I love how little kids exaggerate with numbers (like “it’s gonna take me a million years to finish this book”). That was the inspiration for this little jump rope cartoon. Have another free grammar practice worksheet (since you can never have too many)!
Utah State University publishes a super cool teacher resource through a program called Core Academy. Every summer, teachers can sign up to attend a training for activities specifically tied to the core. It’s pretty rad. So every year, there are new materials published from the summer training course!
I especially love the maps unit for 2nd grade (section 4-3 in this packet).
*Double check the copyrights before you go crazy copying stuff…
I just got off the phone with my Grandpa, who reminded me of a story of my dad’s youth. So in my dad’s honor, I present this grammar worksheet that reminds me of something he and his brothers would have done. Enjoy!
Many teachers give out classroom award certificates at the end of the year. But there’s always those few kids who are hard to find an award for. And who has time to come up with gobs of awards that fit their students. Well, look no more! Here are 44 (yes, 44) pre-made award certificates for you to print off, fill out and distribute! If you plan on teaching for multiple years, it might save you time in the long run to print off a set and sign them (your
name only, not the date or grade) and save them in a folder so you don’t have to find them and sign them next year.
Here’s the PDF version (click to download: End of the Year Awards Collection) so you can print them all at once. I’ve also included a End of the Year Awards- Tracking Sheet for you to write down who gets which award in case the end of the year gets a little hectic. This is what the awards look like:
Personal note here… these are so much more fun to fill out for your students when you’re writing with these Gelly Roll Stardust pens from back in the day! (Yes, I found them on Amazon!! They still exist!)
Click the picture to grab a pack!
One teacher requested a blank version of this certificate so you can write in your own award title. Such a good idea. Here it is:
And since I’m a “pen junkie,” I’ll share with you my other favorite for writing certificates… METALLIC sharpies! They make everything so fancy!
Click the photo to check them out!
Click here to check out my collection of upper grade “Hashtag Awards” (46 printable classroom awards). Here’s a sample:
Help support my blog by connecting with me on social media (icons below) and by telling your friends about my blog! Thanks!
Teaching is much easier when you know where you can look for help. So this summer, spend a few minutes each day browsing teacher resource sites. Anything you see that you like should be bookmarked on your browser (make a folder called “teaching resources”), or written down in an organized way so you can find it later. Here are some websites to start with:
1. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/– Tons of stuff (including videos) for teachers
2. http://free.ed.gov/– Free teaching & learning resources from federal agencies
3. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/– Smithsonian… need I say more?
There. Those 3 links should lead you to enough discovery to last you a looong time! 😉 But if you’ve still got “extra” time, here’s a huge list to browse (collection of links posted by a fabulous home school mom): Huge list of links
I recently saw a class playing this game outside. It’s called Streets and Alleys. This is definitely fast paced and will keep the kids running around a good bit. I couldn’t get a great picture, but I found an excellent description from a great website for kids games.
15 or more players
Ages 7 and up
Three players will stand on the sidelines while the other players divide into 3 groups of the same number of kids (or very close to the same number).
Each team stands side by side, arms outstretched, and hold hands, to form 3 rows.
Each team faces front with about 5 feet between rows – this forms “streets”.
The players on the sidelines become the runner, the chaser and the game leader.
The runner lines up on the end of a street. The chaser lines up in front of the first row. The leader stands in front of the first row as well.
The leader shouts, “one, two, three, GO!” and the runner runs down the streets and the chaser chases her.
The leader can call out “alley” if she wants.
The players lined up in the rows, drop their arms, turn to their right and, with arms outstretched, hold hands with these other players. This forms “alleys”.
Players who are running and chasing have to run down the streets or alleys. They cannot duck under the other player’s arms.
The leader will continue to call out either streets or alleys and the players have to run that way.
Once the runner is caught, a new round begins with a new chaser, leader and runner.
If the runner is not caught after a preset number of minutes, that round is over.
Set time limits for each round depending on the number of players.
Keep it shorter if there are a large group of children playing.
Not a great picture (sorry!), but you can see the kids standing in a grid formation so they can turn to make the streets and alleys…
This is one of the coolest classroom treasure chests I’ve ever seen! The teacher found this old chest at Michael’s, and then glued plastic gems on it to add to the “treasure” effect.
You don’t need a cool box for your treasure chest. I used a woven basket with a lid. Other teachers just use a cute gift bag or a decorated plastic box. The point is to find something that will motivate your students, and be manageable for you.
MUST-READ TIP: My first year, I put all the prizes in the box at the beginning of the year. This was a big NO-NO. After a few months, all the good stuff was picked out and the kids weren’t very motivated by the basket. So I had to constantly worry about what new stuff to add and what to do with the stuff that wasn’t ever getting picked. So, don’t put all your prizes in at once. Instead, split your stuff into 4 groups (or some other number) so you can add new stuff every quarter.
Here are some things you can put in your classroom treasure chest:
Classrooms need carpet space for the whole class to sit and learn during various activities. One challenge with this (besides finding space in your classroom) is getting kids to have their own space in a place where they can listen and learn best. Many teachers have found it helpful to use a large rug with individual squares for each student. But what if your budget doesn’t allow for such a purchase? Let me introduce the poor teacher’s classroom carpet!
Just go to the store and purchase different colors of duct tape and make one yourself! You can choose the colors, number of rows and size of each square. Be sure your school’s facilities policies allow the use of tape on the floor before doing this.
Squarehead Teachers 
