April GIVEAWAY!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am in the "springy" mood today and feel very giving :) I'm trying to build up my shop on Teachers Notebook, as well as my new Instagram account. Follow me on IG @theelementarylife to see how I run my classroom, new products, activities, and other exciting things going on in the life of this teacher + wife + mommy <3

Head on over to my Teacher's Notebook shop HERE and enter in my giveaway for a Sentences and Fragments Bundle! There will be FIVE winners so don't miss it! It will run from tomorrow until Sunday. Please follow my shop on Teachers Notebook and get more opportunities at sales and giveaways!

Veteran's Day Freebie

Hi everyone! I'm back in the classroom with all its hectic glory! I was nervous about coming back after maternity leave, but I got into the swing of things quickly! Veteran's day is coming up this week and I wanted my students to have a few writing prompt choices. Have your students color the borders and clip art, too :)

 

Click here to head to my TpT store and grab this freebie!

Multiplication Freebie!

Hi everyone! I was due with my baby girl on Monday and STILL no baby! So I needed something to do to pass the time. I created a multiplication freebie for all of my teacher friends. It's up on my TpT store now! You can grab it HERE!

My third graders struggle with mastering their multiplication facts so I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to get them engaged in the process. We play lots of multiplication centers so I need to have a good supply of materials so they don't get bored of the same old games. This center can be played a few different ways. I've included a cover page, directions, and 44 facts. Let me know what you think!

FREEBIE and TPT Sale

It's that time to start getting our classrooms ready for school, so that means a Teachers Pay Teachers SALE! My entire store will be 20 % off August 4-5. Click the image below or click here to get to it! I've also got a new FREEBIE that you can download here! My next post will be all about the first week of school and fun activities to do in your classroom so stay tuned! Have a great weekend!!!

 

Valentine's Day Freebie!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend! This is an exciting week because Valentine's Day is on Friday! I'm excited for many reasons: 1) Mini-Valentine's Party at school 2) Working my second job which will score me the big bucks (waiting tables) and 3) Celebrating my husband and I's first Valentine's Day as a married couple--which we're doing on Sunday :)

 

I literally made this product TODAY. My co-worker( Kindergarten teacher and good friend) called my room and said, "Hey, can you make me a quick Valentine's Day card that I can print out for my kids?" I quickly made it and e-mailed it right away. I printed out a copy for myself--I thought--why not kill two birds with one stone? Then another teacher saw it and asked if I'd make her a copy. Well, then the obvious hit me...I better put it on Teachers Pay Teachers for the rest of my teacher friends! So please enjoy this freebie, which wouldn't have been created if it weren't for my friend Jessica :)

 

Grab this freebie at my TPT store by clicking here! 

 

Don't forget to follow my TpT store and blog to get the latest updates! :)

President's Day FREEBIE and GAME

Here in Southern Maryland we had a snow day! This meant that I could spend a few hours creating some new products. Since President's Day is coming up, I figured I could focus on that. Check it out!

Who's That President? You can find this for $4.00 at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click here to grab this fun game! In this game, students read a fact about a president and have to match it to one of the six presidents. Ideally, there should be some background knowledge, but this can also be a learning tool that you can use with groups!  

Here is your President's Day FREEBIE! :) After teaching about President's Day, have your students write what they would do if they were president. This would be an amazing writing sample to hang in the hallway or laminate to send home in a portfolio. There is an intermediate prompt and a primary prompt. Click here to grab this one :)

Thanks again for stopping by! I hope you enjoy these products! Let me know what you think :)

I Have a Dream...

This month we are learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Well, we are at least trying to. In third grade, there's not much time for anything "fun." In my opinion, learning about history is something our students NEED. I'm going to try and squeeze in some time on Friday to watch a short video and have each student write their own "I Have a Dream" speech. Check the video out here. You can download this freebie here! What are you doing in your classroom to celebrate MLK?

 Update 1/28/14

Here is how my students' speeches turned out:

 

24 Hour Graphic Organizer Freebie

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am beyond excited that it is Tuesday because it is now THANKSGIVING BREAK! I know we are all in much need of this break. What fun things did you do in your classroom today? We had our fall festival, which turned out to be about 100 pounds of potato chips! Since I am so excited about the break, I decided to make my graphic organizer bundle a 24 hour freebie! It will then bump up to $3.00. These graphic organizers are common core aligned and focus on close reading by going back into the text to support ideas. Download this short term freebie HERE. You may also click the preview below to take you to my TpT Store! Then, see below at how I incorporate these into guided reading and really take on "detective" to a new meaning :)

To make guided reading even more fun with these graphic organizers, I made it "detective" themed. My students LOVE being detectives. It really motivates them to try and find answers in the text. I added some "detective gear" to my guided reading materials. Hello, Dollar Tree! Just add some funny glasses and call yourself a detective. Works like a charm for my third graders!

I can't take pictures of my kids' faces, so enjoy this!

 You'd be surprised how serious they take themselves in these glasses. It's almost hard for me to keep a straight face :)

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to follow my blog, Pinterest, Twitter, and TpT Store to stay updated on the latest news at The Elementary Life!

Freebie @ My TpT Store!

Happy Friday everyone! After such a long week, I decided to dedicate my Friday night to uploading a freebie product to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. Before I began creating my own products, I came up with the idea of journal labels and simply typed my topics in Word. HELLO, BORING! I mean, my kids enjoyed writing in the journals on topics they

liked, but it wasn't an eye catching writing center. My kids love word work centers, but it's like pulling teeth to get them to write. Adding a creative and colorful label not only looks nicer, but grabs kids' attention. In my classroom, we use The Daily 5, so I need lots and lots of centers because they get bored of the same ones. This center can last all year long. What do you do in your classroom to promote creative writing?

Head over to my TpT store and download it here. 

Interested in some different labels with the same or similar designs? Let me know because I would love to make more!