Types of Nouns Cheat SheetBe sure to follow my TpT store by clicking on the red 'Follow Me' next to my Seller picture to receive notifications of new products and upcoming sales. You can also explore my blog where I offer strategies for a conglomeration of classroom stuff! ...

Short and sweet post today to let you know about an awesome chemistry gossip activity I found for FREE on TpT. I gave it to my physical science students as a

Last week we started our study of verbs. I have used a few free verbs study packs I've found on TPT to introduce the concept. I love thi...

Includes 18 situation cards to be used for a conflict resolution lesson. See mine lesson I use these with here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Conflict-Resolution-Powerpoint-Olive-Branch-2773244, or could be used with my Zax lesson.

This is a top-down web listing question prompts for each of the six levels of Bloom's: Remember, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating. There are 5 question prompts for each level. It can be used for students to generate their own questions. This can be used with fiction or informational texts.

If you've been a blog follower for awhile, you know that I don't always discuss the products I make on TPT for a dedicated post of their own...

I have been busy creating resources for my class and TPT. One topic that has been hard for my students in the past is geometry. There is SOOOOO much vocabulary that students have to understand about the attribute of lines and angles before they can then use those attributes to classify polygons. Heck, who am I kidding...I still had 4th graders who could not identify the basic regular polygons, much less classify quadrilaterals by the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines. And now with Common Core's expectation for 4th graders to be able to use protractors, something we had not done before, I knew I needed more resources. My math program doesn't give students much direct instruction with the attributes of lines, angles, or polygons. Much of the geometry unit uses "Power Polygons", little plastic pieces that students use to make other polygons. While the kids have fun with them, they weren't transferring the concepts to the more abstract questions that might appear on an assessment. This year, I kind of did my own thing, with SMARTBoard files I created after studying exactly what the Common Core expects for geometry. I created a file for lines and angles, which I taught first, and then followed up with a file for Polygons, since students need to understand the attributes of lines and angles before they can classify polygons. After using these files with my class, (and not using my math book..shhh), my students scored the best on the spring assessment that any class of mine had ever done! Many scored in the advanced range for the geometry strand. This summer I tweaked the contents of the files and now have them up on TPT in a variety of formats. I have them bundled with pdf printables or by themselves Geometry SMARTBoard File: Lines and Angles Geometry Printables: Lines and Angles Geometry SMARTBoard and Printables Bundle: Lines and Angles Geometry Vocabulary Cards for Lines and Angles Geometry SMARTBoard File: Polygons Geometry Printables: Polygons Geometry SMARTBoard and Printables Bundle: Polygons Geometry Vocabulary Cards for Polygons Since using a protractor was a new skill for my kiddos, (and maybe a rusty skill for some of you)... like it was for me...I created this "How to Use a Protractor" Freebie. Click the picture to get yours! And finally for the giveaway! Leave me a comment and become a follower, if you aren't already and I'll pick a random name to receive the Geometry product of your choice for free! I'll pick the winner next Sunday, July 28.

How do you teach expository or informational writing in your classroom? Find out how we gather facts, sort facts, and write an informational paragraph.

Anchor Chart to guide students to identify key words to help them determine the point of view of a text. Worksheet to use with any text. Students determine the point of view the story and then write the keywords that let them to choose that point of view. w...

Print, cut and laminate these gorgeous cupcakes and use them in your literacy rotations to reinforce contractions! Cut the top half off and make a fun matching game out of them. This activity can also be used as an independent activity. Includes 18 cupcakes (6 different varieties) with different co...

This Marzano Primary Self-Check Rating Scale is perfect for Pre-K, Kindergarten, First and Second Grades. It is easy for young children to understand. As the teacher gives their lesson, they can have the children "Self Check" throughout to see who is understanding what is being taught and who may ...

