tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50314445560300209932024-03-05T22:56:29.857-06:00The Creative Classroomccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-44452830097704431172017-03-01T10:00:00.000-06:002017-03-01T10:00:17.733-06:00The Creative Classroom Celebrates Women's History Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1JJ_7j3-PsmXjUHzFO13LnkdLs5WBHrwHTr3SkaQ8MEW0R8mnyvsfu1qMhq15w4xtAnKiznJDaOrndqidRAHGK4_Zm1-02x8CPab16lhC6z5gqC-3TjDCITvOJiW0GkSnzAPpVZbVA4/s1600/Copy+of+Celebrating+Women%2527s+History+Month.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1JJ_7j3-PsmXjUHzFO13LnkdLs5WBHrwHTr3SkaQ8MEW0R8mnyvsfu1qMhq15w4xtAnKiznJDaOrndqidRAHGK4_Zm1-02x8CPab16lhC6z5gqC-3TjDCITvOJiW0GkSnzAPpVZbVA4/s640/Copy+of+Celebrating+Women%2527s+History+Month.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: justify;">Maya Angelou once said, “How important it is for use to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” Since 1987, we have celebrated the immense contributions and achievements of women throughout the month of March. Women’s History Month is a chance to not only celebrate a diverse group of women but to also educate others, especially our students, on the impact that these women have had on the history of our country and society. </span><span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">So how can you create meaningful opportunities for students to learn more about the roles and importance of women throughout March when you have a limited amount of time that you can devote in your classroom? It may seem like an impossible feat, but I can assure you that there are quite a few creative ways to balance the demands of your curriculum with celebrating Women’s History Month. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><u>Create A Women's History Month Bulletin Board</u></span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Womens-History-Month-DIY-Interactive-Bulletin-Board-3029623" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jW8fS_qDdcPU2_eIdjFCRSoBBBx9KnScMSzNB1OV2Ym_YDPuGMYBPUQ1e-ez6okNWIxJXeIAPrunAC-ZmQvBk17NrpObku5XvsQo9flHWkfTbdhBg7VQHipa2hrMZJgpgjgiRQOxTNo/s640/WHM+BB+1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Womens-History-Month-DIY-Interactive-Bulletin-Board-3029623" target="_blank">This is the Women's History Month Interactive Bulletin Board that I created for my own classroom! If you'd like this kit to create your own bulletin board, click here.</a></td></tr>
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Create a bulletin board in your classroom that contain images, quotes, or other important information about specific women. You could select a group of women that is specific to your subject matter like famous female authors in ELA or female scientist throughout history in your science classroom. Often times, I will use this bulletin board not only as a way to brighten up my classroom, but also as another learning opportunity for my students. One way that I do this is by including higher order thinking questions for each image or quote that is on the bulletin board. Students are given these questions on a handout and they have the entire month to complete this assignment. It makes a perfect early finishers activity or extension activity that gives students extra practice in a variety of skills like analysis, making connections, and other critical thinking skills.</div>
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Another idea would be to let your students create products for a Women's History Month bulletin board. This is the ultimate way to give your students ownership in their own learning. One option would be to have your students select one woman who inspires them or is important to them. Students will create a mini poster that includes a photo, brief biography, and a short explanation of why this woman inspires them. You can use these posters to create multiple bulletin boards that display students' work and will allow your students to learn about a variety of important women.</div>
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<u>Bell Ringers = Pique Students’ Curiosity + Practice Critical Thinking Skills</u></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDra6keDfdm_bmApBmiCNZnDFsF9Ad7F5beHZAxjzMxVEKZKxAuK88gsytYoFqgmnlf2RBm82ZTI1DBFFGxvpPWAGZYNwzMsG0KTrh4qei9WK2rfldDqY7Rt_HK3yrwkOT55wkZxdAjSE/s1600/WHM+BR+Cover+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDra6keDfdm_bmApBmiCNZnDFsF9Ad7F5beHZAxjzMxVEKZKxAuK88gsytYoFqgmnlf2RBm82ZTI1DBFFGxvpPWAGZYNwzMsG0KTrh4qei9WK2rfldDqY7Rt_HK3yrwkOT55wkZxdAjSE/s320/WHM+BR+Cover+1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Bell Ringers are a simple and effective way to not only pique students’ interest on a topic, but to also ensure that students are still practicing critical thinking skills while learning more about that topic. In my opinion, it is one of the most effective ways to introduce students to concepts and get them thinking about topics when your time is limited. In my classroom, I normally devote 8-10 minutes for a bell ringer activity. This includes time for students to answer questions and time for discussion.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span class="s1">During Women’s History Month, the bell ringers focus on a diverse group of women and a variety of higher order thinking questions. Each day my students are introduced to one woman. They learn about the her accomplishments through an infographic that contains a photo, background information and/or a quote. Students must use that information to answer a text-based higher order thinking question. When creating my bell ringers, I try to include a mixture of well-known women like Harriet Beecher Stowe or Rosa Parks and women that the majority of my students will not easily recognize like Indira Gandhi or Dr. Mary Walker. In addition, I also include a variety of questions that students must answer to give students multiple opportunities to practice a variety of skills. My favorite question types to include are inferences, making connections, analyzing quotes, and supporting a position/idea. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Each year I am constantly amazed at the responses and feedback that I get from my students. The level of student engagement during these bell ringers is astounding at times. There are moments that you could hear a pin drop, which is definitely not always the case in a middle school classroom. The level of engagement can also be seen through my students’ writing and class discussions. It’s always so refreshing and often times enlightening to hear my students’ perspectives on different quotes and accomplishments. I love the way they can view a situation or quote in a brand new way that I had never considered before. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2Br0D6L6woHC4Nm8Gnfw7Tlj8OlzQLboha_45qcH8m4TW6y6RpZju79oIX5jnBkGBYwCSXtrJDgKVjmtW8Zq8OQmjXh0EABzlX0I-_lxkfzUJgK-HT_ojlewMjIYyxF_7DcY-PmPIOQ/s1600/WHM+BR+Week+One+Freebie.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2Br0D6L6woHC4Nm8Gnfw7Tlj8OlzQLboha_45qcH8m4TW6y6RpZju79oIX5jnBkGBYwCSXtrJDgKVjmtW8Zq8OQmjXh0EABzlX0I-_lxkfzUJgK-HT_ojlewMjIYyxF_7DcY-PmPIOQ/s320/WHM+BR+Week+One+Freebie.001.png" width="320" /></a><span class="s1"></span><br />
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<span class="s1">If this sounds like something you would like to try out in your own classroom, I have created a small sampling of bell ringers that I have used in my own classroom. These bell ringers are also a part of a larger resource that is available in my store.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="color: purple; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6NU60MUtH38SXR2Z3BoWTQ0ZkE/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here</a> to grab your FREE week’s worth of Women’s History Month Bell Ringers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What are your favorite ways to celebrate Women's History Month in your classroom? Leave your suggestions in the comments below to win a Women's History Month product of your choice from my store!</span></div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-37060133869210488272017-02-01T18:37:00.000-06:002017-02-01T18:37:01.207-06:00Celebrate Valentine's Day in ELA Without Sacrificing Content<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig_CE5eReCVfWarYlFZWH6tuxw5UgyRhs6r9qXu9UEKGcIbltHSx29WwziiEzrwjb-o6iOM1vQJLpID3ArZHLKh79eIARdpN4Kme7T-gUNqnD2Voz0-cXR25Sj8Py2lQiGmrZGILzPi4s/s1600/Celebrate+Valentine%2527s+Day+in+ELA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig_CE5eReCVfWarYlFZWH6tuxw5UgyRhs6r9qXu9UEKGcIbltHSx29WwziiEzrwjb-o6iOM1vQJLpID3ArZHLKh79eIARdpN4Kme7T-gUNqnD2Voz0-cXR25Sj8Py2lQiGmrZGILzPi4s/s640/Celebrate+Valentine%2527s+Day+in+ELA.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">One of the hardest things about being an English teacher in this fast paced world is being able to take time to celebrate holidays or special events in your classroom without sacrificing content. It can be a struggle to balance the demands of your curriculum and the need to venture off script sometimes. While analysis and critical thinking are extremely important skills for students to master, let’s face it sometimes they need opportunities to think creatively and express their learning in a way that doesn’t require them to cite textual evidence every few minutes. Thinking creatively doesn’t mean that students won’t be thinking critically and showing their understanding of a concept or skill. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Here are just a few suggestions on how to celebrate Valentine's Day with your students in ELA without veering too far from your curriculum:</span></div>
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<span class="s1">1. <b><u>Collaborative Poetry:</u></b> If you are in the middle of a poetry unit, let your students take a break from analyzing figurative language and digging deeper into the poem itself. While creating a poem can be a daunting challenge for students, it becomes a much easier task when students are allowed to work together and bounce ideas off of each other. I always find it so interesting to listen to the brainstorming and discussions that students have as they work together to create their poem. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">If you are looking to add another degree of fun to this project, create a list of topics on sticky notes or scraps of paper. Fold the paper and place them in a cup or bucket. Let each group select a topic from the cup and tell them to keep their paper folded until everyone has had a chance to pick. Once all groups have selected a topic, explain that each group is responsible for creating a poem that is based on the topic they have selected. Here are some of the example topics I have included before: "A dog who is in love with the pug next door", "Asking out the most popular girl in school", and "Teenage Girl's Dream Date".</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7emhLfhiMHm7HCsMXqlVyNRnmbUUEIKhbXpXOAVc3TtcRnh7OtBVXwsYXpnb9ksYSxfnlXQSFykvYV14zpOle0Q-jFLLOn3Vn0Nrt09M2J_sCNax8zssQfJZiHGbM80-mtCaBN6H9T0/s1600/Literary+Love+Letters+Promo+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7emhLfhiMHm7HCsMXqlVyNRnmbUUEIKhbXpXOAVc3TtcRnh7OtBVXwsYXpnb9ksYSxfnlXQSFykvYV14zpOle0Q-jFLLOn3Vn0Nrt09M2J_sCNax8zssQfJZiHGbM80-mtCaBN6H9T0/s400/Literary+Love+Letters+Promo+1.png" width="265" /></a><span class="s1">2. <u><b>Literary Love Letters:</b></u> We all have our favorite characters or stories who have had an impact on our own lives. Wouldn't it be nice if you were able to express your love for these characters and stories? Valentine's Day is the perfect day to give your students a chance to write a letter to a character, story, or author that explains why this particular person or piece of literature has impacted their lives. It is not only a great way to get students thinking and writing creatively, but it can also be used as a tool to assess your students' writing abilities and offer academic feedback to your students.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Don't have time to create your own activity? Well, you are in luck! You can find the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literary-Love-Letters-Creative-Writing-Task-2969206" target="_blank">Literary Love Letters: Creative Writing Task</a> in my TPT store. This unit includes everything that you will need to implement this activity in your own classroom. It also includes differentiated options and editable features that allow you to meet the needs of your individual student needs. </span></div>
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3. <b><u>DIY Valentine Cards-Literary Love Edition:</u></b> One of my fondest memories of celebrating Valentine's Day when I was in school was giving and receiving Valentine cards from my classmates. There was something magical about trying to pick out the perfect cards to give to your friends and the excitement of seeing the cards that they had picked out for you. I'd venture to say that regardless of how old your students are that Valentine cards remain a focal point of this holiday for them too. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ2ycOvERhBmwP7WJijsPzKOo_IUvTmtRTF3tHiENfj7P3RKOvznVPAvPl8emanagHaNIZwm7uwfJ3t1NbIXIqrvcmqXFNn-DrqnWsz97sbNJrIMcIckMpKU9eaIv_eiJE45jiQ39z_M/s1600/DIY+Valentine+Cards-+Literary+Love+Edition+Promo+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ2ycOvERhBmwP7WJijsPzKOo_IUvTmtRTF3tHiENfj7P3RKOvznVPAvPl8emanagHaNIZwm7uwfJ3t1NbIXIqrvcmqXFNn-DrqnWsz97sbNJrIMcIckMpKU9eaIv_eiJE45jiQ39z_M/s400/DIY+Valentine+Cards-+Literary+Love+Edition+Promo+1.png" width="266" /></a>Why not combine this timeless tradition with literature? A DIY Valentine Cards activity that is based on a favorite literary character or a recent story that students have read in class is the perfect solution to celebrate Valentine's Day without veering away from content. In this activity, students can create at least one Valentine that is related to a character or story. In addition to creating the Valentine, students can write a short explanation that explains the message behind their Valentine or how it relates to a certain character or story. </div>
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Interested in having students create their own Valentine Cards? <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6NU60MUtH38SWh5U3o4cHNNR3c/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here to download the FREE resource, DIY Valentine Cards: Literary Love Edition.</a></div>
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4. <b><u>Short Story Ideas:</u></b> If you really don't want to stray from your curriculum at all while celebrating Valentine's Day, there's even an option for that. Find a short story that focuses on relationships, love, or that may have an anti-love theme. My suggestion would be to read a short story like "The Chaser" by John Collier. This thought-provoking tales centers around Alan Austen and his desire to buy a love potion to win over the love of his life. The events in this story beg readers to ponder the question "Can money really buy love?".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggu1AVEFf9_prtiUjLVsUtUZgWVLp0cC758XvCenm245WDSTdZyXSoNqvOXZHDuzBlUgDS39JDpMmo8Omc3TcIGuoI2L0XqnQ_XS3pm22b9nAhE_JpYGfqCm0pzrqsFOFWN8xy8VtxEtY/s1600/-The+Chaser-+by+John+Collier.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggu1AVEFf9_prtiUjLVsUtUZgWVLp0cC758XvCenm245WDSTdZyXSoNqvOXZHDuzBlUgDS39JDpMmo8Omc3TcIGuoI2L0XqnQ_XS3pm22b9nAhE_JpYGfqCm0pzrqsFOFWN8xy8VtxEtY/s640/-The+Chaser-+by+John+Collier.png" width="640" /></a>"The Chaser" can be used to teach a wide variety of skills from main idea to <span style="background-color: white;">making inferences</span> to argumentative writing. It all depends upon the amount of time that you want to devote to instruction and the level of your students. For my 6th graders, we use our normal close reading strategies to tackle this text. During the first read, students are responsible for reading to answer the question, "OMG! What Happened!?!". This helps them practice writing summaries of what they have read and also allows me to see who gets the story and who may need more assistance going forward. During our second read, students dig deeper to analyze Alan Austen and his motivations. Students use this information to decide whether they think that Alan is truly in love with Diana or if he is simply obsessed with her. It is always quite entertaining to read my students' stances on this particular topic. The wisdom of middle school students can be quite enlightening. </div>
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Do you have any other suggestions for celebrating Valentine's Day that I haven't mentioned? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!</div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-21017600763344556532017-01-19T10:00:00.000-06:002017-01-19T10:00:00.208-06:00Kindness Matters: Motivational Cards for Students and Teachers<br />
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From the beginning of my teaching career, promoting kindness and positivity in my classroom has been a top priority for a few reasons. I wanted my students to feel comfortable and to know that I am one of their biggest champions and cheerleaders. In addition, I wanted to create a classroom community where students are not afraid to be themselves or make mistakes. I wanted my students to know that even though things may get tough or seem impossible that working hard and giving their best effort was appreciated. I wanted my students to embrace the philosophy that it's okay to make a mistake and that every success, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated. </div>
