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30 June 2014

Adjectives Anchor Chart Idea AND an easy way to make your anchor charts look good!

I don't know about you, but I wish I could draw and write as beautifully as some of the other teacher-bloggers do!

Anyway, for the purpose of teaching, there's nothing wrong with the way I (used to) draw in the classroom, but, you know, I'm here to share my ideas with you and I certainly don't want to hurt your eyes with my stick figures (nothing against stick figures!).

That is all to say that I've just "hacked" an anchor chart! How have I "hacked" an anchor chart?!
By using clipart and fonts! That way, the "bulk" of the anchor chart looks pretty!


I used the heading and the school clipart displayed in the picture above as the base for the adjectives anchor chart I will share with you today.

This one would be great for back-to-school (and for any other time of the year!) because it will let you assess your new group of students.

You'll be focusing on the knowledge of nouns and adjectives your students have (or should have). You might even throw in some alliteration as well.

Here are the steps:

1. Start with an anchor chart with just the heading and picture on it.

2. Have students come up to the anchor chart and write NOUNS that are related to the image (school). You'll be able to assess how much vocabulary they already have and how well they can spell. You should also be able to notice whether they really know what nouns are. Keep going until all students have added at least one word.

3. Next, have students come up with ADJECTIVES that can qualify/describe the nouns already on the chart. If you want to challenge them more (only if they can "take" it), you might want to work on alliteration as well. Thus, they would have to find adjectives beginning with the same letters as the nouns they're describing, e.g. big bus, colorful crayons, etc.

Here's what it should look like (your version will probably end up looking a lot "fuller"):


4. You might even turn this into a quick writing task by having them write sentences using the pairs on the chart.

OTHER TIPS

- notice that I wrote the adjectives in red and the nouns in green to match the colors used in the heading. The idea is for students to quickly see what words are nouns or adjectives.

- you can create similar anchor charts throughout the year! All you need is to use different pictures at the center of the chart and you can expand it to include adverbs, articles, prepositions, etc.

- you can also assign this as homework and have kids create poster-like charts revolving around a given topic.

This idea could certainly be used in other languages. Here's the French version of the anchor chart:


READ at For French Immersion7 Pinterest boards for French teachers


As I mentioned, I used clipart and a cute font to prepare the "base" for the anchor chart. This can be done before class, but the rest has to be done in the classroom because it will depend on the active participation of your students.

The school image is included in My Community Buildings by Poppydreamz Digital Art and the free font is by This Little Piggy Reads.

Check out their awesome Teachers Pay Teachers stores and blog:

Poppydreamz Digital Art TpT store


This Little Piggy Reads TpT store

This Little Piggy Reads Blog

READ: Plural Nouns Anchor Chart Ideas Part 1

READ: Adverbs Anchor Chart Ideas Part 1


Thank you for reading and don't forget to let me know what you think of today's post!

25 June 2014

FREE: Singular-plural nouns matching activity - Worksheet Wednesday #4

This is the first time I have two posts on the same day!

If you haven't read the first one for the day, check out my Teacher-authors around the world: meet Lisa from Scotland!

I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune for Worksheet Wednesday.

The idea is to share a FREE summer-themed one-page worksheet and here's mine:

LucySSummerSingularPluralNounMatchingActivity
Click on the image above to grab your FREE copy

This is a singular/plural noun matching activity.

"Where's the summer theme?", you might ask. Well, it's in the choice of words and the ice cream clipart by the amazing Graphics from the pond!



For more summer-themed freebies, click on the image below:



READ: Plural Nouns Anchor Chart Ideas Part 1


READ: Plural Nouns Anchor Chart Ideas Part 2


Thank you for stopping by! It's always wonderful to have you here!

06 June 2014

10 words that English borrowed from Portuguese

I've been doing this series of posts about words that English borrowed from other languages and today I'm going to focus on my native language: Portuguese.


Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Spanish

Read: 10 words that English borrowed from French

Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Japanese


I have to confess that it was hard coming up with a list of ten words because the ones I rememberd came from Latin via Portuguese so I didn't want to include those.

Anyway, here we go:

1. PIRANHA
I guess you know what it means: it's a small flesh-eating fish. The word comes from Tupi, which is the language originally spoken in Brazil before it was colonized by the Portuguese.

What you probably didn't know is that "piranha" is also a Brazilian Portuguese curse word.

2. JAGUAR
Another word that comes from Tupi via Portuguese. So, whether you're talking about the animal, the car or the OS, you're speaking a bit of Portuguese!

3. ZEBRA
Don't worry, my list doesn't only have animal names, but I couldn't leave out "zebra".
In Brazilian Portuguese, "zebra" might also refer to "the underdog" in a competition/game.

4. SAMBA
"Samba" refers to both the dance and the music that is so popular in Brazil. It's the music/dance of Carnaval. I have to tell you, though, that I can neither sing nor dance samba. I'd much rather listen to jazz.

5. BOSSA NOVA
It's a kind of music originated in Brazil in the 50s. The literal meaning is "new trend", but we rarely use the word for "trend" (bossa) nowadays.
If you've never heard of it, check out this YouTube "video". It's just the song and not a video of the singer, but it's got subtitles in English:



The singer is João Gilberto and this is one of the most famous bossa nova songs.

6. TAPIOCA
If you like tapioca pudding, you should know that "tapioca" is a Brazilian word and dessert. Would you believe that I've never eaten it? If you've got any recipes, let me know!

7. CASHEW
The next three words are borrowed from Portuguese, but their spelling has changed on their travel through languages.
In Portuguese "cashew" is "caju" and it's my favorite nut.

8. TOUCAN
I love how languages work. "Toucan" comes from Tupi via Portuguese via French! Hence, the French spelling instead of the Portuguese one: tucano.
The toucan is also the symbol for one of the most important political parties in Brazil.

9. TANK
"Tank", as in fish tank or fuel tank, comes the Portuguese word "tanque". I have to say that this one surprised me as I was researching for this post as I had never realized where the word had come from!

10. CAIPIRINHA
If you've never heard of "caipirinha" and you have never drunk it, stop everything and go check out how to prepare it. It will change your concept of summer drink. This is one of the most popular drinks in Brazil. It's a cocktail made with lime, sugar and "cachaça", a Brazilian liquor distilled from sugarcane. Just be careful, it's super strong, but you won't feel it until you stand up.

READ: Teacher-authors around the world: meet Catia from Portugal!


Well, there you have it! If you know of any other words borrowed from Portuguese or if you liked reading this post, leave me a comment below (I love comments!).

03 June 2014

I'm in a sharing mood! FREE B&W Alphabet Charts - English and French versions

Hey there! This is a quick post. My birthday is coming up and I'm in a sharing mood.

Today, I just want to share with you some alphabet charts I've just put together.

They are B&W so kids can color them and keep them in their notebooks. There's a version with letters and images and another version with letters, images and words.

Click on the images below to download either the FREE B&W English Alphabet Chart or the FREE B&W French Alphabet Chart.

ENGLISH alphabet chart - just letters & images
ENGLISH alphabet chart - letters, images & words

FRENCH alphabet chart - letters & images
FRENCH alphabet chart - letters, images and words

READ at For French Immersion7 Pinterest boards for French teachers


The beautiful alphabet clipart is by a good friend of mine, Lindy du Plessis. Check out Lindy's TpT store.

 Lindy's TpT store

READ: 10 words that English borrowed from French


READ: 10 words that English borrowed from Spanish

READ: Teacher-authors around the world: meet Rosie from New Zealand


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Don't forget to leave me a comment if you like the freebies!