Grin and Grab These Friday Freebies!

Grin and Grab it Freebie Day

What is Grin and Grab it Freebie Day? Today only, several TpT sellers are offering one priced product for free. Please see the product cover pictures and links, below, to Teachers Pay Teachers to get your freebies. This promotion ends tonight, but please leave feedback while the products are still free as it can't be added after the products are priced again.

We are having a give away of a $25 dollar gift certificate for Teachers Pay Teacher for our first Grin and Grab it Day! See the Rafflecopter information, below.

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th,7th, 8th, 9th, 10th	Tiny World of Insects Magnified by a Scanning Electron Microscope This Powerpoint slide show and PDF printable file includes images of insects and insect parts.
7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, Homeschool	Persuasive Speech & Visual Aid Project with Rubric Argumentative Oral Presentation Project, Rubric for Grading, Argumentative Speech
Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, Student PDFs includedThis product is updated each year with more calendar years, so check back and re-download each fall.	Calendar Math, Birthdays 2013-2016 and Printable Student PDFs For 2013 thru December 2016 SMART Board, Power Point, and PDFs
	Breakfast, Lunch, Desayuno, Almuerzo Vocabulary Practice Cloze“Cloze” sentences give clues to breakfast and lunch vocabulary words in Spanish.
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th,Adult Education, Homeschool	Three Ways Authors Reveal Characters Authors reveal the physical descriptions and the personality traits of the characters they create by using either direct or indirect characterization.

Thank you for reading!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring is Around the Corner!

With SPRING right around the corner (HURRY UP SPRING!!), are you 

ready for some Spring cleaning--cleaning out your bookshelves that is? 

I have enjoyed doing a little book swap with my students for the last two years!! Download it for free.

And, have some fun with these bright colors used in your SPRING activities:

And, Saving the Best for Last...

Announcing a Sale Celebrating THREE MILLION TEACHERS STRONG!!!

Almost every single item in my store will be 20% off during this two day event, including a few hard goods (such as used novels and teaching resources)!

Don't forget to enter the PROMO CODE TPT3 to receive up to 28% off at checkout!

Fall Freebies and Back-To-School

 Hi, everyone! Have you been getting back into the swing of things at school? Maybe you are still enjoying your summer vacation!! I'm back full force now, and I cannot believe how fast the summer came and went. (Then again, it usually does...) I guess you could say I've spent my vacation doing things totally unrelated to school or teaching, like focusing on that never ending to-do list for around the house. Making progress, slowly but surely.
Nevertheless, once school starts back for me, it seems like its Fall (A VERY HOT ONE) instead of Summer. That brings me to the Fall Freebies I wanted to share today. 

    

 Maybe these items can help get your room off to a good start. I like to use the Class Library Check Out with my students so that they can enjoy the novels I have in my classroom library while I easily keep up with who has what checked out at the time. Another is one of my resources for organization-Classroom Organization Labels. We all love to start out the year organized, right? And the third item contains borders to use--Fall Harvest Frames. 

Each of the three above items is in my TpT store. So, if you head on over to grab these freebies, be sure to stock up on teaching resources for the remainder of the semester or year during the fabulous back to school sale!! 
Teachers Pay Teachers' Back to School Sale is August 18th and 19th, with tons of stores putting items on sale in addition to TpT's 10% off at checkout. I'll have the majority of my store on sale for 20% off too!

Sweet Secondary Teaching Blogs and Pinterest!!

Are you a pin addict? Are you a blog addict? Are you a Secondary Teacher? If you answered yes, I'd like to share some awesome teaching blogs with you. If you like pinning awesome teaching ideas, these are just for you!

You will find all subject areas in this crew. We follow each other on Pinterest and thought you might like to too.  Ready to meet them? Okay:

Bio:  Hi!  I'm Adrianne from The Tutor House.  I love tutoring and creating engaging lessons for math in reading for grades 3-8!  If you've ever thought about starting your own tutoring business, you should come on over to The Tutor House!

Follow Adrianne of The Tutor House on Pinterest.

 

Bio: Welcome! I am Connie from Teach it Write. I am a retired English teacher and I’m thrilled to now write curriculum full time that I love to share on my site http://teachitwrite.blogspot.com. My book, The House of Comprehension, shows how the elements of literature form the structure of any fiction or non-fiction text. Check it out on my blog site or on www.teachitwrite.com.

Follow Connie of Teach it Write on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi Everyone! It's Kristy from 2 Peas and a Dog. I am a Canadian middle school teacher who loves to pin and blog about things related to Grades 6 and up.

Follow Kristy of 2 Peas and a Dog on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hiya there!  I'm Jamie but you may know me as MissMathDork! I am a lover of all things mathematical!  Patterns, sequences, geometric shapes, if it's mathematical, I'll find a way to make it fun!  Want to see some of my ideas? Check out my ideas and pictures at www.missmathdork.com!  You won't be disappointed!

Follow Jaime of Miss Math Dork on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hello, there. I’m Charlene Tess from Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. Grammar is my specialty. I have always loved taking sentences apart and putting them back together, and I successfully taught my students using the simple steps method for over three decades. Visit my blog to get helpful tips on grammar, usage, and writing.

