What is Poetry - an introduction to any Poetry Unit. Start off your poetry unit by asking What is Poetry? and What is a Poet? On the handout provided, students will read what T.S. Eliot had to say about it, and then come up with their own answers. Also included in this file are several pages of introductory materials a teacher can use to start students thinking about poetry. - HappyEdugator

End of the Year Superlative Questions: Most Likely To Succeed as ... Printable ballot with 32 great "Most Likely to" questions for end of the year activities - perhaps a classroom fun filler, an assembly, or to use when creating a yearbook. - HappyEdugator

Thomas Jefferson - PowerPoint Presentation. A biography Thomas Jefferson, our nation's 3rd President and author of the Declaration of Independence. From his early years to his passing, follow the impressive accomplishments and achievements of a great founding father. Learn about his influence in American history and his relationships with other founding fathers, his role in the Revolutionary War and the Louisiana Purchase, and examine some of his inventions. Great for building background for President's Day activities. Updated February 2015 - HappyEdugator

Beginning of the Year School Bus Safety PowerPoint. Back to school safety! 15 slide PowerPoint with animation on school bus safety. Use for back to school or anytime for review. Basic safety tips about how to get on and off a bus, cross in front of a bus, and behave on a bus in motion. - HappyEdugator

Fourth of July PowerPoint. July Fourth - Independence Day - 4th of July. How and Why We Celebrate the Birth of our Nation. Great for summer camp. The Declaration of Independence made simple, Flag etiquette, Popular summer outdoor and indoor games and activities, Traditional food, How to make an American Flag cake, and Fireworks safety. American July 4th traditions for everyone to enjoy, for young and old, foreign or not. Goes with any Fourth of July unit. Great for introducing the summer activities of the Fourth to ESOL students and foreign high school students and adults as well. 15 Review Questions and Answer Key for self check.- HappyEdugator

Christmas Holiday Sensory Writing Practice Worksheet. A Christmas or winter holiday writing worksheet. Ten different Christmas writing prompts for sensory writing, to create imagery with a holiday twist. Students will need to show, not tell, using words that utilize the five senses. You may use the worksheet in centers. group work, or individual instruction. You may wish to have them complete all the exercises, choose some, or assign them individually. Includes three pages of sensory words for students to use if needed. - HappyEdugator

Poetry - Writing Poetry is EASY Smartboard fun and interactive activities. EASY stands for Emotional Appeals; Alliteration and Sound Devices; Similes, Metaphors and Figurative Language; and You Make the Rules. Students will love playing with words on the Smartboard and writing their own poems! - HappyEdugator

Halloween Quiz. This simple and fun quiz about Halloween will test your students knowledge of some basic Halloween vocabulary and traditions. Students can fill in the blanks from the word bank. Pair and share, write a story with the words from the word bank, and color the Jack O Lantern afterwards. You can also cut out the word bank if you wish, and make a game for kids to "win" it! Included are word bank cards, a monster for early finishers to color, a key and a reward cut out for completing it correctly! - HappyEdugator

Asthma: Understanding Asthma PowerPoint. Teaches the basics of asthma...what it is, what the symptoms are, how to use an inhaler, and what constitutes an emergency. This can be used with upper level students for a Health class or to inform teachers in elementary, middle grades, and even high school on what to look for and how to handle an asthma attack. - HappyEdugator

Earth Day Word Problems - Multiple Operations. 15 word problems related to Earth Day for your students to solve. Includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. Some are two step problems. Encourages critical thinking and application of basic math skills. Supports common core! Problems can also be cut out and used as task cards. - HappyEdugator

Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs - Short Story Unit. Includes Anticipation Guide, Vocabulary, Plot Summary, Use Your Vocabulary sheet with key, About the Author, Comprehension Quiz with key, Essay Questions and Short Answer Questions that require students to use evidence from the text in their answers to support common core.The Monkey's Paw is a great spooky ghost story! A good read for Halloween or anytime. Enjoy!

