Halloween Freebie

Halloween is one of my favorite "holidays" of the year!  I love to dress up in a silly costume for school and really enjoy seeing the creativity of the students - some of their ideas are incredible. (Last year, we had 5 students come as different Tetris pieces that all fit together!)

Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year... smack in the middle of the school week!  I know that my students will have the "Halloween Wiggles" so I like to have some activities that I can do with them to help them focus and get back on track!

Here's a fun freebie for you to use as a writing prompt, poetry prompt, art prompt or simply as classroom decor!  You can download it at my TpT store OR by clicking the image below. 

I like to display the poster (or project it with a document camera) and have the students use the words or images as prompts for a story or poem.  Perhaps they have to include the purple words in their first paragraph, or put 2 orange words in their first sentence.... Why not write a haiku using a word from each color?? Or write a poem using the images as a starting point? 

Students could also use the poster as an inspiration to create their own "word art" or "subway art". (You can find lots of other examples of "subway art" online.)

I'm sure you can think of even more ways to use the poster!  Please share your ideas... I'd love to hear more!

The full download includes a copy of the poster in color, a copy in black/white and a sheet of b/w pumpkin writing paper!

Have a Happy Halloween!

Addie 

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Fun Back to School Student Survey

I have a love-hate relationship with the first week BACK TO SCHOOL - it's great to see my fabulous co-workers, catch up with friends, and see students back in my classes. However, it's also a frenzy of paperwork and "administrivia" that can bog us all down as we try to start off a new school year. 

It is so important that I get to know my students at the start of the year and I try to establish a connection with them quickly.  Instead of the usual survey questions for Back to School, I've made things a little quirky and different. For example, I've asked students to list the song that got stuck in their heads the most this summer (for me it was "Greenlight" by Lorde... just goes 'round and 'round my head sometimes!!) Or to list their favorite flavor of ice-cream (Ben & Jerry's Phish Phood - chocolate caramel goodness!).

1.  Be sure to do the survey yourself.  For real. And be willing to share your answers with your students.  Students love to learn the little details about you and it can be a fun way to find a connection with a quiet or shy student.  Plus... once my students figure out I love Skittles... it's amazing how often they bring me some.

2.  Don't try to do the whole survey all at once.  I usually ask the students to work up to a certain point and then stop.  I take a few minutes to see if anyone wants to share an answer and then I share one of mine.  This gives students who may feel "stuck" a chance to hear what others have said and it shows my students that I'm willing to share too.

3.  After about 10-15 minutes of doing the survey I ask my students to stop again.  I ask them to put a star or circle their favorite question on the survey that they've answered so far.  I ask them to share with a partner.  I give the students 2-3 minutes to do this.  I ask for volunteers to share their answers... BUT I ask them to share someone else's answer.  For example - "Juan's favorite movie this summer was ____________". Or... "Kira went to New York City for her vacation."  And of course,  I'll volunteer another answer.  OR ask the students to pick a question for me to answer.

4.  One of the questions I ask on my Student Survey is to name "the song that got stuck in your head this summer".  Yup... you guessed it... I'll ask my students to write their answers on a sticky note and put it on the board so that I can play the songs during the first few weeks.  Note - MY STUDENTS LOVE THIS!

5.  I like to give my students lots of time to answer the survey - sometimes I'll leave it for a day and go back to it.  The first few days of school can be overwhelming for some kids and often on their second opportunity to answer the questions they're more willing to expand on ideas.

6. Use the survey answers to do a "Speed Dating" activity - I'll split my students into two even groups (I'll jump in to make it "even" if I have to.) and partner them up using a system of your choice.  Switch partners frequently asking them to: find a common answer, find an opposite answer, share their favorite answer, come up with a new question...  

7.  Using sticky notes have students share their answer to a specific question using sticky notes on my board, (I don't ask them to put their names on their sticky notes.) and then I look for patterns or commonalities within the classroom.  For example - "Wow... it looks like many of you saw 'Wonder Woman' this summer!"  It's a great springboard to a class discussion!

8. As an extension idea I ask students to write a paragraph to justify one of their answers to a question of their choice.  They pick the question and then they must write a correctly formatted paragraph to explain their answer - I get to know them a little more, but more importantly I can quickly identify what the strengths and weaknesses are in my classroom in terms of paragraph writing.

Download a FREE copy of my Back to School Survey from my TpT Store!  Download includes teacher activity suggestions, survey and writing paper.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

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Valentine's Day Freebie

Well... love it or hate, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Strange things happen in a middle-school on Valentine's Day.... and it seems that at some point in the day I find someone in tears. (Usually a girl... upset with a boy, who has quite likely forgotten or didn't understand that he should have done something to mark the occasion.)  Ah.... young love!!

Here's a Valentine's Day Freebie to start off the Valentine's Day Season.  A fun writing prompt, poetry starter, art project or just as classroom decor!  Click the image below to download a FREE copy!   

The FREE download includes a color version, a black/white version, lesson ideas and Valentine themed writing paper.

Ask students to write a haiku using just the pink words as inspiration, or start their story with a red word, identify the parts of speech for the black words, include a word in each color in their first sentence...  I've even asked students to create their own subway art with Valentine words that are important to them.

Have fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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