Autumn Acrostic Poems

Acrostic poems are a great way to engage students in poetry writing. They help foster creativity, descriptive ability, and initial sound fluency.

These fall acrostic poem templates are perfect for any lesson. Students write inside fall shapes and then color them. Makes a great hallway display!

Included:

Acorn templates
Maple Leaf templates
Pumpkin templates

There are template options for 2-letter words, 3-letter words, 4-letter words, 5-letter words, and half sheet attachments for longer words. Any number of letters is possible!















30 pages plus directions

Ideas for Use:
Student names
Character names
Book titles
School name
Autumn adjectives
Fall food and drink
Thanksgiving words
I'm Thankful for...
Halloween words
Spooky words

Get the Autumn Acrostic Poem set here! ($4)

How do you use acrostic poems in your classroom? Share in the comments below!

Happy Fall!

Spelling Practice Menu

It's been said that one of the most effective forms of behavior management is a fun, engaging lesson. Children with behavior needs, especially those motivated by control, are often less likely to display refusal when given choices. I decided to come up with a spelling practice activity that combines both of these ideas.

Spruce up your spelling practice to make it fun, and give children choices with this Spelling Practice Menu.

Download it for FREE here.

 

Give students this tri-fold menu, and have them choose from 22 choices how they will practice their spelling words. Includes directions and ideas for spelling menu items. Also includes a blank menu format for handwritten customization. Grayscale color theme for easy printing and copying.

What are some fun ways you practice spelling in your classroom? Share in the comments below!

Happy spelling,

Finally, students want to practice tying their shoes!

In a multi-age classroom you're likely to find a few students who are unable to tie their shoes. A colleague of mine told me that her son learned how to tie his shoes by watching the television show Spongebob Squarepants. In case you've been living under a rock (or in a pineapple under the sea), Spongebob is HUGE among elementary aged students.

Spongebob has a song for shoe tying practice! It's pretty catchy, and the students love it. First, I teach the lyrics. Then, I teach students how to tie their shoes, using the words of this song. Finally, I give them independent practice time with lacers (or actual shoes) while I play the song on loop.

Check out the Spongebob shoe tying video here! (Not the best quality, but it works!)


How do you help students tie their shoes? Share in the comments below!

Happy tying,

A Peach for the Teach

Using the iPad (or Digital Camera) for Accountability During Independent Work

I have a confession. In first grade, I used to "pretend" to build letters with play dough when my teacher walked by, but really I was building puppies and kitties. I would quickly roll them into the letter "C" when she checked on me. [gasp] I've learned my lesson since then, but this got me thinking...

In a perfect world, we could never miss a beat while observing each student working in centers. Realistically, though, we miss a thing or two. Here's the solution for that!

Have students take pictures of their independent work-- on the iPad or digital camera. Here, a student was asked to stamp his spelling words into play dough. I had him take a photo of each word he stamped.

This was great for accountability and also a wonderful informal assessment tool!

How do you hold students accountable during independent work times? Share in the comments below!

Happy assessing,

Lined Paper - All in one place!

I always felt frustrated at the amount of time it took me to find, collect, and copy lined paper for my multi-aged classroom. Each student needed a different sized line, but I wanted all the paper to match for hallways displays. I finally decided to just make my own!

The multi-age lined paper set I made contains the following:
4 line size options (Pre-K to Upper Elementary Grades)
4 color options (black, black with red bottom line, blue with red dashes, blue)
Lined set with picture boxes
Lined set without picture boxes
Portrait and landscape orientation
Each page has a margin-- perfect if you plan to photocopy a border onto any paper

Click here to download the set from my TpT Store ($5)

Soooo much easier now!

I sort my lined paper in these plastic containers with drawers. I recently bought these from Walmart, and I've seen them all over the place. I store the 4th-5th grade paper in the top drawers, 2nd-3rd grade paper in the middle drawers, and primary papers in the bottom drawers. That makes it easy for each student to reach. The drawers are clear, so they are easy to see. You could also cut a strip of the lined paper out and tape it to the front of the drawer as a label.


I hope that helps you, your students, and your sanity,

A Peach for the Teach