Category: Teacher Toolbox

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How They Croaked– A Totally Fascinating Read

It’s often tricky to find books that will capture the interest of reluctant readers. It’s a fine balance between providing a challenge, but not too much of a challenge: you want to find a book that isn’t so far below grade level that they get bored quickly, and you definitely don’t want to find a book that is so far off from their current reading level that they get frustrated and end up giving up all together. 

Thankfully, there are authors that just understand this, who write books that are engaging, just challenging enough, and will capture and hold the attention of their readers. One of those authors is Georgia Bragg— she has a knack for writing books that are so much fun! One book of hers in particular, is at the top of my “Books for Reluctant Readers” list: How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. 

In this book, Bragg details the awful demises of nineteen historically famous people like Cleopatra, George Washington, Marie Curie, and Edgar Allen Poe, among others. Each chapter focuses on one individual, and recounts a little about their life and what they are famous for, then describes their ultimate fate. Sometimes a little gruesome, always historically accurate, and always fascinating, each chapter is educational and engaging. Chapters are short— usually about 2-5 pages, and the book overall is a very quick read (I sat down and read it in its entirety in just a couple of hours). It’s a great option for kids between ages 9-13, but would honestly be a great read for ages 14+ as well. 

While I never had the chance to teach this book to my students, I did recommend it several times. If I had had the chance, I would have taught it to my 8th grade classes. Not only does it provide readers with interesting facts, it lends itself to excellent teaching opportunities. Below are a few ideas for teaching it with a whole class:

  • Split your class up into partnerships and assign a chapter to each group. Have them read their assigned chapter then create a slideshow or other sort of presentation to teach the rest of the class about their famous person and their demise. 
  • Read the entire book as a whole class, focusing on a chapter or two every day.
    • With each chapter, display pictures of the person it’s about. 
    • Some of the chapters discuss different medical technologies, practices, methods, etc. that are different than we have today. Take time to educate students about these different medical practices.
    • After you have finished reading the whole book, assign students to pick a famous person who is NOT in the book and create their own chapter about their person, including illustrations or pictures.
    • Make a timeline showing the birth and death dates of all nineteen people from the book.
  • For sake of time, choose your top ten favorite chapters and only teach those ones to the whole class. Have students choose four more chapters to read independently. 
  • As you read the book, have students fill out the “All You Need to Know” worksheet provided below.

Not only is this book a great non-fiction read, it also provides super cross-curricular instruction, as it contains both historical and scientific elements, and allows for a plethora of learning opportunities. 

Give it a go with your classes; I bet they’ll love it. And if you don’t have junior high aged classes or kids, read it yourself and enjoy!

If you enjoyed Croaked, you might also like How They Choked also by Georgia Bragg. In it, Bragg details how famous people royally messed up. It’s equally as engaging and educational as Croaked.

** Free printable is for classroom or personal use only. It is not intended for resale in any way. **

How They Croaked WSDownload
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Halloween I Spy Printable

It’s time for another fun Halloween print & go activity for you to use in your classroom! These kinds of activities are great for early finishers, quiet table work, or even as an activity for your class party! Today I have a fun Halloween I Spy worksheet that you can print out and use. For those who want options, I’ve included both a black and white version as well as a color version. 

Have students count each Halloween picture, then write how many of that picture they find at the bottom of the page. 

Parents— this is also a great activity to print off and keep in your quiet bag and may give you some peace during a wait at the doctor’s office, on a longer car ride, or if you just need a minute to breathe during the day! Laminate it or throw it into a sheet protector, and you’ve got an activity your kids can do again and again.

** As always, please do not sell, repost, or claim as your own. This printable is intended for classroom or home use only. **

Halloween I Spy-2Download

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Halloween Activities for Language Arts

It’s no secret how much I enjoy holiday-themed activities! They just bring such a fun element to a lesson and spark so much creativity. Even though we typically think of holiday themed activities as being targeted toward elementary aged kids, you can easily bring them into any content area and any grade level simply by modifying the difficulty of the activity.

Thought I can appreciate all content areas, English/Language Arts is my favorite, since that is what I spent many years teaching. And since we are nearing Halloween, I thought it would be appropriate to share some fun Halloween themed Language Arts activities! 

(Most of these will be geared more toward junior high aged kids, but can be modified for other grade levels as well.)

  • Read some “spooky” stories or poems. Edgar Allen Poe is always a good option for this time of year. In particular, “Tell Tale Heart” is a stellar choice for junior high students. Other options include “The Hitchhiker” by Lucille Fletcher, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, or “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Did you know Roald Dahl even has some spooky short stories?!
  • Ask students to write a descriptive paragraph or two giving detailed descriptions of a haunted house. Have them trade papers with a classmate and have them create a physical model (drawing, painting, cut and glue, etc.) of the haunted house using what is written.
  • Have students write a personal narrative about their favorite Halloween or a favorite family Halloween tradition.
  • Have students write and illustrate a simple Halloween children’s book.
  • Have students write a persuasive piece defending their right to still trick-or-treat.
  • Using the free “Roll A Story” printable below, have students write a short story using the elements their dice rolls choose for them.

Play some fun Halloween music while your students work on one or more of these delightful Halloween themed activities, and you’ve easily set up a fun work environment for your students to work in! Teenagers might put up a front that they are “too old” for things like this, but deep down, they love it and will eat it right up when given the chance! 

** This printable is free, and is intended for home or classroom use only. Please do not resell, repost, or claim as your own. **

Roll A Story HalloweenDownload
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Brain Breaks & Challenge Cards

We’ve all been there as teachers— we plan the perfect lesson or activity, anticipating that it will fill as much time as possible… and then it doesn’t, and suddenly, you’re left with time to fill. A few minutes of “free time” at the end of class isn’t so terrible, but too much time? You’re going to end up with chaos and mayhem! 

If (when) you find yourself in a situation like this, or find that you need a short brain break in between tasks or activities, it’s always good to have an idea or two in your back pocket to quickly pull out for your class to do. 

Sure, the Internet is teeming with ready-to-go brain breaks and time fillers, but sometimes, you just need something that is not tech related and is still fun and engaging. I remember playing “Heads Up, Seven Up” or “Silent Ball” and having so much fun. If there is an element of mystery or challenge to the game or activity, it makes it even more fun. 

I’ve created a fun “Challenge Game” full of different kinds of challenges to engage students and targeting several areas of learning. As a teacher, you know how much time you have available, so you can choose the type of challenge— some are super quick, while others take more time. Choose a challenge card, then pick one (or more if you have time) challenge activity and have your students complete the challenge. Split them into groups or do the challenges as a whole class— whatever fits your needs! 

Have fun and enjoy connecting with your class. Parents, you can use these challenge cards, too! We all know that sometimes you just need a few minutes to reset at home. These are even great to cut out and keep in your car! Tuck them into your purse and pull them out while you wait for your food to come, the doctor to see you, or to keep the whining to a minimum when they claim they are bored.

As always, the printable is free, but is intended for classroom or personal home use only. Do not sell, distribute, or repost as your own.

Challenge GameDownload
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Number Scavenger Hunt & Match

There are many skills that are learned in early childhood that are the foundation for skills that will be learned as they grow. Learning the alphabet, for example, often comes before letter recognition, learning how to put on a shoe comes before knowing how to tie the shoe, knowing how to count is typically learned before number recognition, and so on. Once those foundational skills have been learned and practiced, it opens the door for the next level of complexity to be learned. 

There are many ways to teach these various skills and strategies. I’ve made a scavenger hunt game that you can play with your child or class as they are learning to recognize numbers. It’s quite simple— you cut out the squares with pictures, hide the pictures, then send a child on a hunt to find them. As they find each square, they can count how many pictures are on the square, then match and glue the picture square next to the corresponding written number. 

If you want to reuse this activity, simply laminate the papers to protect them. You could put velcro dots on the back of each picture square and next to each written number. If you wanted multiple children to participate in this, you could assign them each a number, print off the worksheet on different colors of paper and have them find only their color, or encourage them to work with a partner to find each picture square. 

This printable is free, but please only use for personal or classroom use. This is not intended for resale.

Number Scavenger Hunt & MatchDownload
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This or That?

Sometimes kids get a little mixed up when trying to understand the difference between fact and opinion. In their minds, their opinions make sense, and seem like fact to them. They often cannot grasp the idea that other people might think differently or have different preferences. A fun way to introduce the concept of opinion is by using “would you rather” or “this or that” type activities. 

In order for students to understand that people can have differing opinions, they need to see and hear it. Students need to also be able to defend their opinion with more than just a “because I like it” as their reasoning. If given a choice between the ocean and the mountains, and the ocean is chosen, the student should be able to explain what it is about the ocean that they prefer. 

To help you with this activity, I’ve created a worksheet for you download for free! I’ve made two different worksheets— one to be used as a writing assignment, and the other to be used as a math assignment. 

On the writing worksheet, you will find several pairs of words. Have students read through each pair and circle which of the two words in the pair they prefer. Then, have them choose three (or more if you want) of their choices to defend. On the back of the worksheet, have them write a short paragraph about why they prefer the word they circled, giving concrete examples and solid details. 