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In the past, I have used a variety of methods to recognize my students and promote positivity. Here are photos of two of my favorite ways that I have used to instill kindness and encouragement into my classroom community and the inspiration behind my newest idea.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOybxSskIYrMBl1TkyWrOTAtgPzwyiQ6p4qHDJa2bcYo8aL528eSKKv1d6LDnw3FwoyYfbvGXMxWrKFtBN76_n3_jd90icDMXCp1de8E3IHamU78n3hGMIbmzW_VDjhFOEb4kAKIqynI/s1600/student+shoutout.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOybxSskIYrMBl1TkyWrOTAtgPzwyiQ6p4qHDJa2bcYo8aL528eSKKv1d6LDnw3FwoyYfbvGXMxWrKFtBN76_n3_jd90icDMXCp1de8E3IHamU78n3hGMIbmzW_VDjhFOEb4kAKIqynI/s1600/student+shoutout.JPG" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;">A few years ago, I discovered an amazing idea while browsing Pinterest. Student Shout-Outs are a simple tool to allow students to recognize their classmates. At our school, teachers are allowed to recognize students with Bulldog Brag Reports and I thought that this would work perfectly with that reward system. I created all the resources that I would need to implement this system and introduced it to students on the first day of the new school year. Students were allowed to grab shout-out slips at the beginning or end of class to recognize their classmates. At the end of each week, I selected one entry to be the "Student Shout-Out of the Week". That student would get a small prize while all the other entries would get Bulldog Bucks. On Monday, I would hand out the shout-outs to any students that had received them. It was so heartwarming to not only read the kind words that students wrote to one another, but to also see the reactions and smiles from the students who received a shout out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3RzYpmVyU-3YpS0t-AA_BOKHAQp-5cpok8yQR0nA1prnrelNMYdLAj6qPeou9NHEItkcJA6Ro3mPe1udFcssyTvNfMPehZQqvWEwS-spsN_J15EekMWi2fRCq55PEMtJL83lfvTXeHg/s1600/learning+postcards.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3RzYpmVyU-3YpS0t-AA_BOKHAQp-5cpok8yQR0nA1prnrelNMYdLAj6qPeou9NHEItkcJA6Ro3mPe1udFcssyTvNfMPehZQqvWEwS-spsN_J15EekMWi2fRCq55PEMtJL83lfvTXeHg/s320/learning+postcards.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;"></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">Another way that I have used to encourage kindness and positivity with my students is through personal notes. Many years ago, I created teacher post cards and had them printed at Vistaprint. These post cards were used to encourage students who were struggling in my class and to recognize student growth and successes. Although it can take quite a bit of time to write these notes to my students, it was definitely time well spent once I would see the reactions of my students. Their smiles, happy responses, and hugs are one of the thing that made teaching such a rewarding job. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">This brings me to my newest idea to promote kindness and positivity in the classroom. Since I have experienced success with both of these tools, I contemplated how I could combine them to create an even better strategy. The result of my brainstorming was the creation of <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindness-Matters-Motivational-Cards-for-Students-and-Teachers-2962146" target="_blank">Kindness Matters: Motivational Cards for Students and Teachers</a>. Each motivational card contains an inspiring quote or words of wisdom that are easily relatable to both students and teachers. There are a variety of ways that these cards can be used to not only recognize or inspire students and teachers, but also allow students to spread kindness and encourage others.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s2.photobucket.com/user/sweetchick929/media/www.GIFCreator.me_dmVvwe_zpswq1uh7lr.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo www.GIFCreator.me_dmVvwe_zpswq1uh7lr.gif" border="0" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/sweetchick929/www.GIFCreator.me_dmVvwe_zpswq1uh7lr.gif" /></a>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: justify;">Here are a few ways that you can start using these cards in your own classrooms today:</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">• <b>Idea #1:</b> Print out these cards on cardstock and laminate them. Use the laminated cards to create a bulletin board or classroom display.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">• <b>Idea #2:</b> Print out these cards and keep them in your desk until needed. If you see a student or colleague who looks like they need a dose of encouragement and positivity, hand them out to those students or teachers.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1VWXLwuImp-zgM1yi5pbJADpQTh7cTiPvdSB-LoSFoXAsX7bQ3CptUPFIxlkX9HHQ5mVQjmCGDpPsez9AvlpovWKT_4fIssu4w1DpOud4573GExjHH0EdZKsSewhQImBZscdoMvUzMs/s1600/Kindness+Matters+Teacher+Examples+with+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1VWXLwuImp-zgM1yi5pbJADpQTh7cTiPvdSB-LoSFoXAsX7bQ3CptUPFIxlkX9HHQ5mVQjmCGDpPsez9AvlpovWKT_4fIssu4w1DpOud4573GExjHH0EdZKsSewhQImBZscdoMvUzMs/s400/Kindness+Matters+Teacher+Examples+with+logo.png" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;">• <b>Idea #3:</b> Print out these cards and use the blank side to write an inspiring notes to students or teachers. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">• <b>Idea #4:</b> Print out these cards and keep them in a place that is accessible to your students. Explain the purpose of these cards and set expectations for students to use them. Encourage your students to write notes that recognize or inspire their classmates or teachers.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Do you have any other ideas on how these cards can be used to promote kindness and positivity in your classroom and school? Leave them in the comments below.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to Darlene from <a href="http://www.elabuffet.com/" target="_blank">ELA Buffett</a> and Pam from <a href="http://desktoplearningadventures.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Desktop Learning Adventures</a> for hosting this awesome blog hop that celebrates #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Check out the other blog posts from the Secondary Teacher-Authors below.</span>
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The few weeks between the end of Thanksgiving break and the start of Winter Break can feel like an eternity. Students begin to get restless with each passing day as they dream of their extended days off of school; however, the majority of teachers are wishing for those days to go by just as quickly. It can be a challenge to keep students engaged and motivated throughout these few weeks and can often lead to losing quite a bit of your sanity in the process. </div>
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Student Self-Reflections: Mid-Year Check</h3>
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A few year ago, when I first implemented student data folders into my classroom, I knew that before we left for Winter Break that I wanted my students to do some type of mid-year reflection on their progress. It would not only help them to think about their successes, but to also focus on the areas that they still needed to work on during the second half of the school year. The students' self-reflections would not only help them to realize their area of focus, but the reflections would also help give me more insight into my student's thought process on their progress. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhous-G39oPtuOG3pbB5F4eOS1JhDkfCXhuzmNbF2OOF4-6U744dEUEvO6NsHLecpTAez5XaYagNDwgJm5kIYrkyC_VGnpOa-3NSWQ4GENv22I-nhNqwsnO78Pz8O-LWw5MnOGTMjJEFV0/s1600/Reflecting+on+my+Journey+Freebie+Images.004.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhous-G39oPtuOG3pbB5F4eOS1JhDkfCXhuzmNbF2OOF4-6U744dEUEvO6NsHLecpTAez5XaYagNDwgJm5kIYrkyC_VGnpOa-3NSWQ4GENv22I-nhNqwsnO78Pz8O-LWw5MnOGTMjJEFV0/s400/Reflecting+on+my+Journey+Freebie+Images.004.png" width="300" /></a>I created a self-reflection guide that focused on three aspects:<br />
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• student success stories/memories<br />
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• areas for improvement<br />
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• setting a long-term goal for the second half of the school year.<br />
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Since this was the first time that I was implementing it with my students and given the fact that I gave it to them on a Monday during our last week of school before Winter Break, I was bracing for struggles and how to handle students who did not take the activity seriously. I had my speech already prepared to give to any student who was less than thrilled or didn't seem interested in the self-reflection, but I was pleasantly surprised when I encountered very little resistant during Core 1. Once I explained to students the WHY behind this activity and how it was important to our ongoing growth process, the majority of them eagerly began their self-reflections. This trend continued through the rest of my classes that day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUYOl4ZHt2_L_eKZt03cgSHxtgFdApakgLbwNMIhBmACFuOarx1HJ6kb1_ehY82oEXICOX8SMO8R0u2S7o-Be6h_6LfLtCi8r-2yF7e-YgLyPBQLEdTt8fTh-5hwn50k1gowKitSamiE/s1600/savitysanityblogimages.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUYOl4ZHt2_L_eKZt03cgSHxtgFdApakgLbwNMIhBmACFuOarx1HJ6kb1_ehY82oEXICOX8SMO8R0u2S7o-Be6h_6LfLtCi8r-2yF7e-YgLyPBQLEdTt8fTh-5hwn50k1gowKitSamiE/s400/savitysanityblogimages.001.png" width="400" /></a>As I sat down to read the self-reflections from my students, I was amazed at the level of thinking that the majority of them had done. For many students, they had identified the same strengths and weaknesses that I had already identified throughout my daily tracking. I made sure to let them know this in the feedback that I wrote on each reflection. Even though leaving written feedback on the self-reflections took quite a bit of time, I felt that it was necessary to let my students know that I had read their reflections and that I took what they had written seriously. The last thing you want students to feel is that they completed something this important for it to just be tossed aside or filed away.<br />
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Getting Feedback from My Students</h3>
I was not even halfway through the student self-reflections when I had an idea. If my students did such a great job at self-assessing their own progress and next steps, what else could I learn from them to help myself grow as a classroom teacher? Winter Break was always a time where I would rest and enjoy the holidays with my family, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I would spent a good deal of my time off thinking about school and what I could do differently during the second half of the year. Usually this consisted of me reflecting on what I thought worked and didn't work; however, I never really thought of asking my students' opinions.<br />
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After I had finished going through the student reflections, my next task was to create some type of survey or activity that my students could complete to give me feedback about their experiences in my classroom during the first half of the school year. In order to do that, I needed to figure out what information did I want to get from my students. In addition, it needed to be a concise and simple activity like the self-reflections that way it would be easy to keep students engaged. As I brainstormed for the student survey, I settled on these four things being the most important information that my students could give me:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk-HqUCJWXaQ9GIvAjQUeCY2x-Y_0T1bciMkgLiwXUiWSmRFOwIb-Uw8q1J4PJYE9BmmQEptVU6Xc0moyhtwsHPuwLQLyJBiG7_r8howSJQiUGQyYYGJc20JngKZeETwGPX5C3YJ8l_E/s1600/Reflecting+on+my+Journey+Freebie+Images.006.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk-HqUCJWXaQ9GIvAjQUeCY2x-Y_0T1bciMkgLiwXUiWSmRFOwIb-Uw8q1J4PJYE9BmmQEptVU6Xc0moyhtwsHPuwLQLyJBiG7_r8howSJQiUGQyYYGJc20JngKZeETwGPX5C3YJ8l_E/s400/Reflecting+on+my+Journey+Freebie+Images.006.png" width="300" /></a>• A favorite lesson (this would allow me to identify trends among student responses and identify what made these lessons a success with students)<br />
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• A least favorite lesson (this would allow me to identify trends and identify what caused these lessons to not be popular or favorable with students)<br />
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• The specific things that we did in class that students felt helped them to grow and be successful<br />
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• The specific things that students felt could be revamped or improved<br />
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Just like when my students completed their self-reflections on their own progress, I made sure that I thoroughly explained WHY the Mid-Year Reflections survey was important and how I would use it to help reflect on my own teaching practices. I let my students know that I would be using their advice and responses to help identify those things that worked and that they liked during the first half of the school year and those things that they didn't like or feel like helped them. In addition, I stressed the importance of them being honest and to not be afraid of hurting my feelings. One of the most important aspects of this activity was that I did not require my students to put their names on these activities. I did not want them to feel like I would hold them accountable or become upset with them when they gave me their honest feedback and reactions to my class. Making these surveys anonymous is one of the most important factors in helping this activity be successful for both students and teachers.<br />
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To say that this activity was a real eye-opener for me is a complete understatement. Any skepticism that I had on how serious my students would take this activity vanished after glancing through the surveys from my morning classes. Not only did this activity verify some of my own thoughts on what the best moments or things about my class were, but it also gave me valuable insight into some things that I needed to adjust within my classroom instruction. For example, many of my students felt like their opinions were valued in my class and that they felt comfortable with sharing them; however, they didn't feel like they had enough opportunities to discuss their opinions and thoughts with more than their shoulder partner or group partners. Without this activity, I probably would not have even thought to reflect on this aspect of my classroom instruction.<br />
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As I was going through all of the student surveys, I took a sheet of paper and created a T-Chart to record the most important information and the repeated things that my students wrote down. By the time I was finished, both sides of my list were filled with helpful and insightful suggestions from my students. During Winter Break when I met with my co-teacher to map out a long range game plan for the second half of the school year, we used that list to help us brainstorm how we could incorporate student ideas into our lessons and what skills or strategies that we needed to continue using. It made things so much easier when we were planning to not only use our own reflections and experiences but also our students' wise words.<br />
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The level of success that we experienced during the second half of the school year by utilizing our students' suggestions and giving them more ownership of their own learning was incredible. Not only did student engagement become less of a problem, but behavior issues decreased and our students experienced gradual but consistent growth. To say that this activity was a game-changer in my classroom is an understatement. It is the main reason that I have incorporated this activity at Winter Break and at the end of the school year.<br />
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Take the leap and give your students an opportunity to not only reflect on their own learning and growth, but to also provide you with meaningful feedback about your classroom instruction. I hope that you find as much success with this activity with your students!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6NU60MUtH38eXNnSlhKbUlDS00/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here</a> to grab your FREE copy!</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZPCpwecpS2Rxix98_Fkju9oidbT3aTOSgPcBQmPwvaFeHp9YHx1kY3U0HBAecUDSytAgop_IH54wuNDi0Fo6hcawLlI9gysqXEqa2voNo4lVyLZh2uiBR3t87Pn07H4UkrDUNklODlU/s1600/Reflecting+on+my+Journey+Freebie+Images.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZPCpwecpS2Rxix98_Fkju9oidbT3aTOSgPcBQmPwvaFeHp9YHx1kY3U0HBAecUDSytAgop_IH54wuNDi0Fo6hcawLlI9gysqXEqa2voNo4lVyLZh2uiBR3t87Pn07H4UkrDUNklODlU/s400/Reflecting+on+my+Journey+Freebie+Images.001.png" width="300" /></a><br />
You will get the following resources in this freebie:<br />
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• Student Self-Reflection Activity: Reflecting on my Journey<br />
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• Teacher Model for Student Self-Reflection<br />
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• Mid-Year Reflections: Student Reflection Survey<br />
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• Mid-Year Reflections: Letter to My Teacher<br />
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-9520491975681301772016-11-01T07:05:00.000-06:002016-11-01T07:05:54.145-06:00Engage and Motivate Students with Argumentative Writing Lessons: "The Best of the Best" from The Creative Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJT1Dlm8bwHNdvuDqJkjcuL0830W1c0PKi9YiC9lF9ISgSpjeZ_Kxy-4Sb3l_Fbw7nJIcG4yAWLJHHheuo93ttTgHbYBCB30_IupPxaYmDwUsiJhsb_TEXQsUAHBKo-JkamuNedtJPG8/s1600/best+of+the+best_rectangular.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJT1Dlm8bwHNdvuDqJkjcuL0830W1c0PKi9YiC9lF9ISgSpjeZ_Kxy-4Sb3l_Fbw7nJIcG4yAWLJHHheuo93ttTgHbYBCB30_IupPxaYmDwUsiJhsb_TEXQsUAHBKo-JkamuNedtJPG8/s320/best+of+the+best_rectangular.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">When I first began teaching in 2008, I was hired to teach 6th-8th grade Literacy Enrichment for students who struggled in ELA. There was no set curriculum for this elective class and I was given complete creative control over what lessons I taught. As a brand new teacher, one would think that the idea of three separate preps with absolutely no curriculum resources would be completely overwhelming; however, I was elated that I would be able to introduce my students to some of my favorite authors, historical events, and real life learning opportunities. It felt like every dream I had about teaching had come true!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">What I quickly realized was that my students struggled immensely with writing, which led to many of them either too embarrassed to put their thoughts into words or simply refusing to complete the assignment. I knew that I had to come up with a solution that would not only get my students interested and engaged in the content but would also allow them to experience success, which would help to motivate them. It wasn’t very difficult to come up with an idea to try in my classes. </span></div>
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<u>Introducing My Students to Argumentative Writing</u></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDoAbD47EilRc_PCWNRoPLP5yppRWz2yHPUTLmbR6oiFmTO6BwqXzU5PWYl5yV7GPlJhgf504EYrjo1GxlXFzJT-cB_923NkmVAuPcpIikiUWrzs93R7616I_eXsLsLkbhO_nD9BGddw/s1600/best+of+best+blog+images.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDoAbD47EilRc_PCWNRoPLP5yppRWz2yHPUTLmbR6oiFmTO6BwqXzU5PWYl5yV7GPlJhgf504EYrjo1GxlXFzJT-cB_923NkmVAuPcpIikiUWrzs93R7616I_eXsLsLkbhO_nD9BGddw/s320/best+of+best+blog+images.001.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">If you have ever taught middle school students, it doesn’t take long to realize that they are very opinionated and have no problem </span>sharing their opinions with you. In fact, many of them not only loved to share their opinions, but would openly let others know when and why they disagreed with a differing opinion on any subject. I used this bit of knowledge to my advantage when I decided to introduce my students to argumentative writing. </div>
