Poster Board Character Presentation

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

I saw this cute idea at a charter school a while back. The students were assigned to research a famous person, prepare a report and then present their findings to the class. They each made a poster of the person and cut out a circle so they could stick their face through as if they were the character. For example, in the picture above, the student presented as if he was Abraham Lincoln. This works with a regular poster (if the student holds up the poster while they talk) or with a 3-fold presentation board (which stands up on its own).

I’ve also seen this kind of thing done as a “museum,” where all the students are in a large room and as guests walk by, they give their presentation or answer questions as if they were the famous person.

Free SeaWorld Ticket for Teachers (2014)

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

SeaWorld tickets sticker I recently heard about a cool promotion SeaWorld is doing for teachers. Here’s the explanation from the website:

“The education staff at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment invites you to visit your local SeaWorld park and let us help inspire you. For several years, SeaWorld has offered a complimentary teacher pass for some teachers located in Florida, Texas or Southern California where our parks are located. The pass provides you with complimentary admission to the park and access to our education team to help you incorporate our knowledge , passion and experience with marine animals into your classroom.

Each park has different eligibility requirements, so click on your local park to find out more. And when you visit our park, seek out our education staff located at many of the animal exhibits or ask to visit our education departments and we’ll be happy to share how we can help incorporate marine science education into your classroom.”

Tickets valid in 2014, but some parks do the program every year. Some parks require an earlier registration for the ticket, so check the website using the links above.

What Did You Learn Today Poster

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

This idea came from a first grade teacher. She’s got a laminated poster (with a bunch of blank space on it) on her wall. Everyday, the class reviews things they learned that day. She’s got the students in a rotation schedule so everyone gets to be the scribe. The students like writing on the poster and it’s a great end-of-the-day review. Here’s her poster:

Personal Narrative Handout for Literacy Journals

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

This idea was suggested to me by a 2nd grade teacher. She has her students glue handouts like into their literacy journals. This is my handout (2 per page, so cut in half before passing them out) for personal narratives. It will help your students get started and know some basic elements to include.

Click here for the free printable handout: Personal Narrative Notes for Literacy Journal

Click here to see more of my free language arts stuff!

WWII Worksheet for Upper Grades: Battle of Iwo Jima

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

February 19 marks the anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan, in World War 2 (in 1945). This is an important part of American World War 2 history, which many upper grade students learn about. Here’ s a page I put together to teach my students about this landmark battle. It provides basic information (text from ducksters.com) and asks students to write a 5-6 sentence summary using the information.

Click here for the free printable PDF: WW2 Iwo Jima article to summarize

Here are some additional interesting facts about the Battle of Iwo Jima:

The famous picture of the US Flag being raised on Iwo Jima was actually not the first flag raised by the US. Another smaller flag pole had been put there earlier.
Although the US had more soldiers wounded on Iwo Jima than the Japanese, the Japanese had many more deaths. This was because the Japanese had decided to fight to the death. Out of 18,000 Japanese soldiers only 216 were taken prisoner. The rest died in the battle.
Around 6,800 American soldiers died in the battle.
The US government awarded 27 soldiers with the Medal of Honor for their bravery during the battle.
There were six men in the famous picture showing the US flag being raised. Three were killed later in the battle. The other three became famous celebrities in the US.
The Japanese dug 11 miles of tunnels within the island of Iwo Jima.

A huge thank you to all the servicemen/women and their families who have and continue to fight for American freedom!

World War II Timeline Worksheet

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s a timeline that gives the overview of the major events in World War II (text modified from ducksters.com). This is a great review activity for upper grades learning world or American history. It’s got 9 comprehension questions at the end.

Click here for the free printable PDF:World War II Timeline worksheet

Thank you to all the servicemen/women and their families for preserving American freedom!

Here are the answers:

1933
Germany invaded Poland
China
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
United States (Navy)
Answers include any 3 of the following: Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, northern France (NOTE: this list is not comprehensive, but it what’s listed on the timeline)
United States (Marines)
Germany, Italy and Japan
Allied Powers

Main Idea vs. Details Worksheets (Post 2)

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Earlier this week, I posted a picture of a poster that a first grade teacher submitted (click here to see the poster). This poster inspired me to make a series of worksheets that ask students to describe a picture with only the main idea and then using the details. The poster is the example of how to complete the worksheet. It seemed to work out best with my students if I did the first example with them, and modeled how to write a sentence for each one (main idea and details).

Click here for the next 2 printable worksheets:
Main ideas and details worksheet 3
Main ideas and details worksheet 4

The Courage of Sarah Noble Workbook

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

A good friend of mine recently shared this with me. She made this workbook to use with the book, The Courage of Sarah Noble.

Wikipedia summarized the book this way: “The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh is the story of a young girl who travels with her father into Connecticut during the early 18th century, and her experiences with the native Schaghticoke.”

The workbook includes vocabulary and comprehension questions for each chapter. Click here for the free printable workbook: The Courage of Sarah Noble workbook