Middle Grades Made Easy

This writing prompt asks the question "What is a Hero?" The prompt stems from the heroes that helped on September 11th, but asks students to explain their own thoughts on what a hero is. I used this with my 2nd grade students and found their responses to be quite impressive! The basics of the page allows students to add their own creative touches and colors if they wish.

This is a fun activity to do around the holidays that is related to academic content. Students create an "Ugly Sweater" representing a theme in science. The directions and template are include all on 1 easy to use page. I recommend copying on white card stock if you plan on displaying them on a bulletin board.

This is a 1/2 sheet rubric for grading paragraphs quickly. This is not a full elaborate rubric, but rather a quick check for the main points of a paragraph. This has been used with great success with 2nd grade students just learning to write true paragraphs that stay on topic. Another possibility is for students to use it as a self assessment at the top and then the teacher uses the bottom for their assessment.

This is a brainstorming graphic organizer for narrative writing. Students reflect on different types of memories to try to find an idea for their writing. The open boxes allow for writing or drawing depending on the age and ability of the student. This also serves as a great template in a writer's notebook for continuously adding ideas to write about!

These are Focus Wall headers I created for my reading focus wall that will revolve around the 2nd grade Wonders Reading program. There are 10 different color background variations contained within the zip file: White, blue, denim, green, green checked, purple dots, wood grain, golden, rainbow, and red. Want a color or pattern and don't see it here? Let me know and I can see what I can do! **JUST ADDED: Latest file contains a grass background, sports background, notebook paper background, wate

Overwhelmed by all of those Reading Wonders materials? Trying to find a better organizational system for those vocabulary cards? Use my labels to help you in your endeavor! Labels template is for Avery address labels 1"x 2 5/8" (30 per sheet) There are labels for each Unit & Week in each of these categories: (not including Week 6 because there are no leveled readers or vocabulary cards for the 6th week) 1. High Frequency Words 2. Vocabulary 3. Focus Wall (to keep story titles, essential que

These are "Vocabulary Boxes" which provide a format for writing vocabulary words, definitions, and drawing pictures to go with them. This is an old concept, but a new template! Vocabulary Boxes are a versatile tool that can be used with spelling word lists, novel studies, or any other vocabulary word list. They also give students the power of choice by allowing them to CHOOSE 6 of their vocabulary words, rather than doing the entire list.

These are the essential questions used in the last 4 units of the Wonders reading program for Grade 2. They have been formatted to be used on a bulletin board or reading focus wall. They are black and white to allow for minimal distraction for children. I plan to add more resources like this for these units and further units so check back! If you would like something that I don't have up yet, just send me a message and I will see what I can do.

These are outline notes to engage students while teaching or reviewing the differences between area and perimeter. Taking notes during the lesson improves comprehension of the material and provides students with a useful resource to refer back to during homework. The element of contrasting between the two concepts follows common core standards and Bloom's Taxonomy. Teacher "answer key" is provided also.

These are the titles of the stories used in all 6 units of the Wonders reading program for Grade 2. It includes the titles of the short text, main selection, and the paired selection.They have been formatted to be used on a bulletin board or reading focus wall. They are black and white to allow for minimal distraction for children, however they can easily be printed on colored paper for a little more pizazz. I plan to add more resources like this for these units and further units so check bac

This is a Newbery Book Project "Choice Board". Students read a Newbery book of their choosing then complete 3 activities from the board. This works great used whole class, with a small advanced reading group, or for advanced learners to do independently. The activity is naturally differentiated because students choose their own books and have a range of activities to choose from. The document is editable so you can adjust it to fit your needs.

This is a handout about reading at home to give to parents. It gives simple, to the point suggestions for helping students with reading at home. These strategies specifically help with improving reading comprehension. This is a great handout to distribute at the beginning of the year, during back to school night, with reading assessment results, or with reading logs or contracts.

Students cut apart real world examples of solid shapes and sort them into the appropriate boxes.

This is a quiz to be used with a unit of study on butterflies. I incorporate the study of insects into my unit as well so there are some questions about characteristics of insects. The quiz includes multiple choice questions, open-ended questions, and a visual drawing question to incorporate various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. The final question requires students to draw conclusions and evaluate whether the organism is an insect. The answer key is included for your convenience! If you need a

These are color-coded labels to help organize your 5th grade Eureka Math/EngageNY files. I have used them to label file folders where I store Sprints/Fluency and Exit Tickets. I also use the general Module labels to label my teacher guide and workbook spines so I can see at a quick glance which module they belong to. There are 6 pages of labels that include all 6 Modules and all lessons. They can easily be printed on standard address labels (1" x 2.625"/ Avery 5160 sized).

These are the essential questions used in the first 2 units of the Wonders reading program for Grade 2. They have been formatted to be used on a bulletin board or reading focus wall. They are black and white to allow for minimal distraction for children. I plan to add more resources like this for these units and further units so check back! If you would like something that I don't have up yet, just send me a message and I will see what I can do.

This is a chart to be used with a geography lesson. It asks students to look at 4 different photographs and answer the questions: 1. What would the weather be here? 2. What would people wear here? 3. What could people do for fun here? These three questions help students to think about the concept of how geography affects people and the things that we do. This is a great center activity, group activity, or independent activity! Students will need 4 images of geographical locations or landmark

An mClass progress report to send home to parents or give out at conferences. You can put the target scores and the student's score on both math and reading tests all on one page. This is set up for 2nd grade mClass tests, however the test names in the first column can easily be changed. Additionally, in my classroom I color code the scores (red, yellow, green) to show the level that mClass has assessed the student at. I have had several parents thank me for finally putting it all on one page

I laminate these and tape them to a few desks in my classroom that I use for time outs for students. It reminds them of the expectations while they are at the Focus Desk.