A Classroom For All Seasons: freebies

Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts

Free ESL Resources

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Here are my free ESL resources all in one place!

Click on any images below and it will take you to my TpT store for the free download.

Thanks for looking!

Summer Themed Freebies

Thursday, May 18, 2017

With the school year coming to a close, I wanted to let you know of a few summer themed freebies that you can use now in your classroom, during summer school or even with your own kids this summer!

Summer Reading Passages with Comprehension Questions: This free resource includes 4 non-fiction summer themed reading passages (Buzzing Bees, Great White Sharks, Popsicles, Flag Day), plus 3 comprehension questions each. These are great for warm ups, reading centers, early finishers and even homework.

Proofreading and Editing: Summer Reading Passages: These are the same reading passages as above but require students to proofread and edit them. In addition, there are 4 comprehension questions for each passage.

My friend Michelle from Teaching Superkids created this awesome Summer Rules for Screen Time download to make the summer a little easier on parents! With this poster, kids know EXACTLY what they need to do before getting on those tablets, computers or any other screen. This is a super handout for your parents or maybe for you and your own kiddos!

Meghan from Keeping Up With Mrs. Harris has a great freebie for those entering kindergarten in the fall. Students can practice using technology AND identifying letters with this Letter Hunt QR Activity.

Thank you for looking! I wish you a smooth and enjoyable end of the year!

Shark Week Activities!

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Are you finished with testing? Or maybe just getting started like we are here? I know it is hard to keep kids engaged until the end of the year, so I decided to go with a theme that all kids enjoy: SHARKS! Having SHARK WEEK at school is a great way to keep kids learning even if they don't know it.
Below I have some ideas, plus 3 free resources I created that you can use for SHARK WEEK or any time of the year. (Great for emergency sub plans, too!)

1. Sharks Fact and Opinion Sort: Cut and laminate these cards and place in a center/station or use with early finishers. There are 20 fact and opinion statements plus 1 "Fact" and 1 "Opinion" header.

Download Shark Fact and Opinion Sort here.

2. I found this great blog post on Pinterest: Shark STEM Activities. One experiment explores buoyancy. Fun Fact: Did you know sharks will sink if they stop swimming? Some sharks including the great white will die if it stops swimming.
http://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/shark-week-activities-science-stem/

3. Sharks True or False: Test your shark knowledge with these 12 true or false statements. Don't worry, there is an answer key included!

4. Did you know the word Galeophobia means an extreme fear of sharks? This activity asks kids to write as many words as possible from the word GALEOPHOBIA.

Download Galeophobia Activity and Sharks: True or False here.

5. Books! Place some shark books in your reading center. You could add some extension activities, such as research questions, KWL charts, etc.

6. Finally, you may enjoy this Shark Booklet and Reading Activities. Your students will learn all about sharks, their anatomy, diet and more. It comes with lots of activities to use throughout the week, such as close reading activities, comprehension questions, compare and contrast, graphic organizers, vocabulary and more! Students can easily assemble the booklet and then keep it forever!

Thank you for looking! I hope you are able to enjoy some of the activities!

Poem in Your Pocket

Thursday, April 6, 2017

April is National Poetry Month and April 27th is Poem in Your Pocket Day.
There are so many fun things to do this month and so little time!
Here is an idea to get kids reading and sharing poetry:
Create a Poem in Your Pocket bulletin board display with this free template. (Thank you to Ashley Hughes for this super template!)

It's pretty easy.....First, have students decorate a "pocket". Staple the pocket to the bulletin board. Give them a few days or longer to find a poem that they love. Bring in a copy (they could copy it by hand) and place it in their pocket. Throughout the month classmates can read each other's chosen poem.
Students could also write their own poems, too!
Click here to download this free template.

I hope you and your students enjoy the freebie. If you are looking for more poetry resources, I created the Poetry Unit below.
It includes directions for writing 8 poems plus templates, poetry task cards and a covers for poetry journals.

Students can create their own poetry journals. Or create a Class Poetry Journal. After learning all 8 types of poems, have each student choose a favorite and then put a journal together for the class. Leave in the classroom library for students to read throughout the year!

Women's History Month Freebie

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

March is Women's History Month! I wanted to share a free lesson that you can use with a small window of time and some ideas for extension. This lesson can be used with upper elementary students and even in the middle school classroom.

A great and easy way to implement Women's History Month in the classroom is through a quote analysis. I compiled 8 quotes by 8 great American women. I chose quotes that would be comprehensible for upper elementary students. This handout has a color option (seen below) and a black and white option.
Below are some ideas you use with this handout.

Quote Analysis

Have students choose (or assign students) a quote to analyze. Students can write the meaning of the quote, how it relates to the woman who said it and even how they can relate it to their own lives. Be sure to have a dictionary on hand for difficult words.

Depending on the level of your students, they can work individually, in pairs or groups.

(A "Quote Analysis" printable is included for you!)

