Flash Freebie! Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

Take advantage of my Flash Freebie Download of Wringer by Jerry Spinelli before it's too late!  All I ask is that you leave feedback HERE in return of your download!

This unit is full of chapter comprehension questions, vocabulary, graphic organizers, and an end of the book quiz.

Boggle or Bust!

I have hopped on the Boggle Bandwagon and I am loving every minute of it!  My 4th graders are very excited about this new classroom activity and it has gotten pretty competitive in our room! 

I changed it up a bit from what I have seen around and made my own to add more letters, thus creating more columns and rows.  

We start a new Boggle Bash game each week.  Students have all week to fill a sheet with 25 words.  They know I tally the sheets by how many letters they use.  So they need to fill up their sheet with bigger words to win...the three letter words aren't going to get you the win!

When they are finished, the put their sheet in the Boggle Bash Box (a wooden toy mailbox - I think it is Melissa and Doug - that I purchased at a garage sale and painted).  The following Monday, I tally the sheets and declare a winner.

What does the winner get?  

They go crazy over a simple bottle of Powerade!

This week's Flash Freebie is this Boggle Bash game.  It includes the heading, letters, answer sheets, and directions.  

In case you were wondering, I use a Calendar Pocket Chart from Carson-Dellosa which fits everything perfectly.

Click on the picture below to get your Flash Freebie!

Classroom FREEBIES that are a MUST HAVE!

These are some of my new favorite FREEBIES that I think every A+ class can benefit from!

How do you get your students to write A+ sentences?

How do you get your students to turn in A+ work?

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How do you get your students to have A+ reading responses?

 

How do you get your students to treat each other with A+ respect?

 

 

How do you get  A+ student participation?

 

How do you get  A+ test results?

 

Some People are Worth Melting For

Oh the weather outside is frightful, 

but Olaf will make it delightful...

 

We all love Olaf!  So how about combining a little winter writing with a fun Olaf craft to brighten your bulletin boards!

 Olaf's most meaningful line from FROZEN (in my humble opinion) is "Some people are worth melting for."  Who in your life is worth melting for?  This is the theme of the writing activity we did.

My kiddos had a blast making these Olafs which they told me they cannot wait to take home and hang up in their rooms!

 

This week's Friday Flash Freebie is this Olaf Writing Craftivity! 

Power through to winter...spring is only weeks away!

A Thanksgiving Class Recipe Book and a Friday Flash Freebie

Thanksgiving is next week and already I am thinking of that amazing, once-a-year dinner!  Thanksgiving is a time of traditions, thankfulness, and, of course, food!

So, I thought I would share a little writing project we did last year as a class.  It takes a little time and preparation, but it is worth it!  I promise!

We spent one lesson having group discussions on Thanksgiving traditions.  What we do with our families, what our traditions are, what food we have at our feasts.  

Then each child was asked to think of their favorite Thanksgiving recipe.  They were to bring this recipe to school.

Then we wrote!  We wrote about our family Thanksgiving traditions and what we remember or think of when looking at this recipe.

We went into the computer lab and each student typed up their own recipe and paragraph. (I proofread!)

I gave each student the opportunity to choose a clip art picture to go with their recipe as the finishing touch to their cookbook page!

I sent to our local ESU to be printed and bound and we were able to send home before Thanksgiving break!

These were a huge hit with my families.  The writing piece at the bottom of each recipe really made it worth it.

This year, we are doing this a holiday gift for parents.  So even though you may not have enough time to do this before Thanksgiving, you could have it done in time for your Christmas or Holiday break!

Today's Friday Flash Freebie is an oldie but a goodie.

My Cause and Effect packet is a set of activities meant to teach and reinforce the concept of cause and effect in a variety of ways.

Page 1 & 2 - Cause and Effect Practice Sheet and Answer Key
Page 3 - Cause and Effect Short Story Activity
Page 4 - Cause and Effect Picture Activity
Page 5 - Cause and Effect Trees Activity
Page 6 - Cause and Effect Puzzle Activity
Page 7, 8, & 9 - Cause and Effect Card Game
Page 10 - Cause and Effect Activity using the picture book "Tuesday" by David Weisner
Page 11 - Cause and Effect activity using a book of your choosing
Page 12 - Cause and Effect Transitions worksheet

Enjoy!

Quiz Star and a Friday Flash Freebie!

I realized today that many teachers are not aware of Quiz Star (which is one of my favorite teaching tools!) 

We use Quiz Star in our classroom AT LEAST once a week, usually more!  

Quiz Star is a FREE online test site.   Create an account (super easy) and create all the tests you want.  There is a teacher login for you and a student login that you will create for each of your students.  After, you set up your students, they can go in and take the quizzes you have created.  It tells them their score immediately and you, as the teacher, will also know immediate scores. 

