Make a mark! Isn't that a simple, but fabulous message? In Peter H. Reynolds' book, The Dot, he tells a fabulous story of an encouraging teacher who helps a young student to find the confidence to express her creativity and to make a mark on the world.
I fell in love with this book, and used it as jumping off point for our How We Express Ourselves unit. It could not have been more perfect. Did you know there is even a super catchy song to go with it?
Showing posts with label Language Arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Language Arts. Show all posts
Summer Reading Suggestions
We all want to keep students reading over the summer. For those avid readers finding books is never a problem, but there are always students who struggle with choosing books to read. To send them off on summer vacation with a few new suggestions have your students get recommendations from each other.
Tips For Teaching ABC Order
Teaching ABC Order occasionally brought frustration to my students when they would miss or skip a word and then need to erase or fit the missing words in somehow. As a result I've tinkered with a few different ideas on how to help them learn this skill with less frustration.
Thematic Thursday: Penguins
Way back in my early years of teaching I was lucky enough to take a job teaching 2nd grade where they read the novel Mr. Popper's Penguins. Oh, did I have a blast planning that unit! Nowadays with Pinterest at our fingertips the plethora of penguin ideas for classroom fun with these adorable black & white friends is endless. You can follow my Penguins Pinterest Board to see all the additional great ideas I don't have room to include here today.
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| Click to open document with clickable links for each book and idea! |
I've also linked a small sampling of some of my favorite penguin activities. There are two art activities, including this very simple directed draw from Drawing Lessons for the Young Artists Blog. Simply sketch and then use pastels to color and you will have a some wonderful works of art.
I found an adorable photo writing prompt on Pinterest that reminds me so much of how always imagined Mr. Popper! It would be great to use for writing captions. I wish I was able to find the source of this clever capture.
The
last activity is a matching game to help students learn basic facts about the
many different species of penguins. It is a part of my larger unit on Mr.
Popper's Penguins that was recently updated to include QR codes for students to self
check. Don't forget to check out the links at the bottom of the PDF for some great research resources to compliment your study of penguins.
Click the cover below to preview this Unit that includes:
Click the cover below to preview this Unit that includes:
•Chapter
Notes: prediction, inference, alliteration, simile, metaphor,
foreshadowing, onomatopoeia & idioms by chapter
•56 Comprehension Questions
•53 Vocabulary Words for word walls & flashcard activities with quizzes included
•Integrated science and math activities
•Graphic Organizers
•Bonus Bookmarks for the 15 most popular species of penguins that include an illustrations and basic facts about the species.
•And More
•56 Comprehension Questions
•53 Vocabulary Words for word walls & flashcard activities with quizzes included
•Integrated science and math activities
•Graphic Organizers
•Bonus Bookmarks for the 15 most popular species of penguins that include an illustrations and basic facts about the species.
•And More
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| Click to preview |
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| Click to enter to win! |
Scooping Up Books: Reading Logs & Goal Setting
Do your students need a boost in motivation for reading at home? This summer a girlfriend of mine and I were brainstorming ideas for her second graders. She wanted to implement a program that might help her students track their progress and reflect on growth in their at home reading. After much discussion we decided to go big or go home!
Note: this program does involve a small amount of extra class time and some classroom wall space to make it really fun.
Each month students get a "Scooping Up Books" reading calendar to use as log. On the back side is a printed reflection sheet for students to do a very simple review of their favorite book that month. Each day students log the number of minutes or pages (whichever you prefer) on to the ice cream scoop. They also check off the different genres they read in any given month. She does not require them to read from any particular genre, but you could if you were so inclined. I also know some teachers like to have parent involvement with reading logs so my thought was parents could initial in each scoop if needed.
We decided that goal setting was going to be a critical part of this program. Each month students set a goal for themselves. At the end of each month they chart their personal progress and then set a new goal for the following month.
