Stories by Storie

Everyone has a story to tell. What is yours?

  • Stories by Storie
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
    • Book Activities
    • Book Lists
    • Classroom Management
    • Freebies
    • Math
    • Reading Tips
    • Writing
  • Free
  • Shop
    • Teachers Pay Teachers
    • Amazon
    • Bookshop
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

Warming Up to Winter (Resources & Freebies for January), Part 1

December 14, 2014

You’re in the home stretch now….one week left of teaching until a glorious break is upon you.  If you’re anything like me, you want to have January resources ready and at your fingertips BEFORE you leave for break.  At the same time (if you’re anything like me), there’s always something you forget to do and it’s hard to shut down the school brain over break. For the past couple of months I have been collecting some of my favorite monthly resources.  I’m thinking that if it helps me to have it all in one little blog post, it might help someone else, too.  So, here we go:

I think most of us know that January is the PERFECT opportunity to re-train behaviors and routines.  After all, it seems that anytime students have more than 3-4 school days off, they fall into their old habits.  They also need to build some stamina again, which means they need a few more small breaks.  It seems fitting to incorporate a quick brain break.  I know many of you use videos and other tech sites for yours, but sometimes technology isn’t working correctly.  I made these a few years ago, but just recently gave the cover a little face lift (content intact):
 
Now, as adults we often set goals (aka resolutions) that we have great intentions of keeping, but seem to let fall by the wayside (and by wayside I mean we’re over it by February).  Either way, let’s get some momentum and excitement in the classroom with a little student goal setting.  Here’s a quick and easy way to share resolutions with your students:
There are two versions of both images you see above.  The one on the left lends itself to younger students who may draw and label their resolutions, but I have also included one with lines for students who want to write out their resolution.  On the right, you can see a writing page with primary writing lines.  I have also included a set with standard lines.  Click here to grab this pack.
 One of our BIGGEST units of study we begin in January is nonfiction.  My absolute favorite resource for this unit was created by Hope King:

We start with an anchor chart where we sort the different features of fiction and nonfiction text:

Then we start to study each nonfiction text feature up close and add them to our anchor chart along the way.  The photos along the side of the chart are the visual “photos” we glue into our scrapbooks so the students see a connection and reminder each time they refer to our anchor chart.

Here are a few pics of our scrapbook pages from Hope’s pack.  Normally I photocopy the scrapbook pages onto colored paper (as seen on the chart above), but when we need to highlight a feature, I copy on white and we use yellow crayon to draw our focus:
After we have learned several text features, my students LOVE to go on scavenger hunts, find examples, and share with the class (we use Time for Kids):
You can read more in depth about how I teach nonfiction in the classroom by clicking here.
Here are some of my favorite chapter books to read with students in small groups during the winter months.  These are all fiction, but most of them have factual information tossed into the story which helps us tie the books into our nonfiction unit.
    
  
Most of the titles are self-explanatory for the content.  I should mention that Sunset of the Sabertooth focuses on the ice age and Horrible Harry Goes Cuckoo is a great story about when the class goes stir crazy due to indoor recess.  Note – if you can’t relate to indoor recess and all the craziness that follows, count your blessings!

January can also be great timing for studying Geometry.  When our district used Everyday Math, the topic always seemed to pop up in the winter.  I used this with my students.  It has a sorting activity, posters, and several options for practice pages, too:

Keeping in the spirit of Geometry, this pack has some great 2-D and 3-D shape booklets that my kids loved making.  It really helped them solidify the vocabulary for sides vs. edges, corners vs. vertices, etc.

These are my FAVORITE 3-D shapes.  It was a box I inherited and I hope it still has my name on it when I return next fall:

I also created this pack last winter and the kids loved it.  It’s a freebie for practice with 3-addends:

I also use activities from this pack for both math and literacy that the kids enjoy.  The pics only show a few of the activities included, but if you click on the cover page you can take a more in-depth look at what’s included:

  

  

I have one last little freebie for you.  It’s a new pack I created just for my blog followers (aka – not found on TpT).  It has 12 different winter-themed writing prompts and a few different paper options.


Click here to grab your own copy.

