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.
Public Speaking PowerPoint - How to write and present a speech. Presentation explains purpose ( Persuade, Inform, and Entertain), points to consider such as subject, audience, personality, and occasion. Discusses the process of planning a speech, including the body, the introduction, and the conclusion, writing an outline, and preparing the delivery. 25 slides.
Brain Teasers and Riddles PowerPoint Promotes critical thinking skills. Fun five minute acitivities. If you have five minutes, you can still get those brains working and have fun, too! Brain teasers on animated slides that are sure to make everyone smile. Fun, humorous riddles that will crack you up! Enjoy these when class is not quite over, but the lesson is! You can also use as a fun filler at the end of the year!
Or use them as a warm up! 27 slides. - HappyEdugator
The Great Kapok Tree Rainforest Unit and Resources. Rainforest activities go with the book The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. 24 pages includes features of the rainforest, useful websites, art projects, vocabulary, main idea and summarizing activity and graphic organizer, fun facts about the kapok tree, rainforest animals, how can I save the rainforest sheet, chocalate cocoa recipe, math activity, science activity making a terrarium, geography sheet, layers of the rainforest, why rainforests are important and why they are being destroyed, along with a rainforest word search puzzle. Good for Earth Day, too. Cover page includes a bookmark "Reading About the Rainforest."
- HappyEdugator
Summer Outdoor Fun Crossword Puzzle! Fun and free as a thank you to all my wonderful followers We all hate to see summer go, but hopefully it will last just a little bit longer. Enjoy this little piece of summer! - HappyEdugator
Map Reading Worksheet. This worksheet students can use as a guide for finding important information on a map. Students should each be provided a map and then use this worksheet to learn about the title, grid, scale, legend or key, and direction of a map. - HappyEdugator
Award certificates for your classroom or school needs. A pack of 8 awards...type in the name of student, subject, dates or other information, print, sign, and award! Includes a most improved award, a certificate of achievement, student of the month, attendance award, essay contest award, certificate for excellence, award for excellence, and certificate of merit. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
End of the Year Superlative Questions: Most Likely To Succeed as ... Printable ballot with 32 great "Most Likely to" questions for end of the year activities - perhaps a classroom fun filler, an assembly, or to use when creating a yearbook. - HappyEdugator
End of the Year Summer Wordsearch: a fun end of the year activity, or use for summer camp or other summer activity. Challenging end of the year word search with summer words that can be a fun filler activity! Very engaging. 20 words in this wordsearch which are ONLY found on the diagonals. Key included. - HappyEdugator
Money Management Choices PowerPoint. Managing money is a life skill kids really need! Personal money management and financial planning, including income, saving, using credit, and investing. Explains that interest can work for you or against you, and the wise use of credit. Assignment task on the last slide has students make a detailed financial plan to obtain something they want to acquire. - HappyEdugator
Vocabulary Builder - Pump Up Your Vocabulary in Ten Easy Steps PowerPoint. Going back to school? Give students vocabulary strategies that will help them build a strong vocabulary for reading and writing. Interactive PowerPoint lesson. Ten vocabulary builders. The ten steps for building vocabulary include:
Pronounce words correctly
Use a dictionary
Use a thesaurus
Make word cards
Use mnemonics
Use context clues
Distinguish between multiple-meaning words
Learn word origins
Study word parts
and
Distinguish connotation and denotation
33 slides with activities for practice and answers.
Materials required: a dictionary for each student or group of students, and 4 index cards for each student.
Beginning of the Year School Bus Safety PowerPoint. Back to school safety! 15 slide PowerPoint with animation on school bus safety. Use for back to school or anytime for review. Basic safety tips about how to get on and off a bus, cross in front of a bus, and behave on a bus in motion. - HappyEdugator
Brain Teaser Sheet - Critical Thinking.
Fun Brain Workout. Letter equations. May be challenging, but students will love trying to figure them out! A letter equation is a common combination of letters and numbers that are abbreviated. The trick is to figure out what the abbreviation means. For example, 7 d. in a w. is 7 days in a week. 22 brain teaser equations and key included. Good activity to get minds working for test prep. Exercise for the brain. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
Fourth of July PowerPoint. July Fourth - Independence Day - 4th of July. How and Why We Celebrate the Birth of our Nation. Great for summer camp. The Declaration of Independence made simple, Flag etiquette, Popular summer outdoor and indoor games and activities, Traditional food, How to make an American Flag cake, and Fireworks safety. American July 4th traditions for everyone to enjoy, for young and old, foreign or not. Goes with any Fourth of July unit. Great for introducing the summer activities of the Fourth to ESOL students and foreign high school students and adults as well. 15 Review Questions and Answer Key for self check.- HappyEdugator
Bullying in School PowerPoint - What Parents Should Know. Defines bullying and cyber-bullying, how to recognize bullies and victims of bullying, and what to do to help. 13 slides. - HappyEdugator
Rebus Puzzles - a fun critical thinking activity. Figure out the word puzzles. Great to do with partners, or use as a warm up. Print and go, Works especially well for gifted and talented students who enjoy challenges, but will work with other student populations as well. Enjoy! - 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.
Reading Assessment Form. Use to keep track of what a student's strengths and weaknesses are in reading and comprehension. There is a place to record the date, text level, accuracy, self-corrections, and a way to mark strategies for decoding, fluency and comprehension. May be used with any level reader from elementary on up as an assessment of reading ability and monitor progress.
- HappyEdugator
Following Directions TEST - A Tricky Following Directions Lesson. Fun for April Fool's Day, too! Give this following directions test to your students, and try not to laugh too much when they are taking it. If they don't read the directions first and do what the directions say, they will be shocked at the end to find out they only had to do number one...write their name! Great test preparation activity to get kids ready for standardized tests, too! Enjoy!
Valentine Quiz...a free Valentine's Day Activity for choosing the right word. Multiple choice questions about Valentine's Day. Help children with word choice. Students have to choose the best choice of three words to fill in the blank. Grammar usage that is often tested on standardized tests. Great for building an understanding of how words are used correctly. Especially good for ELL, ESL and ESOL students, who may need extra help in identifying subtle differences in word choice and easily confused words. - HappyEdugator