Fun Math Terms Word Search. Math terms are hidden in this word search puzzle made for upper elementary and middle grades. Have fun trying to find them all 21! Terms are hidden forwards, backwards, up and down, across, and diagonally. Key included. Also includes a bonus list of the terms with their definitions which you can use as a study guide for state testing or test prep. - HappyEdugator

Easter acrostic poem. Do you need a quick fun activity for Easter? This is a short 5 slide PowerPoint explaining how to write an acronym poem, also called an acrostic poem. This would be a good warm-up activity to use just before Easter or right before Spring Break. Included is a definition of an acronym or acrostic poem, two example poems using egg and Easter, an Easter vocabulary slide, and a slide prompting students to write their own poem. You could also print this last slide for students to fill in. - HappyEdugator

Middle Grades Writing Test Preparation PowerPoint. A detailed TEST PREP PowerPoint presentation designed to help students prepare for what is required on the Middle Grades Writing Assessment in Georgia, which can be applied to any standardized writing test anywhere. This presentation can be used to teach students to produce quality expository and persuasive essays and the expectations of any writing assessment. 43 slides, the last seven slides are for the teacher, including scoring, activities to promote good writing, and best practices. -HappyEdugator

Exit Slip Ticket Out - Pac Man Summarizing Activity Ticket Out. Ticket out the door? Use this summarizing activity to have students take notes on what was important to have learned in your lesson. Students summarize by filling in the thought bubbles and take additional notes at the bottom. Can be given out at the beginning of the week and students fill in the bubbles daily Monday through Thursday and review for assessment on Friday. Also great for summarizing independent reading or chapters of novels. - 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

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

Earth Day Cooperative Learning Activity - Committee to Reduce Environmental Pollution. Works well as a post reading activity for The Lorax by Dr. Seuss or The Wump World by Bill Peet. Students will meet in groups (or committees) to analyze several different scenarios and to determine which type of polluter is the most destructive to the environment. Students will compare their individual results with their group results, and then the groups will compare their results with other groups in the class. The final activity is to see if the class can come to a consensus. Extension activity - discuss possible solutions.

Synonyms. Other Ways to Say...Synonyms for Commonly Overused Words. Ten different charts you can use to help your students choose the best words when writing. These can be placed in centers, made on index card rings, or blown up into posters to hang on the wall. Lots of different ways to say common words such as said, walk, run, happy, sad, good, bad, nice, laugh, and like. Great reference tool for students to use when writing. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang Novel Unit. Nonfiction - Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution impact the life of a young girl and her family. Includes Pre-reading activities, Vocabulary, Study guide, discussion questions, Unit plans aligned with standards, writing focus, Supplemental materials and visuals for class discussion, including links to audio and video resources. Final project and rubric. 88 pages. - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving Counting Turkeys math and literacy sheet. Numbers 1 - 10. Students have to count the turkeys, draw a line to match them to the number word, then write the number in the box provided. Use turkey or feather shaped candy and have your kids count them out as they complete the sheet. Fun math activity for Thanksgiving. Supports math, reading, and writing skills. Supports common core state standards! - HappyEdugator

The Cay by Theodore Taylor - Hurricane Brochure Research Project. After reading the novel, students will choose an island or region to research and write a hurricane safety brochure for the residents of their selected region. They must include a graph showing the costliest and deadlest hurricanes in history, a paragraph describing the region's history with hurricanes, a resident preparedness list, a checklist for items and supplies needed, a map with an evacuation route, a what to do and what not to do list, and a list of agencies or shelters where residents can find assistance. Includes project assignment handout, grading sheets, peer rubric, tri-fold template, and teacher directions. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Hard G or Soft G Word Sort. Is it hard or is it soft? Print out these cards, laminate, and students can sort them into words that begin with hard or soft G. 28 cards - 14 colorful and bright cards of each sound. Includes Center sign, Sorting Mat, and Answer Key and Directions for Teacher. Choose color or white background to save ink. English can be difficult for a young child because some of the letters make a variety of different sounds. It is important that children be exposed to them. The purpose of this activity is for the student to divide these cards into two groups: those with a hard G sound, as in garbage, and ones with a soft G sound, as in giraffe. - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3a Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.

