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Diving Into Nonfiction Text Features

We dove into our study of nonfiction text features over the last two weeks.  We started with a sorting activity for fiction and nonfiction text features.  The students had a few misconceptions, but we were able to clear those up.

Meet Brownie & Rocks, Our Class Pets

Have you ever had the best intentions of seeing a project all the way through only to give up too early?  Well, that's what happened to me last year with our class pets. 

Laminator Love

Take a peek at some of my favorite laminator projects!

Horrible Harry

I have been busy with my nose in a Horrible Harry book off and on for a few weeks now. Here are some activities to pair with the Horrible Harry series.

World’s Greatest Dads

In my district, school doesn't let out until mid-June.  This leaves us in a predicament each year - to celebrate Father's Day or not. Here's a way to work on opinion writing and celebrate Father's Day.

Sunset Silhouettes

Looking for a new art project to try with your students? These sunset silhouettes are not only eye-catching, but are pretty easy to do.

Writing Report Cards

Our school is on a trimester system, so I write report cards three times a year.  When I first started teaching I wrote them all by hand.  I had to painstakingly plan out what I would write first so I wouldn't have to second guess and use gobs of white out.  I am thankful for the computerized version, even when I have to edit and revise to make sure I don't exceed the character limit.

Roll & Cover Gameboards

One of the word work games my kids enjoy playing is roll and cover.  It is a lot like Bingo.  I teach my students three ways to play: 1-player, 2-player, and small group.  In the game, a student rolls a die.  There is a chart at the top of the page that tells the student what each number means.  The student must look for, correctly read, and cover the word that follows the rule.  If there aren't any words available, the student loses that turn.  Play continues until a student has covered four in a row.

Geometry & VersaTiles

We are just wrapping up our unit on Geometry.  Our learning targets were directly related to 2D and 3D shapes as well as a few other skills (i.e. parallel line segments, polygons, etc.)  My students needed a lot of hands-on practice with counting the faces, edges, and vertices.   I am fortunate to have access to a set of Giant Geosolids in my classroom to help with identifying the 3-D shapes.  Here's a picture of the tools we work with:

A Rainbow Blizzard

You know how they say no two snowflakes are alike?  My students took on that challenge and have created some amazing pieces.  I call it a Rainbow Blizzard.

Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice

I'm sharing how we used the book, Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice to create mental images.

Penguins and Polygons

Are you working on polygons? Take a look at this penguin-themed resource!

Me on the Map

A few months ago I wrote a post about studying map skills with my students.  I mentioned a Pinterest project I wanted to try with my students. 

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Looking for a quick way to combine art and math for Thanksgiving? Try these number name turkeys!

Gettin’ Crafty

Looking for a way to tap into your creative side beyond the school day? Here's a fun holiday-themed craft project I tried thanks to Pinterest.