Deb Maxwell

Do you need to help your students decode nonsense words or multi-syllabic words? Nonsense words are frequently assessed on early reading screening and proficiency tests. It’s a challenge for students who are accustomed to trying to make sense of reading, but being able to do it successfully helps students decode more challenging texts. To make sense of nonsense words, we need to view them as word parts. This activity shows students how nonsense words fit together to make longer words. A word l

"When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking. And it says its name." This is a sign to help students decode words with vowel teams. The sign shows 3 common sets of vowel teams walking down a side walk. The first vowel is saying its own name. This is a good reminder for students when they are learning the long vowel sounds. For some fun practice with this skill, check out my I have, Who Has? Vowel Teams Activities. Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedbac

An almost magical framework for identifying the author's central message and retelling a fictional story. This FREE poster can be used at any level! It works with almost any fictional text. It's my favorite comprehension strategy! Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedback on any product you download. Be sure to follow for information on freebies, sales, and new products. I also blog at: Not very fancy I'm on Facebook, too! Not very fancy Facebook Page Deb Looking for

These Common Core aligned task cards are ideal for fast finishers, center activities, small groups, morning work, or mental math. There are 9 activities and 130 unique cards. *Counting—12 cards, EACH card has 4 counting tasks--start at any number and count on. The number range is 0-130. *Counting strategies—24 cards, EACH card has 4 counting tasks—start at any number and count on by 10s or 5s. The number range is 0-200 *Balancing equations—18 cards, students are challenged o find at least 10

Math-related clipart: clocks (hour and half hours), pattern blocks, 1-100 chart, 0-99 chart, 1-120 chart, dot arrangements, ten-frame representations of all numbers 0-20, base ten blocks in several colors (2D and 3D). Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedback on any product you download. Be sure to follow for information on freebies, sales, and new products. I also blog at: Not very fancy I'm on Facebook, too! Not very fancy Facebook Page Deb Are you looking for more c

Decoding multi-syllabic words is incredibly difficult for students. The activities in this packet show students how word parts fit together to make multi-syllabic words. As texts increase in complexity, longer words start to appear, but in authentic texts, these words can't be introduced systematically. Especially for struggling students, it's easier to learn to decode longer words when they are taught systematically. Decoding longer words with multiple syllables is closely related to reading n

Apple themed math worksheets for primary grades. Lots of equations! These are differentiated with a basic and a challenge option for most skills. Common Core Aligned for first grade. They would make excellent review for 2nd or even 3rd grade. True/False equations--addition--2 levels True/False equations—subtraction--2 levels Missing Addend –addition--2 levels Missing Addend—subtraction--2 levels Continue the number pattern--2 levels Greater than/Less than/Equal to ***BONUS easy page for beginn

Your library is one of the most important features of your classroom. We spend lots of money collecting wonderful books, so it’s important to have a good organizational system in place for our students and for ourselves. A good organizational system will help make your books more usable. Classroom libraries are always growing. It’s best to have an organizational system that allows for growth. I used my knowledge of children’s literature, elementary curriculum, and teacher preferences to desig

Number line cards with 10-frames for numbers 0-20. These can be displayed to help students understand the relationship between the numeral and the quantity. The 10 frames helps them to begin to see the connection between groups of 10 and place value. These cards are only half a page, so they don't take up much space. Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedback on any product you download. Be sure to follow for information on freebies, sales, and new products. I also blo

Give your students a real challenge with these Valentine's Day themed math problems! There are 60 task cards with Valentine's themed problems written at 3 different levels. All different problem types are included. The three sets are identical except for the numbers and the frame. Each set has a corresponding recording sheet and answer key. For a bit of teacher humor, the subjects of all the problems are presidents and first ladies. Don't miss out on this fabulous DOLLAR DEAL: Valentine's Pri

Following directions is such an important skill! This apple-themed freebie is a fun way to practice. Some students struggle to understand the vocabulary or language we use when giving directions. Working on this activity with a teacher can be really helpful for the student and very revealing to a teacher. More Practice Following Directions: Valentine's Day Following Directions Lesson Snowman Following Directions Freebie Do your students need help understanding how to use reading strategies?

The "W-strategy" is a great way to scaffold students as they learn to identify key details and retell a fictional text. This strategy is ideal for ELL and beginning readers. It's also useful for struggling students in the upper grades. Each point on the W represents a 'W-question word'--what, where, why, when, who. Students learn to associate where and when with the setting of the story, who with the characters, and why and what with the plot. If students aren't ready to answer the W questions

The first time I read Hippos Can't Swim, I was in love. I think it’s highly engaging and beautifully illustrated. I love the way the author compares and contrasts the animals. I wanted to design a lesson to use the text and develop critical thinking skills. I took the fascinating facts from this text and made a set of 26 true/false questions. The questions are half page sized to use in a whole group lesson, or small-sized to use individually. There is a recording sheet and an answer key. The

Students practice counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s with this apple themed primary math center. There are 4 choices for recording sheets to encourage differentiation. Once students have mastered putting the cards in order, the recording sheets prompt them to discover patterns. This product is primarily suited to 1st or 2nd grade, but it would also be useful as an introduction to multiplication for 3rd graders, and parts of it would be very useful for kindergarten. This would work well to exte

Readers need to approach fiction and non-fiction differently. This poster helps students understand the difference in approaches. When approaching a fictional text, readers can bite right in and begin. When approaching a non-fiction text, readers need to slow down. The peel needs to be taken off. Compare this to previewing the table of contents. Non-fiction is usually broken into sections the same way an orange is broken into sections. If you really want to make this idea sink in, you can have

This is a set of red, green, blue, yellow, orange, and black/white domino borders and banners to give your documents an impact. Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedback on any product you download. Be sure to follow for information on freebies, sales, and new products. I also blog at: Not very fancy I'm on Facebook, too! Not very fancy Facebook Page Deb Are you looking for more centers, visuals, lessons, and activities? Math Challenge Task Cards Who Stole the Cookies

This is a 0-20 number line for display in a primary classroom. Each number is represented in a ten frame with adorable monsters. Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedback on any product you download. Be sure to follow for information on freebies, sales, and new products. I also blog at: Not very fancy I'm on Facebook, too! Not very fancy Facebook Page Deb Are you looking for more centers, visuals, lessons, and activities? Math Challenge Task Cards Who Stole the Cookie

These little desk tents are to help manage the classroom during independent work time. Students can use the tent to signal their current status. The tents (prisms) can be turned three. Enjoy! I put quite a bit of thought into the phrasing for each status. I wanted to avoid statements like--'I'm finished' and 'I need help.' I also chose my colors carefully to avoid the typical green-yellow-red.

Did you know that a groundhog is the same thing as a woodchuck? What better time is there to introduce students to the classic "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?" tongue twister? There's a copy of the poem for students to practice reading and a worksheet to practice using the homophones 'would' and 'wood' correctly. It's Not very fancy, but I think you'll like it! Have you seen my other February products? Valentine's Primary Math Packet Valentine Problem Solving Task Cards Valentine's Da

Following directions is such an important skill! This Easter-themed freebie is a fun way to practice. Some students struggle to understand the vocabulary or language we use when giving directions. Working on this activity with a teacher can be really helpful for the student and very revealing to a teacher. There are three versions of this activity, so you can choose the one that is right for your class, or use all three. Thanks for visiting my store! I would really appreciate feedback on an