Weekly Wednesday 5 Under $5 - 12/16/2020

Every week I put together a list of 5 great products from members of The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative (TBOTEMC) with the requirement that each product must be less than $5.  With a variety of subjects and a wide range of grades, there just might be something that you can use, so continue to read below and see!

In addition, if you're a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) who would like to get more information about joining TBOTEMC, contact me via email at ReneeHeiss@gmail.com or by simply leaving a comment on this blog post.

MLK Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech Analysis for Grades 2-5 and homeschool - $4.99

By History at Home

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, Homeschool

PowerPoint, Activities

Great for Black History Month, or a unit study on Martin Luther King, Jr., this resource includes background history explaining events leading up to the March on Washington, information on the march itself, the complete text of "I Have a Dream," and a link to watch the speech. PLUS it includes writing prompts and activities that give different learners options to explore the speech in more detail. Comes in a zip file for PDF & PPT formats.

Holiday Word Match - $2.00

By Mickey’s Place

PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd

Worksheets, Activities

Holiday Word Match provides a way for students to practice their vocabulary for words related to the holiday.  Themes are: Santa's Workshop, 2 different sets of Holiday Symbols, and Holiday Treats.   Highly engaging for this time of year.

Math Fraction Riddles: Recognizing Equivalent Fractions & Reducing Fractions - $3.00

by Scipi

4th, 5th, 6th, Homeschool

Fun Stuff, Printables

 

 

This math resource contains seven holiday fraction riddles which provide students practice in recognizing equivalent fractions while at the same time, reducing and identifying fractional parts in lowest terms. Specific words are provided, and the students are to figure out the correct fractional part of each particular word.  Answers are provided. 

 

Befana Bingo Game  - $4.00

By Urbino12

Pre-K to 8th

Italian, minilessons

A Befana themed bingo game your students will be delighted to play! What a fun way to celebrate "L'Epifania" on January 6th in your Italian classroom!

Everyday Physics - Simple machines for remote or in-class learning - $3.50

By All-American Teacher Tools

4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Homeschool

PowerPoint search

In this resource, your students will learn about the six simple machines by looking for them in the playground picture. They will click on what they found, which will link them to the information on each simple machine. Then they will complete a project sheet that encourages them to develop a NEW machine or device using one or more of the simple machines!

Other WW5U$5 Team Members on TpT to Visit:

History at Home

Reading Spotlight

Sunshine and Laughter by Deno

A Teacher's Teacher

Victoria Leon

As always, I encourage comments below and any ideas or suggestions by emailing me at reneeheiss@gmail.com

 

Renee Heiss

All-American Teacher Tools

 

Check out my Store

 

Civil Rights Heroes: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure inspite of overwhelming obstacles.

                                                -Christopher Reeves

Ask any kid about heroes, and he or she will rattle off names like Batman or Superman, or a list of professional football or hockey players' names. And yet every January when my team and I begin teaching our civil rights unit, my kids view King, Mandela, Gandhi, Helen Keller, and other activists with round eyes. Whenever we read a biography or picture book about these people, I can see my fifth graders mentally placing superhero capes over the shoulders of these activists. 

And why not? They made remarkable strides in the civil rights fight. I've come to question if that really is beneficial for my students, though.  Hear me out. Heroes are important. The belief in heroes can foster hope in otherwise hopeless situations. But I can't help but think that it's important for kids to know their heroes as people. When students are able to look past the epic accomplishments of their heroes to the human beings underneath the capes, they find real people, often with humble beginnings who accomplished great things for the common good. In doing so, my students can see what they might have in common with these activists and realize that these ordinary people were capable of greatness, and if they were, wouldn't my kids be capable of greatness, too? Wouldn't they be able to be thoughtful citizens who speak up when times call for it?

So how do I get my fifth graders to look at the human beings instead of the superheroes? We use a little character theorizing and close reading. Last week, my students and I spent the week reading excerpts from three of Dr. King's speeches: "I Have a Dream," "The Other America," and "I've Been to the Mountaintop." My kids had only heard and read "I Have a Dream." 

On the first day, we read an excerpt from "The Other America." I read it to them, and they highlighted words, sentences and phrases that stood out to them. We discussed the speech and then we completed a "Step Inside" thinking routine. We identified the things that Dr. King perceived or observed and backed it up with evidence from the speech. Then we inferred what he believes and thinks about America, again based on evidence. In the third step, we identified what it is that Dr. King wanted or cared about.  Finally, I asked my students to work in small groups to write a theory about who Dr. King really was, based on his words.