Follow Charlene of Simple Steps to Sentence Sense on Pinterest.

Tammy Manor!

Bio:  Hi my name is Tammy and I've been teaching high school English for 13 years now. I know that teaching can be very stressful. My school is constantly changing the book list and I've taught every grade 6-12 as well. As a result I have unit plans for a large variety of novels, plays and memoirs. Come check out my store on TpT for a variety of ELA materials. Follow my blog for teaching related posts.

Follow Tammy on Pinterest.  

Bio:  Meet Sabrina, author of A Space to Create.  Find teaching resources for art teachers and classroom teachers alike. My art lessons teach students the creative process enabling them to build confidence and have amazing results.  Come visit my blog A Space to Create! (K-12)

Follow Sabrina of A Space to Create on Pinterest.

Bio: Hi there!  I'm Gina from All Things Algebra.  I have taught Algebra and Pre-Algebra for seven years and have a passion for creating activites and games that engage my students.  If you are interested in finding ways to have more fun in math class, head on over and check out my blog!

Follow Gina of All Things Algebra on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi there!  My name is Amy Brown and I write a blog called "Science Stuff."  I am a 29-year teaching veteran of biology, chemistry and AP biology.  I love science and I love kids, so I have the best job in the world!  Hopefully, I have passed my love of nature and the environment on to many students.  My blog has tips and tricks for teaching science as well as a lot of free science teaching materials.  I hope to see you there!

Follow Amy of Science Stuff on Pinterest.

Bio: Hi! I’m Krystina from Numbers Rule My World. I love incorporating hands-on activities and technology into the classroom for Math: grades 7-9. If you’re looking for great ideas about math then you should come on over and check it out at Numbers Rule My World!

Follow Krystina of Numbers Rule My World on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hello, my name is Jennifer Smith-Sloane. I am a Middle School Math and Special Education teacher. I have a strong passion for differentiated instruction to meet the needs of each learner in and out of my classroom. I love seeing the light in a student's eyes when something finally clicks and I do everything that I can to make that happen as often as it can.  Visit my blog 4mulaFun!

Follow Jennifer of 4mulaFun on Pinterest.

Bio:  This is Madame Aiello, author of Teaching FSL. Although I've taught other subjects as well, French as a Second Language has always been my passion. My focus is the higher grades, since I taught high school originally but teach grade 7 & 8 since six years ago. I share lots of resources, blog about second language teacher specific topics as well as those that apply to all teachers.

Follow Madame Aiello of Teaching FSL on Pinterest.

Bio:  Bonjour! Hola! I'm Liz from Liz's Lessons. Languages are one of my passions, and I love teaching with technology. I create fun lessons for teaching secondary French, and Spanish. I also make formative assessments and technology activities in English, that can be used in any secondary classroom. If you are looking for some engaging activities for your classes, be sure to stop by Liz's Lessons!

Follow Liz of Liz's Lessons on Pinterest.

Bio: I'm Andrea Kerr from For the Love of Teaching Math. It is my mission to change traditional math classrooms one game and activity at a time. If you like to incorporate hands-on, group activities and games into your classroom, check out For the Love of Teaching Math!

Follow Andrea of For the Love of Teaching Math on Pinterest.

Bio:  I'm a middle / high-school teacher and I love to create ELA, Social Studies and Geography related resources.  I blog at Addie Education - Teacher Talk... come on by and see some of the fun things I do with my students.

Follow Addie Education on Pinterest.

Bio:  I'm a high school English teacher in a 1:1 school who loves books and fostering creativity. My blogs are Mrs. Orman's Classroom and Hunger Games Lessons. I share my teaching resources on TeachersPayTeachers.

Follow Tracee Orman on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi! I'm Kim from Teaching Math by Hart. I am forever planning and thinking of new and innovative ways to teach math to my students. Why, you ask? Believe it or not, I think learning Math should be FUN and it should be REAL! If you are looking for some ideas to engage your students in math class, come check out Teaching Math by Hart - in the middle years classroom!

I hope you enjoy visiting these blogs and finding lots of great pins to add to your boards!
Have a great day!!

Exchanging Positive Comments with Classmates on Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! 

Along with Valentine's Day comes the exchanging of little "love tokens" ("love tokens" especially in middle school...) between those who "like" each other, have boyfriends/girlfriends, crushes, admirers, etc. But, we also know plenty of people (children, teens, adults too) who like to receive sweet little notes on this fun day! (Cupid does not absolutely have to be involved, right?) Sending a sweet note, positive comment, or smile someone's way is a great idea for the students (teachers too ;) ha!) 

That's why I ended up making this resource to encourage my students to exchange little notes with positive comments to each classmate--there's something positive in all of us and those positives should be acknowledged. It's a way to lift spirits, put a smile on a face, or just to let someone know you've "noticed" something good in him/her. 

So, why not have your students do the same. It's an inexpensive way to exchange "valentines" or "kind thoughts" on Valentine's Day! Grab the free resource in my TpT store! 

I'd love to hear your ideas for encouraging and promoting a positive environment in your classroom--for Valentine's Day as well as any other normal day at school!

