I love this time of year — there’s no better time to peer into the future and embrace new beginnings or consider trying something a little bit different. As we step out of January, this team of stellar milestone achievers can help you chart your course for the rest of the year. You’ll find smart, creative resources for teaching a range of subjects, plus fun themes including Valentine’s Day, spring, even zombies! Let’s take a look at these tremendous Teacher-Authors.
12 Stellar February Milestone Achievers
1. Brilliant in British Columbia, Canada — Creative Classroom Core
Try her: Myth of Cupid and Psyche: Valentine’s Day Close Reading Story and Resources
Her tip: “This package is a great way to work a Valentine’s Day activity into your curriculum in a meaningful way. Everything you need to start close reading in your classroom is included — information, annotation notes, full text of the myth, and thought-provoking comprehension questions for students to complete after the first, second, and third read. Very little teacher prep is needed — simply print and teach!”
2. Wonderful job, Sue Summers from Wausau, WI
Try her: Spanish Clothing Unit – Vocabulary, Skits and Worksheets – 42 Pages
Her tip: “Use this Spanish clothing bundle to introduce and practice vocabulary during a clothing unit — and throughout the year — to review using different grammatical concepts. The activities include 14 practice worksheets, one quiz/test, a group fashion show instruction sheet, three 2-person skits, and one English-to-Spanish vocabulary list with over 100 clothing words, plus a list of colors and materials. Concepts practiced include gustar and encantar, possessive and demonstrative adjectives, and gender and number agreement.”
3. Right on, Jean Martin from Colorado’s beautiful Rocky Mountains
Try her: A Novel Study for WONDER, by R.J. Palacio
Her tip: “I love using award-winning literature to teach values along with language arts skills. One of my favorite books for doing this has been Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It’s a must-read for anyone from the middle grades and up! If you haven’t read it, you are missing a truly inspiring experience.”
4. Meet Jamie White from Leesburg, VA — Play to Learn Preschool
Try her: Spring – Centers and Circle Time Preschool Unit
Her tip: “Preschool teachers, this spring unit is just for you! It’s full of circle time lessons and center activities that are perfect for our youngest learners.”
5. Just excellent, Edward White from California
Try his: Characteristics of Living Things, ZOMBIES, An Interactive Notebook
His tip: “This is a great resource that engages your students. Just download and print. Your students will love proving why zombies are not living. It’s the perfect Common Core and Next Generation Science Standard activity.”
6. Kudos to Kristin Kring from Michigan
Try her: Do You Hear What I Hear: Phonemic Awareness Activities
Her tip: “Phonemic awareness is such a critical component of early literacy! Check out this new packet to help give your students extra hands-on practice with listening for sounds in words. From students just beginning to work on these skills to those who need extra intervention, these activities are great for all learners.”
7. Magnificent, Mr Elementary
Try his: Text Features Trading Cards and Bulletin Board
His tip: “Educational Trading Cards are a fun and effective way to present new information and vocabulary to your students. Check out this set of 24 Text Features Trading Cards with a matching word wall!”
8. Sensational, Sonya — she runs The Library Patch
Try her: My First Research Project: Penguins
Her tip: “My First Research Projects are perfect for supporting our youngest learners and meeting the shared research component of the Common Core. These engaging projects guide you through the research steps, and each project includes an interactive PDF bibliography.”
9. Awesome in Indiana — it’s Activities by Jill
Try her: Solving Two Step Equations Color by Number
Her tip: “This is my most popular resource! It’s appropriate at a variety of grade levels, is easy to leave for a substitute, and may be used to decorate your classroom. The self-checking aspect is great for both students and teachers.”
10. Nice work, Nancy from Georgia — Fun Times in First
Try her: Morning Work BUNDLE
Her tip: “It’s so important to utilize every instructional moment including the sometimes chaotic arrival time of students. As soon as my students arrive and unpack in the morning, they begin their morning work. My Morning Work Bundle provides daily review of many essential ELA and Math skills (CCSS aligned) within a simple-to-follow format. Your students will be able to complete these independently, freeing you to prepare for your day.”
11. Take a bow, Ashley Johnson
Try her: Narrative Paragraph Writing Unit All Year K-3 346 pages
Her tip: “Allow your students to have fun and to be creative while writing. This 230+ paged Narrative Paragraph Writing Unit allows your students to write about the special moments in their own lives. It’s a great way to introduce and give your students practice writing narrative paragraphs. The unit is aligned with the Common Core Standards for grades K-3.
12. Let’s hear it for Geis19
Try her: Advertising Unit – Commercials – Media Literacy PDF Unit – Language 45 Pages
Her tip: “Remember to create units that are well thought-out and save our teaching colleagues time by being ready-made and useful for the classroom.”
What a fantastic January it’s been: Looking forward to another great month! Be sure to check out our new Instagram account @teacherspayteachers.com and this week’s special blog posts with resources for the secondary classroom!
