Grab this fun printable to practice the five senses with your littles in preschool or kindergarten! The senses cards can be cut out, laminated, and cut again to use over and over again. Add Velcro to the back of each picture so kids can easily put the pictures on and take them off. The sorting cards can be used whole group, in small groups, or part of stations in busy bags! Included also are 4 posters (boy and girl): 1- Two senses matching posters. Kids can either cut out the senses on their own and glue them to practice dexterity or you can laminate and use Velcro, just like the sorting activity. 2- Two “I use my” posters. Kids think about which body they use for each sense, and write the body part on the line.

Your students will love creating their own real class quilt! They will remember this lesson for a long time! Included here is a set of three lesson plans to create your own classroom quilt based on The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. Additionally, you will receive two templates for the paper practice squares students will need for their sketches, and a photo of a past quilt that my students have made. The lessons guide you page by page through the read aloud all the way through to the quilt square creation. This is PERFECT for building community at the beginning of the year but it can also be done midyear and at the end of the year as a fun culminating project. Please know that you will need the book The Keeping Quilt in addition to fabric quilt squares and fabric markers for this. You will also need a way to sew the squares together. I had my fifth graders do this part! They loved it and it is another way of building community.

Career Exploration Unit and Classroom Project: This career counseling classroom unit allows students the opportunity to reflect on their own interests using a color coded based interest survey based on John Holland’s 6 personality types. Students discuss in pairs their common interests and hobbies and complete a brainstorming activity. Students receive a list of possible careers related to their colors and choose one to conduct further internet research. Of course, none of this dictates their future! This is to get them thinking and reflecting. What’s included: Lesson plan Color coded career interest inventory Partner Venn diagram and T chart Color coded career lists Internet research checklist to review how to find good internet resources Final project poster

These 21 task cards help students practice the skill and art of writing paragraphs. Here is the breakdown of the 21 cards: 1- 10 complete the paragraph cards. Students must complete the missing sentence. A multiple choice answer sheet is provided or have students come up with their own sentences for a challenge. 2- 5 cards with scrambled paragraphs from book excerpts. Students must figure out the best order for the paragraph. An answer sheet is provided. 3- Two cards which ask students to read a short paragraph and say if there’s a sentence that goes off topic. They must explain their thinking. Answer sheet is provided. 4- Two cards which ask students to underline the topic sentence, circle a detail, and star the concluding sentence. Answer sheet is provided. 5- Two cards which have students writing their own paragraphs about a topic. An answer sheet is not provided for this. I split the answer sheets into sections as noted above to give you ultimate flexibility. Teacher answer keys are provided, as well as a short paragraph help sheet for student reference. These task cards can be used as “I’m done” work, in guided reading, in literacy stations, as assessment, or as targeted intervention for English language learners. An idea is to have a task card corner in your room and add these to a collection of other cards. They can be laminated and used over and over again.

This lesson was originally done with a group of high beginner-low intermediate ESL students to reinforce the opinion writing they were doing in their regular English classes. Please note that students should already have been exposed to opinion writing! This activity can take 2-3 days depending on how much time you have with the students and if you would like to add an extension at the end where the students edit their work. The lesson (following PowerPoint) 1- Review opinion writing/hand out tips sheet 2- Show the sample opinion piece/discuss 3- Try it together (have a news article ready) 4- Students go to one of two websites (or provide news articles), choose an article, and write their piece 5- Gallery walk, peer critique, and share An extension would be to have students edit based on critique they received. Included: 1- PowerPoint- editable 2- Opinion tips handout sheet- PDF 3- My sample opinion piece- editable PLEASE NOTE: Having access to computers would be best!

Literature Circles and Book Clubs are strong tools for your teaching arsenal. Students build community, critical thinking skills, listening skills, deepen connections to the reading, and learn that reading is fun! My literature circles are a little different. Students use role based notebooks instead of printouts. The notebooks travel home with the students and then get passed to the next student who has that role. I like how students can look back at one another’s work while doing that role. **Included here are: ** 1- Teaching tips for you to get started 2- Four role sheets with directions, an example, and student notebook template (connector, illustrator, question asker, setting setter) 3- Two norms posters - the graphic is changed for older students 4- Before and after club reminders for students (how to rotate roles, checking to make sure work is done, etc.) Please note that you will need one spiral notebook per student for these circles. I used these successfully in upper elementary school and also middle school. Additionally, I used these with my intermediate ESL students!

