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Saturday, June 29, 2013

My Teacher Likes to Say - Freebie!

I've had the book My Teacher Likes to Say for a few years and love to use it when I'm teaching expressive language and writing quotations.

If you haven't seen it or its companion book, My Momma Likes to Say, click on my Amazon Associate links below to check them out.









I have finally made some activities to go with the book and am sharing one of them here. This one targets writing quotations correctly, but you could require the students to use expressive or figurative language when writing their quotations.
Click on the pic above to get your freebie.

Visit my TpT store by clicking {HERE} to see the whole packet for more activities focusing on writing quotations and using expressive language. It addresses the following standards:

 L 3.2.c Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.
L 3.3.a  Choose words and phrases for effect.
L 3.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L 3.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L 3.5.a Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g., take steps).
L.4.2.a  Use correct capitalization.
L.4.2.b  Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
L.4.5  Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
L.4.5.a  Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context.
L.4.5.b  Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.



Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin for a chance to win all the products in my store!
Click {HERE} to enter!


Thursday, June 27, 2013

I Do, We Do, You Do Freebie

I think all teachers know the benefit of modeling, then doing a task with the students, and finally turning them loose on their own. Sometimes in the rush of trying to get everything in, I forget and need a nudge to keep me on track. I've made these posters to place on my front board and my reading table. They also come in handy when one of my kiddos takes over the lesson.
If you'd like a free copy of the I Do, We Do, You Do posters, click on the pic below. You can choose from blue, brown, pink, or yellow chevron posters.





Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin for a chance to win all the products in my store!
Click {HERE} to enter!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Monkeying Around with Prefixes - Freebie

Is there anything cuter than sock monkeys? 
I think I'll add some to my reading corner as reading buddies this year.
These cute little monkeys are monkeying around with prefixes. My kids love any game that involves racing against a timer.  Choose the prefixes you want to review, put them in your learning stations, add a timer and some paper, and you are ready to go!
Just click on the pic above to enter download the freebie.

I've also made some Fry word list games with a sock monkey theme. Just visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store or Teachers Notebook Shop by clicking the links at the right or the pic below to check them out.

Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin for a chance to win all the products in my store!
Click {HERE} to enter!


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Show the Love Giveaway! Win My Store!

I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow, but why wait? :)
If you read my post last week or any of the other blogs from the last several days, you know that Google Reader is going away.
I want to be sure I don't lose any of my followers, so I'm giving you some incentive to follow me on Bloglovin'. 
I'm giving away ALL the contents of my store to TWO lucky winners. 
The only thing you have to do is follow me on Bloglovin'. Just click on the link to the right.
You can follow me on Facebook, Google Plus, and Networked Blogs, too, for an extra chance at winning, as well as follow my stores.


Browse through some of my products in the store links at the right to see what you can win.
Just fill out the Rafflecopter below.
Good Luck!

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Congratulations to Lori! She won the Set of Center Solutions Task Cards and Thinking Mats from Carson Dellosa, plus a little surprise from me. Check your email, Lori!
I'm off for a week of Common Core ELA training with our State Department. Look for lots of goodies when I return!
...and be sure to tune in tomorrow for details on a "fan"tanbulistic giveaway!


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Ouch!

Put a trip to The Dollar Tree on your To Do list this summer. You can usually get two packs of regular playing cards for $1.00. You can use them to address lots of the Common Core standards.

Here's a fun game called "Ouch" that uses playing cards for your math stations.
Run off the directions and standards, add a pack of cards, and you have a station you can use throughout the year.
Just click on the pic above to get the file.

I also like these Jumbo Sized cards that are just large enough to use if you want to play the game with your whole class divided into two teams, yet small enough that they won't take up all your board space.  Attach magnetic dots to the back and use them on your white board.





Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Center Solutions Task Cards and Thinking Mats! Click {HERE} to enter! It ends tonight at midnight!


Friday, June 21, 2013

Do You Use Math Journals?

Do you use math journals?
I always have good intentions, but never followed through all year until this past school year.
I really liked that we could use them as a way to review before our end of year testing.
I found that a little bit of prep work helped keep me on track. For instance, we worked hard all year  using expressions, equations, and models to help solve word problems. I printed out word problems ahead of time and kept them handy for the beginning of math class. Right after our calendar time, we grabbed the word problems, glued them in our journals, and got to work.

I've taken this to a higher level with a twist on the same idea. Instead of giving the kiddos a word problem, I'm giving them an answer and requiring them to write a multiplication word problem.
After filling out the info in the grid, they write an explanation for their work on the back. They must use complete sentences.

I've added a new product to my stores that includes 30 slides for large group work and 30 smaller versions in black and white to be glued in journals or placed in math stations.


Click on the pic below to see it in my TpT Store.
Leave a comment and let us know what you include in your math journals.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Show Me Some Blog Lovin!

Before I get to showing the love to our blogs, I want to tell you about a fantastic way to show the love for a great cause.

Brenda at Primary Inspired has compiled $65.00 of resources from several contributors that you can purchase for $10.00 as a way to support the fight against Alzheimer's. Here's a little preview of what you can get. I've included my Sock Monkey themed Fry Word games packet for all 1,000 Fry words. Click on either pic to visit her blog and get more info. I hope you'll donate. 


