Reading Fluency - How to Assess and Develop Handout. Informational handout on reading fluency, how it is defined, measured, and developed. Includes a table of recommended reading rates and norms, and a list or websites and resources to get you started in helping your struggling readers. 4 pages. - HappyEdugator

Shades of Meaning Verb Cards - SAID. Cut out and laminate these 16 different cards illustrating different synonyms of the verb "SAID" Helps students understand connotation. With guidance and support from adults, students acquire new vocabulary by defining word relationships and nuances in word meanings, sorting words into categories, choosing and acting out the different meanings. Aligns to Common Core Standards. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.5d Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.5d Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.5b Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.5c Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered). Additionally, words can be used for spelling practice, writing practice, and word walls. Includes definitions for the teacher. - HappyEdugator Standards L.K.5d, L.1.5d, L.2.5b, L.3.5c

Story Plot Map. This is a blank plot diagram or story map for use with any story or novel. Students can fill in the sequence of events after reading. Includes a separate page for notes and evidence. Supports common core! - HappyEdugator

TEST PREP Language Arts Standards Review PowerPoint is helpful for preparing for state tests. It has questions similar to those found on the standardized tests. 30 interactivequestions, 73 slides in all. Slides are set up so that students can answer the questions and then check their answers and discuss. Besides grammar, there are reading selections with questions about the selection as well. Supports Common Core standards for Language Arts. - HappyEdugator

Expository Writing. Methods of Expository Writing Activity Handout. Practice identifying correct text structure. Students identify the type of writing they would use for each writing task. They can choose from process, comparison/contrast, cause and effect, or persuasion. 12 different scenarios for writing. Students can work in groups, with a partner, or individually on this assignment sheet. Based on the type of questions often given on standardized tests. Key included. - HappyEdugator

nformational Text Writing Rubric. Rubric for writing informational text, evaluating exceeds, meets, and does not meet standards for ideas, organization, style, and conventions. Supports common core standards. - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving Homophones PowerPoint. Fun November Activity - a homophones search! It's an interactive Thanksgiving story to read. Students have to look for two incorrect homophones on each slide. There are twenty homophones (or homonyms)to find in all, two on each slide, and then students check themselves at the end. Key included on last slide. Fun and engaging, this original Thanksgiving story is about a little boy who travels across the country to visit his grandparents for a typical Thanksgiving holiday. Develops reading vocabulary and comprehension, spelling skills, and correct usage. Supports common core standards. - HappyEdugator Keywords: Thanksgiving, Homophones, Thanksgiving PowerPoint, Thanksgiving interactive, Thanksgiving activities, Thanksgiving word study, Thanksgiving vocabulary development, Thanksgiving reading, making inferences, frequently confused words, Thanksgiving common core

Nonfiction Vocabulary You Should Know Game Show PowerPoint presentation. A teaching game on vocabulary used in a nonfiction unit of study of informational text. 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 review for standardized testing. Reading more nonfiction is essential to the common core standards. Use for fun test prep. Prepare your students for the terminology. Supports common core state standards. RI.4.4, RI.5.4, RI.6.4, RI.7.4

Poetry Terms Crossword Puzzle. Terms include alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, imagery, rhyme, rhythm, tone, mood, metaphor and simile...18 terms and clues. Key included. Fun review! - HappyEdugator

Conjunctions: Coordinating Conjunctions - Subordinating Conjunctions SMARTBOARD. An interactive Smartboard lesson and activities on coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and how they are used in sentence structure. Two slides present the acronym FANBOYS for remembering coordinating conjunctions, and another has a hands-on activity where students make compound sentences with them. Two slides present subordinating conjuntions and how they make subordinate clauses, and another slide has a hands-on activity for making complex sentences. Solutions to the activities included. Students will also use commas and periods to punctuate their sentences correctly. On the last slide, students must sort the conjunctions into the correct vortex. Engaging and interactive lesson on the Smartboard, where students can touch and move the sentences and punctuation around. EDITABLE for your classroom use. You may wish to divide the sentences into chunks. - HappyEdugator

