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5 Ways to Teach Making Predictions in Reading with Elementary Students

Making predictions is a critical reading comprehension strategy to teach and practice with students. It requires students to use what they have read and know about a topic in order to anticipate what will happen in a text, or what a text will be about.

Making predictions before, during, and after reading comes very naturally to skilled readers, but for struggling readers, this skill can be just the opposite. Therefore, it is important that teachers model making predictions and continually provide ways for students to practice this reading comprehension strategy independently.

WHY IS MAKING PREDICTIONS IN READING AN IMPORTANT COMPREHENSION STRATEGY?

Making predictions helps students to:

Choose texts they believe will interest them or that are appropriate for whatever their purpose is for reading.
Set a purpose for reading before, during, and after reading.
Actively read and interact with a text.
Critically think about what they are reading.
Monitor their own comprehension and clarify any misunderstandings while reading.
Stay engaged in reading in order to find out if their predictions are on track or if they need to be revised.
Ask meaningful questions.

HOW CAN STUDENTS PRACTICE MAKING PREDICTIONS IN READING?

Growing readers can have a difficult time making predictions that are meaningful and logical. By modeling and practicing this reading strategy often, students learn to create strong predictions based on text evidence and background knowledge. Below are five ways students can practice making predictions as a class or individually.

1. TEACHER THINK ALOUD

When reading aloud any piece of text, teachers can use a think aloud technique to model how good readers continually make predictions before, during, and after reading. This technique can be thoughtfully planned ahead before implementing, but is also effective to demonstrate often with any piece of text read aloud in class. Teachers can show how they piece together evidence from the text to pose predictions, as well as how they revise their predictions as they continue to read.

2. PROVIDE THINKING STEMS:

Giving students thinking stems is helpful to make using reading comprehension strategies more concrete. Offering 2 part thinking stems (i.e. “I think___because___”) is important with making predictions since they require students to have a clear reason to support their prediction.

You can display these on an anchor chart or poster for the entire class to reference.

Some examples of thinking stems for fiction texts include:
“I think_____ will happen, because___”
“Next, I think the characters will___because___”
“I can predict that___because___”
“Since____ happened, I think___”
“Based on clues from the story, my guess is___”

Some examples of thinking stems for nonfiction texts include:
“Based on the title, I think the text will be about___”
“Based on the headings/subheadings, I think the text will be about”
“Because I know that_____, I predict that___”
“Based on what I know about _____, my guess is___”

You could also give students students their own individual reference sheet or bookmark.

3. INDIVIDUAL OR CLASS CRYSTAL BALL:

Students write their predictions on sticky notes and put them in the crystal ball on an anchor chart or white board. You can make the anchor chart re-usable by keeping it general with a question like “What do we predict will happen next?”

Students could also use their own crystal ball graphic organizer for a more detailed prediction.

4. NONFICTION READING: MAKING PREDICTIONS BASED ON NONFICTION TEXT FEATURES

Students skim the text features of an informational text (table of contents, headings, images/captions, etc.) to make a prediction about the text. You could do this similar to a picture walk with students as a class, or have students complete this activity independently with their own informational texts.

5. SUPPORTED INDEPENDENT READING RESPONSE:

Offering multiple ways that students use reading strategies independently can keep students engaged and help reach the many types of learners in a classroom. Graphic organizers can be a very powerful supportive tool for students to use while reading fiction or nonfiction.

Below is also an example of Making Predictions Reading Strategy Crafts. They are similar to traditional graphic organizers, but the format really engages visual and hands-on learners.

Looking for more tips on teaching reading comprehension strategies? Check out this blog post: Teaching Students to Use Background Knowledge

5 Printable and Digital Valentine’s Day Activities for the Elementary Classroom

by Cass

Valentine’s Day activities are such a great way to make students feel loved and appreciated by their teachers and classmates! It is also a fitting time to have students reflect on all of the people and things they love in their own lives. I love using holiday activities to build classroom community while giving students an opportunity to let their creativity shine.

This year, more than ever, it is important to have resources ready in both digital and printable formats. The 5 activities described below are from the Valentine’s Day pack in my TpT shop!