Illustration/Make a Poster:

Students can illustrate their favorite quote. They can also create a poster of a quote to display in the classroom.

Further Research/Extra Credit:

Have students find another quote by a famous woman that is meaningful to them and share with the class. Or, give students the option to share about a woman in history that they admire.

Click here to download this free resource. Enjoy!

For more reading on important women in history, you may enjoy this upper elementary resource:

Holiday Traditions Flip Book

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Teaching about holidays is a great opportunity for students to learn about different cultures and traditions from their classmates, whether they celebrate the same holiday or different ones. But it can be tricky - I will never forget my first year of teaching elementary school when I had children who were Christian, Muslim and Jehovah's Witness in one small class.
I wanted to share a fun writing activity that will get all kids writing, no matter what holiday they celebrate. This can done in class or taken home to be complete with family.

I will list the steps to below for easy to follow directions :)

Step 1: Fill out the Graphic Organizer. It may be helpful to have kids share aloud to remind others of their own celebrations. This is also a good time to remind them of the meaning of the word "tradition."

Step 2: Students will fill out the sheets provided for their flip book: "My Holiday", "Decorations", "Food" and "Traditions". Instructions are included for the students that explain how to cut and staple their flip books. (It's pretty easy - Just cut out each page along the black line, place each page on top of each other from biggest to smallest, and staple three times across the top.)

Step 3: Student can color their flip books and share with the class! These books also make a nice gift for the students' families.

Click here for your FREE "Holiday Traditions Flip Book."

This Holiday Traditions Flip Book is also a nice addition to my Holidays Around the World Unit (Print and Go).

I hope you enjoy the freebie!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School Activity: Name Tag Glyph

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

A name tag glyph is a great getting-to-know-you activity for the first day or first week of school. I will show you how to make one here (or if you just want a free one, scroll down to the bottom! I will never know!)

A glyph is a picture or symbol that gives information. Name glyphs are great for elementary aged students and I have even used them successfully with high school ESL students.

What you need: paper (card stock works best but is not necessary), markers and crayons and a worksheet with the questions you want to ask your students

Step 1: Create a worksheet with getting-to-know-you questions. Each answer will have a symbol or direction to follow. For example:

Step 2: Give students a piece of white construction paper or card stock. (You can also use white computer paper but you may need to tape it to the desk for students to display their name tag.) Fold it horizontally so it will stand on the student's desk.

Step 3: Students will then complete their name tag with the information from the worksheet. It is very important that they follow the directions closely and maybe even do a practice name tag first.

Step 4: After students complete their name tags, there are number of follow up activities you can do. - Have students introduce a partner by interpreting a classmate's name tag for the class.
- Students can write a paragraph about another classmate just using the information from his or her glyph.
- You could also do a number of graphing activities, such as graphing birthday months or favorite activities of students.
- Prepare a glyph worksheet for your sub tub so your substitute will have a name tag for each student.

If you'd like my free name tag glyph, download it here!

Celebrating September (Plus Some Free Writing Activities)

Thursday, August 27, 2015

September is full of fun days to celebrate in the classroom. Whether you need some interesting writing prompts or a quick activity, here are some ideas:

Labor Day: the first Monday in September. This day celebrates American workers and how their contributions have made the U.S. a better country... and the unofficial end to summer.
Writing Prompt Ideas:

Have kids write about what they want to be when they grow up. (See below)
Tell how you spent your day off.
For older kids, you can discuss the dangerous working conditions of long ago (around the time of the first Labor Day in 1882) and today.

September 12: National Video Games Day

Writing Prompt Ideas:

Tell about your favorite video game
Do you think parents should limit the amount of time that children play video games? Explain.
Explain how to win one of your favorite video games. (Review of sequencing words)
Do you enjoy playing video games? Why or why not?

September 13: Grandparents Day

Writing Prompt Ideas:

Tell something special about each of your grandparents.
How do you think life was different when your grandparents were your age.
What do you enjoy doing with your grandparents?
What are some things you would like to know about your grandparents when they were younger?

September 16: Mexican Independence Day Great time for a quick geography lesson. If you have Mexican students, have them share a bit about their culture or how they celebrate this day. Compare with your Independence Day holiday.

September 17: Constitution Day

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

See if your students can guess the meanings of the following pirate words:

"Ahoy!" --- Hello
"Aye" --- Yes
"Booty"--- Treasure
"Hearties" --- Friends
"Land lubber" --- someone who prefers to stay on land
"Maties" --- Friends
"Me" --- My
"Savvy?" --- Do you understand?
"Shiver me timbers!" --- OMG
"Ye" --- You

September 23: The Autumnal Equinox or The First Day of Fall

September 26: Johnny Appleseed Day

There are so many activities that you can do with apples! Here is one below to practice the five senses and/or parts of speech.

And finally, an acrostic poem! For students needing assistance, have them work in groups to brainstorm "fall words." As a group, they then choose their favorite word or phrase for each letter. Finally, they can read their work to the class and display. More advanced students can work individually.