Poetry: Ways to Read Poetry PowerPoint. Presentation guides students in how to approach reading poetry with a plan so they can reach their goal of understanding what a poem means. Teaches close reading of poetry. Before, during and after reading strategies including paraphrasing, journaling, and "two per line" will help students become more active and responsive readers. Supports common core standards. 17 slide PowerPoint. - HappyEdugator

Martin Luther King Jr. Vs. Malcolm X Venn Diagram. Students must research and compare the two civil rights activists using the Venn diagram provided. Students research Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, and can use this Venn Diagram to report on their findings, or as a graphic organizer for writing a comparison contrast paper. Good for black history month, MLK day, or any time for a study of the two different leaders and how they were similar and different. For differentiation, one page is blank where students have to fill in both sides, and the other page has the MLK side completed so students just have to complete the information on Malcolm X. The last page is a key with both sides completed and the central question answered.

The Mouth Organ - Christmas Around the World. Introduce this Christmas short story from Trinidad to your students with this PowerPoint and activity. Includes information about the author, background information on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, story vocabulary with photo slides to build understanding, and five critical thinking questions that develop writing using evidence to support answers. Also includes a research sheet for students to research Trinidad and compare it to their own hometown. This story can be a nice addition to your Christmas Around the World unit. Includes a link to the story. If you are using Chromebooks, tablets, or computers in the classroom, students can read through the PowerPoint, click on the story to read, and then answer a choice of the questions or those you assign them. Supports common core. - HappyEdugator

Halloween Poems and Fun Halloween Poem Writing Activities. Includes seven of my original Halloween poems for reading aloud and just for fun, in color and black and white. Each poem has an activity associated with it. Two craftivites. Includes a figurative language sheet and activity, and two Halloween poetry writing activities to complete after you are all in the mood to create! Stimulate imaginations! You can project the colorized poems on a whiteboard to practice choral reading. You can also print them out and use in literacy centers or for student copies to read along. Examples of various types of sound devices and figurative language found in the poems, such as alliteration, simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, and imagery. - HappyEdugator

Halloween Word Problems - Fun Practice. Halloween math practice in basic operations. 2 pages of addition and subtraction word problems and 2 pages of multiplication and division word problems. Teaches problem solving and critical thinking with a Halloween theme. - HappyEdugator

A Beginning of the Year Me Bag Activity - a great back to school activity that helps everyone get to know each other at the beginning of the year. This All About Me Bag activity includes letter to parents with calendar, assignment reminder sheets, and rubric. Includes an original "me" bag poem to paste on the bag that students can read aloud and two writing sheets. Promotes creative thinking.

Reading Club or Book Club Activities for the Entire School Year. When you go back to school, are you planning to have a reading club or a book club start at the beginning of the year? Either in your classroom, or school-wide? This 34 page packet is what you need to start a successful reading club. This is a year's worth of activities for a Reading Club. The topics are planned for September through June. Everyone starts with a membership card, and to stay an active member, each student reads books on the theme of the month. The printables included here are: a student letter with membership card, a parent letter explaining the requirements, letters home with signature lines for books read for each theme, badges for monthly bulletin boards, and certificates of achievement for each month. There is also a super student award for the end of the year and a tic-tac-toe board for students to complete that will encourage them to read books from a variety of genres. Start your club anytime and enjoy the reading! 34 pages. - HappyEdugator

Leadership - Ten Qualities of a Good Leader PowerPoint Presentation. Helpful at the beginning of the year. Includes ten qualities that make a good leader. Some of the characteristics of a good leader include self-confidence, a sense of justice, and self-control. Good BTS character education activity or use when you are discussing classroom rules and behavior expectations. We tell kids to be good leaders,and not followers, but they need to know how. Good for back to school or the beginning of the year to provide students an understanding of expectations. Use at the beginning of the year to motivate. Use at the end of the year to review important life skills. (For professional development, insert the word teacher for leader, and student for follower) Animated slides, Partner activity and writing assignment included, along with some quick review questions. - HappyEdugator

Organize for back to school with this free desk planner! Print on cardstock, laminate, and use dry erase markers (or wet erase) to write on and wipe off. Write in the month, dates, and days of the week. Calendar also has a place for Notes, Reminders, Daily To Do List,and Weekly To Do List. In color or ink friendly black and white. - HappyEdugator