Fabulous Friday Freebies:Thanksgiving Goodies

Thanksgiving is two weeks from yesterday and there are so many freebies out there.  Here is just a shaving off the tip at the top of the iceberg....

The first one is a template for a simple acrostic poem of thankfulness.  This is useful for putting students of all ages in a mindset of gratitude for everything we have as we enter this season.  Use this as a bell ringer in high school or a homework assignment for the lower grades.  Have students take it home and interview family about what they are thankful for.  

The next one is a mini-unit on word problems for 1-3 grade.  It includes addition and subtraction, but with a seasonally appropriate theme.

Lesson Lady's Thanksgiving themed art activity pages for fast finishers is a favorite.  It is full of fun coloring pages for the kiddos.  Create an anchor chart with activities students can work on when they finish and add this to the list.  It gives them a bit of down time to work on their fine motor skills.

And, why not use the holidays to take a break and have a little fun.  Check out Thanksgiving bingo.  They'll learn vocabulary while they're at it.

Finally, have your students make edible turkeys.  I did this last year with students in high school and elementary school, and they all had a blast.  They're so cute and so tasty!  All you need are oreos, candy corn, white frosting and something for the body. (You can use whoppers and peanut butter cups, as pictured here, or something else.  Last year I used chocolate covered cherries.)

Want to see more?  Check out Teachers Pay Teachers and narrow the search by grade and content.

Tips for Parent Teacher Conferences

This week my school is hosting its fall parent-teacher conferences. Since parent-teacher conferences is something we all go through, why not make it easier? Here are some tips for your parent-teacher conferences.

1. Offer parents multiple options for conferences. This could include phone conferences as well which can also be effective. Set up a time during parent-teacher conferences to call the parent and discuss the child over the phone.

2. Start with the positives! Even if a child is struggling or has difficulty in class, it is always nice to start off on a positive note and say something positive. It is always nice to end on a positive note as well.

3. Ask your students' parents for a partnership. Sometimes parents can be great allies and it is always best to find ways to have them work with you for the betterment of their child.

4. Don't be afraid to ask for support. Sometimes you may need some extra support during a conference. Don't be afraid to ask colleagues to help support you during a conference. My administrative team encourages us to ask them for extra support when we may need it during parent-teacher conferences.

5. Set up other activities for parents during parent-teacher conferences. Sometimes a great way to encourage parents to stay around the school or have activities for them to do while waiting. This could include setting up a book fair at the school or opening the gym for younger siblings to play while their parents are in a conference.

Do you have a tip for parent-teacher conferences? I would love to hear it!

Snowman Glyph

I saw my first snowfall almost a month ago now.  It didn't last long and it didn't stick, but that soon will change.  Get prepared with weather relevant activities and check out my Snowman Glyph activity.

Your students will learn what a glyph is, make their own and analyze class data in this fun winter activity. They will begin by learning what a glyph is and how to use one to convey and analyze data. They will create one of their very own. Then they will look at their classmates' glyphs and analyze the data using fractions, percentages, and graphs (bar graphs and pie charts). They will have fun doing it during the cold winter months ahead. And, when they are all done, the materials can be turned into a colorful class bulletin board! 

Note: This is the advanced Snowman Glyph activity for 5-8 graders. (For the 2-4 grade version go to my store and check out the other Snowman Glyph activity without the math.)

This item has 4 out of 4 stars and has received strong reviews.  Here is what one buyer said...

Great seasonal resource that touches on MANY mathematical topics.

Check it out!

Fabulous Friday Freebies: Day of the Dead

I have found that any student, no matter their heritage, enjoys learning about and celebrating the Day of the Dead holiday in class. I have celebrated Day of the Dead in my classroom in a few ways. I showed students a PowerPoint presentation on the Day of the Dead and we created some skull sculptures using wire. Then, in a few classes my students are making sugar skulls since they are an easy non-bake project that I can do in my classroom. Since this week is the celebration of the Day of the Dead, here are some fun freebies you can use in your classroom to celebrate the Day of the Dead.

Note: You do not only have to celebrate Day of the Dead during its official time. Students really enjoy learning about this holiday at any time of the year!

This website has a wide range of Day of the Dead activities compiled for teachers. There are links to free PowerPoint slideshows, mini packets, education units, and art activities. They have done the work for you researching various sites and compiled them in one easy to use list.

Although there are a few grammatical errors in this free PowerPoint, I have used it multiple times with various classes to introduce the Day of the Dead. This PowerPoint contains a lot of relevant information with an enormous amount of photos that makes it easy to teach students about the basics of the Day of the Dead. I highly recommend it!

My partner in blogging Etc offers a free Day of the Dead word search puzzle that is a sample from her fall packet. You could use this as a fun activity for fast/early finishers in your classroom.