Here is everything you need to teach persuasive writing in a fun student driven differentiated way! There is very little direct teaching involved yet students are able to produce remarkable results. The teacher acts as the facilitator and guides students’ thinking appropriately. The unit is interactive and tied to the real world. Students’ final product is a 5 paragraph essay. All files are editable! When you purchase this you will get: 1- Detailed teaching method from start to end 2- Persuasion technique practice cards 3- A sample teacher written persuasive essay 4- Persuasive techniques in the real world worksheet 5- Persuasive technique poster 6- Detailed sentence frame to help students with their writing

This product will help you get off and running with Words Their Way in no time. Words Their Way can feel daunting at first. This resource takes the guesswork out of beginning and allows you to jump right in with the basics. After you get your organization system in place using these resources, and get your students going with their weekly sorts, you will be able to incorporate your own creative flair to Words Their Way! Get going right away without the hassle of a million internet searches to figure out the program. These resources were tested and approved by the teachers at my school! **Included here is also the Canva link so you can duplicate and edit the resource. You just need your free or pro account login. ** You can easily get the spelling inventories and the feature guides for grading for free online or in the WTW books. Included: 1- Spelling inventory student answer key (with record keeping boxes). This can be used with the PSI or ESI. The USI has 31 words. You can exclude a few words if using the USI. 2- WTW post spelling inventory group organization table (4 included for entering, fall, winter, and spring) 3- 5 group weekly lesson plan sheet. Just circle the level, write in student names, the sort number, and optional activity. 4- Two differentiated weekly WTW homework tic-tac-toe boards 5- WTW upper and lower grade sample schedules 6- Sort definitions cheat sheet

Thank you for visiting this page! This unit was designed to study women heroes in history. **Included in this unit study are: ** 1- Teacher notes 2- Readings about three women heroes 3- Brochure project template 4- Research graphic organizer 5- Essay page **Please note ** The brochure template and graphic organizer are included as PDFs. Also, the Canva link is included. You can view it without a Canva account but to make a copy to edit, you must be signed into Canva with your free or paid account. Students will need access to laptops and the internet for certain parts of this project. Students start by learning about three women using the provided readings (although I give suggestions for names of more women). Following this, they conduct research about other women (sample names provided as well as graphic organizer). Students choose one woman to create a brochure (template provided). Lastly, students write an essay about a woman in their life. It’s perfect for women’s history month or anytime of the year! Let me know if you have any questions about the unit, or if you have suggestions!

Fishbowl discussions are an amazing tool for rich class discussions- they allow students to deep dive into topics and get them thinking critically. Also, they encourage participation from the ENTIRE class! Once students become experts at the fishbowl, you can have several of these running at once! This packet will get you started and running successful fishbowls in no time! Included in the packet: 1- 3 page graphic organizer for students to prepare for the fishbowl 2- Grading rubric 3- Questions to help you get started with your fishbowl discussions 4- Instructions for running successful groups 5- Accountable talk sentence starters

Included here are three tools for managing an upper elementary or early middle school grade level student group or classroom. These tools help students to be accountable for their own actions and worked wonders when I taught in an inner-city middle school. **Included in the packet is: ** 1- A student cover page 2- A rights and responsibilities page with class norms 3- Behavior reflection sheet 4- Weekly teacher reflection sheet 5- Tips for implementing **The file is editable with a free or paid Canva account. The link is included. ** The weekly behavior report might seem like a lot of work, but it really makes a difference in the overall community feel of the classroom and is a highly recommended addition. The sheets in this packet work together to create unity - and once you have the files - you can use them year after year! I have included tips for introducing the packets as well!

Included here is a poster with expectations for literature circles written in fun font, with pictures, and kid friendly language. Scroll down for teaching ideas! Additionally, included are literature circle role sheets with expectations for each role and examples. Roles include: 1- Connector 2- Illustrator 3- Setting setter 4- Question Asker (HOT=higher order thinking question stems) When I use these sheets, I have one spiral notebook for each role in the group. So if I have 5 groups that means 5 different “connector” notebooks. When students change roles each week, they use the notebook for that job. This way they can see what their peers wrote previously and build the conversation from there. I have students glue the role sheet into each notebook.