1. VALENTINE’S DAY GLYPHS:

I constantly hear from teachers about how much their students love glyphs! Digital or printable glyphs are great way to learn a little bit about your students while having them create an adorable craft to hang on a classroom bulletin board or take him to showcase on the fridge.

The Valentine’s Day Activities pack comes with 2 glyphs – a Love Bug Glyph (digital and printable), and a Box of Chocolates Glyph (printable only).

If you want to have students share their glyphs virtually, you can have students turn their cameras on that answered a question a specific way. This is a fun, visual way for students to see how their classmates responded!

They also lend themselves perfectly to creating individual bar graphs (or one large classroom bar graph) and analyzing authentic classroom data.

2. WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ______ CRAFT:

I love this simple craft for building community. Rather than the typical Valentine’s Day cards, these mini hearts are little notes telling their classmates “What We Love About_____”! They are a great, super low prep way to make your students feel loved and special.

A digital version is also included where students fill in a chart with things they love about each classmate. Teachers could use these to share some things that were said about each student orally. They could also copy and paste each student’s page to create a shareable file for everyone to be able to see what was said about them.

3. WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Valentine’s Day graphic organizers are great to use on their own or for prewriting for a piece of writing. They come in both digital and printable formats as well.

Some of the topics include Valentine’s Day Favorites, What I Love About My Family, What I Love About…(family, friends, home, school), and Ways to Show Love.

4. HEART MAP WRITING:

“What Makes up the Pieces of My Heart” has students really think about ALL of the things that they love and are grateful for in their life. Students love this activity! It is a great way for students to express themselves, while teaching their classmates and teacher about everything they love.

A digital version is also included. Students can fill in text boxes or insert pictures into each piece of their heart.

5. VALENTINE’S DAY BINGO (FREE PRINTABLE):

This (free!) activity is a great way to get your kids up and moving around. Students find classmates that fit the criteria for each square on their Bingo boards.

All of the resources above can be found in the resources in our Valentine’s Day Activities Pack!

Thinking ahead for Spring? Check out this Spring Activities Blog post!

Using Differentiated Reading Passages for Nonfiction Reading

by Cass

We know that all students need access to grade level content area information, but how can we make this happen with students of so many varying reading levels?

Some ways to support students in understanding difficult content area information are using engaging videos, photos, presentations, and giving clear oral descriptions. However, students still need to practice taking in information through nonfiction texts independently in order to be successful lifelong learners.

WHY SHOULD I USE DIFFERENTIATED READING PASSAGES? 

One simple way to help students with nonfiction reading comprehension is to use differentiated reading passages. This way, students still get the same access to the content, vocabulary, nonfiction reading skills, and activities. The only thing that is different is that now the text is accessible to them in order to dive into reading comprehension.

Differentiated Reading Passages allow students to:

Access grade level content area information at their own reading level
Practice important nonfiction reading skills
Build independence in reading informational texts
Participate confidently in follow up conversations and activities about the information
Feel successful in reading nonfiction texts

HOW DO I USE DIFFERENTIATED READING PASSAGES?

Using different leveled reading passages in your classroom is not something that needs to be announced, or obvious, to students. Simply passing out passages strategically is all that it takes. You can use differentiated passages with partners that have the same leveled text, in small guided reading groups, or for independent reading.

The key is that all follow up content area vocabulary and comprehension activities can be completed regardless of the level text they have been assigned.

Aside from access to the content area, differentiating reading passages can be used to support growing readers in developing strong nonfiction reading skills. Some examples of nonfiction reading skills include citing text evidence, using nonfiction text features, analyzing quotes, paraphrasing, summarizing nonfiction, identifying main idea and supporting details, etc.

Providing students a differentiated reading passage that they can easily read and comprehend allows them to put their energy into working on the target skill.

Nonfiction differentiated reading passages are also a very helpful resource for ESL teachers or special educators supporting their students in content area classes. They can be used to preview information and academic vocabulary these students will encounter alongside their grade level peers.

WHERE CAN I FIND DIFFERENTIATED READING PASSAGES?

There are many options for finding differentiated nonfiction reading passages. We have differentiated reading comprehension passages available in our TpT shop for reading levels 3-5. Each topic comes with 3 reading levels that focus on the same academic vocabulary words, and use the same reading comprehension activities.

Each of our passages come in a printable, or interactive Google Slides format. The printable and digital are available to purchase separately or together.

