Potato Salad Recipe - A light and healthy potato salad recipe with no mayo!

Likenesses - Similes and Metaphors Worksheet. Explains the difference between similes and metaphors, why they are used in writing, and gives examples. Students then have 10 practice sentences in which to identify similes and metaphors. Use as a quick review or assessment when students are studying figurative language. Key included. -Happyedugator

Alternative Book Reviews Handout. This handout gives students several choices for different projects to complete instead of a standard book report. Students can select one of these alternative book review formats. Students may present to class when complete. Rubric included. - HappyEdugator

BATS Writing Paper - Lined Paper - Bats Theme. Eight different bat designs, two different sizes of lines for writing at different ability levels. Fun paper for Halloween or anytime. Students will have fun writing with some cute little bats to inspire them. - Enjoy!

Watership Down Part IV - Vocabulary and Study Questions. This is a two page document that includes vocabulary for each chapter and study questions for Part IV (Chapters 39-50, and Epilogue) of the novel Watership Down by Richard Adams. - HappyEdugator

The River by Gary Paulsen Story Map. This is a graphic organizer story map shaped like a raft that goes with the book The River by Gary Paulsen. Students can write story events in order on the logs of the raft. - HappyEdugator

Middle School Reading Lists for Grades 6 - 8 and Gifted. Includes an alphabetical list of novels along with their grade level recommendations, and a list for novels also appropriate for gifted and talented learners. Can also be used as a suggested summer reading list. - HappyEdugator

Using an Almanac Scavenger Hunt. A worksheet activity with ten interesting questions that students should be able to find the answer to in most almanacs. Have students work in pairs, partners, or cooperative groups with a class set of almanacs and look up the information. This is good hands-on practice of research skills. They need to be familiar with how to find information in an almanac. If they can't find the information, of course, a key is included. :-) - HappyEdugator

Reading - Activating Thinking Strategies for Reading. Includes posters for SLANT and SETTING. Twelve simple ideas to help you engage your readers by activating their thinking, connecting to their world, stimulating schema or background knowledge and grabbing their interest. Reading strategies you can really use! These are especially useful for lesson planning in Learning Focused classrooms. - Happyedugator

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

Character Traits Rating Continuum Graphic Organizer. Supports common core. This graphic organizer will have students doing some higher level thinking! Students analyze a character trait as they read a book by placing specific examples or text evidence of that trait from the book on a continuum. For instance, they could rate Brian's survival skills in Hatchet, or Billy's maturity in Where the Red Fern Grows. As they find examples of the trait in the book, they write the page number, a description, and evaluate it. This can be done with a book the whole class is reading with teacher guidance, and then with their independent reading books as well. Supports common core! - HappyEdugator

Story Elements Think Tac Toe. This literary elements think-tac-toe has students investigate characterization, setting, and plot and differentiates by learning style. This can be used with any short story or book. Students choose one box from each row of the project choice board or menu and then completes. (A row goes horizontally) They do not need to have three in a row or column. Good to use at the end of a book or any story. Nice differentiated culminating activity for elements of a short story. Includes a checklist at the bottom for students to make sure their work is high quality. An engaging way to assess student understanding. Updated August 2015

Drama vs. Prose Chart and Word List. A good activity to use when introducing drama to your students. Students will have to categorize the terms as either used in drama, prose, or both and put them in a chart. This is an activating thinking strategy and pretest which can also tell you what your students know and don't know about drama and prose. -HappyEdugator

Source Cards-Information Required Handout with Practice Activity. Help students organize notes and write bibliography in MLA format. This handout will help students identify what information they will need to put on their source cards when they take notes for a research paper and use to write a bibliography using MLA format. This is an important step in the research process. This will help make sure their bibliography is clear and correct. In simple terms, it lays out what is necessary to record for books, encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, and websites. Students can put it in their binder and use it as a handy reference for when they take research notes. The last page is a practice activity they can use to correctly make source cards. - HappyEdugator

Reading Graphic Organizer - I Saw...I Thought. Students can use this organizer when reading fiction or nonfiction text. In the first column, they should write evidence, quotes from the text, headings, subheadings, etc. that would be important to remember. In the second column students should write what they thought or understood as they read. This could include questions, predictions, vocabulary in context, etc. Graphic organizer can help students organize their thoughts to write a reading response. Younger students can draw pictures related to the text as well. - HappyEdugator

Freak the Mighty Tic Tac Toe Board. A fun project or menu board to go with the book Freak the Mighty.

Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Reading Activity. Informational text on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the creation of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Use as a supplemental resource to your unit for enrichment or fluency. One page reading sheet about Dr. King and his belief in nonviolence, one page with open ended questions, one page reading about the creation of the holiday, a timeline of the events that led up to the creation of the holiday, and a writing journal prompt. Print and go. NO PREP. - HappyEdugator

Golf Vocabulary and Quiz. Learn golf vocabulary! Includes a handout for basic vocabulary for the game of golf, like birdie, bogey, eagle, etc., and a short matching quiz over the basic terms. Useful in as a summer golf camp activity or in physical education. Also great for building background knowledge for reading selections that involve the game of golf or when reading biographies of famous players of the game. Key is included. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Watch the classic Thanksgiving movie based on the book the Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater. Your students will probably recognize Peter Billingsley, the little boy from the movie A Christmas Story! Use this viewer's guide for before the movie discussion questions, during the movie comprehension quesitons, and a writing activity after viewing. A fun Thanksgiving activity to do on the day before the holiday. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator

Clauses - Identifying Clauses Worksheet or Quiz. After reading passage, students will write the letter of the term that correctly identifies the underlined group of words in each sentence. Students will have to be able to differentiate between adjective clauses and adverb clauses, independent clauses, simple sentences, compound sentences and complex sentences. Ten multiple choice questions. This can be used as a practice sheet or as a quiz. Key included.