Diving into 2018 in the Classroom

Have you gone completely paperless?  I do value teaching with a digital lense but I still love bulletin boards with students' work prominently on display.  I find that bulletin board creations are becoming more information boards.  Here's a fun way to keep a goal setting board up for a while.  I don't use the word resolution but rather "goals".  Using hockey stick writing templates, students can write their goals for the new year.

 

You'll find this free download here:

Keep students busy with this fun roll a story.  All you need is a 6 sided number cube and the prompt board.  Graphic organizers and writing paper is included:

This fun clip art is a great way to decorate newsletters or resources:

Add some fun writing paper to your writing stations.  You'll find a collection of papers for both emergent and established writers. 

  

Start the new year off with some fun math stations. This unit includes 4 activities. The first is number of the day. Using the new year, students will look at place value and fill in a number of the day chart. The next activity involves patterns found in a January calendar.The third activity (Race to Midnight) involves measuring time to 5 minute intervals. The final activity is to reach the target number using cards numbered 0 to 9. The target number is the new year. 

The whole bundle is available here:

Wishing you a prosperous, safe, happy and healthy new year!

Ringing in 2018 with Dollar Deals....

It's that time of year again!  The TpT Focused Success group is bringing some fabulous dollar deals your way for two days only!

Search the hashtag #RingIn2018

My second font bundle is only $1.00 and so is my Winter Literacy Bundle. 

'Twas the Week Before Christmas Break

With concerts galore and a multitude of interruptions,  here are some fun ways to keep your students busy with Math and Literacy Stations.  Offering choice activities and providing task cards and lapbooks is always a good approach to keeping your students engaged. Here's a sample of the things that I have tried in classes from grades 3 to 6:

Christmas Writing Folder

This interactive folder is a great springboard to assist your students with three writing forms and a bonus Wanted Poster. You will find a descriptive task called Open the Doors to Christmas. With this four door book, students will use 4 of their senses to describe the Christmas season. A procedural writing task is included. Students will write about how to ready their place for Santa. A letter writing activity is included. This is a choice with students deciding on who they would like to direct the letter to at the North Pole. Various letter writing choices are provided. A fun task is to have students create wanted posters for jobs at Santa's workshop. A sample is provided to encourage descriptive details and drawings to make this poster task a fun one.Templates, rubrics and folder assembly instructions are included. All you need is a regular sized folder. 

Idioms Word Work

This unit has expressions on word cards ready for cutting and laminating. Students will be provided with a blank template and task cards filled with an expression related to a Christmas theme. They will then be asked to sketch a situation using the idiomatic expression on the card and then write and sketch their interpretation of it. This is a great addition to your Word Work Station or can be used as an extra activity for early finishers. 


Christmas Writing Task Cards

Task cards are individualized with title and writing prompts. In addition to 24 prompts, you will find graphic organizers and specialty writing paper to assist students with the writing process. These task cards will make a great addition to a writing station. 


Christmas Math Stations

Keep your students engaged in fun math activities with a Christmas theme. Activities include: construction of a Gingerbread House based on money amounts, December calendar math activities involving patterning and operations, completing a hidden picture using decimal operations and playing a Race to the Gingerbread House game based on odd and even sums.

The Gingerbread House construction and Race to the Gingerbread House game may be differentiated. Game boards, instructions, answers and number cards are included.

Christmas Memories Recount Writing

This is a great home-school connection or addition to your literacy writing station. Students are encouraged to write about their special Christmas memories. A helpful planning sheet is included for your struggling writers. This writing activity will encourage writing at any grade level. 


Christmas Writing Paper

This package includes Christmas letter writing paper and lined paper for emergent and established writers. Art work created includes a reindeer, penguin and dog. Bonus gift tags are included in this package.

Silly Christmas Sentences for Fluent Readers

Silly sentences have always been a fun way to explore sentence building and recognizing parts of speech. Students in grades 3 through 6 will have the opportunity to use subject, verb and complement cards to build and simplify silly sentences. Challenging verb cards are included with this unit as well as nouns associated with the Christmas theme, a blank sentence building template, display and label cards and a synonym chart. This is a perfect activity to use in your Word Work Stations or as an extra project for early finishers. 

