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.
Animal Farm Study Guide Handout. Reading Animal Farm by George Orwell? A printable study guide handout which asks students to come up with their own descriptions of major characters in Orwell's Animal Farm, and also asks them to list and discuss the commandments the animals used for their laws. Students will also have to use higher level thinking to analyze, synthesize and evaluate the novel.
Expository Essay Writing PowerPoint and Graphic Organizer. Guide students step by step through an expository writing prompt, using a four square graphic organizer. Students will learn how to put their ideas in logical order to support their thesis statement, develop an introductory paragraph with a hook, and develop a concluding paragraph that ends with a punch! Includes printable graphic organizer template to print (black and white), links to online resources, and a writing prompt for students to develop into their own 5-paragraph essay. Helpful test prep to develop writing for state standardized writing tests. -
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.
Parts of a Book PowerPoint. Basic parts of a book from the cover, spine and pages to what is inside. Distinguishes between fiction and nonfiction books, and explains how a book is organized, from the title page, table of contents, to the index and bibliography. Animated graphics make it engaging. Supports common core standards. Revised with more content in June 2014 - HappyEdugator
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
Figurative Language Color Idioms. Idioms with color words. One sheet is a multiple-choice sheet and the other students have fun coloring the matching idioms and their meanings. Includes a chart of colors and their moods.Supports common core. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
Brain Teaser Sheet - Critical Thinking.
Fun Brain Workout. Letter equations. May be challenging, but students will love trying to figure them out! A letter equation is a common combination of letters and numbers that are abbreviated. The trick is to figure out what the abbreviation means. For example, 7 d. in a w. is 7 days in a week. 22 brain teaser equations and key included. Good activity to get minds working for test prep. Exercise for the brain. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
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
Simple Subjects and Complete Subjects Worksheet. Finding subjects and predicates is made easier with practice. Students will identify simple subjects and complete subjects. This will help them identify complete sentences. Simple and easy to understand directions. Ten sentences for simple subject, and ten for complete subject. Answer key included. - HappyEdugator
100 Points Research Paper Rubric. Writing a research paper? Use this detailed rubric for a research paper that is easy to grade! Specific standards based requirements for a research paper and will promote a high degree of performance. Based on a 100 points, It is easy to grade and students can self evaluate their work. Performance elements include: Purpose and Focus, Organization and Development of Ideas, References and Documentation, Formatting, and Conventions. Promotes independent reading, critical thinking, organizational skills, writing style, and citing sources without plagiarism. - HappyEdugator
Chromebooks Keyboard Shortcuts - Essential guide for using Chromebooks in the classroom. If your school is using Google Chromebooks in the classroom, you can use these quick keyboard shortcuts for using notebooks in the classroom to help your kids and yourself navigate on a Chromebook. Keep them handy...share this file with your students to keep as a handy reference tool, or project them on your SMARTBOARD or whiteboard and go over them with your kids before you begin. Useful for any subject, and especially helpful in computing classes. Hope you find it helpful! - HappyEdugator
Essay Rubric - for a Formal Essay. Based on the rigor of the common core standards. Rubric measures nine areas of assessment which are: format, understanding of literary texts, idea development, text support,organizational pattern, word choice, sentence structure, transitional devices, and language mechanics. Criteria for assessment categorized as exceeds standards, proficient, meets standards-- but not proficient, and does not meet standards. - 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
Exit Slip Ticket Out - Snoopy Summarizing Activity Ticket Out. Ticket out the door. Use this summarizing activity to have students take notes on what was important to have learned in your lesson. Students summarize by filling in the thought bubbles and taking additional notes at the bottom.Can be given out at the beginning of the week and students fill in a thought bubble each day Monday through Thursday and review for assessment on Friday, or works well for summarizing reading and chapters of novels. Enjoy!
Moon Crossword Puzzle - Moon Samples. Words are based on moon geology and features of the moon.
18 clues. If you are studying the solar system, space, or astronomy, you can use this for enrichment. Words include: rille, maria, brecchia, basalt, highlands, seas, etc. Key included. Enjoy! Fun for all ages. Allow students to research answers online if they are challenged. Especially good for enrichment.
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
TEST PREP Understanding Prompts for State Writing Tests PowerPoint. Taking a state writing test or preparing for the writing portion of a state test? PowerPoint presentation helps students prepare for state tests by learning how to understand what type of essay they are expected to write. Students need to understand how to answer constructed response questions, and make their argument with support from a text. Learn the differences between what is expected for a persuasive and expository writing prompt, like the ones provided on standardized tests and state assessments. Slides focus on key words and how to plan using a simple graphic organizer.
Writing an outline handout. What an outline is and why it is used, two types of outlines, and the rules for formatting an outline from general to specific with headings, subheadings, details, and specifics. Use when writing an expository paper such as a research report, biography, or essay. Includes an outline format template. You may also download my other Outline Template - Blank to help with scaffolding or differentiation. Thanks.
Reading a Magazine Terms and Worksheet. Magazine terms (parts of a magazine, and hands - on practice sheet) 2 page printable handout with a hands-on practice activity for reading nonfiction magazine articles. You will need to have magazines available or take students to the media center to read magazine articles. The first page is a list of journalism terms used in the magazine industry, which you can discuss and studentts can use as a reference sheet. The second page has students fill out questions about these terms using a magazine article they have read and can refer to.