Hello Mrs Sykes

Students need a variety of practice to develop their context clues skills, build their vocabulary, and engage with words, but schools typically stop these experiences after 2nd grade. My upper elementary kiddos (and their teachers) love to Build a Mystery Word! 

Inspire Students to Graduate! There are many ways to inspire your students to graduate high school on time. I found that letting my elementary struggling students "see" the year they will graduate helped to cement the idea of finishing high school. I began sharing these posters years ago in response to a push in my district to decrease the dropout rate by keeping my kiddos focused on when they will graduate with a high school diploma! Click to view the free set, perfect for grades K-5! Click to view the free set, perfect for grades K-5! Click to view the free set, perfect for grades K-5! I hope it inspires your class as well. Includes posters for grades K-5 , perfect for posting in the classroom, library, lunchroom, office, etc. Happy teaching, friends!

This paid post is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association and SparkySchoolhouse.org. Free Fire Prevention Learning Centers October is Fire Prevention Month and Fire Prevention Week is October 8 - 14. Teachers love to pull in topical resources, but they need to cover the standards, too. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is educators’ new go-to source for fire prevention resources geared towards elementary teachers and their students.

What are Boom Cards? A)  A fun way to practice skills. B)  Something my 3rd grade son is in love with. C)  Interactive task cards you can assign to your students. D)  All of the above. The answer? All of the above! Boom Cards are Interactive Boom Cards play on modern browsers (released in the last three years) on interactive whiteboards, computers and tablets. Boom Cards apps are also available on iOS and Android. Not sure your browser is modern enough? Try a free Boom Cards deck first. Click here for my free Boom Cards - Identify the Adjective.   Boom Cards are Online Any Boom Cards you purchase are available in your account at any time; you just need an internet account and a free Boom Learning Starter account. If you don't have an account yet, Boom Learning will upgrade your Starter account to a 1 year Basic membership ($9 value), allowing you to track student progress for up to 80 students when you download my free Identify the Adjective T...

Good morning, Sunshine!!  I hope you're off to have a fabulous day...  Here's a chart I made to help my green beans remember basic expectations when Responding to Reading .  Enjoy!!

If you are looking at how to make your Guided Reading groups even more effective, check out my free video on Guided Reading Moves for Teachers. It's in my Teachers Pay Teachers store . Just click the picture below to check it out! Click here to view all of my freebies in my TPT store, Hello Mrs Sykes

Need a fun and fast way to boost your students' vocabulary? Here's a Mystery Word of the Week free download (from my Teachers Pay Teachers store )  you can print and use today! Enjoy! Free Mystery Word of the Week from Hello Mrs Sykes on Teachers Pay Teachers

This post is sponsored by WeAreTeachers.com and The Nature Conservancy. Field Trip to Peru If your students are like mine, they haven’t seen much of the world outside their hometown. As a teacher, I am constantly on the lookout for opportunities to integrate the curriculum goals from my state in a meaningful way while opening the world to my students. One exciting (and free) opportunity to explore biodiversity of a coastal ecosystem is an upcoming virtual field trip to Peru! Join www.NatureWorksEverywhere.org on March 16th at Noon EST for a Free Virtual Field Trip to Peru ! Click the image to learn more, see the resources, and register for this free event!

Remember Cootie Catchers? Or did you call them Fortune Tellers? When I was in 5th grade, these carefully folded papers were all the rage with me and my friends. Since I became a teacher, I have used Cootie Catchers in all subject areas. Want to create your own Cootie Catchers? Read on, and you can also pick up a freebie! Create your own Cootie Catchers, for all subject areas!

Why colored rice?  It's fun!  So often we forget to make things hands-on for our upper elementary students. Colored rice is great for tactile learners and much easier to clean up than sand.  In the past, I've used colored rice in baby wipe containers (easy storage) for younger students to practice writing letters or words in the rice.  They love the feel of the rice, and if some falls on the floor, they use the whisk broom and sweep it up in a jiffy.  With my older learners, I use colored rice to make word work fun with Shake It Up!

