Best and Most Linky - Back to School Sale :)

And it's finally happening - the TpT Back to School Sale will be on August 18th and 19th!!

I'm linking up with Christina at Bunting, Books and Bainbridge for her Best and Most TpT Back to School extravaganza. :)

Although this is supposed to be an individual "yearbook" I realized that, although I love the resources I've created, I couldn't really think of one that was a "teacher's pet" (i.e. that every teacher would need :) ) so I decided to highlight one resource that I've used this last year and loved. It belongs to Meg at Fourth Grade Studio -  and I've included a link so you can go visit her, as well as all the other WONDERFUL stores that will be on this linky! :)

I can't wait to check them all out!!

Teacher's Pet

Academic Learning Posters:

I acquired these last year from Meg and they were a wonderful addition to the classroom. I posted them on the white board at the front of the room and they were invaluable - since I could just quietly tap whichever one I thought was applicable for the issue of the moment :) Meg custom makes these for your classroom decor - so I had mine done in a rainforest theme - they worked beautifully for terms 2 and 3 since we do the rainforests and the Meso-American civilizations then but I'm going to need a new set for September to go with my Ancient Rome setting :) Will have to send Meg a message!!

Most Likely to Help Your Students Succeed

Open-ended Projects Bundle:

Many of you know how much I love critical thinking, inquiry and exploration projects and open-ended Math projects are a great way to allow students to experience this type of learning.

Why do I think they will help your students succeed?

Students realize that there is sometimes no one "right" answer and are able to experiment without fear of failure.
Students learn to work cooperatively and are able to showcase their own individual talents and strengths in group presentations.
Students who find Math challenging very often love these projects and Math becomes fun and exciting again.

They're a great way to foster independent learning in your classroom - and isn't that what we're trying to do as teachers? :)

(If you have no idea what this type of project is there are some links at the bottom of the post that will take you to blog entries about some of our projects.)

Best Couple

Pumpkin Units:

As well as open-ended Math projects I really like giving my students challenging word problems. I particularly like word problems that give interesting information at the same time as providing a math challenge. And I like word problems that require reasonable computation skills (not too hard, not too easy) but that require the student to read carefully and think about what is being asked. My third graders are very quick to look at the numbers and just decide on an operation (seemingly at random) without really thinking about what the problem is ABOUT. I spent a lot of time on problem solving last year and have made a lot of different sets of themed task cards which have been invaluable for center work, "I've finished" time, extra review and one-on-one problem solving.
These two resources were created in case I have students who don't celebrate Halloween - we can still have a pumpkin/harvest theme in the classroom and no-one will feel like they are missing a holiday. :)

So those are my picks for the yearbook! I wish I had photos to share from my "real" yearbook but, sadly, it wasn't a tradition at my school. Yearbooks started two years after I graduated :(.


Now, head on back to Christina to see what other blogger yearbooks look like :)

Bunting, Books and Bainbridge

And... get ready to get all those cool school resources that you have been wanting to buy - and enjoy some browsing :) Don't forget to put in the Promo Code to get your extra discount!! BTS13

And it you're wanting any open-ended Math projects - word problem sets -  at a reduced price please stop by and visit!

HERE

(If you're not sure what an open-ended project is then check out these posts!)

Lots of Open-Ended Projects on display here :)

Building a Perimeter Farm in detail

A Valentine Project in detail

Enjoy the sale, shoppers! :)