Middle School Writing Rubric. This rubric has four categories...ideas, organization, style, and conventions. There are five possible points in each category, and students and teachers can easily understand what is required. A 20 point scale is easy to translate into a percentage. The rubric can be used for both creative and expository writing. There is a place for students to write their name and teacher's name, and then students can evaluate themselves and turn in the rubric with their work. The bottom of the rubric has room for comments and teacher feedback and grade. Left in editable format for you to adapt to your classroom needs. - HappyEdugator

Internet Safety PowerPoint - Pausing Before You Post. Strategies for students to use the internet and social media wisely. Students can discuss appropriate internet behavior on social media and ways to increase their internet security. Students can then take a pledge online at jostens to pause before they post.

Infinitives and Infinitive phrases - includes a Graphic Organizer to aid comprehension, and a handout where infinitives and infinitive phrases oar defined and examples are given (which can also be used as an overhead transparency, or projected on a whiteboard), Also includes a very short worksheet on infinitives for practice, where students have to identify infinitive phrases in sentences, fill in the blanks about infinitives from the notes, and create their own infinitive phrases to complete sentences. (higher level thinking) Also includes a quiz on infinitives and infinitives phrases. Key included.

TEST PREP - Language Arts Test Practice Interactive PowerPoint. Test Prep for standardized testing. 30 interactive multiple choice practice test questions for test prep: Verb tenses, agreement, comparative and superlative adjectives and pronouns. PowerPoint with animated graphics has sentence completion questions of the type that are common on state standardized tests. 52 slides -

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

Differentiated Instruction in Learning Focused Classrooms PowerPoint. A 38 slide presentation for teachers to learn about the concepts of differentiation in classrooms where learning is focused and where students are engaged, and how to implement differentiated instruction. -

Thanksgiving Writing - I am Thankful Sheets. Print and go! Two different cornucopias, an autumn leaf, and a turkey. After writing, students can color and cut out their leaves and cornucopias, and you can use them to make a beautiful display for the holiday. Enjoy!

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

Persuasive Writing Recipe PowerPoint. We use recipes for many things, why not persuasive writing? This powerpoint gives students a “recipe” to follow when writing a persuasive essay, and gives them the basic framework for a persuasive writing piece, starting with an introductory paragraph that ends with a thesis statement, at least three well-supported paragraphs that have a topic sentence related to the thesis statement, and a conclusion that restates the thesis and calls the reader to agree and take action. Reminds students to be prepared for counter arguments, and to write with strong ideas, voice, fluency, organization, presentation, and conventions. Revised and updated 2013 with added information on the writing process, animations and graphics. - 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.

Setting Detail Chart. This graphic organizer can be used with any book to analyze setting. Use with your novel study. Besides direct references to dates and places, setting is also conveyed through details about daily life and culture. Students fill in the chart with details that give clues about the setting of a book, and will gain a better understanding of setting. Starts out with Time and Place. Categories include: Jobs, Shelter, Clothing, Entertainment, Technology, Men's/Women's Roles, Transportation, and Other. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done! Have students practice first by projecting a photograph (one included on the cover) or use a cover from the book they are reading and have them try describing it. - HappyEdugator

Beginning of the Year - Open House Sign in Sheet for your back to school night or parent night information. A quick sign in sheet for the most important information- student and parent names, phone number and email. Other information is usually available through the office, so this is just a quick contact sheet so you can have a quick reference ready for back to school. Apple and Owl theme. Color and black and white sheet. - HappyEdugator

Punctuation - Hyphens, Dashes, and Semicolons PowerPoint. Interactive PowerPoint presentation with animation and sound. Explains the usage of hyphens, dashes, and semicolons, and then students can practice punctuating the sentences that follow, and checking their answers. At the end there is an answer key to check their work. This can also be played as a game by dividing the class into teams and teams submit their answers-the team with them most correct answers wins! 53 slides. -HappyEdugator

Middle School Expository Writing Rubric. Use with expository essays, and help middle school students focus on what they need to acheive in order to meet state standards. The standards based rubric has four categories: conventions of language, purpose and style, organization, and development and support of content. Standards-based grade: students will exceed, meet, approach, or fall below standard in each category. Students can self-evaluate their work. Editable for your classroom use. -Happyedugator

Rikki Tikki Tavi Six Sentence Summary Format and Grammar Practice Sheet. Students can learn to write a brief summary, but they often need scaffolding to get started. Here is a strategy to help your reluctant writers or your students who have trouble organizing their ideas. Use the format to have students write a better summary of a fiction text. The example given is based on Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, but the format can be used with other short stories, too. Included is a grammar practice sheet on punctuation and capitalization based also on the short story Rikki Tikki Tavi Use as a quick activity or warm up to review skills. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Context Clues Practice Sheet. Several different context clue activities for students to do on this sheet that is a great review or quick substitute worksheet. Students have to define context clues, determine meanings of words in context, and write sentences using context clues.- HappyEdugator

Awards Certificates - Twenty Unique Awards for All Occasions. Includes a cute Good Earth Day Award! End of the year awards! These end of the year award certificates (or use them anytime) are designed to help you show your students that you appreciate them in many ways. Rewards for Volunteers and Helpers, Outstanding work, Organization and Neatness, Earth Day, Birthday, etc. Reward good behavior or give rewards for academic success. From academic growth to the smallest act of kindness, you will have some positive reinforcement ready! Awards are useful to give to teachers, parents, and custodians, too. Great for the end of the school year! Includes a total of twenty different and unique awards.Suggestions for their use is included in the slide notes. Editable for your classroom use. Enjoy.

Multiple Intelligence Tic Tac Toe Assignment Template. This is a differentiated assignment... a tic tac toe or menu activity that uses multiple intelligences for each section. Write in the theme or unit you are teaching. Teachers can customize the tic tac toe to fit what they are teaching and makes differentiation easy. There are nine boxes for different types of learners and learning styles, with choices for Verbal or Linguistic, Mathematical or Logical, Visual or Spatial,Bodily or Kinesthetic, Musical or Auditory, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalistic, and a box for student-teacher choice. Just fill in the blanks for what you want students to learn in your unit of study. Adaptable to any subject. - HappyEdugator

Christmas Analogies PowerPoint - a fun December Christmas activity for students to practice looking for relationships between word pairs. Students number their papers 1-10 and write the word that completes each analogy on their paper. They can then check their answers with the key on the last slide. Includes animated pictures that are entertaining and engaging. Two sets of ten Christmas analogies. All the analogies are Christmas related. Enjoy! Happy Holidays! - HappyEdugator

Rikki Tikki Tavi Constructed Response Based on Common Core Standards. Writing assignment based on the short story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. Emphasis on using text evidence for support a response to literature. Students must analyze the theme of the short story. Includes writing prompt with instructions for writing an argument that uses textual support for claims, a sample essay for students to use as a model for their writing that demonstrates how to use evidence from the text, and a writing rubric. Created to support writing that is highly rigorous as required by the new common core standards. - HappyEdugator

Ratios, Fractions, Percents, and Decimals PowerPoint. Helps students learn the rules for converting equivalent fractions, decimals and percents. Also Includes a common equivalent reference sheet which can be printed out and kept in student notebooks. - HappyEdugator CCSS.Math.Content.4.NF.C.5 Express a fraction with denominator 10 as an equivalent fraction with denominator 100, and use this technique to add two fractions with respective denominators 10 and 100. CCSS.Math.Content.4.NF.C.6 Use decimal notation for fractions with denominators 10 or 100. CCSS.Math.Content.6.RP.A.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. CCSS.Math.Content.6.RP.A.3c Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100