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.
Multiple Intelligence Tic Tac Toe Assignment Template. This is a differentiated assignment... a tic tac toe or menu activity that uses multiple intelligences for each section. Write in the theme or unit you are teaching. Teachers can customize the tic tac toe to fit what they are teaching and makes differentiation easy. There are nine boxes for different types of learners and learning styles, with choices for Verbal or Linguistic, Mathematical or Logical, Visual or Spatial,Bodily or Kinesthetic, Musical or Auditory, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalistic, and a box for student-teacher choice. Just fill in the blanks for what you want students to learn in your unit of study. Adaptable to any subject. - 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
TEST PREP Language Arts Standards Practice Test is a 30 multiple choice question practice test or study guide presented in the style of a state standardized test. Test prep questions cover a variety of standards, including research, word roots, combining sentences and figurative language. Useful for preparing for any state test. Students can get ready for taking a standardized test by practicing. Use a bubble sheet or scan-tron to make it more like the real thing. Supports common core. - HappyEdugator
Christmas Analogies PowerPoint - a fun December Christmas activity for students to practice looking for relationships between word pairs. Students number their papers 1-10 and write the word that completes each analogy on their paper. They can then check their answers with the key on the last slide. Includes animated pictures that are entertaining and engaging. Two sets of ten Christmas analogies. All the analogies are Christmas related. Enjoy! Happy Holidays! - HappyEdugator
Poetry Sound Patterns. Writng poetry with sound devices. The first page of this handout discusses four different types of sound patterns or sound devices that are used in poetry, including alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhyme. The second page of this handout is a writing activity for students to apply what they have learned. The third page gives possible solutions to the writing challenges.
- HappyEdugator
Christmas Activity - Teaching Vocabulary with Lyrics from Jingle Bells. Here's an engaging December or winter activity to teach vocabulary by using the familiar Christmas carol Jingle Bells. The lyrics for all four verses are large enough for a transparency or LCD projector. The words highlighted in red and green are the vocabulary words. There is a list of words, also made for the overhead or LCD, and a key. This was designed as a Christmas lesson for kids in upper elementary and middle grades, but it can be used for higher levels as well.
- HappyEdugator
September 11 PowerPoint. Patriot Day, September 11th. PowerPoint on September 11, 2001 has over a hundred slides with photos of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania crash site of Flight 93. I like to play it with the music of Paul McCartney's "Freedom" and Neil Young's "Let's Roll." (Music must be purchased separately due to copyright laws) The anniversary of that tragic day is coming up. This will help your students understand the immensity and seriousness of the attacks on 9/11. Most middle schoolers were not even born when it happened, and although some of them have heard about it, most of them think this is ancient history. Have your Language Arts students write about what they feel after watching the photo slide show. This is good for Social Studies or History teachers as well. Slides advance automatically, but you can pause if needed. Quick review questions near the end. EDITABLE...some images may be distrubing for little ones, so I have put it in an editable format so that you can remove slides as desired. - HappyEdugator
Rikki Tikki Tavi Constructed Response Based on Common Core Standards. Writing assignment based on the short story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. Emphasis on using text evidence for support a response to literature. Students must analyze the theme of the short story. Includes writing prompt with instructions for writing an argument that uses textual support for claims, a sample essay for students to use as a model for their writing that demonstrates how to use evidence from the text, and a writing rubric. Created to support writing that is highly rigorous as required by the new common core standards. - HappyEdugator
Ratios, Fractions, Percents, and Decimals PowerPoint. Helps students learn the rules for converting equivalent fractions, decimals and percents. Also Includes a common equivalent reference sheet which can be printed out and kept in student notebooks. - HappyEdugator
CCSS.Math.Content.4.NF.C.5 Express a fraction with denominator 10 as an equivalent fraction with denominator 100, and use this technique to add two fractions with respective denominators 10 and 100.
CCSS.Math.Content.4.NF.C.6 Use decimal notation for fractions with denominators 10 or 100.
CCSS.Math.Content.6.RP.A.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.
CCSS.Math.Content.6.RP.A.3c Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100
Evaluating an Argument - Supports Common Core! Use around Earth Day, or any time you study nonfiction. PowerPoint slides helps students understand how to evaluate an argument, a critical reading skill. Students learn that evaluate means to judge a selection by looking for the author's main point, whether it is supported by evidence and facts, and whether the author argues against opposing arguments. Practice exercise with informational text included. Students will read and evaluate the argument from an excerpt of the book Green Planet Rescue by Robert Halpern. Good practice of common core standards and appropriate for Earth Day, too. Background vocabulary is endangered, species, and habitat. - HappyEdugator
Aligned to Common Core Standards RI 7.1, RI 7.2, RI 7.3, RI 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, RI 8.1, 8.2, 8.5, 8.6, 8.8
Supports College and Career Readiness Standards grades 6-12 for drawing evidence from informational text to support analysis and reflection
Christmas Writing Activity - Revising the lyrics of Christmas Songs. Get students engaged in some creative writing before the holidays. Fun! Students can rewrite some of their favorite Christmas songs, such as White Christmas, Jingle Bells, and The Grinch. Three writing templates to get them started. Fun practice for expanding vocabulary...finding synonyms in a thesaurus, experinmenting with words. Photographs of projects done in class. Have fun! - HappyEdugator
Middle School Language Arts Essential Study Guide. Practice questions on author's purpose, principal parts of verbs, subject-verb agreement, context clues, idioms and prepositions. This four page study guide or practice sheet reviews several areas of concern many middle school students have trouble with in Language Arts. Key included. Good for test preparation!
