FREE St. Patrick's Day Styled Images

Top o' the mornin' to ya!

Sorry about that - I may or may not have Irish on the brain because of my latest project that I can't wait to share with you!

Do you know what a styled photo is?

You most likely do - even if you don't know that's the name for it.

Styled photos are stock photographs taken for use online - for blog posts, social media, product covers, etc. It's a growing trend that's really gaining popularity - especially among teacher bloggers and product creators. 

Here are some examples of how I've used styled images recently:

You see - the possibilities are ENDLESS! :)

Because I love the versatility and crisp clean look of styled photos, I decided to jump in and try my hand at taking some. I have created this set, just in time for St. Patrick's Day - and they're FREE for you!

This download includes 10 crisp images that are cropped to square (for social media) and 4:3 (for product covers) so that you have easy formatting options.

Here are some ideas of how you could use these St. Patrick's Day themed styled photos:

These styled photos are available for personal or commercial use - so what are you waiting for? Download them HERE and start creating! :)

Like what you see?

I have another set of school-inspired styled photos - in a fun NEON theme! :)

Happy creating!

FREE Opposite Day Activities for Monday, January 25

Good-bye teachers!

Sad similar night no one!

While that may read like a bunch of gibberish - it isn't! I'm practicing for National Opposite Day! :)

You see, that's how I greet my kiddos every year on Opposite Day - which happens every year on January 25th. So what I'm really saying to them is:

Hello students!

Happy Opposite Day everyone!

Get it? :)

As a 5th grade teacher, one of my goals was to engage my students to such a degree that they wanted to come to school each day. One way of maximizing student engagement without compromising learning time was creating packets that capitalized on their interests and let them have FUN while developing and practicing important skills.

Here is one of those packets:

National Opposite Day (yes, it is a real thing) is coming up! This year it's Monday, January 25th. Carve out some extra time to have {structured} fun with your students. It will be a day they won't soon forget! This *FREE* packet includes a poster to hang on your door as well as some ideas for celebrating Opposite Day in the classroom/home.

It also includes 5 activity pages that will stretch their imaginations while reviewing important skills.

1."My Opposite Age" asks students to imagine that the numbers in their age have been switched!  They must write a journal entry about what their life is now like – and include a picture!. (For example if they are 06 years old, they pretend that they’re 60! If they’re 12 years old, they pretend they’re now 21.) Note: If they’re 11 years old, they can choose to be 1 or 110 :)

2. "Antonyms are Amazing" gives students practical experience with opposites - antonyms!

3. "An Opposite Adventure" tells a strange story - the students must read it and switch out the underlined words for their opposites - and re-write the story so it makes sense.

 4. "A Day of Opposites" is a creative writing prompt that asks students to write about a day they have in which EVERYTHING is OPPOSITE

And finally, 5. "Opposite Learning" gives kiddos some practice with basic skills - but with an OPPOSITE twist :)

This was good practice, even for my 5th graders - they were a little rusty on their alphabet and basic math facts. It's good to brush up every now and again :)

You can download this packet for FREE here:

Opposite Day Activity Packet

If you use this packet and enjoy it, please leave feedback! Also - if you take any pictures of your students' work from this packet, I'd love to feature you on my blog! Please e-mail me at joyinthejourneyteaching@yahoo.com - and I'll send you a FREE product as a thank-you! :)

Back-to-Schhol E-Book: 40 FREE Ideas and Resources

Back-to-School season is upon us!

To help you get started or add to your planned classroom resources, 40 different TpT sellers have created a “A Back to School eBook for Grades 5 and 6 from TpT Authors.” Each page is packed with tips to help you as you adjust to back to school in your classrooms. 

Click here for your FREE download:

Fifth Grade Freebies shout-outs

Several of the collaborators from "Fifth Grade Freebies" contributed to this e-book

Brian from Wise Guys compiled all of these awesome pages!

They also shared a free guided reading strategies packet.

Jessica from Joy in the Journey has a missing homework management freebie that will help keep your students accountable for their missing work.

Missy from "Wild About Fifth" has a Reading Challenge freebie that will get your students excited about reading and exploring different genres!

If you download the freebies, please leave feedback!

FREE Reflection Tool: My Week in REARVIEW

Hi friends!

I'm Jessica from "Joy in the Journey"

I'm a 5th grade teacher in Washington.

I'm so excited to be collaborating on this blog by sharing some fabulous freebies.

Today I'm sharing an older product
...but it's got a new look :)

Each Friday I have the students fill out their “rearview mirror” with pictures and key words/vocabulary from different topics we've learned about that week. 

It serves several purposes:

1. It is a wonderful way for me to assess what they’re retaining and which activities they are really enjoying

2. It lets parents know what we've been doing in class and serves as a talking point on Friday nights

3. It perfectly complements my travel-themed classroom :)

I have included two templates:

you can do this as a weekly or a monthly activity

Once the mirrors are filled out, you can do a number of things with them:

1. Send them home each week

2. Collect them in a folder called “My YEAR in Rearview” to send home at the end of the year as a reminder of all the students have learned

3. Put them up on a bulletin board

4. Keep them in student portfolios

This could also be a good review for a particular subject/topic. 

For example, I've used it at the end of a social studies chapter: “1920s in Rearview”

 I also like to use it during the first week of school to have the students describe their summers. They write a short story to go along with their Rearview Mirror: 

Click the picture to check it out - and while you're there, leave feedback if you like it :) 

The Book VS The Movie

Hi there!

Jessica here - from Joy in the Journey

Here's a fun packet of graphic organizers to use when comparing and contrasting a book and a movie that it inspired:

 

Click on the pictures above or HERE to grab your FREEBIE!

If you download it and like it, please leave me some love :)

We've Had a BLAST This Year

The school year is winding down and I have created a fun

End-of-the-Year Craftivity

Help your students reflect on the year with this space-themed activity:

"We've Had a BLAST this Year"

It's perfect for a memory book, a student portfolio, a writing prompt, and/or a bulletin board display:

 

 

 

(Options available for every grade K-6)

If you want to download the freebie, please CLICK HERE!

Note: this is a special freebie on this blog and is for followers only. Please don't share with coworkers or other teachers - send them to this blog post!

Cinco de Mayo Activities

May 5th is known as "Cinco de Mayo" and to introduce my students to different aspects of Mexican history and culture, I have created an activity packet.

Click here for your FREE 15-page Cinco de Mayo Activity Packet

Here are some sample pages:

 

*I hope you - and your students! - enjoy this fun-filled packet*

Cinco de Mayo Packet

Click here to visit my blog: