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Color Your World

My teaching aids help your students to learn with interest and creativity. Each of my resources has been classroom tested and approved. I hope you and your students enjoy them, too!

My teaching aids help your students to learn with interest and creativity. Each of my resources has been classroom tested and approved. I hope you and your students enjoy them, too!
Visual and Verbal Story Starters
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Visual and Verbal Story Starters

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This set of 40 story starters will keep your young authors busy all year long with a variety of topics to explore and develop. Either play the PowerPoint and project a different image each day, or print out a page from the .pdf for individual students or groups. Each picture caries a minimal question so your students can use their imaginations to develop their stories. Suggestions for writing the stories appear in the beginning. Post this on Monday and collect wonderful stories on Friday. I have included a variety of images to attract every interest.
FUN writing prompts - Fiction
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FUN writing prompts - Fiction

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Watch how eagerly your students investigate options for their creative writing assignments as they click on interactive images to find fun and interesting topics. The six basic categories are: Farm Prompts Fantasy Prompts School Prompts Neighborhood Prompts Vacation Prompts Time Travel Prompts Within each category are subcategories that link to ideas to explore. Colorful pictures encourage your students to creatively develop new stories. No longer do you need to read the same lost puppy story!
Are you smarter than a 7th grade science student?
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Are you smarter than a 7th grade science student?

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This is a PowerPoint platform Jeopardy game that can be used as a year-end review. It covers the following general topics: PLANTS ROCKS SCIENTIST DNA FOOD CHAIN BIOLOGY CLASSIFICATION CELLS ORGAN SYSTEMS GENETICS You can, however, change the questions and/or answers to suit your students, as this program is unlocked.
Crazy Blanks Skit Starters - Camping Theme
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Crazy Blanks Skit Starters - Camping Theme

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This Mad-Libs© style resource includes 8 skit starters for camping (or classroom) fun: New Kid at the Camp Bunkhouse Blues A New Craft The Obstacle Course They Served What for Dinner? What I Bought at the Camp Store Campfire Tales Lost in the Woods To use this resource: Print enough directions sheets for each group. Print the individual Skit Starters on the reverse of these sheets. This resource can be used in many ways. You can give the same topic to each group and see how they are different when given different words to fill in the blanks. Or you can give each group a different topic for a variety of presentations. These can also be individual story starters for journal entries and assignments. Whichever way you use them, the children will enjoy creating their own stories and skits.
FUNtastic Family STEM Activities
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FUNtastic Family STEM Activities

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This mini-guide to STEM activities includes the following topics: Projects: Magic Rainbow Pop­Up Card - a service-learning project Create Rain From Ice Cubes Design a Bucky Ball Model Cooking Up A STEM Lesson: Egg Candling Creative Connections Game STEM Birthday Celebrations Go Figure Game Articles for adults: STEM Education Influences Future Career Plans Build Your Child's Library Continue Your FUNtastic Family STEM Adventures
Social Distancing Games for Classroom or Remote Learning
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Social Distancing Games for Classroom or Remote Learning

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In this collection of games, I have helped you put the FUN in your day so you have some games that encourage social distancing among your students. They will be learning new ways to play traditional games and will learn some new games they can transfer to their home town playground, helping to keep them stay safe from infection there, too. Most of these games are for grades 4-8 but can be modified for older and younger students. Many of the games include a curricular component. Others encourage movement during the sedentary day. All involve FUN! Here is the list of titles for the games: Outdoor Games Tail tag Human Bingo Statues (with a twist) Kicker Golf March Mathness Indoor Games Clap Point clap Human Sudoku Rock, Paper, Scissors (with a twist) Word Wobble Where Did it Go? Let’s Draw a Picture The Masked Speaker (A game for masked players)8 BattleWord Design a Game Indoors or Outdoors Follow the Leader (with a twist) Common Ground Stop! Who is My Friend? (A game for masked players) Virtual Games 21 and Done Math Madness Wheel of Misfortune Silly Stories Four Corners – Distance Learning Style Virtual Scattergories
Figurative Language with Figgy
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Figurative Language with Figgy

