COMPOUND WORDS LITERACY CENTER for COWPOKES

It's about time, teachers, for compound words!

Check out this adorable literacy center that celebrates compound words COWBOY STYLE!  All of the words are related to cowboys to delight your little cowpokes.

This literacy center is self-correcting.  Just flip the pairs over to reveal a cowboy picture.  Your little buckaroos will shout, "YEE-HAW!"

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Chinese New Year Poetry Possibilities

It's about time, teachers, for 

That means it's about time for some Poetry Possibilities to help you celebrate.

Included in Poetry Possibilities: Winter Edition are 2 poems and many possibilities for teaching with them.  

The possibilities include teaching points about poetry, but also include lessons from multiple subjects.  They even include several craftivities.

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!

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It's About Time for FREEBIES!

It's about time, teachers, for 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is almost here.  This FREEBIE is perfect for upper grade classes.

POETRY POSSIBILITIES for MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY contains 2 poems. Each poem is accompanied by custom designed teaching points covering a variety of skills. These poems are copy ready and, thus, may be added to your students’ poetry anthologies. The range of reading levels in these poems makes them appropriate for all intermediate classrooms and provides for differentiation.

It's also the time of year that classes celebrate the 100th day of school.  Primary teachers will enjoy this FREEBIE!

There are 4 poems in Poetry Possibilities -- 100th Day of School Edition. Each poem has a teaching point related to poetry and teaching possibilities from multiple disciplines that are custom designed for them.

It will soon be Groundhog Day.  I have 2 FREEBIES for that special day.

Groundhog Day Hink Pinks, Hinky Pinkies, & Hinkity Pinkities are the perfect way to celebrate this just-for-fun holiday in your intermediate classroom.  Your students will work on language arts skills, critical thinking, and problem solving with these fun word riddles.

Groundhog Day Scrattle is a differentiated, math and  literacy, learning center activity that combines word work with computation; individual effort with competition. As in Scrabble™, students use a set of letters to create words. After recording their words, they calculate each word’s score using the letter values. Then they engage a friend in a battle wherein they compare their scores using >, <, and =. The student with the most >s wins the battle! (SCRAbble + baTTLE = SCRATTLE!)  Because this FREEBIE is differentiated, it is appropriate for ALL elementary classrooms.

Enjoy the FREEBIES!  Coming soon will be more FREEBIES just for Valentine's Day.

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HINK PINKS & HINKY PINKIES for KINDERS

It's about time, teachers, for a new bundle!

And, it's 50% off for 48 hours!  

This bundle includes 4 products that promote critical thinking and boost vocabulary.

These visual clues lead your learners to a two word phrase that rhymes.  For Hink Pinks, each word must have just 1 syllable.  Hinky Pinkies have 2 syllables each.  Because no reading is required, these activities are perfect for pre-readers, ELL, and speech and language students.

Want to try them before you buy them?  Download this FREEBIE!

#HAPPYHOLIDEALS

It's about time, teachers, for some great deals!

Here are the links to my deals:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HAPPYHOLIDEALS-POETRY-UNIT-December-Poetry-Activities-Poetry-Elements-Writing-163764

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HAPPYHOLIDEALS-CRITICAL-THINKING-RESEARCH-CHALLENGE-U-S-History-Mystery-157971

Don't procrastinate!  These deals are only for 12/15 and 12/16.

Using Poetry in the Classroom -- Part 5

It's about time for Veterans' Day, teachers! Naturally, that means it's about time for a poem.  And, of course, some activities to go with it.

This poem is an example of free verse; poetry free of rhyme and meter restraints.  It gives a concise history of this holiday.

After sharing the poem with your class and engaging students in a discussion about the history, place copies of the poem in your literacy center.  Challenge your students to find words that are homophones, highlighting them on their copies.  Then ask them to list the words and their alternate spellings.

You might ask the children to add to the list with more homophones they know.

Extend the learning by reading Granddad Bud: A Veterans Day Story, by Sharon Ferry.  It's an engaging book for all elementary students and provides great information about Veterans' Day.

Ask your students to write their own poems about Veteran's Day.  Suggest they write haikus, traditional Japanese poetry.  The stipulations for haiku are that the children write 3 lines.  Lines 1 and 3 should have 5 syllables each, while line 2 should contain 7 syllables.  Haiku poetry need not rhyme.  This exercise will give you insight into how well your class understands the holiday.

This poem is from my unit, Fall Poetry Possibilities.  It has many more poems and their teaching possibililites ready for your classroom.

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It's About Time for Halloween, Teachers!

Halloween is next week.  That means that your class will be more excited, or excitable, than usual.  I have some tips for handling those holiday high spirits (pun intended).

Giving students highly engaging activities is key.  One of my favorites is HALLOWEEN SQUARE PUZZLERS.   This resource offers differentiated puzzles that will challenge your children's critical thinking and problem solving while disguising them as fun.  Moreover, the task is demanding enough that your little goblins will not be able to dash through them.  The task is to reconstruct the square array so that the images match on each interior side.

Another activity I like to roll out as a treat for my students is PUMPKIN SQUARES.  Also known as Latin Squares, these brain teasers are differentiated, too.  While used in math for statistical analysis, these arrays are excellent precursors to traditional Sudoku.  The challenge ranges from 3x3 squares to 7x7 squares.  

HALLOWEEN HINK PINKS, et al. are task cards that can be used as bell ringers, anchor activities, a center, and/or a sponge activity.  If you have a few awkward moments, whip out a Halloween Hink Pink card.  These word riddles will test your pupils' vocabulary and activate their problem solving skills.  But the best part about Hink Pinks, is your kiddos just can't get enough of them.  They are a treat, indeed.  

I've saved the best for last... HALLOWEEN SCRATTLE.  Why is it the best?  Because it combines word work with computation, individual effort with competition, offers differentiation, and it's FREE!  Using a set of letters, individual pupils construct words.  They write their words on the recording sheet and calculate the word values using addition, multiplication, or mixed operations.  Next they challenge a friend to battle, comparing their recording sheet values.  The kiddo with the most winning scores is the champion.  But, that's not all!!!  Allow your students to rechallenge each other, or another student(s).  You won't believe how quickly their word choices grow in complexity.  My classes beg to do SCRATTLE.  

These activities have been field tested for years.  They help me keep my classes learning and growing while acknowledging the appeal of Halloween.  I'd love to hear how your children like them.

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