Valentine’s Day Jokes (Parts of Speech Worksheet)

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

This was kind of a random idea I thought I’d throw out there and see what happened. I made a parts of speech worksheet where kids need to identify nouns and adjectives in jokes. This proved to be more interesting than anticipates, as jokes don’t always follow standard conventions. But it sure provided a great opportunity to discuss how the same word can be different parts of speech depending on how it’s used. I recommend this for mid-level grades ans upper elementary.

Check out the printable PDF: Valentines Jokes- POS
Valentines Jokes- POS answer key

Click here for more Valentine’s Day freebies and click here for more parts of speech freebies!

Main Idea vs. Details Worksheets

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Yesterday 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.

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

Main Idea vs. Details Literacy Poster

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Allison (1st grade teacher) recently submitted this photo of her main ideas vs. details literacy poster. I absolutely love it! My favorite part is how she uses a picture as an example. I’m thinking I’ll make some sort of activity just like this. For example, I might show my students a picture of a house. Then I would ask them about the main idea (“a house”) and the details (“windows, door, roof”). If I ever get around to making a worksheet of this, I’ll post it. Thanks Allison!

If I Were President (Writing Activity)

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

I’m one of those people who sees an idea, or a printable or a worksheet, and says “Shoot! I don’t have a dollar for that! I should just make one myself!” I know some of you may think I’m crazy for thinking this, but what can I say. I have a non-existent budget and a lot to get done. Today’s post comes from this kind of situation. I saw this idea and made my own version of it. And now you can enjoy it too… for free!

Anyway, since President’s Day is coming up, teachers have an opportunity to discuss the significance of it. (Click here to see my free “What You Need to Know About President’s Day” comprehension worksheet.) For younger kids, you can’t get into as much detail, but you can talk about the president and the importance of the office a little bit. Here’s a fun writing activity that asks students to finish the sentence “if I were President…” This is especially fun for teachers to read. Sometimes kids’ perceptions about what the President can and can’t do is pretty funny!

This page also goes really well with a social studies unit about American government.

So here you have it (two versions), the free printable PDFs:
If I Were President – lower grades (pictured above)
If I Were President – upper grades

Singular/Plural Nouns Worksheet

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

The lower grade standards for the Common Core all deal with singular and plural nouns in one form or another. I loved this border and I just had to use it on a worksheet! Students are given a singular noun and have to write the plural noun. Here’s my free singular/plural nouns worksheet that centers around food!

Click here for the free printable worksheet: singular-plural nouns food worksheet

Thanks to all those who help spread the word about my blog! 🙂

Homophones Worksheet

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Another part of the Common core is learning homophones (to, two, too). The 4th grade standard says “Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their).” Here’s my free homophones worksheet: Homophones worksheet

Adjective Order Worksheet (Free!)

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

One of the standards in the Common Core is to “Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag)” (4th Grade). So here’s my worksheet to help students practice ordering adjectives: Adjective Order Worksheet. I will be updating this worksheet when I have the time. For now, give your students a gold star if they find something that needs to be updated. 😀

Effective Bulletin Boards for Your Classroom

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

I saw this idea in an upper grade classroom and thought it was pretty cool. It’s a bulletin board about the things a good reader does: C R A F T

Comprehension: I understand what I read
Response to Text: I respond with thought and detail
Accuracy: I can read a variety of words
Fluency: I can read with accuracy and expression
Text Features: I understand and utilize text features

The teacher focuses on a reading skill and makes anchor charts that go with it. The anchor chart goes on the bulletin board to be referred to later.

This poster is an example of how students should do their math work. The poster shows how students should do their math work: specific heading, numbered problems, write problems left to right in rows rather than columns and the answers are circled. It’s a great way to help students remember what they need before turning in a paper. In addition, it’s a great reminder of how to do some basic math algorithms (in case your students forget).