Are you ready for Back to School? I’m joining several other upper grade teachers to help you get ready for the next school year, and to give away some AWESOME prizes! You’ll have the op…

We've got your autumn reading list right here.

Une nouvelle coiffure pour une rentrée stylée ! Avec l'arrivée du mois de septembre, il ne faut pas tarder à trouver sa coupe. Avec notre sélection, impossible de ne pas savoir quelle coupe faire avant de retrouver ses collègues !

One Lucky Winner Will Receive an Indoor Smokeless Grill and a 12 Pack of 48 Patties. Total Value of $300.

Enter to Win a 10.00 Gift card and grab a free Back to School Interactive Notebook I hope you had a fantastic summer! I can't believe it's almost coming to an end. I am hoping to start on Sept. 15th. Due to COVID, our school system is still deciding what the school year will look like. I know I need to be prepared for whatever happens. I've been very busy updating my activities so they can be used both in class or on a digital devise. To kick off the new school year, I thought I would do a giveaway for a $10.00 Teacher's Pay Teachers gift card. You many want to use this money for the upcoming sale on TPT. You can save up to 25% off using the code BTS20. I also wanted to showcase this temporarily FREE Back to School Interactive Notebook. Before entering this giveaway in the Rafflecopter below, I first just want to highlight this Back to School Interactive Notebook product that I am particularly proud of and can't wait to share it with you. I have a variety of interactive notebooks that can now be used on a digital devise as well as be printed out for use within the classroom. Students will have fun putting together this Back to School interactive notebook as they introduce themselves and get to know classroom routines and expectations. This is a fabulous way to get your students practicing their skills and show off what they have learned. It has very simple cut-outs that make it super easy for young students who are just getting used to using scissors. Students will cut on the dotted lines and fold on the solid lines and paste into a standard sized 8.5" X 11" Notebook. Students will draw under flaps to answer responses and not have to worry about cutting out small pieces that just get lost. You can find this product embedded within the Kindergarten Literacy Interactive Notebook or you can get it as a free Bonus file as part of Kindergarten Interactive Notebook Bundle which includes Literacy, Math and Science skills. This summer I've been working hard at updating my products so they can be used digitally or be printed for use within the classroom. You can easily upload these digital files to Google Classroom. The best part is that you can change the directions on the digital overlay to differentiate instruction to best meet the needs of your students. Be sure to use the code "BTSBONUS 20" as you checkout to save up to 25% off. My entire store will be on sale including all of my BUNDLES. Best of luck with the Rafflecopter Giveaway. Happy Shopping! Have an amazing school year! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Is anyone ever really ready for the kids going Back to School? I don't think we ever are. As my son gets older, there seems to be more things to buy, but we don't know what he really needs until he starts the class. At least when he was in middle school, they sent a list home and we knew we were ready to go. You can find all your Back to School needs at Walmart! I know we did buy a few folders, notebooks and binders that he uses every year. I'm sure we'll be back every week for

If you need to get your home prepared for the school season, check out these great back to school organizing tips. Plus, snag this free student planner!

It’s almost THAT time again….Back to School! If you’re like me, you need an easy, fun, cute craft to start the year off right….something you can get up on your bulletin board asap and have everyone loving how cute it is, while only you know it was easy peazy! This pack is for you if...

5 Constellations Kids Should Know - a great constellations printable to help kids learn about the main 5 Constellations in the northern hemisphere

This product includes 20 worksheets of various operations used with strip diagrams, 4 of which are blank templates of the various diagrams so that you can fill in whichever numbers/problems you want. This allows you to vary the skills being practiced (whole numbers, decimals, money, etc.), as well a...

A chore chart is a great way to help kids establish good daily habits and routines. Check out these twelve brilliant ideas! #parentingtips #homeorganization

Back to School: 20 Famous Pittsburghers' Yearbook Photos|!!| Can you put names to the faces of these notable Pittsburgh graduates?

Oh no!! It looks like the page you’re seeking isn’t available any longer! I’m so sorry!! BUT- don’t fret, I’m sure I have something else to fit your needs! Were you looking for a free homeschool resource? You’ll find hundreds here! Looking for homeschool encouragement and inspiration? That’s here! Are you looking for a new ... Read More about

I am doing my best not to do any work over the next three days but I am sure you all know how that goes. My little one is napping now and I ...

My Own Rule Of Thumb: Don't create a tub for a certain set of books if you only have 5 books. I try to make sure I have at least ten books before I make a bin

I’m hoping I can get back to weekday blogging soon. Lately, I’ve had no energy when I’ve come home from work. And, this week, many nights I’ve had other plans. I’m a little excited for fall because things start slowing down a bit. I’ll also start working with students this week so I’ll actually have […]

Back to School Sale! Buy One Get One 50% off in the Kiwico Store!

Teach communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and more to set kids up for their future.

