The Teaching Zone
75 Followers
Ocala, Florida, United States
About the store
I am currently an ESE Specialist for my district. Prior to this, I taught Gifted students (GATE) at four schools in Florida for several years. Prior to that, well, I spent more than 20 years during which I taught almost all grade levels, special needs and general education, and worked as a reading coach, an instructional coach and an assistant principal. I've been working in the school system since 1998.
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The Tower of Babel Challenge
This is a slight twist on the usual STEM building challenge. It is designed to teach a tough lesson about communication in a collaborative activity. It was designed for my gifted and talented students, but it could work in most regular classes where students are mature enough to handle a struggle without an emotional outburst. It is a lot of fun and can be rather messy! This purchase includes the scoring rubric, student response page, a detailed teacher guide with photographs and a script
5th - 8th
Speaking & Listening
Thanksgiving Cryptograms / Ciphers from The First Thanksgiving
This is a collection of cryptograms, both with and without clue words, with information about the first Thanksgiving, and what the pilgrims and Wampanoag ate for dinner. It was designed for use with my elementary Gifted students, but my high school son also enjoys it! At his request, I have added another, more advanced 4th cryptogram about the first Thanksgiving with a more mature perspective. This product includes 4 cryptograms, each with a copy including a clue word, and clueless copy, as w
4th - 7th
U.S. History
Also included in:Â Thanksgiving Critical Thinking Bundle for Gifted GATE
Active Listening Quick Response CNN Student News BBC 6 Minute English
This is a pair of worksheets (printable 2 to a page), one that goes with the CNN 10/Student News program, and one that goes with BBC 6 Minute English videos, both available daily for free on YouTube. Active Listening Quick Response Sheets are terrific bellwork to get students’ minds engaged and busy. They also make a good break from the norm. In my gifted elementary classes, my older students keep a current events journal, with entries from the CNN 10, which gives them a good historical refe
2nd - 10th
English Language Arts, Vocabulary
Introduction to SCAMPER PowerPoint for Gifted GATE Classes
This PowerPoint introduces Bob Ehrle's SCAMPER strategy in a fun and visual way. In the midst of it, you'll need to read from his book, SCAMPER: Games and Activities for Imagination Development, so if you don't have a copy, you can find it on Amazon. I'm also posting a guide sheet for the next step, which is referenced in the PowerPoint, so be sure to grab that as well.
1st - 5th
Creative Writing
Also included in:Â Intro to SCAMPER Bundle
Intro to SCAMPER Bundle
Hopefully this will successfully combine my Intro to SCAMPER PowerPoint and my related guide sheet.
1st - 5th
Creative Writing
Coordinate Plane Bingo Cards
These cards go with my Coordinate Plane Bingo game, but can be used any time you need a random way to select points to be plotted on the coordinate plane. They are best when printed on blank, pre-perforated business cards, but can be printed on card stock, cut out and laminated for long-lasting use.
These cards cover the range from (-9,10) to (-9,-9) and (10,10) to (10,-9) to match the 3-dimensional board created in my Coordinate Plane Bingo game. If you haven't seen it, check it out!
4th - 12th
Geometry, Graphing
CCSS
5.G.A.1
Also included in:Â Coordinate Plane Bundle
Thanksgiving Critical Thinking Bundle for Gifted GATE
This is a growing collection of Thanksgiving-related resources from my gifted classroom to yours! It includes a game, First Thanksgiving Truth-Truth-Lie (or 2 lies and a truth), Thanksgiving Cryptograms, and a new bonus file - The Great Turkey Escape - a simple logic problem for gifted littles! I plan on adding more, which will automatically become yours if you invest in this little bundle!
K - 6th
Small Change Earth Day Project Plan, Student Guide, Rubric, Sway, Florida Gifted
Updated for 2019! This is my entire Earth Day project - a project which requires students to develop a plan to make a small change in their lives which, if others also made, would have a BIG impact on the earth! I work with Gifted elementary students, but this project would work for students all the way through high school with some minor adaptations. This includes detailed instructions, rationale, an explanation of my entire Earth Day project plan, Student Guide (a detailed hand-out for stud
4th - 7th
Science
CCSS
CCRA.W.4
, CCRA.W.5
, CCRA.W.6
 +7
Hurricane WebQuest Flippy
This is a WebQuest about hurricanes, developed for use in an elementary gifted class, although it could be easily adapted for use in higher level classes. It incorporates elements of ELA, Social Studies, Math and Science. Depending on the grade level and motivation of your students, it could take an entire school day, or two to complete.
3rd - 8th
For All Subjects, General Science
Great American Women Project for Women's History Month Updated and Improved!
This is a research project created for use with elementary gifted students in grades 3 - 5, however it could easily be used in a range of grades. This project includes student instructions, teacher instructions, a page of pictures to help with assembly of the flappy, labels and cover for the flappy, differentiated options for presentations and a color-coded rubric to help with scoring. I believe this is significantly improved over last year's original. Please let me know if I can adapt this p
3rd - 8th
U.S. History, Writing
CCSS
SL.5.2
, SL.5.4
, SL.5.5
 +1
First Thanksgiving Truth-Truth-Lie
This is a couple of critical thinking / inference / reading comprehension worksheets and a related game, tied to the First Thanksgiving. I use this with 4th-5th grade gifted students, but it would be appropriate at these levels, or even in middle school, and the game can be used with any academic content.