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<span class="s1">I used three simple questions at the beginning of class to get my students curious and interested in the concept of argumentative writing. Once my students realized that I was going to teach them how to create ways to share their opinions on real world issues that were supported with evidence that people could not dismiss as simply being a teenager’s opinion they were hooked. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUssZdMhG4Q8qGs8D0PuDGXlWm905nxYPGn9ICOPsfHPQ-8o-HdKBA14SMEMEMGHQZxU9eP5lG8tOY7ESZcGp1IeZCUY5DS7MTmRy7mPVvJ7xrDAA1_uwKikWQ-64sZHj97dP9dARy-xs/s1600/best+of+best+blog+images.002.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUssZdMhG4Q8qGs8D0PuDGXlWm905nxYPGn9ICOPsfHPQ-8o-HdKBA14SMEMEMGHQZxU9eP5lG8tOY7ESZcGp1IeZCUY5DS7MTmRy7mPVvJ7xrDAA1_uwKikWQ-64sZHj97dP9dARy-xs/s320/best+of+best+blog+images.002.png" width="320" /></a><span class="s1">I had achieved my first goal, but I also knew that creating and supporting arguments would be a difficult task for many of them to successfully complete. My students needed a trial run in creating arguments that I could use to identify trends in writing and individual student weaknesses to ensure that my future classroom instruction would be purposeful. For our first attempt, my students read an article from Scholastic Magazine entitled “You Danger”, which dealt with the debate on whether Youtube should be responsible for the repercussions of the dangerous videos that users post on the website. After we finished reading the article, my students engaged in the best whole group discussion that I had heard in my classroom all school year. They were using evidence from the article and their own personal experiences to support their opinions on who was to blame for the dangerous videos. I knew that they could verbally express themselves using the text and personal experiences, but could they translate that into their writing? </span></div>
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<span class="s1">As I predicted, many of my students struggled with creating a strong one paragraph argumentative response. The majority were able to state their position successfully and more than half of them were able to pull at least one relevant piece of text evidence to support their position, but very few of them were able to make connections or explain how their text evidence supported their position. I decided that since so many of them struggled with the one paragraph response that I needed to put on the brakes and find a strategy that would fix the issues my students were having.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><u>Creating a New Game Plan</u></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpb00m4U1ItBWd3ji1t405m6bOvz1kfD10eNFJWdMTFnus2QnKKazjGB1qPVcexEosWNRvMKoYKzP01IT6qEWesjWSbsa4ytXErBfMdCPXR3L-u7L6MhlSAZnsHKYz0y7R3885eo_he4/s1600/PEEL+Poster+Blog.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpb00m4U1ItBWd3ji1t405m6bOvz1kfD10eNFJWdMTFnus2QnKKazjGB1qPVcexEosWNRvMKoYKzP01IT6qEWesjWSbsa4ytXErBfMdCPXR3L-u7L6MhlSAZnsHKYz0y7R3885eo_he4/s400/PEEL+Poster+Blog.png" width="300" /></a><span class="s1">Our school had been using the Better Answers Writing Strategy as a pre-writing tool to help students craft writing responses, but it was simply not helping my students with their arguments. They needed something that was more defined and broken down into smaller pieces. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6NU60MUtH38czVlUHdqYUhURG8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The PEEL Writing Strategy</a> was just what my students needed! It closely resembles Better Answers, but it breaks the middle part into two pieces: evidence and explanation. I created a teacher model for the PEEL organizer and used it to introduce this pre-writing tool to my students. As I monitored student’s progress during their independent work time, there was an immediate difference in the quality of work. The breakdown of PEEL made writing expectations more clear for students and they were able to see the difference between a piece of evidence and explanations. There were still many issues that needed to be addressed before my students were ready to write a multi-paragraph response on their own, but I noticed an overall improvement in their revised argumentative response. The majority of responses were developed more with 2-3 pieces of relevant text evidence and attempts at explaining why that evidence was important. I made sure that when I was leaving feedback on their revised responses that I highlighted and praised them for their growth and improved writing more than focusing on the mistakes that were still present. I needed them to know that I was proud of the growth and effort that they had put in and that we would work together as a team to grow even more.</span><br />
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<span class="s1"><u>Using Differentiation and Strategic Grouping Strategies </u></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRPr7WjNvI9Rm_lIoTWp5DyvVsj7EWInwiyFsxRRGXjUWdkkvWny4E-iIsaLLrzKn0o6aFsMJEXiCVk9HSNVzJrCz9dLmR4X_9TSHb9-dAF45beR0LvzClUkNAUuf4X9Wgu6T7MwPykU/s1600/Square+Promo+Images+CC.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRPr7WjNvI9Rm_lIoTWp5DyvVsj7EWInwiyFsxRRGXjUWdkkvWny4E-iIsaLLrzKn0o6aFsMJEXiCVk9HSNVzJrCz9dLmR4X_9TSHb9-dAF45beR0LvzClUkNAUuf4X9Wgu6T7MwPykU/s320/Square+Promo+Images+CC.001.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1">Another bonus of having my students first write a short argumentative response was that I was able to create differentiated resources for their multi-paragraph writing tasks that would help address the specific problems that I discovered. One modification that I made was simply reducing the amount of evidence and paragraphs that needed to be included in their argumentative writing responses for my lowest students. I also utilized the Opinion-Proof Strategy that made it easier for my students who were struggling to identify relevant text evidence to support their position. The Opinion-Proof Organizer gave my students a position on the debate they were researching and required the students to find relevant evidence to support the opinion. I modified this strategy to include a third column that required students to explain how their piece of evidence supported the position. This third column really helped students evaluate their evidence and figure out if it was the best piece of evidence to help prove that their position was correct.</span><br />
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<span class="s1">In addition to the modifications that I made to the multi-paragraph argumentative writing resources, I also used the information that I gathered from the one paragraph responses to create effective grouping structures in my classroom. On the first day of the argumentative writing tasks, I grouped students based on how well they did on their one paragraph argument. This grouping structure made it much easier to effectively monitor and facilitate learning. After the first day, I used the student work from that class period to determine grouping structures. Each group had a specific purpose based on what I saw in the student work. For the students who did not struggle during the previous lesson, they were grouped together and allowed to work independently at their own pace. If there were students who struggled with one aspect that could be fixed with written academic feedback, I grouped them together and made sure that I touched base with them at one point or another during work time. For the students who struggled and needed more guidance, I grouped them together based on what they specifically struggled with in the previous class period. These students would either work in a small group with me where I could closely monitor their progress and provide immediate feedback or we worked on a mini-lesson intervention that was designed to address the problem. It did take quite a bit of time and prep to analyze student work, create groups, and an intervention plan each day, but the success that I saw was definitely worth it. Not only did my class run much smoother because everything was organized and done ahead of time, but I saw the growth and successes that were happening each day with my students. </span></div>
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<u>Reflections & "The Best of the Best"</u> </h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlFuJUvVd9AuIPIH2K9WHhqY8lcOxVTrxftc9W2iRV6glf4MfCxuqdmBNrXDFoD-fqmE_hZUjfhpKEPwyuFVOU81Ot774Ss36RYN8Tw1LFhh8XADna4YXFF0pOw3XTdP3lq0G9pt9-MU/s1600/Square+Promo+Images+CC.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlFuJUvVd9AuIPIH2K9WHhqY8lcOxVTrxftc9W2iRV6glf4MfCxuqdmBNrXDFoD-fqmE_hZUjfhpKEPwyuFVOU81Ot774Ss36RYN8Tw1LFhh8XADna4YXFF0pOw3XTdP3lq0G9pt9-MU/s320/Square+Promo+Images+CC.001.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1">The work that I did with my students that first year helped to not only give my students a solid foundation of writing skills, but it also helped shape me as a teacher. It taught me that learning is not an overnight process with immediate success, but a never-ending process that contains many obstacles and even more successes. I had the necessary tools and experience to create learning opportunities that would help all my students feel successful and experience growth. I just needed to be patient and determined to do what was needed to help my students’ reach their full potential. In addition, I learned to never stop looking for that one strategy or resource that </span>could be just what you need to turn things around for your students. Throughout the years, I have continuously revised my argumentative writing units to include new strategies like the Double Entry Journal to help students research, modifying the Four Square Organizer strategy to include elements of the PEEL Writing Strategy, or having my students take more ownership by analyzing writing prompts and writing samples to create their own criteria for success.<br />
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It was through these trial and error learning experiences that I came to create my favorite product line, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom/Category/Argumentative-Writing-23526" target="_blank">the Common Core News Debate series</a>. Each performance task in this product line is filled with research-based, classroom-tested reading and writing strategies that will help students and teachers experience success throughout each task. I have included not only the differentiated resources that I have used to meet the different learning needs of my own students, but also the teacher models and resources that I used in my own classroom to demonstrate expectations and the thinking required to complete these tasks. In addition, each task focuses on a real world issue that is extremely relevant to middle and high school students. The topics range from school uniforms and homework to later school start times and video game violence. There are plenty of topics that will surely get your students excited to share their positions on these relevant issues. Another added benefit of this product line is that teachers have two types of writing compositions that they can introduce to their students: the traditional multi-paragraph essay or an argumentative letter.<br />
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<span class="s1">You can learn more specific information and see product previews for individual products in the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom/Category/Argumentative-Writing-23526" target="_blank">Common Core News Debate product line</a> by <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom/Category/Argumentative-Writing-23526" target="_blank">clicking here</a> to visit my store, The Creative Classroom on TPT. Head on over there on November 1-2 to save 20% off ALL argumentative writing products!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">While you are visiting The Creative Classroom, be sure to download your FREE copy of my newest resource, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Become-a-Writing-Expert-Analyzing-Prompts-and-Writing-Samples-2853444" target="_blank">Become a Writing Expert: Guide to Analyze Prompts and Writing Samples</a>! This classroom-tested tool will help guide students as they deconstruct their writing prompt to identify what the prompt is asking them to do and allow students to analyze strong and weak writing samples to record the characteristics of both. After students complete these two steps, they will then be able to create their own criteria for an exemplar writing response. This tool will be an immense help during Task #1 of any Common Core News Debate Units.</span><br />
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<span class="s1">Thank you for stopping by to read all about how my own classroom experience with engaging my students and helping them be successful through argumentative writing lessons helped inspire me to create "The Best of the Best" argumentative writing resources. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a TPT gift card and check out the other amazing blogs from Secondary ELA Teacher-Authors as they share their "Best of the Best"!</span></div>
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As an ELA teacher teacher, one of my favorite times of the school year is October. Not only is it the point of the year where you finally feel like you are settled in and have routines finally figured out, but it’s also the time of the year that I get to introduce my students to some of my favorite authors and spooky short stories! While my excitement always grew over thoughts of introducing a new group of students to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, W.W. Jacobs, and Ray Bradbury, a slight nervousness also crept in when I thought about how complex these texts can be for both proficient and struggling readers. What could I do to help bridge the gap and help my students to successfully navigate these stories? </div>
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<u><b>Searching For the PERFECT Audio Version...Does It Even Exist?</b></u></h3>
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<span class="s1">Obviously, I knew that I would incorporate close reading strategies to help my students tackle these stories. In my classroom, our first read was always focused on answering the question “OMG! What happened?!?” so that I could see which students got the gist of the story and which students were struggling to comprehend the big picture. In addition, the majority of the time we would listen to an audio version of the story during our first read while students had a copy of the text in front of them. I always tried to find the most interesting audio version that I could because let’s face it no one, including me, wants to listen to a monotone voice tell a story let alone one as thrilling and suspenseful as “The Cask of Amontillado” or “Monkey’s Paw”. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In September 2013 as I was preparing for my upcoming unit, I was browsing through the audiobooks on iTunes and listened to several previews that bored me to tears. It seemed like my mission to find an engaging audio version for “The Cask of Amontillado” was going to be unsuccessful until I clicked on an audiobook entitled “Nightmares on Congress Street, Part IV” by Rocky Coast Radio Theater. Within seconds of hitting play on the preview button, I knew that I had found a winner! Everything about this recording, from the intense and spooky music to the performance of the actors, was perfect. It’s like the stories that I loved so much had truly come to life. Once I purchased the file, I sat mesmerized as I listened to both “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Monkey’s Paw”. What was even better than how these actors brought these tales to life was the fact that they did not change the source material and make any major deviations from the original text. Talk about an English teacher’s dream come true!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><u><b>Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe + Rocky Coast Radio Theatre = HUGE Success</b></u></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sK1kMNVANFpIpRQaWr_YITN75zAZ_p1rXugjN3A3_upSPGVLSr5WQjU7zglUTOHQTminJ7RrSQCSX4bSgGYaaejWDiObDXcyVGSljlFiJlhFmZLTcepuVn_t4RJ_84QdQr0Nze0sTjg/s1600/halloween+blog+hop+images+.002.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sK1kMNVANFpIpRQaWr_YITN75zAZ_p1rXugjN3A3_upSPGVLSr5WQjU7zglUTOHQTminJ7RrSQCSX4bSgGYaaejWDiObDXcyVGSljlFiJlhFmZLTcepuVn_t4RJ_84QdQr0Nze0sTjg/s400/halloween+blog+hop+images+.002.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was so excited for the first day of reading “The Cask of Amontillado” and letting my students hear the radio theater audio version of the story for the first time. As it began playing and the mysterious music began playing, my students started looking around and I saw smiles already on some of their faces. By the time that we had got to out first stopping point in the story, I knew that I had found a winner. Each time I asked a question, there were tons of volunteers who wanted to answer my question or ask one of their own. Many of the students kept begging to start the story again. The level of student engagement and enthusiasm was absolutely unbelievable and it remained that way throughout the entire first read of the short story. This trend continued through every class that I taught that day and I could not wait to read through my students’ exit tickets to see their answers to “OMG! What Happened!?!”. Normally, when I shifted through the exit tickets after a first read, there was a good majority of students who were not only struggling with the big picture, but they had difficulty even piecing together small parts of the story; however, I began to notice that about half of my students were able to give me a general summary of “This guy Montressor was mad at Fortunato and decided to brick him into a wall to get back at him” or “The narrator is crazy because he killed Fortunato just because he was jealous of them”. Even my struggling readers, many of whom were my SPED students, were able to piece certain scenes together and show the smallest glimpse of comprehending this difficult text. My inclusion co-teacher and I were simply amazed by how big of a difference the radio theater audio had made in our student’s comprehension level. The excitement and progress that my students had made on day one continued throughout the entire unit. </div>
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This positive learning experience was an eye-opener to the power of engaging audio versions of literature. I set a goal for myself that no matter how long it may take me or how many different Google searches I had to do that I would do everything I could to find the most entertaining and student friendly audio files that I could. Not only would it help break up the monotony of reading the same story six times a day, but it would also motivate my students into becoming better readers. You are in luck because I'm about to share links to my favorite audio versions of some amazing short stories.</div>
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Here are just a few of my FAVORITE audio versions for some spooky short stories:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfE1mLz4TxrRN3zkusuTI2qXmQ0_B_BgFQW-G_MAUA73Uw7y3YNs2i2SM8XU54DPsAI61neLQt6lfkBkblOy1H50474AFIioMIy6rgLnXSWf6KYQWiJYWdtCqNe1muhRL-Xo8eldIfMY/s1600/halloween+blog+hop+images+.003.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfE1mLz4TxrRN3zkusuTI2qXmQ0_B_BgFQW-G_MAUA73Uw7y3YNs2i2SM8XU54DPsAI61neLQt6lfkBkblOy1H50474AFIioMIy6rgLnXSWf6KYQWiJYWdtCqNe1muhRL-Xo8eldIfMY/s320/halloween+blog+hop+images+.003.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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• <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJYwGm2nIVU" target="_blank">"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury</a></div>