Instruction? Reinforcement? Retention? No Problem!! Task cards have quickly earned a prominent spot in my high school science classes. I was slow to the party, thinking that task cards were a tool used by elementary teachers. They couldn't possibly be of any use in my high school classes, right? I could not be more wrong! I think the thing I love best about task cards is that my students never complain about them, and in fact, even ask for them. Teenagers will do anything to avoid school work, but my students have fully accepted the fact that the task cards have helped them study for tests and have improved their grades. For those who might be unfamiliar with task cards, here is a quick description. A task card is usually 1/4th the size of a sheet of paper, and usually printed on thicker paper. I laminate them so that I can use them year after year. Each card contains only one task or question. For students who are easily overwhelmed by too much material or difficult concepts, task cards are a wonderful solution. The student has a card in their hand with only one task or question. They must complete the one task before moving on to the next. It allows the student to focus and concentrate on only one thing at a time, rather than being presented with a long worksheet jam-packed with questions or problems. So without further ado, here are 14 ways you can use task cards in your high school science classes to improve instruction, reinforce concepts and increase retention of the material you are teaching: 1. Lab Stations: This is my personal favorite. Students of all ages get tired of sitting in a desk all day. My students really enjoy being out of their seats and moving about the room. I place 2 to 3 task cards at each lab station and have the students rotate through the stations. This saves paper and printing since only one set of task cards is needed for the class. 2. Competitive Game Formats: Use the cards in a game format. Divide the class into teams. Place the task cards face down in a basket. A team selects a card at random and must complete the task for a point. It is a fun way to review for unit tests and high schoolers love the competitive format. 3. Use task cards during instruction: When teaching difficult concepts, stop periodically and check for understanding. Ask the students to "pull out cards 16 - 20" and complete the tasks to see if they understand the material you have been teaching. It gives the students a chance to relax just a bit and it provides an additional opportunity for them to absorb the mountain of details in a science class. 4. Warm Ups and Bell Ringers: I use this one a lot! As students enter the room, have them complete 4-5 task cards on concepts covered the previous day. I have them write their answers on a sheet of notebook paper and collect them for a quick daily grade. This strategy gets them to work the minute they enter your classroom, and helps them to get focused on the learning for the day. 5. Exit Slips: This strategy requires students to write responses to questions you ask at the end of the class period. It allows the students to reflect on what they have learned during the lesson and allows you to check for mastery of concepts. 6. Use task cards as part of your lab activities: As students are carrying out and completing lab work, place a task card or two at their lab station and require that they include the answers to the task cards as part of their lab report. 7. Homework Assignments: At the end of your lesson, have students copy a few task card questions into their lecture notes to be completed for homework. Checking student answers is a great way to start class the next day. 8. Differentiate, differentiate, differentiate!! How often do we teachers hear those words? Well, task cards are the easiest way I have found to help learners of different ability levels. By making customized sets of cards, you can give a student exactly what they need to be successful. Students can complete the cards you have given them and never know that other students have different sets of cards. 9. Task cards are perfect for early finishers: Task cards are not just for review and reinforcement. They are perfect for enrichment! When students finish their regular work early, you can give them enrichment task cards to deepen their understanding of the concepts being taught. 10. Small group review sessions: My students will often come in before school, after school or during a study hall period to use the task cards to review for an upcoming unit test. 11. End of course testing: Does your state require that students pass an end of course test at the end of the school year? Mine does! When reviewing for my end of course tests, I place different sets of task cards in plastic boxes and arrange them about the room, Students select a set of cards and review through them in small groups. When finished with one set, they select another . 12. Tutoring: My school offers peer tutoring and teacher tutoring after school. Teachers and students alike will borrow my sets of task cards to use during after school tutoring. 13. Hallway Extra Credit Display: Post a few task cards on the wall outside of your classroom door. Completion of the task cards can earn the student a few extra credit points. 14. Bingo! Make a Bingo board out of task cards. Students must complete 5 tasks in a row, column or diagonal to win. Because task cards can be used in so many ways, they have earned a permanent place in my teaching arsenal. They are fun and engaging, and provide excellent opportunities for students of all ability levels to master the subject matter. Here are just a few of the task card sets available in my TpT store: • Cellular Respiration Task Cards • Photosynthesis Task Cards • Lab Clean Up Task Cards • Classification and Taxonomy Task Cards • Matter and Change Task Cards • Metric System Task Cards • Let's Read Science! Common Core Science Task Cards • Microscope Task Cards • Scientific Method Task Cards • Population Ecology Task Cards • Introduction to Ecology Task Cards • Viruses and Bacteria Task Cards Or you can just click this link to view all of them!