Behavior chart is a traffic light that you can display and use to manage classroom behavior. Fun for race car theme. Great to set up at the beginning of the year when you go back to school. This is a classroom management tool that should encourage better work and study habits. You can blow up poster size, print out, tape together and laminate. (Blow the poster up to poster size with a poster maker or have enlarged at a copy center.) Print out the 48 unique car name tags, laminate, and write names on them with transparency markers so that you can wipe them off and reuse them. You can attach cars to the posters using restickable glue sticks, which make them act like sticky notes. -HappyEdugator

Mesopotamia Crossword Puzzle. A cross word puzzle using the following vocabulary words: Paleolithic Neolithic Homo sapiens artisan Sumer ziggurat Mesopotamia polytheism Hammurabi Canaan Assyria There is a word bank at the bottom for struggling learners. Key included. - HappyEdugator

Back to School Classroom Expectations PowerPoint. Just what you need at the beginning of the year. Use at Open House, Back to School Night, or Parent Night. A basic slideshow template of classroom expectations for students at the beginning of the year. Fill in your own specifics. Back to school expectations include behavior, routines, etc. Project it on your SmartBoard for the first day of school. Editable. Revise for yourself as necessary. I also play it continuously looping at Open House at individual student computers, set up like kiosks. - HappyEdugator

Cumulative Test of Greek and Latin Word Roots or Stems. Greek and Latin Roots test to assess students on their general knowledge of word stems after we have studied basic Greek and Latin roots. It includes multiple choice, matching and fill-in type questions. A key is provided. The basic Greek and Latin word root lists, which include affixes, prefixes, and suffixes, are also available separately. 35 questions in all. Left editable for your specific needs, so you may customize for your class. Supports common core. - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., photograph, photosynthesis) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).

Shades of Meaning Worksheet. Practice using connotation and multiple meaning words. Two sections. Practice A has students take a word with three meanings and match the meaning according to the context. Practice B has students match a sentence to the correct meaning of the word underlined. - HappyEdugator

Roots with Meaning and Example Words Handout. Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes along with their meanings and example words. alphabetical order. 5 pages, useful as a study guide for test preparation. Supports common core. - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., photograph, photosynthesis) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).

Shades of Meaning Verb Cards - JUMP. Cut out and laminate these 16 different cards illustrating different synonyms of the verb "jump." Helps students understand connotation. With guidance and support from adults, students acquire new vocabulary by defining word relationships and nuances in word meanings, sorting words into categories, choosing and acting out the different meanings. Aligns to Common Core state standards. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.5d Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.5d Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.5b Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.5c Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered). Additionally, words can be used for spelling practice, writing practice, and word walls. Includes definitions for the teacher. - HappyEdugator

Strong Verb List. Use strong verbs to enhance writing. A great revision strategy is to look for ways to make verbs more descriptive. This list of strong action verbs is a handy reference to use when a better word is needed. Students can keep these sheets in their writer's journal or notebook. These words can also make a great word wall. - HappyEdugator

ndependent Clauses and Dependent Clauses handout will help your students understand sentence structure and how to make compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Explains how to form compound sentence using independent clauses with commas and conjunctions or semicolons,and also with semicolons and transitional words. Explains how to make a complex sentence with subordinating or relative pronouns, and how to use a dependent clause at the beginning followed by a comma. Also notes how to make a compound-complex sentence by combining a compound sentence with a dependent clause. Lists coordinating conjunctions (in FANBOYS order), common subordinating conjunctions and relative pronouns. Concise, handy reference for developing writing skills. - HappyEdugator

Literary Terms for Fiction Handout. This handout has 47 essential literary terms defined in easy to understand language that students should be familiar with when taking standardized tests. Great for test prep! Some of the litereature terms include elements of a short story, such as exposition, climax, resolution; elements of plot, conflict and theme. Supports common core standards. Goes with my Literary Terms for Fiction TEST. - HappyEdugator