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• <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9UTjtxWWn8" target="_blank">"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury</a></div>
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• <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rcoastradiopt4" target="_blank">"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe</a></div>
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• <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rcoastradiopt4" target="_blank">"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs</a></div>
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• <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rcoastradiopt5" target="_blank">"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe</a></div>
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• <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqz_LGuAdE" target="_blank">"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl</a></div>
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I hope that these audio versions help transform your short story units and engage your students!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSTrVVDsBNlk5FhoraTMg-oKngYuQKyTVeVcVmE_VHieaaeylN68m_r4SF5jo_6dLOqWGMaHbT9dmm7z5S_Kkfb_-1AP448a5i8Tm0T2SLt8bF09FNqBd85n2BYVlO0mCmUD6ULXn1EA/s1600/Collaborative+Sale+Image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSTrVVDsBNlk5FhoraTMg-oKngYuQKyTVeVcVmE_VHieaaeylN68m_r4SF5jo_6dLOqWGMaHbT9dmm7z5S_Kkfb_-1AP448a5i8Tm0T2SLt8bF09FNqBd85n2BYVlO0mCmUD6ULXn1EA/s320/Collaborative+Sale+Image.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u>Secondary ELA TPT Halloween SALE</u></h3>
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Once you've finished checking out all these awesome blog posts head on over to my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom" target="_blank">TPT store</a> to save 20% off ALL Spooky Short Story resources on October 16th and October 17th! </div>
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: none;" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't forget to check out the other Secondary ELA Teacher-Authors' blog posts to get more tips and tricks to make this Halloween the best year yet!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.inlinkz.com/new/view.php?id=668825" rel="nofollow" title="click to view in an external page.">An InLinkz Link-up</a><br />
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-37647768254444674152016-09-05T17:21:00.000-05:002016-09-06T15:25:47.272-05:00Restoring Hope: Love For Louisiana Teachers Fundraiser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8zdcKR55SQ_saNHfuI3dMMBhNLG0wOhuIEvLN3cJBn1l-rPZ2oV6a1Tdgket3rz3X3witmNHkv708NHwd9JulOTGClVewh3B16LgyGLwIvdFLIlyWNnd8k3CrNLgwnEBfy3xhVqGDto/s1600/restoring+hope+video.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8zdcKR55SQ_saNHfuI3dMMBhNLG0wOhuIEvLN3cJBn1l-rPZ2oV6a1Tdgket3rz3X3witmNHkv708NHwd9JulOTGClVewh3B16LgyGLwIvdFLIlyWNnd8k3CrNLgwnEBfy3xhVqGDto/s640/restoring+hope+video.001.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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On August 11th, 2016, a stationary weather system resulted in torrential downpours with upwards of two feet of rain that devastated several parishes across South Louisiana. The extreme amount of rainwater, close to 7.1 trillion gallons of water, caused rivers, lake, and other bodies of water to reach and exceed flood stages in the following days. In the blink of an eye, the water began rising and encroaching upon not just areas that typically flood, but the flooding waters found their way to places that had never even had the threat of flooding before. The widespread devastation of the rising water quickly destroyed countless homes, businesses, and schools.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrrj1SLvVvnrEReNIzZF-Zv0v9Opb27RqT8ig1PCrGXgu0MGJ0496XOHjUWEWTRSa28uDquhJQ6uMdCf6zRw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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As the water began to recede and people were allowed into the areas that were flooded, the full extent of the damage was visible. For many people, they lost an entire lifetime of memories and personal treasures. While the loss of personal property and people's livelihood were tragic, an equally tragic loss was the impact that the flood waters had on area schools. There are over 30 schools, both public and private, across several parishes that suffered significant water damage to their campuses. Livingston Parish alone had 15 public schools that suffered water damage with at least 8 schools that experienced extensive damage that will take months to repair. While the school buildings will have to be repaired to be safe for students and staff to return, this work will be done and funded through the individual school systems, but what can be done to help the individual teachers replace their classroom materials, personal items, and everything else that made their classrooms whole?<br />
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I'm pleased to announce that I have joined forces with an amazing group of Teacher Authors from Teachers Pay Teachers to create a fundraiser, <b><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Restoring-Hope-For-Flooded-Louisiana-Teachers" target="_blank">Restoring Hope: Love for Louisiana Teachers</a></b>. The core team behind Restoring Hope is comprised of Kristen from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teacher-Playground" target="_blank">Teacher Playground</a>, Andrea from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Andrea-Crawford-7" target="_blank">This Literacy Life</a>, Shannon from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ocd-In-First-Shanon-Juneau" target="_blank">OCD in First</a>, and Stephanie from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom" target="_blank">The Creative Classroom</a>. We came together and created the fundraiser as a way to help our fellow Louisiana teachers rise up and rebuild their classrooms. Our fundraiser has been made possible by the generous donations that we have received from 90+ TPT sellers that include high-quality products ranging from Kindergarten to High School. In total, there are six product bundles available and four donation options. The TPT store will go live on Tuesday, September 6th, 2016 and will remain open for at least 30 days. You can click the banner below to visit our store and support Louisiana teachers by buying product bundles or simply donating money to the fundraiser.</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Restoring-Hope-For-Flooded-Louisiana-Teachers" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47DgEeObevdnF6djJtrPjqkY1bUQj7QQ41MGblDbv5dX3LGUH0fg6wzaqiumJReV_uZ0YuV38_9v0o2lozDHVQBH6ED9doJPE9AEXLJWbKAd6vZWE4qcBviNTCVkGWybQ0gKoWkeJ3vk/s640/restoring+hope+video.002.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HIGH-SCHOOL-BUNDLE-2769632" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs96_4w3qlMANHDHhRTDV4eIcYr26VmcukLXGaptcH8hbiEozZI9C8qG4XvXPvaJ8wmhLcUGPjv2N4HvxolR15chab340cs8pkMVOEe-3ivIiVSOcAIUAH2cwraQREoQe1gULqKAtsGtc/s320/HS+Bundle.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/MIDDLE-SCHOOL-ELASOCIAL-STUDIES-BUNDLE-2769644" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYgZ49gShtngqrDhvJJHvzMlO3SuOB5_ULbI6RyU9af4VjUJ0HzD_QlBMGRGu15vYFI37MwzDk4IJLVvwnHqfgeoMjfiovzACl-_e6xapeh39Bm0ddDUkBPl1wPYDUsTPkeeGr8F6vhE/s320/MS+ELA+SS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/MIDDLE-SCHOOL-MATH-SCIENCE-BUNDLE-2769640" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbDWNrS20HgEYC4XuQpARSfjc4JED86TeqDPPyG5QFDVlLmT_8VesslQ8FbWDcVsv5h50uoc12rv-gd564Qegn6hZ-nreQWlt1xP-sCxIhKBwa6xP0J-rHBttcyxnuqSw61EUu0gVUkc/s320/MS+Math+and+Science.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/4th-and-5th-BUNDLE-2769648" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB1hGojiFo2pwVvl9HLC2qW8opjpZn-6iuJNVayJzfEgsYwTCP_NWoeoVF3cmZhPNFuOynZ9Fi_z0TBBgsGp_lUf5dKEfEGoe-Zk9NWA537eKnWjVbxRgU_hWdNoyauZPezWCG1jSjw0/s320/4th+and+5th+Bundle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-and-3rd-BUNDLE-2769652" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TdG8DnFfAAm10xdlbWhD6xsF5KrbrvEN3KdOoQ2sPhyiRAxyUms9f2-GJ_CY_STufQzH6spj9mqPqx8aWNdxKrhh2RksKQN9M9U_-HQQJuq2fe0GF2rv9bUhLowAOpwW8P1C-7EiiZI/s320/2nd+and+3rd+Bundle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pre-K-Kindergarten-and-1st-GRADE-BUNDLE-2769655" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVinqvi7a_3czGCalado5jdwOBkUy9gKvrOThvlaxcr7eKzr3wxX9HS4nPbHnO2lsA6BVLixFBrkdbKPVQbfXyvGNiMsWhRJnebTa8R4swKhEq-Z_zwyibSzKMBfMwdghSeX1q9HU_w9Q/s320/Slide1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/15-Donation-for-Restoring-Hope-Love-4-Louisiana-Teachers-2770070" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyV4MINsVfOJFN_Gjbh5EvNKrJJcXCkYC-7zmCZIS1tG0WkGIVP7Fu9_iA3KcT-QIqJwEa-MTAm53VEpsL-BDaZq51mdw2voeyQR3zbRV6eTdv4DksVM6HIvqRVEViLR1MFquGN-xrnSI/s320/15+Donation.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/10-Donation-for-Restoring-Hope-Love-4-Louisiana-Teachers-2770014" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_igrYPn1qWQWlPcZ9U4FBtMvcxkK1i-XhWYfDTbm2AWJlcDVGST5oz_wdYMHjC-skn-gCmsMJaaNVip2evdbpykYy14sPlMN7acxH6I-S9Ma4JS0ujC1YFPF-CGfjOAwjWFe26HRBRI/s320/10+Donation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/20-Donation-for-Restoring-Hope-Love-4-Louisiana-Teachers-2770058" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L8cNUC1SCPSIpc0SEt46FGlBr8Z2kgQmbv19dNbqCs96Fek5aA6whEILWwy-8OhA0INXDHVmahyphenhyphenestgAoktyUb2R8d7ryNrruv3Yu6IsKPbP_mxE7x6nAiuLlpxMyJBgBhhfofrnyTA/s320/20+Donation.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/25-Donation-for-Restoring-Hope-Love-4-Louisiana-Teachers-2770075" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelaEgLglxLJjCxL2r7P2_YTdZhEluRVTf11tbM0rZH8ijwfbKQclwCFABYp9RvthQQcynSTRLJWmJ8VIVlP8-6jOc-nAQPpOiieU7XMOL7LA6pbdfHxItxDMq0F2-MjIOXXzBtbfiaTk/s320/25+donation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Where will we be donating the proceeds raised from the fundraiser?</span></u></b><br />
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One of the biggest pieces of this fundraiser was trying to decide where we would donate the money we raised for Louisiana teachers to ensure that it would be fairly and equally distributed to those in need.100% of the proceeds that are made through our TPT store will be donated to the <a href="http://www.apeleducators.org/page/disasterrelief" target="_blank">Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana's Disaster Relief Fund</a>. This organization is donating 100% of all money that they receive to public and private schools teachers who lost some or all of their classroom materials due to the flooding.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IwoEDorv_TUZzTOt5ANrwEV8P6HejShO00n133_7n7BoYUGJLBs7Vt3-9jxgc31wmeXfTyFNomznmSBGnv8k_rmbfHJTi16elhbYzFiqZ5I6DJo026OV057oFyyd23RH-Aex4d3aZ1k/s1600/stephaniem-postdivider.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IwoEDorv_TUZzTOt5ANrwEV8P6HejShO00n133_7n7BoYUGJLBs7Vt3-9jxgc31wmeXfTyFNomznmSBGnv8k_rmbfHJTi16elhbYzFiqZ5I6DJo026OV057oFyyd23RH-Aex4d3aZ1k/s320/stephaniem-postdivider.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsmrMmYQ6VA4cuEmja7JcRsCC_9XFjwsnQ70eUbbtg1REcKHdSpbOgjXHACrYONlHCTjaI8gZYQK6-3WtHhV5GugzGee_H9aOnyVHTG6bDJ5-E-_Wy8KeuKVxpO761Ky0ry-lEsQ7kSo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-09-05+at+4.46.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsmrMmYQ6VA4cuEmja7JcRsCC_9XFjwsnQ70eUbbtg1REcKHdSpbOgjXHACrYONlHCTjaI8gZYQK6-3WtHhV5GugzGee_H9aOnyVHTG6bDJ5-E-_Wy8KeuKVxpO761Ky0ry-lEsQ7kSo/s640/Screen+Shot+2016-09-05+at+4.46.51+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our team knew that we wanted to say THANK YOU to all of the amazing teachers who have supported our fundraiser by purchasing a bundle or donating money. Shannon from <a href="http://www.blogsfitforaqueen.com/" target="_blank">Blogs Fit For A Queen</a> has graciously donated a FREE BLOG DESIGN. When you purchase one of the bundles from the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Restoring-Hope-For-Flooded-Louisiana-Teachers" target="_blank">Restoring Hope: Love for Louisiana Teachers TPT Store</a>, you can enter for a chance to win! All you have to do is complete the form that is attached in the product bundle or donation page by October 15th, 2016.</div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-88065679430104023422016-07-31T20:00:00.000-05:002016-07-31T20:00:21.802-05:00 Start The #BEST.YEAR.EVER with help from the TPT Secondary ELA Sellers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Can you believe that it's time for another school year to start? No matter if this is your first year or your twentieth year teaching, the Back to School rush can be chaotic and overwhelming. Let the TPT Secondary ELA Sellers help you have the #BEST.YEAR.EVER! Join us in celebrating the TPT Back to School Sale. Visit the stores below during the #BEST.YEAR.EVER! TPT Sitewide Sale to save up to 28% off of products on August 1st-2nd:<br />
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<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/-%20https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Creative Classroom</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Daring-English-Teacher" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Daring English Teacher</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Spangler-In-The-Middle" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Mrs. Spangler in the Middle</a></span></li>
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<li><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Charlene-Tess" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Charlene Tess</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lit-With-Lyns" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Lit with Lyns</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-Fresh-Ideas-For-Your-Class" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Fun, Fresh Ideas for Your Class</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Literary-Sherri" target="_blank">Literary Sherri</a></span></li>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-36846036834624648942016-07-30T19:08:00.001-05:002016-07-30T19:09:18.187-05:00Tips for the #BEST.YEAR.EVER and Giveaway from The Creative ClassroomCan you believe that it is already time for another school year to begin? It can be a time of great excitement with a little bit of chaos and overwhelming feelings, no matter how many years you have been teaching. Well, I'm here to help you jumpstart this new school year with some helpful tips and a fun giveaway to make this the #BEST.YEAR.EVER!<br />
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Enter The Creative Classroom's #BEST.YEAR.EVER Giveaway to win $10 TPT Gift Card, $10 Shopping Spree to The Creative Classroom, and a product of your choice from my store. The giveaway runs between now and ends on Monday, August 1st, 2016. Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter for your chance to win!<br />
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Stay tuned for even more ways to make this the #BEST.YEAR.EVER in the coming days! :)<br />
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-65341307586096635912016-05-22T09:00:00.000-05:002016-05-22T09:00:06.048-05:00Calming the Year End Chaos Tips for Success<div style="text-align: justify;">
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If you are like me, the end of the school year can be a chaotic and energy-draining time period. There are so many things to get done-like paperwork, end of the quarter exams, keeping your students' focused and engaged. It can seem like a circus act to juggle all of these things at once. Sometimes it feels like it will never end, but the light at the end of the tunnel is oh-so close.</div>
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The end of the year for me has always been a time for self reflection of what worked and what didn't. This was especially true when I taught Literacy Enrichment, an elective class for students who scored below average on our state ELA assessments. There was no set curriculum so I created EVERYTHING that we did in our class for 6th-8th grade. It was easy for me to determine what I thought was successful or a great lesson, but what about my students' thoughts on the lessons and activities? Sure I had asked for feedback from them here or there, but did I really give them a chance to really reflect on the things that we did and what helped THEM? I sat down that afternoon and created an End of the Year Survey for my students' to complete. (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6NU60MUtH38T0NUQVZSTVNZd0U/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here</a> to download a FREE copy of this survey!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUSHzlZqQSuxt7I3BKyoLORW0Df4ENxvRn66e5JAth3_cvoQYbS_HXyH2D1SCC4i2XlaTBjl-ED_ipfPpCTeydWAh2HrTQo5OYSD1D-jCb2sd1tNnHTkT1r_h-hWysVAZ5YYZ6wv3x_8/s1600/End+of+the+Year+Survey+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUSHzlZqQSuxt7I3BKyoLORW0Df4ENxvRn66e5JAth3_cvoQYbS_HXyH2D1SCC4i2XlaTBjl-ED_ipfPpCTeydWAh2HrTQo5OYSD1D-jCb2sd1tNnHTkT1r_h-hWysVAZ5YYZ6wv3x_8/s640/End+of+the+Year+Survey+copy.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I had my students complete this activity during one of the last weeks of school and I was amazed at their view on the things we had done and the honest feedback that many of them gave. It was so nice to read about their favorite activities or short stories that we did (it was no surprise to me that Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" were among their favorites.). </div>
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As I sat reading their comments, I began to think about how this would help me shape and revise my curriculum for the next school year. It was then that a light bulb went off in my head. If they were giving me such awesome feedback and advice, what type of advice would they give to future students who would be in their shoes next school year. Let's face it, we can give advice until we run out of things to say, but how powerful would it be for students to be the ones giving that advice on how to survive a new school year. I worked throughout the night developing a writing assignment that would allow my students' to take the life lessons that they had learned during our year together and share these experiences and advice with the future students who would be in my class. </div>