3rd - 6th
Reading
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.4
, CCRA.R.9
Also included in:Â Thanksgiving Critical Thinking Bundle for Gifted GATE
Reindeer Games 2 Logic Challenge Enrichment Activity Holiday Christmas
This is a logic puzzle I created based upon a very silly premise - that Santa's reindeer are weird. I created this to use with my elementary gifted class, to hone our deductive reasoning skills, but it would be appropriate with middle school students as well. Please also check out my Reindeer Games Logic Challenge, which includes Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. This one is for Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen!
4th - 8th
Also included in:Â Christmas Winter Wonder Bundle
Making a Name for Yourself: A Personal Research Project
I developed this series of activities for use in my elementary gifted class, building self-image while increasing research skills. It could be used with older, non-gifted children as well. It includes a sheet of guided research, along with instructions for an art project that makes a fun cover for a portfolio or binder, and a series of extension activities suitable to a variety of learner types. This activity is appropriate for students in 4th - 8th grade (although my 10th grade gifted son a
4th - 7th
English Language Arts
CCSS
W.5.6
, W.5.7
, W.5.8
The Great Turkey Escape Simple Logic Problem
This is a simple, silly, Thanksgiving-themed logic problem I created to use with my 1st and 2nd grade gifted students. It could also be used with older students who haven't learned to solve grid-logic problems yet, or who are struggling with more complicated puzzles.
K - 3rd
Also included in:Â Thanksgiving Critical Thinking Bundle for Gifted GATE
Board Game Quiz Pretest and Project Student Instructions Checklist with Sample
This is a combo pack of the checklist I designed to help my students make sure they've got all of the necessary elements included in their Board Game Project instructions page, PLUS the pretest quiz I give to help get the buy-in I need from kids, parents and administrators, to help them all see that the Board Games unit has legitimate academic value. This is a key element in the success of my project. I hope you'll love it and use it, and leave me feedback about it!
2nd - 10th
For All Subjects
Also included in:Â Board Game Project Bundle
Classroom Clue Race
This product is a fun scavenger hunt / escape room-type critical thinking activity designed for upper elementary gifted classes. It incorporates reading, math and reasoning skills. Kids have a great time reading clues and searching the classroom for the next clue, leading to whatever prize you choose to have in store. This is a lot like an escape room, without having to purchase locks and such, and makes a great Fun Friday, or a great way to lead up to a celebration of any sort, while keeping
3rd - 7th
Coordinate Plane Bingo
This is the instructions to build a hands-on coordinate plane game, as well as the grids needed to make a printable version. The coordinate cards are located in a separate file (because I just couldn't figure out how to combine them on here without botching up the formatting!). You don't need both to play, as you can make up your own points for the grid, however, the cards will make your life a lot easier, and make for easy set-up of this game in a center or station.
I designed this to work
4th - 12th
Geometry, Graphing
CCSS
5.G.A.1
Also included in:Â Coordinate Plane Bundle
Reindeer Games Logic Challenge Enrichment Activity Holiday Christmas
This is a logic puzzle I created based upon a very silly premise - that Santa's reindeer are weird. This one only addresses the first four reindeer. I've made another for the next four. I created this to use with my upper elementary gifted class, to hone our deductive reasoning skills, but it would be appropriate with middle school students as well.
4th - 7th
Also included in:Â Christmas Winter Wonder Bundle
Slated Novel Engagement Activity Ch 1-2
This is a creative thinking activity to complete with reading students after finishing the first two chapters of this awesome novel by Teri Terry. Students will design and create their own Levo! Included are a printable student page of hints (suitable for independent work at home, if you don't have classroom time for this), example pictures and a scoring rubric. This project was created for a Gifted and Talented elementary class, but would certainly work with general education older students.
5th - 10th
English Language Arts, Reading
Christmas Around the World Cryptograms Ciphers Critical Thinking for GATE Gifted
This is a collection of 4 different cryptograms, each with a different key, each revealing a different interesting fact about Christmas celebrations from around the world. Each puzzle includes one copy with a clue word and one copy without the clue word. The answer key is also included. My upper elementary gifted students LOVE working cryptograms, and so does my high school gifted kid at home!
4th - 8th
Also included in:Â Christmas Winter Wonder Bundle
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About the store
Experience
I am currently an ESE Specialist for my district. Prior to this, I taught Gifted students (GATE) at four schools in Florida for several years. Prior to that, well, I spent more than 20 years during which I taught almost all grade levels, special needs and general education, and worked as a reading coach, an instructional coach and an assistant principal. I've been working in the school system since 1998.
Teaching style
I believe the key to being an effective teacher is the relationship you develop with your students. To that end, I worked hard to create a classroom that was a warm, welcoming, colorful and happy environment, and I strived to develop lessons and activities that were fun and engaging, which made students want to come to my class. Then, I topped it off with exciting novels which we read together and talked about. I had a lot of fun teaching, and loved my job. I hope that the activities I have created will help you love yours too.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Hmm. I was runner-up for teacher-of-the-year once. Does that count?
Even better - I had a middle school student come to Open House at my elementary school just to see me and say, "What you taught me has really helped me a lot!" That was a big honor!
My own education history
K-12, Baker School, Baker, Florida
BA - PreK/Primary Education, University of West Florida
MA - Exceptional Student Education, University of Central Florida
EdS - Educational Leadership and Administration, National Louis University
Additional biographical information
I am an empty-nester single mom, with two children in college, currently working as an ESE Specialist, and treasurer of the local teacher's association, in addition to teaching the 9-10 year old primary class in church. I don't have a lot of time to add to my TPT store these days, but I'm happy to do anything I can to support the folks that are still buying the things I've created. I sincerely hope one day I'll have the opportunity to add a lot more to my offerings.
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