An English Unit Of Work Based On The Book ‘Tuesday’ by David Wiesner. A Range of Writing Templates / Frames A useful poster that explains the English verb tenses. *High quality v…

I’m back! I ended up taking two weeks off instead of one, I know. 🙂 But it felt great. It feels great to be back too. At the MTNA National Conference in NYC this year, one of the sessions I attended encouraged teachers to do yearly or quarterly assessments/evaluations of their students. Some teachers accompany… Continue reading Piano Student End-Of-The-Year Evaluations

Getting students ready for the end of year tests can be so time consuming. About two years ago I ended up making my own pre-algebra overview of the year for my tutoring students. This allowed us to practice multiple choice test taking skills and problem solving strategies. There are 39 problems. All of them are multiple choice and include topics like fractions, ratios, proportions, mean, median, mode...you get the drift. Come on over to The Tutor House to get your today. Get Your Copy Here http://www.the-tutor-house.com/

Four tips for how to keep going strong all the way to the end of the year.

A few years ago, a 4th-grade student I had worked with regularly since kindergarten sulked into my office. Her head was down and her arms were crossed. I

Over the past few years, I have struggled and struggled with my students on their innate desire to stand up at the end of class. I would make an almost daily reminder that they need to stay in their seats until the bell rings. I would get frustrated that just as it seemed that the procedure would […]

Hey Ya'll! It's Theresa from True Life I'm a Teacher, and I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged here at "The Peach." It was actually just a month ago, but the end of the school year makes my days and weeks run together and I'm lucky to remember my own name, basically. There is literally not a second of downtime in my classroom this time of the year. I have backup plans for my backup plans. I almost treat it as if there's a substitute...free time = time for behavior issues. Here are some things I have readily available, some are good for 3 minutes worth of time, while others could take 15-20 minutes, and others could take up as much or as little time as what you need. - GoNoodle (seriously, check.this.out) - Read Alouds (random, not necessarily related to anything in particular) - games (math facts around the world, hangman with spelling/vocabulary words) - Activities like THESE themed specifically for the end of the year After almost 180 days of specific management techniques/routines/seating arrangements/ _______ (fill in whatever you've been doing), switching up your routine or trying something new can the most exciting thing ever! Normally, throughout the year, I use "Copeland Cash" as part of a token economy, but by the end of the year, my kiddos are kind of over it (and so am I). I've started using stickers (never underestimate the power of a sticker) and some incentive charts I picked up at Dollar Tree. I pass out stickers like crazy for good behavior, and the kids plop them on their chart. They can turn in a completely sticker-filled chart for anything from our class store! Also, by complete dumb luck, I stumbled upon something great! I had to flip flop writer's workshop and reader's workshop due to testing, and it was like I'd introduced a completely different subject. I mean, hello??? We've been doing these all year, but apparently just changing the order of our schedule was a game-changer. Go figure! I also use these awards {they're FREE} to reward students who are being extra great in the hallways...well, anywhere! Ha! My last tip is to have a countdown going! The excited surrounding the changing of the countdown is pretty surreal! Last year, I just used this simple {and FREE} countdown. We updated it each morning during morning meeting. The kids love it! This year, I put a fun activity in an envelope with the number of days left of school written on the outside. So far, we've enjoyed no shoes in the classroom, a nature walk, a jump rope competition, Blow Pops, and lunch bunch! The mystery surrounding what could possibly be in the envelope is more than my sweet seconds can hardly stand, and their behavior is on point so that they don't miss out on each day's fun activity! You can find all our countdown activities here! 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.

Creative Writer Worksheet – Writing Study Guide (PDF) This week marks the end of our year of creative writer worksheets. From a multitude of possible topics I had to choose one last worksheet, and here it is! I hope this worksheet will serve as a reminder to keep studying and improving yourself as a writer. There’s always more to…

Color by Code : Math – END OF YEAR – FREE VERSION - Common Core Aligned With this cool puzzle your students will enjoy Math at the same time as they review the following Common Core Standards: 1.OA.6 / 2.OA.2 I include the puzzle in black and white. I also include a full color version which you can use as answer key. Are you interested in the FULL VERSION of this material? *** CLICK HERE to check this material for FIRST GRADE *** CLICK HERE to check this material for SECOND GRADE *** CLICK HERE to check this material for THIRD GRADE *** CLICK HERE to check this material for FOURTH GRADE *You can check my Pinterest Boards for more cool materials! MATH BILINGUAL MATERIALS AND GRAPHICS