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I introduced the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Letter-to-A-Future-Student-Writing-Composition-675920" target="_blank">Letter to a Future Student Activity </a>to my classes during the final week of school. At first, they looked at me like I was crazy. Did I really expect them to write multiple paragraphs during the last week of school!?! That all changed once I explained WHY they would be writing these letters and that there was a real life purpose to this assignment. I let them know that my plan was to seal their letters in individual envelopes and that each of my new students would get one of their letters on the first day of the new school year. Even my most reluctant writers worked hard to create a multi-paragraph letter that contains tips, tricks, and helpful hints for making it through that next school year. Many of my students would call me over to check over their letters and give them some feedback. Some even asked if they could type their letters because they didn't want their messy handwriting to stop someone from being able to read their letters. I was so impressed with the level of thoughtfulness and hard work that they put in.</div>
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This was absolutely the best end of the year activity that I have ever done. I loved being able to give these letters to each new group of students, especially my new 6th graders who were terrified on that first day of their middle school experience. It helped to calm some nerves and also led to some laughs from the humorous stories that my former students had told in their letters. Below is one of my favorite letters from one of my former students:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRGf22GARO7W4oz8yPv4qOe__Q6Gsk8mwyKze1y28HqedI6C5gFbHodO5MgXSc3Z8pJ9rlabhBXs7MLh8v1XE2kT6UL6PrS5xNyctfVN-J_Majhr3Ys9gk9k59yZXyDIppB_3Tk7Gx3k/s1600/Letter+to+a+Future+Student.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRGf22GARO7W4oz8yPv4qOe__Q6Gsk8mwyKze1y28HqedI6C5gFbHodO5MgXSc3Z8pJ9rlabhBXs7MLh8v1XE2kT6UL6PrS5xNyctfVN-J_Majhr3Ys9gk9k59yZXyDIppB_3Tk7Gx3k/s640/Letter+to+a+Future+Student.001.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Without a doubt involving my students' in these two activities helped give me some valuable feedback and information to use as I worked towards planning a new school year out. It also allowed me to show my students how much I valued their thoughts and opinions. This helped cut down on the normal end of the year behaviors and helped end our year on a positive note. </div>
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I hope that you found these two tips helpful in calming the overwhelming chaos that occurs at the end of the year. The end is oh-so near so make every moment with your students count! You've got this, teachers! I hope that you have a GREAT rest of the school year, whether that be days or weeks left and that you have a restful and relaxing summer vacation! :)</div>
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More End of the Year Survival Tips</div>
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<a href="http://www.secondarysara.com/2016/05/calming-year-end-chaos-tips-for-success.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/pljones05/button_zps009c74d4.png~original" /></a>
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<a href="http://thecreativeclassroom2013.blogspot.com/2016/05/calming-year-end-chaos-tips-for-success.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-blogbutton.png" /></a>
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<a href="http://teachertalk-addie.blogspot.com/2016/05/end-of-year-calming-chaos.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l530/Adria_Williams/tpt%20logo_zpsboztawx6.png" /></a>
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-84774368003892786162016-05-02T16:36:00.000-05:002016-05-02T16:36:12.318-05:00The Creative Classroom Celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week!<div class="p1">
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<span class="s1">You work hard each and every day to teach and educate the students in your classroom. You spend countless hours planning lessons that are engaging, rigorous, and fun that also meets the diverse needs of your students. You give up afternoons, nights, and weekends to grade assignments and plan your next steps. You put in an incredible effort to not only teach your students the curriculum, but to teach them life lessons and create a learning community in your classroom. You inspire your students to be the best version of themselves and encourage them to take risks. You do all of these things with limited resources, ever-changing expectations and mandates, a ton of extra responsibilities, and many other obstacles in your way. Thank you for being there for your students. You truly make a difference each day even if you don’t always see it. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">As a way of showing my thanks to all of the AMAZING teachers out there, I am hosting a week long celebration of flash freebies on my Facebook page. Each day a different product from my store will be free for one hour. Check out the image below to see the products that will be featured each day. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHvc4gq3PVQVQsDue_eidOJmf5KHZ8sitiHi85QQMJIsXjhZgf5sDJpNDea8rQgEmLmd7G4aZqIeKjCurYbG3XNsfjPyb31S13zELLTH7RcEm_jpM5-jdv_WGnW21CuktTu7zgBQCGPI/s1600/Teacher+Appreciation+Images.002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHvc4gq3PVQVQsDue_eidOJmf5KHZ8sitiHi85QQMJIsXjhZgf5sDJpNDea8rQgEmLmd7G4aZqIeKjCurYbG3XNsfjPyb31S13zELLTH7RcEm_jpM5-jdv_WGnW21CuktTu7zgBQCGPI/s640/Teacher+Appreciation+Images.002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">The Flash Freebies will happen any time between 4:00-8:00 PM CST. I will post an announcement with the product being offered and the link to grab your copy. Be sure that you are following my Facebook page and have your notifications turned on so that you get the notifications for the Flash Freebie. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrI8Xam4kUoEF2x8rX2P3zEOSpcdwKI411BEM64Cee2UXnFyoxPJ9tBYVhukSlTIBUn_344kiOJt_pbZBZYGSRXPLXzjDrubXb6Bw_mj4OdI-iWIw-jVmIHRJL-kjaKHzHceWO3uM5LWU/s1600/Creative+Classroom+Promo+Images.006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrI8Xam4kUoEF2x8rX2P3zEOSpcdwKI411BEM64Cee2UXnFyoxPJ9tBYVhukSlTIBUn_344kiOJt_pbZBZYGSRXPLXzjDrubXb6Bw_mj4OdI-iWIw-jVmIHRJL-kjaKHzHceWO3uM5LWU/s640/Creative+Classroom+Promo+Images.006.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">In addition to the Flash Freebies, I will be hosting a giveaway where one winner will win a custom hand painted pencil from Creative Spice Designs. This pencil will be hand painted with either a quote, saying, or your name. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for your chance to win. There are multiple ways that you can earn entries.The giveaway winner will be announced on Saturday, May 7th.</span></div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="fc5429b120" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fc5429b120/" id="rcwidget_eqqcdbag" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheaSWupVGJ7nfO7Drq4eGTBlixpoESP1R08xtuJ5DpOE7LfJbOOvyCmfffSGEDgEtJTzmxNH53dhFVql9SUZGmUu7LACCfgE7tw3wyjaowLXHF905Q1IX9Lx1taXi96CluPPE95Qc6I6A/s1600/Creative+Classroom+Promo+Images.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheaSWupVGJ7nfO7Drq4eGTBlixpoESP1R08xtuJ5DpOE7LfJbOOvyCmfffSGEDgEtJTzmxNH53dhFVql9SUZGmUu7LACCfgE7tw3wyjaowLXHF905Q1IX9Lx1taXi96CluPPE95Qc6I6A/s400/Creative+Classroom+Promo+Images.001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">The final way that I will be celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week is by participating the TPT Site Wide Sale on May 2nd-3rd. All of my products will be 28% off during this sale. All you have to do is fill up your cart and use the promo code CELEBRATE when you check-out. This is a great time to stock up on bundles and End of the Year Products. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Click here to start shopping -> https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, y'all! </span></div>
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-54833232018826204152016-02-29T08:00:00.000-06:002016-02-29T08:00:08.612-06:00The Creative Classroom Leaps into Literature<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajaJ4WaoRD5bezn7nYQ_5P_E9WhgYuuLQHcf6AfZBOd1sbNYWT28DZKqPYaTDs_qWmn769U8ohmP2JLwS6OX6dQvECE76d2cgni0z4PTKHG5oYyeOzRkNpFOKZVfWDZQ3cM1evaXxgss/s1600/leapin-pin02.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Looking for new ways to engage your students in literature, especially with classics that might seem old and outdated? In this secondary English Language Arts blog hop, the Literary League showcases resources that can be used with any literary text, time after time, year after year." border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajaJ4WaoRD5bezn7nYQ_5P_E9WhgYuuLQHcf6AfZBOd1sbNYWT28DZKqPYaTDs_qWmn769U8ohmP2JLwS6OX6dQvECE76d2cgni0z4PTKHG5oYyeOzRkNpFOKZVfWDZQ3cM1evaXxgss/s400/leapin-pin02.png" title="Looking for new ways to engage your students in literature, especially with classics that might seem old and outdated? In this secondary English Language Arts blog hop, the Literary League showcases resources that can be used with any literary text, time after time, year after year." width="220" /></a></div>
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Here at the Literary League, we’re a group of English teachers who truly love literature (we bet you already figured that part out). Given free time, we can all agree that there’s nothing better than leaping into a good book. But, even as avid readers, we have to admit that those spare minutes tend to be few and far between, especially during the school year, and there are times that we just have to …</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">leap into a book recommended by a friend, a colleague, or especially a student, who is anxiously awaiting our review</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">leap into a new novel we’re teaching, whether or not we’ve had time to fully prepare a complete unit</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">leap into a classic, maybe not one of our favorites, but something we know students need to sit with in order to grow as a reader</li>
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For those instances, the Literary League is teaming up to share some of our favorite resources to help you Leap into Literature. These are resources that are not tied to a particular book, but ones that can be used over and over again, both with your favorite novels, as well as with new texts or classic pieces you’re trying to breathe new life into.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTutv9FM68mJh6dRnypWlG-eCSSQBKsRoF8daOX_nlZkbn9D0ThOxIfHYn4gPT36sfQeY1jA7ZUnayaoGAuxLd8o5mZ_9sKiHpT9-FPcQb7EIUXOEe36T30CLwkMjecE1x9_qw6rDYaw/s1600/Short+Story+Task+Cards.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTutv9FM68mJh6dRnypWlG-eCSSQBKsRoF8daOX_nlZkbn9D0ThOxIfHYn4gPT36sfQeY1jA7ZUnayaoGAuxLd8o5mZ_9sKiHpT9-FPcQb7EIUXOEe36T30CLwkMjecE1x9_qw6rDYaw/s400/Short+Story+Task+Cards.001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A favorite resource I use to engage my students in literature is my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holy-Task-Cards-28-Tasks-for-Any-Short-Story-760916" target="_blank">Holy Task Cards! 28 Tasks for any Short Story</a>. These task cards offer a variety of ways to get my students interacting with fiction texts. I love that they offer choice and a different approach for students to show their understanding of the story. Not only can students demonstrate mastery of story elements and Common Core standards, but they are also able to write creative writing compositions and create real world projects. </div>
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One of my students' favorite tasks is Task #22- Comic Book, where students are able to turn the short story they have just read into a comic book. This requires students to really understand the setting and important plot points to be able to transform the story off the page. It is always amazing to see how the students bring the words to life through colorful and interesting illustrations. This is a great way to get your artistic students excited about literature.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8O3xdpAIZnfJVQzpz_ybKG9fWRrTt6XPqFwPExQyHxFymvVEASo6nK3CY_lpD4vT8U0_b-G2xe88PeoSLrB9E4wMNz5_XxVm1Y2dOmNbwemkeOyo-z7AYVjgcPv5cnqSSvTBDnF_fjC4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-02-27+at+2.52.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8O3xdpAIZnfJVQzpz_ybKG9fWRrTt6XPqFwPExQyHxFymvVEASo6nK3CY_lpD4vT8U0_b-G2xe88PeoSLrB9E4wMNz5_XxVm1Y2dOmNbwemkeOyo-z7AYVjgcPv5cnqSSvTBDnF_fjC4/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-02-27+at+2.52.18+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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My personal favorite task is Task #2- Rewrite. This task requires students to rewrite the ending to the story or continue from where the story ended. This works best with stories that have sudden or cliffhanger endings like "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe or "Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. It is always so interesting to see what the students think happened to the characters next. The best part is that this assignment requires students to use what they have learned from the text and make inferences on where the story goes.</div>
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You can read about other engaging literature resources from the other Literary Leaguers linked up below and also enter in the rafflecopter below for a chance to win them all.</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="56c6b3c118" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/56c6b3c118/" id="rcwidget_ykfnq0pz" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<a href="http://www.inlinkz.com/new/view.php?id=607099" rel="nofollow" title="click to view in an external page.">An InLinkz Link-up</a></div>
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-52922686665858526652015-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:002015-12-12T08:00:00.377-06:00The Literary League 12 Days of Giving Freebie Round`Up & Sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2t62ve08xSgz1_1PS7y1_svGZAFSw9D-mfcLssF90M0kd1TjAeT7RJxlxIQJmzFCZ0qpGdYDwVHLp6d3xDJYW_aMCv5xV864DiUf1M86FeKPKGiQ_HtP6_qBALc4TbalQuLxo1s4pA/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate." border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2t62ve08xSgz1_1PS7y1_svGZAFSw9D-mfcLssF90M0kd1TjAeT7RJxlxIQJmzFCZ0qpGdYDwVHLp6d3xDJYW_aMCv5xV864DiUf1M86FeKPKGiQ_HtP6_qBALc4TbalQuLxo1s4pA/s640/Slide1.jpg" title="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate." width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Thanks so much
for the overwhelming response to the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">12 Days of Giving<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">hosted by the Literary
League! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">To celebrate the
season and our favorite fellow teachers (that’s you!), we’re all having a <u>sale</u>
in our TpT shops today, Saturday, December 12th and tomorrow, Sunday, December 13th. That’s right! Pop over to each of our shops and
you’ll find all of our resources at 20% off!</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Making-Meaning-With-Melissa"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Making Meaning with Melissa</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Creative Classroom</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nouvelle"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Novelle</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brynn-Allison"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Brynn Allison - The
Literary Maven</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Perfettowritingroom"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Perfetto Writing Room</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Literary-Sherri"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Literary Sherri</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Spangler-In-The-Middle"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Mrs. Spangler in the Middle</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Classroom-Sparrow"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Classroom Sparrow</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/2peasandadog"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">2 Peas and a Dog</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Secondary-Sara"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Secondary Sara</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Brain Waves Instruction</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Daring-English-Teacher"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Daring English Teacher</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Room-213"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Room 213</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lWZ8Ok2lx_8B6HiGFElrIUxjv7lkslhCgCKKkq0iGQMHLamzmt2WmxOLejjv7ckYNZOkpsRuBLVS-nWnmQrGypV-c9U7soMtd-eZy0AjWnGn69pFs2tk40vJ8qmDXLBUn5co0bnr9Jo/s1600/Slide3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate." border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lWZ8Ok2lx_8B6HiGFElrIUxjv7lkslhCgCKKkq0iGQMHLamzmt2WmxOLejjv7ckYNZOkpsRuBLVS-nWnmQrGypV-c9U7soMtd-eZy0AjWnGn69pFs2tk40vJ8qmDXLBUn5co0bnr9Jo/s640/Slide3.jpg" title="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate." width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Oh, and if you
haven't entered for a chance to win the Teachers Pay Teacher gift card, you can
do so below. Today is the last day to enter!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="56c6b3c116" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/56c6b3c116/" id="rcwidget_6thg5ufu" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Just in case you
missed one of the featured freebies, click the links below.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Making Meaning
with Melissa -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thank-You-Mam-Mini-Unit-Emergency-Sub-Plan-Middle-High-School-2059196"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">"Thank You, M'am"
Mini-Unit - Emergency Sub Plans</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Creative
Classroom -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Column-Notes-Organizer-Identifying-Main-Ideas-and-Supporting-Details-1219996"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Two Column Notes Organizer</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Nouvelle -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ELA-Vocabulary-Poster-Project-Bundle-2207628"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">ELA Vocabulary Poster
Project Bundle</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Brynn Allison -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Discuss-Debate-Write-Texting-Ethics-Topic-for-Grades-6-12-1712779"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Discuss, Debate, Write:
Texting and Ethics Topics</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Perfetto Writing
Room -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.teacherspayteachers\.com\/Product\/FREEBIE-Steadfast-Tin-Soldier-Essay-Samples-for-Critical-Comparison-Gr-6-12-2218706\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-Steadfast-Tin-Soldier-Essay-Samples-for-Critical-Comparison-Gr-6-12-2218706" target="_blank">SteadfastTin Soldier</a></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Literary Sherri
