Motivational Quotes for State Testing {Free Posters!}

Hi friends! It's Blair, from One Lesson at a Time. Well, it's about that time again. You know what time. Testing time. Everybody's favorite time of the year, right?? Errr.....sure. 

I'm a self-professed quote lover. Whenever I find myself in need of a bit of inspiration or motivation, I turn to Google in search of the perfect words of wisdom. I especially like using powerful quotes during testing season to help motivate kiddos - and myself - to do their best and feel confident about their abilities. 

Here are a few of my current favorites:

These posters would be great on a bulletin board or other display to help remind your students that they can do anything they put their mind to. They would also look fabulous in a great frame! If you'd like to download the PDF version of the posters to print out and use in your classroom, just click {HERE} to grab them free from Google Drive!

Here are some links to some related posts on my blog, One Lesson at a Time. The following poster is from a post that I did about selling on Teachers Pay Teachers - but there are some great quote posters that would work nicely for testing season there as well! Click on the picture below to check it out:

I also recently posted on my blog about the myth that teaching "gets easier". Click on the picture below to read my thoughts on that subject:

Looking for practical resources to use in your classroom to prepare your students for standardized testing? Click {HERE} to check out my test prep resources in my TpT store!

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading today! Have a great week!

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Types of Nouns - Interactive Notebook Freebie!

Hey, friends! It's Blair from One Lesson at a Time, here to bring you a freebie for your ELA interactive notebooks! 

I get a lot of questions from teachers about whether I am planning on making any ELA interactive notebooks to accompany my math INBs. While I am not quite ready to tackle any full sets, I have been dipping my toes into the waters with a few little flippy-flappies here and there. :) 

Here's a quick and easy little flap book that you can use to help students remember the different types of nouns. 

Cut out each flapbook around the perimeter. Glue down the bottom page (with the definitions) fully into your notebook. Then, glue the top page (types of nouns) on top along the center strip. Cut apart the flaps and voila! You're done.  

Here's are some pics of the finished flapbook...

To grab this freebie, just click {HERE} to download it from Google Drive!

And make sure to head over to my blog, One Lesson at a Time, to pick up this Author's Purpose freebie for interactive notebooks as well! Click the picture below to go grab it:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! 

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Fraction Freebies for Interactive Notebooks

Hi, friends! It's Blair, from One Lesson at a Time, here to bring you a fun fraction freebie for your interactive notebooks! If you read my blog, you know that I am now teaching math in grades 1-4 and loving every minute of it! #mathnerd

We are eyeballs deep in our fraction units in 3rd and 4th grade, so I have numerators and denominators on the brain these days. I created this little set of foldable notes to help kiddos remember some key vocabulary and concepts about fractions.

The numerator/denominator flap is designed to look like an actual fraction. Glue the flap along the fraction bar:

Then, glue the definitions of each under the flaps. These are the definitions that we use with our kiddos and I really like them. That being said, if you want to use the template but would prefer your own definitions, just write them under the flaps!

I also created one that mimics the "diagonal" fraction bar. Same idea and same definitions:

Then, I created 2 fraction flip books to help students remember what each part of a fraction means in action - as part of a whole, part of a set, and on a number line. The first one is all filled in, using 1/3 as the example - this one is kind of an interactive anchor chart. The second flip book uses the fraction 3/4, but requires students to fill in the information and draw pictures on their own. Here are what the flip books look like:

Click {HERE} to download these interactive notebook fraction pages free from Google Drive!

If you need more fraction activities for your interactive notebooks, make sure to cheek out my packs for 3rd and 4th grade on TpT. I am also beyond thrilled to {FINALLY} be finished with the 4th Grade Mega-Bundle! Do you hear the chorus of angels or are those just in my head? ;) You can click on the product covers below to check each of them out in my store!

I also just posted a free set of Author's Purpose flippies for interactive notebooks on my blog - check out that post on One Lesson a a Time to grab your set! 

Until next time...

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It's Almost Winter Break! Brain Busters FREEBIE

Hi, friends! It's Blair from One Lesson at a Time. Say it with me now....Winter Break is almost here. Winter Break is almost here. These last few days can really be doozies, right?! I just wanted to share a fun little freebie that you can use to help keep yourself sane this week - AND keep your kiddos engaged!

These "Reindeer Games Brain Busters" are fun math puzzles that will help sharpen your students' number sense and math skills. And they are free - so yay!

Just click on the cover below to download them free from Google Drive!

If you like this set, I have a bunch more "Brain Busters" products in my store. You can click on the picture below to check them out:

If you are looking for more winter holiday resources to get you through this week, here are a few more available in my store - you can click on each cover to check it out on TpT:

 

Here's one more freebie to get you ready to come back after break - I know, I know....that's SO not what we want to be thinking about right now!!! :) But, I always love knowing I have a few go-to activities for those first few days of the new year. This fun little New Year's activity packet is a cute way to ring in 2014 with your kiddos. Click on the cover to download it free from TpT:

Alrighty, folks - that's a wrap for Blair Turner's 2013 ATUE blog posts! Thanks so much for reading and I can't wait to check back in with you in 2014! No matter what you celebrate, I hope you make time to eat, drink, and be merry over vacation! And most importantly - RELAX. You deserve it!!

