Mother's Day - My Mom is the Best Craftivity. Make a poem and a handprint flower poster to give to mom for a great Mother's Day gift. Using extra large construction paper, students make a handprint flower and glue their photo in the center. Then they cut out the stem and leaves and glue them underneath. At the bottom of the poster, they can add their poem. Complete instructions. Materials included: the fill-in the blank poem, leaf pattern, and stem pattern. Other optional ideas also included. Happy Mother's Day! - HappyEdugator

Classroom Library Sign Out Sheet. This is a colorful classroom sign out sheet you can post in your classroom library to keep track of books checked in and out. I have a class "librarian" manage my checkouts. Students simply write in the title of the book they are borrowing, their name, and the date it was checked out. When the book is returned, they just put the date returned. I use the honor system with my class library, and most students return my books as soon as they finish with them. EDITABLE for your classroom needs. - HappyEdugator

Rikki Tikki Tavi Vocabulary Activities. Vocabulary for the short story Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. Includes: Study Sheet with 15 vocabulary words, their part of speech and definition; Two page Vocabulary Practice Sheet, Study Cards, Fiction Literature Terms Sheet, Hot Seat Vocabulary Review Game, Vocabulary Matching Test, and Key. - HappyEdugator

Common Core Standards for Speaking/Listening PowerPoint Posters. Common core standards for speaking and listening in grade 6, 7, or 8 summarized. Use as WE CAN posters or as a slide show. You can go over the standards with your students, and afterwards you can print out the slides and laminate them to post in your classroom. Kid friendly language with colorful graphics. These standards are the same for 6th and 8th grades, only the level of complexity changes, so feel free to use them at all three levels. - HappyEdugator

Parent Conference - 27 Tips for Good Communication. Communicating with parents is one of the most important things we do as teachers. When we can work together with a child's parents toward common goals, we improve the atmosphere for learning. Here are some tips to help make all your parent conferences productive and successful. - HappyEdugator

Back to School Tips for Success - Stop Daydreaming and Get on Task! Back to school and back in focus, this PowerPoint gives students tips to follow to start off the school year right. Nine ways to have a successful year. Kids will relate to the animated daydreamers at the beginning. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Logical Fallacies Handout - defines logical fallacies, and helps student understand why they are important to avoid when writing an argument. Includes a list of common logical fallacies with examples of each, including Ad Hominem, Appeal to Popular Opinion, False Analogy, Attacking the Motive, Red Herring, Begging the Question, Inconsistency, Straw Person, Look Who's Talking, Slippery Slope, Hasty Generalizations, Circular Argument, and Genetic Fallacy. - HappyEdugator

Halloween ABC's Smartboard Activity! Halloween alphabet activities on the Smartboard. Students can have fun and learn Halloween words that begin with each letter of the alphabet with this interactive smart board or whiteboard activity. Touch the pictures to reveal the words from A is for apple to Z is for zombie! Have fun and enjoy! - HappyEdugator

March Craftivity: Lion and Lamb Mobile. Here comes Spring! Directions on how to make a cute mobile decoration for the Month of March with a lion face made from a paper plate, and cute little lambs that hang down made from Dixie cups, cotton balls, and pipe cleaners. March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, so the saying goes. Your students can take this mobile home and hang on their porch to catch the March wind. - 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

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

Sentence structure PowerPoint game. A fun interactive way to practice identifying sentence structure. Students are given two sentences and have thirty seconds to decide their sentence structure...simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. 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. Can also be used for team play. 36 sentences in all. Supports common core state standards. - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.1b Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.

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

Writing a Persuasive Essay Handout. How to write a good argument: starting with how to write a good thesis statement, supporting claims in body paragraphs, and making a conclusion that will persuade the reader agree with you! 2 pages. This is useful for students to use as a reference when they begin to write an argument to persuade an audience. Supports common core state standards. - HappyEdugator 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.

Leap Year. Facts and fun. Animated PowerPoint on Leap Year. Answers questions many kids have about leap year. Slides include: What is Leap Year? When does Leap Year Happen? When do we add the extra day? Why do we have Leap Year? When was the first Leap Year? What calendar do we use today? How is Leap Year determined? 2016 is Leap Year - what are the next 4 leap years? 2016 is Leap Year - what year was the last leap year? The last slide is a partner activity the kids can do that is related to leap year and February 29.

Vocabulary for study skills...72 slides with essential academic vocabulary needed for developing good study skills and preparing students for standardized tests. Each slide has the word, the part of speech, definition, and synonyms. Animated so you can present the word first, then click to see the rest of the information. - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving Counting Turkeys Activity CARDS - Numbers 1 - 20. Thanksgiving math practice. Students can sequence the number cards, and then count the turkeys and match them. Includes writing practice sheets for numbers 1 - 10 and 11 - 20. Supports common core state standards! Happy Thanksgiving! - HappyEdugator CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.3 Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects). CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4 Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4a When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4b Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4c Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.5 Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects.

Writing Essays - how to write an essay starting with a graphic organizer. This PowerPoint will walk students through a graphic organizer and using it to write a rough draft of an essay, either expository or persuasive. A sample of the graphic organizer is on a slide, but I usually make two blank copies of the organizer to give to each student. A printable graphic organizer is included at the end for you to print for student copies. We do one together on the practice thesis statement, and then they have one to use when they write from a different prompt. Great test prep for state writing tests. - HappyEdugator