- Winter Poems -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Poems-Poetry-Analysis-Grades-6-7-8-1662092"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Poetry Analysis</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Mrs. Spangler in
the Middle -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Christmas-Carol-ZAP-game-to-review-plot-2207305"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Christmas Zap Game</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Classroom
Sparrow -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Winter-HolidayChristmas-Essay-Outline-1556956"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Holiday Essay Outline</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">2 Peas and a Dog
-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Writing-Prompts-2208640"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Christmas Writing Prompts</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Brain Waves
Instruction -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.teacherspayteachers\.com\/Product\/End-of-the-Year-Activity-Personal-Reflection-and-Infographic-1540701\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-the-Year-Activity-Personal-Reflection-and-Infographic-1540701" target="_blank">Endof Year Reflection and Infographic</a></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Secondary Sara -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Years-FREE-Writing-Activity-12-Prompts-to-Count-Down-to-Midnight-1556543"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">New Year's Countdown Writing
Prompts</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Room 213 -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.teacherspayteachers\.com\/Product\/Christmas-Coffee-House-Freebie-1535652\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Coffee-House-Freebie-1535652" target="_blank">Christmas Coffee House</a></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">The Daring
English Teacher -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \0022https\:\/\/www\.teacherspayteachers\.com\/Product\/Winter-Themed-Grammar-Worksheets-1610937\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Themed-Grammar-Worksheets-1610937" target="_blank">WinterThemed Grammar Worksheets</a></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">From all of us
Literary Leaguers, wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!</span></div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-14381835234739398082015-12-10T04:00:00.000-06:002015-12-10T04:00:06.442-06:00The Literary League's 12 Days of Giving: Day 10<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2t62ve08xSgz1_1PS7y1_svGZAFSw9D-mfcLssF90M0kd1TjAeT7RJxlxIQJmzFCZ0qpGdYDwVHLp6d3xDJYW_aMCv5xV864DiUf1M86FeKPKGiQ_HtP6_qBALc4TbalQuLxo1s4pA/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2t62ve08xSgz1_1PS7y1_svGZAFSw9D-mfcLssF90M0kd1TjAeT7RJxlxIQJmzFCZ0qpGdYDwVHLp6d3xDJYW_aMCv5xV864DiUf1M86FeKPKGiQ_HtP6_qBALc4TbalQuLxo1s4pA/s640/Slide1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Welcome to Day 10 of the Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop! We know that the holiday season is busy for both teachers and students, and it never seems to slow down after that. To help you make it through the rest of the year, you need a stock pile of lessons that can be easily implemented at any time. Today you'll find a resource that you can use any time of year in your classroom.<br />
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<b>From <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom" target="_blank">The Creative Classroom</a>: <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Column-Notes-Organizer-Identifying-Main-Ideas-and-Supporting-Details-1219996" target="_blank">Two Column Notes Organizer: Identifying Main Ideas and Supporting Details</a></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Column-Notes-Organizer-Identifying-Main-Ideas-and-Supporting-Details-1219996" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9vzKJyyrABGKCgTqywDGSzZeD96l-nT_poQnbatcnjjS75mAKBR3m8_S-cPwfqJ3LZdg7ChQ4QNRkDJPu-TG2Pi57BxRFUUZLvK-lNx4FdRs6OgE5G8u2dd4OytWe71qrfMFHJ49zD4/s320/Stephanie+The+Creative+Classroom.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Two Column Notes Organizer was a game changer in my classroom! My students struggled to identify the relevant text evidence in both fiction and nonfiction texts. Many didn’t know where to begin or how to figure out what the main points of the text were. The Two Column Notes Organizer allowed me to create a simple way for my students, especially my struggling readers, to interact with complex texts. One of the most critical attributes of this organizer is chunking whatever text you are reading into smaller and more manageable sections of text. This allowed my struggling readers to focus on only a small section of the text at a time instead of the entire text. In addition, this also allowed me to create a focused guiding question that would help students have a clear purpose for reading each section of text. I saw better annotations, stronger written answers, and deeper student understanding after the first time that I implemented this strategy into my classroom! This strategy has been an essential component of my classroom instruction since that day. If you are looking for a simple yet effective close reading strategy that produces student growth, then the Two Column Notes Organizer is definitely for you!</div>
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And if you haven't already, enter to win the Teachers Pay Teachers gift certificate below. The winner will be notified on December 13th.<br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="56c6b3c116" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/56c6b3c116/" id="rcwidget_6thg5ufu" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Visit <a href="http://www.makingmeaningwithmelissa.com/" target="_blank">Making Meaning With Melissa</a> tomorrow for Day 11 of the Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop. Look for a special surprise coming on Day 12!</div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-37876348116423148452015-12-01T08:00:00.000-06:002015-12-01T08:00:08.304-06:00The Literary League Kicks Off 12 Days of Giving for Secondary ELA Teachers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2t62ve08xSgz1_1PS7y1_svGZAFSw9D-mfcLssF90M0kd1TjAeT7RJxlxIQJmzFCZ0qpGdYDwVHLp6d3xDJYW_aMCv5xV864DiUf1M86FeKPKGiQ_HtP6_qBALc4TbalQuLxo1s4pA/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate. Enter December 1st - December 12th." border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2t62ve08xSgz1_1PS7y1_svGZAFSw9D-mfcLssF90M0kd1TjAeT7RJxlxIQJmzFCZ0qpGdYDwVHLp6d3xDJYW_aMCv5xV864DiUf1M86FeKPKGiQ_HtP6_qBALc4TbalQuLxo1s4pA/s640/Slide1.jpg" title="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate. Enter December 1st - December 12th." width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Literary Leaguers are in the
holiday spirit and we’re hosting </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">12 Days of Giving! </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We’re super excited to share
some of our favorite freebies (both seasonal and all-year-round resources) with
you and give you the chance to win a Teachers Pay Teachers gift
certificate! The 12 Days of Giving runs
Tuesday, December 1<sup>st</sup> – Saturday, December 12<sup>th</sup>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aCyFjp-4idvdpKOUUYq_v5FFyfrQgDJPpOvjJCtmsRL6e5eVOVJhMEX1zozbSfYwqKBHgDJ12sC9So7uSYbZouUI19uyTLfvJn2wnrYkK8aYH-NTahMaymRoTxOs7K3ug5i0cL0zjYA/s1600/Slide3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate. Enter December 1st - December 12th." border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aCyFjp-4idvdpKOUUYq_v5FFyfrQgDJPpOvjJCtmsRL6e5eVOVJhMEX1zozbSfYwqKBHgDJ12sC9So7uSYbZouUI19uyTLfvJn2wnrYkK8aYH-NTahMaymRoTxOs7K3ug5i0cL0zjYA/s640/Slide3.jpg" title="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate. Enter December 1st - December 12th." width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Here’s how it works…</b><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Day 1 of Giving</b>: Enter to win
the Teachers Pay Teachers gift certificate at any of the participating Literary Leaguers’
blogs.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Days 2-11 of Giving:</b> Stop by each of these blogs for links to favorite English Language Arts freebies. <i>Hint: Follow each of the blogs via email or <a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/" target="_blank">Bloglovin'</a> so that you don't miss out on the updates. You can even get the Bloglovin' app for your phone and read all your favorite bloggers in one feed!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMjjmXB3WYNZqp-UcvPeAzB0ybsH3Grzjrb928F3L4aqNdQCLuKGWl7tEqMK35VYVdOICZOkdG0REsnqJrBTQjBwCacSn0SvqC2Kp3e6QTYQJWhFYNo3OOdPgG5iJoSBHXV03MTzqaks/s1600/12+days+pinterest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate. Enter December 1st - December 12th." border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMjjmXB3WYNZqp-UcvPeAzB0ybsH3Grzjrb928F3L4aqNdQCLuKGWl7tEqMK35VYVdOICZOkdG0REsnqJrBTQjBwCacSn0SvqC2Kp3e6QTYQJWhFYNo3OOdPgG5iJoSBHXV03MTzqaks/s400/12+days+pinterest.jpg" title="The Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas includes 12+ seasonal and year round freebies for secondary English Language Arts teachers and a giveaway for a TPT gift certificate. Enter December 1st - December 12th." width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 2 - <a href="http://reallearningroom213.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Room 213</a> and <a href="http://thedaringenglishteacher.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Daring English Teacher</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 3 - <a href="http://brainwavesinstruction.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Brain Waves Instruction</a> and <a href="http://secondarysara.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Secondary Sara</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 4 - <a href="http://www.2peasandadog.com/" target="_blank">2 Peas and a Dog</a> and <a href="http://theclassroomsparrow.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">The Classroom Sparrow</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 5 - <a href="http://mrsspanglerinthemiddle.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. Spangler in the Middle</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 6 - <a href="http://www.literarysherri.com/" target="_blank">Literary Sherri</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 7 - <a href="http://perfettowritingroom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Perfetto Writing Room</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 8 - <a href="http://brynnallison.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Literary Maven</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 9 - <a href="http://teachnouvelle.com/" target="_blank">Novelle</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 10 - <a href="http://thecreativeclassroom2013.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Creative Classroom</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Day 11 - <a href="http://www.makingmeaningwithmelissa.com/" target="_blank">Making Meaning With Melissa</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We have a
feeling that you’ll love the seasonal and all-year-round resources! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Day 12 of Giving:</b> We have
something fun in the works for you on the 12<sup>th</sup> Day of Giving! Stop back at any of the participating blogs on December 12th to find out what we have in store for you!</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Get started...</b></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Enter to win the Teachers Pay Teachers gift certificate below. The winner will be notified on December 13th.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="56c6b3c116" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/56c6b3c116/" id="rcwidget_6thg5ufu" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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</br><img src='http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png' style='border: none; background: transparent;'/> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-55022564819719007452015-08-31T10:00:00.000-05:002015-08-31T10:00:02.314-05:00The Literary League's Back 2 School Give-Away<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76M1O8P05HyyxPO0zq6uCPKNyNoh25MWfSnB-Xansd1jWMfvk3QZzhhcgouzzGM9bmHRB9kt6t6ai6fQ2JTcQPptcoSNDwwxbkuQTd99Cmsoa5FAozocSW-jVVVkkO8cobxmXmfkiLRo/s1600/B2S+Give+Away+Image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League, a group of exceptional secondary English Language Arts teachers, is hosting a Back to School Give-Away. Enter to win a choice of gift cards, middle school and high school ELA resource bundles, and shopping sprees to middle and high school ELA TPT stores." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76M1O8P05HyyxPO0zq6uCPKNyNoh25MWfSnB-Xansd1jWMfvk3QZzhhcgouzzGM9bmHRB9kt6t6ai6fQ2JTcQPptcoSNDwwxbkuQTd99Cmsoa5FAozocSW-jVVVkkO8cobxmXmfkiLRo/s640/B2S+Give+Away+Image.png" title="The Literary League, a group of exceptional secondary English Language Arts teachers, is hosting a Back to School Give-Away. Enter to win a choice of gift cards, middle school and high school ELA resource bundles, and shopping sprees to middle and high school ELA TPT stores." width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>By the time I grab my books and I give
myself a look I'm at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by. It's
alright’ cause I'm saved by</i> The Literary League! That’s right, we are at it
again! It’s one of the biggest back-to-school give-aways courtesy of some of
your favorite ELA sellers. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We’re teachers too, so we know that feeling of going
back to school. Cure those back to
school blues by entering this HUGE give-away. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -24px;">Not only multiple prize packs, but also multiple winners!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">The give-away will
run Monday 8/31 to Monday 9/14. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">You’ll see some familiar and maybe even some new
faces, so follow our stores and our social media accounts, and stay updated
with what’s new! </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -24px;">Winners will be announced Tuesday 9/15.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -24px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhMHcaM83JGveXjLq-2T7g1xA6mm1oTNlsXszbUuk3GrTrVUyBuoLHC7q05zf7kkC48ViipwFzbZNH8TWQmR70QRcTROWtMhoHz16Zl7sfs5JgIjKAavqk8JOyKlVUeuFnhn2Gns-q10/s1600/SCULPTURE+%2526+ART.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Literary League, a group of exceptional secondary English Language Arts teachers, is hosting a Back to School Give-Away. Enter to win a choice of gift cards, middle school and high school ELA resource bundles, and shopping sprees to middle and high school ELA TPT stores." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhMHcaM83JGveXjLq-2T7g1xA6mm1oTNlsXszbUuk3GrTrVUyBuoLHC7q05zf7kkC48ViipwFzbZNH8TWQmR70QRcTROWtMhoHz16Zl7sfs5JgIjKAavqk8JOyKlVUeuFnhn2Gns-q10/s320/SCULPTURE+%2526+ART.jpg" title="The Literary League, a group of exceptional secondary English Language Arts teachers, is hosting a Back to School Give-Away. Enter to win a choice of gift cards, middle school and high school ELA resource bundles, and shopping sprees to middle and high school ELA TPT stores." width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -24px;"><br /></span></div>
<b>Prize # 1: Gift Card of Choice</b><br />
Win a $50 gift card to Teachers Pay Teachers, Amazon, Staples or Target.<br />
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="dc4856926" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dc4856926/" id="rcwidget_cutrmtwb" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<b>Prize #2: Middle School Resources</b><br />
Win all of the resources listed below for your middle school ELA classroom.</div>
<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/12-Genre-Book-Reports-467917">12
Genre Book Reports</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holy-Task-Cards-4-Fiction-and-Non-Fiction-Task-Cards-Bundle-1135955">Holy
Task Cards! 4- Fiction and Non-Fiction Task Cards Bundle</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Tools-for-Positive-Behavior-Management-in-Middle-School-436928">Tools
for Positive Behavior Management</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Write-like-the-PROS-Essay-acronym-anchor-chart-system-flipbook-1566860">Write
Like the PROS! Essay Anchor System + Flipbook</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Test-and-Study-Tips-Dont-Flip-Flip-Book-Bundle-1684503">Test
and Study Tips Don't Flip! Flip Book Bundle</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Expository-Writing-Prompts-Grade-6-8-STAAR-and-CC-aligned-338034">Expository
Writing Prompts Grade 6-8</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Biography-Writing-Unit-1966904">Biography
Writing Unit</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Figurative-Language-Bundle-1185239">Figurative
Language Bundle</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WRITING-Persuasive-Narrative-Expository-Descriptive-Writing-Activities-142346">Writing
Pack</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-Literary-Analysis-Mini-Book-Common-Core-1151353">Literary
Element Analysis Mini-Book</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Point-of-View-Hands-On-Interactive-Notebook-1577981">Point
of View {Hands-On Interactive Notebook}</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Independent-Reading-Book-of-the-Month-for-Middle-School-Grades-6-8-1077310">Book
of the Month Independent Reading Program</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Theme-in-a-Snap-1997898">Theme
in a Snap!</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Reading-Literature-Notebooks-2-ALL-NEW-Add-On-Pack-for-Grades-5-9-2005805">New
Interactive Reading Literature Notebook 2</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="dc4856924" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dc4856924/" id="rcwidget_r4sw91xw" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<b>Prize #3: High School Resources</b><br />
Win all of the resources listed below for your high school ELA classroom.<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Close-Reading-Guide-Your-Students-Through-the-Process-1065709">Close
Reading: Guide Your Students Through the Process</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/English-Language-Arts-Interactive-Notebook-BUNDLE-flash-cards-notes-quizzes-1601015">Interactive
Notebook Bundle</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhetoric-The-Art-of-Persuasion-Unit-1192097">Rhetoric:
The Art of Persuasion</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Common-Core-Literature-Bell-Ringers-for-Secondary-English-BUNDLE-entire-year-1973725">Common
Core Literature Bell Ringers for Secondary English</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Found-Poetry-Packet-1159029">Found
Poetry Packet</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Introduction-to-Close-Reading-for-Middle-and-High-School-Model-Practice-1446388">Introduction
