By Rachel Lynette
Seriously, would you read this post if it started out like this? Students should write good sentences. They should use good words. They should write long sentences. Clearly, learning to expand sentences and choose more precise words is an important part of becoming a good writer. Not only that, but these skills are also part of the Language Common Core Standards. That is why I
A few weeks ago, Julie from My Journey to 5th Grade sent me an email asking if she could create an Excel spreadsheet of all of my task cards. She wanted to use it to keep track of which cards she had already bought and which ones she might want to buy, and she thought that other teachers might find it useful. Of course, I
For words that are supposed to make things easier, contractions can make things a whole lot harder, until your students understand how to use and spell them properly. Here are some ideas that can help. Be sure your students know what a contraction actually is. The word “contract” means to make something smaller – and that is exactly what a contraction does. Explain that the
Looking for a new and fun way to use task cards with your students? Try the Kagan cooperative learning game Quiz, Quiz, Trade. One reason this game is popular with both kids and teachers is that it gets your students up and moving. Not only that but you can also use it to review pretty much any subject. Here is how to play: Select a
Over the years, I have produced a dozen or so freebies for Christmas and Hanukkah. Of those, these six are my favorites. Summarize It! Task Cards for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa I made this set of task cards this year as my holiday gift to all of you who read Minds in Bloom and frequent TpT. You can read more about the set here. One
I know, I know: it isn’t even Thanksgiving, and here I am talking about the holiday season already. But I wanted to post about this set of free Winter Holiday Summarizing Task Cards now because I am really excited about them and also so that you can download them now and have them printed, cut, and laminated to use when you get back from the break. I
Don’t have the time, energy, or money to laminate the task cards you just purchased? Try using a small photo album for 4 x 6 pictures. I got this one at our local drug store for $1.99. But be sure to check Amazon, too, because you might find one that holds more for less money! It is possible that some task cards will be too
If you happen to be teaching literary genres this year, then I have two great resources that can really help. Use these genre task cards to help your students gain familiarity with the eight different genres: biography informational mystery fantasy science fiction historical fiction realistic fiction folktale Each card features a short passage and four choices for selecting the correct genre. If you want to
I have this idea that if a teacher who has never used task cards tries them, she will love them so much that she will simply have to get more. That is one reason why I made this set of free Reading Strategies Task Cards. While totally useful as a stand-alone activity, this set of task cards is kind of a sampler of some of
Now that you have been in school for a few weeks (or in some parts of the country, longer), you have probably figured out who those fast finishers are in your class, and you might be looking for some activities to keep them challenged. Here is a free set of 20 autumn-themed, opened-ended task cards that will do the job quite nicely. Most of the activities are
I created this freebie because I heard from some of you that you needed a way for students to keep track of the task cards they had completed. I hope this will do the trick! There are three different tracking sheets: One for older students to record up to 20 sets of completed cards Half-sheets for recording up to 10 sets of completed cards A
How cool is it that a duck can be a common water fowl or something you do to avoid being bashed in the head? Multiple meaning words, while somewhat confusing to those who are learning English, are also loads of fun. Not only that, but they are also part of the Common Core Standards across the grades from 1-12: L.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown
Just in case you are looking for some Back to School products, here are some great ones from my store (just click on the image to go to the product page): Beginning of the Week Activities and Management Tools for the Whole Year This is a mixed bundle of activities, forms, printables, and ideas that will help get your year off to a great start! Download it
Informational Text Structures can be tricky to teach, but they are important for understanding nonfiction text. Not only that, but they are also part of the Informational Text Common Core Standards for fourth and fifth grade: RI.4.5. Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text. RI.5.5. Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology,
I don’t usually write about my own products unless they are free, but in this case, I am going to use them as examples to demonstrate five different ways that a teacher can approach the same concept. Of course, I would be thrilled if you saw something that you want to purchase, but the focus of this post is to highlight the different approaches, and
I know what you are thinking. Sticky hands, really? Seriously? Yes, it’s true! Those sticky hands on a rubbery string that kids adore can be a valuable learning tool. Here is how: In a small group, give each child a sticky hand. Lay some laminated task cards on the floor or on a table face down. Ideally, these should be ones that can be answered
