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Seasonal Big Poems for Grades 2-4

Are you a teacher looking for a way to incorporate weekly poems into your curriculum while also focusing on reading strategies? Look no further! Our monthly poem work series is designed to meet the needs of teachers who want to provide their students with engaging, seasonal poetry activities that focus on a variety of reading skills.

Each packet contains four original poems per month, along with eight activities for each poem. These activities include

visualizing


reading with expression


making connections


grammar fun


writing response



handwriting practice



word work



and comprehension checks



Plus, the digital version includes a fluency tracker and a YouTube link to listen to the poem.


Our weekly routine explanation and sample pictures of all activities included in the packet make it easy for you to implement the poetry activities into your classroom. The full-page and half-page copies of the original poems provide flexibility for different learning styles and classroom needs.

Say goodbye to scrounging around for weekly poems that are geared more towards K/1st grade. Our packets are specifically designed to provide a reading strategies focus that is appropriate for students in grades 2-4.

Don't miss out on this fantastic resource for your classroom as it grows! It is a growing bundle which means, you not only save 25%, but you receive all future additions FREE. This means the $72 bundle can be purchased today for only $9, but that price will increase as future months are added!









Bringing the Neighborhood Tradition of 'You've Been Booed' to Your School Staff Each Month


When it comes to boosting staff morale, there's nothing quite like a little surprise and some friendly competition. That's why I'm excited to introduce a new staff exchange tradition: "You've Been Surprised!"

For those unfamiliar with the tradition, "You've Been Booed" is a neighborhood game where one person leaves a small gift and a poem on a neighbor's doorstep, along with a sign that says "You've Been Booed." The recipient then hangs the sign in their window and pays the game forward by leaving gifts and signs for two more neighbors.

I've created a monthly staff exchange pack that includes everything you need to kick off this fun tradition at your school - no matter the month! Each month, the pack includes four pages: an instruction page with gift ideas for that specific month, a direction page to pass along with your gift, a poem to add a festive touch, and a sign for the recipient to hang on their window or door.

The themes for each month are designed to align with holidays and seasons, making it easy to incorporate into your school's calendar. January is "You've Been SNOWED," February is "You've Been HUGGED," March is "You've Been PINCHED," April is "You've Been EGGED," May is "You've Been SHINED," June is "You've Been SPLASHED," July is "You've Been SPARKLED," August is "You've Been SCHOOLED," September is "You've Been SCHOOLED" or "You've Been SPICED," October is "You've Been GHOSTED," November is "You've Been GOBBLED," and December is "You've Been JINGLED."

One of the best things about this tradition is that it's completely optional. If a staff member doesn't want to participate, they can simply post an "opt-out" sign (included) on their door or window. This allows staff to choose to participate when they're feeling extra festive and want to spread some cheer without feeling obligated.

I can't wait to see how this tradition brings your staff together and adds a little extra excitement to your school community. Happy "Surprising!"








Build a Reward Classroom Management


It's that time of year. Everyone is restless. Spring fever is setting in. Classroom management needs a little reinforcement. If your students are anything like mine, they love working toward a goal, they love earning stickers, and they love a surprise. I combined all of these loves into my newest classroom management tool.

Build a Reward lets students work for a goal you set - this could be a specific behavior goal or it could just be the goal of earning "compliments" when out and about. Then, they earn a digital "sticker" each time they reach that goal.

Students get so excited to drag a "sticker" into place to build an object on one of the 20 scenes included in both the Google Slides and PowerPoint version of this resource.


The 20 scenes include seasonal monthly scenes as well as some generic fun ones - plus, there are 10 more scenes coming! These scenes are editable, in that teachers can delete or duplicate the pieces to fit the specific needs of their classes.  Each scene comes with 10 stickers, but if you want more or fewer - that's your choice!

But, the best part?  Once the scene is completed, students get to visit the PRIZE MACHINE.  Who doesn't love to pick a prize from a machine!


Students pick a prize by clicking on it and moving it (or deleting it) to reveal a secret number. The number will match one in the list and THAT is the prize the class earns!  All reward text is editable so that you as the teacher can choose rewards that fit your needs.  If you can't think of 20, just use 10 and repeat them all once.

So, if you need to change up your classroom management to help combat spring fever, my Build a Reward classroom management might be just the twist you need!




