3/24/2016: Women's History Month

As we enter into the end of March, I hope that you are enjoying studying some fascinating women with your class during Women’s History Month.  

My collection of leveled readers, "Famous Women in History" is an excellent way to build literacy skills while learning more about Women’s History.  This collection of leveled readers for second through fourth grade features stories about eight women and their contributions to history.  This series includes books on eight notable American women, including Clara Barton, Helen Keller,Eleanor Roosevelt and Sojourner Truth, among others.

Explore all of them on my Teachers Pay Teachers site:

Amelia Earhart -- Airplane Pilot (level L)

Abigail Adams -- First Lady & Crusader for People’s Rights (level L)

Clara Barton -- Founder of the American Red Cross (level N)

Maria Mitchell -- Astronomer (level N)

Helen Keller -- Inspirational Speaker (level O)

Ellen Ochoa -- Astronaut (level P)

Laura Ingalls Wilder -- Pioneer and Author (level P)

Millie Hughes-Fulford -- Scientist in Space (level R)

3/23/2016: Spring is Here- Looking Ahead to Arbor Day

Spring is officially here!  It is a perfect time to enjoy the beauty of nature- baby animals, flowers, and trees!  Speaking of trees, Arbor Day will soon be here!  According to the Arbor Day Foundation “National Arbor Day is always celebrated on the last Friday in April, but many states observe Arbor Day on different dates throughout the year based on best tree planting times in their area.”  

Performing my original play "Trees – A Joy Forever!" is a great way to celebrate Arbor Day and the arrival of Spring!  This play is written for 2nd - 5th grades and has 11 parts. The play focuses on J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day. The play tells the history of Morton’s contribution to establishing Arbor Day as a national holiday through the eyes of the statue (J. Sterling Morton). The statue comes alive when two children walk through Arbor Lodge Historical Park in Nebraska.

This is an original play written for use as readers’ theater, as a part of balanced literacy (Read-Aloud, Shared and Performance Reading or Guided Reading), or for an actual play production. In readers’ theater or through one of the balanced literacy approaches to teaching reading, children are not expected to memorize their lines, yet the reading encourages strong oral skills.

You can find other original readers’ theater plays on my Teachers Pay Teachers site

2/24/2016: Looking Ahead to Read Across America Day!

As February draws to a close,I am looking forward to March and Read Across America Day!  Read Across America Day is a celebration of reading that takes place nationwide every year on (or around) March 2nd to celebrate Theodor Seuss Geisel’s, also known as Dr Seuss’s, birthday.  This year it is being celebrated on Wednesday March 2nd by thousands of schools and libraries across the country.

A great way to celebrate Read Across America Day is reading my reader Second Grade Level K Reader Dr. Seuss - Best-Selling Children's Author with your class. This original book is a biography that tells the story of Dr. Seuss.

This second grade level K guided reading book comes with four companion worksheets which reinforce literacy skills involving reading, language, spelling, and writing. Specific concepts, skills, and vocabulary targeted in this reader are listed on the first page of the story. Please check out my Pintrest Read Across America Day board for more engaging ideas for your classroom.

1/25/2016: Groundhog's Day is Almost Here!

Groundhog’s Day is almost here! According to popular lore, if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd we will be in for six more weeks of winter.  If he does not, we will get an early spring!  Probably the best-known groundhog is Phil in Punxsutawney, PA, "The Home of the Groundhog!" The official Groundhog’s Day site has a lot of great resources for educators.

If you are looking for another fun resource, your students will have fun learning interesting facts about Groundhog's Day and groundhogs when they read this play "Happy Groundhog's Day" and take part in the original card game "I Have, Who Has? – All about Groundhogs", included with the play. This fun, interactive game will have your class ask and answer questions to help reinforce facts and information shared in the play.

Written with 28 parts, the play is set at a school where the students meet the legendary groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, and are excited to learn all about Groundhog’s Day. Information about groundhogs is reviewed with a special game their teacher made for them.  

