Sunday, November 19, 2023

Classification Exericses for the Holiday Season



Classification allows us to better understand relationships and connections between things.  

 

Challenge your students' minds with fun Higher Order Thinking Skills Classification Exercises. Students will classify a group of items according to their general category, consider which one of the items is different from the others in some subtle way, remove it, and then determine the specific category that remains.


The student will learn:

to classify items belonging to a general category and having the characteristics of that category;

to determine which item in the general group is different from the others and remove it;

to reclassify the items that remain into a specific category;

to work cooperatively in small groups.

 

Example:

 

Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers  

 

General Category: Football Teams

Item to Remove: Minnesota Vikings

Specific Category: Football teams that have won Super Bowls.







I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Be sure to read the interesting blog posts below from my teacher friends in The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs.

Thanks for reading,
Charlene

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Sunday, October 15, 2023

Embrace the Spooktacular and Enjoy the Season

Three carved pumpkins


As the air becomes crisp and cool and the leaves turn red and gold, there's no denying that Halloween is just around the corner. For teachers, this time of year provides a unique opportunity to engage students in the spirit of the season while imparting valuable lessons in culture, creativity, and community.


Halloween's Historical Roots
Before diving into the fun classroom activities, it's crucial to understand the historical origins of Halloween. Halloween, also known as All Hallows' Eve, has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Over time, it evolved into a day of remembrance for the dead and a time when the veil between the living and the deceased was believed to be at its thinnest.

The Magic of Dressing Up
One of the most beloved Halloween traditions is dressing up in costumes. Teachers can incorporate this tradition by organizing a voluntary costume day in their classrooms. This not only encourages creativity and imagination but also fosters a sense of unity among students. You can encourage students to make costumes from items they find at thrift stores to avoid the expense of commercial costumes. Students in grades 9-12 can fashion costumes that depict characters in books they have read.

Exploring Spooky Literature
Halloween is the perfect time to delve into spooky literature and read classic tales like Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" or Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" to your students. These stories not only capture the eerie essence of Halloween but also provide opportunities for discussing literary elements and critical thinking.

Community Involvement
Halloween is not just about costumes and candy; it's also about community. Encourage your students to take part in local Halloween events, parades, or charity initiatives like "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF." This fosters a sense of responsibility and empathy among students.

Halloween is a time of year that bridges the gap between tradition and imagination. As teachers, you have the unique opportunity to use this season to engage students in a blend of history, culture, and creativity. 


By incorporating these Halloween traditions and customs into your classrooms, you can make learning a thrilling adventure that will last long beyond the spooky season. 

So, embrace the spooktacular and let Halloween light up your classroom with fun and learning!

I have three Halloween resources in my store that my students love. You might like to use them in your classrooms.

Halloween Song Writing Activity Print and Digital

In this fun Halloween Song-Writing Activity, students will enjoy changing the lyrics of familiar Christmas songs to spooky or funny Halloween songs. It offers a good way to work in practice with rhyme and syllables while students have fun.

Halloween Sentence Combining Activity Print and Digital

This activity provides the opportunity for writers to combine twenty clusters into twenty original sentences. All sentences in this exercise are about Halloween. It is a good exercise to help students compose sentences while enjoying the excitement of Halloween.

Sentence Patterns Grammar Worksheets for Halloween

This Halloween activity will teach your students to rewrite sentences without changing their meaning to achieve sentence variety. At the same time, they will be reminded of things that are associated with Halloween.


Thanks for reading,

Charlene


Enjoy the interesting blog posts below from my friends at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marking Cooperative. If you are interested in joining his group of teacher entrepreneurs, click here for more information 


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Sunday, September 17, 2023

Make a Good Impression


Have you ever wondered what your students might be thinking about you? 



Here are a few possibilities:

1.  Your breath is not fresh.
If you are engaged and interacting with your students, you will often lean in close to them to offer advice or encouragement. Be sure the tuna sandwich and ranch dressing chips you had for lunch do not offend. Keep some breath mints in your desk, pop one in your mouth, and keep your breath fresh. ( I can still remember my 6th grade teacher's offensive breath. Seriously? After all these years, you'd think I could forget.)

2.  Your voice is unpleasant.
Record your lessons for a few days and listen to the sound of your own voice. Are you too loud? Do you speak in a monotone? Do your words produce a singsong pattern? If so, practice making your voice more pleasant. 

3.  Your instructions are not clear.
Do your students ask you several questions before they begin to work? Are the questions ones that were already addressed in your instructions? If so, perhaps the wording in your instructions is not as clear as it could be. Anticipate the questions (even if they seem trivial) your students might ask , and include that information in your instructions.

5.  Your focus is not what it should be.
Are students cheating? Are they visiting and socializing when they should be working independently? If so, examine what you are doing. Are you walking around the room and interacting with your students, or are you typing on your computer or iPad, checking your email, or grading papers? Focus on the students who are acting out. Leave everything else until later. They will soon realize that you are aware of their actions, and they will get to work.