10 Valentine Activities for the Classroom




Here are 10 activities for your elementary classroom that are sure to engage your students in Valentine fun while still covering the topics and skills they need.

1. Valentine Word Problem Workouts




















Your students will have fun following along with this video as they solve multi-step word problems and then do exercises that correlate to the answers.  Fun holiday GIF characters lead them in their workouts!

2. Valentine Pixel Art Comprehension




















Every teacher loves holiday read-alouds, right? After reading your favorite holiday books, let students complete these no-prep Valentine Pixel Art comprehension activities.  As students answer questions about the book correctly, the picture will begin to reveal itself and students will be amazed!

3. Valentine Digital Games





With a pack full of digital games along with a directed drawing and origami craft, you will be SET for any downtime in the month of February.  These activities are the perfect FUN fillers for those moments when you have 5 minutes to spare, or when it unexpectedly rains and you find yourself indoors for the day.  Do yourself a favor and have these on standby this month!

4. Valentine Breakout




















This Valentine Breakout is the perfect activity to save for Valentine's Day (or week).  This breakout is unique in that it uses a Google Form so students do not need Google Accounts.  Just provide them the link and they solve problems and riddles to unlock 4 locks to BREAKOUT in time for the Valentine Dance.

5. February Flip the Decks




















Flip the Decks are the digital versions of Roam the Rooms - no matter which version you use, your students will love the ELA and Math practice with a Valentine twist! 

6. Valentine Digital Photo Booth




















How do you make writing more engaging for students?  Add a digital photo booth with it, of course! Students will write an emotion poem about something they love and snap a selfie to use in their illustration where they will drag and drop Valentine props onto their photo.  A student tutorial is included with this resources, so no worries if your students are inexperienced with Google Slides!

7. Valentine Story Response Crafts





One of the best things about holidays at school are walking through the halls and looking at the displays!  Your Valentine display will be set with these story response crafts!  We've picked 5 of the best holiday read-alouds and created a short story response along with a student craft to go along with the books.  These are perfect for parent volunteers and substitutes, too!

8. February Glyphs





Glyphs are one of our favorite things to do with students.  They're fun and engaging, require students to analyze data, help students get to know each other better, and leave you with a student created display. Win-win-win! These no-prep coloring glyphs are perfect for morning arrival time and center time, but also perfect to leave for a volunteer or sub!

9. Feed the Monsters - Math Fact Fun





These Google Slides drag and drop math fact activities are perfect for center time or independent practice.  They are available in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division versions for differentiation in the classroom.

10. Digital Valentine Cards




Whether your students are in-person or virtual, they can all participate in the Valentine card exchange with these digital Valentine cards.  Students can design and personalize their own card with drag and drop images.  Take a peek at the student tutorial that is included to see if this would be appropriate for your students.


If you have suggestions for other Valentine activities you would like to see included in this list, drop a comment to let us know.




















Classroom Breakouts Made Easy!



Holiday Breakouts Bundle


As a tech specialist, I love to visit classrooms and introduce students to digital breakouts.  However, nothing is more frustrating than finding one to share with students, only to realize they can't access it.  Many districts (without the knowledge of teachers) block students from accessing Google Sites that are not built within their district's own Google Domain.  Now, some of these districts will "unblock" them temporarily if they confirm there is nothing offensive on them.  But, other districts (mine included) will not be so willing to do this.  While the reason is good (it keeps students safe when districts don't know who is controlling the content of those sites), it is oh so frustrating when the content is not only safe, but educational.

While some districts don't block Google Sites, they do block other elements of many breakout games, such as YouTube videos or files hosted privately.

After many frustrations with this, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own breakouts.  But, I wanted to make sure they were not only accessible to my students, but any students.  

Why Google Forms?

Reason #1 - Access for Everyone

By using Google Forms (instead of Google Sites), it ensures that all students have access to the breakout.  A Google Form (in view mode) doesn't even require a Google login or account; therefore, it can be completed by anyone, on any type of device.

Reason #2 - No Prep & Easy to Navigate

By using Google Forms, any puzzles and/or problems can be embedded right into the form.  This means students don't need to manager multiple tabs or pages - absolutely everything they need is there in one spot!  This also makes it NO PREP for the teacher! #WinWin

Reason #3 - Self-Checking Locks

By using Google Forms, the lock codes become self-checking.  Using the self-validation mode when setting up the GoogleForm, I have made it so that students cannot move on to the next lock without getting the current lock open.  If students enter an incorrect answer, they will be prompted to "try again."

