Thursday, December 15, 2016

Classroom Writing Center!


Our brains are conditioned to know what to expect in particular spaces.
Find a place that feels right.
Get a good place to sit.
Make sure you have what you need to start writing.
These may seem like small details, but I have
found they matter a great deal.
When you come right down to it, you are the place
where your words will grow.
But most writers find it invaluable to have a regular writing place,
a physical space,
where they can water and weed a garden of words.

By Ralph Fletcher

Click to Get This Writing Center!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Center-Literacy-Station-for-December-Sprinkles-of-Fun-1527384


https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Center-Literacy-Station-for-December-Sprinkles-of-Fun-1527384

Thursday, November 17, 2016

NEW Thanksgiving Reader's Theaters! Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Get them fresh out of the oven - New Thanksgiving Themed Reader's Theaters!! Click on them all below!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Gobble, gobble, gobble!




Sunday, October 30, 2016

Mock Presidential Election Activities for Your Classroom!


Get your students involved in the authentic, age-appropriate, civic activities of a Mock Presidential Election!  It is so important to teach democracy and patriotism at an early age and keep America strong!!

Click on the White House for Your Mock Election Activities!

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Nothing Like a Field Trip to an APPLE ORCHARD!!

The air is dry and crisp!  The bees are buzzing around the fallen apples.  Squeals of excitement can be heard when children pick their first apple - ever!  The smell of applesauce being made outdoors makes you feel as if you've stepped back in time.  I LOVE APPLE ORCHARDS IN THE FALL!  Who wouldn't!?!  To keep focus and learning alive and well on this field trip, I've created an APPLE ORCHARD FIELD TRIP ACTIVITY WORKBOOK!  I love it, other teachers love it, and chances are, you will too!







Apple Orchard Field Trip Workbooklet - Use ON or AFTER Your Trip!
Apple Orchard Field Trip Workbook - Use ON or AFTER Your Trip! Click Now!

Sunday, September 4, 2016

New Reader's Theaters to Begin Your School Year!!

As you prepare your beginning of the year reading strategies, don't forget about Reader's Theater!  Reader's Theater is a fantastic strategy to increase fluency, create an atmosphere of reading with a purpose, and increase enthusiasm for reading!  Check out my newest Reader's Theater scripts below!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-RINK-THE-RED-ROBOTS-FIRST-DAY-OF-SCHOOL-VERY-FUN-WACKY-2746633

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-OUR-SUMMER-VACATION-REPORT-Great-for-Back-to-School-2550503

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-BACK-TO-SCHOOL-THE-SEATING-CHART-VERY-FUN-WACKY-2720072

Monday, August 22, 2016

CREATING THE PERFECT READING NOOK!! Some of the GREATS!!!


As I was thinking about the THEME of my classroom this year, I wanted to be sure to hit a HOME RUN with my READING NOOK!  Giving students motivation to pick up and enjoy books is a huge goal of every teacher!  I began researching what other teachers had tried (instead of reinventing the wheel – if you know what I mean!)  I compiled the following pics of some of the GREAT READING NOOKS I found!  They inspired me, and I hope they will inspire you as well!  Have a great school year!

Rub a Dub Dub - Read a Book in the Tub!

Reading at the Beach!

Row Row Row Your Book!

Reading Under the Stars!

Royal Reading Nook!

Read the INSIDE of the Cereal Box!

Grow with a Good Book!

Dive into a GREAT Book!

Rainbow Reading!

Stop on in the Reading Hut!

Monday, May 23, 2016

Teach Your Students/Children about Memorial Day!


For many kids today, the real meaning behind Memorial Day is lost. They know that they get a three day weekend, and they also know that school is about over when this holiday rolls around. However, Memorial Day is a lot more than just a day off from school and kids need to be taught about this day and the meaning behind it. Finding ways to teach kids about the significant of Memorial Day and how important it is to honor those who have protected the freedom of this country is important. The Reader’s Theater below is a great way to teach young ones all about Memorial Day in a Fun, clever manner!!  Check it out!!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Readers-Theater-WHAT-IS-MEMORIAL-DAY-Great-Historical-Non-Fiction-2553526
Click this pic for this Reader's Theater!

Monday, May 9, 2016

It's FIELD TRIP Time!!


It’s FIELD TRIP time!  I LOVE field trips!  One of our favorites is a trip to a local grocery store.   This trip is an extension to our class study of the Five Senses.  We use this FABULOUS Reader’s Theater (seen below) called THE GROCERY STORE AND MY FIVE SENSES!  We use it to set our focus for the field trip.  I also use the GROCERY STORE/SUPER MARKET FIELD TRIP WORKBOOK (also seen below) while we are actually on the field trip to keep my students focused on learning while they are there.  Check out these great tools and let the JOY of learning begin!!





Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Unifix Alphabet Cubes!


I LOVE my connecting Unifix Alphabet Cubes, and so do my students! Children can "build" words by connecting cubes. Lower-case letters are printed on one side of each cube, with the upper-case letters printed on the opposite side. Set children loose with these and let them discover how many words they can construct.


For more ideas, learning centers, and printables for teaching the alphabet, take a peek at my ABC Books Thematic Unit! 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ABC-Books-Thematic-Literacy-Unit-Incorporates-Common-Core-Standards-787121

Monday, April 4, 2016

Using Magnetic Letters!


Using Magnetic letters with a favorite book!  When given opportunities to explore magnetic letters along with a favorite book spelling can happen spontaneously!  CHOICE can equal LEARNING with MEANING and PURPOSE!!


Thursday, February 25, 2016

Inspired Creative Writing!

The past several weeks my classroom has been invaded by ALIENS!!  No need to call Men in Black!  These aliens inspired a great deal of creativity and writing!  When writing creatively, I have my students use invented spelling.  They say the word s-l-o-w-l-y and write down the sounds they hear.  This is a great technique for teaching phonics in a relevant and authentic manner.



 
Click Here to Get this Alien Thematic Unit!



Thursday, February 18, 2016

Alien Visit!

I invited an Official Classroom Alien to Visit!!  WHAT!?!?!!  See pictures below for ideas!  That’s right!  Convince your student’s that an alien wants to come to school to learn!  He could be your class mascot for the entire year!  Be sure to share the alien introductory letter (see below) with your class!  The writing, stories, imagination, discussions, and conversations this alien will inspire is amazing and well worth it!   


Thursday, February 11, 2016

Alien Invasion!

Click Pic to Get the Alien Thematic Unit!




To kick off my Alien Thematic Unit I collected as many alien toys as I could to bring into my classroom.  Many of these pictured came from thrift stores.  My class even collected quarters, bid, and bought a class alien from Ebay!  (We bought a ROBOT for our classroom last month the same way!!)  What fantastic math lessons can come from that!!  The class was given time for free play to explore these aliens.  They also collected and changed out the batteries for these aliens.  Parents donated some of the aliens and batteries, too!

 

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Robots Among Us!!


As a Show and Tell/Sharing activity, my students made their own Robot
Costumes to bring to school.  These were used for our dramatic play area.
Several children also brought in robotic voice changing machines to use along with their costumes.  The increase in vocabulary, and use of robotic terms from reading our word cards the students used during this creative drama time is just amazing!




 
Click Here to Get This Robot Thematic Unit!