I have a total of 27 years teaching experience . After I received my M.Ed. from the University of Florida (hence the name "HappyEdugator"), I began teaching in elementary school, where I taught pull-out remedial classes for grades 2-5 and a section of K-1. Then I taught Pre-K for 5 years, before I went up to Middle School, where I have been in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Last year, I went back to 1st grade in a private setting. I have traveled worldwide and am also fluent in Spanish.
I have a total of 27 years teaching experience . After I received my M.Ed. from the University of Florida (hence the name "HappyEdugator"), I began teaching in elementary school, where I taught pull-out remedial classes for grades 2-5 and a section of K-1. Then I taught Pre-K for 5 years, before I went up to Middle School, where I have been in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Last year, I went back to 1st grade in a private setting. I have traveled worldwide and am also fluent in Spanish.
Dolch Sight Words Activities - Week 10. A week of Dolch sight word activities for the tenth set of ten words from the Dolch sight words list. Activities include: flash cards/ memory game, color the words, trace the words, match the words, cut and paste the words in alphabetical order, and write the words in letterboxes. Enjoy! Weeks 1 - 10 will cover the first 100 Dolch Sight Words. - HappyEdugator
Christmas Activity - Christmas Coded Words Activity Sheet - Webdings. Fun! Use as a time filler or as a fun thing to do for a Christmas party. Figure out the coded Christmas words written with webdings by using the decoder. Winter fun! Like a puzzle, this exercises the brain and promotes visual discrimination. Keep kids occupied even on Christmas Eve. No prep. Print and go. Key included, of course. - HappyEdugator
Vocabulary Builder Chart. A vocabulary graphic organizer chart you can use to help your students build their vocabulary. Students can look up the definition and a sentence from the story in which the word was used.
Speech Presentation - Teacher Evaluation Sheet. Easy checklist to assess a student's performance when making a speech or presentation. Assess whether student exceeds, meets, or does not meet standards for organisation, staying on topic, supporting ideas, logical arguments, appropriate sources, voice clarity and volume, etc. Has a column for N/A, so it may be used to evaluate an expository or persuasive speech. Nice to use on presentations given at the end of each grading period. - HappyEdugator
Smarty Pants Incentives or Rewards - Set of 4! Great for state testing or as rewards! Give these out to motivate students or just to let them know you are proud of their accomplishments. Use during the year to motivate and inspire. Put up a bulletin board with an old pair of jeans and let students display work that earns the Smarty Pants award, or give them out with candy "Smarties" to motivate and build confidence before state testing. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
Back to School - Rules for Agenda Book. An abbreviated summary and student friendly copy of (editable) school rules that students can tape into the back of their agenda book to serve as a reminder of classroom and school expectations. Created with middle school in mind. Give it to them on the first day of school. Editable! Can be adapted for your grade level or to reflect your school policies. Four copies per page on MS Word format. Thank you for looking. Enjoy! While you are here, please check out my shop! -Happy Edugator
Homophones - Homophones Interactive PowerPoint 2. Interactive. 25 practice sentences for students to find the correct homophone and then check. A fun way to practice. Project on overhead, use on tablets, chromebooks, or on a computer. Animated graphics. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
ABC Summarizer. This free summary sheet has students look for things that begin with each letter of the alphabet to summarize their learning. Students can even summarize the school year at the end of the year! As a summarizer, it can be used to conclude a unit of study, a lesson, a novel or short story, or even a movie. May be an assessment tool as well. There is a place for extra notes at the bottom. Supports common core! Thank you for looking. Please check out my shop. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
Happy New Year Activity - Making Resolutions and Setting Goals. Making New Years Resolutions is a fun New Year activity. Ring in the New Year by making new year resolutions and setting goals. Includes slides (or print them out as task cards) on making resolutions and goal setting. Can be used for whole class instruction, cooperative learning groups or in writing centers. Happy New Year! - HappyEdugator
Test Taking Strategies - Test Taking Strategies for State Tests. Test prep PowerPoint.for all standardized testing and state testing. Useful strategies for taking a state test or assessment. Test taking strategies that students can use during mandated standardized state tests to be successful. Mnemonic devices or catch phrases will help them remember what to do on and before a standardized test! - HappyEdugator
Parts of speech PowerPoint game. A fun interactive way to practice identifying parts of speech. Students are given two sentences and have thirty seconds to decide what part of speech the underlined words function as in a sentence. They can work with a partner and use wipe-off white boards or write the answers down on paper. After time is up, the answers will disappear. (Timer is built in) Click again to check answers. Advance slide and click to start with a new set of sentences. Grades 3 and up. Supports common core!
