Polar Bear Close Read

Friends~Do you LOVE close reads?  I sure do and so do my students.  Next week,  we will be studying the Polar Bear and I know they are going to be crazy about them!  They also love QR codes so I thought I would mix the two up.  I created a Polar Bear Close Read for our listening center.  

It was so simple to do.  I printed out my FREE Polar Bear Close Read and then mounted it to a file folder upside down.  (I wanted the tab at the bottom.)  Now my students can open the folder and read the text or scan the code to have it read to them by me!  I also added my Close Reading Boomarks.  I really like when my students use the bookmarks because they help them pick apart the text.  Because I laminated the folder, my students can use expo markers to write on the text to help them pinpoint important information.  They can also answer the comprehension questions on the back.  

Watch this quick tutorial showing how I put this close read listening center together for my students. 

One wipe and they are clean for the next student to use!

Plus, it saves tons on copies!  

You can grab a FREE copy of the file by clicking the image below!  

We will also be making life size models of polar bear paws!  Check them out! They are fascinating!
Click the image above to read more about our Polar Bear Study!

Winter Art That Teaches Color Value

Winter is not over yet so I got to teach my students the values of color with my FAVORITE art lesson!!!!

This art project teachers students patience because it is done in 3 stages with paint drying in between. I find that the waiting for each part helps build the anticipation of my little eager students!

All that is needed to complete this is a white piece of paper (I used card stock) and 3 colors of paint (blue, white, and black)! 

You can get easy, step-by-step instructions on how we completed this beautiful, eye-catching art work here.

Cheers,

 

Snowman Day Activities and a FREEBIE!!

Hi guys!
This is Laura from Where the Magic Happens and  I hope everyone is keeping warm and cozy during this crazy winter weather…

Speaking of winter

You know how our kids get all antsy when they can go outside and  get some energy out?

Well

If you know me, you know very well that I am always very intentional with every instructional activity that I design. However I always try to sneak in some fun because

let’s be real

having fun and learning at the same time is pretty awesome!

Have you ever read the book “Snowzilla” by Janet Lawler?

This is the story of a little girl who, with the help of her family, builds a gigantic snowman. The story goes on and on until the little  girl has to blog, text, email… to save her Snowzilla. I love this story because our kids can connect to it. I also love how the community works together to achieve a goal.

{Click HERE to get from my TPT store} 

This great Snowzilla mini-unit has these activities:

This is a great activity that can be done in a small guided reading group before you introduce the book. It can also be done independently in a literacy center to review and practice new vocabulary learned.
In this activity, the students put the puzzles together in a pocket chart. After the puzzles are put together, the students complete one of the three sheets provided. Each sheet is differentiated, from easiest to most challenging.

Oh and don’t forget!

Direct vocabulary instruction can be implemented using a research-based six-step process. {The Marzano Way!}
The six steps of the vocabulary instruction process are:
1.Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
2.Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
3.Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the term or phrase.
4.Engage students in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.
5.Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
6.Involve students in games that allow them to play with terms.

The activities in this section are designed to review the concepts of verbs, nouns, and adjectives.
I like the idea of “zooming in” in the evidence to look for language patterns… when our students look at characters, key details, settings, etc., their comprehension of any text is greater.
These activities can be done in a small guided reading group or independently (if your students have the command and strategies to problem solve unknown words).

These pages are designed specifically for a small guided reading group.
Young children need a lot of practice zooming in on the text and illustrations to locate evidence and then articulating their discoveries orally and in written words or pictures.
As with any type of writing, children will gain a better understanding of how to craft an effective response if they can watch you do it first. Then, based on this experience, work with students to develop a shared criteria so that they can self –assess their own response.
Each sheet is differentiated, from easiest to most challenging.

Who doesn't need some opinion writing to match standard W.1.1!

And my most favorite activity: How to build a snowman.
Ingredients
3 cups of baking soda
½ cup of white (inexpensive) hair conditioner
This amount makes about 4 snowmen
Mix all ingredients in a big bowl, and voila!
Use googly eyes, a toothpick broken in half for the arms, whole cloves for the buttons, and strips of felt for the scarf.
After making Snowzilla, guide your students through the “how-to writing.” Your kids will love this activity, and your classroom will smell glorious!
Because I heart you all, I am posting the how-to writing for free here! Click on the picture to download. I hope you and your kiddos love this activity as much as we do in room 208!

