Valentine's Day FREEBIE and SALE!!!!

Don't forget that everything in my store will be 27% off and my newest product, Tricabulary - Fractions, will be FREE but for Valentine's Day only!  I will say that for some reason (that I can't figure out) I cannot turn Tricabulary on Teacher's Notebook into a free item without deleting it and creating a whole new item.  So sadly you can only get the FREE Tricabulary - Fractions on TPT but the sale is on both sites!  All I ask is that you leave feedback and let me know what you think :o)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sabra

Valentine's FREEBIES and Birthday SALE!

In honor of Valentine's Day and my birthday I'm giving some goodies away!  This week's 52 Weeks of Pinterest creation is a gift for my kiddos.  I'm sure you have seen these cute glowing valentine's all around Pinterest and they are from the wonderful Lindsey at The Teacher Wife (she has super cute stuff if you haven't checked her out yet!). I just recreated them with my fonts (partially because I didn't realize that clicking on her picture would take me to a google doc until it was too late, haha).  If you click on the picture below it will take you to a google doc where you can download it for FREE!!!

Or if you want to sign your own name, click here for a blank valentine.

Also in honor of the duel holiday (for me anyway, lol) I am giving away my newest product for free and since I'm turning 27, the rest of my store will be 27% off !  My only birthday wish is that you please leave feedback and let me know what you think :o)  Here is a sneak peek at my newest product: Tricabulary - Fractions!

 

It's a new twist on your classic matching game.  Along with having to match a term to its definition, you will add a third category and match an example to the two as well.  Now the example card can be a challenge so feel free to use it as an enrichment.  This game works great in my TIMER tubs for math centers and depending on which groups are playing this game I take away or add certain cards to differentiate for review or enrichment.  Click on the picture above to take you to my TN store for your free download!  If you don't have a Teacher's Notebook account the same freebies and sales are going on at my TPT store.

Remember all this fun free stuff and sale is only available on February 14, 2013!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all!
Sabra

52 W.O.P. & Pinspired: Week 4 - Author's Purpose Writing

I'm doubling up here today folks!  Not only am I going to tell you about my 4th week in the 52 weeks of Pinterest, I'm also linking up with Learning in Wonderland's Pinspired Linky.  Might as well get two birds with one stone!  This week we are finishing up our Author's Purpose and Perspective unit and I wanted to end with a fun twist!  I saw this lesson on Pinterest (obviously) and loved the idea!  I tweaked it a little bit to fit the older students but it worked out just great and I got to make a big fish to decorate our hallway, so all is well :o).

After two weeks of studying author's purpose in every form of media we could find, and I mean every form, I wanted to have the students write their own author's purpose.  I started off by walking around and telling students they were going to pick a letter out of the bag and hold it.  Don't ask any questions and you can't trade.  I didn't say anything the whole time I was walking around but by the time everyone got a letter they were starting to catch on.  Once everyone had a letter I asked them what they thought those letters represented.  All hands went up and they knew it was PIE: Persuade, Inform, Entertain (so proud!).  Next, I told them I was going to give them a mystery object and they would become the author and write about the purpose that they chose for that mystery object.  Needless to say they got VERY excited waiting to find out what they had to write about.

At this point in the year my kids know that I LOVE enjoy food and love like incorporating food into our lessons, but bless their little hearts they still act surprised for me when I pull out the mystery object = goldfish!  I go on to tell them that I want creative, inventive, surprising, fifth grade stories and essays.  Some asked what they write about and I said, "Whatever you want.  As long as it has the mystery object and it fits your purpose."

These are some of the best papers I've ever had turned in to me!  I had some students try to persuade you NOT to eat the goldfish because they were unhealthy for you (that didn't stop me though, lol) and some leaning the other way.  A boy trying to persuade a girl to switch his snack pack for her goldfish at lunch.  The stories ranged from goldfish trying to escape the bag to goldfish in the ocean.  For informative, kids used the information on the bag, commercials they had seen, their website and more!  I was beyond impressed and they loved it, it was evident in their writing.  I also got to make a sweet gold fish for outside our classroom to display their work.  Meet Gold E. Fish!

This activity was definitely worth it!  The kids loved it and I loved what they produced.  It was a wonderful way for my kids to really apply their author's purpose skills outside of reading comprehension passages.  Happy pinning!

Sabra