Additionally, each month a class total is calculated. This is the part that takes some time on your part. You can set it up as a quick whole class math activity, assign a student each month to calculate or just do it yourself. As a part of the incentive we created a class bulletin board to show progress or need for improvement...depending on the month.
If you want to create a cute 'Scooping Up Books' display you simply need an ice cream cone or dish labeled for each month of the school year. Determine as a class how many minutes/pages a scoop of ice cream should equal. You may need to determine this based on the size of your bulletin board space. Then, at the end of each month add the appropriate number of scoops. My girlfriend has the students who read the most each month decorate the scoops before hanging them up! I can't wait to see what it looks like in June!
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The Velveteen Rabbit Tea Party
This has got to be my all time favorite culminating activity. Seriously. The B.E.S.T.
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| One of my very first classroom tea parties. |
Way back in the 90's my two fantastic teaching mentors shared with me that it was traditional for our grade level to culminate our Velveteen Rabbit unit with a formal tea party...with REAL china tea cups! Needless to say I thought they were INSANE!
Their sanity may still be in question, but not as a result of this idea. My Velveteen Rabbit Tea Parties have become the most cherished of classroom memories. So much so that when we started our homeschool journey I knew I wanted to include this tradition. For four years we held an annual Christmas tea party with my son's dearest friends and their mothers. I had to change the theme up after the first year, but we managed to find a way to connect it to our learning and give a special gift to our friends at Christmas. Just thinking about it makes me nostalgic...sigh.
Anyhow, for this post I will focus on The Velveteen Rabbit Tea and maybe another time I'll share the details of our Colonial Tea, Mr. Willowby's Tea and our Hot Chocolate Buffet!
Very long story short, after completing our study of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams we would transform our classroom with table cloths, china tea cups, platters of scones, finger sandwiches, flower vases, place cards and well mannered children. It was magical...and a I won't lie a LOT of work. Did I mention I did this for the first time as a brand new teacher?
As a part of the tea party I decided to incorporate a retelling of the story of The Velveteen Rabbit. I went through the book and took out quotes from the entire thing that created a summary from beginning to end. I gave each student two quotes to commit to memory over the course of our study. By the day of the tea all of the students had them down perfectly...no joke. Every year I would start my tea with the parents sitting at elegantly set tables, and the students standing in their Sunday best reciting their quotes to share this touching story with their families. Are you starting to see why this is my favorite event?I could go on and on about my love for these tea parties and how they evolved over the years, but I suspect y'all would be bored to death. Instead I have created a Pinterest board with some of my favorite recipes and ideas to help you plan your own Velveteen Rabbit Tea Party. You can check it out at the bottom of this post.
And Guess what? This week you can also win a copy of my Velveteen Rabbit Unit. The Pioneer Teacher is having a special giveaway in celebration of hitting a big TPT milestone. Just head on over to the Thankful for Twenty Thousand Giveaway to enter to win her 2nd-3rd grade prize pack. The quotes I mentioned are all included as bookmarks in the unit!
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| Click to Enter |
You can also preview the entire unit by clicking below.
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Snow What Fun!
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| Link to Goodreads |
The story lends itself nicely to working on rhyming and writing poetry. Additionally, the rich descriptive vocabulary is perfect for working on parts of speech.
I am always looking for ways to make things more fun. Domino games are always a hit and in this case it's rhyming dominoes for the win! Each domino has two words on it that do not rhyme, but somewhere in the stash of dominoes there is at least one, if not two, dominoes that will make a rhyming pair. Students take turns trying to be the first to use up all their dominoes. When finished they pick two of their favorite rhyming pairs and use them to try and write their own poem.
These centers also include two more activities for working with verbs and adjectives. They are both sorting activities. One has you sort the adjectives from the verbs, and the other has you sorting verbs into past and present tense. Both activities come with recording sheets and QR Codes so students can self check while still at the center!