On the math worksheet, you will find the same pairs of words. Again, have students read through each pair and circle which of the two words they prefer. Next, students will ask each classmate what word they circled, then put a tally mark next to the corresponding word. Once they have asked all of their classmates, they will total the tallies for each word, then fill in the bar graph accordingly. Finally, students will write three questions that could be answered using the data displayed on the bar graph. 

If neither the math or the writing worksheet fits your needs, you can always just use the “This or That” pairs as an ice breaker or conversation starter. It’s also an excellent self-starter for the beginning of class or a time filler when you have just a few extra minutes left in class.

However you use it, I hope you enjoy it! As always, my downloadable worksheets are strictly for classroom or personal use only. Please do not resell, repost, or claim as your own.

This or That-2Download
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Goals Aren’t Just for the New Year

3….2….1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there. It’s August, not January. 

You know the routine: a new year comes, and you excitedly set some goals or resolutions for yourself, only to have that excitement and motivation die out by February. I know I can’t be the only one who is guilty of this pattern. 

Now, I know that it’s August, and most people aren’t even thinking about their goals for next year quite yet, but hear me out. What if, as teachers, we encouraged our students to set a goal for this new school year? A _______ Grade Resolution, if you will (you fill in the blank with whatever grade you teach). What if we take the time to teach our students how to set a goal, plan an appropriate attack strategy, and execute said plan so that they can see how powerful goal setting can be? What if our students gained more confidence in themselves and reached goals they didn’t think they could? What if? 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a lot to lose here. Even if the goal isn’t reached, think about all that would be gained by trying! Confidence? Determination? Planning skills? I know I wouldn’t be mad if I made improvements in all of those areas! 

Before you go forward with this, let’s remind ourselves about effective goal setting. It isn’t super beneficial to simply say you want to achieve something; you need a plan of action on how you are going to achieve that something. The goal needs to be realistic, progress needs to be measurable, and there need to be some parameters established. Essentially, the intended end result should be planned out in SMART goal style, with the goal being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. If students can plan a goal with these five areas in mind, their overall success will be much greater. 

Most of us teachers know what a SMART goal might look like in relation to our jobs, but what might a SMART goal look like for a fourth grader? Let’s look at an example and see what each step might involve.

SMART Goal: I will improve my reading level by two levels by the end of the school year.

Now, let’s break this goal apart by looking at each of the five areas:

S: Specific. This means that the goal is detailed, the parameters are clear, and there isn’t any confusion about what is to be achieved. In this example, this student wants to improve their reading level by a certain amount by a specific date.

M: Measurable. A solid goal is one that can be tracked or measured. You can create data of some kind to see where you started and where you end up. In this case, the goal is to increase reading level by two levels. This is an easily measured goal, as progress can be monitored, recorded, and charted. 

A: Attainable. When setting a goal, you need to be realistic. It would not be beneficial to set a goal that is so far out of reach, there is no possible way it can be achieved within the time frame you set. Using our example, if this student had said that they wanted to be reading on a college level by the end of fourth grade, it might not be super attainable. However, setting a goal to improve by two reading levels is going to be reached much easier. 

R: Relevant. A goal needs to be relevant to the person or situation. If setting a goal to exercise more, you wouldn’t want to include anything about increasing your reading level. The goal needs to make sense for the time, place, and person. In our example, it makes sense that fourth grade student would be setting a reading goal to improve their reading skills, because that is something that would be worked on in that area and at that time. 

T: Time-bound. Good goals need to have time limits. Obviously, it behooves all people to continually improve, but if a goal is to be measured and tracked, setting time limitations is helpful. In the example above, the student sets a time by which they want to have their goal achieved— the end of the school year. Having a clear end date can help the goal setter to plan accordingly. If they achieve the goal before the end date, great! If they need the full time they have decided upon, great! Setting a schedule can help motivate the person to continue working toward their goal, and to take steps along the way to push them toward their end goal. 

Having students create and plan their own SMART goals is a great way to start the new school year. It will give the students something to work toward and look forward to. Goals give a sense of purpose and direction. You might consider creating an outline of some kind for students to follow as they create their goals. Have them do regular check-ins regarding the progress they are making. Track that progress so that they can see that their work is paying off and really is moving them toward their desired end result. 

When they reach the end of their set time frame, have them evaluate themselves— did they achieve their goal? What kind of, if any, set backs did they encounter? If they didn’t make it to their goal, why? What kind of progress did they make? What did they learn along the way? 

Celebrate their efforts, and encourage them to continue setting and working toward goals. Perhaps you might even consider setting a class-wide SMART goal that you can all work toward together, fostering class unity and purpose. However you do it, consider incorporating SMART goal setting in your curriculum! Goal setting is a great life skill to have, and knowing how to properly set and achieve a goal will give students an advantage as they get older.