teacher ideas

Makeover Madness

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YOB before and after

We are pausing for a short commercial break. I am participating in a summer teacher challenge of sorts. Our first task was to update teacher materials that needed a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. I try to refresh most of my materials each year while teaching, so the next year’s class gets something different. For all of my makeover ideas for teacher units, visit the Teacher Tools links. To get a quick peak at how I revamped my final novel unit of the year, see the snapshots below.

Year of the Boar before

Year of the Boar after

Click In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson to see the complete teacher materials.

Spelling Doodle – an Activity with Spelling Words

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Along with every other 4th grade student, I want to avoid “write the spelling words 3x each” spelling homework. I am actually not against that kind of homework (especially if the students are writing the spelling words in cursive) since I think it builds a motor memory, but we all get bored with it. One new activity with spelling words I am using is a Spelling Doodle.

spelling doodle word practice

Students use every word on the weekly spelling list to design a word doodle. The challenge is to think of various ways to group the spelling words. Students use a combination of phonics knowledge and word meanings to create word categories. Not only do students practice writing spelling words correctly, they are also activating their knowledge about the ways letters combine to create words, word usage, and definitions of the words.

Give the student a piece of white copy paper and some colored pencils or fun pens. Using all of the spelling words in a list, students create groups of words and label each group with a title. Kids write the words and then add doodles and illustrations to the page to make it colorful and appealing. Talk about the words by sharing the group types. We came up with all kinds of ways to group last week’s words.

An activity with spelling words

What are options for Spelling Doodle groups?

  • Syllable Count (group by how many syllables a word has)
  • Same Root, Prefix, or Suffix (look for common word parts)
  • Same Spelling Pattern in the Beginning, Middle, or End (look for repeated letter groupings, my SPELLING LISTS are created around a spelling pattern or rule, so my students were not allowed to create one giant grouping for all words on the list)
  • Same Starting, Middle, or End Letter Sound
  • Synonyms
  • Antonyms
  • Common Situation (look for a way to group words based on an activity like words you might use at a construction site or while going to a movie– this reminded me of games like Taboo)
  • Common Topic (look for words that have a theme like baking or sports)

I told my students they should try to have 2-4 words per grouping, but if they ran out of options at the end, they could create a group that contained only one word as long as they provided a title. We used colored pencils at school, but I got out the Sharpies when I worked on my samples at home. Definitely add color. If you need an alternative to calling out words when studying for a weekly spelling test, give this spelling activity a try. It works in the classroom and at home.

fun word spelling practice

For more spelling word practice ideas in the classroom or at home, read THIS BLOG POST.

To purchase spelling products based on the most common English spelling rules and patterns, visit my teacher store by CLICKING HERE.

spelling doodle spelling practice activity #spelling #wordwork

Middle School Teacher Giveaway

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Middle School Giveaway

I donated a literature unit to a middle school giveaway for teachers. If any of my teacher followers are interested in some new teaching resources, please click the links below to enter. I contributed my In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson literature unit, but if you win the ELA product pack, you can choose any literature unit from my teacher store.

Thanks to Krystal from Lessons From The Middle and Kate from Kate’s Classroom Cafe for organizing this giveaway just for middle school teachers.

middle school giveawayA Rafflecopter Giveaway

Middle School Giveaway A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Middle School GiveawayA Rafflecopter Giveaway

Middle School Giveaway A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Middle School GiveawayA Rafflecopter Giveaway

Middle School Giveaway A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Middle School GiveawayA Rafflecopter Giveaway

Back to School Teacher Gift 2013

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teacher emergency kit filled and gift tags

A year ago, I made a back to school teacher gift that I considered practically perfect (mainly because it is something this teacher mom wants to have). After making the Swim Coach Survival Kit, I decided to blend last year’s teacher gift with this summer’s swim coach gift for an updated Teacher Emergency Kit.

