Tag Archives : #language Arts


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON – ” July Hand Writing Practice Book Freebies”

By Sue Kayobie

Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Inside you will find:
– 3 pages of Hand Writing Practice BW version.
– 3 pages of Hand Writing Practice color version.

In this pack, your early writer will learn how to trace the words, trace the whole sentence and they have to copy the sentence. It’s fun and perfect for your early writer. These activities work well for fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

July Hand Writing Practice Book Freebies

 Here is the preview of this product.

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Thank You!

Sue


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON-“Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2”

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2

 

by Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

 

This 3 pages of Alphabet Fine Motor Skill Set 2 are perfect for preschool and kindergarteners working on fine motor skills!

This set encourages students to focus on their alphabet handwriting, to start drawing a different type of lines – the first step in pencil control and enhances both motor planning and fine motor skills.

These Alphabet Fine Motor Skill activities work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2

 

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 2

This set is part of a bundle. Save some money with the bundle:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills, The Bundle

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

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FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON-“Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1”

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1

 

by Sue Kayobie
Pre Kindergarten, Kindergarten

 

This 3 pages of Alphabet Fine Motor Skill Set 1are perfect for preschool and kindergarteners working on fine motor skills!
This set encourages students to trace the word, and trace the line to the matching picture. On this set, I also include the pages with and without tracing lines. You can choose which one that suits your students.

These Alphabet Fine Motor Skill activities work well for independent work, literacy center ideas, fluency practice, homework, and for assessment use.

Free Samples Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1

 

Go to my TPT store to get the full version product:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills Set 1

This set is part of a bundle. Save some money with the bundle:

Alphabet Fine Motor Skills, The Bundle

Follow my store to get more freebies, notification, and sale.

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

 

Connect with me:

TPT Store

Pinterest


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON – “Free Samples Spring Writing Prompts”

This set is great for your early writers to practice on writing prompts, opinion writing and picture prompts or struggling writers in kindergarten and in first grade to build confidence in writing.

This set includes:
– 2 Pages of Writing Prompts
– 2 Pages of Opinion Writing
– 2 Pages of Picture Prompts
– 2 Additional Writing Paper for students who like to write more.

 

Thanks!

Sue Kayobie

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sue-Kayobie

https://id.pinterest.com/suekayobie/

 


May Teacher Talk

It’s May and June is just around the bend. You’re probably counting the days till summer vacation. Be sure to stop by and see what these teachers are doing in their classrooms and gather some great tips and ideas.

 If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.
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If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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Walking the Red Carpet With Book of the Year Awards

By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

Are you looking for a fun but academic way to keep your students engaged in these last few weeks of the school year? This blog post is part one of a series that details one way to keep your kids talking about books. Plus, a unique freebie opportunity is offered!

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Where We’re From

By Retta London of  Rainbow City Learning

A tribute to my mother and all she taught me. A poetry form added to try in your own own classroom.

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End of the Year Growth Mindset Awards Activity

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

My teaching partner and I always faced the end of the school year with nostalgia, excitement, and a bit of sadness as our students leave our classrooms.  Kind of like parents whose children have flown the coop. We enjoyed giving out student awards, but instead of us choosing all of them, we decided to let the kids help us.

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Do You Have a Purpose?

By Susan Berkowitz of Susan Berkowitz

Students need a purpose for communicating and we need to provide meaningful interactions, not just “test” them on their knowledge.

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Five Simple Tools for End of the Year Success

By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Survive the end-of-the-year frenzy in your classroom with five tips to help reduce the chaos and maintain learning.

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Make Math FUN this Summer!!!

By Sara Snyder of Snyder Classroom

The weeks approaching summer vacation can be a great time to get some review in for the students as the year closes. These NO PREP activity worksheets can be great for end of the year review as well as keeping skills fresh over the summer. I think you will enjoy these summer themed riddles.

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One Million=One Thousand

By Reading Spotlight of Reading Spotlight

Find out how one million can actually equal one thousand!

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A Little Magic For Your Class. . .

By Michelle Webb of Teaching Ideas for Those who Love Teaching

Tips to make reading time magical with an altered fairy tale unit.

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Surviving the Last Weeks of School: 3 Activities to Keep Your Students Engaged

By Shametria Routt of The Routty Math Teacher

Managing student engagement and behaviors at the end of the school year can be a challenge for even our most experienced teachers. The more engaged students are in tasks that are both developmentally appropriate and challenging, the less off-task behavior they will display. With that in mind, I would like to share some of my favorite problem solving and critical thinking strategies I use to keep my students engaged during the last weeks of the school year.

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Poppies, Poetry & Critical Thinking with Georgia O’Keefe

 

 

It had been a long week- two nights of student-led conferences, a teacher evaluation meeting with my administrator. Add finishing report cards to that mix and preparation for MStep, and I had survived the perfect storm.  Needless to say, we were tired.  I needed to do something that would make our hearts sing.  My students needed it, too!