to Close Reading for Middle and High School - Model and Practice</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Critical-Thinking-What-is-Textual-Analysis-2-THE-REPUBLIC-Philosophy-771035">Critical
Thinking: What is Textual Analysis #2</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fiction-and-Nonfiction-Test-Passages-304890">Fiction
and Nonfiction Test Passages</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Short-Story-Starters-Task-Cards-Aligned-with-the-CCSS-for-grades-5-12-748200">Short
Story Starters Task Cards</a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="dc4856923" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dc4856923/" id="rcwidget_n7fkxpd5" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<b>Prize # 4: Middle School TpT Store Shopping Spree </b><br />
Win a $10 shopping spree to one of the TpT Stores listed below.<br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/2peasandadog">2 Peas and a Dog</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom">The Creative Classroom</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Literary-Sherri">Literary Sherri</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Spangler-In-The-Middle">Mrs. Spangler in the Middle</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Darlene-Anne">Darlene Anne</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fisher-Reyna-Education">Fisher Reyna Education</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction">Brain Waves Instruction</a><br />
<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Stacey-Lloyd-8481">Stacey Lloyd</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/James-Whitaker">James Whitaker's Sophist Thoughts</a><br />
<span data-sheets-userformat="[null,null,513,[null,0],null,null,null,null,null,null,null,null,0]" data-sheets-value="[null,2,"James Whitaker's SophistThoughts"]"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Created-By-Mrhughes">Created by MrHughes</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ela-Everyday">ELA Everyday</a><br />
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="dc4856925" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dc4856925/" id="rcwidget_ow0g1klq" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<b>Prize #5: High School TpT Store Shopping Spree </b><br />
Win a $10 shopping spree to one of the TpT Stores listed below.<br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Room-213">Room 213</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Daring-English-Teacher">The Daring English Teacher</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nouvelle">Nouvelle</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Making-Meaning-With-Melissa">Making Meaning with Melissa</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Linda-Jennifer">Linda Jennifer</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brynn-Allison">Brynn Allison</a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Juggling-Ela">Juggling ELA</a><br />
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="dc4856923" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dc4856923/" id="rcwidget_wp5odbet" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
</div>
<br />
<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-61495879510889402382015-08-02T20:00:00.000-05:002015-08-02T20:00:01.149-05:00Guess What Time It Is?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">We love back to school time here in secondary! Join us to celebrate with the TpT Sale, August 3rd - 4th and get those lessons you need for up to 28% off! Check out the top secondary teachers below for some great deals on top lesssons!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-Space-To-Create">A Space to Create</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Classroom-Sparrow">The Classroom Sparrow</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Room-213">Room 213</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Darlene-Anne">Darlene Anne’s ELA Buffet</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Danielle-Knight">Danielle Knight (Study All Knight)</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Michele-Lucks-Social-Studies">Michele Luck's Social Studies</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teachingfsl">Teaching FSL</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Juggling-Ela">Juggling ELA</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Making-It-Teacher" target="_blank">Making It Teacher</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/James-Whitaker">James Whitaker's SophistThoughts</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Created-By-Mrhughes">Created by MrHughes</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Leah-Cleary">Leah Cleary</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Addie-Williams">Addie Williams</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Missmathdork">MissMathDork</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom" target="_blank">The Creative Classroom</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Brosseaus-Binder">Mrs. Brosseau's Binder</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Pamela-Kranz">Pamela Kranz</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Getting-Nerdy-With-Mel-And-Gerdy">Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ela-Everyday">ELA Everyday</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kesler-Science/">Kesler Science</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Live-Love-Math">Live Love Math</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Classroom-Sparrow" target="_blank">The Classroom Sparrow</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lizs-Lessons" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Liz's Lessons</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/For-The-Love-Of-Teaching-Math" target="_blank">For the Love of Teaching Math</a></span><br />
<a href="http://ramblingsofa5thgradeteacher.blogspot.com/?m=1" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://ramblingsofa5thgradeteacher.blogspot.com/?m=1" target="_blank">ELA Everyday</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/From-Chopsticks-To-Mason-Jars" target="_blank">Chopsticks to Mason Jars</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Connie" target="_blank">Connie</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Charlene-Tess" target="_blank">Charlene Tess</a></span><br />
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-59748072111912102232015-08-02T19:00:00.000-05:002015-08-02T19:00:12.431-05:00The Literary League Celebrates the TPT Back to School Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlsl0pDdpbpXLeUBM4JdKj9HKEA64_nNLqksTvbmdh2oLCZBdcALS8d1q12WEhtVwVZT2Ah5q6zGRCANMrLp975n8kb9VBrNjhD0nyKZFFxZoLMDMX0D_w1_vyRmSM8q2lnMu5ZiXr9k/s1600/11703373_10207537669382560_57594673007724074_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlsl0pDdpbpXLeUBM4JdKj9HKEA64_nNLqksTvbmdh2oLCZBdcALS8d1q12WEhtVwVZT2Ah5q6zGRCANMrLp975n8kb9VBrNjhD0nyKZFFxZoLMDMX0D_w1_vyRmSM8q2lnMu5ZiXr9k/s640/11703373_10207537669382560_57594673007724074_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ready or not, here they come! It's time for another school year to start, but don't worry. The Literary League has got you covered! Join us in celebrating the TPT Back to School Sale on August 3rd and 4th. You can save up to 28% off the amazing resources and products in our stores. All you have to do is stock your cart and use the promo code: BTS15!</div>
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Use the links below to visit the members of The Literary League:<br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Danielle-Knight">Danielle Knight (Study All
Knight)</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Darlene-Anne"><span style="color: black;">Darlene Anne- ELA
Buffet</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Spangler-In-The-Middle"><span style="color: black;">Mrs. Spangler
in the Middle</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Created-By-Mrhughes"><span style="color: black;">Created by
MrHughes</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Classroom-Sparrow"><span style="color: black;">The Classroom
Sparrow</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Daring-English-Teacher"><span style="color: black;">The Daring
English Teacher</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ela-Everyday"><span style="color: black;">ELA Everyday</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Juggling-Ela"><span style="color: black;">Juggling ELA</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nouvelle"><span style="color: black;">Nouvelle</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Literary-Sherri"><span style="color: black;">Literary
Sherri</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Making-Meaning-With-Melissa"><span style="color: black;">Making
Meaning with Melissa</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/2peasandadog"><span style="color: black;">2
Peas and a Dog</span></a> </span><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Secondary-Solutions-Simply-Novel"><span style="color: black;">Secondary Solutions-Simply Novel</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Addie-Williams"><span style="color: black;">Addie
Williams</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Linda-Jennifer"><span style="color: black;">Linda Jennifer</span></a> </span><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/FisherReyna-Education"><span style="color: black;">Fisher Reyna
Education</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Creative-Classroom"><span style="color: black;">The Creative
Classroom</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Stacey-Lloyd-8481"><span style="color: black;">Stacey
Lloyd</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Room-213"><span style="color: black;">Room 213</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brynn-Allison"><span style="color: black;">Brynn Allison</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Open-Classroom"><span style="color: black;">Open
Classroom</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Perfettowritingroom"><span style="color: black;">Perfetto Writing
Room</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Secondary-Sara"><span style="color: black;">Secondary
Sara</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tracee-Orman"><span style="color: black;">Tracee
Orman</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/James-Whitaker"><span style="color: black;">James
Whitaker</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Superhero-Teacher"><span style="color: black;">The Superhero
Teacher</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Created-For-Learning"><span style="color: black;">Created for
Learning</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brain-Waves-Instruction">Brain Waves
Instruction</a></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAza5rO6_oWV0qCf9ahyphenhyphen3_BrrieizdcDmTTgYoq3waMhQwW8wcl-irn1SwOcvOOpIhKTJ2SpQ-6vTxZx9ZPQdcvCkQGldgKKqijos0EXA79zLU6QXwgQ-JpFSC2LVm3lClkEssa8wZ9n4/s1600/Back+to+School+Quote+Box+.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAza5rO6_oWV0qCf9ahyphenhyphen3_BrrieizdcDmTTgYoq3waMhQwW8wcl-irn1SwOcvOOpIhKTJ2SpQ-6vTxZx9ZPQdcvCkQGldgKKqijos0EXA79zLU6QXwgQ-JpFSC2LVm3lClkEssa8wZ9n4/s640/Back+to+School+Quote+Box+.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /> ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-63151745972186932532015-08-02T07:00:00.000-05:002015-08-02T07:00:02.253-05:00TPT Back to School Giveaway!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've joined up with over 100 AMAZING TPT Sellers for the TPT Back to School Giveaway that begins today! Head on over to <a href="http://languageartsclassroom.com/2015/07/secondary-back-to-school-giveaway-2015.html%20%E2%80%8E" target="_blank">The Language Arts Classroom's blog</a> for your chance to win one of several different prize packs that contain some of the very best products that TPT has to offer!</div>
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The giveaway runs from Sunday, August 2nd-Saturday, August 8th. The winner will be announced on Sunday, August 9th! Don't miss out on your chance to win!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrpvwOzLUlrkAvsNKIT6Pn8kVPiYUSMOqLtpaeuYknOaqsnQWUUz7WJck3zhqUaZ0d7nXyFTCtPhoZ7GAQCVo-LAdTKLHZ9Tq22abMmdcqI_-j2bsr9K4PR-RpOC5LX5ZYr8Py68quFc/s1600/mid+eng+bundle_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrpvwOzLUlrkAvsNKIT6Pn8kVPiYUSMOqLtpaeuYknOaqsnQWUUz7WJck3zhqUaZ0d7nXyFTCtPhoZ7GAQCVo-LAdTKLHZ9Tq22abMmdcqI_-j2bsr9K4PR-RpOC5LX5ZYr8Py68quFc/s640/mid+eng+bundle_5.jpg" width="363" /></a></div>
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Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor! :)</div>
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<img src="http://www.crayonboxlearning.com/images/stephaniem-signature.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" />
ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-48467486027718395422015-07-27T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-27T15:08:15.184-05:00The Creative Classroom Goes Back to School<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZmsItMws0Ui_QvFraCm3IWQKYomZyXHHoZr-UTA7HQno5iEIG6DozeTiYQeVHVbLBV8O7LkeMx8XrYLmwN-fihKkxIKaTRBmx-eEvg0Nq4o02lQHE8x4qyJ7hVwzT9rPzUckty9r9v4/s1600/Lit+League+B2S+IG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZmsItMws0Ui_QvFraCm3IWQKYomZyXHHoZr-UTA7HQno5iEIG6DozeTiYQeVHVbLBV8O7LkeMx8XrYLmwN-fihKkxIKaTRBmx-eEvg0Nq4o02lQHE8x4qyJ7hVwzT9rPzUckty9r9v4/s400/Lit+League+B2S+IG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It seems hard to believe that another summer vacation is almost over and that it is already time for the Back to School rush! It can be hard sometimes to readjust to the demanding schedule of school life after weeks of relaxation, pajamas, and no alarm clocks. That's why I have teamed up with the other members of The Literary League for a Back to School Blog Hop! This is a great opportunity to not only get to know a little bit more about the teachers of The Literary League, but also to learn about some of our favorite Back to School activities! </div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Teacher-Author Behind The Creative Classroom</span></b></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwMZuYYzTBKNFvm0C0BOtpzg369NmpyXZjAwpKYfSJAU1b2xq49wkPdoupDYLP1-T8KDT3ykwAa_24DFzUURVx8UO6F2NqslRq8OOvq6C7zolln0TkHBudn2h6GIHwGSvJyAVnG8ofwo/s1600/218165_755650124434_1512260_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwMZuYYzTBKNFvm0C0BOtpzg369NmpyXZjAwpKYfSJAU1b2xq49wkPdoupDYLP1-T8KDT3ykwAa_24DFzUURVx8UO6F2NqslRq8OOvq6C7zolln0TkHBudn2h6GIHwGSvJyAVnG8ofwo/s320/218165_755650124434_1512260_n.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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I'm Stephanie, a middle school teacher from South Louisiana who just finished her seventh year of teaching. I graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in the Spring of 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies Education. My teaching certification includes 6th-12th grade Social Studies Education and English Education.</div>
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I taught Literacy Enrichment, an ELA intervention elective class, to 6th-8th graders at Gonzales Middle School from Fall of 2008 to the Spring of 2013. This class was specifically designed for students who performed below grade level on our state standardized tests. Since this was an elective class and did not have a set curriculum, I was able to blend my social studies background and content into engaging differentiated activities that were designed to strengthen my students' reading and writing skills. I was able to not only teach the short stories of Poe and Bradbury, but also able to introduce my students to the Civil Rights Movement, the Holocaust, and many other historical time periods.</div>
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In the Fall of 2013, I switched from teaching Literacy Enrichment to teaching 6th Grade Inclusion ELA. This allowed me the opportunity to co-teach with a phenomenal SPED teacher all day. Together we planned differentiated activities that included daily use of technology and small group instruction to meet the needs of all learners in our classroom. We continued to introduce our students to classic short stories as well as nonfiction texts that our students could easily relate to and understand. </div>
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During the 2014-2015 school year, I was switched to the non-inclusion 6th grade ELA position. Again, I used this as an opportunity to create lessons and implement classroom instructional practices that included daily use of technology, student goal setting, and differentiated materials to meet the needs of all my students. </div>
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In December of 2014, I lead a presentation at the LACUE conference entitled "Keep Calm and Nearpod On: Engaging Students and Differentiating Your Instruction". This presentation focused on using Nearpod to engage your students with interactive differentiated lessons and how to utilize the instant data features to make instructional decisions. </div>
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In addition to my regular teacher duties, I also worked as a Mentor Teacher to other teachers on our campus and served on my school Leadership Team from 2012-2015. I have worked alongside our Master Teachers to develop long range plans for weekly professional development and provide weekly follow-up/classroom visits to assist my teachers. In addition, I have been nominated for Teacher of the Year at my school for the past four school years. I was fortunate enough to be named the 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year at Gonzales Middle School. It was truly an honor to be recognized by my colleagues.</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">I LOVE YA Literature!</span></u></b></div>
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I think that one of the best ways to get your students interested in reading is to be able to recommend and have conversations about novels that appeal to them. That's why some of my favorite novels are Young Adult Literature. I love everything from <i>The Hunger Games</i> to <i>The Heroes of Olympus Series</i> and many more; however, my favorite YA novel to teach is <i>Divergent</i> by Veronica Roth. </div>
