My Middle School Classroom

NEW Back to School Products & FREEBIES

I have taken a LONG break from TpT (It's been at least two years since I consistently posted products). I needed that time to relax and get re-inspired. Lately, I've been on a kick with creating new resources. And it feels good! I think that's partly because I am looking at TpT as a hobby nowadays and not a second job...which killed the fun of it for me in the past. I'm not sure if other TpTers can relate, but I'm really happy with my balance now.

In May, I also found out I was going to be changing grade levels. I'll be teaching 8th grade ELA this year! I'm excited for the change, and I think it's helped reinvigorate me. And I have to thank all the TpT sellers I've been buying an insane amount of 8th grade ELA resources from. You've been lifesavers!

So, that leads me to this post....I wanted to share some of the new back to school resources I've created this summer....as well as a couple of FREEBIES at the end! 

P.S. I'm looking forward to showing you a glimpse of my new middle school classroom soon! I can't get into my classroom until next week. Yes, I have 5 days to unpack 49 boxes and set my whole classroom up! Wish me luck, people!!!

If you're looking for a way to impress your students' parents at Open House, check out these "Back to School Editable PowerPoints". There are currently three themes in my store (though I may add more): bee theme, owl theme, and emoji theme. 

I love technology. My students love technology. Why not have a technology themed classroom? It makes sense! I have done a tech. themed classroom in the past, but I'm looking forward to including emoji themed resources in my decor this year! That's what inspired my "Editable Emoji Labels" and Emoji Editable Open House PowerPoint.

I'm really excited abut my Google Slides Editable Newsletters. They are a great way to communicate with your students'parents, and your changes automatically appear! They also make it easy for a team of teachers to collaborate on one newsletter. There are currently three versions in my store: burlap and plaid, burlap and stripes, and floral and yellow.

I made these Google Chromebook Shortcuts Posters and student reminder sheets for my own classroom. They provide quick shortcuts to Chromebook functions-perfect for the Google classroom.

I also wanted to create some Growth Mindset Coloring Sheets for older kids, now that I will be teaching at a middle school.

These aren't exactly "Back to School" related, but I recently created two new social studies interactive notebooks that I wanted to show you....One is a 5 Major Religion Interactive Notebook and one is an Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook. I started these eons ago and finally had time (and motivation) to finish them!

 

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for-FREEBIES! I added a Classroom Birthday List and Parent-Teacher Conference Sheet to my store. They're perfect for the beginning of the year. Enjoy!

I hope you have a great school year! :)

Using Flocabulary in 5th Grade {Free Trial}

I started using Flocabulary a few years ago when I discovered the "Five Elements of a Story" video on Pinterest. It was a true "Pinterest success" ;)...I had a great way to review and reinforce common characteristics found in fictional stories, and my students absolutely loved the catchy song. I mean, they begged for me to play it again and again. How could I say "No"? I couldn't...So, needless to say, the "Five Elements of a Story" rap was embedded in my brain as much as my students'. My students kept asking where I had found the video, so I ended up putting the YouTube version on my classroom website. My students would come into school and tell me that they watched it from home. They were actually excited to watch an educational video *cue jaw dropping to the floor*.

Flocabulary has its own YouTube channel. The YouTube channel (and Flocabulary website) have many free sample videos for you to tryout.

1. Flocabulary offers a wide variety of songs and videos for MANY subject areas. I teach language arts, so that's the main tab I use (along with vocabulary), but there are also videos for math, science, social studies, current events and life skills too. The life skills videos section consists of "Social and Emotional Learning" videos, as well as "Financial Literacy" videos. The "Social and Emotional Learning" videos address topics that counselors would find beneficial for students to watch, such as "Bullying", "Conflict Resolution","Managing Frustration", "Goal Setting", and many more. I used the "Oversharing" video in my classroom this year. We were starting our own Kidblogs and it was a great way to review privacy on the Internet with my students.

2. Each video has accompanying resources that you can use with your students. There are three different versions of the song lyrics that you can use with your students, as well as activity sheets to practice the skills that are covered in the video.

3. You can use the "Write Your Own Rhymes" section to have students create their own educational songs. After your students listen to some of Flocabulary's songs, you know they'll want to bust out some lyrics of their own. This section of "Flocabulary" gives your students advice for writing their own songs. And, the coolest part is that it also provides beats that they can use for the backgrounds of their songs. All you have to do is give your students a topic you're currently studying, and it will provide them with a fun way to showcase what they've learned. You can record their songs and play them for the entire class.

4. The "Week in Rap" section is an engaging way to cover current events. Each week a new video is created to recap important news stories. There is a junior version for younger students too, so check them both out to see what is most appropriate for your kiddos. There are resources that you can use with your students to check their comprehension (see examples below).

If you'd like to try Flocabulary (and why wouldn't you???), you can have FREE access for your ENTIRE SCHOOL for 75 days! That's waaaaaay longer than the typical 30 day trial you can get for your entire school. The catch is, Flocabulary is only offering this promotion from January 26th-February 29th! Make sure you click on the image below to get FREE access to Flocabulary for 75 days! What teacher doesn't like something free?!?!?

Figurative Language Poems~Freebie Included

One of my absolute favorite units to teach each year is my poetry unit! Here's a prior post that includes some of the activities that I do with my students to help them analyze and create their own poetry. As we start our poetry unit, I always begin by reintroducing and reinforcing my students' knowledge of figurative language. Figurative language is a common characteristic of poetry, and students need to have an understanding of figurative language to comprehend the poems that they read. Figurative language is so important it's mentioned in our CCSS twice (under the Reading Literature and Language strands)! I also explain to my students that they should be trying to enhance their own poetry with figurative language.

So, I created a resource that will hopefully help students gain a better understanding of each type of figurative language, provide them with a way to practice their oral reading skills, and includes an assessment of students' knowledge...Figurative Language Poems! Hopefully you will be able to use my Simile Poem Freebie in your classroom! Enjoy! :)