Free Back-to-School Resources for Teachers

It's back-to-school time! Which means it's time to bring you a collection of resources from teachers to help you get back into the swing of things at school.

Each page in these eight Back-to-School resources sampler includes a back-to-school tip, a link to a free downloadable resource, and another resource (priced) that you can check out if you like that teacher's style.

We wish you the best school year and hope you find many great ideas, tips, and freebies to help you get through this school year!

You can download all of the books here:

Grades 7-12 Back to School Science Sampler 

Grades 7-12 Back to School Math Sampler 

Grades 7-12 Back to School Social Studies and Foreign Language Sampler

Grades 7-12 Back to School English Language Arts Sampler

Grades 5-6 Back to School Sampler

Grades 3-4 Back to School Sampler

Grades 1-2 Back to School Sampler

Grades PreK-K Back to School Sampler

The Boo Lady Spreads Harper Lee's Message

Long before I started blogging and well before I discovered TpT, I had a little store on eBay where I sold my hand-beaded book-themed bookmark "thongs" (because they fit in the crack of your book, of course). It was there that I had the good fortune to cross paths with Marsha Gaspari, otherwise known as the Boo Lady.

I was already familiar with the Boo Lady before she happened upon my store, though. She used to have a website called the BooHole and it encouraged adults and children to carry on the generosity of Boo Radley and Miss Maudie by creating our own "Boo" holes to pass along gifts to people passing by. She had pictures of her various knotholes and posted those of others. My students and I came across her website one year when they were researching examples of To Kill a Mockingbird in pop culture.


So when she bid on one of my bookmarks, I was star-struck. Since then, we've "followed" one another online and she always lets me know the latest happenings in the Mockingbird world. Just the other day in class I was telling my sophomores about the Boo Lady, hoping to inspire that same generosity. And, lo and behold, I received a package today containing stunning prints from the "To Kill a Mockingbird" movie. The prints are perfect classroom decor, showing the after-the-trial scene of Miss Maudie with Jem, Scout, and Dill. The other one of Boo Radley (Robert Duvall in his first big-screen acting role) will stay up the rest of the year, but will be hidden from next year's sophs until we reach that part in the novel. My students saw first-hand how one person's generosity truly touches so many others. THANK YOU, BOOLADY!




Now, it's my turn to pay it forward. You can download my To Kill a Mockingbird word cloud prints free this week!

And don't forget to check out Marsha's Etsy shop: 

The Boolady 

It is filled with one-of-a-kind To Kill a Mockingbird-inspired jewelry, gorgeous prints, and so many lovely trinkets any English teacher, librarian, book-lover, or human being in general would absolutely love! They would make perfect holiday gifts for those hard-to-buy-for relatives, as well. ;)

To read more from the Boo Lady, peruse her blog: http://boolady.blogspot.com/

Follow the happenings of two owls on Marsha's other blog: The Adventures of Ned and Nellie

Writing Prompt for Groundhog Day

You can use this writing prompt Friday or Monday with your students for Groundhog Day (Feb. 2).

The prompt is from my collection of almost 400 prompts to last an entire year: 

A Year of Journal Prompts. 

With the handouts, the prompts align with the Common Core State Standards for reading informational and writing.

Help Your Students With Reading Comprehension With Simple Bookmarks

We all have students who are hesitant to speak up in class; perhaps they do not want to ask questions in front of their classmates, or they are just shy. Regardless of the reasons, we can't help them unless we know that they are struggling.

To help combat this, try these bookmarks the next time you assign reading (or during read-alouds in class). Instead of students speaking up, they jot down the question on the bookmark. Have them submit at the end or beginning of class. This way you know what they may be struggling with and can address it in the next class period or the next day. It's a simple idea and can be done on any piece of paper or post-it note. However, I did create some free printables you can try.

Just print on regular paper and have students grab a new one when they turn one in. They can be printed on front/back, as well. One format has 6 bookmarks on one 8.5x11-inch page, the other has four per page. I also featured two different fonts (one is more appropriate for lower grades) and each with lines or without.

You can download them FREE here:

Reading Bookmark Aid for Chapter or Text Books - Any Content Area

Don't forget that the Teacher Appreciation Sale starts tonight at midnight! You'll be able to get all of my products 20% off and take an additional 10% off by using the promo code TAD12 at checkout. This is our way of giving back to our fellow teachers to kick of Appreciation Week! THANK YOU for all you do!

New! Pretty in Pink and Free 2012 Graphics

 I uploaded a couple of new graphics packages yesterday for those of you who like my backgrounds and frames (and more coming, I promise). 


One of the packages is called "Pretty in Pink" and features graphics in shades of pink, red, and purple. It also has over 30 heart images in numerous colors. My backgrounds can be shaped to become sidebars, or layered with your own frames. They are versatile and saved as png files for your convenience.


The other package I uploaded is a freebie. It has 12 "2012" graphics. What makes these unique is the transparent cut-outs and backgrounds. Below are examples of how these can be used in your products.


I hope you all have a great 2012 and finish your school year strong! Make sure to stop by my store today and tomorrow to enjoy my New Year's sale on EVERYTHING - including CDs! 

2012 with the transparent cut out. The background used is my "Bubbles" package.

2012 with the transparent background and white numbers.

Another 2012 with the numbers cut out to reveal a purple background.

The purple background with the 2012 numbers in white with transparent background.

*Please note that the backgrounds shown are for examples of use only and are NOT included with the 2012 bundle download. You can find all my clip art packages here: {Tracee's Graphics}

How to Insert Frames, Borders, or Clip Art into a Microsoft Word Document

Have you ever been frustrated using Microsoft Word because you couldn't remember what you should click to get something to look just right? Me, too. I also had many teachers ask me how to insert my frames, borders, and other clip art png files into a Word document. So, I created a visual tutorial.

The problem I had, however, is that I only use a Mac. That didn't help those teachers who use a PC and Microsoft for Windows. So Krissy Malone, a fellow TpT teacher, came to my rescue! She created the PC instructions, complete with screenshots. So whether you use a Mac or a PC, we hope you will find these useful!

You can download them on TpT here: How to Insert Text & Frames into Word
or download them on Scribd:

How to Use Frames in Word

It's a Free For All!

Today is the official launch of The Lesson Cloud, so head on over there to find oodles of free downloads for teachers! Whatever you teach, it'll be represented. Plus, the lessons will be archived so you can always go back and find them. Support your fellow teachers today & don't forget to comment or leave feedback for them! :)