Brain Breaks for your older students are physical activities that give your students a quick break so they return to the lesson with a better focus.    No prep: Just print and cut  Less than 4 minutes  Easy for Teacher and Students  Stress Reliever If a few of your students are hesitant to join in, offer to give the best participant one extra point on the current assignment. After the initial motivation, you will notice that students enjoy- and request brain breaks. Option 1 (SLIDES 4-10) Cut and pass out cards to individual students (four to a page). Option 2 (SLIDES 11-38) Show the entire class the PowerPoint slide. There are 28 brain breaks. Notes** Cards 1- 21 are for individual student movement. Card 22 requires 4 paperclips for each student. Card 23 requires an item for each student such as a pencil or piece of paper. Cards 24-28 are whole class activities and require teacher interaction. **You may want to listen to the pronunciation of the word on Card 26 before you begin (the pronunciation is available on Dictionary.com.) If you have any suggestions, please contact me at luckykroll@hotmail.com. Thank you! ~Kim

This printable requires no prep; print- and students to fill in. Different versions can be used in subjects ranging from literature to history to culinary arts to musical composition! Includes One extra large colored Two-Circle Venn Diagram One extra large Two-Circle Venn Diagram, black and white One Colored Three-Circle Venn Diagram One Three-Circle Venn Diagram, black and white One BLOCK Venn- easy to fill out! All Venn Diagrams are lined- so students can easily write inside! I have found the extra large Venn Diagram to be very successful! Some students prefer the BLOCK version. This five-slide PowerPoint in pdf is ready to print! Thanks! Great for novels, non-fiction, autobiography life lines, history and more!

Nelson Mandela's "Long Walk to Freedom" and Rita Dove's "An Interview: I Was Not Alone" (an essay on Rosa Parks) are perfect short non-fiction selections for Black History Month. Focus on heroes, cause and effect, black history, and more! This resource includes: --one-page lesson plan, --three worksheets, --a basic PowerPoint for Rosa Parks, ---a PALS instruction and example, and --answer keys. The PowerPoint is editable for your convenience. Using the Common Core Standards and Learning Focused, I have included an EATS lesson plan with an Essential Question, preview vocabulary (including CAUSE and EFFECT), activating strategy, teaching strategies and a summarizing strategy (Exit Ticket). Further, this lesson pairs students to work on cause and effect together. The texts of "An Interview: I Was Not Alone" and "The Long Walk to Freedom" are NOT included due to copyright laws. Please make sure you have access to the texts before purchasing this resource. The lesson plan, worksheets, and PPT are time-saving and effective. Thank you!

This one page printable is ready for students to fill in. Ten text boxes are provided. Each text box has a blank for the year and lines so that students can fill in a description of the events. Great for novels, non-fiction, autobiography life lines, history and more! Thank you!

If you’ve never read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (“EvCT”) by Jacqueline Kelly, you are in for a treat. My sixth graders love EvCT and I LOVE teaching it! It works well as a cross-curricular unit with science OR history- and the author’s voice is simply incredible. 71 pages + 91 PowerPoint slides = 162 page resource! This product contains everything you need for a great unit and aligns with the Common Core State Standards. This product includes: • TWELVE lessons, each with a worksheet (study guide) featuring vocabulary. Answer keys are included. Most lessons also include extra activities to supplement the lesson (For example, one chapter features a PALS activity, complete with instructions; another chapter features a figurative lesson worksheet and activity.). The lesson plans are grouped as: 1. EvCT Ch 1 2. EvCT Ch 2 3. EvCT Ch 3 4 5 4. EvCT Ch 6 7 5. EvCT Ch 8 9 6. EvCT Ch 10 11 7. EvCT Ch 12 13 8. EvCT Ch 14 15 16 9. EvCT Ch 17 18 19 10. EvCT Ch 20 21 22 11. EvCT Ch 23 24 25 12. EvCT Ch 26 27 28 EvCT POWERPOINT (90 slides) The PPT gives visual references for background information (pinafore, kerosene lamp, Wounded Knee Massacre, author background, etc.), discussion questions, Venn diagrams, exit tickets and much more. Students also get to guess the prices from the 1890’s (my students love this activity!) EvCT Final Test (Answer Key included) Bookmarks What student doesn't like a little gift? Packed with EvCT info (and vocab!), this bookmark is a handy "cheat sheet" to use with the worksheets ~and possibly the final test (IF the teacher allows it...). This product also features several opportunities for figurative language practice (EvCT has a ton of figurative language: perfect for mini-lessons!) and a semi-colon study. Some worksheets (study guides) offer “challenge questions.” There are opportunities for differentiated learning. You can use challenge questions for students who are absent or as an activity for cooperative learning…). There are also suggestions for research. PLUS- writing prompts! This product is editable, if you prefer to customize any part. Final test, writing prompts, and extra activities are included! The Common Core Standards cited are for 6th grade, but other grades are largely interchangeable. Recommended for grades 5-8, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is a 2010 Newbery Honor Book and the winner of the 2010 Bank Street - Josette Frank Award. I spent over 100 hours on this product. I pride myself on creating a unit that offers user-friendly, thought-provoking lessons and creative activities. Click this link to buy all of my