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This PowerPoint presentation on Figurative Language covers the following topics: Similes Metaphors Alliteration Onomatopoeia Personification Hyperbole Idioms Adages Oxymorons Allusion Each slide provides a definition, examples, and a mini-quiz for discussion. Also included is a 12-page teacher's guide that includes worksheets, a quiz, accompanying resources, and an answer key.
Build a Better Board Game
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Build a Better Board Game

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Included in this bundle are: - A PowerPoint presentation suitable for introducing your students to the concept of creating a new board game. - Teacher Resources that include a student worksheet, grading rubric, and suggestions for implementation. This activity is perfect for an end-of-the-year project when students are done with regular curriculum work, but still have two weeks left for meaningful classwork. It is also a good way to introduce a new unit or review a completed unit. It can be used for any subject matter!
Fantasy Writer's Workshop
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Fantasy Writer's Workshop

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This is a complete writer's workshop for you to use with your students. The accompanying PowerPoint includes introductions to the following topics: - What is Fantasy? - Choosing a topic - Picking a conflict, including an overview of sample fantasy books - Defining characters - Planning a plot - Organizing and outlining the story - Writing a rough draft - Revising - Submission of the finished product Also, I have included worksheets to go with each slide: - Choosing a topic using a fun, group activity that involves flying "spacecrafts" into a "universe" (see the sample) - Character descriptions - Planning a plot using a mind map - Outlining a plot that includes beginning, middle, and ending - Describing a setting using a checklist of possibilities This unit is totally student-driven and allows individuality within the framework of the assignment. I have not included a grading rubric because any writing rubric you currently use is applicable.
Do your students have Comma Sense?
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Do your students have Comma Sense?

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Do your students forget to use commas in their written assignments? This PowerPoint presentation will give your students a fun look at the life of a comma. Each slide covers a different comma personality: * The Marching Comma * The Independent Comma * The Welcome Mat Comma * The Comma Twins * How-Does-It-Happen Comma * The Gossip Comma * The Contrary Comma * The Time and Place Comma * The Name Comma * The Weighty Comma Your students will love this new way to understand the use of commas in their creative writing!
Newton's Laws of Motion - A Lock Box Escape Quest (no math) for STEM Day
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Newton's Laws of Motion - A Lock Box Escape Quest (no math) for STEM Day

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After your initial preparation, the beauty of this activity is that it is entirely student-driven! They will know whether they got the correct answer to the clue because there is a self-correcting code to crack. Everyone participates, because when one group finishes before the others, the rules of the quest include the instruction to split up and help another group finish. The instructions below are for 6 groups of students. If you have fewer groups, follow the directions in parentheses. Materials needed: Construction paper: Yellow, Red, and Blue 18 business-size envelopes (15 for 5 groups, 12 for 4 groups) 3 small boxes (shoe boxes are perfect) Copy paper 3 markers Adhesive tape Assorted prizes Preparation: 1. Print three lock images. It’s okay if you don’t have a color printer – simply print in black and white and attach to the colored construction paper. 2. Designate each box as Newton’s First Law (blue), Second Law (yellow), and Third Law (red). Attach the prepared lock images to each box. 3. Cut eighteen 3” x 5” rectangles from the yellow, red, and blue construction paper. Attach to the envelopes: 6 yellow, 6 red, and 6 blue. (15 for 5 groups, 12 for 4 groups) 4. Print the Clue Sheet for each combination. Insert it in the designated color envelope. 5. Before the students enter the room, hide the envelopes. 6. Show the PowerPoint. 7. At the BEGIN slide, let the students search for the envelopes. Remind them that only one person from a group may be up and searching. Each time they look for an envelope, a different group member searches for a different color. 8. When the students get their combination number, one person will enter it on the box locks. This activity has self-correcting answers! If they don’t get a number as an answer, they will know that it is incorrect! If you have fewer than six groups, simply place a random number in the spaces you don’t use. 9. When one group finishes with three different color envelopes, they are to split up and help other groups. 10. When all the groups have finished, go over all the examples for each of Newton’s Laws of Motion. Either let the students present their findings, or you can show the finished products to the class, elaborating on each. 11. Show the reward slides on the PowerPoint. Some examples of rewards include homework passes, extra points on tests, dollar store goodies, stickers, etc. 12. When the activity is over, post the examples of each law next to the locks so everyone can see each other’s examples every day for a while!   NOTE: This activity is an introduction to Newton's Laws to present the concept - it does not contain the math associated with each law.
Quilted Story Blocks from "The Quiltmaker's Gift"
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Quilted Story Blocks from "The Quiltmaker's Gift"