- HappyEdugator
End of Year Memory Book for Any Elementary Grade. An end of the year memory book or end of the year scrapbook that is easy to print out on standard copy paper and put together. Start the summer right! A memory book is a fun way to end the school year. Each memory book page is bordered in palm trees. Title page has an ABC background. Includes a place for a class picture, pages for school, teacher, friends, lunch, favorite things, etc. Like a scrapbook, each page has lots of space for drawings, stickers, photos, and personal mementos. Includes a farewell poem from the teacher and a page for autographs. Memory book can be used for any elementary grade, and can be adapted for middle grades as well. Also, if you want a smaller and sturdier book, go to print set up and set up your printer to print out on index cards. Then you can hole punch the pages and tie together with ribbon. 14 pages. - HappyEdugator
Common Root Words Handout. Common Greek and Latin roots, root words or stems, prefixes, suffixes, and math and science affixes and roots on a comprehensive printable handout. Includes reasons why learning roots and affixes are important. Good to review before standardized testing. 8 pages. 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).
Five Themes of Geography Handouts and Graphic Organizer Set. Included here are two handouts explaining the five basic themes of geography: location (absolute and relative), place , movement, relationships (human interaction with environment) and regions. Includes 6 different graphic organizers to use for any geographical region of study.
Graphic organizer 1 - students use this organizer to list their area of study, describe the absolute location on one side and the relative location on the other
Graphic organizer 2 - students can use this organizer to describe their area of study with descriptions of landforms, bodies of water, and human life
Graphic organizer 3 - students can use this organizer to describe how the people in their area of study interact with the environment
Graphic organizer 4 - students can use this organizer to describe how people, goods, and ideas move in, through, and out of their area of study
Graphic organizer 5 - students can use this organizer to describe the region of their area of study
Graphic organizer 6 - students can use this organizer to compare their area of study to their home state
- HappyEdugator
Independent Clauses and Subordinate Clauses. Worksheet or Quiz. Sentence structure practice, review, or assessment. Students will identify whether the underlined clauses are either independent clauses or dependent clauses (subordinate). Ten sentences with key. Supports common core. . - HappyEdugator
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.1.a
Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences.
What is Poetry - an introduction to any Poetry Unit. Start off your poetry unit by asking What is Poetry? and What is a Poet? On the handout provided, students will read what T.S. Eliot had to say about it, and then come up with their own answers. Also included in this file are several pages of introductory materials a teacher can use to start students thinking about poetry. - HappyEdugator
Coordinate Adjectives Handout and Practice Worksheet. Explains using commas and how to tell the difference between coordinate adjectives and cumulative adjectives. Coordinating adjectives are adjectives that must have a comma because they can have the word "and" put between them or their order can be reversed. Cumulative adjectives must stay in the order in which they are presented or they do not make sense, so therefore they do not need a comma. Handout will give students a reference to use, and worksheet has 18 practice sentences where students must determine if the adjectives are coordinate or cumulative, and place commas accordingly. Supports the common core standards. L.7.2a . No prep. Print and go.
Earth Day - Reduce Reuse Recycle PowerPoint. Celebrate Earth Day with these spring activities! Earth Day history, Earth Day flag, Earth Day anthem, Earth Day Activities and many different ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Teaches children the value of conservation and ecology. 13 slides. - HappyEdugator
The Hunger Games Survival Challenge Smartboard Game will engage your students! FUN! INTERACTIVE! 12 Different Smart board activities!
Hunger Games Directions: This is a Smartboard game for up to twelve players or teams based on the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. A scorekeeper may be needed to keep track of team scores.
BEWARE Only one player can survive! Will it be you? You may choose up to 12 teams or individual players. Click on the dice to find out your district and see how many points you will start with. There can be two players from each district. If a district has already been claimed, roll again. It is not necessary to have all Districts in play for the game to continue. There will be 12 Challenges. A District will be randomly selected to complete the Challenge. You may win or lose points depending on your performance on the Challenge. The INDIVIDUAL with the most points at the end wins. The password for editing purposes is hunger, in case you wish to change the game. I have the password set up so students can't change it.
Some teachers may wish to vary the game and play the challenges as separate games instead of playing the game with all 12 challenges for a victor. You may adapt how you play it for your class. Just move through the slides and have loads of fun! 25 slides in all. This activity can also be used in math for the practice of adding and subtracting points.
- HappyEdugator