Do you follow blogs through Google Friend Connect and Google Reader? I have....until now. Beginning July 1, they are silently riding off into the sunset. I'll miss that tally of how many followers I have, but I've found a much easier way to stalk my favorite blogs.

Bloglovin' is da bomb! It has an app for my iPhone and I think they are working on one for Androids. It is the easiest way ever to read blogs from my phone.

It was easy peasy to export all the blogs I follow through Google Reader. Click on the Bloglovin' button on the right of my blog, create an account, and sign up to receive regular updates each time I update my blog.

For more info and easy to follow directions for joining and exporting your list of your favorite blogs, visit The Brown Bag Teacher by clicking on the pic below.
Don't wait! Take a few minutes now and get signed up.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Center Solutions Task Cards and Thinking Mats! Click {HERE} to enter!


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Let Mr. Potato Head Help You Review!

I L.O.V.E.D. Mr. Potato Head when I was a kid and I still love using him in my classroom today!
Search yard sales or order one from Amazon at my affiliate link below. 


Put Mr. P in a station with a set of flashcards of cut up worksheets. For every answer the kiddos get correct, they add a body part.
You can buy two sets and divide your class up into teams for a fun review or way to check homework or classwork. If a student gives the correct answer, they add a body part for the team. The first team to complete their Mr. Potato Head wins!


I've put a new product in my stores that's a version to review multiplying by multiples of ten. To check it out, click on the pic below or the links to the right.


 (Doesn't that silly face just make you smile?)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Center Solutions Task Cards and Thinking Mats! Click {HERE} to enter!



Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Common Core Task Cards Giveaway!

I spend a lot of my own time making materials for my classroom to fit my students' needs, just as you do. I like that part of my job that lets me be creative, but sometimes I just don't have the energy or the time after school or on the weekend to make those creative juices flow! Sound familiar?
I've found a ready made product that is going to help on those slump times when you need a quality  activity but don't have the time to make it yourself. (I don't take advantage of all the products publishers and companies want me to promote, but if I think it's helpful and practical for the classroom, then I'm always glad to share.)

The new Common Core Task Cards published by Carson Dellosa come in a box of fifty Math cards AND fifty Language Arts cards! Each card lists the standard on the back so you can choose the cards to put in your stations that match the skills you are targeting for the week OR give to individual students for extra practice and reinforcement or intervention activities. The standard-specific activities can also be used as quick bell-ringer or warm-up activities to help you review throughout the year. 

Carson Dellosa has also provided a resource guide with an answer key, standards matrix, and task card recording sheets for both students and the teacher. You can access that by clicking {HERE}. Scroll down to the Center Solutions Task Cards Resource Guides appropriate for your grade level for a sneak peek. Click {HERE} to see a video for more info.

 You can win your own set of the Center Solutions Task cards by entering the Rafflecopter Giveaway below. Carson Dellosa is adding a set of their Common Core Thinking Mats to the lucky winner! Click {HERE} to watch a video on the mats.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Monday, June 17, 2013

Have You Played Pig? Freebie

Here's a snazzy version of one of my favorite math games for practicing adding to one hundred. My kids love to play Pig, so I dressed the directions up a bit for my math stations. If you haven't tried it in your class yet, here's your chance! They won't even know they are practicing math! 

Just print the file, add dice, and you are ready to go.
Just click on the pic above to get the file!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Domino Garage - Freebie

I'm on my third week of summer vacation and don't have much to show for it! I've had a party for our faculty to wish our principal good luck on her new job as assistant superintendent and a wedding tea, so at least my house is clean and straightened. Bonnaroo is this coming weekend and both kids will be home, so my house won't be looking too good by then. I've finished a memory photo book of my nephew for his parents and put two new items up on Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook.
Here is one of the domino Math games from one of my new products. Click on the links to both my stores to the right to check out the rest of the packet. It's thirteen fun games that use dominos to practice math. All you have to do is print out the directions, add your own dominos, and you are ready to go!
Just click on the pic above to get the freebie!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

In Memory

My sweet nephew passed away in an accident on Memorial Day. It's been a week.
A long, sad week.
G was eleven going on thirty.
He never met a stranger or anyone he could not strike up a conversation with.
He thought he could fix anything and definitely had a plan for everything. Everything.
G had big, loving, huggable arms and a firm handshake. Firmer than many adults'.
He had huge puppy dog feet that were usually in cowboy boots. His little brother wants to have feet that big one day.
You never knew what was going to come out of his mouth in that country drawl. Never.
He loved his family.....mama, daddy, brother, bonus mom, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins who weren't really cousins by relation, grandparents who weren't really grandparents by relation. He loved us all with his whole heart.
He loved to get in our freezer and eat ice cream...straight out of the carton...and put it back in the freezer.
G was our go-to man for the blessing before family meals.
He could mow and bush hog like no other.
A four-wheeler was G's vehicle of choice.
He is going to be missed by his family, his friends, and his dogs.
Missed, but always remembered with a smile.