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!

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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!

Back to School MEGA Giveaway No. 2

It's nearly that time! Time for a another BTS giveaway 😊

I hope that you have enjoyed your summer! To make the back-to-school season a little easier this year, a team of amazing teachers and I have grouped together to give ONE awesome, lucky teacher a TPT gift card and an Amazon gift card! Just enter the Rafflecopter below the giveaway graphic to be considered for the random drawing. The more entries you complete, the greater your chances of winning. Good Luck! Happy Back-to-School!

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Back-to-School MEGA Giveaway

It's nearly that time! 😊

I hope that you have enjoyed your summer! To make the back-to-school season a little easier this year, a team of amazing teachers and I have grouped together to give ONE awesome, lucky teacher a TPT gift card, a Target gift card, and an Amazon gift card! Just enter the Rafflecopter below the giveaway graphic to be considered for the random drawing. The more entries you complete, the greater your chances of winning. Good Luck! Happy Back-to-School!

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BTSFRESH TpT Sale... WOO HOO!

YIPPEE! It's that time of the year again! The time that teachers await patiently! 

Get ready, get set, and GO!

TpT teacher creators have set their stores to deep discounts to help you save on your back to school shopping. EVERYTHING in my store is set to be on sale! Tons of terrific teaching items are available to you at up to 25% discount. Just remember to use the code BTSFRESH during the checkout process. While the sale doesn't being until August 1st, you can shop right now, emptying your wish list and filling up your cart in anticipation, Click HERE to get started searching for BTSFRESH sale items.

Hashtag Fun

Hashtags can be loads of fun! This week many creative teacher-authors and I are having fun with some hashtag sales on Teachers Pay Teachers, and we invite you to join in the fun! AND SAVE LOADS OF MONEY, TOO! Just click on the links below the graphic to shop and save with hashtags!

Click HERE to shop #HotDealsInJuly.

Click HERE to shop #ChristmasInJuly.

Happy Hashtag Shopping. Just be sure to watch the dates for each sale in order to shop the dollar deals.

BTS30 Hashtag Sale

A group of talented Teachers Pay Teachers creators have joined to offer you a special BACK TO SCHOOL SALE. From now through July 15th hundreds of terrific teaching items are discounted 30%. You can find these sale items HERE or by searching using #BTS30 on Teachers Pay Teachers. Stock up now and grab some great savings!

#4onthe4th

Happy Independence Day!

Let's have a little #hashtag fun on Teachers Pay Teachers!

A wonderful group of teacher creators and I have joined together to offer four products from each of our Teachers Pay Teachers Stores at fabulously reduced prices. One item is offered at $4, one at $3, one at $2, and one at $1. 

These are the items that I am offering in my TpT Store.

$4 Back to School ELA Bundle (SIX items for one low price)

$3 ELA Pencil Topper Mini Anchor Charts

$2 Easily Confused Words SWITCH, ELA Card Game

$1 Back to School Grouping Cards

Click HERE to be whisked away to sparkling savings on hundreds of teaching items, 

 or simply visit Teachers Pay Teachers and search using #4onthe4th.

Independence Day Giveaway

Happy Independence Day! 

A team of amazing international teachers and I have joined together to award an awesome teacher a 150 dollar Teachers Pay Teachers gift card to show them how appreciative we are for their service as a teacher! Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to receive this terrific TpT gift card. 

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Fantastic Favorite Freebies Collection

Everybody LOVES freebies! Especially teachers, right? I have a brand new freebie and an invitation that I would like to share with all of my bloggy friends.

I Survived Various Verbs

Task Cards and ZAP!

Task cards are VERY popular in many elementary and middle school classrooms. I think that I use task cards at least three out of the five school days each week. Easily adapted to any content area and grade level, they make for a welcome change from just completing a worksheet for skill practice. This pack of 42 task cards (40 skill cards and two ZAP cards) may be used in a literacy center, as part of a scavenger hunt, or for a game of scoot or ZAP. Each card requires a student to read a sentence and identify its verb. The cards contain sentences taken from Lauren Tarshis’s popular I Survived Series books, my students' favorite books overall. This pack of cards can be used by an individual student, for small group instruction, or with an entire class. They are extremely versatile, easy to implement, and best of all...reusable.

To prepare this set of task cards…

1.Print the Playing Cards found on pages 4-10.

2.Laminate the pages for durability if you choose.

3.Cut apart the cards.

4.Print the cover page and glue it onto a large envelope.

5.Print a copy of the Answer Sheet found on page 11.

6.Place the Playing Cards, ZAP cards, and Answer Sheet in the envelope for safe storage.

To play a game of Scoot…

1. Place the cards (minus the ZAP cards) around the room face down in front of each student. Use as many cards as you like. If you wish to use all the cards, simply double-up cards in front of some students if necessary.

2. Have each student number a sheet of paper from 1-40 (or however many cards you choose to use). You might consider playing two separate rounds, using cards 1-20 for round one and cards 21-40 for the second round.

3. Students begin by answering the card(s) in front of them, writing their answer(s) on their paper next to the matching number.

4. After an appropriate amount of time, call “SCOOT!” and students turn the card(s) face down and move to the next place where they answer the question on that card.