Happy 2015! I have enjoyed the last 2 weeks, as I took the time to slow down, reflect, and spend time with my family. As 2015 begins, I wanted to take a moment to share some easy and fast materials I'll be using with my Literacy Intervention groups. Please note: all of my intervention groups are upper elementary, but these can be customized as needed for your class. Each of these activities includes fun materials to practice essential literacy skills. Enjoy! Fun Word Searches for January My kiddos enjoy word searches, and the words in these help to "front-load" my kiddos with the appropriate vocabulary to be able to participate in rich discussions. Click to download for free from my TPT store Click to download for free from my TPT store Speaking and Listening About 2014 I love Flocabulary, and the Year in Rap 2014 does not disappoint! From the Winter Olympics to Ferguson, Missouri, the Year in Rap is sure to generate opportunities for speaking and liste...

Just a quick post to share the letters my students use when we Build Words. The vowels and consonants print on separate sheets so you can copy them on colored paper, if you wish. I usually use colored paper for vowels, since it helps us make sure our words always contain a vowel. Enjoy! Click here to download for free from Google Drive! There are many ways to use these - I usually keep a few laminated sets at my small group table. They are handy to pull out and demonstrate a concept quickly with a small group. Another way I use them is as an accommodation for students with disabilities. I have had several students with reduced muscle tone, so I try to modify assignments that involve cutting for their benefit. My problem? They loved to Build a Mystery Word . My solution? They have their own set of letters in their pencil pouch, and when we Build a Mystery Word, they can participate without stressing over the cutting. I'm sure you can think of other uses for these cards! H...

Great news!  I finally finished my "Back to School" stuff.  :)  I've been back at work for 4 weeks now...  I've finished most of my beginning of the year assessments, analyzed my data, and am ready to dig deep into learning to fill the gaps of my struggling readers.  (If you want to read about how I do this each year, check out my series: Supporting Struggling Readers in Grades 3-5 ) One of the most important things I needed to do was to make sure my classroom is inspiring, even though it is *not cute!*  I do have touches of cuteness, but it is always functionally cute, not just cute.  Here are a few examples of functionally cute from the Upper Elementary Literacy Room: Common Core Rules for Discussion from Jen Jones @ Hello Literacy .  These are a fantastic resource for my students, and are posted in a spot that we refer to as needed to remember to make eye contact, respectfully agree or disagree, etc. What's Your Graduation Year? Fr...

Here's a quick roundup of 5 freebies and tutorials as you gear up for Back to School from my TPT store: 1.   A tutorial on  how to create your own Chair Pockets  from a person who rarely sews... 2. The Guided Reading Cheat Sheet: A handy reminder of what to do before/during/after reading: 3. The Mystery Word of the Week:   Print a free week here... This one isn't a freebie, but you can download 2 weeks of Mystery Words free from the preview on this product... 4.  The Brain Booster Box:   Grab the instructions and a free set of open-ended questions here. 5. Do your kiddos need to learn Greek and Latin Stems?  Here's my 5 Minutes a Day Strategy: Also, you may have heard about the upcoming BTS sale on TPT !   Shop my store now to add to your cart , and they will be 28% off (August 4 and 5) when you enter the code: BTS14  (Friendly reminder to use the code...  occasionally I forget!) Button credits: ...

My kiddos always have trouble remembering to go back into the text for evidence to support their reasoning.  Here's a quick little poster I created to remind them to "GBITT."  Click the picture to download free from my Teachers Pay Teachers store . Click to Download this Poster for Free Enjoy!

The title kinda says it all...  Here's a quick and fun Thanksgiving word search freebie : Click Here for TpT , Click Here for TN If you like it, feel free to share this with other teachers by leaving feedback, blogging about it, or pinning the freebie!  Thanks!!!  Want more Thanksgiving Freebies?  Visit the Linky at Tales from Outside the Classroom for others! We had a winner in the Pick Your Chevron giveaway!  Karen, check your inbox and let me know where to mail your scarf!!  :) a Rafflecopter giveaway If you're looking for some really fabulous ELA resources for grades 3-4, check out this Educents deal that I am a part of... Click here for the post I wrote about this deal , including a freebie from my CCSS RL packet for grades 3-5 (included in the bundle, and pictured below.)   There's still one more day to enter the Giveaway, too!! Have a wonderful weekend!!  Here's a little chuckle for you...