My classrooms are finishing up their Day of the Dead sugar skulls today. I'll take some photos and share the recipe and tips with you next week! Enjoy the Day of the Dead.

Publishing Students' Writing

Ever feel like you're pushing a boulder up hill trying to get your students to write?  Wondering how to motivate them?  One of the best things I've ever done to turn my students on to writing is the assure them that they'd never have to write for me-well, not just me, that is.  They would choose an audience, write for them and share it with them.

Writing is a form of communication, and it only becomes meaningful when students are communicate with an audience that holds value for the them.  So, here are 20 ideas of ways to help your students  publish their work...to share it with a real audience.

1. Publish on blog-Have your students create a blog.  They can post their work, share it and comment back and forth.  Google and yahoo have free, user friendly blogs.

2. Publish on wiki-Wikispaces.com allow students to create their own website and publish their work.  They can share access to a site and work together on a piece.

3. Put into a class book-Have students write short stories, poems, raps, etc and create a booklet collection for all of the students to keep.

4. Put in newsletter-If your school sends out newsletters, ask if your students can write a column.  I had one of my classes write weekly essays.  I chose the best one to be published in the weekly school bulletin.  Students were excited to revise their work when it was being published and shared school wide.

5. Create a contest-Sponsor a writing contest.  Select community members and/or staff to judge the essays and award the winner publicly.

6. Present in a talent show-Have students share their writing in school assemblies and talent shows.

7. Poetry slams

8. Bulletin board-Post student work on bulletin boards...the more public, the better.

9. Place student writing in doctor/dentist offices-Create booklets with student writing and ask local dentists and doctors if you can leave them in their waiting rooms.

10. Pen pals

11. Reviews-Make part of the students' grade sharing what they wrote with people outside the school and collecting reviews/feedback forms.

12. Dedications-Have students create dedication pages and encourage them to share their essays with those the papers are dedicated to.

13. Portfolios-Have students keep portfolios with their writing.  Share these portfolios with families during parent teacher conferences.

14. Turn their essays into speeches-Have them present their writing to the class.

15. Submit to magazines-Have students submit their writing to magazines that publish entries.

16. Books-Oriental Trading Company sells blank books students can decorate and fill in.

17. Young Authors Society-Start a group where students can share and publish their writing.

18. Nationwide Writing Contests

19. Make it a gift-Have students turn essays into gifts.  For example, in May they can write letters to important women in their lives and give them to those women for Mother's Day.

20. Dramatic readings to younger grades-Have students write and share their writing with younger grades.  They can turn them into books and leave them behind for the younger children's classroom library.

Thanksgiving Fast Finisher Art Freebie!

I recently posted my latest product on my TPT store, a freebie for Thanksgiving! Check out my Thanksgiving Fast Finisher Art Activities pack. This pack contains 10 printable drawing pages that are perfect for the fast or early finishers in your classroom. Each page is printable in black and white or color and is easy for students to complete in your classroom to encourage their creativity.

Each page either contains artistic information or informs students about the Thanksgiving holiday. A wide variety of drawing exercises are included.

If you enjoy this packet, please take the time to rate it and then check out my year round Fast Finisher Creative Art Activities Pack which contains 50 printable fast finisher pages.

Fabulous Friday Freebies: Teaching Writing

There are so many quality sites to that offer assistance and free resources for teaching writing to all ages.  Here are some of the ones I find the most helpful and/or frequent the most...

Rubrics:

#1: Rubistar has a ton of pre-made rubrics that you can alter to fit your assignment.  It is quick and easy to use.

Exemplars:

#2: 6 + 1 Trait exemplars  allow you to norm your expectations as you work on various objectives from voice to organization to fluency.

#3: Exemplars.com   is not a free website, but they have several examples that are posted on line for free.

Prompts:

#4: Life Magazine  has an online archive of photos.  They make great writing prompts.  Students can look at a picture and write a story about what happened before the picture, what is happening when the shot is taken and what is going to happen.  Or, students can look at the subject and write an internal monologue.  So many of the pictures are powerful and provocative.  If you want to connect it to what they're studying in social studies you can search by topic. 

Lessons and Programs:

#5: Writing Fix has a bunch of high quality materials and lessons to help with teaching writing.

#6:  6 + 1 Traits is one of the most widely used and highly respected writing programs for teaching the various components of composition and norming language and expectations amongst the staff.

Grammar:

#7:  Grammar Bytes   is a website with a plethora of printable exercises for teaching grammar to middle and high school students.

Research:

#8: Purdue Writing Owl has instructions for how to use MLA formatting in your research papers.

I hope at least one of these is something you can add to your toolkit.  If you have ones of your own that you like, please post them in the comments section and share them with our readers.