It's Deb Hanson here from  Crafting Connections . It has always been my opinion that  grammar can be fun!  However, if you were to ask my husband, he would say that  grammar  and  fun  do not belong in the same sentence. Unfortunately, it seems that many of our students' feelings parallel my husband's opinion. The frequently-mundane drill-and-kill grammar exercises found in English textbooks do nothing to improve grammar's "bad rap". In an effort to combat grammar's negative image, I try to plan plenty of time for  fun  grammar activities. Today I'm going to share some of my favorite grammar games/activities that take little or no time to prepare. (Plus, some freebies will be sprinkled in along the way!) GRAMMAR ACTIVITY #1- HANGMAN   This version of Hangman begins with a student drawing a part of speech card from a bowl. After she reads her card aloud to the class, she thinks of a word that matches the part of speech card drawn. She draws the ...
The end of the school year is my FAVORITE time of the year! Not just because "it's the end of the school year", or summer fun is so close.  I love this time of year because it is a very satisfying time for my type-A personality.  This is my time to start getting myself ready for next year.  By getting myself set-up for success NOW, I can enjoy my summer and come back to school refreshed and ready to go.  Sounds good, right?  Well, it is! There is no better feeling than walking out the last day of school knowing that you have nothing to worry about when you return in August.  Here are my 5 "Must-Do" tips for the end of the school year. 1. Time to Reflect Right after standardized testing is over, I begin my "Must-Do" list.  My first step is to reflect.  This isn't some super-formal process.  I literally grab a notebook (see my favorite notebook below), and I write about all the things I loved and hated about the school year.  What worked and w...
Hi everyone :)  It's Mariela from Math Tech Connections .  Today I'm going to talk about how I teach elapsed time in my classroom.  Elapsed time has always been a difficult skill for students to master.  I hope you will find some helpful ideas that you can use in your classroom!  Start Early! If I followed the math book, students wouldn't be introduced to elapsed time until after December.  That would be a huge problem!  Some students come to third grade without knowing how to tell basic time and quit a few need a refresher. There are a few things you can do at the beginning of the year to make sure your students are ready for elapsed time.  > Morning Work I make it a priority to give my students a daily morning work sheet that reviews math & grammar. It’s important to choose a morning work that builds on the standards. You don’t want to give them morning work that covers multiplication or elapsed time in the first weeks of school. I have used th...
Are you starting to feel like the school year is winding down but your responsibilities are amping up? With summer vacation on the horizon there are always so many things a teacher needs to check off the to do list before trading in the oversized teacher bag for a beach bag. By the time everything gets crossed off and all the tasks are completed all you want to do is shove everything into closets, drawers and containers. You tell yourself you will "deal with it" when you come back in the fall, but always regret the  hasty decision when the time comes. One of the best things I did to make going back to school easier was to spend some time each spring before the year ended getting organized for the new year. Not only did this make me feel so much more effecitve and prepared in the fall, but also enabled me to truly enjoy my summer vacation! This post will explain how I saved my sanity and made it easy to jump into the new year by packing 3 special boxes before I le...
How can you make poetry analysis REALLY fun?    Use lyrics!    Yes, songs and raps are forms of poetry!  Students love to listen to the songs and analyze them.  They will beg you for more!      Keep in mind that all words in a poem have some kind of meaning to poets.  They choose words very strategically to not only include evident meaning, but also implied meaning.  This is the same with song lyrics. Make your lyrics analysis fun by turning it into a detective game!  Give your students magnifying glasses while they examine lyrics!  Give them a copy of lyrics to a favorite song and supply highlighters and colored pens! QUESTIONS FOR LYRIC ANALYSIS 1.  Predict the meaning of the song. 2.  What is the meaning of the lyrics? 3.  What does the title have to do with the song? 4.  What message is the song/lyric trying to convey to the listener? 5.  Who do you think wrote this poem/lyric? Describe him or her. 6.  What is the mood/tone of this poem/lyric? 7.  How d...
I think one of the most effective ways to reinforce learning in the classroom is to play games. Games are great for test prep and really for any time of the year. The great thing about games is that for most kids, you've got instant buy-in, as well as engagement. They love playing games and when kids are having fun in the classroom, I think they're often learning whether they know it or not! So, here are six of my tried and true favorite review games: 1. Stump the Expert I start by placing five chairs in the front of the classroom facing the class, while I go and stand in the back of the room, facing the front of the room. Everyone takes out whiteboards (Home Depot shower board that was cut for a class set for $14.00), expo markers and their erasers (small carpet scraps). I randomly choose 5 kids to be the first experts and then I ask a question from whatever subject we're working on. Everyone writes down the answer but holds it to their chests so no one can see...