So, I introduced my third and fourth graders to Georgia’s paintings.  Georgia O’Keefe makes my heart sing.  I began by sharing a short mini-biography I had authored, and then I read aloud My Name is Georgia by Jeanette Winter.  This delightful picture book is a biography of Georgia O’Keefe. From the time she was just a young girl, Georgia O’Keeffe saw the world differently than those around her.  While other girls wore braids and played with toys, Georgia practiced her drawing.  She let her hair flow free.  Georgia followed her love of art throughout her life. This book shows how Georgia followed her dream of becoming an artist and shared her unique vision of the world.

who respond to <b>georgia</b> in hawaii may then pick up <b>my name is georgia</b> ...
After sharing the book and some examples of O’Keefe’s art I found on the internet, I showed my students some photographs of natural subjects. The photos were close ups, not unlike Georgia’s flowers.  We went through each photo, using the visible thinking move “See-Think-Wonder.”  Using this thinking routine elevated my student’s responses.    Using this routine, I first asked students to respond orally to a photo selected by me. I recorded their responses on our class response chart paper. Then I showed the other photographs and had students use “See-Think-Wonder” to discuss the photos in their small table groups.  Finally, students used a “See-Think-Wonder” graphic organizer to reflect on one of the photographs of their choosing.

We got “up close and personal” with photography.
 
 

Later in the afternoon, we worked with our chosen photograph again.  I modeled how to do a quick write. I viewed my photograph of yellow daffodils, and wrote single words and phrases that came into my head as I viewed it.  I did a lot of thinking aloud for them, so they could hear my stream of thought. Following my lead, students wrote their own quick writes using the quick write page I provided.   Then, I introduced the Pantoum poetry form.  This form of poetry comes from Malaysia and employs a series of repeated lines.  It’s perfect for when you want to emphasize an idea or image in your writing.

Again, I modeled taking my quick write ideas and using them to write the lines of my poem. Students followed suit, trying it on their own.  My poem is below:

Spring Daffodils

In mysterious canyons of sunshine and butter,
I follow the secret pathways,
Past bends and turns
on a ruffled and rippled river.
 
I follow the secret pathways,
Dripping with sunlit honey.
On a ruffled and rippled river,
I ride the tumultuous waves of spring.
 
Dripping with sunlit honey,
Alive with bumble and buzz,
I ride the tumultuous waves of spring,
Swimming in its yellow currents.
 
Alive with bumble and buzz,
Past bends and turns,
Swimming in its yellow currents
In mysterious canyons of sunshine and butter.

 

                                     By Tracy Willis

 

 

Later in the afternoon, we made our own poppies using templates I created and common classroom materials like scissors, glue, and construction paper.   The pictures below show the results.  After our crazy week, it was remarkable to listen to my students as they wrote.  It was the quietest they had been all week.  Even more remarkable, my boys were so earnest as they wrote their poems about Georgia’s flowers and bones.  It was a Friday well spent.
I have to say, this creative writing, reading, and art activity was the perfect way to counterbalance the stresses of standardized test and student-led conferences preparation.  You can find it for your own classroom by clicking the graphic below.  It has everything you need to be ready for April’s Poetry Month.

 


Shakespeare’s-A Midsummer Night’s Dream-Unit BUNDLE! Digital & Printable!

From Teach BeTween the Lines

Teach Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with this complete unit bundle! 145 pages, and over 105 teacher slides ready to print and teach- or use digitally for your 21st century learners!

Each of the bundled unit’s product description is below:

Student Interactive Notebook for A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Complete Study Guide

This 45 page interactive student notebook will help your students fully comprehend and analyze one of Shakespeare’s finest comedies- A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This student guide will take your students through this play from beginning to end, ensuring a deep read and a great wealth of understanding.

This digital interactive notebook includes:

1. Scene by scene comprehension and analysis questions that support students in gleaning the most meaning from the text.

2. Character analysis with guiding questions and graphic organizers for support.

3. Literature Circle (or Socratic Seminar) preparation with guiding questions and a guided dialectical journal.

4. Plot analysis- students track the plot of the four major plot lines within the play with guiding prompts and graphic organizers.

5. Fun summative characterization activity that gets students up and moving, collaborating, and acting with their peers!

Beautifully designed images support with student engagement.

Digital documents allow students to type directly in the file through Google Apps.

PowerPoint and PDF versions provided as well for easy print and go teaching!

Perfect for Secondary and College Education

Debate with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream- The Battle of the Sexes

Everything you need to teach debate with the Battle of the Sexes in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
This complete unit includes 5 lessons:

1. Introduction to the theme of gender within the play
a. In-depth class discussion questions
b. Mini-debate to engage learners and begin conversations on the
gender battle

2. Crafting arguments- the debate way. Introduce this step-by-step method
for crafting an argument specifically for debate.

3. Crafting counter-arguments- the debate way. Introduce this simple four
point method for crafting a counter-argument specifically for refutation in
debate.

4. Introduction to debate- introduces debate skills to students. Students learn
the why and how of debate, watch several examples, and grade those
debate examples using the assessment tools that will be applied to their
debates as well.

5. Introduction to Public Speaking- a mini-lesson to introduce the most critical
skills necessary for successful public speaking.

Your students will be able to take notes on all of these lessons inside of their Google Interactive Notebook. Students will also be able to prepare for their debate with specific graphic organizers for each step of the preparation process. They will also be able to craft their arguments and counter-arguments inside of this digital document with helpful graphic organizers. Additionally, they will be able to self-reflect on their preparation, their group’s preparation and arguments, and the quality of their own arguments. Rubric is included inside of this document for further self-assessment.

A complete debate scoring guide is included so a ‘winner’ can be determined post-debate.

A complete rubric is included for assessing the quality of each student’s debate skills.

PowerPoint, Word, and PDF versions are included for every document. This unit will be easy to print and teach as well!

41 Pages, 51 Slides.

Character Analysis with A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Students analyze the characters within A Midsummer Night’s Dream with this fun, engaging, and beautifully decorated interactive notebook.

Students will look at character development, relationships, and interactions within the text.

Character analysis lesson will support students in this process.

Multiple character analysis essay questions provide voice and choice in the summative assessment.

Multiple graphic organizers to support in the development of a strong thesis statement.

Multiple graphic organizers to support in the development of a full character analysis lesson.

Crafting a character analysis lesson to teach the process.

Digital document- no printing and copying needed! Just imagine a lunch NOT waiting in line at the copy machine!

PDF versions provided- in case you enjoy the line at the machine!

Interactive notebook: 34 Pages
Teacher Lesson: 21 Slides

Literary Analysis with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Teach students the art of literary analysis with Shakespeare’s drama filled play- A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Included:
Literary Analysis PowerPoint Lesson
—Graphic Organizers and Rubric to assess examples of literary analysis (for use with PowerPoint lesson)

Beautiful Literary Analysis Poster- in two sizes

7 high level, in-depth literary analysis questions for paragraph responses
— Graphic organizers for support.

Optional literary analysis essay and graphic organizer

Rubric provided

10 Pages with poster + 14 Slides

Theme Analysis in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Students will collaborate in literary circles on the topic of theme development- I call this the Theme Tracker Task Force group. Students will track the three most prevalent theme topics as they read through the play. The chart/lesson provided allows students to track evidence of the thread of each topic throughout the text as they read. They are then able to discuss this evidence and theme development, further preparing for their theme analysis essay.

Theme Google Presentation/PowerPoint to get students started in tracking the three important themes within this play. Guiding questions break down each theme for better understanding as students navigate A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Students are provided with five theme essay topics/questions to choose from as they begin to develop their essays. This allows for voice and choice in learning, yet each question specifically relates to the themes students have been tracking throughout the play.

Literary analysis lesson included to support your students in analyzing literature for this essay.

The graphic organizers provided will allow your students to craft this essay in a supported, step-by-step manner.

Thesis builder teaches the process of drafting a literary analysis thesis. Students are supported as they draft each important piece of their theme analysis thesis statement.

21 Slides, 15 Pages

CCSS Aligned:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.9

Follow my store by clicking on the link at the top of the page for updates, announcements, and fun freebies! You can also find me on Pinterest, and Facebook!

Check out these individual lessons for all things Shakespeare!
Debate with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream- The Battle of the Sexes
Theme Analysis in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Literary Analysis with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Character Analysis with A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Student Interactive Notebook for A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Complete Study Guide

Teaching Macbeth?
Theme Analysis &Thematic Literary Response Essay in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Literary Analysis with Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Character Analysis with Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Introduction to Shakespeare:
Engaging and Collaborative Introduction to Shakespeare


Apprendre à lire: Je fais un oiseau – Learn to Read French: Je fais un oiseau

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Apprendre-a-lire-Je-fais-un-oiseau-Learn-to-Read-French-Je-fais-un-oiseau-2134693

 

Apprendre à lire: Je fais un oiseau - Learn to Read French

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Je fais un oiseau – from my Learn to Read series features 33 flashcards to help students learn French vocabulary. The cards teach students the different sounds as well as vocabulary with pictures to facilitate the reading process.

The following vocabulary words are included:

– Oiseau, je, fais, un, voici, aile, use of l’, œil, va, ici, le, bec, queue, la.

The cards use the words in various different contexts to reinforce learning and reading. In addition, half of the flashcards have the picture to introduce the words, and the other half only have the words to help students read more independently.

This package also contains 3 writing exercises where students can rewrite the words they saw on the flashcards. They must rewrite the sentences twice: once tracing the words, and the next, copying the sentences. Make sure to reinforce the use of the capital letter and period at the end of the sentence.

It’s teaching made easy!

Total Pages
33 flashcards, 3 writing exercises
Answer Key
Does Not Apply
Teaching Duration
N/A

Learning to read sounds in French

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Learning-to-read-sounds-in-French-1825177

 

Learning to read sounds in French

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Les sons – from my Learn to Read series features 96 flashcards to help students learn French. The cards teach students the different sounds as well as vocabulary with pictures to facilitate the reading process.

The following sounds are highlighted:

– ch – ou – ui – en, em – an – au
– eau – in – om – ein – oi – on
– eu – gu – gn – ai – ei – er
– qu – ille – ail – eille – euille –
– ien – illon

It’s teaching made easy!


Benefits of a personal alphabet book – a lesson from my Reading Recovery days

The benefits of a personal alphabet book - lessons learned from my Reading Recovery days. A blog post by That Fun Reading Teacher.

 

Why go to the trouble of creating a personal Alphabet Book for your students, instead of having everyone in the class work through each letter together? It sounds like a lot to manage, but creating links to a child’s life early in literacy learning is worth the confidence and gains they make later.

