Thursday, April 26, 2012

How to Make Emergency Kits for Kids That Need Extra Practice


Emergency kits are a great desk buddy for kids that might forget reading strategies or steps in math.  

Access task cards that TEACH and REVIEW. Plus, they come with  printable storage boxes too. Click an image.




If you have a student that might forget reading strategies, comprehension skills, how to multiply negative numbers, add three-digit numbers, etc., place an extra "how to" guide inside of a felt pocket and place it inside of a basket for students to grab as needed.  Follow Creativity on my Pinterest board for more unique teaching ideas. Click Here


Step One:  Get a 8 1/2 by 11 (or anything close to it) piece of felt.  

Step Two:  Fold the felt in half and stitch the edges.  

Step Three:  Stitch two places on the fold to create three pockets.  Use fabric glue instead of sewing if preferred.


Step Four:  Create a tag by tracing a large circle from a recycled paper bag and a smaller circle on card stock paper.  Attach the circles.

Step Five:  Punch a hole at the top of the tag and attach with twine.


Place each emergency kit inside of a basket.



Inside of the geometry kit are step-by-step flashcards and questions that provide practice and reinforcement with learning perimeter.  This is from my product called Flash Card It!  Perimeter Click Here
The flashcards teach students how to find the perimeter of a variety of shapes and have the answers attached.



This is what is inside of the punctuation rules kit.  It includes reminders and examples about when and how to punctuate.  This is a handy reference for the students that just cannot remember punctuation rules.

Although these are a few examples, kits can be made to go with any topic.  Instead of a student asking a teacher to repeat themselves after a lesson, this is an inviting way to encourage students to monitor their own understanding and review the lesson during independent practice.

You might also like the following previous posts:


                                                     




Monday, April 23, 2012

TASK CARDS TO TEACH THE THEME OF A TEXT



Do you have students that read a book but just don't understand the central message or theme?   I really needed materials that provided enough practice with common themes across the grade levels. The small amount of information that I did find out there had nothing to do will themes that students really need to know.  Friendship, kindness and etc. are just not themes that are covered in stories in elementary school (and are really not themes covered in the Common Core suggested literature). I literally read hundreds of books (Really I did. I was that frustrated) to uncover the most common themes found in elementary school literature.   After several years of research and piece-by-piece, this document was born.

I am including a link to a free portion of this document.  It includes theme literacy center cards that can be used with any book or magazine.  Click Here


The link to the complete document is below.  The complete document is one of my top sellers. 
  • It is aligned to the Common Core Standards and Common Core Publisher Specification documents.  
  • It is differentiated to make guided reading instruction and differentiation soooo much easier (I am educator and truly understand the struggle).
  • Literature and Informational Text passages are both included RL.2, RI.2, plus Speaking and Listening Standard SL.3 are each covered.
  • The wording includes Common Core terminology such as theme, central idea, etc. to ensure that students get adequate practice with a variety of theme wording formats.
  • The document also includes theme wall charts.
  • A deck of Common Core flashcards are included if you just need a quick review.
  • Plus more!
  • Click Here to Access It


 


  

Perimeter Flashcards




Do your students need to review perimeter?  These flashcards are not only self-checking, they also EXPLAIN how to figure out the perimeter.  As students progress through the flashcards, they are also introduced to different types of perimeter questions.  For more information,CLICK HERE

Friday, April 20, 2012

Class Museum Project and a Freebie


We have so many exciting things going on that I wanted to share some pics.  The Common Core Standards for reading are heavy on integrated thematic units.  These units go even deeper than traditional thematic units.  

The units the students have been working on are aligned the Common Core Standards and have actually been fun.  Third grade students are researching Ancient Civilizations and the fourth and fifth grade students are researching Colonial America (the fifth graders wanted to do the same unit as the fourth graders).

One student chose to focus on weaving and how clothes were made in colonial times.  After reading and annotating the text, I showed her how to weave using two pencils.  The student was able to live like a colonial woman for a minutes.

These are the notes from another student.  This student is studying   ancient civilizations.  They will apply what they have learned to create an archaeological dig and provide a guided tour to other students to explain life in Ancient Rome.
Students are reading multiple sources on the same topic and will apply what they have learned about text features to organize their writings with subheadings, illustrations, and captions.  In the next few weeks I will show the pics of the final projects.

This post also includes a link for 2 free templates for 3D reading response worksheets.  I will be back with more freebies!



Monday, April 16, 2012

20,000 Page View Celebration

Wow!  20,000 page views in just a few months?  You guys are fantastic.  You know what 20,000 means right?  Fun freebies!  Check back throughout the week.  This will be fun!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Cute Classroom Ideas from Around the Blog World

Hi guys!  Last week I attended training.  Although it was fun, I am definitely glad to be back.  Just as I enjoy sharing my ideas, I enjoy sharing fun and creative ideas from other people.  Due to copyright concerns, I will not post any pics today.  Instead, I am including links to some of my favorite ideas from Pinterest and blogs.  


Click on the links below for great ideas!


Math
Math Foldable Idea (Regrouping)
Math Playing Card Mats
Free Math Flashcards
Free Math Flashcards Part 2

Poetry
Poem Tree

Grammar
Sentence Surgery
Preposition Ideas

Reading
Sight Word Parking Lot
Reading Strategy Posters

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Pasta Party Similes & Metaphors





We all love a great pizza and pasta party.  This collection of TWO learning centers is a great way to review and keep learning fun.  This fun set of learning centers is aligned to Common Core Standard RL.4.   

In game one, students learn about similes and metaphors by being first to place the correct simile or metaphor into the matching "pizza box".

In game two, kids serve as "chefs" by placing simile noodles on one plate and metaphor noodles onto another plate.


Click on the link for more information.  Click Here