Tired of assigning stale study-guide questions? Mix it up with NOVEL NOTES, engaging and visually appealing student-directed graphic organizers that work for any fiction text. A paperless download is also included! When I’m reading a novel with my classes, I usually make a packet of all the notes (printed back-to-back) for each student. I generally require students to complete all six of the handouts, in any order. Sometimes I’ll tell them the chapters to focus on, and other times, I let them choose. The questions are open-ended and thought-provoking, allowing students to do their best work, regardless of what chapter they are reading. Additionally, these Novel Notes are perfect for independent reading. The questions work for any chapter of any text, and even if students are reading different books, they can still complete the same notes page and have unique responses. I love the way these novel notes are differentiated for students of varying abilities. ** ALSO--These are now updated with a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD to use online with your Distance Learning or Paperless classroom!** Other ways you could use these: **Use during Literature Circles instead of traditional role sheets **Group students and have each student complete a different page for the chapter required, allowing for plenty of unique discussions **Leave this novel notes for a sub-plan, so that your novel study doesn’t get sidetracked ***************************************************************************************************************************** You might also be interested in the following resources from my store: Argument Essay Unit Response to Literature Essay Unit Parenthetical Citation and Quote Integration ***************************************************************************** Let's Connect! Follow me for giveaways, freebies, and fun. Making Meaning with Melissa - BLOG Making Meaning with Melissa - INSTAGRAM ************************************************************************* How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: • Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase, you'll see a Provide Feedback button. If you click on it, you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Each time you give feedback, TPT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases. Don’t you just love getting stuff for free?! I really value your feedback, as it helps me improve my products! Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies, and product launches: • Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. You will now receive email updates about this store. ©Copyright 2018 – Making Meaning with Melissa; Updated 2020. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy pages specifically designed for teacher/student use by the original purchaser or licensee. The reproduction of any part of this product is strictly prohibited. Copying any part of this product and/or placing it on the Internet in any form (even a class website) is forbidden. Doing so violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Great Resources for Teaching Kids about God If you are a parent working on raising up your children in a way that teaches the truth about God, I want to provide you with a few of our family favorite resources. (affiliate links) Jesus Storybook Bible – This is my favorite. I tear up throughout the story,...Read More

Howdy peeps! Lindsay here . . . Well, I survived. Barely. Our school district had its first day of school yesterday, but at my scho...

Enter the DNA Getaway Contest at AncestryDNA and you could win a trip to where your ancestors once lived!

Hey Y'all! This is Chandra from Teaching with Crayons and Curls! I hope that you've been enjoying our posts this month and have learned some magical new ideas to use in your classroom with our Teaching Pot of Gold: Making Learning Magical blog series! I don't know about you, but I truly believe that for my students to LEARN, they have to be ENGAGED! So, I'm here to share some magic about how I try my best to keep my students engaged! My husband is also an educator and many of our conversations are school related. He has been so fortunate to attend many more education conferences than I have, and has always been willing (and excited) to share the information he has learned with me! At one of the conferences that he attended, he was very lucky to learn all about Kagan Structures. I had never heard about Kagan Structures before, but now I am completely hooked! I have to figure out a way to be officially trained or find a way to attend a workshop! If you've never heard of Kagan Cooperative Learning, but you are looking for ways to engage your students and provide them with experiences for cooperative learning, I highly suggest looking into these structures! This book is absolutely incredible! One of my favorite structures is Show Down! My students absolutely LOVE this activity and it's a great way to review for a math test while also allowing them to work cooperatively- hello Speaking and Listening standards!!! You can read about the specific directions for how to complete this activity from the creator, Laura Candler, on her blog! I changed it up a little bit in my classroom for my firsties, but it's still very similar! My students always use dry erase boards for this particular strategy. I LOVE using dry erase boards in my classroom because they are fast and easy, and my kids love using them! Win, win! I have my students work in small groups of about 4 students and they sit in a small circle. We usually sit on the floor for this activity and I walk around the classroom to take observations on their work- great quick assessment tool! In the actual directions, there is a team captain that switches a task card over! However, I usually just display the problem students are solving on the Smartboard. The task cards are a great way for you to differentiate the problems each group is working on, but since I usually use this activity for a test review, we are all working on the same problem! Once the problem is up, students get to work independently. I have them try to keep their dry erase boards hidden from the other members of their group, so that they are working independently. Once I notice that most students are done working, I yell "SHOWDOWN" and students turn their boards around so that all the students in their group can see their work. This is when they work cooperatively to discuss how they solved their problems or completed the problem. They can celebrate successes or tutor each other on how to correctly solve the problem. This is NOT a game, nobody wins or gets point! It's truly about working together and teaching each other! My students get so excited everytime I tell them we are about to complete Showdown, which makes my teacher heart so very happy! I would LOVE to know what Kagan Structures you love using in your classroom! Make sure to comment below with your favorites! For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

I love teacher appreciation week because I get to spread some appreciation to my followers. I know that you all work so hard – often without much appreciation – so it’s fun to give away some things that will save you time and help you get some time for yourself.All weekend, I’ll be giving away […]

Win a new Lenovo® LEGION Y540, Yoga C930, or Xbox One X and spin for a chance to instantly win prizes like a Lenovo® Smart Clock or backpack to take back to school!

