If you’re looking for an entertaining book to read to your students before Thanksgiving, you need to check out The Great Turkey Race by Steve Metzger! This story focuses on three turkeys who hear that Farmer Joe is looking for a special Thanksgiving turkey. The turkeys each want to prove that they should be picked, so they organize a series of contests and games to pick the winner. Will it be a happy Thanksgiving for everyone? This was always a favorite November read aloud in my second grade classroom and today I want to share a ... read more
Creepy Carrots Retelling Activity
If you're planning to read Creepy Carrots to your students this year, you'll want to check out this activity for retelling the story! For this activity, you will need a copy of the book Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. If you aren't familiar with the story, here's the scoop: Jasper Rabbit loves carrots. And he can take the fattest, crispiest carrots from the Crackenhopper Field anytime he wants. That is, until they start following him home... Creepy Carrots Craft After printing out all of the templates on the suggested colors, ... read more
The Little Linebacker (with a FREEBIE)
The Little Linebacker by Stephen Tulloch and Maria Dismondy tells the story of a young boy named Stephen who is determined to play football. Along the way Stephen faces challenges, but receives great advice to push through to reach his goal. This is a great book to read with your students when teaching about the importance of a growth mindset. Today I want to share a little bit of a book companion I have created for this text. It includes comprehension activities, vocabulary cards, graphic organizers, a football player writing craft, and ... read more
3 Tips for Managing Hallway Behavior
Transitions do not always come easy for students. However, getting from point A to point B doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are three quick tips to help with managing hallway behavior. SET YOUR HALLWAY BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS The most important thing you need to do is set your expectations. I love using acronyms with my students, so I played with the word LINE and came up with these expectations: Once you have the expectations set, you need to practice, practice, practice! For the first few weeks of school, take some mini ... read more
Black Glue Art Projects
I am LOVING all of the black glue art projects that have popped up in my Pinterest feed over the past few months. So I decided it was time to give these projects a try with my own kids at home. Black Glue Art Projects First, we had to gather the supplies: So I took my used bottle of Elmer’s glue, which was about 2/3 full at the time. I took the top off, poured a bunch of the black acrylic paint in it, put the lid back on, and shook it up. This is what the glue looked like after shaking. It looks more gray than black. I ... read more
The Jelly Donut Difference (FREEBIE)
I was recently introduced to the story The Jelly Donut Difference by Maria Dismondy, and it has quickly become one of my favorite character education books. The Jelly Donut Difference focuses on Leah and Dexter, a brother and sister who don’t always get along, but eventually learn about kindness and generosity. About the Book Leah and Dexter are brother and sister but they don't always get along. Will Leah and Dexter learn to put their differences aside and join forces for good? Could small, random acts of kindness in the community ... read more
Setting Classroom Goals, Part 2
As you start another school year, I'm sure you have a million and one things planned to do with your students. One thing you should definitely take the time to do is set goals with your classroom. They really help set a purpose for ALL of your students and help with building classroom community. I've posted about how I set classroom goals with my students HERE. After writing that post, I have received many questions and requests about the posters I used. Today I want to show you how you can use these posters to help your students track the ... read more
Laminating – Do You Really Need to Pre-Cut Your Pieces?
Do you love laminating? I do! For years I have laminated the small pieces of my games and centers to make sure they will last. Because I use small pieces, I have been cutting the pieces, laminating, and then cutting again so the edges would remain sealed after laminating. I started reading stories about teachers who never cut prior to laminating. I was skeptical, but also curious. I had to try it out for myself and here’s what happened. THE LAMINATING EXPERIMENT First, I printed off some pages from my graphing pack, put them in ... read more
Multiplication Mazes
Math mazes are a great way to get your students practicing math facts! This set of multiplication mazes focuses on the factors 2-12, with TWO different mazes included for each factor. On each maze, students move from start to finish by identifying the true math fact sentences and watching out for the false facts along the way. Today I want to share several ways you can use these multiplication mazes with your students. Multiplication Mazes There are many different ways to use these multiplication mazes in the classroom. Here are some ... read more
Nate the Great Book Series
If your first and second graders are ready to dive into the mystery genre, you need to check out the Nate the Great series written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. These books are a little shorter than the typical chapter book (most are around 50 pages in length) and they include many illustrations that will keep your students turning the pages. Some of the books have been broken down into chapters, while others read as a short story. So now that you’ve grabbed some Nate the Great books, keep reading to find three ways to use these books ... read more
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