Maxie's Magnificent Guides Free Teacher Tips & Tools Back to School   Free Powerpoints 100th Day of School Textbook Scavenger Hunt  Free Online Games Free for Teachers Teaching 9-11 Free Video Clips Free for Kids No Name Papers   Free Teaching Tools Grants/ Scholarships Vocabulary Drill  Free Worksheets Substitute Teaching Classroom Control Free Software Last Days of School No-Name Papers   Pound Puppies: (No-Name Papers, any subject):  I call no-name papers "Pound Puppies." I have a small section of bulletin board decorated with Pound Puppy wrapping paper, and I post them there. I explain that they are "lost" and their owners need to claim them from the pound. I also remind my kids about those MEAN 7th and 8th grade teachers who THROW OUT no name papers.  Oops, I was going to sign my name, but I forgot. I'll just close with "arf".  Submitted by Joanie Wilcox, USA Tomb of the Unknown Student: (No-Name Papers, Ancient History): I dedicate part of one bulletin board to The Tomb of the Unknown Student. The kids do the art, which changes now and then; kids help post no-name papers as needed, when, of course, some are spotted. Plus, kids spot their own work, after posting in "The Tomb".  All unclaimed no-name work is posted until the end of each unit. As the closing act of any unit, the kids, in each class, walk by, single file, & pay their respects. If any "no-names" are left by the end of the day, they're "buried".  It doesn't matter if no-names are posted for the whole unit or a day - points off are the same. The work was attempted; it just wasn't claimed. Submitted by: Mr Donn Vocabulary Drill Vocabulary Drill & Test Review:  Good for any topic where you have lots of vocab words: Generate a huge list of terms, like over 50 if possible. Write them down (probably easier to photocopy it or make an overhead) for all the kids to see. Make a grid of 25 squares (5x5), each about 1 inch, and photocopy it so that each kid gets a copy. Then tell them to pick 25 of the vocab words-- any ones they want-- and put one word in each square. Then, read definitions, one at a time (keep track of the words you are defining) out loud. Have the kids X off the box that contains the word you are defining. They'll have to know the definition to X it off, plus they may or may not have the word on their grid! First to get 5 in a row wins! You'll want to verify that their words were indeed defined before declaring a winner. Good for practice before a quiz. Submitted by: Kevin Fleury; New Hampshire; USA Fun games and free powerpoints Managing Your Classroom Speak in a soft voice when you wish to be heard. Don't point out a thing, but begin to raise your own hand  when you want your kids to raise their hand before answering.  After a week or two, raise your hand only occasionally.  After a week more, simply ask your question.  They will raise their hands without prompting.   Your Own Classroom Court D.E.A.D. (Excellent!) How to write Behavioral Objectives Rational Discipline Strategies Handling Bullies Free Teaching Tools QuizStar TrackStar Social Studies Skills Tutor (Prentice Hall, free) Absolutely fabulous. Online FREE Fun Drills for: Sequencing Identifying Cause and Effect Drawing Inferences & Conclusions Making Valid Generalizations Distinguishing Fact & Opinion Comparing and Contrasting Analyzing Primary & Secondary Sources Recognizing Bias Identifying Frame of Reference and Point of View Decision Making Problem Solving         Substitutes As a sub, it's always wise to have a few lessons on hand prior to entering a classroom. True, a lesson is supposedly left for you to use by the teacher, but sometimes ... you need a filler or a replacement. Here's one that will come in handy sooner or later. It works best for grades 5-10 but can be used in grades 3-12.          It was a dark and stormy night ... 55 minutes:  If the desks are not already lined up in rows, direct the kids to quickly push their desks into rows. Tell the kids to get out some paper and a pencil. Direct your students to write their name at the top of their paper. Then, write down the following - It was a dark and stormy night in (subject) when suddenly .... Tell the kids they each have 1 minute to continue this story. When time is up, they are to hand their story to the person behind them who will have 1 minute to continue the story. (The last person in the row brings their story to the first person in the row each round.) Continue this until all stories end up in their original place. Authors will then have 2 minutes to quickly read what is there and finish the story. Sound the clock, and go. When this activity is finished, ask if anyone would like to share "their" story with the class. If nobody volunteers, pick somebody. The stories are hysterical. Adjusting for a shorter period of time: If you only have 10-15 minutes, adjust like this. Do not rearrange the desks. Do not tell them to write their names at the top. They don't need them. Tell the kids to get out some paper and a pencil. Direct your students to write down the following - It was a dark and stormy night in (subject) when suddenly .... Tell the kids they have 1 minute to start this story. Then, they are to quickly hand their paper off and get one from someone else. You will help grab and distribute. Speed counts. You're on the clock. The next person has 1 minute. The last person finishes the story. This is a slightly different approach, but it works as well.   Here are more tips to help make your experience a good one! Substitute Teaching Tips Tips         Last Days of School This works very well at either the start of the year,  or an end of the year exercise. http://nccphp.sph.unc.edu/aithailand/source/Module1/LostatSeaExercise.doc   More Ideas for the Last Days of School Wrapping Up the School Year Summer Letter Writing    Moving Up Day I still remember my High School, Freshman Year, moving up day.  This activity was announced over the loudspeakers during the second week in June, asking interested people to sign up for their class committee. We had never done a moving up day. Nobody knew what to do. The "day" was really an hour. Our assignment, because that's how we thought of it that first year, was to write and learn our pertinent class song and chant, written by our scrambled together at the last minute Moving Up committee.  That first year, our Freshman committee consisted of three people - one made the posters, one wrote the chant and worked with the cheerleaders to create easy to learn movement to go with it, and I wrote the words to the song we chose - "Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".  I had about a week, because we had to pass out the words and the chant, and help put our posters up in the hallway to generate some interest.  Even though we had such a short time to prepare - one week, and very part time as we also had to prepare for finals - moving up hour was so much fun! The whole school, minus the seniors who had already graduated and left the building, gathered in the auditorium during the last hour of school. The front seats were left empty to hold the moving up Juniors. The Juniors went first, singing their song, then screaming their cheer as they moved up into the empty seats. Then the Sophomores moved up. And finally, it was our turn. Our Freshman song & cheer concluded the last the day of school.  By the time I graduated, Moving Up Day had become a real day, and a school tradition. At our 20 year reunion, people still remembered our Freshmen and Sophomore and Junior songs, because we used the same song every year. We just changed the words slightly as we "moved up".    Here's our Moving Up Day Song (from long ago) Sing to the tune of "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"  We are the itsy bitsy teeny weenie tiny whiney fat and slimy  thin and scrawny Freshman are we, With all our cares to spare from everywhere we do our best to pass our tests?, to make the grade and never fade, to organize and socialize,  to help each other and discover how to reach that certain number - (your graduation year)  we are the itsy bitsy teeny weenie tiny whiney fat and slimy  thin and scrawny Sophomores to be, maybe.      All Rights Reserved    Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin Have a great year!