Hi Folks! There are SO MANY good things in the Altenew September Stamp and Die Release!! I went absolutely nuts in my craft room and before I knew it there were all these cards that I'm dying to share with you! You may have come from the very talented and sweet Kathy Racoosin who I'm sure colored the heck out of several things, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with the Altenew Card Blog 1. Birch Impressionism (with Tall Alpha Dies) Birch Impressionism Stamp Set Tall Alpha Dies As soon as I saw the Birch Impressionism Layering Stamps I knew I had to have them! I'm such a fan of birch trees, and nearly cried when I found out the new owners of our first house cut them all down. I even have birch branches in my home decor. I got this idea late one night in bed and was so excited the next morning to make my Birch, Please cards! : ) When I google-searched the phrase, I saw someone made the trees anthropomorphic and I had to try that as well. (Irenka made a shirt like this on Threadless, but sadly it's no longer there when I click the link.) I just drew the arms in, and then picked a place for the eyes and mouth. For the "birch" on this card I was happy to hack the "birthday" sentiment from Mega Greetings 2 by stamping "bir," then the "c" from "can do it," and finally the "h" from "holidays." The Tall Alpha Dies are just the perfect size. Love that they're tall enough to carry the card, and that they're narrow enough to fit both words on a standard A2-sized card. These totally crack me up! And are so easy to make. Here's another idea with this versatile Birch Impressionism set; use the layering stamps for a background! What a simple, easy background this makes for the Mega Happy die and the newest Build-a-Flower Hellebore. Another idea is to just use one of the solid trees as a stripe and stack whatever colors make you happy! Couldn't be easier with the Mega You die and sentiment from Mega Greetings 2. This would be perfect for masculine and teen cards as well. Not even a birch tree in sight on these Birch Impressionism cards. Lots of options here. Lots of stretching of supplies. 2. Candy Cane Stripe Cover Die Candy Cane Stripe Cover Die This Candy Cane die makes a fabulous background on its own, but when you double it up you get some really fun looks! All you have to do is pick the colors. Here's a blue, white and gray winter birthday card. On a gray card base I layered a white Candy Cane die, and then FLIPPED OVER the blue Candy Cane die. Wouldn't you know, it makes a fun plaid! Look at all the awesome texture!! To step it up a little more, I made some snips in the blue stripe diecut and tucked those under the white stripes in the bottom corner. Again, easy-peasy. A flower from the Plumeria Stamp and Die set tucks in the corner nicely. Here's another version of the card that I made for my godson at University of Illinois. It's masculine enough, with the plaid, and the school colors are orange and blue. I know he'll appreciate the custom card. The possibilities are endless with this formula for the Candy Cane Stripe Die ... and only two passes through your die cutting machine! 3. It's For You It's For You Stamp Set Faceted Stars Stamp Set Altenew's layered florals are amazing, as we all know, and now you have the option for a layered telephone! How cute is this with the typewriter font sentiment?! And of course a "hello" by the receiver. The background is filled with some of the leftover Camellia Japonica flowers on my desk. Here's another card with the Mega You die and a faint Faceted Stars background stamp. The phone is dimensional, and IT VISUALLY RINGS!!! Check out how it moves: When I saw the "ring, ring" stamp in the set I knew I wanted to make the phone ring back and forth like on the cartoons, but I didn't have any of the wobblers. Well, turns out you can make your own! Use a very fine guage wire (26 or 28) and wrap it around a pencil 6-7 times. Then attach one end to the card base and one end to the phone and you have your own wobbler! So fun to make the phone "ring" ... and since the wire is so fine, the ringing motion lasts for many seconds. It also will be flat for mailing. Such a charming look for these vintage phone cards! 4. Modern Poinsettia Stamp Set Modern Poinsettia As if the poinsettia isn't beautiful enough, the small scripty sentiments make it an unbeatable combination for your Christmas cards. Embossing the sentiment and pointsettia in gold was an easy choice. Also, do you notice the background ... our chameleon birch trees again! I used a few different reds to watercolor the poinsettia, as well as some yellows and greens. Here's another look for the Modern Poinsettia ... this time with white leaves and a red sequin center. The background is an impression of the beautiful Mid-Century Frame Die. What a simple card! This set is great for showcasing some quick holiday watercoloring. Well, I know that was a lot to digest, but like I said, this is a heck of a release! Please read on for a free gift offer and prize information. Limited Time Offer! Get a FREE mini inspiration guide with every order from the September 2019 Stamp/Die Release collection! Shop HERE. Free gift will be added to cart automatically. One gift per order. While supplies last! Prizes: To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 9/10/2019 for a chance to win. We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $20 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 9/13/2019. Your next stop on this hop is Kelly Janes! Thanks so much for stopping! If you enjoyed your time here, I'd welcome you to follow me on Instagram for all my latest projects! -Kelly Supplies Used (with affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for your support!!): Birch Impressionism Stamp Set Tall Alpha Dies Candy Cane Stripe Cover Die It's For You Stamp Set Faceted Stars Stamp Set Modern Poinsettia