Eggs-cellent Easter Extraordinary Word Bank Writings

Are you ready for Easter? 

It's a great holiday to introduce symbolism to students. There's baskets, bunnies, eggs, flowers, and so much more that stand for Easter. To start your Easter preparations off on the right foot, try some of the free products listed below then visit my TpT storefront, Educator Helper, for even more Easter goodies:




Directions: Use the words from the word bank within your stories.

Saint Patrick's Day Surprises

A favorite memory of St. Patrick's Day is the national parade in Washington, D.C. I stood with groups of fifth graders from Clear Creek ISD in front of the Smithsonian where we watched children tap dance in the street to celebrate their heritage on the special holiday. There were also men in kilts who played bagpipes. We enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day parade in the nation's capitol, and a sense of pride swept over us as we recognized diversity in America. 

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day can be educational and fun! Don't believe me? Head on over to Educator's Helper TpT storefront and check out some of the holiday's activities! But, first, download the free St. Patrick's Day activities listed below:

St. Patrick's Day: Fact, Resources, and Activities Packet

 Links and Resources for St. Patrick's Day

Leprechaun Mask 

Saint Patrick's Day Story Starters Activities

Get Fit Action Story: Luck the Leprechaun Looks for Gold

Wacky Wayne's St. Patrick's Day I-Spy

Head on over to Educator's Helper TpT storefront and check out more St. Patrick's Day activities!

Celebrate the Luck o' the Irish and enjoy St. Patrick's Day!

Teachers are HEROES!

It's a TeachersPayTeachers  Sale Event! Teachers are HEROES!

Get your wishlist ready! On Wednesday, February 25, 2015,TeachersPayTeachers is having a sitewide sale!  Educator Helper will be offering a 20% discount. On top of that great deal, you can get an additional 10% off from TpT by entering the code HEROES during checkout. That's a savings of up to 28% off classroom tested-teaching resources. Don't miss out!

Helping Students Have a Fantastic Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to let students know how much you appreciate them and their unique abilities and traits. As a former secondary teacher now community college instructor, I see students try their best to avoid Valentine's Day and its celebrations. This makes me wonder what past horrific Valentine's Day experiences caused these reactions?  

In elementary and secondary schools, Valentine's Day often becomes popularity contests. Some students Valentine's sacks are overflowing with goodies while other bags are half-filled. Of course, elementary students are often required to bring one card for each of their classmates to avoid this situation. However, this is not the case for middle and high school students. In secondary schools, balloons, candies, and flowers are delivered in haste before the end of classes on the special day. If you are one of those students leaving campus empty handed then Valentine's Day is suddenly disappointing and stressful!  

As a teacher, what can you do to make a difference in students' lives on Valentine's Day? Be aware of students' emotions and feelings on February 14. For elementary classes, bring extra cards and goodies to hand out to those doing good deeds for the day. Secondary students are just as sensitive, so bring extra goodies for them, too. Individually wrapped candies or flowers, such as a single carnation tied with ribbon, can be placed anonymously in lockers or delivered by school aides so older students are unaware of the donor, which could cause embarrassment. One of my favorite memories is of some of my female seventh grade students being handed carnations I supplied anonymously. The best part? They never discovered I was the donor! 

As an educator, you can make sure students have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day fun, enjoy some freebies from my TpT storefront then click here for more engaging Valentine's Day products:

Valentine's Day MadLibs

 Valentine's Day Comics: Working with Inference, Dialogue and Symbolism

Get Fit Action Story: The Vanishing Valentines

Wacky Wayne's Valentine's Day I-Spy

Valentine's Day Coloring Sheets

Getting to Know Students the Easy Way

A new semester means new faces and new names. What are some favorite activities and strategies to match faces with names? First, try Find Someone Who...Bingo to get students to engage with one another:

Elementary Edition

College Edition

Another great activity is comprehension postcards! Take any postcards, write introductory questions on the back, then cut in half using different patterned scissors. Pass out the separate pieces to students and ask them to find the other half of the postcard. Have students discuss their question that is on the back of the postcard then introduce their partners answers during whole group discussion. 

A favorite activity for getting to know students is the notecard method. Use a regular size notecard and ask students to record their: 

Names
Address
Email (working and you check it)
Phone (working)
Hobbies
What other courses are you enrolled in?
Is there anything your instructor should know?

Collect the notecards and when class is close to over position yourself by the exit door. As students leave the room, match the notecard with the face and name. Make a point to say each student's name and talk about one item that is listed on the notecard, such as a hobby or other courses enrolled in. This helps build face and name recognition. 

There are lots of fun other get-to-know-students activities, such as Personality College and Rock Star Name that can be downloaded. 

One final option is to print a class roster that includes students' names and their pictures, such as through Peoplesoft or WebAdvisor. These software programs are time savers when getting new students each semester!

Good luck on matching faces and names at the start of a new semester!