Christmas Part Part Whole Number Cards

Part-part-whole cards are designed to assist students in computation of number sums. This unit of 25 part-part-whole cards will allow students to practice sums from 2 to 10. The unit includes 2 variations for the numbers 2 and 3 and 3 variations for the numbers 4 to 10. With numbers hidden with flaps, Students can then justify what the missing part is and lift the flap to verify their answers. Cards may be used during a number talks, during guided math groups or for individual assessments. 

Christmas Roll a Story

Students will be prompted to tell or write story with a Christmas theme. This unit includes a story prompt sheet, graphic organizers, word lists (Christmas & transition words), rubric and specialty writing paper with full and half lined pages.

Christmas Write the Room

This is a fun way to have students recognize and learn to write Christmas words. Used as a literacy station, printed cards on cardstock can be placed around the room at students’ height. Using a clipboard and recording sheet, students will write the correct word beside the correct number. There are two variations of the recording sheet for differentiation. Cards contain shape box letters and images to reinforce letter formation and word recognition. 

Free Downloads

Christmas Writing Choice Board Freebie

This writing choice board freebie is a great addition to your Writing Station or a useful activity for early finishers. Eight writing options plus a free one are included.

Free Clip Art

Christmas Frames

Christmas Free Download

Christmas concerts, decorations, gift making and read alouds to share.  It's that time of year.  Excitement is in the air.  Keep those early finishers busy with this writing choice board:

Christmas Writing Choice Board

It Takes a Village

Over 25 years in and I've noticed something: people matter!  Yes children matter but people matter too!  I am talking about those people who make a school run smoothly.  These are the unsung heroes:  custodians, secretaries, educational assistants, librarians, early childhood education workers,volunteers and parents.  We often think of favourite teachers, favourite principals and vice-principals. I've learned to stop to thank the people who build that village from the ground up.

Today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my calendar had been turned to the new month.  Then I thought, that has happened every month since I started my new position.  The evening custodian does this.  I thanked him.  He was over the moon because I figured out who the calendar fairy was.

Then there's the secretary.  She or he often have the answers that the principal doesn't.  They know how to make injuries less hurtful, answer phones respectfully, take in mail, distribute it accordingly, rarely have time for a break and manage to carry on a smile throughout the day.

Support staff for students amaze me.  Some are assigned to small numbers of children throughout the day.  They accompany them on recess breaks, support their social and emotional needs, help them thrive when things are rough and advocate wholeheartedly for children in their care.

It doesn't stop there.  The librarian is a wealth of knowledge.  Knowing where every resource is, how to use it and who to recommend it to is no easy feat.  Then, there's the read aloud.  Have you ever heard a more beautiful rendition of a story?  There is one librarian I know who gets into full character portrayals and even brings in props.  Imagine typewriters, telescopes and musical instruments.  The books come alive!

Lastly, parents and volunteers are the icing on the cake.  They bring that village to life with countless hours, costume making, prop building, reading, homework helping and community building.  It does take a village.

Thanksgiving Resource Round-Up

With American Thanksgiving around the corner, it's time to find some fun engaging activities for students to use at centers or as a whole class theme.  Below are some of my activities plus a free download at the end:

Thanksgiving Roll a Story

Students will be prompted to tell or write story with a Thanksgiving theme. This unit includes a story prompt sheet, graphic organizers, word lists (Thanksgiving & transition words), rubric and specialty writing paper with full and half lined pages.       

                        

Thanksgiving Writing

Celebrate Thanksgiving with your class by writing about it. Included in this bundle are five activities. You will find 5 quick task writing cards and 5 writing templates for an Acrostic Poem, A Text Message Template, An Invitation, a Friendly Letter and a Word & Sentence Generator activity, word list and specialty writing paper. These tasks are perfect for a bulletin board display or even a big class book. 