We can all use these kinds of tips/ideas to boost the morale and warmth surrounding us each day at school. 

Happy Valentine's Day! (early..)

I LOVE Pretty Books and AWESOME Books!

Anyone that knows me personally knows I have a bad habit of collecting books...especially the ones with the pretty covers!! Don't ask...

Anyhoo---I'm forcing myself to declutter my entire home!!! That includes eliminating some of the books in my personal library. 

I'm letting go of numerous books, many of which I have obtained multiple copies of over time!

While I may end up donating them should teachers not end up getting them from my store, I've loaded them on TpT under used goods in the meantime!

Titles include:

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Mockingjay (hardback)

Catching Fire/Mockingjay (paperbacks)

and various others...

Take a look if you are interested!

I know many teachers, like me, enjoy building classroom libraries!

YA Book Review with Supplemental Printable!

Hello to all of you! I am fortunate enough to have Carolyn Wilhelm, The Wise Owl Factory Book-a-Day Blog & owner of Connect-a-Blog, guest post today to tell you about a young adult novel she recently read! 

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A Catastrophe of Nerdish Proportions (The Nerd Girls #2 by  by Alan Lawrence Sitomer) is a humorous book that will definitely appeal to middle and secondary school students. While there is much fun and adventure, the life lessons addressed are clear and valuable. The outlandish events are not intended to inspire readers to commit similar crimes, but to learn from the "what if" possibilities of fighting between nerds and popular girls  The ending is not perfect and everyone doesn't become friends, but everything works out well enough to cause YA readers to think about what is really best in life. 

The Nerd Girls come out ahead but not in the way you might expect. The descriptions of the scholastic competition are so very true to life, and I say that as a former teacher of gifted/talented classes and academic coach. Situations like in the book really do happen and there are frustrations in academic competitions just like in sports. The humor will catch the attention of students and the story is far from preachy.

There are two groups of three girls in this sequel to Nerd Girls Book I: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus. The ThreePeas are lovely to look at but not very nice people!  The Nerd Girls have some physical or personality flaws, so most readers can relate to them.  In the end, one of the ThreePeas joins the Nerds for all the right reasons, and the two remaining Peas still have miserable personalities.  Usually three friends do not work well together, but in the two cases in the book they do for most of the story.  One Nerd girl is struggling for independence from her overly concerned mother, one has a father reappear after years of being divorced from her mother and absent from the family, and one has Mrs. Department Store mom who overdoes the homemaker role.  These six girls are put together on an academic team to be forced to work together and get along, which makes the story captivating.  

That is all I can write without giving too much of a spoiler!  I will just say your students will want to read the book, and you might find it interesting yourself.  I will say there is a tiny bit of romance (enough to keep the attention of readers) but no kissing and all.  I always liked books like that as a teacher, and I avoided "mature" books in the classroom.

The author is an amazing teacher who has won many awards and is a speaker at many well known conferences.  He was California teacher of the year.  On his web site, he has many FREE lessons called SAT Essay Prep.  It isn't easy to see at first, so go to this link  http://www.alanlawrencesitomer.com/resources/freesatessayprep/, and look on the right and lower side bar and you will see a list of free materials provided by the author.  He created the free materials to offer more equity in education. What a guy!  And, he can write from the viewpoint of a teen girl!
Check out his novel here on Goodreads!

Here is my free PDFwork page for A Catastrophe of Nerdish Proportions (The Nerd Girls #2 by  by Alan Lawrence Sitomer). Students will have to read the book to answer the questions!

Carolyn Wilhelm

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Thanks so much to Carolyn for providing your free PDF work page and for sharing her thoughts on the novel. 

As a contributing author to Carolyn's Connect-a-Blog (A collaborative teacher blog K-12), I encourage you to visit and see all it has to offer!
If you are interested in purchasing this book, you can find it here:

I hope you take a second to let us know if you have read this book or the first book; please feel free to tell us your thoughts about either one or both! 
Be well,
A. Smith

The Magic of Silent Movies in Creative Writing!

I want to give a  SPECIAL "THANK YOU" to Adrianne Meldrum of The Tutor House for being a guest blogger today! She does, without a doubt, always have clever and spectacular ideas/activities to share. So, without further delay...
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There's something magical about silent movies.  Even without dialog, a story is conveyed.  How would the story be different if you could add dialog?  Using silent movies for a creative writing project or exercise could liven up your students creative juices.


I found three fun (short) silent movies that lend themselves well to adding dialog.  Two of them are old silent movies and the other is a modern day silent movie.  All of these videos are under a creative commons license. 


Divide your students into teams and assign a video.  Students will then work together to come up with dialog that goes along with the video.  They will need to come up with a title and then perform the voices for the videos.  Of course, you'll need to set some ground rules with no profane or inappropriate content allowed. 


You could also have students do their own voice over of the videos.  If you would prefer this method, please email me to receive an editable version of the video.

What kinds of stories do you think your students will come up with?


Video Sources: Video One, Video Two, Video Three


Adrianne Meldrum is a private tutor and author of The Tutor House, a blog dedicated to helping tutors find curriculum and business tips.