You can select this great play as your bonus item for the rest of this month! During the month of January, for each one of the new language arts books you purchase (Leaping into Language Arts series for grades 1 – 5), you can select an additional item of your choice FREE from my TpT store

After your purchase of the language arts book is made, send to me your name, email address, the grade level(s) of the language arts book(s) purchased and the TITLE(s) OF THE ITEM YOU WOULD LIKE FREE. 

Send to my personal email at: foxvalleytutor@gmail.com   I will mail out your FREE item(s) ASAP. 

1/17/2016: It is Almost Martin Luther King Jr Day!

It is almost Martin Luther King Jr Day!

The week Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a wonderful time to teach your students about the life and legacy of the great American Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I have created two original plays about Dr. King, I Have A Dream - The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and The Dream - A Play about Martin Luther King, Jr.

These plays are complete with a teaching guide that lists questions before and after reading the play, words to preview, and extension activities, your students will have fun, build self-confidence and increase in reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary development.

You can read more about Dr. King in my reader Martin Luther King, Jr. - First Grade Level D Reader.  My original series of leveled books is written to incorporate the Fountas and Pinnell leveled vocabulary, Rebecca Sitton spelling words, and common core curriculum standards for grades K-6 in the United States. They are great materials for Black History Month in February as well!

12/29/2015: Leap Into 2016!

The December holidays have come and gone, and soon school will be back in session.  Why not leap into a new year with some new readers for your class, like my new “Leaping Into Language Arts” readers?

“Leaping into Language Arts” are grammar and writing workbooks that contains instruction and exercises aimed at teaching grammar in the context of practical writing skills.  There are separate books aimed at grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Enjoy the rest of 2015!

12/13/2015: Happy St Lucia Day!

It is already mid-December!  In different parts of the world, children may have been celebrating St. Nicholas Day or St Lucia Day as part of their own Christmas season tradition.  In my original play Where in the World is the Spirit of Christmas Detective John T. Brown travels the world to solve the Spirit of Christmas. Along the way he meets children from Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Mexico and Sweden in hopes of finding the Grinch who is missing the holiday spirit. Come and see how others celebrate this holiday and how the Grinch learned that Christmas is really more than things.

My original holiday-themed books and plays are a fun and educational way to add some festivity into your classroom this season.  This is also a time of year when many of our thoughts turn to sweets and treats!  In my original play Candy Land, children play the traditional board game (Candy Land) and when they begin the game by moving their tokens down the Rainbow Trail, a lick of a sucker causes them to be thrown into a land far from home and set off on an adventure with their dog Brownie and a familiar cast of Candy Land characters.  

All of my original plays may be used as readers’ theater, as a part of balanced literacy (Read-Aloud, Shared and Performance Reading or Guided Reading), or for an actual play production. Using plays in literacy-based classrooms promotes active listening for the performers, as well as the audience, and offers an engaging way to teach reading skills.

9/30/2015: Happy National Hispanic Month!

National Hispanic Month 2015 is here!

September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month.  This month began as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, and was later expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.  

According to the official website “The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30 day period.”

Now is a great time to honor Hispanic history and culture in your classroom with some of these offerings from Haven Hill Learning on Teachers Pay Teachers:

San Jacinto Day – 1st grade Level G Level

Cinco de Mayo – 4th grade level R

San Jacinto Memorial –  4th grade Level R

Cesar Chavez – 5th grade level T

My original Level T reader Caesar Chavez: Champion of Farm Workers' Rights is Great book for your students to learn more about the life of Cesar Chavez who was a champion for rights for migrant farm workers. It is written as a Level T reader but can be used with younger grades for advanced readers or as a read-a-loud and also for higher grade levels for special education students or ELL learners with various reading abilities.

This four-page reader comes with three accompanying worksheets which reinforce literacy skills involving reading, language, spelling, and writing. Specific concepts, skills, and vocabulary targeted in the book are listed on the first page of the book.

7/14/2015: Happy Bastille Day!

July 4 has come and gone, and now it is time to celebrate France’s national holiday, Bastille Day!  Bastille Day is France’s Independence Day,  it celebrates the storming of the Bastille, a famous prison, during the French Revolution in 1789.  The revolution led to the dissolution of the French monarchy and to the beginning of a representative government.  Holidays can be a fun way to explore other countries and their cultures with your class.  Holidays can also be a good segway to some basic geography.  

