Week of Giveaways: Day 3

I'm so excited about ALL the stuff we are giving for today's contest!! 

Hi-Lo Comprehension-Building Passages: Mini-Mysteries

15 Reproducible Passages With Comprehension Questions That Guide Students to Infer, Visualize, Summarize, Predict, and More

Take the mystery out of reading comprehension with this collection of high-interest, low-readability passages that are sure to enthrall students. Each mini mystery comes with comprehension questions that clue students in on how to analyze character, understand cause and effect, make inferences, predict, and more. A teacher page for each mystery includes before- and after-reading suggestions, writing and discussion prompts, and a vocabulary list. A great way to boost comprehension and build critical-thinking skills! 80 pages.  Grades: 4-8

Worth: $12.99

 

 

Analogies: Grades 6–8

Sharpen critical thinking skills and boost test scores by providing your students with plenty of practice using analogies such as camera is to photograph as ruler is to measure, or skater is to glide as dancer is to spin. These 40 fun practice pages will help students recognize and classify relationships between words such as object/function, synonym, antonym, homonym, and more. 48 pages.

$8.95

 

 

Wonderful Word Puzzle Mini-Books

20 Reproducible Mini-Books Packed With High-Interest Activities That Sharpen Skills in Vocabulary, Spelling, Grammar, and More!

Add zing to the school day and boost language-arts skills with these 20 super-fun mini-books packed with puzzles that reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and spelling development. Puzzle themes include compound words, antonyms and synonyms, prefixes and suffixes, similes and idioms, spelling patterns and more. A great way to jump-start each morning or engage kids who finish their work early!

$10.95

 

 

25 Nonfiction Passages With Vocabulary-Building Crosswords

This collection of reading passages and accompanying crossword puzzles helps students learn new vocabulary and strengthen their skills in decoding word meanings in an engaging way. High-interest narratives, on topics from snakes and wooly mammoths to the treasures of Tutankhamun and the pony express, present 300 vocabulary words in context. Each crossword puzzle lets students test their understanding of these rich vocabulary words. A Word Whiz feature helps students learn dozens more.    Grades: 5+

$11.99

 

 

Activities for Fast Finishers: Language Arts

55 Reproducible Puzzles, Brain Teasers, and Other Awesome Activities that Kids Can Do on Their Own—and Can't Resist

These ready-to-reproduce pages are perfect for keeping your fast finishers engaged while the rest of your class works. The creative and learning-packed puzzles and brain teasers get kids thinking as they explore antonyms and synonyms, parts of speech, compound words, anagrams and lots more. Your students will be begging for more! 64 pages.   Grades: 4-8

$11.95

 

 

Enter contest here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week of Giveaways: Day 1

I am so excited to be providing my fellow teachers with a WEEK of amazing prizes to start off the school year!!

To kick off this event I am giving away an item I just purchased for MY classroom.  I went ahead and ordered one for the winner too. :)

Book Blog Activity Writing Center:

 

 

Create a classroom community of readers and writers! This internet-inspired whole-class activity provides students with an ongoing, interactive forum to discuss books and enhance reading comprehension skills. Open-ended questions allow students to interact with the chart year round.

 

*Includes 36 x 33 Inches chart with three response pockets, six comment pockets and two pockets for fave lists, 20 double-sided, open-ended prompt cards, reproducibles and storage pocket

*Grades: 3+

*Ages: 8+

*Educational Insights Product

 

 

To enter, be sure to like our new facebook page here. 

 

For your chance to win (and for contest details) click THIS LINK. Contest ends 10:00pm tomorrow, August 10th

 

Good luck!!

 

 

Hidden Picture Sale on TpT

 

I am so excited; it took less than two weeks for me to make $100 in sales on Teacher's Pay Teachers!!

I celebration I put ALL of the following hidden picture items on sale for 20% off at my store for this week!

