Joy of Teaching

FREE Olympic Medal Coordinate Graphing Activity

2012-05-09T21:09:22Z

Just in time for the Olympics, here is a coordinate graphing activity for you to use in your classroom. After students plot points, write ordered pairs, and draw line segments, a picture of an Olympic medal will appear. Activities are in both first quadrant...(read more)

Help for Disorganized Students!

2012-04-03T13:28:33Z

Let’s face it. We’ve all had unorganized students. You know the ones I mean. These are the kids who never remember their homework (or the fact that they even had homework). They don’t bring their supplies to class, even a pencil. If you walk by their...(read more)

Equations and Inequalities

2012-03-23T09:04:57Z

Welcome to the wonderful world of algebra! At least that’s what I said to the fifth graders a few weeks ago. When I began planning for the introduction of algebra, I decided to incorporate a pretest to see where their current skills were. Boy was I surprised!...(read more)

Free Journal Organization Solution

2012-02-28T17:22:52Z

I have my students write in journals several times a week. I always had a sloppy mess with a stack of journals sitting wherever I could find room. But, no more! I came up with a solution that was quick, easy, and FREE! First I found a nice sized empty...(read more)

Leap Day Sale on TeachersPayTeachers!

2012-02-26T18:58:10Z

Haven’t heard of TeachersPayTeachers ? It’s an online marketplace where teachers buy products created by other teachers! I have 38 products in my store that I will mark down 20% on February 29, 2012. TeachersPayTeachers is offering an online coupon (coupon...(read more)

What Achievement Testing Looks Like in the Special Education World

2012-02-26T14:45:33Z

At my school, in Ohio, we are gearing up for the yearly Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAAs). I teach 4th and 5th graders so I have a lot of tests to administer! My 4th graders (I have three) who all have special needs (that kind of happens when you teach...(read more)

Sight Word Organization

2012-02-20T17:14:51Z

It took me awhile to come up with a nice way of storing the sight word flashcards (you can print them off in this FREE eBook !). In the end, I decided to use Command Hooks on a cabinet door. I think they look quite cheery, how about you? The Command Hooks...(read more)

Pirate Geometry

2012-02-15T22:14:01Z

Here is the latest project I’ve been working on: Pirate Geometry ! I needed a geometry lesson that goes over basic vocabulary of lines for fifth graders and couldn’t find anything that I liked. I ended up doing what I always do in this situation…I made...(read more)

Teaching Blog Traffic School – Social Marketing Course

2012-01-13T16:25:00Z

In July of 2011, I was perusing some teacher forums looking for ways to add to my teaching income. I came across a post by Charity Preston of The Organized Classroom Blog about a new course she was offering, Teaching Blog Traffic School . Since it wasn’t...(read more)

Becoming a Published Author

2012-01-07T18:16:00Z

In 2008, I became a published author. My book, Coordinate Graphing Hidden Pictures , was published by Carson-Dellosa publishing. Let me tell you how it happened. It started in my classroom. I teach students with special needs and at the time I had a resource...(read more)