I originally saw the idea on a site called Tidy Mom. If you read last week’s post, the directions below are about the same, but I have new pictures and some additional notes. You do need a sewing machine for the potholder bag. If you do not have a sewing machine, use the plastic bead box from last year’s post. Or, use the bead box if you just like that container better.

teacher emergency kit baggies and tape

Materials

  • square potholders (The Tidy Mom post suggested potholders from Target. I had a hard time finding single square potholders. I ended up purchasing 2-piece oven mitt sets from Kmart. My square potholders are 7″ x 8″– not a perfect square– with a loop along one short side)

teacher emergency kit pot holders

  • Scotch tape
  • snack size Ziploc bags (6 1/2″ x 3 1/4″)
  • sewing machine
  • ~7/8″ button (coordinating color)
  • thread (coordinating color)

teacher emergency kit align baggies

Directions

  • Set your potholder on a flat surface with the loop on the right side. I have the potholder “hand pocket” facing inside, but I also made the bags with the pocket on the outside too. It is up to you how you want your potholder to face.
  • Place one snack bag on the right side with the baggie opening facing the right edge. Place a piece of tape on the top and bottom to keep the baggie from moving.
  • Place another snack bag on top with the baggie opening facing the left edge. The center should overlap with the first baggie. Place a piece of tape at the top and bottom.
  • Continue alternating baggies right and left. I liked 5 snack bags (=5 pockets). The Tidy Mom post used 10, but the bags fill up fast if you include bulky items and then the clutch won’t close.

coach survival kit zig zag stitch

  • Sew a zig zag stitch down the middle of the potholder, which should also be down the center of the Ziploc bags. Cut any loose threads. Carefully remove the tape from the edges without pulling or stretching the plastic bags.
  • Fold the clutch in half and pull the loop around to the front and eyeball where the button will need to be placed. If you do not have a loop on the potholder, follow the Tidy Mom site’s directions for adding a loop.
  • Attach the button with coordinating thread.

teacher emergency kit button

  • Gather the items you want in your emergency kit. I dug into my assortment of plastic bead bags and filled mini baggies with Advil, Tums, and mints. The clutches fill pretty quickly and flatter items work better. You won’t be able to fill the kit with as many things if you use travel sized aspirin tubes and whole rolls of Tums. I printed Avery labels and attached the Teacher Emergency Kit Baggie Labels to the little bags. The label size is 2/3″ x 1 3/4″ and is Avery #42895.

teacher emergency kit labels and tums

  • I created a Teacher Emergency Kit Gift Tag page and printed it on white cardstock, cut it into squares with my paper cutter, hole punched the corner, and tied with curly ribbon to the loop.

teacher emergency kit gift tags

Content Suggestions

  • Aquaphor and/or chapstick
  • gum or mints
  • Bandaids
  • hair elastics
  • travel toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Tampax and pantyliner for female teachers (sorry, gentlemen)
  • Tylenol or Advil
  • Tums
  • change (for the soda machine)
  • nail file
  • safety pins and/or travel sewing kit
  • Sharpie pen
  • cough drops

teacher emergency kit contents

Notes

  • Don’t cheap out on the Ziploc bags. I bought CVS generic brand on sale, and they are a little flimsy. I wish I had used Ziploc or Glad snack bags.
  • Click the picture to see the directions for last year’s Teacher Emergency Kit in the bead box.

Back to School Teacher Emergency Kit

Giveaway

  • I am giving away Back to School Emergency Kits to TWO lucky winners. Give the kit to your child’s teacher on the first day of school or keep it for yourself.
  • But wait, there’s more. Not only will each winner receive one filled Back to School Kit, he/she will also receive not ONE but TWO oven mitts because I had to buy oven mitt SETS to get the potholder I wanted, and I now own about 10 mitts!
  • Giveaway ends Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013.
  • Click on this Entry-Form link to enter the giveaway!
  • The entry form links to TheRoomMom on Bloglovin, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest where you complete the regular “like” or “follow” procedures on the social media sites directly then submit the entry form after you complete the like or follow. Just hitting submit does not create a follow or like. You can also leave a comment below and enter the name you used to comment in the entry form. All likes, follows, and comments are “verified” at the end of the contest, and the two winners will be randomly selected. It is more confusing than I would like, but it is my first experience with a giveaway site.