Children learn to read better when they have support at home, but sometimes parents just don’t know how best to help their kids. Home reading can often be a battle, with parents unsure of how to help their child with reading at home (parents do not have teaching degrees, after all). I created these bookmarks to help my families avoid common parental mistakes that were often counter-productive or caused my students to stop enjoying reading at home. Help families support students in learning to read - Educate your parents about how they should be listening to reading. This is a great handout for Back to School Night, Open House, Meet the Teacher, Parent Teacher Conferences, or for when you send home reading books. These are also helpful for parent volunteers so they know how to listen to children read. Includes: 2 versions of my Pause, Prompt, Praise bookmarks Parent letter with detailed explanation of how they can support reading at home. These bookmarks help create a love of reading by making home-reading a joyful, positive, worthwhile experience for students and families. I’ve been using them for the last 5 years and parents are always grateful for the advice. The focus of these bookmarks is the Pause-Prompt-Praise process, which encourages listeners to help children independently use reading skills and strategies when trying to decode text. How to Use: Give out these “Pause-Prompt-Praise” bookmarks on Back-to-School night, or send them home early in the year, along with the included Parent Letter. I also often use them during Parent Teacher Conferences, because parents always ask how they can help their child with reading at home. The bookmarks will help parents know exactly what they can say to their child when listening to their reading. You can even use these as a basis for a Parent Education night or a demonstration video about how to support reading at home. They’re great for parent volunteers, buddy readers, or Teaching Assistants too. Your parents (and students) will appreciate the clear instructions and caring, positive tone of these “Help Me Learn to Read” bookmarks. There are 2 versions of the bookmark. Just print on card-stock and send home with the included parent letter. Thank you for supporting your students and their families as we grow great readers! As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! ©HOTLIB, 2022 All rights reserved by author. For Single Classroom/Single Teacher Use Only.

**Bring some Christmas cheer into your classroom with these short, easy-to-learn poems you can use for shared reading or guided reading lessons, as Christmas songs, or as part of a holiday display or performance. ** There are 11 original poems, each with only 4 lines, so your young learners can easily read, understand, and remember them. The rich Christmas vocabulary is combined with sight words so your students can learn to decode more difficult words in context. Included: Full colour version for classroom display or front of class teaching. Black and white version to print and give to students to read and color. Cover pages to create a Christmas Poem Book for each student Use these poems for: Shared reading Centres Early finishers (students can colour in the pages or prepare a recital for the class) Whole class reading activities Guided reading in small groups Class or school performances Chants or songs Fluency practice Poetry study A fun build-up to the Winter break Read Aloud or Circle Time Adding to a poetry journal These rhyming poems focus on the fun aspects of the holiday season, rather than the religious meaning, so they can be used by all. They feature: Food: candy canes, gingerbread, cookies, and cake Family Santa Rudolph, reindeer, and sleighs Gifts Christmas trees and decorations Winter/Snow Christmas stockings These poems are sure to be a hit this December with your Early Years, Reception, Year One and Year Two students, increasing their confidence and fluency as readers while still celebrating the Christmas season. Merry Christmas, everyone! All my resources are hands-on, open-ended, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! Click my shop name to see my other resources: Board Games for traditional folktales Home Reading - Parent Support letters and bookmarks Full-Sentence Classroom Labels

