Oriental Trading Gift Card Giveaway!

Hello friends! I am here today to share about a wonderful giveaway going on right now! Would you like to win a $25 gift card to Oriental Trading? Keep reading and enter the giveaway for your chance to win :)

Have you visited Oriental Trading lately? They have so many supplies, manipulatives, decorations, and more. This year, our school theme is Superhero and I am keeping my eye on these must haves. Check them out here.

Picture from Oriental Trading

Furthermore, did you know Oriental Trading has a blog with Education Archives? I am loving this motivational bulletin board and how easy it is to set up. Check it out here.

NOW for our giveaway!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $25 Oriental Trading Gift Card

Giveaway Organized by:  Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher), 

Co-hosts:  An Apple for the Teacher, Kovescence of the Mind, MM Bilingual, Exceptional Thinkers, Lindsey's Classroom Creations, It's a Teacher Thing,

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. Giveaway ends 9/8/16 and is open worldwide.

Good luck friends and until next time :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School K-2 Linky!

Hello friends! Welcome back to our monthly I Teach K-2 Linky! Today I am joining my wonderful blogger friends to talk about back to school inspiration and some resources that will definitely SAVE you some time and money!! Make sure to read all the way to the END for an amazing giveaway!!! 

To start off, I'm going to share two of my favorite inspirational quotes for back to school. Feel free to download these, print them, and share them. 

Now on to a FREEBIE just for you! I usually struggle heading back to school trying to find the perfect reading logs for my students. I know there are many free ones, but I wanted one that would meet the needs of my bilingual kiddos. I have two versions for you both in English and Spanish. One is a general reading log with space for date, title, minutes, and signature. Then there's a different version labeled Monday-Thursday where I added the option for students to write a summary of what they read. It helps keep them accountable for their reading and practice their summarizing skills. Click HERE to download these or click the picture below to be redirected to my TpT store for your FREE download.

I also wanted to add a website you will definitely want to visit during back to school season: MPM School Supplies! I am loving their classroom rugs (which are also in English or Spanish if you're looking for bilingual resources) and will be a great addition to any classroom!

Enjoy and hope these help you as we head back to school for an AMAZING 2016-17 school year! 

XOXO Until next time friends! Don't forget to enter below to WIN one of three amazing prizes :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Do Not Disturb Folders - Spanish

Hello friends and welcome back to my blog! Today I will be sharing a wonderful organization/management tip that has worked with my kiddos: Do Not Disturb Folders! My team teacher introduced me to these my very first year teaching, and I haven't looked back since then. Of course, now they look much cuter. 

Basically, these create a little office for students when they need to really, really focus on their work (also during state testing)! You've probably seen these at teacher stores or online. Here's a picture of some type of offices teachers use.

Find these at Really Good Stuff

Back in 2010, my team teacher helped me create these with recycled manila folders and tape. Those were great and lasted several years. I think some are still around. However, I worked on some new ones for my kiddos that have this "Do Not Disturb" sign in SPANISH! Want to create these for your students? It's fairly simple and will definitely help lessen distractions during independent work time. 

First, you will need two manila folders, a glue stick, and this FREE download from my TpT store. Print it out in color or in black and white as needed.

Next, overlap the two manila folders and glue them together to make a trifold. See below.

Then, glue the printable on the outside middle cover. Finally, you can laminate them to guarantee they'll last for years to come!

Easy peasy huh! Now, create as many as you need for your class. I team teach, BUT only create one class set.  I keep them in a skills box so that students can use them as needed. 

Enjoy your free download, friends, and until next time! XOXO

Back to School TpT SALE!!!

Hello friends! Are you ready to go back to school for the BEST YEAR EVER??? I am excited and anxious to meet my new group of 2nd graders and for all the surprises that 2016-17 await for us!

To celebrate back to school, TpT is having a huge SALE where you can save up to 28% on most resources (including my already reduced BUNDLES)!!! Say what?!? Yup, head on over to save money, shop, save money, and shop some more! Don't forget to use the code BESTYEAR and to redeem your TpT credits to get the best deals!

On a similar note, my Spanish Teacher colleagues and I have worked hard this summer to bring you an eBook full of:

*Back to School Tips

*Freebies and

*Products

 that will  make back to school easier and stress free for you! Go download and find 20 PK-5th sellers sharing their best ideas and products with you! Enjoy friends and don't forget to go shop this amazing SALE!

XOXO Until next time friends!

Back to School Giveaway!

Hello friends and welcome back to my blog! Today I have exciting news to share...I am officially 39 weeks pregnant and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our precious baby girl!!! Lately, I've been blogging a lot and posting new units before baby girl's debut! I am a first time mom so I am excited about this new journey and the surprises in store for me. Any and all advice welcome :)

Here are a few new blog posts to recap my summer, in case you've missed them. All to help you in the new school year. Click on any of the blog posts below to read great ideas and tips (lots of freebies in there, as well!) 

