Reading Guy

This Reader's Theatre covers the history of the famous battle at the Alamo in Texas. There are 14 characters including five Narrators, Santa Anna,Davie Crockett, Sam Houston, and Stephen Austin. This fits perfectly with a study of the Southwest Region of the United States and works with 4th-6th grade students. With smaller classrooms, parts can be combined to fit your needs. It is a total of eight pages long, and takes approximately 10 minutes to peform.

This 27 slide presentation is perfect for providing background knowledge to students beginning a study on WW2. I've used it primarily with 5th grade students, but it's written so that it's understandable for students 4th grade and up. Several slides contain hyperlinks to youtube videos showing the Blitz of London as well as Pearl Harbor. The presentation gives a broad overview of both the European and Asian aspects of the conflict. It would work well to use as a center or whole class. In order t

The book Take Me Out Of the Bathtub by Alan Katz is an excellent example of incorporating VOICE into writing. After reading several of the poems in the book, I explain what a parody is. The students then create their own parodies of famous songs such as It's Raining it's Pouring, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and I'm a Little Teapot. I encourage students to use their own VOICE while writing their parodies.

Are you frustrated with your student's lack of descriptive writing. This activity is a great introduction to the concept of showing not telling in writing. On each of the twelve pages, students have an opportunity to sketch a picture related to an emotion. At the bottom of each page, they should describe the emotion without using the actual word (e.g. my heart was racing, my jaw dropped, and etc.)

On the website: https://www.npss.sk.ca/bell-games/prairie/build/index.html students are required to research plants and animals to determine if they are a good fit for prairie life. The site then simulates the growth of a prairie including grasses,flowers, and various animals. This three-page interactive activity is designed to accompany the site and includes questions students must answer as they maneuver through the site. Great for small groups, as a center, or whole group instruction.

Created in Powerpoint, this Jeopardy game is designed to test students knowledge of both butterflies and moths following the end of a unit. Simply click on the number of points under each category to elicit a question. The answer can also be retrieved by clicking on the screen following a student's response. Click the "Back to gameboard" icon in the bottom right corner to return to the main game board. Students love playing Jeopardy, and it's a fun way to review.

This Jeopardy Game created in Powerpoint, reviews characters, events, and setting questions for the book The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson. Simply click a number of points under each category for the question and click the gameboard in the right hand corner in order to return to the main menu. A final jeopardy question is included.

This digital file includes a list of approximately ten prompts that could be used to begin a mystery or fantasy writing piece. The prompts are intended for 5-8 grade students.

A two-sided sheet featuring recommended sites for parents and kids. There is also a section for Reading Games as well as approximately eight Reading/Language Arts Apps. We pass this out to parents to help engage students over the summer.