Highlighting text is such an excellent strategy to engage students in what they are reading. I have a tip that makes it super easy to use this strategy all of the time! Introducing: the best highlighter for primary grades.
Teachers plan lessons, build relationships, and encourage students on the daily.
We have enough on our plates. One thing we should NOT be worrying about is managing our students’ supplies. š
That being said, I love having my students highlight important things in the text they are reading.
Highlighting the answers to comprehension questions, vocabulary words and even words that match the phonics skill we are working on solidify student learning and add a really engaging aspect to reading.
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Highlighters can be a real pain, though. š£
They bleed through the paper. They dry out when caps aren’t snapped on tight (or even worse: are lost š). I have to pass them out because we don’t keep them in our pencil boxes.
All of these obstacles kept me from using highlighters as often as I wanted in the classroom, even though I knew they were a valuable tool.
Then I discovered the absolute BEST highlighter for primary grades.
It’s not a pen.
It’s not a marker.
It is the humble, yellow crayon!
A Yellow Crayon is the BEST Highlighter for Primary Grades!
Here’s why:
- There is no ink. That means it can’t ever dry out! ā²ļø
- It doesn’t bleed through the paper. I can print everything double-sided! ā»ļø
- It is already in my students’ pencil boxes. I don’t have to pass out a thing! š
Finally (and most importantly), it works SO well. You are not giving up any of the quality or usefulness of highlighting by using a crayon instead of a marker.
You are gaining so much!
I teach my students to make a square around the word or sentence they are highlighting. Then they color it in, and voila! It’s perfect! š
And guess what? Did you know you can buy a whole box of just yellow crayons? It’s true!
This box has 50 yellow crayons which is perfect for a whole year of highlighting important things. I truly believe a yellow crayon is the best highlighter for primary grades.
What do you use to highlight words in your classroom? I would love to hear if you have another favorite strategy I can add to my teacher toolbox. š§° Let me know below! š
P.S. If you’re wondering about the passages in these photos, they are my very FAVORITE guided reading passages! They are differentiated so you have fiction and nonfiction passages for the whole year no matter what reading levels are in your classroom. You can find those here.