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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Forest Friends Classroom Theme

It's about time, teachers, to...


For more than a year, I've been working on building a Forest Friends' Classroom. It seems wherever I go, I find adorable woodland critters. Even linens are now sporting furry, little friends. I couldn't be happier because the forest is a perfect learning environment. Just imagine an adventure everyday as your students learn in a "natural habitat."

Greet your new students with this cheerful welcome banner.  The 5 signs below it, as well as the garland elements, are available here for FREE!


After you welcome your new students, use these products to bring educational decorations to your classroom: 
(click on each icon for a preview)







I have loved having a Forest Friends classroom so much that I began creating curricula with the same theme.  You can check out these resources in my next post. Be sure to come back because I think you'll really like them. I know my students have really enjoyed being immersed in the forest atmosphere.


Each of these products is available in my TPT Store. I would love for you to visit, look around a while, and follow me.  TYIA






Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.

Looking for ideas for a forest/ woodland/ camping theme?  Check out my pinterest board:

Monday, May 2, 2016

What's Black & White & Red All Over?

What IS black and white and red all over?  



A sunburned zebra, yes.  But it could also be your classroom.

If you are looking for a new color scheme for next year, consider making it dynamic and sophisticated for you, yet fun and appealing for children.  Make it black and white and red all over!

Greet your new students with this cheerful welcome banner.


The provided message is "Welcome to (grade level - Kindergarten thru 6th) Grade!" Editable flags are included so that you can add your name or another message to personalize the banner. Also included are word wall headers and editable rectangles for words.

After you welcome your new students, use these products to bring educational decorations to your classroom: 
(click on each icon for a preview)





Each of these products is available in my TPT Store. For those who love money saving bundles, this set of resources is available in bundle form:








Sunday, May 1, 2016

Monday, April 11, 2016

FLASH FREEBIE!

It's about time, teachers, for a FLASH FREEBIE!


It's differentiated.  It's CCSS aligned.  It's a low prep center; just print, cut & go!  And...



But just until 10 p.m. CDT.  So grab it while you can.

This freebie was made possible by my desire to gain feedback.  So if you download it, please leave some product love.  Thank you.

I would also love it if you would choose to follow my store.  Thanks again.



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Saturday, March 19, 2016

FLASH FREEBIE for 3/19/16

It's about time, teachers, for a FLASH FREEBIE!  Your students will have a blast with The Circus Clowns literacy center.






Grab this cute literacy center while it's free! Please leave feedback.  Thank you.


You may also like these literacy centers:


Tuesday, March 8, 2016

FLASH FREEBIE for 3/9/16

It's about time, teachers, for a FLASH FREEBIE!



Grab your copy of Hinky Pinky II while it's FREE.  

If you are not familiar with Hinky Pinkies, you are in for a treat!  This critical thinking activity is great learning disguised as fun.  Kids absolutely love them.  









If you download Hinky Pinkies II, please leave feedback and consider following me.  Thank you!


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Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Great Vocabulary Divide



Educational research is replete with studies about THE GREAT VOCABULARY DIVIDE between successful and unsuccessful students; a fact every teacher knows without benefit of those studies.  

While the research shows that the gap begins in infancy (with a 30 million word difference in exposure to words by age 4 between socio economic classes), the import to education is that vocabulary development is crucial to all learning. It is no surprise that children with larger vocabularies are better equipped for learning when they enter school.  After all, by virtue of hearing more words, they are exposed to more grammar, sentence structure, cadence, expression, and countless other aspects of language that are vital to success.  By 3rd grade, when reading shifts from learning to read to reading to learn, the gap is wider; the consequences more pronounced.  Bottom line, children with larger vocabularies are stronger readers and perform significantly better on standardized tests.

What are teachers to do about this divide? Clearly they must create word-rich environments that entice their students to revel in the power of words.  Direct, daily instruction is key, yet research shows that dictionary work is the least effective method. According to Blachowicz, Beyersdorfer, & Fisher (2006), young children need 4 conditions to develop vocabulary knowledge:
  1. exposure to new vocabulary
  2. engagement and motivation
  3. multiple experiences with new words that promote context and definition
  4. independent word-learning strategies.
I will argue that children need 3 additional things:
  1. teachers who model a love of words
  2. interest in and curiousity about words
  3. active involvement in "playing" with words.
I am a self-professed logophile.  Words have always intrigued me and word play delights me. It is only natural, then, that I consistently incorporate word play into my curricula. I call it "play" because that is what it feels like to my students.  It's learning disguised as fun and it fulfills all the conditions cited above. 

One example of word play in my class is Hinky Pinkies.




Intrigued? These vocabulary building, critical thinking exercises are so popular with students that they literally beg to do them. How often do you get enthusiasm like that? 

Hinky Pinkies are often thought to be for gifted students. Certainly G/T students love them and engage easily with them. But there is no universal law that restricts them from being used with regular ed. kiddos. I have decades of experience using Hinky Pinkies with heterogeneous groups as young as 2nd grade. In fact, special ed. teachers and speech and language therapists have left positive feedback about using them with their students.  

As a result of working with Hinky Pinkies, your students will not only increase their vocabularies, but gain facility with syllables, phonemes, synonyms, parts of speech, and verb tenses. They exercise their problem solving and critical thinking skills. My children have been known to voluntarily seek out dictionaries and thesauri!

The vocabulary benefits alone should be enough to convince any teacher to try these riddles. But my favorite outcome is the look of pleasure and satisfaction on my students' faces when they solve their first Hinky Pinky all by themselves.






You can find lots of Hink Pinks, Hinky Pinkies, and Hinkity Pinkities in my TPT store, but you can try these for FREE!  And they are just in time for St. Patrick's Day.