Who's in a Family?

This is a fun packet of materials to supplement your instruction on Who's in a Family? by Sheila Kelly and Shelly Rotner. The packets has a wide variety of materials: Making Words, fluency, bingo, sentence strips, and even a 10 question assessment packet.

Taking a Sick Day

     We teachers like to think we are invincible, but sometimes those nasty germs get us! What to do? Teach it off? Stay home? I always ask myself, "Would I feel better if I stayed home?" If the answer is, "yes", then I stay home. If the answer is, "no". I go to work.

      I think all of us, at some point, say, "It's just easier to go to work, than to make sub plans." Well, your health is more important than dragging yourself to work, getting worse, and spreading your germs. I've learned to keep sub plans--one for each day of the week--on my computers at school and at home. Sometimes, at the end of a school day, I know there is no way I'm going to make it in to school the next day. I can print up a lesson plan, prep for everything, and then go home and rest--without having to worry about getting up early to get plans ready for the day. Other times, I realize at night, I'm just not going to feel better in the morning--such as when I lose my voice. I print up the sub plans--sometimes in the case of laryngitis I know I am going to be out two days--and head out to school early. I get things set up and then leave! (If possibe, I try to get the school's favorite sub to fill in for me. She subs for all of us and knows the kids. I know the students will be in good hands with her, discipline problems will be handled, and parent phone calls returned!) The students will survive without having their teacher for a day or two. And who knows, they might even appreciate you when you return.

Math Tool Kit by Mary Rosenberg

The Math Tool Kit is a great resource! It helps students put on paper, important ideas to use during a test. Primary students will make a number line, a place value chart, and odd/even chart, a multiplication/skip counting chart, fractions, and a clock. Upper elementary students might made a number line with both positive and negative numbers, angles, and formulas. The Math Tool Kit is flexible--the students (and you, the teacher) decide what kinds of information should go on the chart.

What are Contractions? mini unit plus two SMART Board activities

What are Contractions? is a great little mini-unit. It is perfect for introducing, practicing, and/or reviewing contractions. There are seven activity pages, eight bingo cards, a 10 question assessment packet, and two SMART Board activities (one on matching and a multiple choice one). This mini-unit is available as a zip file.

Daily Language Checks #91-120

The next batch of Daily Language Checks is now available! Thirty pages of high interest stories that are sure to capture the students' interest as they practice important English Language Arts skills. The Daily Language Checks are perfect for practicing for the CST (or any other ELA standardized test). The packet is designed for 2nd graders, but is also ideal for high 1st graders as well as for 3rd and 4th graders who needed extra practice or review.