I will be honest, the first year was a bit time consuming.  Entering all the test questions does take time.  But I figured I was making up that time by not having to grade tests.  This year has been a breeze because the tests are already created in my account.

Give it a try!  You will become immediately addicted!

Now on to Friday Flash Freebie!!!!!!

How many times a day does a student come to your desk and ask you how to spell something?  And how many times do you swear you taught them how to spell that word just last week?  Sounds familiar to some of ya, right????

Here is my Spelling Dictionary.  I made these for the beginning of 4th grade and they get passed on to 5th grade at the end of the year.  

There is one page for each letter of the alphabet.  Students can ask me to spell any word they want, but they have to their spelling dictionary with them and opened to the correct page.  That way, if it is a word they already have asked about, it will be right there on that page.

This is free for a short time, so click on the picture and hop on over to my TpT store today! 

Friday Flash Freebie and Some Of My Fav Organizing Tips!

Organization is my ongoing epic struggle.  I am always trying new tips and tricks to keep my day running smoothly!  Here are some of my favorite tips!

Tip #1 - Every Day Answer Keys

There are certain Answer Keys that I grab on a daily basis or weekly basis that I want easily accessible.  For example, our Math Minute and our Grammar Warm Ups are exercises we do nearly every day and correct together nearly every day.

I printed off the answer keys out of the books and put in page protectors.

 I labeled them on the side and stuck them in a file folder.  Best thing ever!

Tip #2 - Supply Organization

I have seen this organizer on several Pinterest sites but decided to try it a few months ago after finding a freebie label download at http://imlovinlit.blogspot.com/.  Now I think this is one of the best things I have done to stay organized.  My desk is no longer cluttered and I can always find everything I need.  Amazing how the littlest things can be the biggest help!

Tip #3 - Staying on Top of Make Up Work and Corrections

This is probably my biggest organizational struggle as a 4th grade teacher.  How do I keep track of corrections and make up work?  It's not so bad right now, but wait until cold and flu season!  So, I have been using this system for a few years and it works great for me!

Any time a paper needs correcting, I put that paper in the student's "Catch Up" File.  If a student has a make up work, that also goes in the student's "Catch Up" File.  Both students and myself can easily see at a glance who has work that needs to be done.

Click on the link below for a FREE download of the sign.

Tip #4 - Sending Papers Home to Parents
Loose papers in desks is one of my biggest pet peeves.  Each child has a mail folder and all papers that need to be taken home are put in these folders.  I also have two students whose assigned jobs for the week are "Paper Passers".  They pass back corrected papers into the mail folders.  Every Friday, students clean out their mail folders and put all papers in their Friday Folders.  Parents know to expect these folders.  After parents have seen corrected papers, they sign the Friday Folder and send back on Monday.  We actually do this as a school which is very helpful.
Here is my mail system.

Tip #5 - Keeping Track of Parent Communication and Student Info
I have tried keeping a binder (but I didn't like the extra steps of 3 hole punching everything and opening the binder - time is limited!).  I tried keeping File Folders but then I have to relabel each year.  So now I use an expandable file folder like the one below.

 I folded back the cover so the files just lay open.  I labeled the expandable file with student numbers that can be reused and I placed in my desk drawer.  Student papers and info can be slipped into it in seconds which helps me stay much more organized!

Tip #6 - Helping Students Remember Names
I think I got this idea a long time ago from somewhere but can't remember where.  However, it is the best idea EVER!

Provide students with highlighters near the turn in station.  Have them highlight their name and number before they turn in papers.  If their name isn't on their paper, they will remember to write it so they can highlight.  
(I mounted this to a book end so it will stand on its own above my Assignment Station.)

Click on the picture below for a link to a FREE download.

Tip #7 - Student Homework Helpers
I have students mark who has homework turned in right away in the morning.  They go though each assignment and check off an a pre-made student list those that turned it in on the list.  That way you know right off the bat who has late work!

Tip #8 - Supplies
I believe it is important for students to have the necessary supplies at all times.  I have a Supply Center where I keep everything the students might need throughout the day that is not necessarily something they would keep in their desk.  It makes life easier if they know to look in the same spot for everything.

This is a new product of mine that I am excited to share.  My kiddos love playing games to review and practice concepts.  Some of them were struggling with contractions, where to put the apostrophe, and what letters remain in the contraction.  This Bingo game will help!

Laminate the cards for durability!

This Contractions Bingo is my Friday Flash Freebie!  Click on any of the pictures above to download this Freebie.  But hurry, it's not free for long!