Where has the time gone?!!!

This year has definitely been a rough one for me. I have no idea how I was able to make it through. Unfortunately this has led to me not blogging or creating new materials. I am happy to report that I will be starting in a new campus in a fantastic new district. All I can say is thank God for new beginnings. Look forward to coming back to the blogosphere!!!!

End of the Year Activities!

The end of the year is always crazy. However, you can encourage third graders to be reflective and have them write to incoming third graders. You can say they are now experts on third grade and that they should share their knowledge. The product below is perfect for that!

Click here.

Included in this product:
-The Top 10 Things You Should Know About Third Grade
-The Top 10 Things I Should Know About Fourth Grade
- The ABC's of Third Grade
- End of the Year Signature Page.

(c) 2015, The Thematic Fanatic, Samantha Zavala

Busy, Busy, Busy!

So I've been busy lately preparing my students for our state test. It is our Spring Break and then we have about 3 more weeks until we take our state test. For my sanity, I created a couple of products to get my mind off the stress :) I wanted to create a compound words assessment and new reading homework choice boards because I am getting to that point of the year where my students are getting restless, and are tired of doing test prep and taking tests. So I created these two items. I plan on doing more word study assessments that are geared toward upper elementary grades. If interested, check them out!

Click here to go to my store to check it out!

Click here to check it out at my store!

And for those of you in testing grades, may your patience be constant and your stress level minimal!

Procedural Text Sequencing Cards

So, it has been quite awhile since I have blogged. Teaching in a testing grade is a bit time consuming to say the least. However, I have created Procedural Text Sequencing Cards. I wanted to do something a bit different than the traditional procedural texts. Including in the set are how to procedures for Language Arts skills such as how to draw conclusions. It is amazing how writing procedural texts can be really time consuming. So far my students have really enjoyed using these cards, even though they have to do writing. But, hey, they are writing! That is an achievement! Here is a sneak peek:

If you are interested in taking a closer look, click here.

Balanced Math Program

Each subject comes with certain hurdles to conquer in order to teach if effectively, and math is definitely not an exception. As educators, we know that knowing math facts is the most basic and crucial step to mastering other areas of math. This does not mean that facts need to have a drill and kill approach. Jan Christinson has books on math instruction that are phenomenal. I have done math review and poster method problem solving in my class and have seen great results. Math Review is the constant practice of computational skills that have been previously taught. This by far has increased mastery of facts in a meaningful way for my students. Poster Method problem solving has opened my eyes to the important skills of student led problem solving and how facilitating can encourage higher order thinking skills in students. 

There are so many ways to implement math instruction in your classroom. There are so many resources out there, but if you need a starting point, I would definitely start with anything by Jan Christinson or Kim Sutton in order to strengthen number sense and mastery of facts for your students.

Social Studies Interactive Notebook: American Government and Symbols

So it has been awhile since I have posted but I have been extremely busy working on projects. In the attempt to be productive, I have started many projects and have finally finished this one. It covers the three branches of government, important people in government, as well as American symbols. It is vitally important for students to understand our government and how it works, as well as what our Constitution means. And interactive notebooks are growing in popularity. They are not just a fad but a valuable resource for students to really connect to their learning.

To grab a copy,click here.

This resource is 48 pages long and is fairly simple to implement. All students will have to do is cut and fold to assemble foldables once they have been copied.

Help feed hungry kids this summer!

As school is winding down, many feel the excitement of summer. Unfortunately, many kids will not eat because since school is not in session, they cannot receive food. Help Kid President spread the message! Share the video below on your social media sites. For each post, share and like, a meal will be donated. How simple is that?!

5 Things that Make Summer Awesome!