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.
Back to school Editable labels will help you get organized! Three different sizes. Just insert a text box and write what you want. Great for name tags, desk plates, signs, posters, supply labels, and more. - HappyEdugator
Poetry Bundle – Teaching Poetry - a large variety of poetry resources for Grades 4 - 8. This 140 page poetry unit is a resource that includes:
What is Poetry - an introduction to any Poetry Unit – 6 pages PDF
All About Poems Graphic Organizer and Poetry Preview Activity- 5 pages PDF
Poetry Characteristics Notes and Poetry Writing Activity – 2 pages PDF
Nursery Rhymes - Poetry You Should Know PowerPoint – 26 slides PPT
Poetry Concept Map – 1 page PDF
Poetry Image Map – 1 page JPG
Poetry Elements Graphic Organizer – 4 pages PDF
Poetry Graphic Organizer Sheet – 1 page PDF
Poetry Scavenger Hunt – 3 pages PDF
Poetry Sound Patterns – 2 pages PDF
Rhyme in Poetry Practice sheet – 2 pages PDF
Poetry – Five Senses Poem Handout – 1 page PDF
Poetry Activity for A Remarkable Adventure by J. Prelutsky – 3 pages PDF
Poetry Anthology Anchor Activity and Rubric – 3 pages PDF
Poetry Using Emotions to Create Poetry PowerPoint – 20 slides PPT
SMARTBOARD Writing Poetry is EASY Activities - 8 slides - Notebook
Adjective Poem – 3 pages PDF
Preposition Poem Worksheet – 1 page PDF
Diamante Poem – 1 page PDF
Cinquain Formula Poem PowerPoint – 10 slides PPT
Writing a Parody Poem Activity-How Doth the Little Crocodile- 3 pages PDF
Reading Poetry Process Handout – 2 pages PDF
Alliterative – Superlative Adjectives – 1 page PDF
Reading Poetry Process Handout – 2 pages PDF
Ways to Read Poetry PowerPoint – 15 slides PPT
Poetry Terms Study Guide with Key – 2 pages PDF
Poetry Multiple Choice Formative Assessment – 3 pages PDF
Poetry Types Test – 3 pages PDF
Poetry Terms Crossword– 2 pages PDF
- HappyEdugator
Vietnam Memorial Reading Comprehension Sheet. Students can read about the history of the Vietnam Memorial and where it is located in the United States. Includes a short nonfiction reading and reading comprehension questions sheet. Good activity for Veteran's Day.
Words to Avoid When You Write. This is a handout for students on formal academic and professional writing which explains the importance of avoiding certain words in order to have a credible style. Also includes a list of words and common phrases that should not be used or limited when writing. - HappyEdugator
ADHD tips, observation sheet, and reward tickets. If you have an ADHD child in your class this year, I hope this list of tips will be helpful. Use the observation sheet to write down and record problem areas. This will be helpful for parent conferences and for seeing what works and what doesn't. Use the reward tickets as an incentive for your student to stay on task. You can offer your student a choice of different activities to choose from (such as 10 minutes of computer time) if they complete a task you give them. This worked very well for my autistic students as well. I have included tickets for a boy or girl to give them if they cannot do the activity right away.
Shades of Meaning Verb Cards - Bundle of Six Sets. Cut out and laminate these 16 different cards IN EACH SET illustrating different synonyms of the verb "LAUGH, SEE, SAID, JUMP, RUN, AND WALK." Helps students understand connotation. With guidance and support from adults, students acquire new vocabulary by defining word relationships and nuances in word meanings, sorting words into categories, choosing and acting out the different meanings. Buy the bundle and save 20%!
Aligns to Common Core Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.5d Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.5d Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.5b Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.5c Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).
Additionally, words can be used for spelling practice, writing practice, and word walls. Includes definitions for the teacher.
- HappyEdugator
Back to school Wanted Poster. Have fun getting to know your students by having everyone in the class make these wanted posters during the first week. They will enjoy sharing and getting to know each other, too. Makes a great back to school wall display. You can also use these posters as an additional activity to go along with a reading, writing or social studies unit relating to an old western theme. Students can choose a character from a book to put on their poster. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
A list of 120 writing prompts that will keep your students writing for most of the year! These ideas will motivate students to write creatively and may inspire them to write more! Enjoy! - 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! -
Christmas Number Comparing Activities PowerPoint. Math fun! Comparing fewer or more objects in a group or chart - number activities in a 30 slide interactive PowerPoint with a Christmas theme. Encourages counting skills and number concepts. Supports common core state standards! - HappyEdugator
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.3 Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4 Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4a When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4b Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4c Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.5 Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.C.6 Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.1
CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.C.7 Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.
Mystery Vocabulary PowerPoint. Common vocabulary words necessary for understanding a mystery unit. Whether reading or writing mysteries, these are the essential words every student should know and understand, such as sleuth, perpetrator, alibi, clue, evidence, deduction, plot, setting, etc. These slides include words, definitions, and a match-up assessment at the end. 20 slides. Supports common core state standards.
