m is for mockingbird

mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine is one of my favorite novels—you smile, laugh, sniffle, cry. We developed a unit and a discussion and activity guide for mockingbird, which stand on their own or work together. Both products are grounded in best practice and use a wide variety of strategies that include step-by-step guidelines for implementation as well as handouts that facilitate that implementation. Our research and our work with classroom teachers over the years indicated to us that sharing how to implement best practice saved teachers time and increased the use of best practice in the classroom. Our goal with all of our products is to engage students and facilitate implementation for teachers.

mockingbird Discussion and Activity Guide includes:

• Teacher Activity and Discussion Guide (34 pages)
• Emotion Face Chart and 16 Emotion Face Cards for Forming Student Groups
• 8 Summative Assessments
• Personal Dictionary Project
• Student Literary Log
• PowerPoint Slide Presentation (109 slides) and PowerPoint Teacher Guide 25

mockingbird Unit Plan includes:

• Instructional Plan for the unit
• Caitlin’s Phrases Lesson Plan
• Setting Analysis Lesson Plan (Part 1 & 2)
• Character Analysis Lesson Plan
• Fabulously Fun Theme Thursday Lesson Plan: Part 1, 2, & 3
• 10-Second Rule Game for Chapters 1-14 and for Chapters 15-27
• Mini-Assessment Project
• Caitlin’s Rituals Lesson Plan
• Figures of Speech Lesson Plan (Literal vs. Figurative Language)
• Quotes Activity: Fact Checker Lesson Plan
• Friendship Lesson Plan
• Blooming with Knowledge—Mini-Projects for Mockingbird plus Rubric
• Literary Log for Students

SALE 20% OFF May 26-27 mockingbird Discussion and Activity Guide and Unit Plan

L is for Lesson Plans for the First Week of School

Lesson Plans for the First Week of School: The Crayon Box that Talked and The Color of Us

Using literature to appreciate diversity in the classroom is one way to build a classroom community—vital to student learning. These two literature based lesson plans focus on diversity, inclusion, and building relationships of respect. And, while these two lessons are designed for K-4, they could easily be adapted to intermediate and middle grades—maybe even high school. This product includes:

• Lesson #1 The Crayon Box that Talked
• Lesson #2 The Color of Us

SALE 20% off May 24-25 Lesson Plans for the First Week of School

J is for Just Adjectives

Getting to know students and encouraging students to get to know each other is an important step in the process of building classroom community. Taking time to complete getting-to-know-you activities always pays off—go slow to go fast.

This mini-lesson came out of our Wonder unit plan because it is a great getting-to-know-you activity that could easily be used during the first days of school. It’s also a nice introduction to adjectives. Students explore adjectives with the ABC of Adjectives, then using adjectives, students complete Who Are You. The result is an I AM poster that can be displayed in the classroom—great for open house. The mini-lesson includes:

• ABCs of Adjectives
• Who Are You?
• I AM Directions

SALE 20% off Adjectives and Me Lesson Plan

I is for Ivan

I is for Ivan as in The One and Only Ivan, a wonderful novel with lessons for both kids and adults. The novel is based on a true story, a gorilla in Atlanta. We were all taken with the novel and the nonfiction book, Ivan the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla. So, we created a unit for the novel and a read-along guide for the nonfiction book—both pair well. And, then of course we had to add bookmarks, which are free. Give yourself, your students, and/or your children or grandchildren a treat—read both books!

The One and Only Ivan unit includes:

• Instructional Schedule for Unit Plan • 12 Lesson Plans with instructional guide and reproducible student handouts • Introducing the Novel Lesson • Setting Analysis Lesson • Character Analysis Lesson • Ivan-isms Lesson • Habitats, Groups, and Offspring Lesson • Pair Read Aloud & Prediction Lesson • Friendship Lesson • Ivan’s Letters Lesson • Novel Quotes Lesson • Ivan’s Many Families Lesson • Pair Read Aloud and Face-to-Face Slide-By Lesson • Ivan’s Billboard Lesson • Summative Assessment w/Rubric • 1 (19 page) Reproducible Student Literary Log • 16 Reproducible Student Bookmarks • • Unit PowerPoint to Guide Daily Lessons w/Teacher Guide • Formative Assessment PowerPoint (includes 3 quizzes) w/Teacher Guide and Answer Key