*Teaching Prefixes/Suffixes in the Bilingual Classroom

*Teaching Grammar in the Bilingual Classroom

*Teaching Guide Words in the Bilingual Classroom

*Comprehension Flipbooks

*FREE Classroom Posters, ideas and tricks

*FREE Game Boards 

Woooo I've been busy! But not too busy to forget about you! I am having a quick GIVEAWAY for a $10 TpT giftcard that will surely help you SAVE money on a TpT SALE 

coming .... 

(very soon)......

(very, very soon)......

Enter in the rafflecopter below and good luck! Enjoy the rest of summer :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comprehension Flipbooks in SPANISH

New resource alert! Comprehension Flipbooks in SPANISH! I am so excited to have completed this project just in time for back to school! I've been creating these flipbooks with my students since my first year teaching! We'd use different colored paper and have all our skills in a handy flipbook they could refer to during independent reading. We'd just write out everything and draw the graphic organizers, stem questions, etc. Let me tell you, it would take TIME oh precious TIME!!! I finally decided I needed an electronic version to make my life easier. 

Keep reading, for an explanation of these gems and a FREE sample just for my blog readers! 

These comprehension flipbooks have four parts:

1. Skill name

2. Skill definition/example

3. Stem questions

4. Graphic organizer

1. Skill cover page

I like to use these to introduce a lesson. We go over the name of the skill, any background knowledge they have about it, have they heard this before, when, what do they think this means? My students LOVE technology, so when I introduce the skill, I'll usually look for a Brain Pop video that explains a bit about it or a YouTube song that will be catchy to help remember the skill we are covering.

2. Guided definition

On this page, I provide the definition and an example or exercise for the students to read and/or take notes. This definition anchors the lesson and can be referred to throughout the week we practice that skill. 

3. Question Stems

During small groups, we use the stem questions during the reading to practice ways the skill can be assessed. Students can also use these in a center to ask each other questions pertaining to the skill being covered. This is a great way to build and practice academic language since students need the repetition and exposure to the questions. 

4. Graphic Organizer

The graphic organizer can be done with a read-aloud you’ve already covered and can be filled out together so that students have an accurate example in their flipbook of how to fill out graphic organizers with this skill.

I have two sets posted in my store: 

From SET 1
Cause/Effect - Causa y Efecto
Main Idea - Idea Principal
Making Inferences - Hacer Inferencias
Character/Setting/Plot - Personaje, Ambiente y Argumento
Summary - Resumen
Context Clues - Claves de Contexto

From SET 2
Compare/Contrast - Comparar y Contrastar
Sequence of Events - Orden de Sucesos
Drawing Conclusions - Sacar Conclusiones
Theme - Tema
Author's Purpose - Propósito del autor
Problem/Solution - Problema y Solución

I also have the BUNDLE posted which will save you 20% 

Hope you've made it this far, because you are in for a treat! Click on THIS LINK to download a FREE SAMPLE of my flipbooks. Try it out today with your students and come back to let me know what you think! This is an EXCLUSIVE SAMPLE just for my blog readers, enjoy!

Until next time friends, XOXO

Game Boards in SPANISH

Welcome back to my blog friends! Today I am writing all about using game boards in the bilingual classroom. Teachers are creative and inventive when it comes to engaging students in the lessons. Since we are always creating these fun new ways to engage students with content, today I am here to share my top three reasons for using game boards. I will also be sharing FREE game boards in SPANISH to use as you head back to school.

Keep reading for ideas and a FREEBIE!

Top three reasons to use game boards in the classroom:

1) Learn skills

Through games, students are learning much more than just content. They are applying critical thinking skills, team work, good sportsmanship, and creativity. Games allow students to learn and practice rules. They also learn from experience to think ahead and plan their "winning strategy."

2) Engagement

Using game boards ensures the students are participating. Students take turns and hold each other accountable to answer the questions. Since there is an element of competition, they are energized and motivated to pay attention to what is going on in the game. 

3) Retention of material

Students will recall much more information when they are actively participating in their learning. So what's better than practice book pages, worksheets, and writing definitions? A game that will provide the repetition they need to retain the material. However, be certain to make this connection noticeable for students. They need to be able to apply what they learned at the game during their academic tasks.

I have created this FREEBIE just for you to use when playing games in the classroom. Simply print out the pages and laminate for durability. Just add dice, game pieces, and you're set! This is a must have when getting centers or stations prepared :) Enjoy! Click on the picture for your free download!

So how will you use games this coming school year? What kind of games do your students play? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. 

Until next time friends, XOXO