When I taught Reading Recovery to grade one students early in the school year, creating a personal alphabet book was one of the first things we did together when we started lessons. It wasn’t until seven years in to my teaching career that I understood the benefits of a personal alphabet book, and I have Dr. Marie Clay and my Reading Recovery teacher leaders to thank for that.

In Literacy Lessons Part Two, Dr. Clay explains:

The alphabet book is merely a record of what is known with spaces for what is ‘yet to be learned’  That gives the child a sense of the size of the task and a feeling of control over his own progress.  It also provides a location to return to when a troublesome letter, still being confused, turns up. (p37)

She explains that children do not generally learn to identify letters by name or sound in alphabetical order and that identifying a letter by name or sound is equally useful for a child early on, as it is most effective to teach both name and sound together.

 

When children have one word for each letter that he or she knows for sure makes that letter sound, they use it as an anchor, a concrete example to hold all other words against for comparison.

When they have their own sound alphabet that they have created from the words most meaningful to them, the words that pop into their minds with the initial letter sounds and that association gives them confidence that they know that particular sound.  It gives them the confidence to ‘spit’ that sound out when they see an unknown word on a page when they are reading, or put down that first letter when attempting to write a word they have never attempted before.

The personal alphabet book is the ultimate, at-a-glance reference guide. It is meaningful to each child, because that child constructed it from people and things that are meaningful to them already. The connections are already in place.

The key to the effectiveness of a personalized alphabet book is in its construction.  It must be done slowly but with enthusiasm, following the child’s lead, reviewed often and used as reference.

Years ago, we spent hours cutting up old coloring books and worksheets to use as images for our students’ alphabet books. This led to the creation of a kit as a time-saver! Try it free in the BTS Sampler, linked below!

Ready to create a personal alphabet book? Here’s how.

Related:

The Complete Alphabet Book Kit #BTS Big Bundle by That Fun Reader Teacher

Free Back to School Sampler by That Fun Reading Teacher How to create a personal alphabet book - a post by That Fun Reading Teacher.

Best wishes for Back to School, everyone!

I.M. That Fun Reading Teacher!


 2015 TpT Store Prof pic circle


FREE LESSON – Differentiated Mother’s Day Card for beginning writers (and BIG TpT site-wide sale on today and tomorrow!)

Free Lesson: Differentiate Mother's Day Card!

Hello my friends!
Is it just me, or did Mother’s Day sneak up on us as quickly as Easter this year?

In times like these, I’m grateful for the stash. (We all have a collection of never-fail, warm-fuzzy lessons and go to printables, don’t we?)

The time-saving factors in this Mother’s Day Card is twofold: 1) Print or photocopy and your students instantly have something to color, and 2) the inserts that allow each child to print (or paste if unable to print) at the level they are comfortable with. By pre-printing the various options, your students have different choices for how they can complete their Mother’s Day message, and most will be able to do something independently.

Disclaimer: Student names do need to be added to individual cards! 

Inside MD card 1

Some students might be capable of printing a message on their own. Others may copy from a strip or trace. Those who are not printing yet can simply glue their message in.


Copying Th4

Perhaps you’re working on 1:1 correspondence and would like to take this opportunity to practice. Cut the words apart and have your students reassemble the sentence in order, with or without a model.

Lesson from a recovering over-achiever:

Over the years I realized that I had to adjust my expectations to my circumstances. Some years we may have a smaller number of students in our class, students that work more independently or more support for our students with special needs. Particularly at this time of the year, and even more with Father’s Day, schedules go awry and every week feels more frantic than the week before.

This activity worked best, especially in more challenging years, when I let the students choose how they wanted to do the inside of the card. It came down to a decision:

Was the goal of the activity to teach and assess a particular goal or skill for any or all of my students, or for my students to simply enjoy creating something special for mom?

If you like to #DifferentiateByPrinting as is done with this card, check out these growing collections: Sight-Word-Stages Leveled Reader Sets and Read and Write and More!

On another note…

Did you see what I added to the title?  I am a mom and a teacher and a MAJOR appreciator of teachers myself. Thank you to all of you for getting in there with your students everyday. TpT has announced that it’s time to appreciate teachers with a big, site-wide sale! Please see the button below for details!

Enjoy the sale, and Happy Spring!


Teacher Appreciation Sale! Free Mother's Day card


SWS sq 350 Father's Day card

 


Poetry Unit for Intermediate Students – No Prep

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Unit-for-Intermediate-Students-1020615poetry unit for intermediate students

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

2 weeks of thinking done for you. This unit is appropriate for grades 8-10

Looking for a meaningful and effective way to teach poetry? This unit is a fun way to learn and experiment with figurative language. It uses a mixture of contemporary songs and traditional poetry to teach students about themes and to help them learn the various forms of poetry. The creative, hands-on activities also focus on the importance of having a voice and using it properly.

The unit covers subjects such as: bullying, courage, standing up for yourself and for others, standing up for one’s convictions and discovering what is important to students.

This unit uses poetry to help students have a better understanding of themselves and to stand up for things they believe in.

The files are in PDF format and are zipped for convenience.

