If I Were...100

It's time for a FREEBIE!!!

How about a freebie for the 100th Day of School?  Hope you enjoy this fill-in-the-blank writing activity and coloring page.  I think the portraits of them at 100 will be priceless.  Grab it for free at my TPT store.  Simply click an image below.

Love Monsters

February is near...and love will soon be in the air.

My plan is to celebrate this Valentine's Day Monster Style.

My little guy got a gigantic potato head for his third birthday.  It was a huge hit!  It gave me the idea to use the same concept, but with monsters for Valentine's Day.  There are several patterns provided for students to create their own unique monster.  Student can use the heart template to write about who/what they love.  Younger students could use the space to illustrate, while older students could write.  There is a template for both.

This fun Love Monster poem is included in the set. 

 It would be a great addition to a Poetry Journal, if your students use them.  There is also an adjective poem.  We are currently covering adjectives in language.  I thought this would be a fun way to reinforce the concept on Valentine's Day.

If you are interested in the craftivity, click on any of the images above.  

You can get it for $2 at my TPT store.

This is an adorable monster that a student did in my buddy's class.  

Is he not stinkin' cute?

Biography Template

I was looking at my To-Do list, and remembered that I had been meaning to create a Biography Template for my students.  Our Social Studies adoption, has numerous 1 page biographies throughout the book.  I thought it would be helpful to have a template for my class to use with any biography they read.  With MLK Day approaching, I thought there was no better time than now to get creating.

You can get this one page biography template on TPT.  

Simply click on the image above to head straight to my store.
 

Phonics Candy Bar Charts

One of my favorite classroom activities would have to be these Candy Bar Charts.  I have been using these for the last 10 years and I really believe they have given my students a good grasp of letter/sound patterns.  I set them aside this year, so I could update the charts.  I had made them so long ago, they really needed some serious updating.  I missed them so much, that I finally committed myself to getting them done.  I'm going to start using them tomorrow in my own classroom.  We are covering the /oi/ spelled oi and oy, so it will be an Almond Joy week.

In this set, there are 25 charts that students can use to brainstorm words that follow specific spelling patterns or language skills.  The candy bar charts are a great way for students to connect sounds and patterns to candy bars that contain the same patterns.

The title page above could be used as a cover for a notebook or journal where students can keep all of their candy bar charts.  The pages are full size, but I changed the page scale so they would fit nicely on a composition book.  I like to keep all of the charts together in one journal, so students can refer back to them throughout the year.  My students often utilize them as word banks for Writers' Workshop. Below is a list of all the patterns included in the resource.

The candy bar images are all in black and white, so students can color the candy bars themselves.  I try to save on printer ink wherever I possibly can.   I introduce each new pattern on Monday, and we brainstorm words together.  Students highlight the pattern within each of the words they add to their candy bar chart.

There is a back provided, so students can add additional words.  If I am having students put the pages in the brads of a folder, then I usually print the back page.  When I use composition books, I usually only print the front side and they just write additional words directly on the lines of the next page in their composition book.  I have my students add additional words during stations or as they come up in classroom discussions.   I usually review the candy bar chart again on Friday before the spelling test.  This gives me an opportunity to make sure they have the correct spellings for the words they have added to the back of their charts.  These charts are also useful for teaching Word Study lessons during Guided Reading.

Another fun little thing I like to do is... buy a candy bar that goes along with my lesson for the week.  I laminate the wrapper and use it to remind my little ones of our spelling pattern.   Many of my students have never heard of some of these candy bars, so they enjoy seeing a real life example.   They also make a perfect manipulative for Guided Reading.

You can get these charts in my TPT store. Click HERE to check it out.
I hope you enjoy this sweet way to teach phonics!

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.

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 :)

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,

Silence for Sandy Hook

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.

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