Kathrina O'Connell

Spelling Unit. Instead of giving your students long lists of complex words to study (and quickly forget), give them spelling practice with words that they use every day. Misspelled words disrupt the flow of writing, so mastering this word list will make your student a better writer. The list of the 100 most commonly misspelled words has been used to create ten study sheets, ten word work worksheets, and a spelling test form.

This is a 78-page, complete formative assessment pack. Use it as your grade-level common formative assessment set. It's variety takes student learning styles into consideration. It's simplicity is meant to save teachers' time for modifying instruction to meet students' educational needs. Answer keys, table of contents, and student check-lists (7) are included. The set was written for Minnesota, grade 6 ELA standards, but the assessments can be used for any middle school ELA class.

Review figurative language and other literary terms with this bingo game. This is also a fun formative assessment to identify which students understand the literary language. Also a great ESL/EFL activity! My students ask for it all the time!!! Your students will want to play it EVERY day (hyperbole...maybe...?) The packet includes word cards, word & definition cards, 29 different bingo cards, and one blank bingo card.

Use a daily quote to encourage reflection and classroom discussions. This set includes 36 inspirational quotes for sharing with your scholars.

Increase student/teacher communication with these non-threatening notes for the teacher. I give these to my students on a regular basis so that they can share things with me. Sometimes they will tell me that they are having difficulties in math class. Other times, they might tell me that someone sitting next to them is bothering them. The best notes say, "I love school!". This quick and easy communication system addresses the many learning needs of our students. If I forget, my students will

Starburst candies and a bright note will create a sweet start to the school year. Welcome students to your classroom and welcome families to parent/teacher conferences.

Guide students to take charge of their portfolios (and conferences) with these work tracking forms. Students will select weekly items that reflect work for which 1. they are proud, 2. was challenging, or 3. needs further study. Checklist charts and directions make this portfolio center simple, but effective.

Reading roles are critical for implementing literature circles or small-group novel studies. The following six roles were based on the research of C.R. Whittaker [Whittaker, C.R., (2012). Integrating Literature Circles Into a Cotaught Inclusive Classroom. Intervention in School and Clinic. 47(4), 214-223]. Copy, cut, and laminate them so that students have a visible reference for their reading roles during each literature discussion.

Students don't need to ask permission to use the bathroom when the classroom has a bathroom log and established rules and routines. This simple bathroom log will keep track of students as they exit and re-enter the classroom.

Use a daily quote to encourage reflection and classroom discussions. This set includes 47 inspirational quotes for sharing with your scholars.

Researchers Manyak, VonGunten, Autenrieth, Gillis, Baumann, & Blachowicz (2014) state that students need "multiple opportunities to develop deeper understanding of the word meanings" and instruction should target word meanings with visual images. Word sketches do just that. They allow students to create their own visual representations of word meanings. This can be done individually or in small teams. No more dictionary worksheets! *Manyak, VonGunten, Autenrieth, Gillis, Baumann, & Blachowicz.

Use a daily quote to encourage reflection and classroom discussions. This set includes 38 inspirational quotes for sharing with your scholars.

Encourage students to set goals and reflect upon their work with these reading goal sheets. Quarterly goal and reflection pages, as well as Accelerated Reader (AR) sheets will give students ownership in their reading success.

Sometimes students have a difficult time telling their teachers things. Maybe they are afraid or embarrassed, or maybe they just don't have the time or the right moment. So make time for those moments! Encourage student communication with these notes. I give them to all of my students, every other week.

Parent communication is CRITICAL for a successful school year. Keep all of your notes, emails, conferences, and phone messages organized and documented with these parent communication forms. Use them in a binder for a one-stop communication reference. 2 forms, 3 versions of each.

Keep track of the many things that pop up during the day, with these to-do lists. Simply cut them out, place in a frame or acrylic frame and write your lists with white board markers. When the job is done, erase it with a tissue! Great gift idea for your co-workers and support staff.

Encourage student reflection as they record their homework, lab, and project scores. Not only will students mark their percent or grade, but they will also reflect on their understanding and learning.

Encourage your students to be "Starriffic" with the substitute teacher and you will have many awards to distribute when you return! This set includes a note for the sub, a Star Student chart to record names, and two versions of the Star Student Award. These are always a favorite with my subs and students!!

Creating an individualized spelling list, with a limited number of words, is the perfect way to customize spelling work and encourage student success! This packet includes the spelling list template, word sketch template, and individual spelling test template.

Start the school year by learning about student and parent hopes, dreams, and expectations for the year. This set includes a questionnaire to be completed by the student, and one to be completed by the parent/s. I keep these for reference throughout the year and pull them out to show students and parents at every conference.