Even though the temps were insanely high here in TX last weekend, I've got my eyes on winter. Bring on some snow, but only a little...just enough for a snowman!
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Nightly Reading Freebie
Do you have some students who need some extra reinforcement at home with reading? Or do you have parents who just need a little guidance in what to do to help their struggling readers? Sometimes what seems natural to those of us who have taught reading for years is completely foreign to parents who know their child needs some extra practice, but just aren't sure what that should look like.
Here is a simple handout that provides basic directions for students and parents to get some additional reinforcement at home. This can be used with any book, whether it is leveled book you send home with your student or a book they choose from their own personal library. The daily assignments for practice reading aloud, as well as, the vocabulary, re-telling and making connections activities will help provide meaningful reading homework.
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| Click to Download Freebie |
Too Many Pumpkins!
Have you read about Rebecca Estelle and her cat Esmerelda? If not, you are missing out. These two are a delight, as is this fun fall story. I do not want to spoil the plot for you, but I will tell you this, the book lends itself well to enriching vocabulary, practicing past tense, making predictions, sorting verbs and adjectives, not to mention that it is just plain fun!
Too Many Pumpkins, by Linda White is not a book about Halloween. There are no scary parts, no trick-or-treat or costumes. It is mostly a story about too many pumpkins with a few Jack-o-lanterns, a couple of laughs, some problem solving, and a very feel good ending!
The first time I read this book was years ago while volunteering in my son's 2nd grade class. I wasn't familiar with the story, but I loved it so much I rushed out to add to my collection. If it's one you haven't read I suggest you check it out ASAP. If you already know how wonderful it is be sure to check out the literature activities I have designed to compliment the book for use in your classroom. I do hope you love it as much as I do!
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| Link to Amazon |
What if Everybody Did That?
This book is perfect for the beginning of the year as you are establishing your classroom rules and procedures, or later in the Spring, as it lends itself perfectly to Earth Day. I love finding ways to use literature to support other subjects like social studies and science and this works perfectly for topics that revolve around helping others and the planet too! It's like Character Education and Science Mashup of sorts!
Have y'all watched many of the Kid President videos yet? If not, you are missing out! Not only is he adorably funny, his messages are fantastic! Here is a great one to share with your students after reading What if Everybody Did That? Part of what I love about this book is how it ends. I won't completely spoil it for you, but just know that the end of the book and Kid President can encourage your students to think about the ways and the power they have to shape the future. How awesome is that?
If you'd like to do some extension lessons based on the book I've put together a few simple activity pages. They include:
- Cause & Effect Graphic Organizers
- Templates to make your own What if Everybody Did That? class books.
- Vocabulary Activities (choice, responsible, consequence, cause, effect, actions)
- Reflection Writing Activities
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| Click to Preview Product |
Building Classroom Community With The Name Jar
I always love it when I can find a fantastic book that ties to exactly what I want to teach! The picture book, The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi is a new favorite of mine.
This particular book has many wonderful lessons. It lends itself so well to the back to school focus on building classroom community. The teacher, Mr. Cocotos, has clearly established a supportive and comfortable classroom community before the main character Unhei arrives as a new student from Korea.
One way to jump off this book is to have fun with the jar theme. It so simple too! First, create a large chart with an empty jar on it. Give students sticky notes and ask them to name things that help make a positive classroom community like the one in the story. Use this to start a discussion on what your classroom agreements will be for the school year and how your goal is to create an environment like the one Mr. Cocotos established that helped Unhei feel welcome in both her new school and her new country.
The unit includes a graphic organizer for students to record class ideas.
Another fun way to extend the jar theme and to help your students get to know each other the first few weeks of school is to give them a blank jar and have them fill it with words or pictures that symbolize their identity. To make it extra fun, make sure they don't include their names anywhere on the front. Then, have the classmates try to guess which jar belongs to which student! This could be a fun display for parents to try and guess which jar belong to their child at back to school night too!