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This .pdf contains complete directions for making each block featured in "The Quiltmaker's Gift" byJeff Brumbeau and Gail De Marcken. Each block is 9" square, making it easy to create a fun quilt for your students to study. Help them to see that different fabrics in the same pattern can yield different appearances. If you haven't read this heartwarming book about giving and caring, you're in for a treat! This should be on the shelf of every K-2 classroom. And the completed quilt can be used as a reward - get 10 stars on your reward chart and you get to be wrapped in a quilt on a cold day in January! If you don't quilt, perhaps you have some eager room moms who can help! A unique project for World Book Day!
Rainbow Ranger PowerPoint - learn all about rainbows
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Rainbow Ranger PowerPoint - learn all about rainbows

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Many rainbows children find on the Internet are incorrect - they are portrayed in the wrong order, backwards, or with non-rainbow colors like pink. The Rainbow Ranger in this PowerPoint WebQuest will teach very young learners the correct order of rainbow colors as they learn to use the computer to access information and solve puzzles. Additionally, your students will learn how to spell the colors of the rainbow and they will learn a song that will help them remember the order of colors. This activity is perfect for a March theme on rainbows. Add it to a literacy unit that uses Rainbow Fish to add character education to your science unit. Note: Make sure you play the PowerPoint, rather than simply look at the single slides. You'll see that some pictures and paragraphs disappear on a single slide before the next picture or paragraph appear on the same slide. I did this to create interest!
The  Stone Age - An Escape Room (Cave) Complete Unit Bundle
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The Stone Age - An Escape Room (Cave) Complete Unit Bundle

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Imagine all of your students actively engaged in a unit on The Stone Age with very little preparation on your part! Sound wonderful? It is!! This Stone Age activity includes five PowerPoint programs for five different groups on five different topics related to the Stone Age. Group A – Paleolithic migration, tools, fire, and language Group B – Paleolithic food, shelter, clothing, and Neanderthal vs. Cro Magnon Group C – Mesolithic fertile crescent, ice age, megafauna extinction, and cave paintings Group D – Neolithic farming, domestic animals, polished tools, weaving Group E – Neolithic villages, pottery, religion and ritual, and government The activities in each group are many and varied, allowing for creative research and development of the topic. The unit helps the students with the 4 C's of education; Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, and Collaboration. This is a cooperative effort. When one group finishes their four tasks, the students are encouraged to divide up and join other groups to help finish their tasks. Eventually, all groups will finish with the assistance of everyone in the classroom. As each group finishes, you’ll see that the teacher PowerPoint program allows you to click on the group and cover it with a rock. After everyone is done, your students will present their findings to the class. As each group presents, your PowerPoint program will allow you to make the rock disappear so you can keep track of which group has gone. Finally, the class discussion involves learning how the Stone Age people influenced modern people. Depending on the level of ability of your students, this unit can take anywhere between 4 days and two weeks. Materials needed: For every group: Access to a computer Pocket folder Labels for front of folder Crayons and pencils Printouts of challenges Additional materials for other groups include clay, pastels, chopsticks, yarn, a plastic needle, and cardboard - all easily obtainable supplies. Your students will work eagerly and cooperatively to complete this Escape Cave Quest so they can avoid the saber-toothed tiger! No additional preparation is required on your part!
Jeopardy Game Template
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Jeopardy Game Template

