Creative Learning Ideas

This is the perfect Holiday Author Study. Included in this unit is a reproducible booklet for students to use as you read through the different picture books: An Orange for Frankie, Uncle Vova's Tree, Welcome Comfort, Christmas Tapestry, and the Trees of the Dancing Goats. Reading strategies and writing prompts are built into the booklet, as well as real-world connections and background knowledge for her stories. After finishing the books, use the extension activities for hands-on connections t

This Word Study pack includes everything you need to teach roots, prefixes, and suffixes. There are 15 sets to be used for 2 weeks each (30 week long pack). Each set includes a root family, prefix family, and suffix family. Also included are parent letters, study cards, pages to be completed by students to introduce the words, practice pages, and tests for each unit. A great way to meet Common Core objectives for college and career readiness!

"Can You Read it Like This?" is a great way to have students practice using expression while they read. This game incorporates high frequency phrases to build fluency in developing or struggling readers. Because students have to write a sentence incorporating the phrases, the game is different each time you play. Students draw a card and then have to read it in the voice directed by the game space they are currently on. This game would be perfect in the classroom or to send home as a resource fo

This set includes all the red words (sight words) from Layer Two of the Phonics First program--an Orton-Gillingham certified product. These words are in order and ready to be printed and used either in a center, review, pocket chart, or word wall. The words are typed in red and in a font that mimics Handwriting without Tears.

Have students cut out these notes and glue in to their math journal when learning about rounding. Includes fill-in the blanks with simple vocabulary and steps for rounding a number. Also includes a cute picture to help concrete students visualize which numbers "rest" and which numbers "raise the score." Answer key included. If you enjoy this resource, download Rounding Frogs Sorting Game as an activity students can play to practice their rounding skills.

Do you have students who are ready for Literature Study groups but still need some scaffolded support? Then this is just the pack for you! Included are guided activities (vocabulary words and text based questions) to be used in one week of class in guided groups for the first half of the book. Students then use the Book Mark to complete the book independently applying the skills from the previous week. Granny Torrelli Makes Soup is on a reading level of 4.5.

This set includes all the red words (sight words) from Layer One of the Phonics First program. These words are in order and ready to be printed and used either in a center, review, pocket chart, or word wall. The words are typed in red and in a font that mimics Handwriting without Tears.

This set includes all the red words (sight words) from Layer Three of the Phonics First program--an Orton-Gillingham certified product. These words are in order and ready to be printed and used either in a center, review, pocket chart, or word wall. The words are typed in red and in a font that mimics Handwriting without Tears.

Students think of 5 things most people don't know about them and use those ideas to decorate their pennant. The top band can be used for the student's name. Once they are finished, cut them out, hole punch, and then string together in the hall as a great Back To School display. Is a great activity for the first week of school when trying to get to know your students. Created by Jaclyn Seiders

Need a fun, hands-on activity to introduce the Scientific Method? This activity is just what you need. Kids will love learning what happens to different types of gummy candy that are left in water over 24 hours! Use this experiment to meaningfully go through the steps of the scientific method. This pack includes step by step instructions for the experiment, recording pages for students, pre/post test, extension activity ideas, and word wall cards. Great way to integrate science and math as stude

These activities work great in rotations for students to practice their spelling words. Words come from Words their Way and are for the Syllable Juncture Stage. Activities included are word jumbles, words hidden in paragraphs that students must write under the correct sort, rainbow spelling practice, and a blank test. Since the book has been reprinted since I started teaching, the activities are named by the pattern sort and not by the lesson number. Activities are not included in any particular

This packet includes activities and templates to teach students about the classification of vertebrates. Activities include anchor chart ideas, word walls, link to downloadable song, charade/pictionary cards, vertebrate matrix to classify animals into mammals, reptiles, amphibians, bird, and fish, short quiz, research templates for learning about unusual animals, suggested animal topics, template for students to create their own animal, plus planning pages and model writing samples, and a templa

These cards can be used as a daily Calendar Math pattern or as fraction practice cards. They fit the traditional calendar pocket charts or can be laminated and used with velcro or magnets. The concepts covered in this set include identifying fractions of a shaded region, benchmark fractions, equivalent fractions. Created by Jaclyn Seiders.

Puzzled Penguin is a cute, little penguin who needs student's help in figuring out whether he has the right or wrong answer. Students respond to P. Penguin in a speech bubble and use words and numbers to justify their response back to him. Students must use critical thinking skills in order to support their reasoning. This pack includes: comparing numbers, writing numbers, subtracting and adding numbers, multiplying, dividing, comparing fractions, unit fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, and ela

This pack includes resources to compare and contrast the themes among three different folktales: "Martina the Beautiful Cockroach" (Cuban Folktale), "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" (African Folktale), and "The Rough-Face Girl" (Native American Folktale.) Handouts to use while reading each book as well as a quiz are included. After reading the three tales, students write their own folktale following the same format of a character looking for someone to marry or befriend. Plan pages, checklists,

Tired of looking all over the internet for riddles to stimulate your kids' creative thinking? This packet includes 31 riddles to challenge students to think outside the box. Spread out over the year and not using them on "short weeks" you will have enough brain teasers for each week! Reward students for problem solving or just have fun giving them these challenges! Pictures by © Laura Strickland/MyCuteGraphics.com, Riddles compiled by Jaclyn Seiders.

These three problems allow for students to construct their own answer and then justify the solution. The questions are based off facts about the human body system: respiratory, digestive, and circulatory. The math word problems require students to round to the nearest ten, repeated addition or multiplication, and subtraction.

This pack has everything you need to introduce the major concepts of Economy. Included are class notes and quiz. Extension activities for learning about where products are made, vocabulary words for key concepts, and most importantly, all you need to host your own Trade Fair. Instructions and explanation for hosting a Trade Fair, notes to send home, sample Timeline, Helpful Hints, and photos of sample ideas are all included. Our annual Trade Fair is a highlight of our Fourth Grade class! Find

This packet includes several activities for the start of school including an All About Me page, Reading Interest Survey, and a Get To Know You Glyph Activity, and a Learning Style Inventory. The packet also includes management pages such as How Students Get Home first day of school, Reading checkout pages, Book list pages for students, Book Monitor pages, Username and Password page for students, Guidelines for Literacy Workshop, and a setting goals page for students, Student of the Week, procedu

Use these short notes to teach students major landforms such as mountains, rivers, canyons, peninsulas, and valleys. Then have students use their map skills to complete the map key and locate important landform features on the map of the United States. Maps are designed for students to actually color and add the landforms to the map. Also includes a map of North America so students can label the countries that share a border with the United States. A quiz for an easy assessment is included at th