Click on the picture for free download from TpT. I've been thinking a lot about formative assessments lately. Formative assessments are all about gathering information from your students - during instruction - in order to inform your teaching. The most obvious place to gather that information is from student work (click HERE to see a post about that), and it can be a lot of fun. Another place to gather information is also from your students. But now you have to get inside their brains, and find out how they assess their own learning. How in the world are we supposed to do this? And why is it important? Let's tackle the importance question first. Studies show that students who are partners in their own assessment show increased engagement in all subject areas, and are more likely to become life-long learners. Also, students who are taught to analyze their own learning show increased motivation to learn. Well, that's enough to convince me. It just makes sense, and I think we can agree that this is important. So the next question is, how do we do this? Here's the bad news. Most students don't walk into your classroom knowing how to assess themselves. In fact, many adults have trouble with metacognition. Here's the good news. Metacognition can be explicitly taught. In fact, every teacher I know is already doing this (though perhaps we are not always aware of the fact that we are teaching metacognition. haha). We model reading strategies such as activating prior knowledge, summarizing, finding the meaning of a word through context, and stopping and rereading, just to name a few. Click on picture to see Pin. Here's another great Pinterest idea. If you have not invested in a tap light, it is fabulous for modeling reading strategies! Just tap the light on when you stop reading to model what you are thinking. Run to Walmart and get one. You won't be sorry. The only downside is that students will remind you to use it every time you interrupt your read aloud. So if the phone rings in the middle of the book, be prepared for 26 voices to yell, "Turn on the light first!" when you go to pick up the phone. When it comes to math, those of us teaching the Common Core State Standards are modeling the 8 Math Practice Standards (see that post, HERE). These practices are vital to teaching students to monitor their own mathematical thinking. We model ourselves not giving up, even when something is difficult to master (MP1), or looking for a shortcut (MP8), etc. (I have to share this... the other day, one of my students was struggling with a math concept. I asked him if he could find a shortcut to use. He looked up at me and said, "I'm going to use the long cut, because I really want to learn this.") So what about metacognition as it relates to self assessment? Well, we have to model that, too. And here is where it gets fun. We get to model for our students that we make mistakes. All. The. Time. Then we walk them through the thought processes involved in fixing the mistakes. I want my students to see mistakes as something positive - as the poster says, mistakes are proof that you are trying! Here are some ideas: Model mispronouncing a word, catching yourself, and then correcting it. Make a mistake on a math problem. Model how to find the correct answer. Revise something. Decide (out loud) in the middle that it is not quite right. Then fix it. Stop in the middle of a sentence and ask, "What am I doing right now? Am I on task? What is my strategy for learning?" © 2011 woodleywonderworks, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio In the past I have used the idea of Marzano's levels of understanding for the process of self assessment. I gave each student the "stoplight" colors to keep on their desks (red - I need help, yellow - I'm trying, green - I can do this), but I felt as though I needed more than color coded paper. I've also used the number system (A student who holds up one finger needs help, and so on), but I wanted to use them together, with the addition of light bulbs to signify learning. I checked on Teachers Pay Teachers, and there are many excellent versions, but nothing quite matched the picture in my mind. So I made my own. (So here you can see my own version of self assessment posters, a rubric, and cards for students to keep in/on their desks. There's also a notebook page. Click on the picture to take you to my TpT store and see for yourself, if you like.) This process of going from 'not knowing' to 'trying' to 'understanding' to 'explaining' also has to be modeled for students. Here are some ideas: Model those mistakes, and why they are a good thing. Model that it's okay to ask for help. Model that everyone is different, and some people need more practice than others. (I use drawing for this one, because I'm terrible at it, but I still try. And I need lots of practice!) Model that being on #1 is not a bad thing. It just means that you haven't learned something yet. (I use the Spanish language for this example. Sometimes I don't even want to try, because I know I will make mistakes. About half of my third graders are bilingual, and when I mispronounce something, they let me know!) Model the difference between explaining how to do something and simply giving the answer. Thank you for reading along as I think about my thinking (and teaching). I truly believe that writing this blog is helping me to become a better teacher. I'm sure that most of you are light years beyond me in this journey, and I'm humbled by the fact that you choose to read my meanderings. I hope you can use the free posters at the beginning of this post, and I hope you will come back again to read some more. Next time, I'll show you my new KWL charts. And KWHL charts, too. Happy Self Assessment and Metacognition,

Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...