Below is a list of free websites that can be used to find reading passages at varying reading levels. Some do require an e-mail sign up:

ReadWorks: This is a HUGE collection of nonfiction and fiction reading passages, including a collection specifically for ELLs. There is a search option to find articles on tons of topics that you could be studying in class, and you can search by Lexile or standard. Students can play audio that reads the article aloud to them. Highlighted words can be clicked on for a student friendly definition in English, as well as a Spanish or Chinese translation for the word. Students will need to sign up with an e-mail address in order to access the free reading passages.
National Geographic Kids: Tons of great free videos and nonfiction reading passages for kids that are very high interest with beautiful visuals. They are especially great for researching specific animals.
Highlights Kids: Fiction stories and short nonfiction texts with visuals. The website is geared to younger kids and could be appropriate for up to around 6^th grade.
Scholastic News: If you scroll past the paid magazine subscription, there are free articles that change periodically. These are great because they have helpful visuals and nonfiction text features, as well as a text-to-speech option. You can even select reading level “on level” or “lower level” as an added level of differentiation. There is also an option to “open magazine view” in Spanish or English.
Scholastic Student Activities: Search by grade level and resource type (games, listen and read, etc.) to see different topics currently available for kids. The “Listen and Read” passages are great, because they are read aloud and presented as a book displaying a small amount of text with a visual on each page.
CommonLit: Reading passages for 3^rd-12^th grade. You can search by grade level, Lexile, genre and standards. They also have reading passages available in Spanish. Many of the passages can be read without a login, but to access the read aloud or translation features you do need to create a login with an e-mail address.
Smithsonian Kids: Nonfiction texts and games on tons of topics in history, social studies, and current events.
DOGO News: These are high interest, current events articles. Students can click on vocabulary words to see their meanings. In the paid version they can have the articles translated to Spanish or read aloud to them.
Newsela: These articles cover a wide range of topics including sports, arts, science, economics, etc. The passages can be read aloud, and there’s a feature where you can change the Lexile on a specific article to make the same content more accessible to lower level readers. Although they do offer some articles without a login, you need to create a free login to access all of the articles with your e-mail address.

Need more resources for differentiated informational texts for students? Check out my TpT shop!

5 Printable and Digital Winter Activities for Elementary Students

by Cass

With the excitement of winter, the new year, and winter vacations, it can be hard to keep students focused and engaged in learning. Winter themed academic activities motivate students by connecting what they are experiencing in real life to their school work.

This year, more than ever, it is important to have both printable and digital winter activities ready to go. The 5 activities described below are from paid and free winter resources in my TpT shop!

1. WINTER GLYPHS: PRINTABLE & DIGITAL WINTER ACTIVITIES

I constantly hear from teachers about how much their students love glyphs! They are a great way to learn a little bit about your students while having them create an adorable craft to hang on a classroom bulletin board or take him to showcase on the fridge.

This Winter Glyphs pack comes with 3 glyphs – a Penguin Glyph (digital and printable), Snowman Glyph (digital and printable) and a Snow Globe Glyph (printable only).

They also lend themselves perfectly to creating individual bar graphs, or one large classroom bar graph, and analyzing authentic classroom data.

2. WINTER WRITING PROMPTS

With winter’s arrival comes lots of excitement in your growing writers. This is a great way to motivate them with prompts that are applicable to what is currently happening around them.

The 32 writing prompts come in different printable formats, but my favorite is the cut and paste journal option. Providing choice is another way to encourage students to write, so with this activity they get to pick which prompt they want to use to guide their writing that day.

These writing prompts also come in a digital, Google Slides™ version.

3. “THROW SNOWBALLS LIKE KINDNESS” WINTER ACTIVITIES

This craft is such a great way to build classroom community among your students. In the printable version, students create a printable bucket that students fill with kind words for each student written on “snow balls”.

On the digital version, students can write 3 or 5 times they showed kindness this school year.

4. WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

Winter graphic organizers are great to use on their own or for prewriting for a piece of writing. A bunch of winter graphic organizers are available in our Winter Activities Pack that come in both digital and printable formats.

Seasons are such a great way to bring writing to life using the five senses. This Snowy Senses organizer can be found for free here.

5. NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS & GOAL SETTING:

With the new year comes the perfect time to reflect on the year so far, and create new academic and personal goals.

New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to greet your students after winter break. Below is an example of a printable interactive graphic organizer and a digital organizer students can use to record their resolutions.

All of the resources above can be found in the resources in our Winter Activities Bundle!

Thinking ahead for Valentine’s Day? Check out this Valentine’s Day Activities Blog post!

Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary Students

by Cass

Thanksgiving is so much fun to celebrate in the classroom! I love using Thanksgiving activities that encourage students to reflect and appreciate all the things they are thankful for in their lives.

Thanksgiving activities require students to really pause, block out all the other noise in their busy brains, and take time to focus on just being grateful.

Below are a bunch of digital and printable activities that I include in my Thanksgiving Activities & Glyphs pack!

“ I AM THANKFUL FOR…” TURKEY CRAFT

This thankful turkey craft always comes out so adorable! The turkey feathers come either blank or with a category (i.e. at home, an object, etc.) for students to write and illustrate what they are thankful for on.

The digital version uses a Thankful Tree instead of a turkey.

THANKSGIVING WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

These organizers are great for getting students thinking about what they are thankful for, as well as reasons why they are thankful for what they have in their lives.

They can be used alone or as a pre-writing support for a piece of Thanksgiving writing.

THANKSGIVING GLYPHS

Students love glyphs! They are a no prep, fun way for students to get creative while learning about each other. They also make a great Thanksgiving bulletin board or wall display.

This Thanksgiving Activities Pack includes a “Dress a Turkey” Glyph (printable) along with a Build a Turkey Glyph (digital). A Thanksgiving Table Glyph is also included.

Students can compare responses to the rest of their class to fill out a bar graph.

WRITING ABOUT SOMEONE THEY ARE THANKFUL FOR

This Thanksgiving writing activity always comes out so sweet! Students choose a person in their life that they are thankful for. Then, they reflect on 3 reasons why they are thankful for this person. You can also give students more than one copy if they want to write about more than one person.

This activity comes in both a printable, black and white version, as well as a digital version for Google Slides.

All of these activities and more can be found in my $5 Thanksgiving Pack in my TpT Shop!

Looking ahead for winter? Check out this blog post on low-prep Winter Activities for Elementary Students!

The Power of Picture Dictionaries for Newcomer ESL Students

by Cass

The start to the school year for newcomer ELLs can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. It is our job to set them up with tools to help them feel comfortable exploring a new language in a totally new environment. One of the most powerful tools you can provide a new ELL student is a picture dictionary.

Picture dictionaries are a powerful tool for new ELLs for these reasons:

CONNECT WORDS TO MEANINGS:

Picture dictionaries allow students to make a connection from a new written word to its meaning through an image, or visual.

CLEAR ORGANIZATION:

With clear categories, and a table of contents, it is easy for ELLs to navigate a picture dictionary to find the word(s) they need.

COMMUNICATION WITH ZERO LANGUAGE:

With picture dictionaries, students are easily able to communicate in writing or orally with no language at all. If students need to refer to something in writing, the word is right there for them. If students need to refer to something orally, they can point to the picture.

SENSE OF SECURITY:

Although some ELLs jump right into a new school comfortably, for the most part this isn’t the norm. Without any way to communicate their thoughts, most ELLs will experience a silent period in school. During this time, they may feel scared or embarrassed to make a mistake, so they remain quiet. Having tools that allow new ELLs to get across their needs non-verbally gives them a sense of security in going about their school day.

ALLOWS STUDENTS TO MAKE CONNECTIONS:

By breaking up new vocabulary words into themes, it allows students to make connections between words within a theme. This is much more effective than giving students a list of random vocabulary words that have no links to each other.

ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR LEARNING:

Having a picture dictionary opens the door for students to work independently on tasks. This could be for vocabulary activities specific to the words in the picture dictionary. It could also be using words from a picture dictionary in a writing task totally unrelated to the words specifically, such as writing about their previous school or things they like to do.

If a student is working independently using a picture dictionary, it can be very helpful to have the audio to take it even a step further for new ELLs’ understanding. These thematic vocabulary posters (full page Picture Dictionary pages) come with audio on the digital, Google Slides, version.