Teach your students how the English spelling system really works (beyond just phonics) - starting with how words are built (prefixes, bases, suffixes, and the ‘joins’ between them). This complete morphology lesson/unit is not ‘cute’ or babyish and it is open-ended, so it can be used with all levels and ages. Based on research by a dyslexic scholar, the explanations and ‘rules’ included will show your students that English spelling does make sense and that there are reasons why words are spelled the way they are. No more frustration, guesswork or rote learning required. This 45-page printable PDF includes: Lesson Plan Ideas for Use Open-Ended Pre-Assessment Open-Ended Post-Assessment 10 full-color visual explanations 10 blackline Practice sheets 10 answer sheets 11 blackline open-ended extension sheets The Lesson Plan is: Ready to use - all you need is a whiteboard and the print-outs Inquiry-based, starting with the gathering of evidence and the finding of patterns. Open-ended, with opportunities to extend the learning further. Balanced between inquiry, practice, and extension. The Visual Explanations, 10 Practice Sheets and 11 open-ended extension sheets cover: How words are built (morphemes: prefixes, bases, suffixes). Changes that can happen when you add a suffix. Prefixes Adding consonant suffixes Consonant suffix examples Adding vowel suffixes When vowel suffixes cause doubling (in monosyllables) When vowel suffixes cause doubling (in polysyllables) When vowel suffixes take away the <e> Vowel suffix examples The Highly-Visual Explanation Pages can be used as mini-posters, on screen, in student journals, or as a teaching aid. This explanation of spelling rules is backed up by decades of research by a dyslexic scholar into linguistics and the history of the English spelling system (orthography), including right back to when Samuel Johnson was choosing which spellings to use when he wrote the first definitive English language dictionary. You will not find bogus rules like ‘i before e except after c’ in this collection! An understanding of English orthography also develops strengths in vocabulary, reading, oral language and comprehension, and can be used to complement the Science of Reading, Orton-Gillingham, and Structured Literacy approaches. Suggested Lesson Plan/Structure: Optional: Students complete open-ended pre-assessment about their knowledge of why words are spelled the way they are.

Empower your students with an understanding of how the English spelling system really works (beyond just phonics) - starting with this simple and very easily-mastered rule - When to use C, K, or CK at the beginning or the end of a word. The Two Practice Sheets include: When to use a <c> or a <k> at the beginning of a word (initial sound) When to use a <k> or <ck> at the end of a word (final sound) A clear visual diagram explaining the rule A short and memorable written statement explaining the rule Opportunities to successfully apply understanding with multiple levels of words Answers keys for student self-marking or class discussion if desired The Five Highly-Visual Explanation Pages Include: When to use a <c> or a <k> at the beginning of a word (initial sound) When to use a <k> or <ck> at the end of a word (final sound) Why some words appear to not follow the rules (koala, kangaroo, etc.) Why we need to use a <k> and not a <c> before <e>, <i>, or <y> Which words can end with <c> (e.g. words with suffix <-ic>) Enlarge the explanation visuals to use as posters or teaching aids, or project them on your screen. Then have students complete the practice sheets. Students (and you) will be amazed how ‘easy’ it is to get every word right (even the more difficult words), once they know the rule. These explanations and practice sheets are not ‘cutesy’ or ‘babyish’, so they’re suitable for all ages. After your students have completed this lesson, encourage them to be on the lookout for more examples of <c>, <k> and <ck> words. You could even create an interactive Word Inquiry or spelling bulletin board for them to add their discoveries to throughout the year (post-it notes work really well for this). Ways to Use: Whole Class Teaching Focus on one spelling concept, pattern, or convention at a time. Enlarge each explanation page or project onto your screen. Have students complete the practice sheets afterwards. Individuals When students make a spelling mistake or ask you how to spell a word, you can now direct them to a poster explaining why the word is spelled the way it is, or remind them of the rules you have studied and the practice they have done. Small Groups Group students according to their spelling needs when you notice a few students making the same kinds of errors. Conduct mini-lessons using this resource. Display Set up a spelling or word study bulletin board - you and your students can add more examples to the display throughout the year, as you discover more words. Teachable Moments Seize each teachable moment during class read-alouds, science lessons, unit discussions, or any time an interesting word appears. Have students discuss what the word means (its etymology), how it is built (its morphology) and the letters used to represent how it sounds (its phonology). Add to a class word-study display or book. Links to resources for researching words are included.