It is entirely possible that your students have never thought any of these things about you, but it helps to be aware of the possibility that one of these might be something you could improve upon.

Here are links to three FREE and two moderately priced lessons you might find helpful during the first few weeks of school. I hope you are off to a great start.



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Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Teaching the Short Story



Many ELA teachers begin with the short story. In fact, many of the state-adopted textbooks feature the short story as the first unit in the books.


To help you get a running start, I have several resources in my TPT store that will either help you teach the elements of the short story, teach story analysis, or teach your students how to write original short stories. 


Pick and choose from the lessons that would be most helpful to you and start your new school year stress-free with no-prep lessons. Just print and distribute. Some are digital and can be accessed in Google Drive or used in TPT Easel.

All are on sale today, August 29th, and tomorrow, August 30th at 20% off. Plus, if you enter the code BTSBONUS23 at checkout, TPT will take off another 5%, which means every resource in my store will be on sale for 25% off.

To save you time, I have included all the links to these products below so you can read the descriptions and see if any of these would be helpful to you.


Writing About Literature Bundle (12 activities)
All the resources below and more are included in this money-saving bundle.


Comparing and Contrasting Two Short Stories
 
Short Story with Comprehension Questions

Short Story Analysis with Study Questions

Three Ways Authors Reveal Characters

Create a Story Plan Creative Writing Activity

Point of View in Fiction Creative Writing Activity
 
Analyzing a Fictional Character Writing Activity

Here's a free activity for you. Using 3x5 Cards to Set Up Scenes Creative Writing Activity

I hope you have a great school year!

Thanks for reading,
Charlene


Sunday, August 20, 2023

My Best Back -to-School Tip


MY BEST BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIP

At the beginning of each new school year, teachers need time to complete secretarial duties including the preparation of class rosters, seating charts, etc. Expecting students to sit by idly is never a good idea, and busy work is a waste of students' minds, so teachers need to prepare fun and challenging activities to keep students engaged while they deal with the minutiae that cannot be avoided.

So, my best back-to-school tip can be summed up in two words:
BE PREPARED.

Here are two activities my students enjoyed.


Here's a FREE Higher Order Thinking Skills Word Game students can do independently or in pairs or small groups. It will stimulate their imaginations and their brains. My students love working on this in groups, and it helped introduce students who were new to each other. You will find it here.


This different, but equally as challenging Higher Order Thinking Skills Exercise, works well with students in small groups. You will find it here.

I hope these two no-prep activities help you start the new school year out with more fun and less stress. Visit my TpT store for more helpful no-prep activities.

Thanks for reading,
Charlene

P.S. Below are blog posts from a talented group of teachers who are members of The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.



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Sunday, April 16, 2023

Eight Common Usage Mistakes


This is an example of a misplaced modifier that creates a humorous image. Was it the man who has leather seats?

We all make mistakes, and I am certainly not the Internet Police, but after seeing these bloopers online on social media, I thought these 8 common usage mistakes would make a good topic for a post. Here are just a few of some common errors I recently saw on Facebook and Twitter and a little information on how to avoid them.


1.  The dog's were all barking.
Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.
Correction: The dogs were all barking.

 2.  "The puppy has a microchip in case she might loose her collar."
Loose means not tight.  Lose means to misplace.
Correction: The puppy has a microchip in case she might lose her collar.

3.  "I laid down for 5 minutes and woke up 2 hours later."
Laid means to put or to place something.
Correction: I lay down for 5 minutes and woke up 2 hours later.

4.  “I think that Mom's who watch soap operas are way two dramatic.”
There are two errors in this sentence.
1.  Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.
2.  The word two means the number 2. The word too means to an excessive degree.
Correction: I think that moms who watch soap operas are way too dramatic.

5.  “I was just laying around feeling sick all week.”
The past progressive form of the verb “lie” is was lying. “Laying” means to put or to place.
Correction: I was just lying around feeling sick all week.


6.  “George is a very healthful person.”
Healthy and healthful are adjectives that can be used as synonyms for each other unless one is talking about a person. Spinach can be a healthy or a healthful vegetable, but when talking about a person, always use “healthy.”
Correction: George is a very healthy person.


7.  "I feel badly for you."
Badly is an adverb and will not follow a linking verb
Correction: "I feel bad for you."

Remember to not use badly with the verb "feel." If you say"I feel badly," you are really saying that your sense of touch is poor. (Maybe something is wrong with your fingers if you feel badly.) 


8.  "The woman that stood on the corner was tall."
Use "who" not "which" or "that" to refer to people unless you are referring to a group.
Correction: The woman who stood on the corner was tall.


Here are two free resources you can use to give your students practice with possessive nouns and confusing words.




If you would like to help your students practice correcting misplaced modifiers, this is a resource for sale in my store.




Here are some blog posts written by my teacher friends from The Best of Teacherpreneurs Marketing Cooperative. I think you will find them interesting and helpful.

Thanks for reading,
Charlene

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!