Students study what makes a great marketing tool and then implement what they learn to create their own brochures. Students pitch the brochure to administration and other school stakeholders. Please try to have administration buy in before starting so it’s authentic, but this is not a requirement. Everything you need is included in this project including a student created sample brochure! This will make PBL a breeze! 1- Student project launch handout 2- Teacher directions 3- PBL group contract 4- Daily group work reflection sheets 5- Expert interview question/answer sheet (you do not need to do this) 6- School official interview request email template for students and notes page- students are encouraged to get information about their school through interviews 7- Sales pitch FAQ page for students so they can make their sales pitches 8- Brochure rubric and judge’s form 9- Sample student made brochure *Brochure template from Drive: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tiFDmRG4A8vqEYhzWzVCtYvpgZ-rdpunY70ZS4oWJMY/edit#slide=id.p Students are encouraged to interview school community members and to take photographs for the brochure. Students need access to Google Drive (preferably) and a camera so they can take pictures of the school.

This product will help you get off and running with Words Their Way. After doing tons of research, I created the following documents for use at my school. I hope you find them useful as well! The zip file contains PDFs and Word documents. You can easily get the spelling inventories and the feature guides for grading for free online or in the WTW books. Please feel free to write to me if you have any questions! I really appreciate you stopping by my store. Included: 1- Spelling inventory student answer key (with record keeping boxes). This can be used with the PSI or ESI. The USI has 31 words. 2- WTW post spelling inventory group organization table (4 included for Entering, fall, winter, and spring) 3- 5 group weekly lesson plan sheet. Just circle the level, write in student names, and the sort number 4- Two different weekly WTW homework tic-tac-toe boards 5- WTW student and/or teacher spelling test grade and skill tracker 6- WTW sample schedule with another sheet that explains the sorts- with sample upper and lower grade schedules!

Included in this pack are: 1- Directions page 2- Grammar help sheets for student referral Then/Than Two/Too/To Apostrophes Capitalization They’re/There/Their You’re/Your It’s/Its 3- 10 task cards + 2 create your own 4- 4 extension task cards where students read excerpts from books and must identify and explain the grammar rules being used. 5- Student answer sheet for regular task cards 6- Student answer sheet for extension cards 5- Teacher answer keys for both regular and extension cards These are a perfect addition to literacy stations or for “I’m done!” work. These can be laminated and used year after year. Students can either write answers in their literacy notebooks, “I’m done” notebooks, or can write the answers on the answer sheets to hand in to you.

These are 12 inference task cards with varying levels of complexity. Suggested answers are included as well to help you! Here is a breakdown of the activities: 1- 6 photographs with prompts 2- 3 very brief two - three line stories with prompts 3- Slightly more advanced text excerpts with prompts For each exercise, students must be able to point to and discuss the evidence they used.

20 picture based quick writes perfect for getting those creative juices flowing! These are great for morning work, center work, or “I’m Done” work. Quick writes should only take about 5-10 minutes and will vastly improve writing. The goal is to focus on quality of writing. Each quick write has a photo, a writing checklist, and space to write. The writing checklist includes the following: I will: Use a hook to start Help my reader visualize my story using sensory details …Plus more tips.

This poster is a creative and engaging way for students to collect information for a research project about careers. Students can participate in internet research or they can interview someone to collect information about a career that is appealing to them! These can be used as graphic organizers or for poster presentations and bulletin board work. See my bigger careers unit here! In this unit, students take a career interest inventory and begin to investigate careers that might be of interest to them.

Do you need a quick reference sheet for students to remember their capitalization rules? This handout includes 8 capitalization rules with example sentences to make it easy for students to use on their own. I’ve included one with more color and one with less color for easy black and white printing. Students can fold this up and keep it in their notebooks as a writing checklist. Rules included are: Beginning of sentences Names of people, pets, and places Days in the week Months of the year Cities, countries, language, nationalities “I” Words in titles Time periods and events