-1 set of « I HAVE, Who has? » cards to help students remember figurative language in a fun way. (1 set of instructions for the game)

-A comprehensive teacher guide with 11 complete and detailed lessons (no prep required) – (8 pages) – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO TEACH THIS UNIT HAS BEEN DONE FOR YOU

-A student package that contains ALL notes, poems, and handouts students will need for the unit (18 pages)

-An end unit evaluation (with detailed evaluation rubrics and step by step instructions for students – one for the written component and one for the oral component). The end unit evaluation is in Word format along with the evaluation rubric for easy modifications. The final unit evaluation is a written poem and poetry reading, where students’ voices can be heard.

-A detailed Answer Key with notes, annotated poems, and answers to questions and activities. (8 pages)

Poems studied include:
– Song lyrics – Jessie J’s “Domino” (Goal : review figurative language and analyze messages found in popular media.)
– Jonathan Reed’s “The Lost Generation”
– Selena Matis’ “Ability”
– Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken”
– Robert Hayden’s “ Those Winter Sundays”
– Song lyrics “True Colors”
– Emily Dickenson’s “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”
– Rudyard Kipling’s “If”
– Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman”
– There are also video links added to the unit to enhance learning in the classroom


St. Patrick’s Day: LUCKY you! It’s Almost Spring Break!

I don’t know what it is about holidays and school, but students always tend to go a little coo-coo around any holiday. St. Patrick’s Day just so happens to be one of those holidays that also falls before Spring Break, so they are especially coo-coo.

So what do we do? We give them fun activities and count down the days! Everyone knows that trying to teach a new concept or review before Spring Break is nearly impossible. So, there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun a day or two before Spring Break (or on St. Patrick’s Day if your Spring Break comes a little later)!

A fun activity to try on the holiday is teaching them the art of the LIMERICK. We have all heard the naughty one about Nantucket, so let’s not share that one with them, shall we? Start off first with the structure:

A LIMERICK is a short and fun rhyming verse that is often humorous. It has a distinctive rhyming pattern, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier and easier to come up with your own!

Here is an example of a limerick:

“There was an Old Man of Peru

Who watched his wife making a stew.

But once, by mistake,

In a stove she did bake

That unfortunate Man of Peru.”*

(from A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear)

If you notice in the limerick, there is a very clear rhythm and rhyme. It is five lines and has a rhyming scheme of: AABBA. The rhythm pattern is as follows:

da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (A)

da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (A)

da DUM da da DUM (B)

da da DUM da da DUM (B)

da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (A)

Next, give them a couple more examples:

St. Pattys Blog

Once they get the hang of it, have them try to create their own! If you would like the Create-a-Limerick packet, check it out at my TPT store!

Blog Limerick2

 

I also have an activity called “Wacky Words” in which students fill in parts of speech to create a silly story about hunting a leprechaun. This can be purchased separately or with the St. Patrick’s Day Activity Packet that includes these two activities AND a crossword puzzle and word search!

Happy St. Patty-ing! :)

Blog Packet

 

 

 

 


Teach Your Students This Gerund “Trick”!

Gerunds, infinitives, and participles, OH MY! Yeah. . .they are not the most titillating thing in the world to teach. In fact, when I had to teach the unit, I had to relearn all the terminology all over again (honestly, I don’t even recall any of my teachers specifically teaching the “gerund.” Hmmmm). Thus, why I think the most confusing aspect of the Verbals is the gerund: firstly, it’s hard to pronounce, and, secondly, what the HECK is its function?! (Even though I pronounced it correctly several times a day, half the students still insisted on calling it a “Grrrr-uh-nd.” Um. Nope, but as long as you know what it does, you could call it “Sally” for all I care! 🙂 )

Anywho, I came up with a “trick” that works almost every time when trying to detect a gerund in a sentence. I call it the “IT” rule. “IT” definitely helped my students become much more clear on if the -ing word was a gerund or just a participle. So here is my simple  “IT” trick:

Because a gerund functions as a noun, I taught my students to replace the -ing word with a noun in the sentence: “IT.” If the sentence still makes sense, it’s probably (stress the probably) a gerund. For example:

Example 1: She loves dancing.

Change to: She loves IT.

YEP! We have a gerund!

Example 2: She is dancing in the rain.

Change to: She is IT in the rain.

Hmmm, NOPE. Not a gerund.

You may not like this trick or it may work really well for you. Either way, I am just glad I can share!

Happy gerund-ing!

 

Two products to help you teach this unit:

VerbalsJPGCloze Test

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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No-prep printables – Reading and Writing for Christmas!

2x Xmas Preview - Copy

Happy (almost) holidays, my friends. Have you noticed an excitement in the air? My students definitely have the Christmas Spirit, and are always thrilled to have some fun seasonal activities do to recognize it!

I run Early Literacy Intervention groups with students from grades 1-3. While we do guided reading and writing, and play skill-building games, once in a while I do like to have them do some worksheets that I can keep a copy of in their files. We are currently working through both of the packages shown in the picture above and they are enthusiastic with the variety of activities at their ‘just-right’ level, too.

Here is a close up of the North Pole Reading and Writing Fun preview:

North Pole Preview

…and one of the Nativity Reading and Writing Fun preview:

demoNativityReadingandWritingActivities

The kids are having a lot of fun with these, thanks to the wonderful clip art by Edu-clips.com. They can’t wait to color the pictures!