The next day, we read an excerpt from "I Have A Dream." I introduced it the same way. This time however, we used the thinking routine Sentence-Phrase-Word. In this routine, readers choose one sentence, one phrase, and one word from the speech that impacted them. We shared their choices with partners, and then we recorded them on chart paper. We used their collective thinking to discuss and revise our theories about Dr. King. 

On the third day, we read "I've Been to the Mountaintop." I introduced it in the same way, and students did the "Step Inside" thinking routine again. Finally, we rewrote our theories about Dr. King. My students noticed that each speech had a different tone. They thought that "The Other America" sounded angrier than the other two. Some commented that "I Have a Dream" seemed full of hope, but that "Mountaintop" was hopeful but very fiery. As a class, they decided that the "Mountaintop" speech was the most powerful out of the three because of his word choice.

Over the next two days, we created black-out poems using the speech excerpts we had read together in class. Each student chose her favorite speech, circled words that were essential, outlined those words in black and then created artwork around them. The results were beautiful.

 

In the end, I think my students have a greater understanding of who Martin Luther King, Jr. was, and they know that his humanity was his greatest asset. More importantly, they realized that they have some of those same capabilities. 

Interested in using the mini-unit I described in this post? You'll find it and some others to help you plan for Black History Month and your civil rights studies. 

February Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

Welcome to our February Teacher Talk.  All of us from the Teacher Talk collaborative would like wish you a Happy Valentines Day.  We have so many fab things this month from  proof-reading ideas, to ELA to math activities, to celebrating Black History Month and President's Day, you don't want to miss reading these blog posts from some awesome educators.

If you're interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs and blogging buddies and our blog linky, sign up here....The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names. 

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The Proof is in the Pudding, Proof-Reading That Is!

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

As a veteran English and Social Studies teacher, I’d like to share some effective proof-reading tips that I’ve used to help students improve their writing skills, and to make my life a bit easier.

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Love is All We Need
By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Just a little inspiration for building confidence and acceptance in your learning community.
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IMWAYR: Funny Bones
By Lisa Robles of LisaTeachR's Classroom

Have you read Funny Bones? Winner of multiple awards and a great informational addition to your Dia de Los Muertos collection!

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Valentine's Day STEM Olympics

By Kerry Tracy of Kerry Tracy

Blog post outlines 5 infatuating Valentine's Day-themed STEM challenges that can be modified for use with grades 2-8. Help Cupid get some target practice, build a tower of love, design the perfect candy container, find the "heaviest" heart, and have a flower frenzy!

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 Cooperative Learning - Bring Core Subjects Together for Student Learning!

By M. Moore of Moore Resources

 Cooperative Learning - Bring Core Subjects Together for Student Learning!

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What Word Does This Say: B-L-E-N-D?

By Susan Berkowitz of Susan Berkowitz

This is part of a series of posts about phonological awareness and the different steps and skills to teach. This post is about blending sounds and syllables to hear the word.

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Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Elementary Age Children

By Thia Triggs of Print Path

Finally! A systematic method to teach self-regulation skills to children with sensory, emotional, and behavioral needs. Color coded task cards give students managed choices to learn specific skills that meet their sensory needs and also calm them down, so that they can perform their academic classroom tasks.

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My Funny Valentine: Love Letters by Arnold Adoff

By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

A review and glimpse into "Love Letters" poetry by Arnold Adoff. This post also includes a teaching idea for its use in the classroom.

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Robots + Math & Science = Total Engagement

By Megan Bodmann of Adventures Teaching 4th

Get your students engaged in learning by introducing robots into your classroom. They are not only a ton of fun, but you can easily utilize them in your math and science lessons. Find out how easy it is to do!

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Playground Problem = Real Life

By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

The Playground Problem is a real-life math challenge! It keep students engaged and practicing their area and perimeter skills in a meaningful way.

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Understanding Fractions: A 6-Part Series

By Shametria Routt of The Routty Math Teacher

Fractions-- a single word that deflates the confidence of our most competent students and adults alike. In this series, I share some of the essential fraction understandings that I have developed over the years, including the many math tools you can use to reinforce these essential skills. With that in mind, each of the six posts highlights a fraction tool and activity that can be used to address a specific Common Core Math Standard (with a few printable freebies too). 

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Leveled Math Assessments

By Tammy Roose of Tarheel State Teacher

Do your math assessments encourage a growth mindset? Create an entry point for students who are not yet meeting the standards? Allow above average learners to show they know more than just what's expected for their grade-level? Find out 7 reasons why I'm committed to leveled math assessments this year! 

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