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Last year, we had an extra period called Extensions added to our school schedule. My Extension class consisted of advanced students who were not in my regular classes and allowed me the opportunity to have a little bit of fun during the school day. I can still remember the first day that we started reading <i>Divergent</i>. My students had so many questions about those first few pages and they were hooked! As a teacher and an avid reader, it was such an amazing thing to see just how excited they were about reading this novel. Even now as I picture that day, I cannot help but to smile at the memories that were created.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OsLf3foSj8mRcFkmCePnOopK8TM67L3YFwfaol06jGQ6d0d_6YQRM538l33EgJnO4uqbdnW6gsySiDUd2TYv18cmahyphenhyphen7DkDrKMAr4E0j5DpOC3x9F3MEim8vITKlVJPeXJ19SicfomM/s1600/1374268_498868073537841_1625984558_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OsLf3foSj8mRcFkmCePnOopK8TM67L3YFwfaol06jGQ6d0d_6YQRM538l33EgJnO4uqbdnW6gsySiDUd2TYv18cmahyphenhyphen7DkDrKMAr4E0j5DpOC3x9F3MEim8vITKlVJPeXJ19SicfomM/s400/1374268_498868073537841_1625984558_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>After we finished reading about the aptitude test that Beatrice must take and the choosing ceremony, I gave my students their very own aptitude test. I can still remember how excited they were the next day to receive their envelopes with their test results. There were many hoots and screams of excitement mixed with a few puzzled looks from those students who were shocked by their test results. My favorite part was the excitement of the students as their made their choices in our very own choosing ceremony. </div>
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<a href="http://thecreativeclassroom2013.blogspot.com/2013/09/book-talk-divergent-by-veronica-roth.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read my blog post on teaching <i>Divergent</i>!<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Favorite Back to School Activities</span></b></u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRy9TWi6CZWcpFGtS_WDfZyREAuxDHlBMdmGdcaHnVbMDlef4xoYbzPv6GvTejjRXuLn21T3rN8Z9_0XcodjcT4DeXUq8DZoKLxFoBy8DLukZJqpwjAkUkpFXy3q9v3lPX4XDi-nklXQ/s1600/IMG_0131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRy9TWi6CZWcpFGtS_WDfZyREAuxDHlBMdmGdcaHnVbMDlef4xoYbzPv6GvTejjRXuLn21T3rN8Z9_0XcodjcT4DeXUq8DZoKLxFoBy8DLukZJqpwjAkUkpFXy3q9v3lPX4XDi-nklXQ/s320/IMG_0131.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Every year during the first week of school, there are always two activities that I have my students complete as a way to get to know them better. During our first class period together, I always have my students create an Acrostic Poem using their first names. This is a simple activity that can be completed in five minutes or less and lets students begin thinking creatively about who they are. One of the easiest ways to make this a stress free activity is to create a teacher model of an Acrostic Poem using your first or last name. The teacher model allows students to see exactly what your expectations are and can be used to help them start thinking about their own poem. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnMlxR0WE__NE0Yp7YOPg0WrZ9Xxnbwjr5eK-51wzyV3DlhYwgLOKNIxYj2CXmfedxdgpUtsjO1CnDXka1JhRqLozCYTuNMiyK2J_95_1TwKZfMJCQCqNQ_B82rH_iRmGAkrIPTKCwAU/s1600/1157420_478211498936832_259965091_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnMlxR0WE__NE0Yp7YOPg0WrZ9Xxnbwjr5eK-51wzyV3DlhYwgLOKNIxYj2CXmfedxdgpUtsjO1CnDXka1JhRqLozCYTuNMiyK2J_95_1TwKZfMJCQCqNQ_B82rH_iRmGAkrIPTKCwAU/s320/1157420_478211498936832_259965091_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>Depending upon how your classroom desks are arranged, this also makes for a great time to introduce grouping structures in your classroom. At the beginning of last school year, I had my desks arranged in groups of four. My students got the opportunity to use their Acrostic poem to introduce themselves to their shoulder partners that they would be working with during our English Class. After students shared their poems with their shoulder partners, I asked for volunteers to read their poem to the entire class. It was amazing how easy it was to see the different personalities of my students already begin to emerge after this opening activity. At the end of the first day, I go through all of the students' poems to give them feedback and to select a few from each class to put on our Wall of Fame!</div>
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In addition to the Acrostic Poem Activity, I always have my students write a letter to me. This letter can include any information that they think I should know about themselves. Students use a four square organizer to sketch out their thoughts into a five paragraph letter. After students have completed their pre-writing, they are given time to compose their letter to me. To ensure that students are aware of the writing expectations and have a clear idea of how to complete the activity, they also receive a model of the four square organizer and the five paragraph letter. I use a previous students' work for both the organizer and the letter.</div>
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I must confess that even though I enjoy reading the letters that my students write each year , there is another reason that makes this a mandatory Back to School activity. This writing activity serves as an awesome way for me to pre-assess my students' writing skills and to define strengths/weaknesses for each student. I use this information to record which areas of the writing process I need to focus and to create differentiated writing groups during the first week of school. Furthermore, this provides me with a baseline writing sample that students can use to compare their future writing assignments to and allows them to see how much their writing skills improve during the school year. If you are thinking of implementing this activity into your first week of school activities, you can <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-Letter-to-My-Teacher-Writing-Activity-and-Assessment-797160" target="_blank">click here</a> to purchase this product from my TPT store.</div>
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-16578271485742635632015-07-21T17:31:00.000-05:002015-07-21T17:31:08.870-05:00Tech Tools for the Secondary Classroom: Today's Meet<br />
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With a new school year beginning in just a few short weeks, I've decided to begin a new blog series that will feature the best tech tools that I have personally used in my classroom to increase student engagement and strengthen "text talk" among my students. It can sometimes be a struggle to seamlessly blend the daily use of technology into lessons and activities; but I have found that even the smallest use of technology during a lesson can help engage students and get them thinking at a much higher level.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The column on the right contains an actual Today's Meet conversation from my classroom!</td></tr>
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One of the very first online tech tools that I incorporated into my classroom was the online chatroom, <a href="https://todaysmeet.com/" target="_blank">Today's Meet</a>. This free website allows you to create an easy to access private chat room that your students can join by typing in the web address you have created. It takes less than two minutes to sign in and create your chatroom. Did I mention that you can create as many chatrooms as you want and that you get to decide how long your chatroom will be active? </div>
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While set-up of this tech tool is a piece of cake, the next question you may have is how to successfully implement it into your classroom? As with all "text talk" structures, there needs to be clear expectations for student use put in place BEFORE students begin using this online chatroom in your class. This can be done by creating a list of student expectations and sharing them with your students or you can get student input on acceptable behaviors and expectations. For the past two years, I have allowed my students to come up with the majority of the student expectations for Today's Meet. The only expectation that I made a non-negotiable was that students were required to use their first and last names when signing into the chatroom. The other expectations came from my students. I have included a PDF copy of the student expectations that we use in my classroom that you can <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6NU60MUtH38algtRUNvTVI3eVk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">download</a>.</div>
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Now that there are specific and clear expectations for students in place, the last thing to decide is exactly how you will incorporate this tech tool into your classroom. Regardless of content or grade level, this is a great tool to use to assess what your student already know about a topic at the beginning of a lesson or to use as a formative check during your lesson to assess what students understand. My favorite thing about Today's Meet is that it lets me diagnose student misconceptions during a lesson and provide academic feedback on the spot to clear up any misconceptions. Not only do I get the opportunity to provide feedback, but you will see quickly that your students are able to help provide feedback to their classmates on their thoughts or misconceptions. After a few uses of this classroom discussion tool, the amount of teacher academic feedback being given by me greatly decreased as my students were learning to give high quality academic feedback to their classmates. This allowed me to sit back and enjoy the awesome conversations that my students were having with each other. </div>
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While all of what I have discussed in the blog post above can be implemented at no cost to you, Today's Meet does also offer a paid version of this tool specifically designed for teachers called <a href="https://todaysmeet.com/about/teachertools" target="_blank">Today's Meet Teacher Tools</a>. For $5 per month, you can upgrade your account and gain the ability to pause conversations or "mute" students who are not following student expectations. These upgraded features certainly seem like awesome additions, but are not necessary to achieve success with Today's Meet in your classroom!</div>
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Stayed tuned to next week's edition of Tech Tool for the Secondary Classroom!</div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-63669969520552670252015-06-05T08:00:00.000-05:002015-06-05T23:09:21.177-05:00Looking Ahead Blog Hop<div style="text-align: justify;">
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I know that many of you have already begun your summer vacation while others are enjoying the last days of this school year with your students. If you are like me, it's never too early to start reflecting on this school year and beginning to plan ahead for next school year. That's why I have joined together with other members of The Literary League in a Looking Ahead Blog Hop! This is a great way to get Back-to-School tips from some amazing Teacher Authors.</div>
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While we all know that there is a push to begin classroom instruction on Day 1, it is essential to build a sense of community with your students to create a positive and effective classroom learning environment. This is not something that will be developed after a five minute icebreaker with students. One activity that I always complete with my students to allow them to be an active part of this process is a consensus map activity where students decide what they need to be successful in our classroom this school year. After students have worked in groups to complete this, groups are responsible for sharing out their ideas and agreeing on what information we should include on our class anchor charts. The class anchor charts are always displayed in our classroom so that we can refer back to the agreement that we created together. </div>
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In addition to having your students be active members of creating your classroom learning environment, it is also a necessity to get to know your students to build a relationship with them. One way that I do this is to have my students complete the All About Me: Letter to My Teacher Writing Activity. </div>
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Students go through the writing process to tell me what they think I need to know about them. Not only is this a great way to get students to open up, but I also use it as a writing pre-assessment to gauge my students' writing skills. You can <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-Letter-to-My-Teacher-Writing-Activity-and-Assessment-797160" target="_blank">click here</a> to purchase this product from my store! </div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-39988520966236465292015-05-04T18:18:00.000-05:002015-06-05T23:09:35.101-05:00TPT Teacher Appreciation Sitewide Sale!<div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0pt; mso-linebreak-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">Super Secondary Appreciates Teachers!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">Super Secondary collaborators are eager
to "</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">thank
you...thank you very much..." </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">for ALL that
you do to make the world a
better place! So shake, rattle, and roll on over to these </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">TpT</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">
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get up to 28% off on fantastic resources! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">Don’t forget to </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">use
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">the
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</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">ThankYou</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;">. </span></div>
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ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-15547056474527669492014-11-30T17:25:00.001-06:002014-11-30T17:25:29.763-06:00TPT Sitewide Sale! {Secondary Sellers Unite!}-December 1st & 2nd<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">TpT SUPER CYBER SAVINGS 2014! </span> <br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Up to 28% off the entire site <br>Monday, December 1st and Tuesday, December 2nd </span> <br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Promo Code at Check out- TPTCYBER </span> <br> <br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-Participating Stores:</span> <br>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Super Secondary TpT Teachers Wish you a Wonderful Holiday Season!</span> <br>ccchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160397131553810567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031444556030020993.post-80807524726673926452014-09-07T16:41:00.005-05:002014-09-07T16:41:54.298-05:00Saving Your Sanity With Nearpod: Part 1<div style="text-align: justify;">
Are you implementing 1:1 devices into your classroom for the first time and don't know where to start? </div>
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Have you had 1:1 devices for more than one year and looking for an online tool to help your classroom move into the 21st century? </div>
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Well, you are in luck! Look no further than the online tool, <a href="http://www.nearpod.com/">Nearpod</a>. During the first part of this blog post, I will introduce you to Nearpod and some ways that it can be used to transform your classroom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhg_Z6UWjCqICYM0uPFrGG5hZOnzszW6abZdrU6kIbIUTUyZV1vPnu_LSXqet3SVkze1UyPkJYR1jORICg0voVuAq_zYGLoiMz238m5iggAjyAVp8F2RMX0H_xI9on6tqXUBoWN6ipO0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-07+at+3.48.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhg_Z6UWjCqICYM0uPFrGG5hZOnzszW6abZdrU6kIbIUTUyZV1vPnu_LSXqet3SVkze1UyPkJYR1jORICg0voVuAq_zYGLoiMz238m5iggAjyAVp8F2RMX0H_xI9on6tqXUBoWN6ipO0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-09-07+at+3.48.08+PM.png" height="328" width="640" /></a></div>
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Last year was the first year that our school tested the 1:1 program with our 6th graders. It was definitely an experience to try to teach computer skills along with ELA content and to find the most effective ways to do this. It was not until the last few months of the school year that my master teacher introduced me to Nearpod. I was instantly amazed at what this online tool could do and began thinking how I could use this to transform my classroom. The rest of the school year was a learning process on how to create effective presentations and use them in my classroom. It was definitely a trial and error process, but it helped me work out the kinks and troubleshoot for this school year.</div>
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Besides the fact that it can your classroom move towards being paperless and provides you with instant results, I also love the fact that Nearpod can help create and implement a differentiated lesson with its' two sharing methods, Live Session and Homework. By sharing a Live Session presentation with your students, you are in complete control of the presentation. Once students enter the session pin, they are connected to your computer or device. This helps keep students on track and engaged in the interactive presentation. If you have students who are higher and can advance at a faster pace than the rest of the class, you can share the presentation as Homework. The Homework feature allows student to be in control of the presentation. This will allow you to effectively run a differentiated lesson in your classroom.</div>
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Once you create your account and log in, this will be your home screen. It will allow you to create your own presentation, buy pre-made presentations, share your presentations with your students, and access your reports.</div>
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In the My Library tab, you will have a collection of all of the presentations that you have created in your Nearpod account. They will be organized from the newest to oldest presentations created.</div>
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In the My Presentations Tab, you can create and publish a new presentation, preview, share or clone an existing presentations or delete presentations.</div>
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One of my favorite parts of Nearpod is the Reports tab. It makes analyzing student work and data tracking so much easier. At the end of each presentation, you get a detailed report of student participation and answers. You get a breakdown of each student response for the questions that you have incorporated into your presentation. It will let you know which students answered questions correctly and what students' incorrect answers are. The best part is that all of the reports are stored electronically in your account so that you can access them at any time. You even have the option of downloading an report on your entire class or individual students.<br />
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As you can see, this program can help you to engage your students in your content while helping them practice technology skills that are critical for 21st century learners. For teachers, it will help make your life easier by giving you a manageable way to track students' progress and understanding. </div>
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Stay tuned for Part Two of Saving Your Sanity With Nearpod where I show you how to create a Nearpod presentation.</div>
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