Each of these packages come with the following tip sheet:

Instructions

Best wishes to all of you and yours as we wrap up for the holidays. Take care of you, too!

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Th1 Xmas bundle Th1 BigXmas

Th1 Nat R&W cover - Copy Th1 North Pole R & W JPG file

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Counting by 2s, phrasing, fluency and quotation marks with REINDEER!

Counting by 2s post

Have you ever noticed how perfectly the Santa’s reindeer and Rudolph stories lend themselves to teaching kids about counting by twos? The reindeer are paired up in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song and in Santa’s famous line at the end of the classic story Twas the Night Before Christmas. The teachable moment is just sitting in front us begging to be used!

Perhaps that is why I, That Fun Math Reading Teacher, have started passing on this Phrasing and Fluency Reader to teachers as a math resource as well. (For anyone who may have purchased it more than a year ago, please go back to your purchases page and download an updated version.)

Last year I was using 10 at the Sled primarily for the phrasing, fluency and fun factor. That is, after all, the purpose for which it was written in the first place. It can be sung to the tune of Ten in the Bed, and even if students are not familiar with the song, they do catch on to the simple melody quickly and enjoy the repetition. They also hear how certain words fall together naturally to create phrases.

TenattheSledacountingbysphrasingfluencyreaderandsong

After several requests for a black and white student booklet last year, I created one over the summer, using speech bubbles where there are quotation marks used in the color edition:


Th2 10 at Sled 1 Th3 10 at Sled

I wanted to show students what quotation marks really mean, in a visual way, rather than only telling them. I am finding that with this year’s students, this concrete approach has made a huge difference. We compare my color copy with their black and white copy and discuss how quotation marks and speech bubbles really serve the same purpose. *Lightbulb moment*!

The tone, expression (and curiously deep voices) they use when reading the ‘spoken’ lines are hilarious! But clearly, meaningful to them!

Thank you to all of the teacher bloggers who provided feedback during the Christmas in July sale that led to these revisions.

Enjoy these last two weeks!

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Th1 10 at Sled 1 Th1 BigXmas Th1 Xmas bundle

What are your favorite ways to bring various subject areas together? Here are some of mine:


CH 2pk cover 5 H Fr Th1 Halloween Count main cover - Copy

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FREE LESSON – “Social Studies Causation Cards”

The Owl Teacher

Grades 3-6

Causation Cards are the newest and next best thing since task cards!

FREE CAUSATION CARDS, Social Studies, Economics

What Are Causation Cards?

Causation cards are a fun, interactive way to review vocabulary and concepts that students need to learn. In addition, this engaging activity helps improve fluency and listening skills.


How Does Causation Cards Work?

The method is similar to the “I have… who has…” cards, where each student has to listen carefully to other students to know when it is their turn. However, causation cards do not contain a repeated language (like “I have… who has…”). Instead it will state an action that a student must perform and a statement they must say. The action can be something simple from jumping in the air to drawing on the board. The statement can be a definition of a term or related concept.


Why Are Causation Cards Important?
This activity is a great resource for practicing those all important speaking and listening skills while building fluency. This resource is a great way to improve student’s reading accuracy, prosody, and fluency rate.

How Do You Use Them In The Classroom?

Have the class read through the set of cards multiple times giving each student a different card each time or read to each other by taking turns. 

 You can find this fun, interactive FREEBIE by clicking here.

I have many causation cards in my store – and am continuously making more!

You can follow my store here to be up-to-date on all my new products!

Click here to see the various causation cards I have available! 

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Thanks for checking them out!  I promise you and your students will LOVE them!

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Copyright of The Owl Teacher.  All rights reserved by author. This product is to be used by the original downloader only. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Intended for classroom and personal use ONLY.  I love it when you share my products with your colleagues but please do so legally!  Thank you!


Labor Day -Spanish Word Search & Criss Cross Puzzle- BONUS:Las Profesiones

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LABOR DAY IN SPANISH

Great Lesson to celebrate Labor Day in your Classroom. This lesson was designed to practice cognates and to teach students about the celebration of Labor Day in May in most Latin American Countries. You will also have a Community Workers in Spanish Word Search.

1) Word Search= 24 sentences and words (For example)
BARBACOA, COMUNIDAD, DERECHOS, DESFILES, FESTIVOS, …..PROSPERIDAD, UNION, TRABAJADORES…

2) 14 Labor Day Cross Word Puzzle with Spanish word bank full of cognates. Great dictionary practice for your students. Have them work in groups of two to figure out the answer. Homework pass for the winners.

LaborDaySpanishWordSearchCrissCrossPuzzleBONUSLasProfesiones-page-002

3) Profesiones. This Word Search is a very good introduction to Professions full of cognates. Perfect cool homework assignment

LaborDaySpanishWordSearchCrissCrossPuzzleBONUSLasProfesiones-page-003

FOLLOW-UP

*** Las Profesiones Thematic Unit- This full Professions in Spanish lesson can help introduce and practice the vocabulary related to community workers.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Las-Profesiones-Thematic-Unit-Professions-in-Spanish-Great-for-Labor-Day-1874221

*** Las Profesiones-Spanish Professions- What they Do and Where they work?- This comprehensive unit combines vocabulary for professions, with verbs AR/ER/IR and locations. Great way to teach students how to write sentences.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Las-Profesiones-Spanish-Professions-What-they-Do-and-Where-they-work-Labor-Day-1487264

ENJOY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!!!

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Poetry Workshop with Interactive Notebooks for Grades 5-8

By Deann Marin at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs

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Offering for Educators, Comprehensive Teaching Aides. If you’d like to see what else I have to offer please visit my store.

 

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I’ve been noticing that many teachers like using interactive notebooks with their classes. So I’ve done some research and decided to make one of my own. This type of activity utilizes all learning styles, visual, auditory and kinesthetic. It allows children to cut, paste, write, see and listen. Better yet, it keeps them engaged because they are doing things with their hands as well as listening and seeing.

I’ve come up with an interactive-poetry notebook bundle. There are 100 pages of various types of fold-able templates that can be added to their notebooks.  If you would like to make a regular booklet or have the class write poems to put on the bulletin board, color and black and white templates are also included. As a highlight of this poetry workshop, the class may pick their favorite poem and get it published in the anthology called  Celebration of Young Poets- Creative Communication, Inc.

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A Preview of What’s Inside

Teacher’s Complete Lesson Plans…………………4-13

Poetry Writing Workshop, Student Handouts……14-20

Parts of Speech, & Sensory Cards, ………………………21-33

Free Verse Poems Interactive Notebook &

Worksheets   …………………………………………..34-40

Sensory Interactive Notebook Poems &

Worksheets…………………………………………………41-50

Acrostic Interactive Notebook Poems &

Worksheets…………………………………………….51-56

Limericks & Riddles Interactive Notebook……….57-68

Cinquain Interactive Notebook……………………..69-74

Diamante Interactive Notebook…………………….75-84

Haiku Interactive Notebook…………………………85-91

Shape Poem Interactive Notebook………………….92-98

Grading Rubric……………………………………….  99

Contact Information…………………………………. 100

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Interactrive Poetry Notebook 8 by 8 Cover

 

 

 

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I really enjoyed making this poetry bundle, it was a work of love.

I hope you like it. I’m very open to comments and suggestions that you may have so don’t hesitate to make a comment.

Thank you very much,

Deann


Please visit Socrates Lantern’s Social Media Sites

 





 

 


Back to School and Fall Graphic Organizers: Kindergarten and Primary – and a SURPRISE ONE DAY SALE!

 


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Hello my friends. Are you fans of graphic organizers? Since I have started teaching Special Education, I have become one, particularly of repeating the three-frame format regularly to encourage sequential thinking and organization in our youngest students. It helps them understand, make predictions and retell the stories they hear and read, and plan out those they create.

I say create, and not write, because some of our students do not write, in a conventional way. When focusing on beginning, middle and end; first, next, finally; list creation or anything else that a three-frame organizer can accommodate (and really, the possibilities are wide open, which you will see in the post I wrote here demonstrating some options for the free Earth Day 3-frame graphic organizer).

Regardless of age, motor skills, or writing ability, this format allows space for drawing, stamping, pasting pictures, using stickers, and large invented spelling with the teacher’s translation below!

I have created a bundle of over 20 3-frame graphic organizers for Back-to-School and Fall. The following are the pages contained within it:


Th1 Fall BTS org cover

Available at TpT

Th 3 Summer Memories Th 6 1st day of school

Th2 All About Me Th 5 Best Things About School Th 8 Goals

Th 4 BTS Th 7 blank starting school Th 9 Apples Frame

Th 11 Fall animals Th 12 Fall Th 13 Pumpkins

Th 10 Leaves border Th4 I am thankful for Th 16 Thanksgiving for my family

Th 19 Halloween Th 17 My Halloween Costume Th3 Halloween Night

Th 20 Remembrance Day Th 21 Veteran's Day Lesson & freebie!Earth day freebie.png

I also wanted to let you know that TpT has just announced a one-day surprise Site-wide sale for Wednesday August 19th! I have marked everything in my store down by 20%, and with TpT’s discount (use PROMO code MORE15), that’s 28% savings! I am bundling more items for even more value to you!


Related:


Kind 1st gr Lit Bundle Sq Th1 TFRT BTS & F Special Cover original-1994028-1

Th Dos & don'ts of motivating young children to write Follow That Fun Reading Teacher’s board Graphic Organizers on Pinterest.

Best wishes to you for the rest of your summer, and to those of you returning to school already!


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Science Haiku

Would you like a way to blend Language Arts and Science?   Introduce / review two poetry types and integrate science topics with Science Haiku.    Your students will be able to use this product for classwork, homework or assessment.

This product contains a Science Haiku and Acrostic Poem Format for each of the following subjects:

Science Haiku

Science Haiku

– Sun
– Butterfly
– Recycling
– Chameleons
– Circuits
– Plants
– Flowers
– Frogs

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Science-Haiku-1882013

 

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LANGUAGE ART LESSON- FLAG DAY- Word Search and Double Puzzle with Hidden Message

This exciting Flag Day Word Search & Double Puzzle is a great educational opportunity for the last Days of School. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. This word search will help you teach students about the significance of the stripes and colors of the American Flag. The American Flag is comprised of 13 stripes that symbolize the thirteen original English colonies. The fifty stars symbolize the fifty states.The stars are five pointed.