Ivan the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla Read-Aloud Guide includes:

• Pre-Reading, During-Reading, and After-Reading Activities
• Pre-Reading and After-Reading
• Vocabulary Activity
• Making a Timeline of Ivan’s Life
• Ivan Mapping Activity
• Advocacy, Protests, and Petitions
• Illustrations in Nonfiction Literature
• Research Project
• Ivan’s Story Cube
• Suggested Resource List
• Ivan Grouping Cards
• Ivan Bookmarks

Sixteen free reproducible bookmarks with quotes from The One and Only Ivan. Use for forming groups or just for fun. Your students will love them.

SALE 20% off May 20-21 The One and Only Ivan Unit and Ivan the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla Read-Aloud Guide

Save more and buy both products in the bundle!

H is for Homework

Homework has little research to support its use or its connection to learning. When I first started teaching, I used the worksheets and quizzes that came with the anthology with one exception. I did the worksheets and took the quizzes and found for the most part they were definitely lacking. Then, I would ask my students why they did not do homework—responses included lack of time, redundant, boring, and just plain stupid. So, I started creating my own assignments that connected to the learning goals I wanted students to attain. I focused on creating assignments that included choice and personalization, that were fun, novel, and interesting to students and me. It worked and now our products reflect those very same tenets.
Meaningful homework assignments should engage students and be fun to do. We have compiled creative alternatives to traditional homework assignments that can be adapted to a variety of content areas along with a list of alternative homework assignment ideas. This product includes:
-Name Lists
-Rounding Up: Adjectives and Adverbs
-Survey. Note. Conclude! Homework Assignment
-8 Alternatives to Traditional Homework Assignments

-Teacher Bookmarks with Homework Quotes (8 reproducible bookmarks)

SALE 20% off May 18-19 Homework: Show What You Know

We also created eight reproducible bookmarks designed for teachers with quotes about homework that are ready for copying, cutting, and distributing. These are included with the homework packet, but are also FREE as a stand-alone. Consider sharing these bookmarks with your colleagues and parents to start the conversation about the value of traditional homework.

G is for Grouping Techniques

Using innovative and novel ways to form student groups catches students’ attention, saves time and commotion, and can reinforce your content. Determining how pairs, triads, or groups will be formed before you need them provides a smooth way for students to move into their groups. If you constantly group and regroup students randomly, students are usually willing to work with all students. If the grouping technique uses something that connects to the content, all the better (academic language terms, literary characters, quotes, objects, cartoon characters, famous people, movie titles, song titles, etc.). This product lists ways to form groups and includes reproducible cards to facilitate the process.

All of our products that employ the use of pairs, triads, or quads include unique ways that connect to the novel or topic to form those groups.  Try it, it works!!!

SALE 20% off May 16-17 Grouping Techniques for the Classroom

You might want to check out: Grouping to Build Relationships

F is for Formative Assessment

We often focus only on what we do not know and perhaps it might be beneficial to also know what we do know. We developed two products to facilitate formative assessment by creating fun and fast exit slips and fast formative assessments. These two products are grounded in our own practice as well as research.

Exit Slips and Tickets Out are fast formative assessments that you can use daily to see how you and your students are doing. The novelty of these exit slips will catch your students’ attention. They will also give you ideas for creating your own. This product includes:

• One-Minute Write
• Muddiest Point
• Ticket Out
• Exit Slip
• Admit Slip
• One Thing I Learned Today
• Halftime Report Basketball and Football Themed

Fast Formative Assessment Strategies: Checking for Understanding is a packet of mini-assessments ideal for closing a lesson or unit for grades 6-12. These mini-assessments get students focused on showing what they have learned in clever and engaging ways. This product includes:

• Stick it With 6
• Hey Granny Did you Know?
• Resume of a Leader/Portrait of a Character
• Scene Rewind
• A Poetic Moment
• Fact Checker Quick Check

SALE 20% off May 14-15 Exit Slips and Quick Formative Assessment Strategies