Hello, everybody! And happy summer! In this post, I am going to show you how to teach some basic critical thinking skills to young ch...

Roll and Re-Tell Game Instructions Card In this game you will work with your group, take it in turns to read out one of the stories from the story cards, pick any one you like and read it out loud to your group. Once the story is read, go around the circle with each student rolling the dice and answering the question related to the number they rolled, share your answer to the question with your group, pass the dice to the next person to have a go. Once you have all had a role, pick a new reader and a new story to complete the game again with another story. Extension: Students can try and come up with their own questions to ask about their book for a six-sided dice. Pack up, collect the story cards and put them back in the bag.

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These job cards are for cooperative learning groups. Each card has the job name and tasks for each student to complete. ...

Use to supplement your lessons on Adverbs! You can hang up in the room or put in student notebooks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HOW TO GET TPT CREDITS ON FUTURE PURCHASES: -Go to MY PURCHASES page. - You will see a PROVIDE FEEDBACK button. - Please leave a star rating and a comment. This will help lower the cost for a future purchase. Remember to click the GREEN STAR under my name to become a follower! Thanks again for purchasing

Discover fun and developmentally appropriate teaching strategies and resources tailored for your primary classroom. Let me show you how I make learning hands-on and engaging through sensory, game-play, and creative teaching strategies!

Antonyms are words that are opposites. Write the correct antonym next to each word. ...

A simplified version of notes, rests, what they look like and how much they're worth. Color coded and plain versions included.

One of the most important elements of teaching is providing students with plenty of opportunities to actively engage in learning with their peers. This blog post covers my favorite cooperative learning strategies that I have used in my classroom. These activities can be used across all subjects and several grade levels (3-6+). Bonus: I created […]

A great poster to have in your class, so students can have a list of synonyms for common words used in writing.

(Click Here to get the printable version of the exercise!) Are you right-brained or left-brained? That is the question! Understanding which side of your brain you use most to learn can totally tran…

Use this list of free resources to use as social emotional learning activities to help you work with kids and young adults. As a special educator for 10 years, I can say without a doubt that we need more social emotional learning supports for kids and young adults. Some of my best days in the classr

No matter what grade or content area you teach, I think we can all agree that vocabulary lessons are usually the least favorite. I mean…it’s looking up definitions and reciting and memorizing and quizzing and so on… But it doesn’t have to be this way! Try my FREE “Vocabulary Categories” activity. My students realize that ... Read More about Vocabulary Activity That’s Actually FUN!

