Winter Olympics: Free Resources and Activities

I'm so excited about the Winter Olympics starting this week. I have been busy trying to put together some great free resources for you. Since the Olympics last for 17 days you will have lots of opportunities to include some fun activities for your students. I just uploaded my new Winter Olympic packet. It is designed to teach students about the Traditions and Symbols of the Olympics, 7 Winter Olympic Events, and Scott Hamilton who was a Gold Medal Figure Skating Champion, through Reading and Writing Activities.

If you download the Preview file you will get a free Winter Olympic Scavenger Hunt to get students motivated about the games. Just click on the picture above or below.

To get lots of up to date information about the events, athletes, mascots, and more visit the official Sochi Olympic website by clicking on the image below.

Another great website for free resources and activities is Scholastic. Just click on the the image below.

You can find some fun crafts at No Time for Flashcards by clicking on the image below.

Education World is another great site with free resources and ideas. Just click below to check it out.

If you are looking for free lessons then Teacher First is a great place to look. Just click HERE

I also have a freebie for all of my followers and viewers. It includes a Reading Text about the city of  Sochi and the 3 Mascots of the 2014 Olympic Games. Then students will find Proper Nouns, Adjectives, and Plural Nouns from the text and write them on their recording sheet. Just click on the picture below to download your free activity.

Hope you enjoy the Winter Olympics and find some great resources and activities to do with your students.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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What do you like most about the Winter Olympics?

Super Bowl Sunday Sale!

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I'm having a Super bowl Party and a Super Bowl Sale at TpT! Everything in my TpT store is 20% off today. I have revised and updated all my February Products.

Just click on the Sale button at the top of the post to check out my store or any of the items above. Hope it's a great Super Bowl Sunday for all of you!Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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Using Sentence Frames to Help Students Get Started with Writing

I'm so excited about being part of the 1st "Bright Idea" Blog Hop. Although I'm retired, I love being able to share some great tips and ideas to help you make a difference for your students. I spent the last 9 years as an ESL Resource Specialist at a Title I Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska. For so many students, especially your ESL and struggling students, writing is a very difficult skill as they have a limited vocabulary and understanding of sentence writing. In order for students to write, they need to have words and ideas to write about.Here are a few tips to think about when you plan your writing instruction to help students become successful writers. For those of you who have implemented the CCSS you may already be using these tips when students write about topics in science and social studies.

1. Students need to write about a topic that they are learning about.
2. They need to have many vocabulary words in their word bank.
3. They need to talk about the topic during Read Alouds.
4. They need to read books at their reading level about the topic.

Writing should begin as a Teacher-Directed activity with lots of guided practice to help students become more independent writers. I like to start with building background by using a word wall and pictures in Whole Class Activities. I love integrating writing standards through themes or content areas as it gives students many opportunities to use the new vocabulary words over and over again. First, students need to understand what a sentence is. Here is an example of a chart you could make for yours students.

Then I make cards with sentences and phrases like the ones below. I hold them up and ask students to give me a thumbs up if it is a sentence or a thumbs down if it isn't. This is a great way to informally assess all the students in your classroom.

Then I make Parts of the Sentence Frame cards and give each student a set. I also put a set in a pocket chart.

I'm using the theme of "Winter" in the example below as so many teachers teach about winter.  Then I hold up cards like the ones below (out of order) and have students hold up the card that tells which part of the sentence it is.

 The I place the cards under the correct part of the sentence in the pocket chart and we read the complete sentence. I continue with other examples to make sure that all my students understand the parts of a sentence. Hope you liked my "Bright Idea". If you are looking for another great "Bright Idea" head on over Ariane's  at The Science Penguin. She shares some great tips you that you will definitely want to check out. Just click on the image below.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students. Hope you find lots of "Bright Ideas".


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Sweets for the Sweets Freebie Link-Up

Today I'm linking up with a Class*y Collaboration to share some sweet treats with some sweet friends. So many wonderful holidays and celebrations in February and I'd love to share two of my February Freebies. Here's one for February Words. Just click on the picture below to download your freebie.

 Here's another for Celebrating Black History Month.

If you are looking for more sweet treats, click on the image at the top of the post.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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