Character & Friday Report Revisions

As you can see from my previous post, I've gone a little nuts with clipart. This has prompted me to take a second look with a fresh eye at some of the first resources that I put in my TPT shop.  I've also gone a bit nuts purchasing resources that other teachers are selling on TPT, showing me the level of visual quality that is achievable and so very important when teachers are spending their hard earned money. And man, I've learned A LOT more about using Powerpoint.  This knowledge has given me some insight into how I might revise and polish some of those resources up. I thought I would share a couple of those today.

First, I've made some changes to my Character Study resource:

I should say that his is NOT a unit of study, in ANY way.  It will not teach you how to teach character if you do not already. Rather, it takes the main teaching points around character that I cover during this unit of study and provides graphic organizers for students to utilize as they read with those skills in mind.  It also contains a larger anchor chart covering all of these strategies, and smaller versions for you to put directly into their Reader's Notebooks.  If you use the Reading Workshop model and/or Guided Reading, you will likely find this more helpful than if you use an anthology exclusively. For this one, I fancied up the clipart and adjusted some of the Powerpoint issues that I've discovered now that I know a bit more.

The second resource I've revised is my weekly parent communication pack:

I've sent a report home each Friday to keep the lines of communication open with parents for as long as I can remember.  I made some revisions to my report this year, so I now use 3 different ones depending upon what I want to share on a given week. Revisions to this one are: revised clipart and more variety for each template. All templates have b&w and color versions.  I have added seasonal versions for each of the 3 types of report, so that you have options during certain times of year if you want to maybe send home a version with Halloween clipart or what have you.  I've also added more font/frame choices so there are basically more choices all around.  I tend to like to mix it up, and I also like to send a colored ink version home before breaks and holidays a few times a year. Options, people! I also removed a couple with full on background paper. Pretty, yes. Practical? No.

So thank you to all of the smart teachers out there who have helped me learn more about Powerpoint and how to put these resources together in a more attractive and professional way!