Constitution Day Reading Activity

September 17 is Constitution Day.  Did you know that if you are a public school educator then you are required by law to touch on the Constitution in your classroom? The act states..
 "all publicly funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day.". 
So, with that said, I have put together an easy print and go poster that is a perfect way to help your students understand how the Constitution came about and how it affects our country today.  Because I have highlighted vocabulary, this would be a great time to discuss some of the government related terms.  For example, delegates, Articles of Confederation, and branches of government.  If you wanted to elaborate further on the Constitution, you could then do a follow-up activity or maybe show a Brainpop or other video, or maybe even do a writing activity.  Have fun sharing with your students this very important document.  Get all of the details by clicking the link below.  

Constitution Day Reading Activity

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Teacher Desk Organization

If you are like me, desk top organization at school is really mandatory. Is it always easy?  No.  But, I do find I am much more productive if everything has its own little place.  I came across these really nifty desk top organization ideas that might be helpful to you.

An InLinkz Link-up

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4th Grade: Integrating Social Studies and Reading

If you are an upper elementary teacher, particularly fourth or fifth grade, then you are aware of the massive amounts of content that teachers are required to teach and students are required to master in the area of social studies. I have had parents say to me here in Georgia, "This social studies curriculum is beyond ridiculous!"  My response has always been, "I agree with you that it is a lot of material for a fourth grader to learn, but please understand that I don't decide the standards to be taught, I simply teach them."  With that said, I teach them to the best of my ability, and yes, it can be quite the challenge to get all of the material covered before standardized testing time.

After spending many challenging years trying to get all of the fourth grade social studies content covered,  the best solution seemed to be to try and  integrate the two subjects, such as work on reading skills while covering some of the social studies topics. It all seemed fine and dandy, but  the next problem would be trying to find social studies reading material to cover the content I needed it to cover.

Because I wanted very specific content, and I wanted it written in a certain way, I decided the best thing to do was just write the material myself.  Keeping in mind that my husband is a high school U.S. history teacher, I was able to converse with him about important details or facts that I should include,  in addition to referring to the Georgia curriculum standards. After working all summer, the finished product makes it very easy to integrate socials studies into reading.  I ended up writing 25 close reading passages that begin with Native Americans and end with Westward Expansion.  Many of the major historical events that fall between those two time periods are included in the close readings.  In addition to the close readings, there are teacher questions, as well as activities for each passage to be used in an interactive social studies notebook.  I am proud to share the finished product with you, and offer both notebooks to you for sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Here is a sneak peek, and then click on the links to get more specific details.

Please note that the grade level in which specific social studies content is taught varies from state to state. These notebooks happen to follow the Georgia fourth grade social studies content, so if you teach 4th grade in Georgia, this would be perfect for you.  If you are not sure if these notebooks follow the content for your state, please look closely at the detailed descriptions and then decide.

Interactive Social Studies Notebook/Journal #1

Interactive Social Studies Notebook/Journal #2

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Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

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For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

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Place Value and Number Sense Lessons Link Up

Most teachers start off the year with number sense, which means working on the common core standards that fall into the category of "Number and Operations in Base Ten". Below you will find some fun and interactive lessons that will help you meet that standard in your classroom.

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Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often.

Got Black Lines on TpT?

Black Lines Printing on Files

If you are seller on Teachers Pay Teachers then you are all too familiar with the black line question. If you are a buyer who is opening a file that has black lines, is blurry, or some pages just don't seem to print when others do, TpT offers suggestions on how to hopefully fix the problem.  

Feel free to pin.  Just hover over the image and click on the pin button.

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For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.