There’s SO much more that I cannot fit it all in one post without overwhelming you beyond belief.  I’ll be back soon with some more great resources, ideas, & freebies, of course!  Oh, and if you liked any of the resources from my store mentioned above, you’ll be happy to know that I’ll keep them on sale for the next week.  Stay warm!
signature

Related posts:

How Santa Got His Job (Anchor Chart Freebie) Here are some great picture books and chapter books to share near Earth Day.Earth Day {Books & Freebies} Warming Up to Winter (Even MORE Ideas for January) Christmas Color by Code FreebieChristmas Coloring Pages Trick or Treat Crankenstein Activities
«
»

Filed Under: freebies, holidays 1 Comment

Comments

  1. Suzy Q says

    January 5, 2016 at 2:05 am

    Your resources are great…think the rockin' resolutions will be perfect when we go back to school next week. (Yep, I'm making the most of this week, that's for sure!)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Categories

Latest on Instagram

Another trip to the library? Sounds like a good id Another trip to the library? Sounds like a good idea to me! Which of these titles would you read first?
One thing we’re doing this summer is reading all One thing we’re doing this summer is reading alllll the books (big shocker, I know 😉). My kids love funny books, so I thought it was time to introduce them to Those Darn Squirrels!⁣
⁣
This book follows Old Man Fookwire, a grump who likes painting pictures of the birds near his home. As the weather starts to get colder, he is determined to keep the birds close by, so he fills his backyard with bird feeders.  Soon the birds flock to the feeders, but so do the squirrels. The story takes a humorous turn as the grumpy old man faces off against some clever, but mischievous squirrels. Can you guess who comes out on top?⁣
⁣
Do you love reading funny books? Drop me the title of your favorite funny book below.⁣
⁣
⁣
#thosedarnsquirrels #funnybooksforkids #kidlit #picturebooks
Our library’s summer reading challenge has offic Our library’s summer reading challenge has officially started, which means my kids are asking for more frequent trips to swap out their books. That means I get more time to browse the picture books. Here’s what I brought home on our latest trip. Do you spy a favorite book or a new title that catches your eye?
When you feel angry, you might notice your face ge When you feel angry, you might notice your face getting hot, your jaw clenching, your belly tightening, your fists balling, or your heart pounding. Recognizing anger is often easier than understanding the true cause behind it. And if you think it’s hard for adults, imagine how confusing it is for kids! I want to share a new SEL book for kids that focuses on identifying and managing anger.⁣
⁣
The students at Sunnyvale Elementary carry a lot in their backpacks - including some things you can’t see quite so well, like big feelings and confusing emotions. Today, one fiery red book keeps spilling out and exploding onto everyone: ANGER! It’s time for the kids to use their best detective skills to figure out what’s underneath those angry feelings.⁣
⁣
“Anger is tricky that way. It tries to protect us from uncomfortable feelings by making us feel strong and in control…”⁣
⁣
Hello, Anger will be released on Thursday 6/2. If you preorder the book through NCYI by June 1st, you can grab a FREE resource bundle to pair with it. Visit helloanger.com to learn more. Thank you to @nationalcenterforyouthissues and @jessicasinarski for sharing this book with my family!⁣
⁣
#nationalcenterforyouthissues #selbooksforkids⁣
#picturebookaday #iteach #iteachtoo #readaloud #booksforkids #kidsbookstagram
Mabel’s family just gave her the best news ever Mabel’s family just gave her the best news ever - she gets to choose the new family pet! She selects an elephant! 🐘 Mabel is thrilled that her new pet gives big hugs, the best rides, and even has a built-in slide. But when the elephant tramples through the garden and sits on her mom, Mom says, “NOT THAT PET! Choose something SMALLER!” That’s when Mabel chooses ants. 🐜🐜🐜⁣
⁣
It isn’t long before the ants cause problems for another family member and Mabel is left to swap them out for something new. However, with each new pet comes new problems. The animals are too smelly🦨, too scary🕷, too wriggly🪱, and even too prickly🦔. That’s when Mabel comes up with an idea for the PERFECT pet. Will her family agree? The ending might just surprise you!⁣
⁣
What kind of animal would make you say, “NOT THAT PET!”?⁣
⁣
#notthatpet #petbooksforkids @candlewickpress
Library Haul 📚⁣ ⁣ Here’s what came home w Library Haul 📚⁣
⁣
Here’s what came home with us on our most recent visit. Do you spy a favorite story in the stack or a new title that catches your eye?⁣
⁣
#libraryday #everydayislibraryday #libraryhaul #librarybooks #librarystack
Whether you’ve been actively working on mindfuln Whether you’ve been actively working on mindfulness with your kids or looking to get started, I have a book I think you’re going to love! ⁣
⁣
Happy: A Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness gently encourages readers to slow down, explore their emotions, and take the time to notice the beautiful world that surrounds them. The illustrations complement the poetic text beautifully and I love that there are little reminders tucked in throughout the story for students to practice mindfulness. Swipe to take a peek inside.⁣
⁣
How do you help your kids practice mindfulness?⁣
⁣
⁣
#mindfulnessbooksforkids #kidlit #picturebooks #selbooksforkids #socialemotionallearning

Copyright © 2022 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs