One Hundred Essential Questions for Language Arts. Vitally Important questions for students in critical areas of reading, writing, and grammar. Not open-ended questions as named in some specific curriculum programs, just essential questions for learning the content. This list of one hundred essential questions can be used to drive lesson plans in an English Language Arts classroom. Good for back to school. You can give it as a handout at the beginning of the year and focus students on what is essential to know and what they will learn. This is also a useful tool at the end of the year for review for state standardized testing. It will help you focus on learning what is really important in the areas of grammar and writing.

Behavior Management Warning Cards. Classroom management tool.. Slip quietly on a desk and don't stop teaching! Be prepared for the beginning of the year or anytime you need a behavior plan. Explain to your students when they come back to school at the beginning of the year that you will expect them to follow your classroom expectations. Give them examples of positive and negative behaviors Tell them that once you give a verbal warning, you expect the behavior to stop. If it does not, and you have to address the issue again, they will quietly, without disrupting instruction, be given a behavior warning card. Just put it on their desk and don't stop teaching! They must sign it, date it, and write the behavior they are being warned about on the back and return it to you. You keep the card for documentation, which is useful for parent conferences or in the event of an office referral. Includes a plain set without name and date if you wish to use repeatedly without documentation. Includes cards with place for name and date, blank cards with a line to write on that you can customize, Last Chance cards, Stop! cards, and Oops! cards...which you can use as you choose. Enjoy! - 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.

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

Figurative Language in A Christmas Carol Worksheet. Using quotes from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, students have to identify types of figurative language such as metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, and allusion. Also includes a handout on types of figurative language. No prep. Print and go. Key included. - HappyEdugator Standards RL.6.4, RL.7.4, RL.8.4, CCRA.L.5

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

Following Directions Puzzles. A fun way to teach following directions and critical thinking. Great test preparation. You get three challenging puzzles! In the first puzzle, students cross words off of a table according to the directions provided. When they are finished, they will reveal a famous inspirational quote about life. In the second puzzle, students have to rearrange letters according to the directions to change one phrase into another. Finally, in the third puzzle, students must follow the arrows in order to reach the finish. Keys included. This is also a useful activity to do around testing time, at the beginning or end of the year, or anytime you wish to reinforce the importance of following directions. Good brain work out for gifted and talented, too. - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving Reader's Theater - Gobble It Up. A first Thanksgiving play script or Thanksgiving reader's theater; On the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims and the Indians are coming together for a three day feast, and Mr. Turkey Lurkey has to take cover. There are 26 short speaking parts, so everyone can be involved! It takes approximately 20-25 minutes to be performed. No costumes necessary, but you can dress it up. Fun November educational activity based on facts on the history of Thanksgiving! Two versions included - one with a smaller print (4 pages) to save on copies, and one with a larger font for reading ease (8 pages). No need to memorize lines. My students loved reading it, and I am sure yours wil enjoy this Thanksgiving activity, too! Print and go. No prep. Happy Thanksgiving! - HappyEdugator

Thanksgiving: The First Thanksgiving. Teaching the history of Thanksgiving? The First Thanksgiving fill-in the blank story or cloze activity will add to your unit. Students can fill in the blanks of the story using the Word Bank. This is a fun vocabulary building activity and provides historical background for the holiday as well. 1 page worksheet and 1 page key. - 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.

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