Forms of Government and Economic Terms PowerPoint. Fundamental forms of government and economic terms to introduce students to basic concepts for understanding. Autocratic, Democratic, Oligarchic, and Parliamentary. Includes link to a hangman game on forms of government. Slides also discuss basic economic terms such as market economy, mixed economy, and command economy, tariffs, and trade barriers. - HappyEdugator

The White Giraffe - Webquest Comparing South Africa and England. Students research and compare the countries of South Africa and England, and write their results in the T-chart. This activity goes along well with the book The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John. Students have to research facts about England - United Kingdom and South Africa and write them in the chart. Builds background knowledge about the setting of the story. Students get their information from a reliable source - the world factbook at cia.gov. After they complete the webquest, students will see some interesting differences between the countries that can be fun topics for discussion. Enjoy. - HappyEdugator

Teaching Literary Devices - Daily Quote Exercises. 50 writing prompts - inspirational quotes for your students to write about. Explanations of literary devices and figurative language (such as similes, metaphors, symbolism, and analogy) used on the first twenty quotes for instruction. Use for daily journal activities. Good discussion starters. Have students copy the quote and paraphrase what it means to them and share. Slides can be projected on an overhead or printed out (you can adjust the size on your printer and print them out on index cards). Many possible uses for this resource. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Organelles Activity - Cell Structure Information Exchange. In this assignment, students have to become an organelle and research about themselves. Then, after they have their information ready, they will attend a "Meet and Greet" social at a mock cell conference and share information with each other. Includes assignment sheet, student directions, double-sided worksheet for filling out information, Note taking sheet, and name tags. - HappyEdugator

Dominoes Addition Facts Memory Game - Fun Fluency Practice For Addition Facts. Match the domino to the correct addition fact. 2 players. Shuffle all the cards. Lay the cards face down on a flat surface. Youngest player goes first and flips over two cards, looking for a match. If the cards match, the player keeps the cards and may take another turn. If the cards do not match, the cards are turned back upside-down and the second player takes a turn. Play continues until all the cards have been matched. The player with the most cards wins. Differentiation: Use the first set of dominoes and facts for practice with the sums through 9. Add the second set for practice with sums through 18.

Writing: How to Engage the Reader PowerPoint. Focus on writing using three strategies to hook the reader, with examples. These three different writing strategies to engage the reader and create a great beginning for a narrative account can be used to help students overcome writer's block, especially when preparing for state writing tests. For use in a standards-based writing program which supports common core. Includes a slide with several other strategies students can try as well. Updated August 2014 - HappyEdugator

William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying - essay test or examination for the novel. Questions are based on Faulkner's life, style, including characterization and organization, themes, symbolisms and ironies. You can choose to have students answer all of the questions or let them select. This can be used as a take-home open book examination. Grading form and answer key included. You can use this for backwards design, and use the answer key to drive your class discussions. - HappyEdugator

Storms - Wild Weather Word Scramble. This storm word scramble has words related to storms or precipitation. All the letters in the stormy words have been mixed up, and students need to figure out the correct words in the jumble. Can be used for a science unit on meteorology or weather or to go with a reading assignment. This is a fun sheet to use with any unit on weather, storms, disasters, or as a supplement to a story or book with bad weather, such as The Cay by Theodore Taylor, Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen, Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow, or Anna, Grandpa, and the Big Storm by Carla Stevens. Twenty words. Key included. - HappyEdugator

Classroom Performance Evaluation Sheets for Reading and Writing. Oral reading rubric, writing rubric, and reading assignment tracker. Evaluate student's oral reading and writing with a simple rubric, and monitor completion of reading assignments with a simple classroom form developed for upper elementary and middle school students. Especially useful for novel study. Students and teachers can keep track of reading assignments, evaluate oral reading and writing about the selection. A tool that is quick and easy for teachers, and useful for students to use for self-evaluation and peer review. - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving Writing - Countdown Cards. Fun Thanksgiving writing activity! Print and go quick wirtes or journal prompts forf November. Each card has a different theme for giving thanks. You can print these out and have your students write on them, or project them on a screen if you prefer. They can be used as journal prompts, task cards, literacy centers, or as a choice activity as well. This Thanksgiving, enjoy counting your blessings! Here's another idea: print them out on index cards and stick each one on the cover of a composition book. Then students write in the composition books and rotate them each day, so that each student gets to write in a different book each day. (Just ignore or cut off the dates) This way they also get to see what other students have written. (They can edit other entries, too.) You can also print them out on index cards and have students make a Thanksgiving Blessing Tree. After they write on the cards, punch a hole in them, string a colorful ribbon though, and hang from a tree! Or make a great interactive bulletin board with a tree made out of brown paper and have your students stick their blessings on the tree each day. Make it fun! - HappyEdugator

Mother's Day Coupon Book - Easy Printable Gift. Wish Mom a happy Mother's Day this spring by printing out this coupon book. Students choose the slides they wish to include to customize their own special coupon book for Mother's Day. Have them sign their name on the front, and put the slides together together to honor Mom as a thougtful gift. Includes cover page, back page writing activity, a special poem about how to use the book, and kids can add their own special touches, too, such as drawings, poems, stories, fingerprints, handprints, etc. With a white background or a color background. 27 different coupons. - HappyEdugator

Word Challenge - A Fun SmartBoard Critical Thinking Game. Students choose a letter with the random letter picker, and then a category with the random category picker, and then set the timer (which is adjustable to set to any amount of time). Good critical thinking time filler! Object is to make as many words as possible beginning with the selected letter that belong in the selected category. (For example, write words that begin with a in the category of fruit) If students don't like the 1st category board, then can choose a category from the second board. This game can be played by the whole class as individuals or groups. They can keep score by counting how many words they created, or play just for fun. Enjoy! Good critical thinking time filler!

Frequently Confused Words Packet - Supports Common Core! Includes a Poster or Handout on how to study commonly confused words, Four sets of frequently confused spelling words for study, four quizzes, and answer keys. The word lists are typed in text boxes, so they can be cut out and put on index cards. Students can then write the words on the other side of the cards. They will have a set of flashcards that they can then use to quiz each other for practice, and a way to self-check. Give out the words at the beginning of the week and have them take a quiz on Friday. These four sets will provide four weeks of practice! If you would like, do one set one week out of the month instead of their regular spelling words. However, you use them, enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving ABC Word Wall List. A Thanksgiving word list for your Thanksgiving word wall. Sorted alphabetically. You can also use as a handout. Students can use these Thanksgiving words to write picture books, stories, poems, or songs about the holiday. Have them try to use a word from each letter of the alphabet in a story. Teachers can use the list to design Thanksgiving printables, puzzles, skits, and other holiday activities. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Bearstone by Will Hobbs study guide. Notes on the author and characters, 3 sets of questions and 3 sets of vocabulary words from the novel.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Final Test - Essay Examination. This is an essay test or final examination for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Questions are geared to assess understanding of themes, symbolism, characterization, and plot. Students must select one of four quotes by critics, and prove them with evidence from the novel. This can be used as a take-home open book examination. Grading form is included as well. - HappyEdugator

Christmas adjective clause worksheet with 15 different sentences. Students have to identify the adjective clauses in the sentences related to the winter holiday. Useful in December to keep focused on the learning, even when the holidays are coming! Helps students understand sentence structure. Can be used in class or as homework practice. Common core standard in Language Arts. No prep. Print and go. Key included. - 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

Snow Activities for Fun! Need some fun things to do this winter? Here are some activities your students can do! Includes a sheet to go with the story There Was a Cold Woman Who Swallowed Some Snow, and also a maze, a snowflake creative writing sheet, a snowman acrostic, directions for an art activity with soap flakes, a dot to dot snowman, a snow globe coloring sheet, Snow Word Family sheet, and even a snowman Venn Diagram. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Standards Tracker - Use this excel file to keep track of standards and student mastery. You can adapt it to use for a variety of uses. - Enjoy! - HappyEdugator