- HappyEdugator
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
EDITABLE Teacher Binder Covers - 63 Different Ready Made Binder Covers and Spines for back to school. Choose which ones you wish to use, print out and slip into your binder front and spine. Also includes an editable cover and an editable spine, so you can add your own words if you need to! These can also be used as dividers in a larger teacher binder (cover for that included) and the spines can double as page tabs. Just print out the pages you need and put in page protectors. Print out the tabs on card stock, laminate if desired, and attach with clear packing tape to protect and make durable. Back to School background. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
With the EDITABLE BLANK covers and spines, you can create your own binders for anything you wish. Also includes ready made covers for:
504's
Art
Assessments
Benchmarks
Calendar
Class Rosters
Common Core Standards
Conferences
Curriculum Maps
Cursive
Data
Department
Duties
ELL
English Language Arts
Evaluations
Extracurricular Activities
Field Trip Information
Foreign Language
Geography
Gradebook
HIstory
IEP's
Lesson Plans
Mathematics
Meeting Notes
Modifications
Music
Newsletters
Parent Guardian Contacts
Passwords/Tech Information
Professional Development
Reading
Schedule
Science
Social Studies
Spelling
Standards
STEM
STEAM
Student Information
Substitute
Syllabus
Teacher Binder
Transportation
Website Information
Work Samples
Writing
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
HOLIDAYS
TESTING
This activity will help your students identify adjectives in text. They will search for adjectives in the story, and try to find them all. My students like to use highlighters to find them, but you can have them circle or underline them if you desire. Also includes a reference sheet and key. Great activity to do after studying adjectives with my All About Adjectives PowerPoint. Enjoy! - HappyEdugator
Adjectives PowerPoint - all about adjectives with practice slides including:
What is an adjective?
Descriptive Adjectives
Limiting Adjectives
Nouns Used as Adjectives
Proper Adjectives
Articles - Definite and Indefinite
Degrees of Adjectives - Positive, Comparative, Superlative
Review of Common and Proper Adjectives
Compound Adjectives
Classifying Adjectives
Demonstrative Adjectives
Coordinate Adjectives
Cumulative Adjectives
58 slides.
- HappyEdugator
This Indefinite Articles PowerPoint has 15 practice slides Help your students know when to use the articles "a" and "an." Includes answers after each slide. - HappyEdugator
Walrus Facts and information all about walruses. If you are studying arctic animals, introduce your students to walruses with this PowerPoint presentation about these amazing marine mammals.
Includes slides on:
What is a walrus?
Physical features - with a link to a video on walrus sounds
Flippers
Skin
Tusks
Whiskers
Diet
Life Expectancy
Reproduction
Range
Population
Behavior
Threats - Natural Predators
Threats - Climate Change
Threats - Ship Traffic and Oil Spills
21 slides of informational text on walruses. - HappyEdugator
Chalkboard and Burlap Alphabet Posters and Bunting. Decorate your classroom this school year with these chalkboard and burlap alphabet posters and bunting. With the blue trim, they will go with a nautical theme or shabby chic, too! You can also use the letters to make welcome signs, or create other messages with the pennants.
Includes:
26 chalkboard and burlap alphabet posters
26 chalkboard and burlap alphabet bunting
End of Year Candy Awards - Editable. 40 award certificates based on candy bar names. These are superlative awards for the end of school. The awards are editable! You are able to edit the NAME field, the date field, and the signature field. If you prefer, you can delete the signature text box and hand-write your signature. Enjoy!
Includes:
Snickers - great sense of humor
Kiss - loving and sweet
Milky Way - imagination that's out of this world
Smarties - smart ideas
Almond Joy - always a joy to be around
Bit - O - Honey - hard worker and super sweet
Nutrageous - fun and outgoing classmate
Skor - winning personality
Mr. Goodbar - good friend and helper
Whoppers - great storyteller
Dove - great peacemaker
Baby Ruth - sports lover
Symphony - exceptional talent in music
Skittles- rainbow of creative and artistic ideas
M & M's - magnificent and marvelous writer
Peanut M & M's - great handwriting
Starburst - classroom rock star
Laffy Taffy - making us laugh
Jolly Rancher - telling some great jokes
Twizzler - dancing into our hearts
Reece's Pieces - picking up the pieces and cleaning up our mess
Mentos - being a great mentor and role model
Special Treasures - a treasure to all of us
Good and Plenty - having good and plenty of ideas
Lifesavers - so helpful to others
Kit - Kat - great attitude and giving us all a break
Mounds - making mounds of memories
100 Grand - excellence in math
Payday - great volunteer
Kudos - great acheivement (for social studies, but good for any subject)
Carmello - sweet and soothing
Crunch - being there in a crunch
Krackel - always cracking open a good book
Twix - double checking work
Butterfinger - accident prone
SweeTarts (official spelling) - sweet heart
Three Musketeers - working well with others
Extra - going the extra mile
Zero - no zeros...turning in all work on time
Mars - out of this world work (for science, but good for any subject)
First Day of School Activity - What if Poem. Read the poem by Judith Viorst "The First Day of School" and then have students write their own "What if..." poem. Includes a page of writing ideas and a rubric for poetry.
Fairy Tale Homophones. Fun practice sheet identifying homophones in famous fairy tales. Sheet includes ten sentence that have incorrect homophones for students to find and fix. Supports national curriculum.
Poetry Book Project. Students will create a poetry book by writing 11 different poems from a list of subjects, and each poem will require a different element of poetry including figurative language (metaphor, simile, idiom, personification, hyperbole) or sound device( onomatopoeia, alliteration). Students must also include one of each type of poetry given (limerick, ode, haiku, ballad, free verse, etc) Detailed rubric included. - HappyEdugator .
A great activity to do with this PowerPoint is to have the kids write their own dialogues. I cut out of magazines some interesting pictures of all kinds of different people interacting. I glued them on cardstock, with the words Who? What? Where? When? and Why? written on each card, and laminated them. I passed the cards out, and students had to imagine what the people were saying to each other in the pictures, and then write the dialogue, using correct punctuation. They also had to later incorporate the dialogue into a short story that answered the five W questions/ The kids enjoyed this activity and got very creative with their stories! Enjoy! :)