When I was a brand new teacher, I thought the quality of my teaching was ultimately tied to the quality of my resources, so I spent hours searching for great materials. I believed that if I had quality resources, ones that my students enjoyed and were engaged with, then that would make me a good teacher. Well, I still believe that having quality resources is extremely important, but over the years I've also come to realize that being a good teacher is SO much more than the tools in my toolbox. Everyday has a million moving parts that need our constant attention, focus, knowledge and skills of best practice. So even though I now believe that being a good teacher is more than the quality of my teaching materials, knowing that I have a good variety of kid tested and teacher approved resources at my fingertips allows me the time and energy to focus on other aspects of my teaching day. So today, as a follow-up to my original "favorite resources" post, I want to share with you MORE of my "go-to" resources that I consistently use in my classroom with my students! Build a Sentence I love this resource, and so do my students! This resource gets beginning and intermediate ELs speaking and writing! First, a photograph is posted. Then students generate a word bank by telling what they see in the picture. I ask for one word at a time. No matter the level of my ELs, everyone can come up with at least a word or two. I get additional details by asking about colors and quantities of items they see. Once our word bank is sufficient, they use those words to create varying lengths of sentences. They are asked to create a 3 word sentence, then a four word sentence, then a five word sentence, and so on. I'll ask, "Who thinks they can come up with a 4 word sentence?" My students all start thinking and counting on their fingers, then quickly a hand shoots up, then another. They love it! This activity is heavily scaffolded for beginners. Students orally create the word bank and sentences, but I write the words and sentences on the board using correct spelling and grammar. Then they copy. I am a big believer in modeling for beginners, and I model a LOT! This activity is a definite favorite among my students. They practice their oral language skills as well as their writing skills. I do this with my small groups at least once a month. Writing with English Learners I created this resource to prep my students for the writing portion of the annual language proficiency assessment. In Virginia, where I'm from, ESL students take the WIDA ACCESS each winter. Being that writing is the literacy skill that usually takes the longest to develop, I wanted to explicitly teach the skills students needed to be most successful on this assessment. In my lesson plans, I incorporate a listening, reading, speaking and writing focus each week. For the writing focus, I usually pull from these two resources. Whether I am teaching how to stretch out words, write a story, explain a process or analyze information, this resource allows me to choose the skills my particular groups need to work on. For my intermediate and advanced ELs in grades 3-6, I focus on "language formats" found in writing. Whether they are asked to describe, provide an opinion, analyze or compare and contrast, understanding and applying the language with that format is key. 5 Ws and H - A Writing Resource for Adding Details This resource is a new favorite! It teaches students to add meaningful details to their sentences. I often ask students to "tell me more." This writing activity gets them in the habit of giving more information in their sentences by adding thoughtful details. This resource is designed for gradual release. The first set of activities can be done in a whole group setting. A photograph is projected and students are asked to answer the 5W & H questions about the picture. This information is then used to write two thoughtful sentences. As students become more proficient with adding details to their sentences, the next set of activities can be done in either a small group setting or as an independent activity. The last set of activities are writing prompts that students can independently respond to in their notebooks. Posters are included which add a great visual reference for a classroom display. Restate the Question This is a simple, yet effective, activity that teaches students to restate the question or prompt in their answers, both orally and in writing. As a writing activity, either project a prompt on the whiteboard and have students write their responses in their notebooks, or print out the question and have them glue it into their notebook. This takes modeling the first several times, but afterwards should be a quick independent activity. For a speaking activity, pull out a card and ask the question. Students take turns answering several of the questions. This works great in a small group setting. My students often ask if we can keep on "playing." VIDEOS! VIDEOS! VIDEOS! Incorporating videos into my lessons is a MUST! When I plan a new unit, one of the first things I do is to scour the internet looking for fun and meaningful videos. My go to place is YouTube. There are some real gems out there, but it does take some looking. When I find a goody, it goes into my collection and I use it again and again. Here is a blog post that I wrote about using short films to teach reading comprehension skills. I continue to add to the list as I find new films. Click on the image to see the list! Check out my Short Film Bundle here. Monthly Themed Vocabulary This is an great resource to use with primary learners and beginning ELs. Each month contains 20 vocabulary words. I love this because it's relevant to what's happening around students at the given time of year. Along with the terms, which I use as a monthly word wall, matching cards, writing activities, a vocabulary booklet and BINGO games are included. In closing... As I create my weekly lesson plans, these "tried and true" resources are many of the activities that my students use throughout the school year. Having a collection of reliable and engaging materials available frees up the time I'd otherwise spend searching. I'm sure you have your go-to resources too. Happy teaching!! (Affiliate Link)

Basic Math Formulas Poster Purchase a hard copy of this poster with varied sizes available at Basic Math Formulas Print by mathposters...

Limericks are a fun way to practice writing poetry while celebrating St. Patrick's Day! My students loved coming up with Limericks for weeks after this activity! I used our Mimio and projected this document and worked along with my students. On the last page there are some fun easy independent th...

Give this to your students during your study of Parallel, Perpendicular, and Intersecting lines. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HOW TO GET TPT CREDITS ON FUTURE PURCHASES: - Go to MY PURCHASES page. - You will see a PROVIDE FEEDBACK button. - Please leave a star rating and a comment. This will help lower the cost for a future purchase. Remember to click the GREEN STAR under my name to become a follower! Thanks again for purchasing!