Free "Character" Poster Set

We live by this saying in my classroom:  Character is what you do when nobody is looking. 

A handful of years ago, I heard this quote for the first time as one of our teachers made visits to classrooms to do "character education" classes with our students.  It has always stuck with me!  I finally just made a display of this saying to post in my classroom.  If  you'd like a copy, it is available for free in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Teacher Binders Updated for 2016-17

My teacher binders are updated for the 2016-17 school year!  I've added a new one (Foil & Chalk) and have updated the others so that they are a bit cleaner and prettier to look at.  :)

If you've already purchased one of them, be sure to redownload the file.  You will receive free updates each year!  Here are the links to the three different versions:

All-in-One Simple Style Teacher Binder {Mint, Yellow, & Grey}

All-in-One Simple Style Teacher Binder {Tribal Patterns}

All-in-One Simple Style Teacher Binder {Pink, Navy, & Teal}

All-in-One Simple Style Teacher Binder {Foil & Chalk}

Here is what is included in each set:

Writing Wizards Goal Chart and Classroom Display

Summer break is officially here!  I'm excited to begin working on my long list of TpT To-Do's.  :)  I've just posted my newest resource:

I created this pack to further encourage my students to use proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure when writing. The theme is "Writing Wizards Wear Caps" and it uses the following common acronym:

Capitalization
All sentences make sense
Punctuation
Spelling and spacing

It includes a writing goal chart where magnets or clothespins could be used to track students' current goals. I've included a set of magnet templates to use if you'd like to make a set that matches the chart.  Here is a previous post on how I made my magnets.  Once students master CAPS, they earn "Wizard Status" and may move their magnets to the "Writing Wizards" portion of the chart and can earn a wizard card (cards included in set).

 Here's what it looks like hung in my classroom!

I bought the wizard hat off of Amazon and will let my students wear it when they are showing exceptional "writing wizard" skills!  I used magnets I already made for a previous chart.  Here are the matching magnet circles:

I also created a classroom (bulletin board) display.  Here it is:

I am hoping this theme will help my students be more conscious of their writing habits!  You can purchase this set in my TpT Store or can click on any of the images above to view it. 

Happy summer to all those on break and best of luck to those who are still finishing up the school year!  :)

Point of View: Freebie Organizer + Book Suggestions

Spring break has allowed me a few extra minutes to write a blog post!  (First time all year.)  I had a baby boy in September which has been keeping me pretty busy...

 ...I admire you blogging teacher moms that somehow find time to blog, teach, make TpT goodies, and be a mommy!  I think I must need some serious time management help.  :)

Now that I'm done making excuses, on to the school stuff...

I have been planning some lessons for teaching point of view and wanted to post the organizer I made for the students to record their thoughts.  Click the image below to download for free.

There are three different options of line spacing, depending on the writing capabilities of your students and on how much you'd like them to write.

Here are some AWESOME book options for teaching point of view:

 

There are a handful of these twisted fairy tales told from the perspective of another character in the story.  HERE is an Amazon link to view them.  So far, I've ordered the Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood books and love them!

I'm also going to use the two books The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home.  The students are then going to write a friendly letter (as they do in the books) from the perspective of a crayon. I blogged about this activity in an earlier post.  Click the image below for the corresponding writing activity.

 

TpT Seller Challenge WEEK 3: Make Your Masterpiece

It is the third week of the TpT Seller Challenge hosted by Sparkling in Second, Teach Create Motivate, Third in Hollywood, and the Peppy Zesty Teacherista.  I've been working on my "masterpiece" for the last several weeks and it's finally finished!

These past few years, I've felt like our class was drowning in sticky notes!  When meeting with my students, I'd usually give them Post-Its to mark and make notes on when practicing their reading strategies.  The stickies would get lost and would often times end up on the floor.  So, to cut back on the stickies, I created graphic organizers for frequently-used comprehension and accuracy/decoding strategies.

The organizers can be used for assessing students’ understanding and application of a given strategy. They can also be used as a discussion piece for one-on-one reading conferences with students, as quick assessments, in small groups, as text supplements, in whole-group lessons, etc. As I assign students a strategy to work on during reading conferences/groups, I will give them a corresponding organizer to keep folded in their books or book boxes. I'll then write their current focus strategy on their “Strategy Bookmark” (below).

 

The kids then have a running record of the strategies they’ve used right at their fingertips to reference when reading independently.

Everything is organized in this binder so I can quickly grab strategy sheets as needed.

 

{The binder cover, tabs, and spine label are also included in the packet.}         

This Reading Strategy Organizer Pack is now available in my TpT Shop.  It will be on sale for $3 this week only! Next week, it will return to the original price of $5.  Click any image to check it out!  :)

 

TpT Seller Challenge WEEK 2: Dare to Dream

I'm linking up with Sparkling in Second, Teach Create Motivate, Third in Hollywood, and the Peppy Zesty Teacherista for Week 2 of the TpT Seller Challenge: Dare to Dream!  In this week's challenge, we are asked to blog about our hopes and dreams for our TpT Store.  As unexciting as it is, I simply would like to continue building up our savings!  When I first signed up for my TpT seller account, I had very little faith that I'd even make back the $50 membership fee. So, even though I'm by no means a "top seller" (Ha...yes, I wish), I feel like the little income we've made from the store has helped cushion our savings account.  Who knows what we may need the extra money for down the road!?  Over time, I hope to keep expanding my store with new products and hopefully continue expanding our little "Rainy Day Fund"!    

The products created by fellow educators on TpT are my GO-TO any time I need a resource for my classroom!  I honestly wonder how I taught before without all of the units, activities, packets, etc. I've purchased from other teachers!  So, in addition to saving money, one of the best parts about my experience with TpT so far is how much it has helped enhance my classroom and teaching.  I hope to continue expanding upon my collection of resources created by teachers, as well as share more of my own that will be helpful to others!

TpT Seller Challenge WEEK 1: Makeover Madness

I've joined in on the 4-week challenge created by Sparkling in Second, Teach Create Motivate, Third in Hollywood, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista to help build more followers! 

Week One's Challenge is to makeover an outdated product.  One of my first TpT products was my Versatile Writing Rubric, which I've left almost the same, but have just changed the look of.  I made this before I knew anything about purchasing fonts or clipart, so I needed to spruce it up a bit.   It wasn't a huge overhaul by any means, but I think it looks better.

This rubric is one of my biggest sellers and I've personally used it a TON when grading writing over the last several years!  It's $2 in my TpT Store!  (If you've already purchased it, be sure to redownload the file.)

I look forward to the upcoming challenges!  If you'd like to join in, head over to one of the blogs mentioned above for the details!