25 November 2012

Advent Calendar

I have been meaning to create an Advent Calendar for my class for awhile now.  I had one I used in the past, but I just wasn't too crazy about it.  I saw one on Pinterest today that I just loved, but I just don't have the time to put into creating it.  What that really means, is that with my little one sick at home, there is no way I can get to Hobby Lobby to buy everything I'd need to make it.  This is what I finally decided on:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Advent-Calendar-432746



Each student will get a numbered calendar piece to color. The blank oval can be used in a variety of ways.  It can be used to illustrate a favorite holiday memory.  It could also be used to draw something they’d like to do this holiday season.  For older students, they could write about a favorite holiday experience.  Then, attach the two pieces with ribbon, glue, tape, or staples. 


                                            
For example,

 



 Each day, I will have a student count down the days until Christmas, by revealing the hidden image.  I also like to have a sweet treat for the student that created the calendar piece for the day.  


17 November 2012

Visualizing

I have been meaning to post this for some time, but time just flies.  We work on mental imagery throughout the entire year.  Below are some examples of templates I use for my students to record their mental images.  The first example was from the book, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything.  Yikes, that was way back in October.  If we have a story for the week, I always have my little ones visualize the first day.  They don't get to see any of the pictures from the story until after their mental images are completed.  They really love comparing their mental images to the actual pictures in the story.  Their pictures always put a smile on my face.


 



 

 


I just love displaying their mental images!

Here is another recording page for mental images:






https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mental-Imagery-6pk-352563

You can get this set in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Click here to head straight there.


11 November 2012

Veteran's Day

I don't usually post twice in a day, but I just had to post a couple goodies for Veteran's Day.  The first is an acrostic FREEBIE.  Simply click on the image to download.

I also created Patriotic Pennants for Veteran's Day.  There are 3 different patterns and also a blank pennant for students to create their own.  You can get them in my TPT store for $1.00.  I thought they would look perfect strung together and placed in the hallway or classroom.  Click on the pennant below to head over to my store.

 



A huge thank you to all of our veterans!!!!

M&M Election Winner...

We finished up learning about elections last week.  They described their candidates (M&M's), created campaign posters, voted, and graphed their results.  It was a great lesson on adjectives, as well!

And the winner was... the PEANUT BUTTER M&M.

If you want to check out the forms we used, check out my previous post here.

Here are a few of their posters:







 

03 November 2012

Sweet Elections


 *** This resource was updated (March 2014).  All the new pages are shown in the images below.

This upcoming week is election week.  I wanted a fun activity to get my class excited about elections and voting.  We just got finished voting on our favorite character pumpkins, so they are really excited about the voting process.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/MM-Elections-1175985


 

I still have candy on my mind after Halloween and all, so what better way to learn about elections that with candy.  We are going to have our very first M&M Election.  The recording forms are all open-ended so you can choose which M&M flavors you'd like to include.
I chose these 4 flavors-
Peanut
Dark Chocolate
Candy Corn (Halloween Flavor I got on clearance)
Pretzel


Students will taste test each flavor and then record their observations/descriptions about that candidate... I mean flavor.


Then, they will create a campaign poster for their favorite candidate (yep.. I mean flavor).  They will draw a picture in the middle and around it they will cut/paste adjectives that describe their favorite M&M.  I plan to have my students share their posters and give mini speeches to try to persuade the class to choose their favorite M&M flavor. 



Next, students will get to cast their vote for their favorite candidate...I mean M&M.
Finally, votes will need to be counted and then students will graph the results.
And the winner is.... well, if it were up to me it would be dark chocolate.  But, we'll have to see what the verdict is next week. You can check this resource out by clicking here.