Thanksgiving Sentences for Fluent Readers

Silly Sentences have always been a fun way to engage readers in developing grammatical knowledge and reading skills. Fluent readers appreciate creating silly sentences using challenging words. This unit contains subject, verb and complement cards with a Thanksgiving theme. Students will be able to create their own silly sentences while exploring verbs that are not used frequently. Increasing familiarity with these verbs will in turn add some zest to students’ writing skills. These verb cards will make a wonderful addition to a “wow” word wall.

Thanksgiving Math Stations

This product is made up of a fun turkey glyph, a turkey trots to 12:00 math game and a turkey three in a row multiplication game. The turkey glyph comes in two variations: the first one is based on American spelling of the word "color" and "favorite"; the second one is based on Canadian spelling of the word "colour" and "favourite". Turkey Trots to 12:00 encourages students to follow directions based on telling time to 5-minute intervals. The first person to land on 12:00 is the winner. Triple turkey looks at products generated from multiplying numbers 1 through 10. The first person to cover up three products is the winner.

Thanksgiving Writing Paper

This package includes Thanksgiving letter writing paper and lined paper for emergent and established writers. Art work created includes turkey, leaf, acorn, pumpkin and cornucopia images. 

Part Part Whole Number Cards

Part-part-whole cards are designed to assist students in computation of number sums. This unit of 25 part-part-whole cards will allow students to practice sums from 2 to 10. The unit includes 2 variations for the numbers 2 and 3 and 3 variations for the numbers 4 to 10. With numbers hidden with flaps, Students can then justify what the missing part is and lift the flap to verify their answers. Cards may be used during a number talks, during guided math groups or for individual assessments. 

                     

Free Thanksgiving Clip Art

Decorate your resources with these clip art images that include 10 color and 8 black and white images of things related to Thanksgiving. Each image is 300 dpi and in a png format. Below is a listing of what you will find in this pack: apple, brown leaf, cornucopia, orange leaf, pie, pumpkin, pumpkins, turkey character 1, turkey character 2, yellow leaf. 

         

Make Your Own Poppy Wreath

This Remembrance Day, have your students create a Poppy Wreath.  Each student can create their own poppy which can be attached to a hanger to create a class poppy wreath.  Directions are listed below: 

Poppy Wreath Instructions

You will need:

- Several sheet of red paper (8 - 1/2  X 11”)

- Sheets of black paper

- Scissors

- Glue

- Something to trace (e.g., small cup)

- Wire hanger

- Heavy duty tape

Instructions:

1.     Bend wire hanger into a circle shape.

2.     Make several copies of the heart template using red paper.

3.    Cut 6 hearts for each poppy.  Crinkle each heart and then glue them together.

4.     Use a small cup to trace a black circle.  Cut the circle and then cut small fringes into the edges.  Glue the black circle into the middle of your poppy.

5.    Attached each poppy to the hanger.  Use heavy duty tape.

6.    To create a full effect, add at least 10 to 12 poppies to the hanger.

Full directions and photos are free at the following link: 

Poppy Wreath

Halloween Resource Round-Up

That time of year is fast approaching.  Here are some fun activities to use in your classrooms.

Halloween Math Stations

Halloween math stations are a fun way to consolidate learning for students in Grades 3 to 6. This package of activities includes a patterning poster project, word cards, poster templates and a rubric to use after working through terms such as increasing patterns, decreasing patterns and repeating patterns. Two criteria checklists have been developed. One uses the slide, flip and turn vocabulary while the other uses translations, reflections and rotations. A sample poster planner is part of this package as well as images to use in the creative part of the poster. Individual patterning practice activities are included, an addition game, multiplication game and a place value game using numbers between 0 and 99.