No more bells, no more bells. We’ll sleep in every day! Oh what fun it is to be a teacher on holiday, yay! This Teacher Edition Jingle Bells parody will lighten the mood at your end-of-term or end of semester meetings or performances. This is a fun song for school staff and faculty to sing as we approach Christmas and the holidays. It features teacher in-jokes about those struggles and joys we all share as educators, and how much we all all looking forward to turning off the alarm for a few weeks and enjoying our holidays. You get: A beautiful 1-page printable PDF. It is in full-color but will also look great printed in black and white/greyscale If you’re looking a longer song, with both digital and printable versions - check out my 12 Days of Christmas Teacher Edition. Finding background music: There are dozens of versions available online, including on YouTube and Spotify. Search for “Jingle Bells Instrumental” or “Jingle Bells Background Music” (I can’t include this audio with the product due to copyright). SLT or Headteachers: use this as a fun teambuilding activity to get your team laughing, singing, and having fun together. Let’s end the calendar year on a high note. Have fun, and Merry Christmas! The lyrics are my own original creation - ©HOTLIB- Traditional Jingle Bells song lyrics and melody are in the public domain. As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!

Do you want to naturally immerse your students in language and create authentic reading opportunities? Reinforce sight words, English grammar, and punctuation using these 60 Complete Sentence Classroom Labels. These classroom labels are more than just classroom decor, they are a teaching tool! I created these full-sentence labels for my beginning readers and my dual-language ESL/EAL students, so that they were immersed in written language and in English sentence structure wherever they looked. Most classroom labels only contain single-word vocabulary (e.g. “table”) - I wanted my labels to do more: to teach sight words, grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation too (e.g. “This is a table.”). Just print the PDF, cut the labels, and stick onto items around your room. These complete-sentence classroom labels can be used in different ways, including: As a back-to-school activity - have students find the items and attach the labels, using sticky-tack (you can use tape to put the labels on more permanently later). As standard classroom labels, to create a print-rich environment. As simple, professional-looking classroom decor. To teach the correct usage of this is/these are; here is/here are; this is a/this is the. To reinforce sight words: this, these, a, the, here, is, are. To reinforce beginning and end punctuation (capital/uppercase letters, and periods/full stops). As a paired game - one child holds up a label, the other child must read it and find where it belongs. As a group game - give each group a label, and see which group finds their item first. As models for students to create their own labels (“Here are my pencils.”, “This is my water bottle.” etc) - a great beginning of year authentic writing activity. As part of a ‘read the room’ reading centre or activity. I have focused mainly on larger items such as furniture, because the labels are 11 inches long (the width of a landscape page) . I wanted the students to really ‘see’ the sentences wherever they looked, so they could read them easily (I found it is better to use single words for smaller items like pencils and crayons). I hope you find these labels useful! All my resources are hands-on, open-ended, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! ©HOTLIB, 2022 All rights reserved by author. For Single Classroom/Single Teacher Use Only. As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!

Nine printers jamming… eight bells-a-ringing… and a break til January! Want to inject some fun and laughter into your meetings or staff holiday parties? This Teacher Edition Twelve Days of Christmas will lighten the mood at your end-of-term meetings or performances. This is a fun song for school staff and faculty to sing as we approach Christmas and the holidays. It features teacher in-jokes about those struggles and joys we all share as educators, including: Printers jamming Extra meetings Report cards to write Duties to cover **You get: PDF Printable - 1 page per verse, plus a page with the complete song. Finding background music: There are dozens of versions available online, including on YouTube and Spotify. Search for “12 Days of Christmas Instrumental” (I can’t include this audio with the product due to copyright) SLT and Headteachers: use this as a fun teambuilding activity to get your team laughing, singing, and having fun together. Let’s end the calendar year on a high note. Have fun, and Merry Christmas! The lyrics are my own original creation - ©HOTLIB - Original lyrics and melody are in the public domain. As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!

