Word Analogies

Students build their vocabulary through making word associations. They build their logic skills through analyzing analogies. So, word analogies are exactly the type of critical thinking skills we should have students engaging in on a regular basis. Included in my analogy packet are six word analogy centers around subjects including: U.S. geography, math, art, measurements, opposites, and word parts. Use these during a unit on one of the subjects above or have them available as extra credit stations for students to finish when they have a little extra time. They will surely be useful handouts to have in your bag of high quality activities to fill a few extra minutes here and there.

The last person to review it said, "Great for Daily 5!" 

For just $1.50 you can have a 4 star activity to make your students think!

Halloween Literacy & Fun Packet for Sale

Recently I updated my Halloween Literacy Packet which was the first item I ever posted on my TPT store! Since my first item I have learned a lot about how to make packets more appealing to students and how to include different types of lessons so I made some big changes.

Before I updated this packet it had only about five meager lessons with few graphics and few open ended activities. Now there is a greater variety activity, lots of fun graphics, and one of the centers includes a blank page so you can add your own words to the activity.

The packet now includes five literacy centers and two fun activities, all with a Halloween theme. The literacy centers that are included in this packet include a compare and contrast Venn diagram page, a Halloween writing prompt, a draw a description page, a Halloween story writing game, and a Halloween synonyms center.

Two fun activities are included which are a Halloween word search and a Halloween word scramble. The fun activities are perfect for a bonus fun activity, the last few minutes of class, or for fast/early finishers.

I'm excited about the game included in this packet. Students roll a die to determine their character, setting, and story's problem which is a fun way to encourage their creativity in writing. Two pages of Halloween themed writing paper is included for them to record their story on.

Thanks for checking out my Halloween literacy packet!

Fabulous Friday Freebies! Spanish Heritage Month Freebies

Here is this week's Fabulous Friday Freebies post...a special super-sized Saturday edition.

September 15-October 15 is Spanish Heritage Month.  Have you run out of ideas for what to do to cap it off on Monday?  Forgot all about it?  Looking to extend it?  Personally, I am a believer in teaching students about different cultures regardless of the time of year.  And, as a Spanish teacher, I know I will be putting these resources to good use throughout the calendar year.

Here are ten of the top sources on the web featuring free images, videos, lesson plans, games, printables and more.  

Número Uno: Over 50 free plans, activities, printables, etc.

Número Dos: Information/activities on famous entertainers to use in language arts, and economics to use in math.

Número Tres: Interactive web activities about people, culture, history, etc.  Great for a computer learning center.

Número Cuatro: Free printable coloring pages, wordsearches, etc.

Número Cinco:   The Smithsonian has free, high quality lesson and activities for all ages on a variety of topics.

Número 6: Government site with the history of the celebration, images, videos, short articles and more from the federal archives.

Número 7:  Free printable coloring pages of the flags of Latin American countries.

Número 8: National Education Association has lesson plans for all grades.

Número 9:  Spanish Heritage video created to recognize famous Latinos in all walks of life in the U.S.

Número 10: Lesson plans and articles from the New York Times

My Favorite Freebie Linky Party!

 We would like you to join us in our first ever Linky Party! Freebies are always a wonderful thing for teachers to have and use in their classroom so that is the topic of this linky party. Here are each of our favorite freebies.

My Zoo Animal Math Game freebie is my favorite because it is versatile (can be used with multiplication, addition, or subtraction) and all the cute zoo animals that are included! Everything is included in this game, all you need to supply is a pair of dice. More than 8,700 people have already downloaded this fun freebie!

Etc.'s favorite freebie is her Christmas Cookies freebie. She is a fantastic cook and this collection of recipes are all bake-less so you could even make them in your classroom, if you should so choose. I have tried all the recipes and they all are delicious!

So, those are our favorite freebies. Please share your favorite educational freebie in our party below by linking directly to your post with the freebie or the freebie itself and feel free to include our button! Please no giveaways.

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Lesson on Peace

For just $2, you can purchase my newly posted lesson about peace. It includes a word map, higher order thinking journal prompt and art activity. The lesson will prompt students to think about what it means to live in peace and have them create a peace tree to decorate the classroom with or take home to discuss with their families. I've done this with my second and third grade students, and they were excited to share what they had learned and done.

Peace Trees from a brown paper bag...so simple yet so popular with the kiddos!

Fabulous Friday Freebies: Halloween Freebies!

As the weather chills down and the children prepare for a sugar rush, the freebies heat up! Here are some fabulous Halloween freebies! If you have a Halloween freebie that you would like to share, please let us know in the comments and we will consider featuring your freebie in one of our future October freebie editions.

This Halloween Dry Ice Secrets packet gives a ton of information about dry ice and ways to use it in your classroom for science experiments! I found lots of useful information and fun ideas to try in the classroom. This would be perfect for a variety of ages.

This Halloween Poetry Bookmarks freebie is a different way to get students to write by following directions written on Halloween themed bookmarks. Also included are blank bookmarks that can be used for poems and themed writing paper as well.

I selected this Halloween logic puzzle because these were one of my favorite activities in school. Although it is not geared towards any subject, it's a great activity for students to use their logic to figure out the puzzle.

Find a huge list of fun Halloween science experiment ideas on Science Bob's blog! There is a huge list of activities to capture your students' attention including an idea on how to make a screaming cup and a recipe for homemade slime.

When Students Struggle to Comprehend: Vocabulary

Teaching students to decode words is the first major challenge for reading teachers.  The next is helping them comprehend what they read.  As a reading specialist in a high school, I've spent hundreds of hours  assessing students' ability to read using everything from ACT results to the Basic Reading Inventory by Johns.  Usually when they come to me they can pronounce the words.  The hard part is identifying who the word callers are...those students who can say the words, but don't understand.  And trust me when I say it: they exist in every classroom.

If it is frustrating to pinpoint our students' deficits, let us not forget how frustrating it must be for them.  They sit in class and all too often pass for proficient reads based on their ability to real aloud, knowing the whole time that they really don't understand...too embarrassed to ask a bunch of questions.  If their struggles are exposed by one of the many tests we administer, the exact struggle is not identified.  And, even if it is, the results may suggest something that isn't really true.

So, what do you do?  Start by teaching students vocabulary.  Here are a few tips...

#1: Teach students word parts.  This helps them to make associations.  For example, if they know that malnutrition means bad nutrition, then they can start to connect the prefix to other words.  They might not know what malady means, but they can process that it is something bad.

#2: Teach students context clues.  When I introduce a reading I make a table.  In the first column is the vocabulary used in a sentence.  In the second column students write what they think it means based on that sentence.  In the third column, they circle the context clue they used (analogy, definition, example, inference).  In the fourth column they read the word as it is used in one of the sentences in the reading.  In the last column they reword the sentence from the reading.  This is a great pre-reading activity.

#3: Have students do word sorts.  Give them words on individual slips of paper and have them arrange them in categories.  This helps them work on word associations.

#4: Don't overwhelm them.  Giving students a list of 5 words a week is plenty.  Make sure these words are relevant to what they're studying.  Pick the words that are key to understanding the lesson's central text.  These are the words that they will use to discuss and write about the text, thus creating meaningful and lasting connections.

#5: Put the words on a word wall.  Refer to the wall.  Have them decorate it with visual cues.  Make it interactive.

#6: Use word maps to allow students to interact with the vocabulary in a variety of ways. They can define it, use it in a sentence, draw it, identify synonyms, etc.