Women's History Month Picture Books for Upper Elementary Students

March is Women's History Month and a perfect time to highlight the accomplishments of influential women with picture books in the classroom. Picture books are a great way to give access to students to historical events and influential women of the past and the present. They are also a great way to spark conversations about the pioneers in different industries and the challenges they had to overcome to reach their dreams, in turn helping students develop an appreciation for how far women have come throughout history.

This post highlights different picture books you can read to your upper elementary students to expose them to a variety of influential women. 

How to Promote a Love of Reading in Your Classroom

As teachers, we know that 'being a reader' has lifelong benefits, but sometimes getting students to love to read is not as easy at it sounds.

Some students have a hard time finding books or authors that peek their interest. Exposing them to different books is key in helping them find authors, series, or genres they like. It's also just as important to provide windows of time where they actually have time to read for pleasure. 

This may sound like a time consuming task, but it doesn't have to be. Here are a few ideas that you can implement in your classroom to help promote the love of reading in your classroom starting this week.

Idiom Fashion Show Classroom Transformation

Classroom transformations are one my favorite ways to get students engaged with their learning. Not only do students not feel like they are actually working, but it creates memories for them that last a lifetime and increases their retention of the skills being taught. This year, I implemented an Idiom Fashion Show classroom transformation as an extension to our Idiom T-Shirt Activity. It was a very engaging way to have students present their idiom t-shirt projects in a non-traditional way, and the best part was that it was extremely "thrifty" and quick to set up.

Martin Luther King Jr. Read Alouds for Upper Elementary

Looking for some Martin Luther King Jr books for kids? Particularly, ones that you can share with your upper elementary students? Here is a list of books you can use as read alouds in your classroom to introduce them to the man who helped shape American culture.

You can find many of these Martin Luther King Jr books for kids at your local library, school library, as read alouds on YouTube, or you can purchase them online or at your local bookstore.

Fun Idiom T-Shirt Activity for Upper Elementary Students

Idioms are no piece of cake (pun totally intended 😆) for most students, especially those whose first language is not English. Exposing students to a variety of idiom activities can help them learn their meanings and help them understand how to use them correctly. This idiom t-shirt project is a fun way to have upper elementary students work with idioms and allows for some really great follow up activities.

Great Books for Teaching Idioms to Upper Elementary Students

Picture books are always a great way to introduce a lesson, and reading aloud a book to upper elementary students when teaching idioms is no exception. As a matter of fact, they absolutely LOVE interacting with these books. From trying to guess the idiom from the illustration provided in the book to inferring what the idiom means, it is such a fun and engaging way to start the lesson.

Below, I have provided a list of books that make great additions to the classroom either as read alouds or as reference materials for your upper elementary students. 


The first section lists funny read alouds that incorporate idioms throughout them. Students will get a kick out of the literal meanings of the idioms as they are portrayed throughout the book. The second section lists titles that include collections of idioms and directly explain the meaning of each of them. 

Activities for the First Day Back from Winter Break

Returning back to school from a long break can be tough for everyone (teachers included). After going to sleep at the wee hours of the night/morning, waking up later in the day, and being out of our routine, getting back into the swing of things can be tough. That's why starting off the week with a big smile and a gentle lead into the second half of the school year is a nice way to get everyone back on the same page when returning back to school from winter break.

To get us all off to a good start, I always implement these activities our first morning together when we get back from winter break.