31 December 2012

I Wish... Craftivity

On my last post, I posted a New Year's freebie which was designed for my students to reflect on their favorite memories from the last year.  I also wanted an activity for my students to think about the upcoming year and all that it may bring.  I decided on an I wish...activity for students to write their wish for the upcoming year.  If they could have just one wish, what would it be?

This craftivity could be used for New Years, but could also be used for MLK Day.  Students could write about a wish they have for making the world a better place.  I know Christmas just passed, but it could have been used for students to write a wish for the holiday season.  There is also a blank star that will leave this craft open-ended, so you can use it in any way you see suited in your classroom and curriculum.  Student can decorate the blank face pattern with construction paper, yarn, crayons and/or markers.  The rhyme(author unknown) can be used to create a poster, or it could be used as a title for a bulletin displaying student work.

You can get this craftivity in my TPT store.
Simply click on the image below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/I-wishCraftivity-470680
I created the examples above with my older son.  It was good bonding time :), well for me anyhow.  I'm sure he would have rather been playing video games.   I love how he made himself with red, spiky hair, which he does not have, might I add.  But I love his heartfelt wish for his brother to be healthier during the upcoming year. 
With hopes that everyone's wishes come true in the upcoming year :)

23 December 2012

New Year's Freebie

I've been away from blogging for a bit.  It's such a busy time a year, and our house has been pretty sickly the last few weeks.  Thought I'd create a quick freebie for my students to draw pictures of their favorite moments from 2012.  There are 4 slots on the film strip for them to illustrate their special moments.  Grab it below for free.


Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you create many more special memories in the upcoming year.
God Bless,

01 December 2012

Bloom's Buttons

Higher level questioning is on everyone's minds these days.  I knew I wanted to create something for Blooms, but just couldn't decide on how I wanted it to look in my classroom.  It's always been something I just do without even thinking.  I always gear my questioning toward higher level thinking, but don't necessarily tell my students where each question ranks on the Bloom's Hierarchy.

I've come up with a little something to incorporate more of the Bloom's language and questioning in my day to day classroom discussions.  We always have a read aloud for the week, whether it's from our reading adoption (Reading Street) or a trade book.  My plan is to use this form to teach the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and then have them answer questions about the story at the different levels of Blooms.

My analogy will be when the shirt is fully buttoned, then you are fully dressed and ready to go.  And when you are able to answer all the button level questions, then you have a full or complete understanding of the story.

My plan is to have button breaks, where a student will randomly choose a colored button from a can. The color they choose will correspond to a Bloom's Button Card which contains a question  that corresponds to a particular level of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Some times I may have them answer the question independently, they could do this either orally or in a journal.  Other times they may try to answer the question with a buddy or a group.  The goal is to get them thinking about the story as well as their own thinking!!!



 These are the buttons that I'm using in my jar.  Nice and big.


Notice that the orange buttons are missing in the middle picture above.  Well, we had an uh oh, this evening.  My toddler decided to stick the orange buttons inside the skinny opening of my very expensive laminator.  Yikes, it was not fun finding a solution for that one!!!

 Here is an example of a few of the cards.
 

There are 9 questions for each of the 6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. There are also blank (editable) cards provided for you to add your own questions as you see fit.  There is also a black line master available of the Button Chart, if you would like to have your students color it in and then place it in a journal/notebook  to refer to throughout the year.  You can click the picture below to head on over to my teacher store.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Blooms-Buttons-440161

Hope my students and possibly yours love their button breaks!!!