36 sentences in all. - HappyEdugator
Dilations Initials Project. This is a culminating project for a unit on dilations. Students will enlarge and shrink a drawing of their initials on grid paper or posterboard and use coordinate graphing rules to produce a similar image. In addition, they will enlarge the image and it must have a scale factor of at least 4. Then they will shrink the image and it must have a scale factor of at most 1/4. Handout with project details and rubric included. Supports common core standards. - HappyEdugator
CCSS.Math.Content.8.G.A.3 Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.
TEST PREP Language Arts Standardized Test Practice PowerPoint. Test prep! Interactive questions and answers to prepare students for a standardized test in Language Arts. Use as a review of verb tenses, adjective and adverb clauses, and sentence combining, sentence structure, and parts of speech. Prepared for the Georgia state test CRCT, but useful preparation for any Language Arts standardized test. You can also edit questions to support your instruction as well. Supports common core. Recently updated with the addition of more rigorous questions! - HappyEdugator
Classroom Etiquette Handout for Middle School and High School. Classroom management tool. Rules to live by! Teach classroom behavior and classroom expectations. Students will have no excuses after they read this detailed set of rules for good manners in the classroom. "What your teacher really wants." What seems like common sense to the teacher is not always common sense for a student. They need direct instruction on expectations. Give to students to remind them of how you expect them to behave. Works well with a positive behavior intervention system. Additionally, this handout also could be given to students to copy if they have been given detention or ISS. - HappyEdugator
United States Scavenger Hunt Handout. A fun fill-in-the-blank geography hunt of the United States. Students will need to use a US map (several included) and will have to use their map skills to answer the questions. There are 30 blanks worth 3 points each, and one bonus question. Key included. Also includes a set of internet task cards. Educational and fun! A good Social Studies class activity, as well as a great activity for summer. Have your kids do this activity at summer camp or on a trip! - HappyEdugator
Lesson Plan Template - Standards Based. A weekly plan in MS Word with plenty of room for you to organize and keep you focused on learning. Room for Standards, Essential Questions, Activating Strategies, Acceleration, Teaching, Summarizing, and Daily Products and Homework. 2 different styles! You may modify or edit for your own specific needs. Works best for middle school, but can be used for all grades. - HappyEdugator
Nonfiction Vocabulary You Should Know PowerPoint presentation on vocabulary used in a nonfiction unit of study. Supports Common Core! Includes nonfiction, author's purpose, exposition, description, narration, and persuasion, types of nonfiction selections and their descriptions, nonfiction text structures, the difference between dialogue and dialect,as well as stereotype and bias. Good as an introduction to nonfiction reading and writing, and can be accompanied by my PowerPoint Structures of Nonfiction Text for more specific information on text structures. Includes animated graphics. Reading more nonfiction is essential to the common core standards. Prepare your students for the terminology.
- HappyEdugator
Common Core Standards
CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6
Appositives and Appositive Phrases Handout and Practice. This includes a two page handout with clear graphics detailing what an appositive and an appositive phrase is, providing examples and the rules for correct punctuation of them. It can be copied front and back to save paper. The third page is a worksheet for practice, and the last page is the answer key. - HappyEdugator
ersuasive Prompts Handout. Use this as a handout to give students many different choices for writing an argument or opinion piece, or use the prompts separately for different writing assignments. There is a total of 18 persuasive writing prompts that will surely get them writing! - HappyEdugator
Supports Common Core ELA Writing Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1a Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1b Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1a Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1a Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1d Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.