Story Elements Task Cards and Story Elements Board Game

20 story elements task cards PLUS an additional story elements board game with 16 game cards are both included.

Questions are posed at different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy so that students can review the different elements of stories.  Plus, students are able to review how certain elements contribute to a plot of a story. Printable boxes are included to make storing the task cards and game cards so much easier too!

Use this as a literacy center station activity, or use this resource as a fun test prep activity.

Teaching Main Idea

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There are many kinds of main idea questions.  Knowing how to answer the different types of main idea questions is very helpful.

To review main idea, try out my new game. The game cards, game die, and box are all from my new game.  Each side of the die has a different type of main idea question.  Students get practice answering main idea questions in a variety of ways.
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Scrapbook Comprehension Activities

I think by this blog you realize that a pattern is emerging.  I LOVE HANDS-ON FUN!  Yippee!  Scrapbooking + Comprehension?  Why not?  I find that illustrating topics makes learning new concepts so much easier for students of all ages.

There are so many cute scrapbooking accessories.  They can be used to illustrate concepts.  This image teaches students to draw conclusions about what they read.  The boat and sleeping bag are clues about camping.

This image shows foods that would be eaten at a barbecue.  Students use to clues to determine the time of year and possible special occasion.

These cards can be placed in literacy centers as review cards.  Or, students can use scrapbooking pieces to illustrate reading concepts that they learn.  You can find scrapbook materials at most major craft stores.  Have fun!

3D Literacy Center

We all know that 3D is all the rage these days.  How about bringing the 3D craze to learning centers.  This center is sure to motivate the most reluctant reader to read.  I stock my center with 3D glasses and 3D books.  I have even found some 3D books at  Dollar Tree!

Teaching Critical Thinking

Hello Everyone,
One of the greatest challenges of any educator is teaching students how to think critically.  This blog is part one of two parts on this topic. 

Critical Thinking Game Chart



I label each critical thinking game based on the type of thinking skill it covers.  I usually provide a few minutes each week for students to play the games.  If they are focusing in on games that teach deductive reasoning, I connect deductive reasoning into the guided reading or shared reading lesson by asking students to apply deductive reasoning to determine the setting, possible answers, or for ruling out answers during test prep.

These are some of my favorite games. 

Excellent Deductive Reasoning Games
Mastermind
Guess Who
Chocolate Fix

Excellent Strategic Thinking Games
Othello
Rush Hour
Battleship

Excellent Inductive Reasoning Game
Mastermind (It requires inductive and deductive reasoning)

Upcoming topics in the next week include:  teaching creative and critical thinking, integrating art with reading, literacy center ideas, and organization strategies.

Author's Purpose, Poetry Ideas, Reader's Theater, and More

More ideas!

Shopping for the Author's Purpose

Okay, I guess you can tell by now that I am a big kid at heart.  Sometimes I wonder who has more fun.  It it the students or me?  The students really love this idea.  Using coupons, articles, and any other type of text you can find, have students shop for the author's purpose of the text.  Students have to "shop" for one item in which the author's purpose is to persuade, inform, etc. (you get the idea).  For extra measure, I have mini shopping carts, a toy cash register, and play money.

Reader's Theater Props

I have an admission to make, I always loved playing with fake food as a child!  Seeing pretend food at Michaels and Toys R Us is always so tempting to me.  By the time that I spotted realistic looking pretend bread at Dollar Tree, I had to buy it!  I keep a picnic basket full of pretend food for classroom simulations and readers theater.

Newspaper Poetry

A unit on poetry would not be complete without this literacy center idea.  For my poetry work station, I add clippings from newspapers.  Students have to create poetry using the clipped pieces.

Organization Ideas

Since I co-teach with students of a variety of levels, I have so many printable books.  Organizing the books in clear document covers and arranging them by grade level and topic helps.