I am linking up today with Amy Abbott and several other music teachers to share some ideas for surviving the end of the school year. TIPS #1: Keep them moving with singing games and folk dancing Jump Jim Joe This is the closest version I could find to the one I do with my kids.I use the recording from the Amidons and I have the inside circle move because it is a shorter distance to travel. When teaching a double circle dance, make sure you are always on the outside so that you can see everyone! This will eliminate a lot of problems. Our Old Sow I learned this game from Jo Kirk last summer and my kids LOVE IT! TIP #2: Keep them "on track" and engaged in music learning until the end. I usually spend the last 2-3 weeks as review time to practice the concepts we got through that year as well as looking ahead to next year to prepare the upcoming concepts for the fall. I've been using my "Race to the Finish Line" planning guide to keep myself and my kiddos "on track" from January through May. (click the picture above to see it in my TPT store) It includes song lists for each grade as well as an excel file for each grade that lays out the different concepts through the second half of the school year. Since it is in excel, it is totally editable. You can add song titles under each concepts, or move the concepts to a different month depending on where you are in your sequence. TIP #3 Remember the good times! Music should be a JOYFUL experience for your students. It is so much fun to take a moment and reflect on the experiences shared together in music. I created some "Music Memories" pages for each grade level so that I can see what they remember most about our year together, their favorite singing game, favorite piece we listened to and more. The packet is totally editable, so you can add your own questions if you think it is something you would be interested in using with your kids. (click on the picture above to see it in my TPT store) One more fun thing I wanted to share with you was the a bunch of music teachers will be teaming up for another $2Tuesday on TPT. Enter "$2TuesdayMusicFlashSale" in the search bar on TPT to see all of the hugely discounted items from some amazing TPT music teacher/authors. The file from my store will be my melodic flashcards for preparing and practicing sol-mi. (click on the picture above to see it in my store) These flashcards are amazing resources for melodic transitions between songs. I could have a mystery song on the board like this: Starlight Starbright See Saw I don't have cards for "2,4,6,8" but I had my kids construct it using the cards from the other songs. Then we added the rhythms above. Next time we will transfer to the staff. The kit includes 164 flashcards designed to go with the following songs: Bee Bee Bumblebee Blue Bird (1st measure) Come Back Home My Little Chicks Doggie, Dogggie (1st measure) Hey Hey Look at Me Lemonade Rain Rain Go Away See Saw Up and Down See the Old Witch Snail, Snail (1st measure) Starlight Starbright Pitch is shown using: Icons only (can be used in the preparation stage) Icons w/ solfege Icons on staff Rhythm stick notation w/ solfa (where rhythms are appropriate) Icons on staff with solfa Standard notation with solfa inside note head What are your tips for surviving the end of the school year?

Awesome Spring Writing Prompts for First Grade. Narrative, Informative, and Opinion Writing organizers and draft pages included in fun spring themes.

Does the end of the day chaos leave you with a giant case of the grumpies? Have you ever had an amazing day with your kids only to have it ruined by the madness that ensues during pack-up? Do you ever feel like you become a Miss Viola Swamp because you’re just trying to survive and get these kids out while they’re each still in one piece? There was

I recently assigned a one pager final project to my sophomores for their culminating Night project. I wanted to combine as many rigorous ELA content ideas as possible, while also designing a fun project for students that provided them with a bit of choice. This Night one pager project was the perfect way to finish the memoir!

Rhythm Stick Elementary music lesson for Old Town Road that teaches FORM.

Fun, creative December Writing Prompts that inspire imagination and excellent writing form. Fictional and non-fiction story ideas.

With Random Acts of Kindness Day approaching, here are five easy ways to promote kindness across all age groups.

I started using the word “Yet” with my students a couple years ago. When a child says, “But I don’t get it,” or “I can’t do this,” which happens ofte…

October 12, 2013 In second grade classes we have started a Native American Indian music and dance unit. This week, students had the opp...

Vision boards are a great tool to keep students motivated and determined to meet their goals. They are also great for promoting growth mindset.

I love spending the final weeks of school working on projects with my students! While we complete a variety of projects throughout the year, my students become project-making machines after testing!! And we love every minute of it!! At this point in the year, the stress of fitting in curriculum has vanished, students have…

If you're wondering how to run an effective performance review, stick around, because I'm sharing a complete guide to nail these meetings.

We all tend to focus on the evil men in the world and forget some of the truly evil women that have lived. I hope to correct that with this list. Here we have not just serial killers, but other utterly despicable women who have caused tragedy in many people's lives. So, without further ado,

Download the perfect letter to parents to address behavior at school. My copy has my contact info, but I made a general version for all of you. You could just sign your name at the bottom above where the parent signs.

Anger is probably the #1 issue the kids I work with deal with. In this post you will find many great links, worksheets, and resources for addressing anger in children of all ages. One of my favorit…

I'm back!!! Sorry for the gap in posts. The end of the year was a bit crazy for many reasons and blogging had to be put on the back burner...

Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute

One of the biggest barriers keeping teachers from engaging in STEM challenges is the large amount of materials some activities require. This is further complicated this year by the fact that students can’t share materials so teachers need to have enough materials on hand for each individual student.

As this the end of the school year is getting closer and closer my kids are still having trouble with writing complete sentences. My group last year really enjoyed writing...this group not so much. They think it's boring and I'm lucky to get a sentence or two out of them. Today I tried to take it back to the basics of expanding sentences and encouraged them to use adjectives and adverbs. I gave them a piece of paper and had them fold back and forth until they had 4 rectangles on their page. I gave them a short sentence and they wrote it on the outside of their foldable. When we were expanding our sentences I only gave them clues such as lets add an adjective to describe the dog. Lets write an adverb to show how the dog ran, etc.... This was their end result. I will definitely take it! We did one of these every day for a week and they can use them as examples when working on writing independently. How do you encourage your kids writing? Looking for other writing ideas? Check out my Reading and Writing Pinterest board! 

Hi everyone, My little learners have been working SO hard on their reading these past few months and I am VERY excited to show what what they have been up to!

In today's post, I'll share 10 quick, meaningful “follow-up” activities that you can use in your guided reading lessons - all materials are FREE!

20 weeks later and "A Stick Figure Macbeth" has finally come to an end. In case you're just joining me, here's what happened during the past 20 weeks:

I have to be honest. Teaching writing is tough. Each year, I set out to build a community of writers, and it is no easy task. One of the toughest things for my students is writing endings. They always

I have to be honest. Teaching writing is tough. Each year, I set out to build a community of writers, and it is no easy task. One of the toughest things for my students is writing endings. They always

My dividend portfolio currently generates $8,200+ of annual dividend income. Learn the ins and outs of dividend investing to develop more passive income!

I spend the entire school year working to instill a love of reading in each and every one of my students. It certainly is not an easy task!! I have to choose just the right read-alouds to engage all. I work with students individually to establish reading goals and to find books they love at…

When planning for the year, start with the end result in mind. Think about where students to be and work backwards from that ending place.