Do you need a Picture Dictionary for your new ELLs? Check out:

1.) the Picture Dictionary Bundle (printable and digital) for ESL Newcomer Vocabulary

2.) the Picture Dictionary Bundle for ESL Newcomer Vocabulary (printable version)

3.) the Picture Dictionary with Vocabulary Worksheets

Looking for more tips for teaching English Language Learners? Read about how to support ELLs in content areas classes.

Using Digital Graphic Organizers in Distance Learning

by Cass

Graphic organizers are such an important, versatile support for growing readers and writers. They break down reading and writing skills in a visual way to make each skill clear, and therefore easier to understand and apply.

In distance learning, more than ever, students need supports that can work for them in completing reading and writing tasks independently.

With digital graphic organizers on Google Slides, you can assign students an entire pack of organizers at once to refer to throughout the year, or you can assign students one graphic organizer at a time.

In the elementary reading classroom, or ELA classroom, I describe below how they can be used for Writing (Prewriting, Revising & Editing) and Reading (Nonfiction, Fiction, Reading Strategies, and Genres).

DIGITAL WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Just getting started with a piece of writing, and organizing ideas, can be overwhelming for growing writers. Graphic organizers that break down exactly what students need to do helps students get off to a successful start.

Students can benefit from graphic organizers not only in prewriting, but also in editing and revising their writing.

Writing strategies like creating a strong hook, using strong word choice, exploding a moment are so important in revising writing to be the best that it can be. Graphic organizers make these difficult strategies more accessible to students when writing independently.

They are also helpful in a teacher conference, or peer editing. The teacher or partner can fill in forms to make it clear to the writer exactly what they need to work on.

DIGITAL READING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Independent reading response in distance learning can be made so much easier for students with digital graphic organizers. They are so helpful in supporting students of multiple reading levels with practicing the same reading skills.

Graphic organizers are so versatile in that they work for addressing tons of reading skills, whether you are working on fiction specific skills, nonfiction skills, elements of genres, or reading comprehension strategies with any text.

Personally, I like breaking down reading graphic organizers into 4 categories – Reading Comprehension Strategies, Fiction Skills, Nonfiction Skills, and Genres.

1. Reading Comprehension Strategies:

These are graphic organizers that can be used with ANY book, nonfiction or fiction. They focus on strategies good readers use to monitor their comprehension and understand the text. Some strategies include making predictions, visualizing, using background knowledge, asking questions, determining importance, etc.

2. Fiction Skills:

These digital fiction graphic organizers target skills specific to reading literature. Some fiction skills include identifying story elements, analyzing character, retelling, character point of view, types of conflict, etc.

3. Nonfiction Skills:

Breaking down nonfiction skills with graphic organizers is such a great way to support students in navigating and comprehending nonfiction. They are so helpful for independent reading or distance learning, since they break down each skill with visuals.

4. Genres:

Understanding genre is so important in helping students to make connections, and ultimately comprehend, a new book of the same genre. It helps students learn who they are as readers, and put a label to the types of books they tend to enjoy.

Digital genre graphic organizers are so helpful in breaking down elements of different genres for students. Read more about ways to teach genres in this blog post.

Check out the Digital Reading Organizers packs in my TpT Shop! All graphic organizers are available as digital only, paper only, or a bundle of both paper and digital organizers.

Low Prep Halloween Activities and Crafts for Elementary Students

by Cass

Halloween is such an exciting time for kids! When Halloween is constantly on your students’ brains, it is so helpful to have meaningful, low prep activities for them to put this energy into.

Halloween crafts and activities are the perfect creative outlet for students. Below are a bunch of digital and printable activities that I include in my $5 Halloween Activities Pack, plus a freebie!

HALLOWEEN GLYPHS (PAPER AND DIGITAL):

Students love glyphs! They are a no prep, fun way for students to get creative while learning about each other. They also make a great Halloween bulletin board or wall display.

Included in this pack are 2 printable glyphs and 1 digital Monster Glyph.

A printable or digital bar graph is a fun way to tie in some math as students char their answers as a class!

HALLOWEEN WRITING ORGANIZERS:

Halloween writing graphic organizers are great to use as is, or to use as prewriting for writing about Halloween. Some of the topics included are Halloween Favorites, My Perfect Halloween Night, My Halloween Movie Reel, and All About My Halloween Night.