Option: Make this a technology training lesson. Have students add clip art into the jar!
These are just a few ways to use The Name Jar to help build your positive classroom community at the start of a new school year. If you are interested in the seeing additional activities I have designed to go with this book please click the image below to see a preview of the unit in my TPT store.
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| Click to see more of this unit. |
Penguins!
What's not to love about penguins? Honestly, I could waste a lot of time looking at pictures of penguins. Seriously, is this not stunning? I wonder what they are chatting about?
I recently finished putting some updates on a unit revolving around the novel Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater. If you are not familiar with this classic novel it is about a man who suddenly finds himself caring for quite a number of guest penguins. This hilariously funny book is perfect for integrating your science and language arts programs.
The story provides some great opportunities for discussing and learning about habitats and why they are important. I like to use it as a jumping off point for doing some non-fiction research. There are over 15 types of penguins that can be researched! You can keep it simple and just learn basic penguin facts or really delve deep and have students write reports and design presentations to share.
Additionally, there is a wealth of vocabulary to be learned from this book. The adjectives used to describe the penguins alone introduce words that many students may not have heard; words like pompous, droll, stout and indignant.
The Mr. Popper's Penguin Unit focuses heavily on comprehension questions, vocabulary and penguin facts. The updated fact posters include QR Codes with links to one of my favorite kid friendly penguin research websites.
I also added QR Codes to the Penguin Fact Cards so that students can play matching games and self-check!
Be sure to check out my Penguins Pinterest Board for lots of fun ideas to compliment your penguin study!
I recently finished putting some updates on a unit revolving around the novel Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater. If you are not familiar with this classic novel it is about a man who suddenly finds himself caring for quite a number of guest penguins. This hilariously funny book is perfect for integrating your science and language arts programs.
The story provides some great opportunities for discussing and learning about habitats and why they are important. I like to use it as a jumping off point for doing some non-fiction research. There are over 15 types of penguins that can be researched! You can keep it simple and just learn basic penguin facts or really delve deep and have students write reports and design presentations to share.
Additionally, there is a wealth of vocabulary to be learned from this book. The adjectives used to describe the penguins alone introduce words that many students may not have heard; words like pompous, droll, stout and indignant.
The Mr. Popper's Penguin Unit focuses heavily on comprehension questions, vocabulary and penguin facts. The updated fact posters include QR Codes with links to one of my favorite kid friendly penguin research websites.
I also added QR Codes to the Penguin Fact Cards so that students can play matching games and self-check!
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| Click to Preview Game and Posters |
My Father's Dragon
Turns out Elmer is a fantastically clever fellow with a very big heart who has a great adventure saving a baby dragon. This 10 chapter book is the first in a trilogy and it's just plain old fun to read. It lends itself to all types of fun activities. Like this torn paper version of the baby dragon.
You can easily integrate teaching map skills and landforms with this book. One of the culminating activities we all loved had the students creating their own salt dough islands. Yes, it was messy and time consuming, but oh so fun! Kids love the opportunity to be creative and I will tell you that some of our islands were really quite impressive.
I supplied students with miscellaneous craft supplies (I always have odd bits of things left over from my many crafty experiments). I also put a call out to my families to send in any leftover supplies they were willing to part with. Each year we always ended up with a great assortment and the kids never ceased to amazing me with what they come up with. As a part of the assessment students were required to include 3-5 landforms we covered in our study and label them. It was always fun to see what they chose to incorporate into their creations.
I can't say enough great things about this book and guess what? It's now a part of the public domain. Ruth Stiles Gannett wrote in in 1923! It's available for FREE along with the illustrations at gutenberg.org. How great is that?
I've got an entire unit of activities to go along with this classic story available on my TPT store be sure to check it out if you are interested in using this book with your class!
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Be sure to check out this My Father's Dragon Pinterest Board that includes some additional fun ideas that go nicely with the unit.
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