Do you study geography with your class?  My book original book Directions - First Grade Level I Reader is great for social studies or geography unit! This book is also included in First Grade Leveled Books: Level I – Set 1.  My first grade Level C reader “A Map and a Globe” is also dedicated to geography.  it can be found in Social Studies Topics – Levels C – E. For higher grade level, the story “Finding the Mississippi – Using a Map and Globe” is included in my third grade level N – Set 1

6/30/2015- Happy (Almost) Fourth of July!

I hope that you all will be celebrating a happy and safe Fourth of July this weekend!  

This time of year it is especially fun and festive to learn more about the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  

My first grade Level I reader  Francis Scott Key and The Star-Spangled Banner: First Grade - Level I Reader gives students the interesting background of the United States national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".   Francis Scott Key and the American Flag are also featured in my First Grade Level I – Set 2 book set.  

My  five-page Level O reader The Founding Fathers is a wonderful resource to bring information about life in the American colonies about the founders of the United States into your classroom.  The book comes with three accompanying worksheets to help reinforce literacy skills involving reading comprehension, language, spelling, and writing.   

Your class can learn more about some of America’s other important Founding Fathers in my third grade level O reader Ben Franklin - A Man with an Electric Personality

my first-grade Level G reader Ben Franklin, my second grade Level L reader John Hancock and a Study of Pronouns.  Your students will learn more about The Liberty Bell, and The United States Flag in my set of leveled books Social Studies Topics - Leveled Books: First Grade Levels H/I

6/23/2015: It is Almost Time to Celebrate Independence Day!

We are now officially into summer, and well into the month of June! Flag Day and Juneteenth, have past, soon it will be time to celebrate the Fourth of July!

This is a great time to study some important figures from the early history of the United States, such as the Founding Fathers.

My  five-page Level O reader The Founding Fathers is a wonderful resource to bring information about life in the American colonies about the founders of the United States into your classroom.  The book comes with three accompanying worksheets to help reinforce literacy skills involving reading comprehension, language, spelling, and writing.   

Francis Scott Key is another significant figure from the early history of our country. During the War of 1812, on September 13–14, 1814, Francis Scott Key  watched Fort McHenry being bombed by the British forces in the Battle of Baltimore.  In the morning, Key could see that the American flag was still flown over Fort McHenry, showing that the Americans had not lost possession of it. This inspired Key to write a poem, which became “The Star-Spangled Banner”  Learn more about Francis Scott Key with your class with my book  Francis Scott Key and The Star-Spangled Banner: First Grade - Level I Reader.  

This first grade Level I reader gives students the interesting background of the United States national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".   Francis Scott Key and the American Flag are also featured in my First Grade Level I – Set 2 book set.  

Your class can learn more about some of America’s other important Founding Fathers in my third grade level O reader Ben Franklin - A Man with an Electric Personality

my first-grade Level G reader Ben Franklin, my second grade Level L reader John Hancock and a Study of Pronouns.  Your students will learn more about The Liberty Bell, and The United States Flag in my set of leveled books Social Studies Topics - Leveled Books: First Grade Levels H/I

6/11/2015: What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth will soon be here on Friday, June 19th! Learn more about this important American holiday with my 4th grade Level Q reader What is Juneteenth? This reader tells the story of Juneteenth - a day celebrated at the end of the Civil War. From this story, your students will about the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in the U.S.

The book comes with companion worksheets which reinforce literacy skills involving reading, language, spelling and writing. Specific concepts, skills and vocabulary targeted in the book are listed on the first page of the story.

You can also learn more about Juneteenth and find more free Juneteenth Education resources from the National Juneteenth Observation Foundation

6/2/2015: Welcome to June, and Avoiding the Summer Slide

Welcome to June!  In your classroom, school is likely winding down into summer vacation, if the school year has not officially ended already.  

