve.
I hope this helps! Feel free to email me at
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You will do great!!