WITCH’S BREW RECIPE:

Students create the ingredients and recipe to make their very own witch’s brew! This writing activity really lets your students’ creative shine. It is so fun to see what students come up with!

For this activity, I do think it’s helpful to activate background knowledge. You can either come up with examples of some ingredients as a class, listen to Witches’ Brew by Hap & Martha Palmer, or read a book that includes examples of what could go into a witch’s brew, such as the book I am a Witch’s Cat.

HALLOWEEN CANDY CORN CRAFT:

This free, low prep Halloween craft is a great, easy way to celebrate Halloween in the classroom. It is a hands-on way to get students writing about their Halloween favorite!

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES:

Having activities students can do completely independently is perfect for early finishers or centers. Included in this pack are also Halloween Word Searches, Halloween Making Words and a Halloween Break the Code.

Click the cover below to be directed to the Halloween Activities in my TpT Shop!

Interested in Fall Activities as well? Read about Low Prep Fall Activities for Elementary Students!

Low Prep Fall Activities and Crafts for Elementary Students

by Cass

Fall is hands down my favorite season for setting up crafts and activities in the elementary classroom! Pumpkins, apples, changing leaves, and holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving provide so many ways to bring fall vibes into the classroom.

I love having different formats and options of crafts and activities for students to choose from. Below are a bunch of digital and printable activities that I include in my Fall Activities Pack (which is a total steal at only $5), and a freebie!

Because of the huge number of activities included, it can work great for centers. Centers are always fun and motivating for students since they get to choose what activity they complete.

It can also work to assign some resources in a printable format and some in a digital format to switch things up.

PRINTABLE AND DIGITAL FALL GLYPHS:

Students love glyphs! They are a no prep, fun way for students to get creative while learning about each other. They also make a great fall bulletin board or wall display.

Included in this pack are 2 printable glyphs and 1 digital cornucopia glyph.

FALL GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Fall themed writing graphic organizers are great to use as is, or to use as prewriting for writing about fall. Some of the topics included are Fall Favorites, Fall Senses, “When I Think of Fall…”.

This “FALLing memories” has students write and illustrate 2 or 4 memories they have from either the current or previous falls. It is also included in a digital format.

FALL INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC ORGANIZER:

This Fall Senses Craft comes in a 1-page option or 2-page interactive cut, fold, and glue option. Students write about how they use their five senses in fall on a leaf. It is also included as a Google Slides™ organizer.

FALL WRITING JOURNAL:

With fall’s arrival comes lots of excitement in your growing writers. This is a great way to motivate them with prompts that are applicable to what is currently happening around them.

These writing prompts come in different formats, but my favorite is the cut and paste journal option.

Student choice is another way to encourage them to write, so with this activity students get to pick which prompt they want to use to guide their writing that day.

FALL VOCABULARY:

These free fall vocabulary cards are perfect for a fall writing center. It is also available digitally as a fall vocabulary poster.

These digital and printable word searches are a fun way to interact with the fall vocabulary words as well. The printable version is available for free here.

Click on the covers below to check out some of my Fall Activity Packs:

Looking ahead? Read about No Prep Winter Activities for the Elementary Classroom.

How to Print a Large Poster

by Cass

Knowing how to print a large poster from your own home printer or school printer is so useful. Sending out a poster to be printed is quite costly, so printing on 4 standard 8.5” by 11” pages from your own printer is the way to go.

This will look different depending on the program you are using and the version you are using. Here is an example for how you can print a large poster by printing on four 8.5” by 11” pages using Adobe Acrobat.

1. SELECT POSTER PRINT SETTINGS:

After selecting “Print”, you will select “Poster.” Change the “tile scale” to zoom the percentage you would like to zoom in (shown below).

I prefer to print posters on card stock, but standard paper works just fine for printing posters too.

2. CUT OFF BORDERS:

After printing, you will need to cut off the inner borders where the pages will be taped or glued together. Adobe Acrobat does have an option to include cut marks if you select the box, but I personally don’t use them.

Below, you can see how I cut off some sides with extra white border, and leave some sides with the extra border. Then, you can use the extra border as an anchor to glue or tape the pages with cut edges.