Freebies

Here are direct links to my freebies in my store! Click the picture to download that document from my TpT store. Check back often for new ones, or follow me on TpT to get updates whenever I post any new product!

YEAR OVERVIEW ORGANIZATION DOCUMENT

This one-page document helps organize your year-long plan. I used them for ELA and math, although either of these could easily be used for other subjects.

For ELA, units are organized around a particular literature work or works and then a final project. I also have a place to list the writing focuses (such as a particular six-trait), the reading focuses (such as setting/context or theme) and the Common Core standards.

For math, units are organized around a book chapter and have a place to list major projects for that unit, since I would often do two or three per unit. There is only one column for skills focus, and not shown on the sample (but added to the blank one) is a column to list the Common Core standards.

My principal said he now prefers this type of overview to look over as an administrator, because it is to-the-point and quick to look over.

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SHORT STORY PLANNING GUIDE

This is a graphic organizer for students to use when thinking through the basic parts of a short story or even a longer novel, either one they've read or one they're brainstorming to write.

I've used it for students preparing to write folk tales, myths, and historical fiction. It has students start with the purpose, theme, or moral, then list characters and setting, and finally a plot diagram. It would work well for all types of creative writing.

The file download is a .pdf file; however, if you want an editable version, I created it in Adobe InDesign, and I can e-mail you that file upon request.

If you like this, be sure to check out the Writer's Resources Bundle!

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OUTLINE ADAPTATION

This fill-in-the-blank outline is set up for a basic 5-paragraph essay. I use this mostly for my kids who really struggle with seeing the overall picture and get overwhelmed when there are too many things to worry about at once (such as deciding what goes in each paragraph and formatting the outline correctly), but this would also be helpful for all younger students who are just learning the concept of outlining or new students who may or may not have been taught this format. This worksheet already has the Roman numerals written in, and each line of each paragraph is labeled with what should go there.

This would be helpful for English teachers as well as teachers of other subjects who struggle with getting kids to write organized essays for their classes and aren't sure how to help them.

The file is an editable Word document, so if you call something by another name, you can simply go in and re-word that line! You could also take away each line's label if you wanted to just give students the formatted outline but have them figure out what goes where!

If you like this, be sure to check out the Writer's Resources Bundle)!

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SHORT STORY PLANNING GUIDE

This is a graphic organizer for students to use when thinking through the basic parts of a short story or even a longer novel, either one they've read or one they're brainstorming to write.

I've used it for students preparing to write folk tales, myths, and historical fiction. It has students start with the purpose, theme, or moral, then list characters and setting, and finally a plot diagram. It would work well for all types of creative writing.

The file download is a .pdf file; however, if you want an editable version, I created it in Adobe InDesign, and I can e-mail you that file upon request.

If you like this, be sure to check out the Writer's Resources Bundle!

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WISH: A READING STRATEGY FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT

This editable 7-minute PowerPoint goes through a reading strategy for informational text that I created called the WISH strategy. WISH helps students to preview a text, use its features to engage with it while reading, and think back over the main idea of a text after reading. The PowerPoint includes audio explaining the strategy. At the end, students practice with an article about the Gold Rush, but you may substitute any informational text relevant to your unit theme.

Use this PowerPoint with the audio, or use the audio to familiarize yourself with the strategy before deleting it and teaching it yourself!

W stands for words and asks students to scan for bolded words before reading. I stands for idea and asks students to find the main idea of the text after reading. S stands for structure and asks students to analyze the structure of the text. (Common text structures are taught in a separate PowerPoint.) H asks students to look at the title and any headings and subheadings throughout to preview and assist in finding the main idea.

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FILLER ACTIVITY: WRITING ABOUT MY ROOM

This editable Word document is the assignment I leave in my sub binder in case a teacher has time to fill or if something goes wrong with my original plan. In it, students are asked to brainstorm about their room by answering four questions. Then, they are to complete one of four different short, one-day prompts about their room (for example, a poem or a sci-fi story that takes place in their room). The different prompts allow students to choose something that appeals to them.

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FILLER ACTIVITY: NEWS WEBSITE EVALUATION

This is my emergency sub plan for newspaper, as well as an activity we do in my intro unit. The activity can be repeated for kids who need something to do simply by choosing a different website to evaluate, or they could do a self-evaluation for the school's website by answering the first 5 questions about it, and then on number 6 coming up with new ideas for the school's website.

With this editable Word document, students are asked to evaluate a news website based on content, ease of use, professionalism, creativity, and interaction, and then brainstorm how those aspects of the website can be adapted to our school's news website.