Back to School Language Arts Survey. Get to know your students when you go back to school. This is a beginning of the year activity to do with your students to learn more about them and their attitutes toward reading and language arts. It's like an anticipation guide for the year! Have them respond to the statements as either true or false or sometimes. This will help you get to know your students better. - HappyEdugator

Reading Connections Chart. A useful graphic organizer which allows students to record their text connections to other texts, to self, to the world, and to school. Making connections is a reading strategy that helps students comprehend what they are reading. You can use with reading journals or as an extension activity for independent reading. - HappyEdugator

Writing Activities - 21 Writing prompts for engaging narrative, expository, and even poetry about trash. Reduce, reuse, recycle writing ideas. Fun to use anytime, but also a good Earth Day project or when studying ecology or conservation. Differentiated writing activities that can be used in various ways for whole group, cooperative learning, or as a literacy center. You can show the individual slides to a whole group as a class writing activity. Also, you might prefer to print the slides and divide the activities between small groups, and give students a selection of cards to choose from. In addition, the slides can be printed out on index cards and laminated to be used in a literary writing center. If you make a center, consider putting a trash can in it filled with interesting junk to inspire writing ideas. However, you decide to use them, I hope you will enjoy the wonderful writing your students will create, and that they will enjoy writing and be proud of their accomplishments. A rubric is included on the last slide. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Myths, Legends, Fables, and Folktales - Oral Tradition - Four Forms of Traditional Tales Handout. This handout will help your students understand myths, legends, fables and folktales by clearly defining them in a colorful graphic organizer, and then giving examples of each. A useful introduction to a unit on folktales, fairytales, or oral tradition stories. You may wish to project on a screen and have students take notes. Includes a note-taking page and a short quiz with key. Revised July 2014 - HappyEdugator

All About Me Puzzle - Back to School. Fun beginning of the year activity. Print and go! All you have to do is sign! Students will take the sheet home, decorate the puzzle pieces about themselves, cut out (optional) and return to school to share with the class. This can be given out at Open House and the kids can return them on the first day, or you can give it out as their first homework assignment on the first day of school! You can use it as a fun filler activity early in the year or anytime you wish. Includes a puzzle piece sheet to print out on card stock, and a letter to parents with a poem detailing student directions. - HappyEdugator

The Cay - Multiple Meaning Vocabulary Game. Play this game before, during, or after reading the novel The Cay, by Theodore Taylor. Using multiple meaning vocabulary words from the novel The Cay, students play a fun card game that makes them read and practice vocabulary words with multiple meanings. - HappyEdugator Directions: 1. Cut out the Blue Vocabulary Cards and print out on cardstock. Laminate. 2. Cut out the individual sentence strips for each vocabulary word. Print out on cardstock and laminate. 3. Game play: 2-4 players. Shuffle cards. Turn over Blue Vocabulary cards so they are upside down in the center of the table. Deal out the sentence strips. The youngest person turns over one of the Blue vocabulary cards. The player who first realizes he has the sentence strip for that card must call out the word and then read the sentence strip out loud. He may then discard his sentence strip, and turn over the next card. Play continues until all the vocabulary cards have been played. The player with the fewest sentence strips left in his hand wins! - HappyEdugator

Mystery Writing PowerPoint. How to write a mystery story. Do your students like detective stories? Have your students write a mystery story using the strategies presented in this PowerPoint presentation with animated graphics. How to write a good beginning, middle, and end, and use clues and a red herring to engage the reader. Start a class detective agency, where students can become detectives and solve the mysteries. Supports common core state standards. Animations and sounds. 24 slides.

Signal Word Posters. Set of 6 reading comprehension strategy posters to help students spot signal words or transition words in reading that show main idea, compare and contrast, cause and effect, sequencing, inferences, and fact and opinion. Hang up at the beginning of the year for back to school decorating with a purpose. Supports common core! - HappyEdugator CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3c Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3c Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3c Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.3c Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.