Reason #4 - A Learning Record


By using Google Forms, students' names and answers will be submitted to the teacher digitally where she will have a record of all learning that can be pulled up on a single spreadsheet. This can be used to track participation and trend in skills.

What does a typical Google Form Breakout look like?

Let's take a look at my Christmas breakout as an example:

When students begin, they will have a brief introduction, setting them up for the task.


Then, there will be 4 locks to unlock - a Letter Lock, a Number Lock, a direction lock, and a Word Lock. Let's see an example from each.

Letter Lock Sample

Students must discover what present is in each of 5 boxes.  Then put the first letter of each present in ABC order to find this lock code.


Number Lock Sample


Students must find the missing number from each of 5 light patterns.


Direction Lock Sample


Students must find which direction a candy cane was passed through a grid of reindeer based on 6 clues.



Word Lock Sample


Students must find the ONE word missing on the compound tree puzzle that could be used to make a compound word with both the word before it and the word after it.




This is just one sample, but most of my breakout games are similar to this in format.  I recommend having students work on the breakouts in groups of 2-3 students.  This gives students help and support while allowing them to use each other's strengths.  If it is your class's first time doing a breakout, I would even recommend doing it together as a whole class to let students understand the format.  Once they've experienced one, they'll have the hang of it!






10 Halloween Activities for the Classroom


Here are 10 activities for your elementary classroom that are sure to engage your students in Halloween fun while still covering the topics and skills they need.

1. October Word Problem Workouts




















Your students will have fun following along with this video as they solve multi-step word problems and then do exercises that correlate to the answers.  Fun holiday GIF characters lead them in their workouts!

2. Halloween Pixel Art Comprehension



Every teacher loves holiday read-alouds, right? After reading your favorite holiday books, let students complete these no-prep Halloween Pixel Art comprehension activities.  As students answer questions about the book correctly, the picture will begin to reveal itself and students will be amazed!

3. Halloween Digital Games



With a pack full of digital games along with a directed drawing and origami craft, you will be SET for any downtime in the month of October.  These activities are the perfect FUN fillers for those moments when you have 5 minutes to spare, or when it unexpectedly rains and you find yourself indoors for the day.  Do yourself a favor and have these on standby this month!

4. Halloween Breakout



This Halloween Breakout is the perfect activity to save for Halloween day (or week).  This breakout is unique in that it uses a Google Form so students do not need Google Accounts.  Just provide them the link and they solve problems and riddles to unlock 4 locks to BREAKOUT in time for trick-or-treating.

5. October Flip the Decks



Flip the Decks are the digital versions of Roam the Rooms - no matter which version you use, your students will love the ELA and Math practice with a Halloween twist! 

6. Halloween Digital Photo Booth



How do you make writing more engaging for students?  Add a digital photo booth with it, of course! Students will write about a haunted house and snap a selfie to use in their illustration where they will drag and drop Halloween props onto their photo.  A student tutorial is included with this resources, so no worries if your students are inexperienced with Google Slides!

7. Halloween Story Response Crafts



One of the best things about holidays at school are walking through the halls and looking at the displays!  Your Halloween display will be set with these story response crafts!  We've picked 5 of the best holiday read-alouds and created a short story response along with a student craft to go along with the books.  These are perfect for parent volunteers and substitutes, too!

8. October Glyphs



Glyphs are one of our favorite things to do with students.  They're fun and engaging, require students to analyze data, help students get to know each other better, and leave you with a student created display. Win-win-win! These no-prep coloring glyphs are perfect for morning arrival time and center time, but also perfect to leave for a volunteer or sub!

9. Feed the Monsters - Math Fact Fun



These Google Slides drag and drop math fact activities are perfect for center time or independent practice.  They are available in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division versions for differentiation in the classroom.

10. October Poems




















While these poems aren't exactly Halloween-themed, there is a bat poem included and well, we just think the 10 interactive activities included to complete with each poem is enough to keep any student engaged regardless of the topic! We think these are a must for every month of the year!

If you have suggestions for other Halloween activities you would like to see included in this list, drop a comment to let us know.

















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