blank'/> Promoting Success: May 2015
         

Monday, May 18, 2015

Memorial Day Activities for Kids


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Note: This blog post contains resources from our TpT store and Amazon Associate store.

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Memorial Day isn't just a three day weekend to start off summer or a great excuse to go camping or have a BBQ with friends and family. Memorial Day is a day to show your patriotism, fly your flag and most importantly to remember our military heroes. Remember those heroes who died defending the freedom we enjoy in the United States of America!

Here are a few things to share with your students before you send them off Friday afternoon for their three day weekend:

1. Ask them to attend the Memorial Day parade or ceremony in town with their family on Monday morning. 

2. Explain to your students that Memorial Day began on May 30, 1868 after the Civil War.

3. Tell them about the National Moment of Remembrance which asks that at 3 p.m. for all Americans to voluntarily observe a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing for a moment of silence.

4. Explain if they see people wearing a red poppy that it represents to honor and remember all those who died serving their country in time of war. Poppies are sold to raise money for servicemen in need. 

5. Memorial Day is a day to be thankful for the freedoms (maybe read the "Bill of Rights" out loud to explain some of our basic constitutional freedoms) we enjoy each and every day. It is a day especially set aside to be sure we, as Americans, do not take our freedom for granted.
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History of Memorial Day


Holidays for Kids: Veterans Day, Presidents Day & Memorial Day



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Memorial Day USA Crafts



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Poppy Craft for Memorial Day with an Egg Cartons


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Another Poppy Craft with a Cupcake Holder


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You may also like these printable resources from our TeachersPayTeacher store:


 memorial day craft activity craftivity interactive notebook

This foldable social studies craftivity is perfect for the end of the school year and also works well for ESL and special education. Students will read the question on each flap, and then write the answer under each flap. (Students will need to use classroom materials or research online for answers.) Optional answer strips and a word bank are available for easy differentiation. A blank template is also provided for more advanced students to create their own Memorial Day questions and answers. A true or false worksheet quiz and answer key are also provided.


 memorial day teaching worksheets printable

This packet supplements your spring or end of the year activities. You will receive a word find, a word scramble, alphabetizing worksheet, sentence writing worksheet, acrostic poem writing activity and a letter writing activity. Answer keys are included for the word search, word scramble and alphabetizing worksheets. Rubric assessments are included for the writing activities.

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You may also like these resources from our Amazon Associate store:
 tissue paper poppy craft kit set of 24


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Grades 2-4

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 memorial day for kids book


Grades PK-1

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Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

How to Encourage Your Students to Read Over the Summer



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Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Note: This blog post contains resources from our TpT store and our Amazon Associate store.

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Encouraging your students to read this summer may not be an easy task to do, since there are plenty of other enjoyable summer activities. However, you and your students worked very hard all school year to increase reading achievement. So, rather than just pushing the books aside, the best way to make summer reading a successful reality is to plan for it!

So how are you going to encourage your students to read?

1. Set Reading Goals

Your students will become more prone to go beyond and above if they set reading goals this summer. There are various activities or programs that promote summer reading and provide incentives to both the students and your school.
(There are other online programs as well. Google will show you.)

 reading progress chart for kids


2. Think Outside the Box

Reading is reading. Whether it is a sports blog online, comic book series, celebrity magazine, how to play video games, newspapers, circulars from stores, etc. Reading and learning don't always come from a traditional hard bound book.


3. Help Your Students Access Reading Materials

Provide your students with a tour (in reality or online) of your local library. Examine all of the free resources from books, newspapers, magazines, videos, activities and summer reading programs. All readers, including students with special needs, will enjoy the large selection of audio or audio visual books. Students are busy with summer activities, sports and vacations. This means a lot of time in a vehicle. Audio books will make the trip (no matter long or short) more fun for everyone in the vehicle! Download free books for Kindle. Did you know your students can read Kindle books for free from any computer or mobile device?! Click HERE. Just download their book reader software for free.



4. Create a Summer Reader Community

The best part of summer is spending time with friends! Help students connect summer reading with their friends! Talk with students about book studies and encourage them to play together AND do book talks together. This helps all students, even the more introverted students, stay social all summer long. Older students may create a reading calendar and organize their own book clubs. For the younger students, the teacher can send home contact information (with permission, of course) regarding students in their proximity to assemble smaller scale reading groups.

 kids book club guide


5. Get the Parents and Families Involved

Send home a suggested summer reading list to help guide the parents. Please make sure all of the books on the list are available for free at the local library. Students could generate their own summer reading lists by browsing their local libraries online. Show students how to examine the inside pages of books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or YouTube. The best way for families to encourage summer reading is to model reading. (However, a trip to the local ice cream shop can be a fun whole family reward!)
A Video About Family Reading Night


(Here is a Common Core reading list. Note: These may not all be available in the local library. Use this list as a guide. Please don't print it for parents.)

Please share your own suggestions on how to encourage summer reading in the comments below.

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We have several book units in our store. If your students pick any of the books we have available, feel free to send the book activities home with your students.

To be used with any book:



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For lots more printable book units from our TpT store, click HERE.

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Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables.

Click HERE to follow us on Instagram.

Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest.


Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Educational Math Card Game for Kids

Here is an educational card game your students will want to play over and over!  It will help them learn addition, subtraction, and comparing numbers.






Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables.

Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Note: This blog post contains resources from our TpT store and our Amazon Associate store.

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Here are FREE photo directions for this game. These directions would work well in a math center.



To download and print the entire 10 step photo directions, please click HERE.

 free math game with a deck of cards for kids

You may also like this no prep activity packet that uses images of cards to teach numbers, number words, counting, addition, subtraction and writing equations.

Click HERE.

 math worksheets kindergarten deck of cards

You may also like these games from our Amazon Associate store:

 vintage kids card games


 nerts card game for kids

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Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables.

Click HERE to follow us on Instagram.

Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest.


Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!