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Sunday, November 30, 2014

Interactive Sentence Scrambles Freebie!!

Hello!

I hope you're enjoying these last few moments of your Thanksgiving weekend and gearing up for TpT's Cyber Monday {and Tuesday} Sale!

I have a fun new product and freebie for you today!

I've always loved using sentence scrambles in my classroom as a way to reinforce proper sentence structure.  They're just one of those things where the students are doing work and learning but they just think they're playing, ya' know?

As much as I love sentence scrambles I found myself wanting to get more out of them, especially in the upper elementary grades. We all know that time is precious in our classrooms and I so I became determined to find a way to get the most out of these scrambles my students loved so dearly.

And so my Interactive Sentence Scrambles were born!



Students are still unscrambling the sentences and having fun while doing it but they're also getting practice with parts of speech, writing detailed sentences and responses, prefixes and suffixes, and synonyms and antonyms!

I've created these interactive scrambles for the months of December, January, and February so far. They are available to purchase by month or bundled together for each season {winter season is the only available season currently}

Here is an example of a completed sentence scramble:




Each interactive scramble unit also comes with a "sentence board" and large cut-apart sentences. These are perfect if you use interactive notebooks or centers in your classroom, or if you want to cut down on your copies!

Want to try before you buy?

Click the picture below to grab an interactive sentence scramble freebie. The freebie contains two interactive scramble sheets.



The scrambles are posted in my TpT shop and will be discounted during the sale. Click below to add them to your cart!


Happy Shopping!

Halle

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Bundled Comprehension: Win It!!

PSA: I've been hesitant to write a post plugging my bundled comprehension passages for a few weeks. I hate writing anything that seems to braggy or salesman-like but I really want to show what a versatile product the passages are, as well as give you a chance to win them and/or grab them at a great price...so without further ado..



***

If you've been a follower of my blog or my TpT shop for awhile, you know that my comprehension passages are my babies. I started with the Winter Edition two years ago, and I've since added 6 more editions to the collection. My passages are some of my best sellers in my store and have received some pretty awesome feedback...






The opportunity to buy my passages BUNDLED has been around for awhile...in fact if you bought in early on you got a total of 4 editions for FREE! That's a pretty amazing deal if you ask me!

With the recent edition of my non-fiction passages, my bundled comprehension passages are now complete. Since everyone loves a good deal, the bundle is discounted on TpT. The value of the bundle is $48.50 but you can grab it for $40 even on Teachers Pay Teachers. That's getting a whole regular edition for free, plus another dollar off!

The Bundled Edition of my comprehension passages includes 78 passages, so by purchasing the bundle at $40, you're getting each individual passage for under 52 cents with passages to use all school-year long!

not all passages are pictured

Editions in the Bundle Include:
*Back to School {Mini-Edition}
*Fall
*Christmas {and other winter holidays} {Mini-Edition}
*Winter
*Spring
*Late Spring/Summer
*Non-Fiction

All Editions, except the Non-Fiction Edition {which features non-fiction passages exclusively}, feature both fiction and non-fiction passages that require students to use text-based evidence to answer OPEN-ENDED comprehension questions.

Other skills addressed:
*plot
*characters
*predicting
*inferring
*main idea & details
*sequencing
*author's purpose
*genres
*connections {text to self, text to world}


The passages are PERFECT for:
*homework
*classwork
*centers
*early finishers
*guided reading
*close reading
*small groups
*tutoring
*extra practice

Here are some photos of the passages at work in my classroom:


I introduce my expectations for how to complete the comprehension passages on my projector. We complete a few of these as a class or small group before I assign the passages to guided reading groups or for homework.



A buyer actually introduced me to highlighting the questions and corresponding text in different colors. This is how we complete the passages in small groups. It makes it very easy for the students {and me} to see where in the text they found their answers. We've also used erasable colored pencils in case they make mistakes, but the markers are easier to use.


I also have students circle the words they would use when restating the question for their answer. Restating is a requirement in my classroom.


This is a sheet from the non-fiction passages, which are slightly different than the other editions. They feature a "define it" box where students have to define a specified word from the passage. The passages include definition cards, which are great to keep at a center or use in small groups. You can also have students use their own words or draw a picture of what the word means.

I plan on featuring a post in the near future explaining all of the different ways these passages have been used by myself and other teachers. Be on the lookout!

Now, here's the GOOD STUFF!

You can grab these passages for 20% off today and tomorrow ONLY!{{ Grabbing them during the sale means you get the passages for 41 cents per individual passage!}}

Grab the passages HERE!

You can also enter to win the BUNDLE below!!! Already own the bundle or want to buy it on sale instead? If you win and already own the bundle, I will give you $32 worth of resources from my store instead! I call that Win/Win!

The Giveaway ends tonight at midnight! Good luck!

Halle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Currently, This November

So, it's November. When did that happen and can time please slow down? I have to spend it with my precious girl.

In other words, please be awesome, November...



I haven't participated in Farley's CURRENTLY in awhile, so let''s get it started!


Listening: to the Broncos and Patriots. It's Sunday, I don't really have a choice :)

Loving: Just hanging out! It's pretty cold and windy here so we've been holed up inside pretty much all day. My husband worked A LOT of overtime this week (including overnights and Saturday), so we're soaking up all the time together as a little family of 3 {{plus Georgie Girl}} eating homemade corn chowder, drinking red wine, and lighting fall candles.

Thinking: Ella needs a bath. She was a VERY messy eater today!

Wanting: Some leftover Halloween candy. We waaaay over-purchased this year. Our trick-or-treaters weren't out in droves like they were last year. I call dibs on Twix, Snickers, and Hershey's Cookies'n'Cream!

Needing: I definitely shouldn't imbibe...I've still got some baby weight hanging around, but my will power around sweets is at an all time low right about now!

Reading: You mean besides baby books, blogs, and forums? I started Yellow Crocus on a road-trip a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful book about an enslaved wet nurse who gives up her own baby to care for a wealthy family's. It's especially touching considering I have a brand new baby of my own right now. I love it so far, but I haven't had the chance to get back into it since we got home.

And now some pictures of my sweet girl, because, you know...

Starting to really smile these days!

Mid-sneeze! An outtake from our one month photo shoot!

Celebrating her first Halloween



Happy November!

Halle