5. Play continues in this manner until all items have been answered or time runs out.

6. Collect the student papers to assess yourself or check them together in class.

To Play a Game of ZAP (My students' FAVORITE game):

•Divide your class into several teams depending on the number of students.

•Determine how long you will play or how many rounds you will complete.

•Place the task cards and the two ZAP cards in a container (coffee can, paper bag, etc.).

•Have a student draw a card from the container without looking inside

•The team should read the words on the card, then confer to determine the answer.

•If the team answers correctly, it keeps the card. If it answers incorrectly the card is returned to the container.

•Teams take turns drawing/collecting the cards. However, there is a twist. If a team draws a ZAP card, it must return ALL of its cards to the container. Return the ZAP card to the container after each turn.

•The winner is the team that collects the most strips. You may want to award them with a simple prize such as a piece of candy, bonus points on an upcoming quiz/test, 5 minutes of free time, etc.

To Use as a Scatter (Scavenger Hunt) Activity:

•Distribute the task cards around the classroom, hiding some in plain sight while others place out of sight.

•Have students number a paper from 1-40 or however many cards you have decided to use.

•Students should meander around the classroom in search of hidden task cards. As they locate a card, they should read it and record its answer.

•You can have the entire class scattering around the room or just a few students at a time. This can be a station activity, small group enrichment, or whole class assessment. Anyway you present Scatter is great for students since they are able to get up and get moving around the room a bit.

You can download your free set of I Survived Various Verbs HERE or by visiting my TpT Store and downloading the featured free product.

Looking for MORE freebies? I've listed several more below.

And now for the INVITATION...

TpT friends, I invite you to include your favorite freebies in the list below. We can create a tremendous warehouse of fantastic products that are easy to locate. In the process, we can share our talents with each other and with blog visitors who might not have been able to find us before.

FANTASTIC FAVORITE FREEBIES COLLECTION

May the Force Be With You: Maker Lab Star Wars

There is no doubt that the Maker Lab series of books published by DK Books are among my favorite nonfiction materials for my sixth grade science students. I've blogged about these books on three separate occasions, celebrating each new addition to the Maker Lab series:

     Maker Lab, the original book
     Maker Lab Outdoors
     Maker Lab Out of the Box

Today's blog post is featuring another Maker Lab book, one that I predict might become the most popular thus far.

Star Wars Maker Lab

by Liz Heinecke and Cole Horton

Containing the perfect amount of science, science fiction, and movie lore, this edition enables readers to create wonderfully futuristic, fun projects. While this book is not available until July 3, 2018, Amazon already has it listed in anticipation of its popularity, and says this about Maker Lab Star Wars:

Ever wanted to move things without touching them like a Jedi can? Or grow your own kyber crystal? Or maybe explode a balloon with a beam of energy, just like the Death Star? Now you can! 

With 20 amazing projects, Star Wars™ Maker Lab teaches your budding Padawan how to become a Master of science, in both the real world and the Star Wars galaxy. Using clear step-by-step instructions, the book guides home scientists and makers through each exciting experiment–from making Jabba's gooey slime or a hovering landspeeder, to an Ewok catapult and a glowing Gungan Globe of Peace. Each experiment has fact-filled panels to explain the real-world science as well as the Star Wars science fiction from the movies. 

With projects that are out of this world, this fantastic Star Wars book can keep children entertained for hours, making use of many household items such as cardboard tubes, baking soda, cornstarch, straws, balloons, and food coloring. There is also plenty to keep more adventurous scientists enthralled, with instructions to make your own bristlebot mouse droid, lightsaber duel, and Mustafar volcano. Star Wars Maker Lab supports STREAM topics and helps children to learn the basics of science by traveling through the Star Wars galaxy. May the (static) Force be with you!... Amazon.com

Among those 20 fun, futuristic projects are:

Each project's difficulty level is represented by a series of Yoda heads, ranging from simple to most challenging. Full color photos describe the household materials needed to complete a compete and illustrates the step-by-step instructions. Movie scenes spark the interest of the Star Wars fanatic and draws them into that galaxy far, far away! 

If you already own the Maker Lab series, you will definitely want to add this volume, and if you haven't added a Maker Lab book to your library, this is one to start with! May the Force be with you!

It's Time to SWITCH #2sale

Isn't is time for you to SWITCH how your students practice ELA skill work?

There is no more engaging way to practice ELA skills than by playing a game! SWITCH is a card game played similarly to Uno. Every version of SWITCH requires students to practice a particular ELA skill before they can play a card. Mixing fun with needed skills practice is definitely a WINNING combination! 

Each SWITCH game contains 72 cards (four of which are programmable by you) and is appropriate for 2-8 middle school aged players. An answer key and detailed directions are included with every game. 

There currently are seven SWITCH games available in my TpT Store: Pronouns, Sentence Structure, Sentence Type, Prepositional Phrases, Verbs, Direct Objects, and a Make Your Own SWITCH game. 

I've joined Nikki from Oceanview Resources and several other talented TpT teacher-creators to offer you a special hashtag sale of awesome TpT products each priced at just two dollars. Six of my SWITCH games are featured in our #2sale occurring now through this coming Sunday, June 24th. That's a 33% savings on each game. Stock up now for the next school year and grab some terrific teaching products in the process.

Click HERE to see all of the sale products, or simply visit Teachers Pay Teachers and search using the hashtag #2sale.