Halloween Writing Activities

Halloween is always a fun time of year to introduce literacy activities to your classroom. This bundle contains four Halloween units found in my store. The Halloween Writing Unit contains three forms: descriptive writing, procedural writing and informational writing.  The descriptive writing component is introduced through an Onomatopoeia Poem. With the creation of words that produce natural sounds, students can come up with a creative way to explore the world of poetry. It is recommended that a Halloween CD be used for this activity. If a CD is not available, you may access the internet for Halloween sounds or have students come up with their own.  When writing a procedure, students can come up with a Halloween Recipe that will send shivers down the reader’s spine. A step by step “how to” activity is included to assist in the procedural writing process.  Finally, the informational piece is always a fun one that allows students to publish their work on specialty writing paper. Students will explore fascinating facts about bats and explain why bats exhibit certain characteristics, habits or features. This writing kit includes a writing guide to assist your students, writing forms, display ideas and book covers (if you choose to turn these into class books), specialty writing paper and a rubric. 
 

Halloween Silly Sentences

A working with words activity will have students in grades 3 through 6 use subject, verb and complement cards to build and simplify silly sentences. Challenging verb cards are included with this unit as well as nouns associated with the Halloween theme, a blank sentence building template, display and label cards and a synonym chart. This is a perfect activity to use in your Word Work Stations or as an extra project for early finishers.

Our Best Halloween Costumes

If you would like to start a great home-school connection or addition to your literacy writing station, the Halloween Costumes Write About book is the place to start. A helpful planning sheet is included for your struggling writers. This writing activity will encourage writing at any grade level.

Halloween Writing Paper

Finally, a package filled with Halloween letter writing paper and lined paper for emergent and established writers is included in this bundle. Art work created includes kids in costumes, jack-o-lanterns, spiders and bats. 

Halloween Number Chats

Halloween images are presented in an organized arrangement by number. Students will learn to recognize the number of objects without counting them. This is called “subitizing”. Incorporating these images into daily number chats provides opportunities for students to work on counting, seeing numbers in multiple ways and learning combinations. 

Each page contains 4 of the same image but in different combinations for number chats. You may use one set of 4 images per day. The students can apply the strategies from each picture presented in whole or small group math chats.. 

Halloween Shape Paper

Make writing fun with this Halloween shaped paper pack. You will find four themes to choose from:  a pumpkin, a witch's hat, a haunted house and a cat. Paper is created for emergent and established writers plus blank form.

Halloween Roll a Story

Students will be prompted to tell or write a story with a Halloween theme.  This unit includes a story prompt sheet, graphic organizers, word lists (Halloween & transition words), rubric and speciality writing paper with full and half lined pages.

Part Part Whole Cards Halloween

Here's a fun way to assist students in computation of number sums either in math stations, with a buddy or for independent practice. This unit of 25 part-part-whole cards will allow students to practice sums from 2 to 10 with a Halloween theme. The unit includes 2 variations for the numbers 2 and 3 and 3 variations for the numbers 4 to 10. With numbers hidden with flaps, Students can then justify what the missing part is and lift the flap to verify their answers. Cards may be used during a number talks, during guided math groups or for individual assessments. 

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Halloween Loot Bag Tags

Here's a free product your trick or treaters will love: Halloween Loot Bag Tags. Just add a loot bag and goodies before placing this tag on the treat bag.

TpT Gift Card Giveaway

It's time for TpT gift card giveaway.  

The giveaway has been organized by Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher), with the following 

Co-hosts:   An Apple for the Teacher, Kelly McCown, Sandra Naufal, Teacher Jeanell, The Literacy Garden, A Plus Kids, It's a Teacher Thing, Jackie Crews, Reading and Writing Redhead, LIVIN' IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER, MMBilingual, Mrs Hansens Helpfuls, TeachKidLearn, Ms. K, 180 Days of Reading, The Best Days, Katie Roltgen, Catch My Products, PreK Kristin, Carrie Comincioli, Teaching Where You're Called, Heart 2 Heart Teaching, Cathy's Cool Creations, The Chocolate Teacher, Leah Popinski, Walk with Me a Second, Kamp Kindergarten, Mickey's Place, Teaching Second Grade, Teach with Hope, Paula's Preschool and Kindergarten, Peas In A Pod, A Library and Garden, and KB3Teach.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  Giveaway ends 10/13/17 and is open worldwide.

Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers! 

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