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FLAG-DAY-Word-Search-and-Double-Puzzle-with-Hidden-Message-1889282

 

It contains

1) Word Search= 27 words (For example)
AMERICA ,BETSY ROSS ,BLUE
ENGLISH, DEMOCRACY, FIFTY
FIVE POINTED, FLAG, GLORY
HOME OF THE BRAVE, HOPE, NATION
HORIZONTAL ,JUNE ,PEACE

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Language Arts Lesson-OCEAN Animals Bingo- Pre K-2 – Writing Prompt

This Ocean Animals BINGO features 12 of the most beloved Ocean Animals . This package is very helpful to celebrate National Aquarium and Zoo month of June in your classroom.

OCEANAnimalsBingoPreKWritingPrompt-page-001

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/OCEAN-Animals-Bingo-Pre-K-2-Writing-Prompt-1813650

The package includes:
– Lesson PlanOCEANAnimalsBingoPreKWritingPrompt-page-002

-BINGO Board- Students can color objects using a single color . Encourage creativity. For example a blue turtle, green shark.etc

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– Once the bingo board is filled, ask students to complete the writing prompt. Each sentence should describe the animal’s color and size. For example: My shark is green and big.

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-Play Bingo. Read different combinations and write them on the board. You can play for the whole board. All combinations should be written on the board. Ask students to verify their worksheets and correct them as they play. Winners can get homework passes.

-Word Search- Great conclusion for word recognition and review. Have students work in small groups and compete for a Homework pass.

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You have enough material to work for a 1-2 days. You can use the vocabulary worksheet as a quiz at the end of the unit.

ENJOY!!!

 

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SPANISH END OF YEAR- MI VERANO- Verbs Power Point/Poster Project with Rubric

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This interactive End of Year Lesson will allow you to have a fun project with your class. The lesson was to introduce AR/ER/IR verbs and combine it with a list of summer activities that your students will be engaging on during summer break. It is a great review of verbs and daily activities. It also can be used to increase conversational skills as students can introduce each other in five minute presentations that can be read straight of their posters or Power Points.

It contains
– Summer Vacation activities including the translation keys
– Writing prompt in conjugated in the first person to create poster
– AR/ER/IR Word Search
-AR/ER/IR  Cross Word Assessment

Objective
1- Allow students to create a presentation in Spanish describing their
Summer plans
2- Develop Speaking proficiency as students read their presentations to the class
3- Develop Listening skills as the students hear other students’ presentations and take notes

Lesson
1- Go over activities vocabulary page with students. Let them work on translating themselves using dictionary /notes.
2- Ask students to complete the Writing prompt for all the statements. Explain to students that names of shows, artist, place and people do not require translation.
3- Ask students to pick 10 activities and to create a Power point slide for each activity. If they wish they can also do a poster using drawings, magazines cutout or clip art to represent activities.
4- Each student will share their Power Point for 5 minutes with the class. They can either show the Power Pointpresentation or show the poster. Grade the poster.
5- The class takes notes and students take turns to translate each presentation. Notes can be in English.
6- Collect projects and grade.
7- Students can compete for Word Search. Divide in small groups and first group to finish gets homework pass.
8- Criss Cross Puzzle- You can use it as a Quiz

Feliz Verano!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/SPANISH-END-OF-YEAR-MI-VERANO-Verbs-Power-PointPoster-Project-with-Rubric-1855337


LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON-DOUGHNUT DAY- JUNE 5-WORD SEARCH

This FUN 20 word  Word Search is the perfect Morning Work Search for June 5. National Doughnut Day is on the first Friday of June to commemorate the “doughnut lassies” who served fresh doughnuts to American soldiers  during World War I.

donuts

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/DOUGHNUT-DAY-JUNE-5-WORD-SEARCH-1882268

 

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Run On Sentences

Those run on sentences seem to pop up all over kids’ papers. This power point will help students learn how to fix these sentences and to practice their new skill. Not bad for $3.00.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Run-On-Sentences-Fixing-Power-Point-Chart-767685

or you may purchase an identical product for the Promethean Board at:

Run Ons – Active Software

Plus, if you want to give your students more practice, here are printables that allow students to work on this important skill. These also sell for $3.00. Check them out.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fixing-Run-On-Sentences-Practice-Pages-736765

If this is not what your after, feel free to stop by my store for a variety of teaching materials for bright students. With 363 products, you’re sure to find something.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gifted-And-Talented-Materials-By-Joyce-Lansky

 


FREE LANGUAGE ARTS LESSON – “Spring Homework Freebie!!”

by Casey Herling

PreK-1st Grade

 

Spring Homework Freebie Cover Page

Spring homework FREEBIE!! Two spring-themed homework pages (answer sheets included). If you like these resources, please check out the whole Spring Homework Packet here!

Slide4 Slide5
“Caterpillar Addition” Mathematics/Writing
We learn to add groups together to find a total, write numerals, and write purposeful marks and letters.

Slide6 Slide7
“Little Lovelies”
Reading/ELA/Fine Motor
We learn to match sounds in words to printed letters (phonics), and strengthen and refine our small muscle skills.

Bandicoot's Bumbershoot

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