It's Back to School Time!

 It's Back to School Time and to celebrate, Teachers Pay Teachers is hosting a special sale! Millions of teaching products will be offered at 25% off including all the items in my store. Just fill your cart and use the special code when you checkout.

#boo2you22 Sale

Looking for some spooky Halloween teaching treats? Check out the hashtag sale #boo2you22 being hosted on Teachers Pay Teachers. Purchase outstanding teaching products for just $1.00. Search using the hashtag #boo2you22 or click the link.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:boo2you22

Total Participation Cards for Total Student Engagement

 It's been a while... a LONG while, since I have blogged anything. Chalk it up to life getting in the way: changing grade levels, changing teaching assignments, and a health issue. But I am here now and want to share one of my favorite posts from 2015, all about total participation techniques. I've continued using these in my classes to much great success. I've also updated my TPT products and have them posted on Teachers Pay Teachers for FREE. They are yours for the taking. I hope you find as much success with them as I have.

THROWBACK post from July 15, 2015 ......................................................

At the beginning of summer I mentioned that I was reading several professional development books, among them Total Participation Techniques (TPT, for short) by Persidea and William Himmele.

One of my BBB's, Lisa from Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, wrote to me and said that she was VERY interested in hearing more about this book and its contents. Lisa inspired me to do this book talk. Thanks for the great idea, Lisa!

About this book...

Providing easy-to-use alternatives to the stand and deliver approach to teaching that causes so many students to tune out--or even drop out--Total Participation Techniques presents dozens of ways to engage K 12 students in active learning and allow them to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and understanding. The authors, Persida Himmele and William Himmele, explain both the why and the how of Total Participation Techniques (TPTs) as they explore the high cost of student disengagement, place TPTs in the context of higher-order thinking and formative assessments, and demonstrate how to create a TPT-conducive classroom.  

Readers will learn how to implement field-tested techniques they can use on the spot (e.g., Quick-Draws, Quick-Writes, Chalkboard Splash); with Hold-Up cards (e.g., True/Not True, Selected Response); with movement (e.g., Bounce Cards, Line-Ups, Simulations); and to guide note-taking and concept analysis (e.g., Picture Notes, 3-Sentence Wrap-Up, Debate Team Carousel).

Filled with examples from real classrooms, Total Participation Techniques is an essential toolkit for teachers at all levels and for administrators who want a model for analyzing lessons to ensure that they are relevant, engaging, and cognitively challenging... from Amazon.com

As I read through the book, I recognized many things that I already did in my classroom that were TPT's; I just didn't call them that. I've been using exit tickets and quick writes for some time, as well as Pair-Share or Turn and Teach; Thumbs-up, Thumbs-down; and using sign language to indicate multiple choice answers.

What I like about the book is that there is a plethora of activities, MANY more than what I was already familiar with, described IN DETAIL...

Each TPT is presented in four parts:* A descriptive overview * How It Works--step-by-step instructions for implementation* How to Ensure Higher-Order Thinking--ideas for advancing students beyond surface-level thinking* Pause to Apply--suggestions for how to adapt and personalize the technique for specific contexts and content areas... from Amazon.com

Have any of you read this book? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the techniques presented. Has anyone implemented the techniques?

This now brings me to...

As I read through all the techniques, I decided to implement a few in my instruction this coming year. I have to select just a FEW to not overwhelm myself. Too many and I will forget what is what! Total Participation Cards referred to as HOLD-UPS (there's a HUGE variety mentioned in the book) are something so close to what I'm doing already that I knew I could implement them well. I made two sets: Mastery Cards and Choice Cards.

Mastery Cards are meant to be used by students while they are working. Students select the level of understanding where they are during discussions and work sessions to inform the teacher who then can concentrate on those who are "still working at it." Simple to make and use, you can grab your forever freebie set HERE.

Choice Cards are designed to engage EVERY student in a discussion or question/answer session. You can grab your set (including four options) of this forever freebie HERE.

