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.
Sentence Structure Activity - Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex. Includes Simple and Compound Sentences Acquisition Lesson and Extending and Refining Activity for Complex and Compound-Complex Sentences. Fun and engaging way to get students to learn the difference between simple sentences and compound sentences using Oreo cookies and Vanilla wafers! Students love grammar when it is hands-on. Yum! They get to eat them when the work is done! Includes essential question, activating strategy, teaching and writing practice, and summarizing strategy. Extend the lesson to include complex sentences and compound-complex sentences. Includes a plot diagram graphic organizer, a KWL chart, a story writing paper, and printables to go with the activity. Supports common core. L.7.1a, L.7.1b
- Happyedugator
Children's Book Writing Project Rubric. Story Writing. Have your students write a children's book with PowerPoint, using this rubric as their guide. Help them incorporate literary elements, and make it easy for yourself to grade! This rubric considers the writing process, introduction, organization, problem/conflict, characters, solution/resolution, setting, spelling and punctuation, and specific requirements. - HappyEdugator
Poetry - Five Senses Poem. Handout, brainstorming pages, and final poem publishing page. Help students get started using sensory language and begin writing poetry using vivid imagery. Guides students with a format for writing a poem using their senses. Examples will get them thinking. You will be amazed at some of the original and creative poems you can get students to write using this format. - HappyEdugator
Short a sound - Sounding Out Words PowerPoint. Teach reading with phonics and decoding using word families. CVC words. Begin with Short a Word Family. Slides introduce the sound of short a and have students practice blending short a sound with consonants to form one syllable CVC words. Students read the the slides, and get rewarded with fun sounds and cheers! This is a first step to reading after students learn consonant sounds.
Short o Sound - Sounding Out Words PowerPoint. CVC words. Teach reading with phonics and decoding using word families! Short o Word Family. Slides introduce the sound of short o and have students practice blending short o sound with consonants to form one syllable CVC words. Students read the slides and get rewarded with fun shouts and cheers. This is the next step to reading after students learn consonant sounds and the sound of short a and short e. This animated PowerPoint has 17 slides of practice, with a slide of nonsense words and a slide of real words at the end of the presentation for teacher assessment. Supports common core standards. Great supplement for CVC word work.
Subject Verb Agreement - Practice Worksheets with key. You get 2 worksheets, and a subject-verb agreement handout! The first worksheet has twenty-five practice sentences that students can use to practice their skills. The second has twenty questions. There are two choices given in each sentence, but students will have to think to pick the correct choice. These can also be used as an assessment after a unit of study. Also includes a handout on subject verb agreement for student reference. Keys included. - 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
Roots with Meaning and Example Words Handout. Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes along with their meanings and example words. alphabetical order. 5 pages, useful as a study guide for test preparation. Supports common core. - HappyEdugator
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., photograph, photosynthesis)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.4b Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).
The short story The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers has many literary elements for students to study. This packet addresses vocabulary, comprehension, character, theme, symbolism, internal conflict and external conflict, author's purpose, and tone. Requires critical thinking and analyzing the text to find evidence to support answers. Graphic organizers included. - HappyEdugator
The Night the Bed Fell by James Thurber Short Story Support Materials. Includes vocabulary word splash with synonym search, vocabulary review, vocabulary test, multiple choice comprehension test, and character graphic organizer. 9 pages. - HappyEdugator
Sometimes kids need to know how to control their feelings. It is okay to feel sad, but how do we feel better? This PowerPoint walks them through four strategies for coping with sadness. Great minilesson for a teacher to give at the beginning of the year or for a school counselor to give to a group of students who need strategies for dealing with crying and depression. - Happyedugator
Christmas Activities. Fun Christmas activities for the last week of school before the Christmas break. Six different sheets that are fun and require critical thinking! Three writing prompts, a math square, a wordsearch, and a scrambled story included, with answer keys. Print and go. No prep. Enjoy and merry Christmas! - HappyEdugator
Short e Sound - Sounding Out Words PowerPoint. CVC words. Teach reading with phonics and decoding using word families! Short e Word Family. Slides introduce the sound of short e and have students practice blending short e sound with consonants to form one syllable CVC words. Students read the slides and get rewarded with fun shouts and cheers. This is the next step to reading after students learn consonant sounds and the sound of short a. This animated PowerPoint has 17 slides of practice, with a slide of nonsense words and a slide of real words at the end of the presentation for teacher assessment.
Parts of Speech Scavenger Hunt. Find the different parts of speech in books or other texts. A sheet for each of the eight parts of speech. Verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections and prepositions. You will need to provide a variety of picture books for your students or let them use their books that they are reading for independent reading. You could also select stories to use from a textbook, or project a text on your whiteboard. Students have to find as many of the specified part of speech as possible in the time allowed. Great for differentiation. Use as a whole class activity, in centers, or in cooperative learning groups. You can rotate students to different centers, each with a different story or book and a different part of speech to search for, or you can have all students search for the same part of speech in a particular text and use it as a review
Present Simple and Progressive Verb Tenses PowerPoint. Explains how the present simple and present progressive verb tense is used correctly in the English language. Grammar rules and structure are examined, and examples and graphic organizers show how the verbs are formed in positive sentences, negative sentences, and questions. 18 slides. - HappyEdugator
Leap Year. Facts and fun. Animated PowerPoint on Leap Year. Answers questions many kids have about leap year.
Slides include:
What is Leap Year?
When does Leap Year Happen?
When do we add the extra day?
Why do we have Leap Year?
When was the first Leap Year?
What calendar do we use today?
How is Leap Year determined?
2016 is Leap Year - what are the next 4 leap years?
2016 is Leap Year - what year was the last leap year?
The last slide is a partner activity the kids can do that is related to leap year and February 29.
Biography Poster Person Project with Rubric. This biography project gives students a choice of making a poster person, poster, or diarama. Rubric provides students a guideline for expectations. Students must summarize in at least 4-6 paragraphs what they find out about their person, and the information on the poster should be legible and neat. They must also include the sources where they found the information on the back page the biography. Good project to do around President's Day, but the project doesn't have to be limited to Presidents. Editable format for you to make adjustments for your class.
- HappyEdugator
Easter acrostic poem. Do you need a quick fun activity for Easter? This is a short 9 slide PowerPoint explaining how to write an acronym poem, also called an acrostic poem. This would be a good warm-up activity to use around Easter holidays. Included is a definition of an acronym or acrostic poem, two example poems using egg and Easter, an Easter vocabulary slide, and a slide prompting students to write their own poem. You could also print this last slide for students to fill in. - HappyEdugator
Halloween Word Search. Your students will have fun finding the spooky Halloween words hidden in this word search puzzle. They can search up, down, backwards, and diagonally to find them. Includes answer key. - HappyEdugator
