Looking Toward 2014

I don't know if I mention this enough, but I do happen to work at one of the most remarkable schools around; a school that allows students and teachers incredible opportunities. For example, my grade has been given the opportunity this year to re-imagine the curriculum to reflect our students' needs and interests. This has resulted in some VERY cool, custom units (including one on the anatomy of the five senses). I can't wait to post about these different units and get them up on TpT, but I have to put them through a proper trial first. So ... I guess what I am saying is that, this year has been/is going to continue to be exhilarating and innovative - one that keeps me very busy and makes it challenging to post as often as I would like. But I will be sure share the new info as soon as I can. Stay tuned in 2014 ... exciting things to come!

Holiday Craft

This year I wanted the kids to create a gift for their parents that was meaningful and affordable. So we made coasters (pictures below)! It was super-fun and easy, and I have gotten GREAT feedback from parents. All you need is:

• a box of plain white tiles (I got a box of 100 tiles for $13 at Home Depot)
• a bottle of Mod Podge (you can get it at any craft store like Hobby Lobby, but I just asked our art teacher and she happened to have plenty to spare)
• a bottle of spray sealant (again, craft stores like Hobby Lobby have it)
• small felt pads with adhesive on the back
• medium-sized paint brushes for applying the Mod Podge (again, I borrowed these from the art teacher)
• ribbon or yarn
• colored pencils
• newspaper to lay underneath the projects while applying/drying Mod Podge and sealant
• blank paper (or you can click HERE for the template we used)

Plan of Action: We happened to be studying main idea/details that week, so I had the kids pick a theme (or "main idea") for their coasters that they could represent with "details" (the individual pictures/coasters). My kids each created a set of four coasters - but I have a small class and there were plenty of tiles for them to each do four, so you might choose to have your kids do a set of two coasters if your class size is larger. 

1. Create Images We did a class brainstorm of possible themes (holiday, family, pets, happiness, the four seasons, geometric designs, etc). Then they chose a theme for their coasters. The only rule was that their four pictures had to represent the theme they chose. Kids with more than one household split them up evenly (two to one household, two to the other). In my opinion, the holiday theme was great because it was seasonally appropriate. Some kids chose to do only Christmas or Hanukkah images, while other kids did four separate holidays throughout the year. After they chose their theme, they used colored pencil (best for sealant purposes) to illustrate four separate scenes (again, you can do this on small blank pieces of paper, or click on the the template above).
2. Adhere Images to Tiles Once they illustrated, they cut out their images and attached them to the tile. They did this by using the paint brush to apply a layer of Mod Podge to each tile. Then they laid each image onto a tile and let it dry. Once it was dry, they applied one more layer of Mod Podge over the image and let it dry. (Be careful of bubbles under the paper. Kids can use their fingers to push the bubbles out.)
3. Seal Tiles so They're Waterproof Once the tiles were dry, I had to haul the tiles home to apply two layers of acrylic sealant in my garage. Don't do this at school, as the fumes are strong. Be sure to lay a piece of newspaper under the tiles and give at least 15 minutes of dry time between coats. Note: While the tiles were dry enough to return to school the morning after I sprayed them, it takes several days for them to be dry enough that they don't feel "tacky" anymore.
4. Add Felt Pads Once the acrylic sealant was dry, I took them back to school and passed out small felt pads to each kid to attach to the bottom of their tiles to create a barrier from the tile and whatever surface it's going to be used on (four per tile).
5. Finalize with Ribbon Finally, the kids tied a ribbon (or yarn, in our case) around the coaster set and added a homemade card. See pics below.

Holiday Theme

Family Theme

The Four Seasons Theme

Final Coaster Sets Waiting for Ribbons

Final Gift for Parents

Holiday Activities

Hi all! Be sure to check out my holiday pack on TpT. It is a multicultural pack and includes lessons on Diwali, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Many of the activities are also just general "winter" themed and do not represent a specific holiday. Click HERE to access it. It includes:

• A word work centers pack (contractions, plural endings, nouns/verbs/adjectives)
• A writing pack (“holiday” and “celebrate” acrostic poems, letter templates to write a holiday wish to family and a *mini-book with response for how students spend their holidays)
• Reading comprehension centers (fact and opinion, cause and effect and a multi-tradition *mini-book that discusses Diwali, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa)
• Math centers (matching numbers to number words, mixed money review including counting change and counting sets of money, *mini-book that tells a story and pauses to ask questions about elapsed time, a.m./p.m. and calendar)
• Plus, there are blank templates for all center activities so you can add your own words if you’d like
• *Note there is only one mini-book, but it serves multiple cross-curricular purposes

The pack is also split up and sold separately. Click HERE for word work, HERE for reading comprehension and writing and HERE for math.

Happy Holidays!

Conference Notes Freebie

Click HERE for a free template for keeping track of student strengths and goals throughout the quarter. This tool comes in handy when it comes time to conference with parents and includes a space to write conference notes.

Thanksgiving Activities

Hi all! I love this time of year! I have some fun Thanksgiving/fall-themed activities for the next couple of weeks. I have a Thanksgiving-themed unit for sale that includes writing activities, word work and math (elapsed time, counting coins and logic). Click HERE to check it out. Here is what is in the unit (answer sheets are included):

• 24 Thanksgiving words for a word wall that doubles as an ABC order center and common vs. proper noun center
• an individual Thanksgiving word list for kids should you choose not to do the ABC order and common vs. proper noun as a center
• an ABC order worksheet
• a common vs. proper noun worksheet
• a worksheet to make as many words as possible with the letters in "Thanksgiving"
• an “All the Ways I am Thankful” book for students
• a noun, verb and adjective activity to act as a brainstorm for the “Thanksgiving is …” poem
• a rough copy sheet and final copy sheet for “Thanksgiving is …” noun, verb and adjective poem
• a “Thankful” acrostic poem
• a “Pilgrim” acrostic poem
• a coin counting activity where students count the money in a coin set to determine if there is enough money there to buy popular Thanksgiving food items
• an elapsed time activity and mini-book where students use clues to help plan Thanksgiving Day for a fictitious family
• a logic problems worksheet where students have to determine the ordering of items based on clues

I also sell the math, writing and word work separately if you do not need all three.

Enjoy!

Bats, Bats, Bats!

In the spirit of the Halloween season, our class just did a mini-unit on bats. I created a bat book that uses QR codes to explore bats (songs, videos full of information, sounds, etc). Each page has a different QR code for kids to scan (they can use any device with a scanning app on it), and then answer questions based on what they learned. It covers a wide range of learning objectives and the kids loved it because it naturally differentiates (some kids re-watched videos when they didn't catch information the first time, others who finished everything early went back and listened to some of the songs they really loved). It is now for sale in my TpT store. Click HERE to check it out!

Book Review: 75+ Reading Strategies

Have you ever read a book that gives you more ideas than what are contained within its pages? As a teacher I find that the most inspirational texts I read are those that influence/spark new ideas in my own mind. 75+ Reading Strategies by Danny Brassell is that book. It is full of strategies to help reading come alive in a classroom. Some strategies are more traditional and, I assume, are strategies most teachers currently use (Reader's Theater, partner reading, mad libs, using environmental print), and others are fresh ideas that teachers could adapt to their own room (The People's Court for solving conflicts and practicing oral language skills, having kids act as Hollywood publicists to determine the main idea in a story, and a bunch of ways to use beach balls in the classroom). So, if you're like me and love books that ignite great ideas for your classroom, this is a must-read. I will hang on to this one and reference it any time I need language arts inspiration. Click HERE to find it on Amazon.