As the New York Times recently noted, Keeping kids reading consistently throughout the summer is one of the best ways to beat this dreaded “summer slide,” the loss of learning that occurs when children are typically not regularly engaged with educational activities during the summer months.  My collection of original readers includes relevant summer themes, such as What is Juneteenth?  This 4th grade Level Q reader tells the story of Juneteenth - a day celebrated at the end of the Civil War. From this story, students will about the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Around the Fourth of July, kids can learn more about the beginning of our country with my Level O reader The Founding Fathers

Students can also have reading and acting out original plays, such as The Wonderful Wizard.  Written with 16 parts, you will see that the Wonderful Wizard (Mr. Wonder) is never too old to help someone!  Although the play is written for students in grades 2-4, it can be adapted for other grades and abilities.

4/16/2015: Almost to Earth Day and San Jacinto Day!

April has been flying by, and we are now just days away from Earth Day and San Jacinto Day!  

My original reader Do Your Part to Save The Earth is a great addition to your lesson plan for Earth Day, or when your class is studying recycling and conserving resources! This third-grade level N reader combines reading activities and science concepts.

The battle that would decide the outcome of the Texas Revolution, The Battle of San Jacinto, was fought on April 21, 1836.  The Texans were led to victory by General Sam Houston against a Mexican army led by Santa Anna.  Santa Anna would soon sign a peace treaty that required the Mexican army to leave the land that would become the Republic of Texas, later the US state of Texas.    

Your class can learn more about this holiday and its history in my original 1st grade Level G reader San Jacinto Day

The San Jacinto Monument in Houston commemorates this battle.  It is the world's tallest monumental column and tallest war memorial.  My original 4th grade Level R reader “The San Jacinto Monument” will tell your class more interesting facts about this monument and the early history of Texas.

3/17/2015: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Haven Hill Learning!

My original reader Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day is a fun, informative book for St. Patrick's Day or a social studies unit on Ireland or holidays.

Also, your class can "go green" with my original reader Do Your Part to Save the Earth, a wonderful way to talk with your class about the important ways people can adapt their habits to help protect wildlife. It is accompanied by six pages of worksheets which reinforce literacy skills involving reading, language, spelling, and writing as well as science concepts. Your class can explore more science topics while building their reading skills in some of my other original readers, including the Leveled Book Series Nature & Science Topics – Leveled Books: Kindergarten Levels A/B, Nature & Science Topics – Leveled Books: First Grade Levels F/G and Nature & Science Topics – Leveled Books: First Grade Levels H/I.

3/9/2015: Thank you for your feedback!

Thank you to those of you who have tried out my books with your class and have shared such positive feedback on my Teachers Pay Teachers site!

Recent feedback includes a response "President's Day: First Grade Leveled Book - Level C": “This was perfect for President's Day!”

Also, a comment by a first grade teacher regarding "Actions of a Brave Six-Year Old, Ruby Bridges":

WOW! I believe I have almost everyone of your products on my wish list after discovering your store! I purchased this product along with the Thomas Edison packet for my first graders. We just wrapped up our unit on American Contributors and several of my girls fell in love with the story of Ruby Bridges. Even though this is a 3rd grade level my entire class begged for their own Ruby Bridges packet after seeing a copy. So, thank you for providing me with a resource that I could use for several lessons!!! Thank you for all of your amazing products!

Thank you again for taking the time to visit my blog and to try out my books, I hope that you all continue to enjoy sharing them with your students!

3/2/2015: Happy Read Across America Day 2015!

Welcome to March, and happy Read Across America Day!  Read Across America Day is a celebration of reading that takes place nationwide every year on (or around) March 2nd to celebrate Theodor Seuss Geisel’s, also known as Dr Seuss’s, birthday.

Seusville, the official website of Dr. Seuss and his books offers some fun online games and activities that your students can play to interact with some of their favorite Dr Seuss characters, such as the Grinch, or the Cat in the Hat.  Another great way to celebrate Read Across America Day is to build your students reading skills by learning more about the author himself.  My original Second Grade Level K Reader Dr. Seuss - Best-Selling Children's Author is a biography that tells the story of Dr. Seuss.

This second grade level K guided reading book comes with four companion worksheets which reinforce literacy skills involving reading, language, spelling, and writing. Specific concepts, skills, and vocabulary targeted in this reader are listed on the first page of the story. Please check out my Pintrest Read Across America Day board for more engaging ideas for your classroom.