Be sure you stop by 4th Grade Frolics to check out OODLES of Monday Made Its. Betcha find something there you just can't resist making!

BTS Giveaway

 It's that time, once again!

To help with the purchasing of back to school resources for your classroom, a team of amazing teachers and I have grouped together to gift ONE awesome, lucky teacher a TPT gift card!

PRIZES INCLUDE 1 x $300 TPT Giftcard

Enter the Rafflecopter below before August 22nd for MANY chances to win!

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Back to School Giveaway

It's that time once again! 

Time for back to school preparations. Time to freshen up lessons and classrooms. This means shopping and spending our hard earned money. To help with the purchasing of Back to School resources for your classroom, a team of amazing teachers and I have grouped together to give ONE awesome, lucky teacher the chance to earn a $150 TPT gift card! Just complete the Rafflecopter below. The more links that you follow means the more chances you have to win the gift card. Don't wait to enter: the giveaway closes on August 24th.




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BTS19... Back to School Sale and FREEBIE

It's that time: 

BACK TO SCHOOL!

The new school year’s right around the corner. To help you start it off right Teachers Pay Teachers is having a sitewide sale on thousands of teaching resources! So take out your wish list and get ready to save up to 25% on all your back-to-school essentials starting tomorrow through Wednesday, August 7th (11:59pm ET). Just remember to use promo code BTS19 during checkout to receive your discount.

One terrific product to add to your wish list is this Back to School ELA Bundle. If you are a teacher in grs. 4-6 this set of English Language Arts activities can get your year started off JUST right!

Are you looking for FUN and ENGAGING Back to School themed ELA activities to review or introduce key language arts concepts? Look no further! This bundle contains SIX products to help your intermediate students practice identifying parts of speech and kinds of sentences, as well as recognizing fragments, sentences, and run-ons. 

Included are THREE Zip Zap Zop! games, TWO Mystery Pictures, and ONE pack of Scoot cards. Click HERE to learn more about this item and to add it to your wish list. Don't forget that during the TpT Back to School sale you can grab this bundle at an even lower price than its normal discount!

Happy Shopping! 

And have a great school year!

Before you leave, hop over to my TpT Store and grab this Back to School Freebie. It's a fun and engaging mystery picture that your students can work while you are trying to get housekeeping/paperwork completed. Click HERE to download your parts of speech mystery picture.

New Year Countdown

I have teamed up with some fantastic TPT sellers to bring you 5 days of fabulous savings, starting on December 27th!!! 

Add these days to your calendar to make sure you don’t miss out. Each deal will be available for 1 day only. 

Search for these hashtags and ring in the New Year !!
#NYcountdown5 Dec 27th $5 deals
#NYcountdown4 Dec 28th $4 deals
#NYcountdown3 Dec 29th $3 deals
#NYcountdown2 Dec 30th $2 deals
#NYcountdown1 Dec 31st $1 deals

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com

Fantastic Fall Giveaway Part 2

Time to celebrate autumn just a little more! 

A wonderful group of teachers and I have teamed together to host a TpT gift card giveaway. Just enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a 75 dollar TpT gift card. The more entries that you complete, the better your chance of winning the card.

GOOD LUCK!

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Fantastic Fall Giveaway!

It's Fall y'all! To make the transition to this season just a little easier this year, a team of amazing teachers and I have joined together to provide ONE awesome, lucky teacher with a Teachers Pay Teachers gift card! Just complete the Rafflecopter below for your chance to receive the gift card. The more entries you complete, the better your chances of receiving the card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BTS Bonus Sale on TpT

Ready your wish list:  a TpT bonus sale is coming tomorrow!

Feeling the back-to-school crunch? There's still time to give your planning a fresh boost! Tomorrow (Tuesday, August 21st until 11:59pm ET), TpT is giving you one more chance to stock up on all your last-minute back-to-school needs. Just use promo code BTSBONUS18 to save up to 25% sitewide on A+ back-to-school resources. Just click HERE to start choosing great teaching products to help your students learn as much as they can!