Spring Writing!

We have been doing a lot of non-fiction writing lately and needed to change it up a little.  Here is Wisconsin it's definitely still 'Spring'.  Sunny and 75 one day and winter coats the next :-)
To get in the spirit of spring we did some 5 senses writing.

 I love the things they think about.  Their little brains are so much more creative than mine!

This was a pretty simple little activity but it gave us a chance to focus on using complete sentences, neat handwriting and proper mechanics.

Nothing says "Spring" like the taste of fresh air and fresh apricots.

Click here to get a FREE copy of this flip book.

March Rainbows

With spring officially around the corner we needed to brighten up our room a little.  What a better way to do that then to make Name Rainbows!

The idea is pretty simple-the students write their name in the cloud and then the rainbow is made by using an adjective to describe each letter of their name.  It gets a little tricky for some of the letters so usually after about 5 minutes I help them out by looking up some good describing words online.  

There is a pre-writing sheet that I use below.  After doing this activity without a sheet one year, I realized that having the students organize their name/words ahead of time REALLY helped :-)

Click on the picture below to get a free copy of the pre-writing and cloud sheet.

The Countdown to Winter Break (and a freebie)

The countdown to winter break is on so I wanted to share this quick ornament to make with your students.  I get packages of glass ornaments from Hobby Lobby.  Every time I have gone they are 50% off, which ends up being being about $4.50 for a box of 12 (a steal).  

First, I write their name and the year with a sharpie around the top of the ornament.  Next, I have the kids pick two colors to put inside.  Then we cover the opening with a paper towel and SHAKE!  They end up looking almost tie-dyed.  

I have done this project for 7 or 8 years and this is the first year that I have had ornaments break on me (ugh), so instead of letting the kids shake them I had to do it.  I know that limits the fun a little but it prevented any more finger cuts and they still loved the way they turned out.

You use quite a bit of paint for this so you need to let them dry out for a couple of days.  We turned them upside down to drip dry in plastic cups.  After they are totally dry I put the top back on and added a ribbon.  

Here are the finished ornaments :-)

To wrap the ornaments we make these adorable reindeer heads out of paper bags.  I have a parent trace the antlers on the bags and then I have the kids cut them out and draw a face on the front.  They write who it's to/from on the back.  Finally, they add holly leaves as the ears.  I wrap them in a sheet of tissue paper and they fit perfectly!  Too cute!!

Also, if you're in need of a quick little word search, look no further.  I have some freebies for you.  There is one for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and a Reindeer option.

Click here to grab your free copy!

Guided Reading Things

Guided reading is in full swing!  I absolutely love this small-group time with my students.  They are fully involved in Daily 5 and I can focus (with the help of a fabulous parent volunteer or two, or six) on my reading group.

One of the big focus points for our school is incorporating writing along with our reading.  In order to accomplish this my students have to respond to their book in some way.  One of the easiest ways to do that is to use a graphic organizer.  I will pre-print multiple copies of various organizers so that I have them on hand.  I actually three-hold punch them and keep them all in my guided reading binder!  Click here to see other posts I have done that show my guided reading organizers.

To get these sheets click here to go to my TPT store

Click here to get a free copy of this sheet

Magic Tree House #27: Thanksgiving on Thursday is one of my favorite books to use at the time of the year.  Not only does it give us a good view at what life was like during the time of the Pilgrims, but the kids LOVE Magic Tree House books and so they can't wait to continue reading it!  

For guided reading I use it with a more independent group. This is the first time I use a chapter book with them for guided reading.  While most of the time I use a graphic organizer or notebook response to respond, for this book I use a packet.  

Since this is their first experience with locating specific information within the text I like to give them multiple choice questions.  They also encounter a fair amount of vocabulary in this book so I have them focus on specific vocabulary words from each chapter.  

You can get this packet in my TPT shop

Writing About FALL

The weather did feel like fall but currently we are experiencing warmer than average temps here in Wisconsin.  I am LOVING the high 60's/low 70's weather!!
Nevertheless, it is the beginning of November so we have been doing a lot of fall writing.
  

The first was this adorable acorn writing activity from Wild About Firsties.  

It was a quick activity that let us practice simple sentences and mechanics.  They thought it was so cute.  I love when they add their own little touches to make the acorns come to life.

Next we read the book The Falling Leaves.  This story has a really great message about treating others nicely so we discuss that before I show them the activity.

They take a cut out of a leaf and have to turn it into something totally different.  I am always completely amazed by their ideas!

I found this idea from Yearn to Learn.  I changed up the sheet a little to give us more room to work.

 

Click here to get a FREE copy of the sheet.

Finally, we used all five senses to describe fall.  We brainstormed a list of fall things for each of the five senses as a group.  Then I had them pick their favorites from each category to do a first draft copy.  The first draft gives them practice putting their idea into a complete sentence.

After they wrote their sentence down I had them copy their sentences onto a final sheet (on cuter paper) which we then turn into a class book.

Scarecrow sheet courtesy of Fun-in-First.  

And, just for good measure I thought I'd throw in a picture of my little guy in his first Halloween costume.  Enjoy!

Math Games

We love playing math games!!  This is a great game for the beginning of school but one that they love doing all year long.  It's called Reach for the Stars.  I cannot take credit for coming up with this game but I did re-create and change the game sheet just a little.  

It's a partner game where the students need two dice.  Partner 1 rolls both dice and adds them together - then colors a box on their side of the game board that matches the answer (ie. if they roll a 3 and 1 they color in a 4 box).  Then it's Partner 2's turn.  The first person to reach a star in the middle wins!  I have them continue to play to try and fill up the remaining squares.

They absolutely LOVE this game.  They love that they get to work with a partner and that they can use markers or crayons to color in their boxes instead of pencils (which we always use in math).

Here's a free copy.  Hope you enjoy using it in your room!

Guided Reading

During guided reading I like to follow up each book with a writing response of some kind.  I used to write out comprehension questions in each each student's reading notebook.  That took a loooooong time to do and it didn't give me the freedom of working on reading strategies-it only focused on answering specific comprehension questions.  

Thus the need for some graphic organizers that helped my students respond to their book and practice a reading strategy.  

The easiest solution for me is to have a bunch of copies on hand so that I can pull out a sheet that matches with our discussion.  

My students do a great job with these and there are enough of them that we don't do the same one over and over.  At the beginning of the year we do a lot the sheets together and then as the year goes on they do more and more of it at home as part of their reading homework.  I'm amazed at how independent they are by the end of the year!!

This is a freebie page from my Reading Response Sheet packet.

Here is a preview of what some more of the pages look like.  You can click on any of the pictures and it will take you to my TPT store!