I have a total of 27 years teaching experience . After I received my M.Ed. from the University of Florida (hence the name "HappyEdugator"), I began teaching in elementary school, where I taught pull-out remedial classes for grades 2-5 and a section of K-1. Then I taught Pre-K for 5 years, before I went up to Middle School, where I have been in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Last year, I went back to 1st grade in a private setting. I have traveled worldwide and am also fluent in Spanish.
I have a total of 27 years teaching experience . After I received my M.Ed. from the University of Florida (hence the name "HappyEdugator"), I began teaching in elementary school, where I taught pull-out remedial classes for grades 2-5 and a section of K-1. Then I taught Pre-K for 5 years, before I went up to Middle School, where I have been in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Last year, I went back to 1st grade in a private setting. I have traveled worldwide and am also fluent in Spanish.
Christmas Music Program Introduction - Christmas Acrostic. Ready for December? This is an easy performance for young children to perform at Christmas and meant as an introduction to a winter music program. Everyone can participate. Parents love it! A letter exercise for fifteen children. The first child comes out with the title slide. Then, let each child present a placard bearing a letter as he recites his line. The last card, S, tells the audience, "So, Let's Sing Songs to Say..." At the close, all hold up their cards above their heads and shout Merry Christmas!
Sing Christmas Carols afterward. Just print out the slides on cardstock and laminate. You can mount on large red and green construction paper and decorate with glitter for a more festive look if you wish. Lines are short and easy for very young children. All the cards together spell out MERRY CHRISTMAS, with a special message for each letter. If you have more than fifteen children, you can have ones without cards carry jingle bells. If you have fewer, you can let some carry two cards. Adjust as you need to, as the slides are editable. Happy Holidays! -HappyEdugator
Blank Headstone Template for Writing Character Epitaphs. Grave fun for Halloween or anytime. Make a graveyard of epitaphs. Use this headstone or gravestone template to have students write a character epitaph or summary of a book in which a main character dies. Students can focus on character traits and what makes a character memorable. For instance, it can be used with the Diary of Anne Frank, or The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Goes well with Where the Red Fern Grows and Maniac Magee, and great for a bulletin board on dead words. - HappyEdugator
Memorial Day and Flag Day Coloring Activity. This print and go sheet for Memorial Day and Flag Day explains why we celebrate and what the colors of the flag symbolize. Students then follow the color codes to color the flag. Have them cut out and attach to a craft stick or paint stirrer to wave. - HappyEdugator
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg Wordsearch Puzzle. A winter wordsearch based on the book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Thirty words related to the book in this word search, which is a fun Christmas filler activity. No prep. Print and go. Key included. - HappyEdugator
Christmas Word Scramble for your students to enjoy. Use at your next Christmas party. Directions: A bad winter weather system hit the North Pole yesterday and knocked out the power. When the power was brought back on, Santa found out that all his computers had scrambled his filenames! Help Santa fix his computer files by unscrambling the words below. He needs all the help he can get this time of year! This holiday scrambler activity is fun and engaging word play. No prep. Print and go. Key included, of course. - HappyEdugator
Christmas Activity - Christmas Trivia Game. Fun card game with over 100 questions. 2 - 4 players or teams. Great for Christmas party! A fun way to celebrate the Christmas season. 36 pages...when you print, print out the cards 4 to a page. To make it fun, some of the questions are easy, and some of them are hard. Enjoy! HappyEdugator
Spider Webquest. Fun at Halloween or anytime. Explore the world of spiders. In this webquest, students will learn about a variety of different spiders, their habits and habitats, toxicity of venom, first aid, and interesting facts. Students will visit 3 websites and complete two different tables and answer the questions. Key included.
Mother's Day Gift - Flower Pot Craftivity. Make a mum for mom for Mother's Day! Print out flower parts and flowerpot on cardstock. Students can write adjectives that describe their Mom on the orange flower petals, then cut out the pieces and assemble by gluing the petals on to the flower center, and then adding the stem and leaves. Students can decorate the flowerpot with their name, pictures, stickers, glitter, etc. and then attach the flower to the flowerpot. After flower is dry, laminate or cover with clear contact paper for durability, and trim. Write a message to mom on the flower pot. Give to mom on Mother's Day to make her smile! Includes black and white pages, MOM or MUM for flower center, and a list of Mother's Day adjectives to help students choose the ones that best describe their mothers.