This set of 51 posters includes visual explanations of every major English spelling rule, convention, and pattern. Teach your students how spelling really works! With a focus on meaning, word structure, and graphemes/phonemes - etymology, morphology, and phonology - it is more than just phonics. Explanations include: How spelling works: 3 questions to help you spell: *What does the word mean? (what are the related words?) *How is it built? (prefixes, bases, suffixes - and the joins in between) *What letters can you use to show how it sounds? (What are the rules for the use of each letter?) The spelling of the base stays the same even when pronunciation changes. Where a word comes from will affect its spelling (etymology). The history of a word and how it has changed over time will affect its spelling. Silent letters - using related words that are connected in meaning. Homophones - words with different meanings will have different spellings. How words are built (prefixes, bases, suffixes). Changes that can happen when you add a suffix. Vowels Consonants Prefixes Adding consonant suffixes Consonant suffix examples Adding vowel suffixes When vowel suffixes cause doubling When vowel suffixes take away the <e> Vowel suffix examples When to use the plural -s or -es suffix. The -ed suffix and its 3 sounds: /t/, /id/ and /d/. Compound words <C> or <K> to represent /k/ at the beginning of a word. When <C> represents /k/ and when it represents /s/ Words that start with <K> not followed by <e>, <i> or <y>. Writing the /k/ sound at the end of a word. When to use <K> or <CK> at the end of a word. When to use <CH> or <TCH> at the end of a word. When to use <GE> or <DGE> at the end of a word. When to double the <L> at the end of a word. When to double the <Z> at the end of a word. When to double the <F> at the end of a word. When to double the <S> at the end of a word. You can’t end a word with <V>. Why you can’t write <UU>, <VV> or <UV>. You can’t end an English word with <J>. Why some words do end with <U>, <V>, <I> or <J>. The only word that ends with <U> is <YOU>! The only complete English word that ends with <I> is <I>! Using <Y> or <IE> at the end of a word, instead of <I>. Why and how <I> and <Y> share their job. When to replace a <Y> with an <I>. Reasons to keep a <Y> in the middle of a word. Why we don’t write <ii>. Changing <Y> to an <I> when adding a suffix. <Q> is always followed by <U> to make <QU>. Don’t write the same letter three times in a row. Why <VV> and <UU> = <W> Why <W> does not double. Why <X> does not double. The many jobs of the single, silent <e> at the end of a word. Digraphs and Trigraphs. The Trigraph <igh>.

Playing games is a fun way to help your students develop their reading comprehension, but it’s also a great Social Emotional Learning (SEL) activity which helps students learn to take turns, co-operate, be good winners and good losers (good sports). The questions on this fairy tale game board encourage students to practice their English reading and speaking skills while learning a whole lot of extra skills as well. Do you need an easy, no-prep, yet FUN reading comprehension activity for your young students or EAL / ESL / ELL learners? This fun Goldilocks and the Three Bears Board Game only requires printing and handing out - no dice are needed, due to the built-in spinner. Don’t we all just hate trying to find enough dice for students to play games in class? Students will be answering questions about the text, acting out some of the lines, learning to take turns, and having fun! This is prefect for ESL / ELL /EAL English Language Learners as well as Early Childhood / Early Years PreK, Kindergarten, and Grade One students. Use the game as a centre, a reading comprehension activity or for listening comprehension, a fun extension for early finishers, as a way to get kids talking and working together, or as an activity to send home for families. There’s a reason why fairy-tales and folktales are perennial favorites - they are great stories that kids love to read or listen to over and over again, and they teach important morals or life lessons. Instructions: Have your students read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or you can read the book to them. Print the gameboard in your chosen size and version. I have included: full color, low-ink color black & white. No more lost dice! How to use the spinner: You will need: A pencil A paperclip Put the point of the pencil inside the paper clip, on the centre of the spinner. Hold the pencil with one hand and flick the paperclip with a finger of the other hand. The paperclip will spin then point to a number. This is the number of spaces you move. Your students will love this game! All my resources are hands-on, open-ended, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!

Do you need an easy, no-prep, yet FUN reading comprehension activity for your young students or EAL / ESL / ELL learners? This Three Little Pigs Board Game just requires printing and handing out - no dice are needed due to the built-in spinner. Students will be answering questions about the text, acting out some of the lines, learning to take turns, and having fun! Use the game as a centre, a reading comprehension activity, a fun extension for early finishers, as a way to get kids talking and working together, or as an activity to send home for families. Playing games is a fun way to help your students develop their understanding of the text, but it’s also a great Social Emotional Learning (SEL) activity, helping students learn to take turns, co-operate, be good winners and good losers (good sports). The questions on the game board encourage students to practice their English reading and speaking skills as well. There’s a reason why fairy-tales and folktales are perennial favorites - they are good stories with morals that help children learn important concepts for life. The Three Little Pigs teaches that effort pays off in the end (it was harder to build the brick house, but it kept the pig safe from the wolf, whereas the easier and quicker options, the straw and sticks, did not). Instructions: Have your students read The Three Little Pigs, or you can read the book to them. Print the gameboard in your chosen size and version. I have included: full colour, low-ink colour black & white. How to use the spinner: You will need: A pencil A paper clip Put the point of the pencil inside the paper clip, on the centre of the spinner. Hold the pencil with one hand and flick the paperclip with a finger of the other hand. The paperclip will spin then point to a number. This is the number of spaces you move. All my resources are hands-on, open-ended, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!