Until next year...

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Free Thanksgiving Parts of Speech Cards!

Happy November, friends! It's Blair from One Lesson at a Time, here to bring you a fun Thanksgiving freebie!

Like many teacher-bloggers out there, I am officially a clip art ADDICT. Can't get enough. I love JC Sweetpea's clip art and when I saw her option to "buy the store" - I pounced. A girl can never have TOO much clip art! I wanted to get to work using her beautiful art  right away so I created this fun little set of Thanksgiving word cards. They are organized by part of speech:

One reason I pre-sorted them by parts of speech is because it facilitates one of my FAVORITE word card activities: Silly Sentences! Super easy - basically dump all the words on the rug or a table and let the kiddos go to town. They can make the sentences as silly as they want to, as long as they are grammatically correct. I also allow students to change the word to make it fit by pluralizing singular nouns, putting present tense verbs in past tense, etc. Always a big crowd pleaser. 

Here are 10 other ideas for ways to use the cards with upper elementary students:

1) Make a Sentence: Separate the cards into decks for each part of speech. Have students choose one card from each deck and construct a sentence.

2) Vocabulary charades

3) Practice putting words in alphabetical order

4) Words-in-a-word hunt: Choose a card. See how many other words you can create using the letters in that word.

5) Dictionary practice: Have students identify unknown words and look them up in a dictionary.

6) Interactive Word Wall: Post the words on a bulletin board or other display area. As students encounter the words in their independent reading, they add an index card under the word. On the index card, write the title of the book, the page number, and the sentence that includes the word.

7) Act it out: Students work in groups of 3-4. Each person chooses a card and the students work together to act out a scene that includes each word.

8) Find the value of the word: Create a simple Letter-Number code (A=312, B=297, etc.). Have students find the value of each word by finding the sum of the letters.

9) Word work: Write all the singular nouns in plural form. Write all the present-tense verbs in past tense. Write the comparative and superlatives forms of each adjective.

10) Synonyms and Antonyms: Find synonyms and antonyms for each word. 

If you want to download these free Thanksgiving Word Cards, just click on the picture below!

If you are looking for more Thanksgiving grammar ideas, make sure to check out my Thanksgiving Grammar Packet! Click on the pictures below to find it at my TpT store:

If you are a planner and already thinking ahead to winter break (and who can blame ya?), I have a Winter Holidays version as well! Click on the pictures to check it out:

Thanks so much for stopping by ATUE today! Make sure to head over to my blog, One Lesson at a Time, to check out my Thanksgiving FREEBIES Linky Party - some awesome resources have been linked up! Happy Turkey Day!

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Pop-Up Flash Card Viewer - My Clever Little Fox Idea!

Hi there! It's Blair from One Lesson at a Time, and I'm here to bring you an idea for your interactive notebooks!

Ok....this is probably going to come out wrong. But do you ever have one of those moments where you have an idea and think to yourself,

"WOW. I AM BEING REALLY CLEVER RIGHT NOW. I AM A CLEVER LITTLE FOX. WATCH OUT WORLD, THERE'S A CLEVER LITTLE FOX IN TOWN."

I swear, I don't usually spend a lot of time announcing to the internet that I am having a clever little fox moment. But THIS, my friends, was one of those moments.

I present to you.....drum roll please.....the Pop-Up Flash Card Viewer. I'll pause while you ooh and agh. Actually, please ignore that last part - I am big-time overselling this and you won't be dazzled at all.

I came up with this idea while I was crumpling a piece of paper up - a piece of paper with a really BAD idea on it. Funny how those things work. :) The viewer and the geometry terms flashcards you see in the pictures are part of my 4th Grade Interactive Notebook Activities Pack for 4.G.1 - Lines and Angles. In the pack, I include the viewer, 2 sets of geometry flashcards, blank flashcards, and bunches of other goodies.

I'm going to use picture instructions to explain how I made it. I'll provide you with a blank template so you can make your own- but once you get the hang of it, you can definitely make them easily with plain paper.

POP-UP FLASH CARD VIEWER DIRECTIONS:

That's it! Super fun and easy! You can put any content you want on the flash cards - just match up the content on the left side with the corresponding rectangle on the right side. Slide the flashcards up and down to see different sections in the viewer. Click on the pictures of the templates below to download them free:

I hope you can use these in your classroom! If so, make sure to leave a comment and tell me what you do with them - I'd love to hear your ideas! :) One more tip - I tried using card stock, but found that regular printer paper works better if you plan to use them IN your interactive notebooks. The card stock doesn't lie flat enough. If you are just going to mount them on construction paper, you may want to use card stock. 

If you want to check out more of my interactive notebook activities, I have complete sets available for 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, and I am currently working on 4th Grade. Each standard is available individually, as part of a domain bundle, or as part of a mega-bundle of all standards. You can click the pictures below to check them out at my TpT store:

Thanks so much for stopping by All Things Upper Elementary today!

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