Penguins - Penguins Crossword Puzzle based on penguin facts. Penguins are cool! Word list for the clues included. Key included. Good winter activity or use when reading books on penguins like Tacky the Penguin, Penguin Pete, or Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme. - Happyedugator
Giraffes - Fun Facts About Giraffes PowerPoint. Learn about giraffes! This giraffe PowerPoint has interesting and fun facts about the life of a giraffe. Informational text can be used to introduce or supplement a jungle theme unit or a unit about the zoo, giraffes, or African animals. Engage students and grab their attention, or build background knowledge for reading books with giraffes, like "Giraffes Can't Dance." It can even be a fun supplement to the book "The White Giraffe." - Happyedugator
Memorial Day Word Scramble. Fun Memorial Day activity for language, spelling, and vocabulary development. 2 puzzles! Print and go. In the one for upper grades, students have to unscramble 22 words that have to do with Memorial Day. In the other one, there are ten words for primary grades. Some of the words included: Veteran, Freedom, Poppy, Decoration, Military, United States. Keys included. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
Valentine's Day Bookmarks. Six Valentine's Day bookmarks: three inspiring and colorful bookmarks to give your students on Valentine's Day to instill a love of reading. Three more bookmarks to tell them you love them. Cute sayings like "Owl love you forever." Editable so you can personalize with student names. Print out on cardstock or tagboard and laminate for a bookmark that will last. Nice gift from teacher to student instead of a card.
Halloween Smartboard Games - 4 Different Activities K - 3. Four Interactive Halloween Activities for the Smart board. The first game, Halloween Consonant-Vowel Sort, is really an easy game for the little ones. They have to decide if the Halloween word begins with a consonant or a vowel, and place it in the vortex. The second game is a Halloween Word Guess, a game similar to Hangman. The third game is A Halloween Sequence, where they have to put the events of Halloween in chronological order. The last game is a Multiple choice Halloween Fun Fact Quiz. Games are made with SMART Notebook software.
-HappyEdugator
Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Coded Words fun activity sheet. Use as a time filler that is a vocabulary or spelling builder and a fun thing to do for a Martin Luther King Jr. activity. Figure out the coded words written with webdings by using the decoder. Key included. NO PREP. Print and go.
Christmas Activity - Christmas Coded Words Activity Sheet - Webdings. Fun! Use as a time filler or as a fun thing to do for a Christmas party. Figure out the coded Christmas words written with webdings by using the decoder. Winter fun! Like a puzzle, this exercises the brain and promotes visual discrimination. Keep kids occupied even on Christmas Eve. No prep. Print and go. Key included, of course. - HappyEdugator
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen Vocabulary and Word Search. Engaging study guide vocabulary sheet and fun word search activity. 16 words in the wordsearch. Enjoy! -
Halloween Spooky Synonyms PowerPoint and Writing Activity. Halloween themed PowerPoint about synonyms. Supports common core. First slides explain synonyms, give examples of synonyms, and why choosing the right words and using a thesaurus is useful when writing. Several colorful and animated slides then provide synonyms for common Halloween words such as candy, costume, scary, etc. The last slide is a writing activity where students use their new found vocabulary to write a Halloween story. A fun autumn activity to get your students writing. We had fun making this a listening and speaking activity. When a synonym slide came up, we would say the synonyms, and then I would ring a bell. They had 30 seconds to turn to their neighbor and answer the question at the bottom of the slide. After 30 seconds, I rang the bell again and they had to stop talking! Then we would repeat on the next slide. When we got to the activity slide, I let them tell their story to each other first before they had to write it.
- HappyEdugator
Standards: W.4.3, W.5.3d, W.6.3d, W.7.3d, W.8.3d
Valentine's Day Crossword Puzzle. Cross word is slightly challenging for middle grades students. Made for middle grades and up. Enjoy! Solution included, of course. Examples of the types of clues and level of difficulty below:
cardboard greeting = CARD
often written to lovers = POEM
sweet confections = CANDY
the act of seeking a partner = COURTSHIP
love story= ROMANCE
stunningly beautiful =RAVISHING
has the power of attracting = CHARM
the blossoms of plants = FLOWERS
like sugar = SWEET
without end = FOREVER
inspiring approval = ADMIRABLE
boyfriend = BEAU
term of endearment = DARLING
symbol of love; at the center of = HEART
- HappyEdugator
Columbus Day Fun Activity Pack. Columbus Acrostic Poem, Writing Prompt, Word Search. Poem Handout, Mak-a-Word, and Fill-in Activity included. Twenty-six Columbus Day related words in wordsearch. October is a fun Fall month, and this is an engaging activity for building vocabulary and spelling skills. Also includes a reading handout of the traditional poem "In 1492" and a Christopher Columbus Fill-In the Blank Activity sheet. You can also use these as time fillers or as a substitute activity. - HappyEdugator
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!