Do you need an easy, no-prep, yet FUN reading comprehension activity for your young students or EAL / ESL / ELL learners? This fun Three Billy Goats Gruff Board Game only requires printing and handing out - no dice are needed due to the built-in spinner. Students will be answering questions about the text, acting out some of the lines, learning to take turns, and having fun! Playing games is a fun way to help your students develop their understanding of the text, but it’s also a great Social Emotional Learning (SEL) activity, helping students learn to take turns, co-operate, be good winners and good losers (good sports). The questions on the fairy tale game board encourage students to practice their English reading and speaking skills as well. Use the game as a centre, a reading comprehension activity or for listening comprehension, a fun extension for early finishers, as a way to get kids talking and working together, or as an activity to send home for families. There’s a reason why fairy-tales and folktales are perennial favorites - they are great stories that kids love to read or listen to over and over again. Instructions: Have your students read The Three Billy Goats Gruff, or you can read the book to them. Print the gameboard in your chosen size and version. I have included: full color, low-ink color black & white. No more lost dice! How to use the spinner: You will need: A pencil A paper clip Put the point of the pencil inside the paper clip, on the centre of the spinner. Hold the pencil with one hand and flick the paperclip with a finger of the other hand. The paperclip will spin then point to a number. This is the number of spaces you move. All my resources are hands-on, open-ended, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids! As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!

Encourage thinking in a fun way! Simply print, cut, and laminate these 90 Creative Thinking Task Cards, and have students respond in their Thinking Skills Journals. In my class, we use these for SODA - Start of Day Activities, and it’s my students’ favourite activity - both in-person and online. But you can use them any time of day when you want to inject some FUN and THINKING into your class. After scrambling for years to come up with a new and varied SODA for each day, I’ve finally created this set of 90 open-ended thinking prompts, ready to print, cut and use over and over again. I just give my students a SODA Creative Thinking Journal notebook at the beginning of the year, and they follow the routine each day. Students love sharing their ideas with others, and it’s a great way to get them excited and engaged. There are 3 cards on each 8.5 x 11-inch page, and I’ve included colour and black & white versions. You can use these Task Cards for: Centres Morning Work / Bell ringers Early Finishers Creative Thinking Journal Prompts Brain Breaks Warm Ups Fun Friday tasks Extension and extra challenge (Enrichment) Groupwork Time Fillers Fun, open-ended homework Students just think they are having fun, but really they are: Writing Doing maths Designing and inventing Reading Solving Puzzles Drawing Using STEM skills Thinking creatively Without even realizing it! Each prompt is open-ended: Put aside as little or as much time for this activity as you like - the kids are never 'finished' - just tell them to add more ideas. Tasks can be done by students of any level - everyone is challenged and everyone is successful. Kids love sharing their ideas: I usually have my students do a 'gallery walk' afterwards - they leave their journals open on their desks, and walk around the room looking at everyone else's ideas. They love this, and it keeps them accountable as well. We also share orally at times too. Includes 90 fun and varied writing or drawing prompts, including: Design a better... Invent a ... What if... Would you rather... Write a list of things that... How many ways can you... Write questions with the answer:... How many... are there in the room? Find the words in the puzzle box How many words can you make from these letters? Find the hidden pictures Draw these shapes and change each one into a different picture I hope this becomes your students’ favorite activity too! As a 23-year veteran International School IB PYP teacher, former PYP Co-ordinator and School Visit Team Member, I focus on creating resources that are hands-on, open-ended, inquiry-based, easy for teachers, and engaging for kids!