Idioms Search - Find the Idioms in the Story. This handout is a short story filled with 20 idioms. Students must first answer questions about idioms and figurative language, and then use a highlighter or colored pencils to find the idioms embedded in the story. The story is about a man at a job interview. Excellent for an end of the year activity. Includes a glossary and a quiz. Key included. Common Core Standard L4.5: Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs Common Core Standard L 5.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Common Core Standards L 5.5 Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. - HappyEdugator

Poetry Activity for A Remarkable Adventure by Jack Prelutsky. At the beginning of the year, read a poem about excuses for not doing homework! A fun back to school poem to read with your students. They can also do the poetry activity sheet (useful for the beginning of the year) which provides a scaffolded guide for them to analyze a poem, looking for rhyme, alliteration, figurative language, imagery, and so forth. They are also challenged to draw a picture of what they visualize and write their own poem of excuses. 2 pages...first page is the actual poem with some graphics, 2nd page is the worksheet and writing activity. Poem can be copied on the front and activity on the back of one sheet. - HappyEdugator

Idioms Interactive PowerPoint. Match the idioms to their meaning. Definition of an idiom, examples, and 20 idioms with four possible meanings. Students can decide on the correct answer, then check. This PowerPoint can be used at a computer station or interactively with the whole class. Students have to be exposed to idioms in order to achieve greater comprehension. Supports common core standards! Fun! - HappyEdugator Common Core Standard L4.5: Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs Common Core Standard L 5.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Common Core Standards L 5.5 Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. - HappyEdugator

Punctuation - Punctuating Dialogue PowerPoint FREE! Improve writing by using quotation marks! Punctuation is important! Show students how to use quotation marks in dialogue correctly. 10 slides explain the correct way to punctuate dialogue. Explains split quotations, capitalization, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, and periods. Helpful for understanding where to place punctuation.

Introduction to Research PowerPoint Presentation. Introduce students to writing a research project. Starts with an activating strategy where students have to guess and check. The next slides relate to where students can find information about their topic. Interactive activities such as a 2 Minute Brainstorm. General information on how to choose a topic and not plagiarize. This is a PowerPoint used to introduce writing a research paper only. Details of writing one are not included. Summarizing strategy is a 3-2-1. Three things to know about research, 2 purposes of research, 1 possible topic to research. Last slide accelerates the idea of plagiarism and crediting your sources. 16 slides. - HappyEdugator

Nonfiction Text Structure PowerPoint. Describes organizational patterns for informational text structure in easy to understand terms. Explains 6 different text structures, including cause and effect, comparison/contrast, and sequence, question and answer, problem and solution, and description. The first slide is a graphic organizer, and the remaining slides discuss each structure separately and offer what signal words to look for in each type of text. A graphic organizer accompanies each type of structure as well. Supports Common Score Standards for Reading Informational Text. Selections for practice included (along with a recipe you are sure to enjoy) Animated graphics and animations to engage your learners. Helps students recognize different text structure when reading and provides a foundation for expository writing. 22 slides. - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Literature Terms and Strategies Authors Use to Engage the Reader PowerPoint. Elements of fiction. Literary terms and elements of fictional literature that can be used as an introduction or review of literary devices and commonly used literature terms on state tests. Slides are in alphabetical order with colorful pictures to keep your students engaged. Terms included: allegory, alliteration, allusion, analogy, characterization, conflict, diction, foreshadowing, figurative language, hyperbole, imagery, irony, metaphor, metonymy, motif, mood, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, paradox, pastiche, personification, point of view, satire, setting, simile, stream of consciousness, symbolism, theme, tone, vernacular. 34 slides. - HappyEdugator

Analogies PowerPoint. Interactive practice and strategies for understanding what is an analogy and how do you figure it out. 25 slide presentation defines what an analogy is, how analogies are written, and what kinds of relationships to look for when solving analogies. There are 10 practice questions for students, with answers and explanations given after they have had a chance to think. This type of guided practice will help students develop critical thinking skills and help prepare them for standardized tests. At the end is a practice quiz. Editable for your classroom needs. Can be projected on whiteboard and used as a whole class activity where students can write answers in their notebooks, or it can be assigned to students to work on independently on individual computers, tablets, or chrome books. Supports Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5b Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.5b Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words. - HappyEdugator

Fables. Introduce fables with fun original fable on PowerPoint! Use this to introduce a unit on fables, or to supplement a unit on fables. The fable is about an alligator who talks too much, and never listens. Animated clips bring the story to life. After the fable, the last slide has the characteristics of fables, and students can try to identify characteristics they saw. They are then challenged to write their own fable. - HappyEdugator

