10/1/2016: Get Your Class Ready for Election Season!

Are you talking with your students about voting in this election year?  It is never too early to get the conversation started!  PBS has a great guide to talking about the election

The Spirit of America - Volume 1 is a great collection of my Level D - I readers that have patriotic themes!  Students will read about topics such as voting, Veterans Day, our flag, the United States Constitution, the Liberty Bell, and much more while learning new vocabulary and improving their reading comprehension.

Wonderful to use as your classroom studies about our country, historic holidays, and famous Americans. The collection makes it easy to combine reading, writing, and social studies.

9/29/2016: Celebrating Johnny Appleseed

This week we are wishing a "Happy Birthday" to John Chapman, who later became known as Johnny Appleseed! John was born September 26, 1774, in Leominster, MA. Today you can visit Nova, Ohio, to see the last known tree to be planted by Johnny Appleseed himself,  it is 176 years old! 

My original play “The Tale of Johnny Appleseed” is a great way to learn more about this famous frontiersman with your class!

One user recently gave us this feedback: "How fun! .. and at the perfect level for my first graders. Thanks so much!!"

I am sure your class will also have fun with this readers' theater play.  

School Year Kick-off Sale August 22 and Voting Activities

As everyone starts back at school, I would like to extend my best wishes to all teachers for a successful school year.  It is always an exciting time to meet the new students and watch them grow and learn!

As you prepare for the year, I wanted to let you know that you can save on my TpT books August 22nd!  I am having a 20% OFF SALE on my TpT books and, combined with the TpT general sale that day of 10% off (use promo code OneDay), you can save up to 28% off any books you purchase!  The sale runs Aug 22nd, 12:01 am ET - 11:59 pm ET

The link to my TpT store is listed above.  Come check out the many biographies, new phonics books, and book collections for K-6th grade I have available.  A good time to stock up as the school year opens.  

With much news focused on the race for president this fall, it is a great time to get students involved in learning about the election process and what voting means.  Setting up a voting box and having them make ballots and vote on favorite activities or favorite foods can let even the youngest students understand how each vote is important and what it means to win an election.  

I will have some new single books on the election process and voting that I will post soon on my TpT site!  Now several of those are part of sets such as in the First Grade Pre-Primer Social Studies: Level C-E collection which has stories on voting and being a good citizen as well as a number of biographies of famous Americans and a story on Veteran's Day - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Social-Studies-Topics-Leveled-Books-First-Grade-Pre-Primer-Levels-C-E-457171.  

7/12/206: Outdoor Summertime Fun!

It is summertime, have you been taking advantage of the warm weather with your summer school students?  Summer is a great time to get outside and explore the natural world as part of your science curriculum.  A great complement to this is my set of “Nature & Science Topics – Leveled Books: First Grade Levels F/G”

You may find bees and ladybugs outside with your students, these are a few of the nature and science topics that your students will read about in this collection of first grade leveled books for levels F and G.

The books are grouped into various collections. This collection includes 6 first grade level F and G books on Nature & Science topics – Level F: A Beehive; The Doctor Visit; Basic Organisms; and The Air You Breathe; Level G: A is for Animal; and Ladybugs.  

User Therese LePage commented  "I love using these books for guided reading and for tutoring! I am always looking for good non-fiction (especially leveled) to use with students and these are a good option. "   Thanks Therese, hopefully other users out there will love them too!

4/11/2016: Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson!

Are you and your class ready to wish a “Happy Birthday” to Thomas Jefferson?

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was born on April 13th, 1743.  He was an important Founding Father, and the main author of the Declaration of Independence.  The Monticello Classroom has some great resources for kids and educators on their website.

My original reader The Founding Fathers is another great resource for your students to learn about Thomas Jefferson and some of his Founding Father peers.  Your class can learn more about some of America’s other fascinating 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

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