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This Jeopardy Game Template is customizable for any grade and any subject. Just place your questions and answers in the space provided and your review is DONE! PowerPoint program includes the Jeopardy music, Double Jeopardy, and Final Jeopardy. When your students answer the question correctly, click on the smiley thumbs up and the answer slide appears. When your students answer the question incorrectly, click on the smiley thumbs down and the main slide reappears. You can then explain what the correct answer should have been. Whether the answer is correct or incorrect, the dollar amount shows up in red so it is not chosen again. I did it this way because I found that the students who were simply watching could hear AND see the correct answer. When one group got the answer wrong, the likelihood that others had misconceptions was high so I could expand on the wrong answer to correct any misunderstandings in the whole class. There are five categories and five questions in each category. If you want to double the dollar amounts, simply copy this PowerPoint and adjust accordingly - it is unlocked for your convenience. This Jeopardy Game Template PowerPoint is also perfect for in-service meetings to introduce a topic and add interest!
History of Finland - A celebration of over 100 years of independence
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History of Finland - A celebration of over 100 years of independence

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This is a chronological history of Finland from prehistoric times to the 21st century. It shows students how Finland has been hotly contested for control throughout thousands of years, culminating with its independence in 1917. This PowerPoint is unlocked so you can add your own tidbits of information to it. Note: Make sure you play the PowerPoint, rather than simply look at the single slides. You'll see that some pictures and paragraphs disappear on a single slide before the next picture or paragraph appear on the same slide. I did this to create interest!
Ancient Egypt Treasure Quest - a Complete Unit Bundle
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Ancient Egypt Treasure Quest - a Complete Unit Bundle

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Imagine all of your students actively engaged in a unit on Ancient Egypt with very little preparation on your part! Sound wonderful? It is!! This Ancient Egypt activity includes five PowerPoint programs for five different groups on five different topics related to Ancient Egypt. Group A – The Nile River: The river, animals, plants, other uses for the river Group B – The Egyptian People: Clothing, classes, daily life, artisans Group C – Egyptian Rituals and Religion: Mummies, burial, mythology, symbols Group D – Egyptian Government: Pharaohs, kingdoms, cities, hieroglyphics Group E – Egyptian Architecture: Pyramids, sphinx, temples, inventions The activities in each group are many and varied, allowing for creative research and development of the topic. The unit helps the students with the 4 C's of education; Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, and Collaboration. When one group finishes their four tasks, the students are encouraged to divide up and join other groups to help finish their tasks. Eventually, all groups will finish with the assistance of everyone in the classroom. This is a cooperative effort. As each group finishes, you’ll see that the teacher PowerPoint program allows you to click on the group and cover it with a pyramid. After everyone is done, your students will present their findings to the class. As each group presents, your PowerPoint program will allow you to make the pyramid disappear so you can keep track of which group has gone, although you can certainly go in alphabetical order starting with Group A. Finally, the class discussion involves learning how the Egyptian people influenced modern people. You can determine what “treasure” will be most appropriate for your class. Depending on the level of ability of your students, this unit can take anywhere between 4 days and two weeks. You can also use the group work for whole-class participation, but having individual groups makes for a livelier discussion at the end! Your students will work eagerly and cooperatively to complete this Treasure Quest so they can find the treasure at then of the unit. Minimal preparation is required on your part!
35 weeks of character education bulletin board discussion starters
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35 weeks of character education bulletin board discussion starters

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This collection of 36 discussion starters helps children learn, week by week, about many social and moral dilemmas they face every day. Some examples include: - Bullying - Cheating - Lying - Sportsmanship - Trust - Group relationships - Welcoming a new student - Violence - Overuse of technology - Etc., etc. etc. Full instructions are provided to to help the teacher implement this valuable weekly plan to generate discussion about character education. It uses a dragon theme: Keep the Dragons Out of Our Classroom to help children understand the wrong behavior can be very dangerous.
What Does an Engineer Do?
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What Does an Engineer Do?

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Instead of the age old joke, How many ( ) does it take to screw in a light bulb, ask your students, "How many engineers does it take to make your favorite toy?" Their answers will surprise you! This PowerPoint program shows your students that at least five, and probably more, engineers were involved in the making of a toy truck. The last slide offers students the opportunity to think about all the engineers who were involved in making their own favorite toy!