Myths, Legends, Fables and Fairytales PowerPoint. Teach folktales and traditional tales: myths, legends,tall tales, fables, and fairytales. The slides discuss differences between myths and legends, tall tales, fables, and fairy tales. Examples of some famous tales and famous authors are mentioned. Myths are explanations for how ancient people understood their worlds, like Thor and Zeus. Legends were stories passed along that had a basis in truth, but were not real, like King Arthur and Robin Hood. Fables were told to teach lessons, most famously by Aesop. And folk tales and fairy tales were both passed down as stories for the children. Fairy tales we now enjoy were collected from oral tradition and written down in the 1800's. For instance, Hans Christian Andersen is remembered especially for his tales of The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, and The Ugly Duckling, while the Brothers Grimm are known for Cinderella, Snow White, and The Frog Prince. Everything is presented against a beautiful castle background and sound effects have been added for interest.

Paraphrasing - Steps to Great Paraphrasing PowerPoint presentation, including what is paraphrasing and why it is important. Stimulate students to think. Strategies to turn what they are reading into written summaries. Helpful when teaching how to research and write notecards and source cards. Students need to know how to paraphrase to avoid plagiarism by putting their research into their own words. Supports common core state standards. Happy writing! - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Pump Up Your Vocabulary in Ten Easy Steps PowerPoint. Going back to school? Give students vocabulary building strategies that will help them construct a strong vocabulary for reading and writing. Interactive PowerPoint lesson. Ten word builder strategies. 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. - HappyEdugator

Analyzing Context Clues PowerPoint. Strategies help students figure out unknown words in text. Build vocabulary and reading comprehension by teaching common context clues. This PowerPoint has explains five different context clues: definition, synonym, antonym, example, and inference. Practice activity at the end with answers. 15 slides. Good for test prep! - HappyEdugator

Parts of Speech PowerPoint for instruction, review, and practice. Great for the beginning of the year or back to school! 58 animated slides explain the eight parts of speech! Describes nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections and how words can function as different parts of speech. Lots of animations and sounds to keep your students engaged and interested, in addition to helping them understand English grammar! The key to writing good sentences is to know how words are put together and how they function in a sentence. Lots of slides and information. Best to break into chunks to supplement your lessons. Slides on Parts of speech including- Nouns - definition Concrete nouns and abstract nouns Common nouns and proper nouns Action verbs and linking verbs "To be" verbs - forms of be Personal pronouns Demonstrative pronouns Interrogative pronouns Indefinate pronouns Pronouns and Antecedents Degrees of comparison - adjectives Positive Comparative Superlative adjectives Irregular Comparative adjectives Coordinate adjectives - punctuation of Order of Cumulative adjectives Degrees of comparison - adverbs Irregular Comparative adverbs Prepostions and objects Prepositional phrases Coordinating Conjunctions and compound sentences Subordinating Conjunctions and complex sentences Interjections A practice slide with questions over the main points included after each part of speech section, followed by a slide with the answer key. Now also includes some links to videos and web content. - HappyEdugator

Prepositional Phrases PowerPoint. Don't Let Them Confuse You! Animated and interactive. Defines prepositions and prepositional phrases, gives examples of prepositional phrases with nouns, pronouns, gerunds, and noun clauses, discusses problems with subject-verb agreement and intervening prepositional phrases, has a short quiz on identifying prepositional phrases in sentences and not confusing them with infinitives, and finally, presents five questions on common usage problems with typical prepositional phrases. 18 slides. - HappyEdugator

Punctuation - Punctuating Dialogue PowerPoint FREE! Improve writing by using quotation marks! Punctuation is important! Show students how to use quotation marks in dialogue correctly. 10 slides explain the correct way to punctuate dialogue. Explains split quotations, capitalization, commas, question marks, exclamation points, and periods. Helpful for understanding where to place punctuation. Good for reviewing for state tests. Supports Common Core! CCSS L 3.2c - using commas and quotation marks in dialogue. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2b Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text. A great activity to do with this PowerPoint is to have the kids write their own dialogues. I cut out of magazines some interesting pictures of all kinds of different people interacting. I glued them on cardstock, with the words Who? What? Where? When? and Why? written on each card, and laminated them. I passed the cards out, and students had to imagine what the people were saying to each other in the pictures, and then write the dialogue, using correct punctuation. They also had to later incorporate the dialogue into a short story that answered the five W questions/ The kids enjoyed this activity and got very creative with their stories! Enjoy! :) HappyEdugator

Back to School Activities Grades 4 - 6 booklet contains many types of fun beginning of the year activities! When they go back to school, students will learn about each other, learn cooperation, and share in a variety of activities and word puzzles that will stimulate their brains. Includes a secret code sheet, a find someone who activity, several writing activities, a homework calendar for organization and more! Great activities for back to school to break the ice and make the new year a positive experience