Teaching FUNdamentals

This learning activity was used as a culminating project for our outer space and planet unit. It is cross-curricular encompassing both science and language arts (and a little bit of math!) Students research a planet and create a passport full of information. The students then apply their knowledge and create a 3D alien that could possibly live on the plant they have researched. You end the project with a Welcome to Earth! celebration where students "interview" the other aliens to learn abou

Are you looking for a really fun, engaging way to reinforce the concepts students have learned about simple machines? This activity is a great way for students to put what they know into action. Given limited materials, students are challenged to create a marshmallow launcher. This packet includes: -teacher instructions -a handout with student instructions and a place to record data -a graphing activity -exit slip for assessment -certificate for completing launch In addition to helping stud

This comprehensive unit on the reading, writing and performance of poetry is a student and teacher favorite! It's 50 pages of poetry fun! This Common Core aligned unit has the following: -Essential Questions -A list 10 unit appropriate I Can statements -Unit vocabulary and definitions with suggestions of mini-unit pairings -List of Common Core standards and the aligning lessons/activities for Grades 4 and 5 -A comprehensive list of assessments and materials needed for the unit -A poetry pre-tes

Do you want to start the science year off right? Do you want to engage and interest kids in their learning with cool investigations? Do you want to give them the science skills they need to set them up for success? OF COURSE! This unit is PERFECT to kick off the year with. I love it because it engages and interests the students, provides them a good foundation about the building blocks of science AND can be used totally on its own. You can just grab this unit and go - everything you need is i

With this unit, I wanted to help my students move from narrative writing to a more personal, inward exploration through words. Memoir writing is great because it engages the writer where he or she is and our pasts are ripe for searching out ideas. Memoir writing also fits within the Common Core standards and will still help prepare students for narrative writing or personal writing found on high-stakes tests. However, this writing felt very authentic to my students, and they absolutely love

Have some fun this October (or really anytime!) with your students and this Spooky Halloween Science Mini-Unit. This unit includes 5 different experiments that can be used sequentially OR you can pick and choose the ones you want to use with your students. They include: -Haunted Raisins (raisins and 7-Up) -"Body Parts" observation -Bleeding Paper -Slime (glue-based) -Ghostly Goo (cornstarch and water) These experiments can be done with mostly household materials. Explicit teacher notes, ins

Are you looking for a fun, engaging unit that will help your students learn about sentences? This comprehensive, grab-and-go sentences unit is aligned with fourth and fifth grade Common Core standards. This unit includes: -Essential questions -I Can Statements -List of unit vocabulary -Alignment of standards -Suggested lesson guide -17 page student booklet full of information, practice exercises and activities -Final Assessment -Answer Keys This unit addresses: - basic sentence understanding -

Do your students love doing experiments in the classroom or lab but lack some of the basic safety skills and understanding you know they need? Teach your students to be safe scientists through this mini-unit that you can use alone or pair with my Scientific Inquiry, Methods and Processes Unit! This mini-unit includes: -lab safety story where students can identify concerns -guided notes -answer keys -Lab Safety comic strip project with instructions and rough draft template -8 lab safety posters

In this project, students research a famous scientist and use the information to create an Old West Wanted poster. I use this project as part of my Scientific Inquiry unit. However, it could easily stand alone as well! This project includes: -project handout sheet w/ instructions for students -list of possible scientists you could assign -graphic organizer -rubric for assessment -excellent student samples that you could use as models For the actual wanted poster, I just searched wanted poste

One thing that I love about the new Common Core Standards is that they ask for students to writing regular short pieces of writing throughout the year in the three main writing disciplines: narrative, argument/opinion and informative. The mini-unit I have created here asks for students to write an in-depth profile or report about a wacky animal. Kids love animals and bring some great background knowledge about them. This allows them to focus on the research and the writing, rather than deciph

This Common Core aligned project is great following an independent read, small group or lit circle read or even a whole class novel! Students use a 2L bottle to create this project exploring character, theme, setting and POV. Students decorate the bottle using symbols from the book and then draft a letter for the inside. The letter is from the POV of one of the book's characters. This is a great application level assessment of literal and critical comprehension (as well as writing skills)!

This unit is Common Core aligned specifically for 5th grade! If you want to teach your students to read and react to literature and informational text in a critical way, look no further. This unit is for you! It includes the following - -Teacher Instructions and guidelines -Common Core Standard alignment (standards covered are listed) -Materials to set up year-round Student Reading Folders - Reading and Reflection Log - Guidelines for Success - How to Write a Reader Response - Voc

Add some fun into your outer space or planets unit! This outer space science bundle includes 3 AWESOME products from my store. In this bundle, you will get: --Create An Alien Project --Space Activity Alien Postcard and Rubric --Planet and Solar System Test For more information on each of these and to view available previews, please click on above links to check them out! Buying these together will allow you to get them at 25 percent discount. Awesome! Perfect for a teacher on a budget. Your s

December is one of my favorite times of the year – for both me and for my students! However, I know how antsy students (and their teacher) can be waiting for Christmas or holiday break! Therefore, I love to incorporate engaging, high-interest mini-units and projects that will hold their attention while still allowing me to teach the content and standards that I need to cover! I believe that this new persuasive/argument unit will do just that! In this mini-unit, students learn the basics of

I had so many things I loved when I taught science that it is super hard to pick a favorite. However, dissecting owl pellets to learn more about food chains had to be up there in the Top 10. The students LOVED getting their hands dirty and really exploring the owl’s food chain. So much great, authentic discussion and exploration came from this science activity. This student booklet introduces students to the concepts of food chains and food webs, the fact that the sun powers the food chain

This test would be a great summative assessment for your outer space or planets unit! It covers the following "I Can" statements: -I can know what the universe is composed of -I can know the characteristics of the planets -I can know the difference between gas giants and the terrestrial plants -I can know the characteristics of our sun and the differences between the sun and other stars -I can know how planets move -I can understand how we learn about space The assessment asks students to re

This is an easy-to-implement assessment or research project that you can use with your Earth and outer space unit! Students take the information they learned in the unit about- -day and night and the earth's rotation -the orbit of the earth and moon -characteristics of the earth -the history of the space program -facts about the different planets, the sun and stars and then take these facts to create a postcard to educate a new alien friend! This project has been updated as of 8/22/2014 and

Narratives! I say this with an exclamation point because narratives are one of my favorite things to write with students. While Common Core has asked teachers to integrate more non-fiction and informational writing, this does not mean that creativity and narratives have been thrown out. I think you and your students will love this Common Core aligned unit. Included in this unit are teaching notes, a pacing guide, suggestions for mini-lessons, and a student "writer's notebook" that allows them

This unit is Common Core aligned specifically for 4th grade! If you want to teach your students to read and react to literature and informational text in a critical way, look no further. This unit is for you! It includes the following - -Teacher Instructions and guidelines -Common Core Standard alignment (standards covered are listed) -Materials to set up year-round Student Reading Folders - Reading and Reflection Log - Guidelines for Success - How to Write a Reader Response - Voc

The short story, Eleven by Sandra Cisneros, is a beloved story used in many classrooms. This CCSS aligned mini-unit includes 2-3 days of standards based activities and discussion that is sure to engage and challenge your students. This mini-unit includes: - notes for the teacher - standards alignment for grades 4 - 6 - author biography for background - reading questions - possible writing prompts - reading questions answer key **Please note that I do not include the short story itself due