 Click HERE to grab this how-to writing for FREE!

Thank you for stopping by and happy winter!
Love and blessings,

5 Ideas to Enhance Morning Work

Hi Everyone! Kelsea here from Teacher Gems bringing you some fun ideas to enhance your morning work time. Morning work should be something that students look forward to each day that also stimulates thinking! Use these five simple ideas to get the most out of your morning work time.

1. Focus on a Different Subject Area Each Day of the Week

Instead of covering just one subject area each day try to add a variety of activities by focusing on a different subject area each day. Use a five drawer filing system labeled with each subject area and day of the week to add activity pages to as you collect them. Then give students one activity page each day that focuses on that subject area. Some students may be better at or more interested in one subject over another so including a variety of subject areas will give students opportunities for success and enjoyment.

2. Mix it Up!

Keep students on their toes by mixing in a surprise activity every now and then. This could be anything out of the ordinary that challenges their thinking or is just plain fun. Some ideas are dot to dots, word searches and crossword puzzles. One idea that I love to challenge students' thinking (or attention to detail) is to throw in a page on following directions. I remember doing a page like this when I was in school where if you read the instructions carefully it told you to skip all the questions. The questions had you do funny things like squawk like a chicken. It was pretty funny watching other students do all the silly things and then read at the end that they didn't follow the directions carefully and could have skipped the entire assignment (and saved themselves the embarrassment). Dr. Erica Warren has some fun pages on following directions to get you started. Click here for a free sample.

3. Journal Writing

You don't have to have a worksheet for students to complete each morning! Have students keep a journal that they can add to each week. On "Writing Wednesdays" post a writing prompt on the white board and have students write about it in their journals.

4. Seasonal Activities

Consider the season and include fun activities that relate. Doing a quick internet or TpT search for seasonal activities will give you lots of ideas! Some of my favorite are color by number activities like my math addition/subtraction and multiplication/division activities (which you can find in my TpT store by clicking on the image below). You can also find lots of seasonal craft ideas by searching on Pinterest.

5. Brain Teasers

Challenge students to think outside the box with brain teasers such as logic puzzles and brain benders. There are lots of great websites that you could use for these. This could also be an opportunity to have students play brain challenging games like SET, Blokus, Sudoku or the like.

Have more ideas for enhancing morning work time? Please share them in the comments below! If you're interested in my color by number activities you can find them here. Thanks for reading!

Helping Students Transition Back from Winter Break

You haven't had school in over 2 weeks so you've probably enjoyed binge watching tv, staying in your pajamas all day, and eating whatever/whenever you want (please tell me that's not just me). Getting back in the swing of school is going to be hard for you and your students, but here are a few tips to help make that transition a bit easier. 

1. Review the Rules/Expectations

Just like the 1st day of school, going over the rules after break is essential! Now is a good time to review all of the classroom rules and decide if you need any more in place. One year, I let my class come up with the rules. I know you probably think that's crazy! Well, check out this huge list they came up with. I even had to cut them off! By allowing them to create the rules, they take ownership of them. However you do your rules (student led, classroom, school wide, etc), make sure to go over them and make sure students remember the consequences of breaking the rules. 

 I personally think #10 is the BEST!!

 2. Review Procedures
Along the lines of reviewing the rules, discussing the classroom procedures is also vital. Discussing arrival/dismissal procedures, classroom jobs, bathroom/drink privileges, lunch procedures, fire/tornado drills, center time, etc. are all important things to go over. We can't assume that students will remember EVERYTHING from before break. All the hot chocolate and candy canes fog up their head for a bit. :)

3. Give Students a Break
You know how exhausted you are the first week after a break and you just can't wait for lunch, recess, and your prep so you can just sit and catch your breath, well your students are like that too. So ease them back into the long daily routine. Throw in some brain breaks like these quick cards you can put on a ring for quick access.

These Fluency & Fitness Slideshows are fun because they review skills and get in movement. 

