Amanda Cotrupi

The concept of government is an abstract one, and it can be difficult for children to understand. This powerpoint presentation was designed as an introduction to a social studies unit on government. After the discussion, your students should be able to explain the purpose of a government. Why do we need governments? What is their purpose? The powerpoint first encourages children to think about the rights of students in schools, and how teachers, rules, and procedures protect these rights. Thi

When students learn how to multiply whole numbers, they develop the assumption that all multiplication expressions will result in a greater product. That is simply not the case when it comes to multiplying fractions. These guided notes will give your students the opportunity to see when fraction multiplication results in a product that is greater than, less than, or equal to the original factors. Students will develop their own conjectures and prove their thinking by multiplying. These two pages

This is an artistic and creative way for your children to learn and/or review the functions and locations of each organ in the digestive system. All you need is a picture of the digestive system for them to color. The activity instructs students to fill in each organ a specific color, based on the clues. For example, Pink: "Food enters the digestion system here. Mechanical and chemical digestion occurs here." Once the children identify that the clue is referring to the mouth, they would color th

This novel study guide was designed to accompany the book "Along Came Spider" by James Preller. It includes pre-reading activities, including an anticipation guide to activate schema and an article on Autism to build student background knowledge. For each group of chapters there is a vocabulary activity, comprehension questions, and questions on literary elements (such as simile, conflict, symbolism and more). You will find extended writing prompts and discussion questions! There are also post-r

Teaching children how to make observations is an essential part of effective science instruction. Yet, how many times have you asked children to make observations and see them write down, "big" or "ugly"? Well, this activity will help your students to distinguish between observations that are scientific and those that are not. It is a complete lesson designed to fill approximately 45-60 minutes. Students will take notes on what makes an observation scientific, sort examples of observations, and

This interactive worksheet guides students through 4 exploratory and kinesthetic activities centered around their body's muscles! They will explore their reaction time, notice the tendons in their hands, compare voluntary and involuntary muscles, and use their muscle sense. It is designed to be completed with a partner, and includes questions throughout. You could do one activity at a time with your whole class or have partner cycle through them like centers. It is a great way to get your studen

Fraction multiplication is a difficult concept for many young learners to grasp! These scaffolded notes will give your students the opportunity to model the process of multiplying fractions times whole numbers as well as fractions time fractions. They will also serve as a useful reference if stored in a math notebook. Note: After trying many different methods for modeling fractions multiplication in my own 5th grade classroom, this is the technique that has worked the best! I personally like to

Give students a fun, cooperative way to review those trick facts about the United States government. They will play concentration (a memory matching game) with a partner to review the role of each branch, the terms of serving officials, and other key vocabulary. Directions are included, along with some blank cards in case you want to add your own terms and definitions. **I would suggest printing on card stock for durability, and to prevent the students from seeing through the cards when they a

Make learning new vocabulary words fun! This BINGO game gives students the opportunity to match synonyms and antonyms. Check out the preview for more information!

Based on the 5th grade common core standards, this game gives students the opportunity to practice using the order of operations when evaluating expressions. Expressions do contain parenthesis and exponents, as this is required by the common core. Just as surgeons must be very careful when operating on patients, mathematicians must be careful when operating on expressions! Students will enjoy the "operation" theme as they move along the board towards the "Surgeon of the Year" award.

In order to successfully engage in word study activities, intermediate students must be familiar with the elements of words. This "I have, Who has?" game will not only give students the opportunity to review these terms, but also to apply them. Vocabulary terms include: suffix, prefix, base word, synonym, antonym, vowel, consonant, compound word, syllables. Example: Student A: Who has a word with the base word happy? Student B: I have happiness. Who has a word with 6 syllables? Student C: I h

Help your students visualize the necessary components of a paragraph by comparing them to a hamburger. The introduction and conclusion sentences are the bun, and the "meat" of the paragraph is made up of their relevant details. This graphic will remind them to include each element in their paragraph.

Writing about reading is an important element of the common core curriculum. When children are all reading different texts during reader's workshop, it can be difficult to manage your student's journal responses. "What do I write about?" becomes a common question. Print these journal questions on a sheet of 14 labels, and staple them into your students' journals or folders. Students can then pick a question that works with their text, and stick it in their journal! These questions were designed

These directions will guide your students as they investigate the geography of Canada. Provide them with a blank outline map of Canada (not included) and classroom atlases or maps. The directions require them to label and color the provinces and territories of Canada, surrounding bodies of water, nearby countries, and more.

Send home this survey during the first week of school. This will give parents a chance to share important information about their child, as well as share any concerns they may have for the year. It also shows them that you care about getting to know their child as an individual!

A major part of any successful social studies curriculum involves teaching children to be active citizens. Encourage your children to be involved in current events by assigning them to read articles from the newspaper, magazines, or reliable online websites. This assignment requires children to summarize, make connections, ask questions, and more. It is a great way to integrate language arts skills with social studies, as per the common core standards! Assign it once, or multiple times throughou

This cooperative learning activity was designed as a back to school activity. Children will brainstorm the qualities and actions of a "model student." They will then represent these qualities using symbols, images and words on the stick figure image. This is a creative and fun way to engage children while during the first week of school! Great for character education!