Ancient Mesopotamia - FREE sample of Introduction

 by All-American Teacher Tools

Because I know your time and money are precious to you, I have made a sample of the Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamia student guidelines available so you can see what to expect when you open the full resource. The full Ancient Mesopotamia unit will keep your students meaningfully occupied while you circulate and keep students on task. A minimum of preparation is necessary by you. The students do all the research (with Internet links to help them) and presentations. Sit back and simply grade their work! I also have a FREE group work grading sheet.  This resource is designed for grades 6-10.  

Mini Grammar Books: Teach the Parts of Speech

Language Arts:  "Mini Grammar Books"
Grades 3 - 6
By Mary Pat Mahoney
Just Add Students


I love using mini books with students.

Besides being adorable, mini books create an easy reference text for students.  Can't remember how to form the progressive form of the verb (or what it is...really, how many adults don't have to look this up!), just refer to your mini grammar book of verb tenses.  There it is!

This product gets students engaged in creating their own mini "textbooks." These are printable, foldable mini books that students can use to take notes on complex grammar concepts like perfect or progressive tenses or pronoun case.

Printed headings on each page guide students in organizing the information they need to know.  An answer key for each mini book will help teachers quickly access information students need to know.

By allowing students to create their own grammar resource, they learn to go back to their notes and look for content.  When students interact with the text, they deepen their understanding.

A great way to teach students the value of note-taking!

To learn more, check out a preview of the product on
Just Add Students -- Mini Grammar Books

Thanks,
Mary Pat
Just Add Students

Fantasy

This is a BUNDLED version of both my Fantasy Reading Unit AND my Fantasy writing unit offered at a discounted price. Buy all your Reading and Writing lessons for a month for the cost of two cups of coffee! Fantasy Reading and Writing Unit

For Writer's Workshop teachers covering the fantasy genre, this writing unit is a must. It is a resource containing 14 lessons that carry students all the way through one of the most challenging genres to write. The lessons fit perfectly with both the old and updated version the Columbia Teacher's College Writer's Workshop fantasy series of mini-lessons. The lessons also encourage students to use an amazing tech integration component resource ( a setting and symbolism database blog). Writing skills specific to fantasy each build from lesson to lesson. There is another content here to cover a a five week unit on fantasy writing. Teaching writing is challenging. This unit in many ways teachers teaches about what to teach in writing!

Content NOT covered in the preview file includes:
Writing that contains symbolism
Writing with dialogue
Proof reading for fantasy specific terminology
Life a line elaboration technique
Distinguishing between summary and action scenes

and much more...

For even expert teachers of the fantasy genre, this unit contains a few twists and turns to add to their portfolio of writing instructional approaches. This unit is also a perfect compliment to my other resource: Fantasy Reading. 

Fantasy Writing Unit Workshop Model Complete Set of Structured Lessons

This is an outstanding 13 page unit that supports the Fantasy Reader's Workshop Unit. It is an entire unit of reading skills that can be used by any 4th-6th grade student during a course of study on fantasy. The resource begins as a tic-tac-toe menu of 9 unique reading skills that discuss reading skill related to the genre. Skills include:
Nuanced Characters
Major themes
Multiplicity of Problems
Learning Curve
Symbolism
Elements of Fantasy
Archetypes
Plot lines and backstories
Setting of fantasy
External and Internal Conflicts

A list of I CAN... statements that readers should be able to do with their independent reading books

A list of archetypes for student reference

Video explanation (copy/paste link)
http://www.screenr.com/9QR7 

The idea is that the teacher models these skills using the class read-aloud and then students practice the skills through book clubs, paired reading text, or independently using their independent reading books. Students can select the best 5 or 6 skills that suit their books. Pages are created for note taking and spaces for students to record their thinking. (Students can simply use the sections to categorize their stick note thinking or write directly into the booklet.) Students would be expected to work through the unit towards the creation of the final project - a presentation of their novel in a movie trailer using iMovie (or your preferred piece of technology). Guidelines for this additional activity are also provided. This is NOT a book report unit. Citing evidence is a key component of CCSS. This units forces students to cite evidence from their stories and go further by interpreting this evidence in preparation for their final class presentations. This is perfect for getting students to truly think 'deeper' about the fantasy genre. Advanced 4th grade readers could easily use this unit too. As the reading skills are generic, they are applicable across the 5th-7th grade age range as the complexity of the novels students use should create natural differentiation. This unit is a must for any study of fantasy or for a fantasy book club unit.

Check out these other BEST SELLING UNITS Reader's and Writer's Workshop Units in my store

3rd-4th Grade

Poetry Unit

Realistic Fiction

Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Mystery Reading and Writing Unit

4th-5th Grade

Fantasy Reading and Writing Unit

Upper Elementary Poetry Unit

Historical Fiction 

Historical Fiction Book Clubs 

Following Characters into Meaning

Book Clubs


Get great discounts on BUNDLED UNITS here

3rd Grade Reader's and Writer's Units

MATH LESSON - "The Factor Game"

Middle School Math Moments

Have you played the Factor Game? This is a great lesson - lots of fun for the students, while reinforcing the concept of factors!  If you haven't played the Factor Game before, here's how it works:

Click to download

Players start with a simple game board, with the numbers 1-30 (in the past I've alternated between giving them a pre-printed sheet and letting them write their own numbers on their own paper; sometimes I have them play at the whiteboard).

Player 1 chooses a number, and marks it (they might circle it square it, triangle it, color it etc). Player 2 then marks all of the remaining factors of Player 1's choice.
Player 1 receives points equal to the number they chose, and Player 2 gets points equal to all of the remaining factors of that number.

Next, Player 2 chooses a number (and gets those points), and Player 1 identifies all of the factors of that number, receiving those points.

Play continues this way until all possible numbers have been used.
*Special rule - players may not choose a number that has no factors available for the other player. If they do, they lose their turn, receiving no points.

Student turn - choosing 30

When I introduce this game to my classes, we play it on the whiteboard, and I always allow them to go first (the first time). Often, they will choose 30 as their number, since it's the biggest. When I go ahead and mark all the remaining factors of 30 (my points), they are shocked! After the first turn, they have 30 points and I have 42!

My turn - choosing 27

(I normally have 2 students record our scores on the board, while 2 others keep running totals on a calculator, but points can all be tallied at the end if you want).


For my first turn, my choice would be 27, giving them only 9, since 1 and 3 are already gone.

After their experience with 30 and its factors, they start thinking a bit more. They will often consider 25 or 23, but I remind them that they must leave a factor for me, and 1 and 5 are already taken.  For the sake of showing further steps, let's pretend that they choose 21. That leaves 7 for me.

Student turn - choosing 21

finished game

The game continues, alternating turns, until all possible numbers are used, as shown in the "finished game" picture.

 

The second time we play as a group, I might choose 27 or 25 as my first number (I don't want to choose the best "move,"  because I want them to discover it themselves)

We continue to play the second game, and they get a better idea of what makes a good choice.

After our games as a class, I have the students work in partners, and they normally get one or two games played before we stop to discuss at the end of the period. We always talk about what the best and worst first choices are, and bring the idea of prime and composite into the discussion.

I have been playing this game with students for at least 15 years (I think), and every set of students has loved it! I found the game when I was involved with Mathline, so long ago. If you'd like to see the original lesson plan, with extension ideas, click here.

Have you played the Factor Game? 



To check out items in my store, head to Middle School Math Moments
Find my blog here - Middle School Math Moments

Math Resource - "Interactive Fold it Ups and Notes"

Click to see on TPT

Middle School Math Moments
Grade 6

Help your students keep their Fold It Ups in one place all year! This book of Fold It Ups and notes is organized with space at the top, so that it can be bound for students to keep all year to use as an interactive notebook. Some of the Fold It Ups will need to be completely cut out in order to be folded; the pages following this type of FIU have intentionally been left blank so that the FIUs can be stapled or glued to that blank page.
A few of the pages are notes/resources for student reference, and will not need any folding or cutting.
There is a Teacher Guide included in the file as well, where I have included pictures of the finished Fold It Ups and added the text that I used in them, to help provide a clear idea of what they are “supposed” to look like. The printed text on the FIUs is minimal in many cases, since all of us may have slightly different ways in which to phrase the information we want our students to know.


To check out other items in my store, head to Middle School Math Moments
Find my blog here - Middle School Math Moments

LANGUAGE ARTS LESSONS - "Partner Daily Language"

Middle School Math Moments

Do you need a way to get your students engaged in editing and working with grammar? 

Try the first week of Partner Daily Language for FREE!

Click to download for FREE

Partner Daily Language is designed to involve ALL students in daily language practice, by having them become peer teachers. Using peer teaching for daily language on a regular basis has helped students to master parts of speech and develop a greater understanding of the reasons behind editing corrections. (**This is not intended to be the only method used to teach grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc, but rather a supplement that provides continual reinforcement throughout the year.)

This product provides the materials to allow students to "teach" one another. During each day of daily language, students pair up and each student receives a half-sheet of paper with two sentences on it. The first sentence is incorrect, and the second is written with editing marks, showing the corrections that need to be made, as well as the reasons for each correction. Each student works alone to correct the first sentence on his/her paper. "Partner A" then plays the part of the teacher as "Partner B" orally explains the corrections he/she made. The partners then switch roles, so that each partner is the teacher for one sentence. Students are also required to identify certain parts of speech each day. (There is a detailed description of the process included in the product.)

Included in the free week are: 3 days of student sheets, a study guide, a quiz, and a quiz key.

Addresses Grade 6 Common Core Standards.

To check out other items in my store, head to Middle School Math Moments
Find my blog here - Middle School Math Moments

Math Resource – “Color by Number Bundle – Math Concepts, Grades 5-7”

Middle School Math Moments

Grades 5-7

Students love to color (and so do I)!

This bundle includes color by number activities that address the following 10 math concepts:

Absolute Value(2 versions)
Algebraic Equations(2 versions)
Exponents (2 versions)
Decimal Division (decimal by decimal)
Integer Operations
Fraction Division
Fraction Multiplication
Multi-Digit Multiplication
Order of Operations (2 versions)
Two-Digit Division

Each color by number has 20 problems for students to solve. The students then find the answer on the coloring sheet and color with the color indicated on the problem sheet.

For those that have 2 versions: the pages for each version are labeled A or B in the upper left-hand corner.

Also included are coloring pages with no numbers, for students to color their own way, for fun!

To check out other items in my store, head to Middle School Math Moments
Find my blog here - Middle School Math Moments