PS Smith

Gerund? Participle? Using the spelling of the word GERUND, this colorful graphic gives students an easy way to remember that GERUNDS are nouns. Display this memory tool on your Activboard and have students copy it into their notes for a simple way to learn and remember the identity of GERUNDS. "GERUNDS are . . ." prints to an 8.5 x 11 size. Color quality may vary depending on printer and ink.

Participle? Gerund? Need a visual strategy to help students remember that Participles are adjectives? Try this colorful graphic. Using the spelling of the word Participle, this digital poster gives students a tool to help them remember the function of a Participle. Prints to an 8.5 x 11 size, but I recommend saving ink and paper by displaying as a digital poster on your Activboard.

Help your students see the patterns! Learning simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences becomes easier with Color Coded Sentence Structure Pattern Pieces. This lesson uses color coded subject, verb, coordinating conjunction, subordinating conjunction, relative pronoun, commas, and other sentence pattern squares to help students break sentences down into easily identifiable patterns. After cutting the sentence pattern squares apart and placing them in a plastic bag, students ca

Frequently, students ask, "What do I write in my conclusion?" So, I created a short, to the point powerpoint to show students what "ingredients " go into a conclusion. The conclusion I use is for an informational or expository paper; however, it can easily be tailored for an argumentative or persuasive paper.

Students speak emoji-like images; teachers need information on student progress. This quick assessment gives teachers quick student feedback after a learning activity. It's great for organizing small groups and identifying areas a teacher needs to target.

Are your students still confused about the difference in compound and complex sentences? Try this cheat sheet that breaks sentence parts down into simple color-coded pieces. Taken from my activity packet "Color Coded Sentence Structures", this is a short, simple, and colorful tutorial. Sentence parts are color-coded to help students evaluate a sentence for its subject, verb, and conjunctions. I have used this visual model successfully for over ten years with my students, and it helps them

Students become grammar detectives with Discovery Lists - Parts of Speech. A Discovery List is a teaching strategy I learned about in college many years ago, and I have created this particular one using the 8 Parts of Speech. Each slide contains two columns, Column A and Column B. Students analyze the underlined words in each column and determine which Part of Speech is used in each column. Each Discovery slide is followed by an answer slide with a brief explanation of the part of speech used i

Commas, commas, commas. It seems students of all ages struggle of when to use a comma. This meme confronts students with two punctuation NO-NOs. This poster is ideal for getting students' attention before diving into the deep waters of punctuation.

Studying the different types, or forms, or verbals can be frustrating for students. Using a humorous meme can help lighten the mood as you guide them through gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

Library Day! Use this meme to get students excited about going to the library. It can also serve as a cute reminder for students to bring their library books to class on Library Day.

If you battle the punctuation habits brought on by texting, this meme is friendly reminder for students to use end punctuation.

Have you every read a student paper and felt like you were chasing a rabbit through a maze? Graphic organizers help beginning writers know which details to put where -- or organize their thoughts. This graphic organizer is for a basic report, like a news story. Activity Suggestion: Choose a news article, have students identify the details in the article and place them on the graphic organizer. This helps students identify the flow of information in an Order of Importance article. Students may o

Engage your class in this active writing exercise. They will quickly realize the importance of details in writing when performing or viewing a performance of this skit. Then, students will have a chance to revise the skit and add their own colorful details.

One size does not fit all, or one graphic organizer doesn't work with all topics. Help students see the connection between writing purpose and text organization. Great for reteaching, summarizing a lesson, or a quick formative assessment.

Tired of paragraphs starting with "He", "She", "They"? This meme will help students remember to put an ANTECEDENT BEFORE the pronoun. Clever way to teach content vocabulary!

There's always one! Help students remember to put their name on their work with this lighthearted meme.

'How do I start?' 'What do I do first?' These are questions frequently asked to writing and composition teachers by their beginning writers. Frequently, beginning writers need the stages of the writing process broken down into simpler steps. This helps beginning or struggling writers build a foundation for future writing instruction. Simply telling some students to prewrite isn't enough. In this minilesson, students are instructed how to create a jot list, graphic organizer, and outline. In ad

Use humor to welcome your students back after the holiday break with this subtle reminder that half the school year is gone.