Patrick Johnson

Kids love the silly samples in this practice sheet for working with dependent and independent clauses. The prompts are non-sequitor like, and really require a kid to think creatively. They'll be entertained practicing what would normally be a very tedious task. Students will practice finishing sentences with independent clauses as well as beginning sentences with dependent clauses. There is also a section for independent practice to make their own complete sentences. I know your kids will e

As a curriculum specialist in my district, I have created this Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco lesson to give critical Health information to young students without the usual, "Drugs are bad" sales pitch. The focus on activity and connecting concepts to the child's personal experience makes the lesson meaningful and interesting for kids. Contents include the teacher's guide, 2 student activity sheets, a summative assessment tool, and the assessment answer key. You may also be interested in one

(Spanish and Learning Disabled* versions included) * Appropriate for students with an IEP including mid/high functioning Autistic students. My Weekly Study Skill Survey has been an invaluable tool in my classroom when teaching kids the important study skill of self-reflection. At the end of each week, kids spend 8-10 minutes carefully reflecting on their academic behavior and habits that week over topics including listening, attention, cooperation, and productivity. They use a scoring scale (5=

It's hard for a kid to learn when s/he can't see past frustrations with "the rules". This activity asks students to think reflectively on WHY rules exist and gives him/her a chance to put him/herself in the shoes of the one who makes the rules. It's a rare opportunity for students to experience taking the perspective of someone else. Many of my products are interactive, and you'll find numerous other useful teaching tools from Patrick Johnson. Feel free to check out my other products.

(Reflection questions included) Kids have difficulty identifying and properly labeling figurative language. But we've had a lot of fun in class with this Figures of Speech activity in a dialogue format. Kids get to write and perform their dialogue through role play; a fun technique for all, but an especially useful tool for tactile learners and hyperactive children. I've found a two page dialogue sufficient to teach the concept. Feel free to have students do this writing/thinking activity m

Need a short and easy sample of "personification"? This short writing sample illustrates the concept in a small bite for students. It comes with two open-ended thinking questions for student reflection. It's a great little activity to start the class period or as a reflective homework assignment. You'll enjoy this time saving product as well as my other products from Patrick Johnson.

This is a simple way for students to think about their own speaking performance. The questions focus their thinking on specifics on both content and technique. Open-ended questions like, "How do you think you did on your speech" aren't helpful for a student as they give no parameters. Inevitably the answer you'll receive to this question is simply, "pretty bad" or "pretty good". This sheet forces them to address WHAT was "bad" or "good". Many of my products put the student in the thinking

(Great for all students, particularly for low motivated, low skilled, or TAG!) Teacher directions: Each student is free to choose one item from each column to begin writing his/her story. Every teacher knows the frustration of trying to help a student think of writing ideas on the spot. Coming up with your own ideas for them usually brings a response like, "That's boring". Besides, the teacher is doing all the thinking. I have used this writing prompt with great success. I don't have to th

Distracted student in class? Kids are human. Classroom management improves when you acknowledge that distractions happen and teach kids attention and noise. My "noise" lesson helps kids see the different kinds of distractions as well as an assessment (with answer key) of their comprehension. The outcome is that both teacher and student have the same words to discuss the issue of distraction. It helps me explain to kids why I need their attention and reduces their feelings of being told what

This is not your usual "madlib". This Sillylib exercise is written from a farcical style. Boys tend to especially appreciate the crazy, non-sequitor humor. If you've done this kind of activity with kids before, you know it's always a good idea to remind students that "school appropriate" is the expectation. I have found kids respectful of that rule. They even come back the next day swapping stories they wrote from the day before.

Kids love this activity! It's great for classroom management or an ice breaker as it gives kids an opportunity for movement and interaction. Students pair up with a partner of the same gender, and need a yardstick. They stand 3 feet apart, toe-to-toe and record their comfort level using a 1-5 scoring rubric. They repeat this procedure moving closer in 1 inch increments. They stop when they get to their "1" comfort level. The guys posture and laugh, and the girls giggle. Everyone has fun!

This short personal reflection can be used in any class. It asks the student to think about their own work and explain with detail. Students are directed to answer in complete sentences. Editing reminders are provided at the end of the sheet. The advantage to this simple activity is that it is a formative assessment allowing the teacher to get a glimpse into the student's level of comprehension of the course work. Use that data to guide your conversations with the student. Feel free to chec

This valuable teaching tool allows students to use the language of writing to give guided feedback to a classmates writing. You teach the language of writing all the time. This way students get use to writing/reading/speaking/hearing the content language peer to peer! This guide has already been developed and successfully used. Why spend your valuable time recreating a peer review guide? If you enjoy this time saving product, feel free to check out my other products by Patrick Johnson.