Spring Cleaning Sale

My entire TpT store will be on sale tomorrow and Sunday!  I plan to clean out my wish list and I hope you take this opportunity to clean out yours as well.  :)  Happy shopping!

Super Science Pack Giveaway!!!

I am SUPER excited to be participating in my dear friend, Rebecca's giveaway (from Teaching First).  You have the opportunity to win EIGHT great packets from this giveaway!!!!  Click on the button below to enter now.  :) 

Have a super fantastic Monday! 

The Library Fox

I hope everyone has had a great week!!!!  The weather is beautiful this weekend, so I am having a difficult time sitting at the computer.  It is above 70 degrees and the sun is shining.  I am so ready for spring. 

Anyway, I shared with you last week about a new artist, my school librarian, the Library Fox.  Well, I am excited to announce that she has started a blog.  I am SO excited for her!  I would love for you to visit her site, follow her blog, and/or store.  Please tell her that I sent you!  She will love it!!
Here is her blog address:  http://thelibraryfox.blogspot.com/

Like I said, it's nice out, so I am going outside to play with my puppy.  I just wanted to give Foxy a shout-out!  She has posted some new products in her store, so if you are looking for some adorable clip art....her store is http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Libraryfox.  She has the cutest puppy pack you have EVER seen!!!!! 

Have a great weekend!!!

Happy March to You and a Freebie

OMG!!!  How in the world did I let a month go by without blogging?  I am not even sure if there are still people reading my blog at this point.  I have seriously neglected it.

I do have some exciting news!  My husband and I have adopted a new puppy.  His name is Bocephus (Bo).  He is an English mastiff.  He has definitely consumed a lot of our time during the last couple of weeks.  He turned eight weeks old yesterday and boy is he getting BIG!!!  Here is a picture of my sweet baby, but I will tell you, he is already a lot bigger!  If you know anything about mastiffs, you know they are BIG dogs!  We are excited about that!  I can't wait to have a dog that weighs over 200 lbs.  I love this big baby already! :)

Other excited news....the librarian at my school is SUPER talented!  If you need something made, created, drawn, etc., she is the "go-to" person.  Well, after slightly twisting her arm, I talked her into creating clipart to sell.  She has made all kinds of fonts, lettering, and clipart to sell.  I would love for you to check out her cutie patootie store.  She has even created a font just for me named Nicole's Dots. Click on the picture below to check out Crystal- the Libraryfox's graphics and fonts.  I promise you will love them!!!!

If you are still reading and have made it this far, I have a freebie to share with you.  I have created a St. Patrick's Day writing activity to share with you.  With this writing activity, the students will create a leprechaun trap and write an explanatory piece about how to make their trap.  What a fun and engaging way to get your kiddos writing!  Click on the picture below to check this file out in my TpT store!  I would love for you to leave some feedback while you are there.  :)

I have about five different files started and hope to get them finished soon, so be on the lookout for more products in the NEAR future!

Happy Sunday, ya'll!

A Revamped File

I have been working, slowly, but surely to revamp some of my older files.  I just finished up my Science Vocabulary Word Wall and the new and improved file is definitely much cuter!  :)  If you have already purchased this file, please go to TpT and download the most updated version. 

This file contains 90 vocabulary cards that were designed to be a Science Word Wall, but you most certainly could use them in a Science center or hole punch them and put them on a ring to use as a vocabulary review game.  The possibilities for these are endless!  Check them out here!

Have a great weekend, ya'll!!!!

A SUPER SALE!

I am excited to announce that I am participating in the big SUPER SALE on TpT!  I'm actually running a sale starting today.  Happy Shopping!!!! 

Teaching Text Structures

Hello Bloggy Friends, I hope that you all have had a good start to the new year.  If you are like me, it has been SUPER busy.  Sometimes I don't feel like I even know which way is up.  It seems like there are always TONS of meetings and just STUFF to do after Christmas break.  I don't know....maybe it's just the realization that the school year is half over and I am left wondering where the time went. 

I have also been busy preparing presentations for teachers concerning writing.  I recently presented at a school in my district, I have an upcoming presentation at my own school, and then a regional training at the end of February.  I must admit, I am a little nervous about that one.  I have a tendency to break out in hives when I get nervous.  For my last presentation, I wore a turtleneck because I knew the teachers would be just staring at my "red" neck.  ;) 

So, what's been going on in my classroom???  Well, we have focused on nonfiction reading since we returned from the break.  We recently finished up with text structures and are now working on primary and secondary sources.  I thought I would share with you some of the things we did during our study of text structures. 

The first thing we did was look at the different types of text structures.  I have a Common Core Reading resource book that the kids used to learn about the five types of text structures.  Then, we created a layered flipbook of the structures.  We included information such as a definition to describe the structure, key words/signal words, and then a diagram to represent the text structure.  Here is what these looked like: 

Then, I used several resources from my TpT seller friends.  I downloaded an adorable freebie from The Science Penguin using text structures.  This cutie had an ocean theme.  I loved this little packet so much, I ended purchasing her text structure packet on penguins.  It was absolutely perfect because I had articles for all of the text structures from kids' magazines that were penguin themed.  I highly recommend these two resources. 

And, of course, I can't go without mentioning my gal, Rachel Lynette.  I LOVE her task cards and her text structure cards are no exception.  :) 

The last thing I wanted to share is a little freebie.  I have been contacted by several readers who have seen my post about the Reading Olympian Program and how to get the little signs I made for my bead container and file folder box.  I am sharing these with you.  Click here to get the labels like the ones I have posted in the pictures below. 

Happy Friday Ya'll!  :)