Math

 

English/Reading:

 

 

 

To say I've had fun making the first set of products is an understatement.  My students are loving the perk of testing them out first and I can't lie, hearing the cha-ching sound from the TpT app on my phone every time a sale made is motivating. :)

 

~Mrs. Scott

Online Games for Middle School Language Arts

I love having student computers in my classroom, but because there are only two, I have been at a loss with how to let students use them so that they are relevant for 8th grade English.  Anytime a student finished early the only website they knew to go to was coolmath.com, and while I am sure there are great math games, it just didn't feel appropriate for them to play during my class. 

I found tons of elementary-oriented website for helping with reading, spelling, and phonics, but secondary games are hard to come by...so I searched harder.

I have spent some of my free time  (hah!) during the past few weeks looking for games that are fun to play, but also address objectives my students need to know and may also struggle with.  I added my "finds" to my classroom website for students to access and thought some of you may want to use them as well without having to do the legwork. ;)

So, here they are...  If you know of more please share with us in the comments!





 

Freerice.com:
For each answer you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, and grades.

It's Greek to Me Game:
Identify definitions by using clues found in words' roots while playing in the Olympics.

 

 

Professor Garfield Reading Ring:
Wrestle your opponent by answering comic strip questions.

 

 

Professor Garfield Learning Lab:
Watch videos and play games from Garfield.

 

Superthinkers:
Interactive mysteries teach problem solving

 

Rooting Out Word:
Help Remainder the Dog gather enough mushrooms to sell at the market by uncovering the roots of words.

 

 

Plural Girls:
Twin sisters Pearl and Flora lost their friends in the bubble machine. Help them get their friends out by choosing the correct plural form of the given word.

 

 

Word Confusion:
Help Regan the Vegan make fresh salad. Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

 

 

Grammar Gorillas:
Our friends, the Grammar Gorillas, need help identifying parts of speech. If you click on the right word in the sentence, our friends get a banana. And you know, a gorilla with a banana is a gorilla with appeal.

 

Spell Check:
Can you check the misspelled word??

 

 

~Mrs. Scott

Wii in the Classroom

My husband and I bought this game some time around my first year of teaching 8th grade math: As soon as we started playing I realized some of the games had objectives that I had been teaching in class!

Perspectives:
Ordering Numbers:
I had the bright idea to unplug my Wii and take it to school! I think it was the most engaged my class of 35 students had been all year! Since then, I make a point to have "Wii day" a couple of times a year and the kids could not be more excited!

I have looked on Amazon and found a couple of other educational Wii games, but haven't bought any yet. Maybe future grant?

ThinkSMART appears to have games best for high school: Science Papa lets you explore chemistry, biology, physics, and paleontology through science experiments.
Reader Rabbit has a couple of games for early elementary grades (I think I saw Pre-K through 3rd grade).
My Word Coach looks like it would be great for GT and high school classes, but may be a fun warm-up for a typical middle school classes too.

Jump Start advertises being great for ages 5-9.As if you haven't seen this show! Upper elementary classes would love this:
We recently bought an XBox Kinect for our son and may have to start checking out games for that too! If you know any other games, please share!

~Mrs. Scott

Interactive Whiteboard Game Library

A couple of months ago I wrote a grant to receive a library of interactive educational video games from Lakeshore Learning for the whiteboard (our classes are all equipped with Mimio touch screens). Today I found out that I got it to use with my kids in tutoring!!!

Reading Library

Math Library

Here are a few of the sections that I wrote for the grant application. (You are welcome to steal):

I. Description (Project Overview):
Provide a simple descriptive summary of why you believe there is a need for this project, program, special purchase, or other funding from the Foundation, or what essential benefit could result from funding of your grant.

According to a national survey conducted by the National Institute on Media and the Family:

•92% of children and adolescents 2-17 years old play video games.

•The average child spends between 20-33 minutes a day playing video games, with “tween” boys playing an average of 47 minutes per day.

•African American and Hispanic youth, as well as kids from low and middle income communities spend more time playing video games than other populations.

•The design features of the interactive electronic games have been found to improve skills such as spatial visualization, problem solving, fine motor, and visual attention.

The students coming through our schools are all members of the new technology generation. They have been exposed to the visual stimulation and instant gratification our world now has to offer since birth, making incorporating technology in our classrooms essential for capturing students attention and making lessons more enjoyable.

Lakeshore has created interactive whiteboard software, that comes in the form of a cd-rom to be inserted into a computer and projected on the board and played using our touch screen pens.

II. Objective:
The objective(s) that you develop should directly relate to the need you described above. It should describe the single most important result that you expect to achieve with this project or program. It should also explain how it is going to help you teach or improve your students’ comprehension, enthusiasm, or other educational component.

My goal is for all students to be successful in reading and mathematics through engaging activities! Students who have experienced failure in the past are more apprehensive to attempt the same concept again and end up missing the value and fun in learning. To regain their interest, lessons have to be exciting and engaging.

The action and adventure these games provide initially capture the students attention, and is quickly followed by their competitive nature keeping them motivated to stay involved and work with classmates to be successful. Best of all, the needs of every type of learning style is addressed! Visual learners enjoy the bright graphics and animation the games display. Auditory learners are captivated by music and sound effects, as well as problem solving with teams. The kinesthetic learners, whose learning style typically gets the least amount attention within the classroom, are thrilled to get out of their seats and use the projected technology from the board!

Reading objectives addressed:

•Making Inferences- Students snowboard down a hazardous mountain by reading short passages and correctly answering follow-up inference questions.
•Main Idea- Players practice identifying main ideas as they zip around the mall on a shopping spree, where correct answers put money in their pockets for their purchases!
•Reading Comprehension- A winding maze where students build comprehension skills as they race to capture the flag while answering comprehension questions covering main idea, vocabulary, and inferences.
•Reading for Information- Children try to escape the perils of Shipwreck Island by answering questions that challenge them to recall facts and details, analyze text, and read for meaning.
•Cause and Effect- Teams explore cause and effect through a journey to discover precious jewels while battling obstacles like crocodile-infested waters!
•Vocabulary- Students develop their vocabulary using context clues and inferring meaning to surf a tidal wave and avoid sharks and wipeouts.

Math Objectives Addressed:
•Decimal Operations - Players gain real-world experience in this game of “ATM Action” as they race to earn the most money for their bank accounts. Students tally their earnings, but must make deductions for unexpected bills and fees. (Other objectives addressed: word problems, real world application)
•Word Problems - Teams solve word problems on a race through outer space, fueling their spaceship with each correct answer. (Other objectives addressed: decimals, operations, geometry, algebra, real world application)
•Fractions- Students dodge falling rocks as they climb up a cliff collecting flags as they compare and order fractions, solve fractions operations, and convert fractions into decimals.
•Multiplying and Dividing- Players reinforce multiplication and division skills by storming their opponents’ castles in an epic medieval battle.

~Mrs. Scott

Boggle Warm-Up

I found this idea on pinterest and knew my kiddos would love it! Surprisingly, most of them had never played boggle before, but they have all caught on quick. For those of you who have never played, it is basically a word search with more liberal rules.

I usually set the timer for 5 minutes, and let the kids list as many words as they can find using dry erase markers on their desk (did you know they could do that?? they love the novelty of writing on their desks; and the markers wipe away easily!). I usually give a prize for the most words and longest word found. My students beg to do this!

Even better, cost: a little over $1 (magnetic letters $1 at Dollar Tree & painters tape)

~Mrs. Scott

Reading Cabana

I am so excited to have a fun reading area in my 7th and 8th grade class this year where the kids get to enjoy a good book the same way I do at home: comfortably lounging!

The area where all of the fabric is bundled hides a tv that doesn't work, so draping was made easier. I purchased the fabric from Jo-Ann Fabric, they were have a sale for $1/yrd off, and then a 20% teacher discount, but even with that I spent WAY more than I planned! The pillows were on clearance from Marshalls from the outdoor seating section and are super plush. After one of the teachers on my campus came and checked out the cabana, she came back with 3 more pillows that she wasn't using and matched perfectly! The lighting was also donated by teachers who weren't using them. I heart free goodies!

I love that one of my favorite (and MY previous 8th grade math AND mentor) teacher is named Suzanna, so the reading area has been dubbed "The Suzanna Cabana" in her honor! She even has the perfect accessory for the location!

~Mrs. Scott