4. Take Time to Review Old Skills

We cannot expect our students to just get back in the swing of things and start learning a new topic. Your first week back is a great time to do a quick review on the main skills you've taught already this school year. Students are going to need time to practice the skills and strategies they haven't used for the past few weeks. Winter break isn't as bad as when students come back from Summer vacation, but a refresher course is a good way to transition back into the first week. It will also save some of your sanity of planning over break, because you can just pull out old lessons and activities for this review week. 

5. Let Students Share About Their Break

Students have so much they want to share about with you and their friends when they get back to school. It's been about 2 weeks without their friends, so you know they're going to want to talk. When they arrive in the morning you can use these FREE Winter writing prompts to have students write about their break. Then you can gather around in a circle and let each student have a few minutes to share about their break. 

Hopefully your first week back after break will go smooth. It's always fun to see your students again, but don't be surprised if you get this look a few times. :)

Frosty Fun!

Hello! Are you staying warm? Here in California the weather is dropping below 60 and I'm not sure what to do! 

So, I thought it would be a good time to get our classroom ready for the winter! 

I whipped up this Frosty Fun writing activity to share with all of you! 

One of my all time favorite books to read is What Snowman Do At Night - isn't that book just the sweetest? And did you know they wrote a sequel, Snowmen at Christmas? Even cuter! 

You can extend that adorable book into a writing project with one of the pages I've included!

Click HERE to grab this Frosty Fun Freebie! 

Love freebies? Sign up for my Lucky Newsletter to receive even more! You get a freebie just for signing up :) 

Have a very Happy Holidays! 

Winter Craft Round-Up

Hello Everyone!

I'm Deirdre and I blog over at A Burst of First.

I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful collaborative blog. 

I'm coming at you today with a....

I love a good classroom craft!!

I believe so many aspects of doing a craft are beneficial for our students.

It builds fine motor, listening skills, creativity and much more!

Some of my "rules" for choosing crafts any time of year are:

{1} They have to take longer than 5 minutes.

There's nothing like spending an entire prep period planning an adorable craft, getting the kids all set up and turning around 3 minutes later with some cutie in your face saying "I'm done!". 

You've all been there I know! 

{2} No fingerprints, handprints or footprints with paint.

This may sound cruel, but it's a lot of prep and clean up for the product.

I like to keep things more simple than that!

{3} Not too many parts!

Those crafts where you need a hundred pieces on a variety of

 different colored papers make me bananas. 

Other than this....Let's get our craft on!!

LOVE PENGUIN

This little sweetie is adorable!

Recently my son made me one at home because he saw them 

in the hall at his school and thought I would like one.

How sweet is that?

Of course a quick poke on Pinterest and I found them!

Check it all out here on the Crafty Morning blog.

MELTY SNOWMAN

I saw these on Pinterest awhile back and I melted for them!

Get that pun all you Frozen fans?

Click here for some awesomely detailed instructions.

A YUMMY 100TH DAY

I bet the 100th day is sneaking up on you!

It sure is around here!

I am in love with this delicious craft.

It makes me want ice cream even in our cold weather.

I plan to do this in my room in a few weeks.

We are going to add ten toppings to each scoop!

I'm not super crafty, but I feel pretty smart about that idea!

Click here to see this project and some other great 100th day ideas. 

ABE AND GEORGE

We made these last year and they skyrocketed to my top ten favorite crafts.

They are reversible!!! Yes for real!!

I love 2 for the price of 1!!

They are from Erica Bohrer's blog.

Grab the free (yay!) template here!

FUN IN THE COLD

My sweet bloggy friend Aris of Sailing Into Second

recently made these adorable kids in the snow.

I must add these to my to do list!!

A Year of Many Firsts has a free template here. 

SNOW MUCH FUN

Last up we have not quite a craft, but a fun experiment!

Amazingly we have had very little snow here in New England this year.

I am not complaining at all!

I could probably live the rest of my life with out snow.

Bet your bottom dollar that my students would love to do this though!

I think I may have something fun up my sleeve for Friday afternoon {wink}.

Click here to check out this sweet post. 

So fun to "meet" everyone!!

I hope you'll visit (and follow) me over at A Burst of First!