Back to School!! Themed Station/Center Signs!

These Themed Station/Center Signs will serve as an easy, child friendly, way to manage your classroom.  These signs will help keep your class running smoothly and every student will know where to go!!  I have 83 different station/center signs for you to choose from.  I polled all my colleagues to see what stations/centers they use most often and compiled them for you.  The list is alphabetized for you to easily find the signs you need.  There are 2 different signs on a page to be cut out and laminated.  I also included 8 blank signs for you to write in any stations/centers unique to your own classroom!  You may want to copy or mount them on cardstock for lasting durability.  

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Drama Chronicles - FIREWORKS!!!

Fireworks Movement Activity 

For this activity you will need access to Katy Perry's song "Firework."  

As the music begins ask the students move to the music.   Side-coach the students to explode like they are an actual fireworks display.  

 Use the following examples for side-coaching:

“You are an exploding firework.”

“What color are you?” 

“How big are you?” 

“How are you falling to the ground?” 

“Do you sizzle?” 

“Do you boom?”

Immediately after this movement experience, I love to pull out art materials and ask my students to create their own version of FIREWORKS!!!

Lyrics:

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag

Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin

Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?

Six feet under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you

'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine

Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework

Come on, show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go, oh, oh, oh

As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework

Come on, let your colors burst

Make 'em go, oh, oh, oh

You're gonna leave 'em falling down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow

And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine

Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework

Come on, show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go, oh, oh, oh

As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework

Come on, let your colors burst

Make 'em go, oh, oh, oh

You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

It's always been inside of you, you, you

And now it's time to let it through

One Cow Moo Moo Milking and Counting Game!

In preparation for a visit to a dairy farm, I read David Bennett’s book, One Cow Moo Moo!  After the story, one of my students asked if we would be able to milk a cow on the fieldtrip.  Just in case we were going to have that exciting opportunity, we came to the consensus that we had better practice!!  I got to work right away and made a large paper cow and added a water filled opaque rubber glove for the udders!!  I also had a milk bucket filled with numbers 0 to 100.   During our Open Center time, small groups of students could visit the Milking Cow Center.  How to play, you ask?  Each student randomly pulls a number from the milk bucket and gets to milk the cow that many times.  He/she must count aloud correctly.  It is great practice counting aloud with a purpose and just darn fun to tug and squeeze those udders!!!

Magnetic Letter Tip!

Using Magnetic letters on a cookie sheet is the PERFECT way to store those letters and use for a variety of learning experiences.   My top 5 favorite ways to use magnetic letters with learners are:

1.     The Name Game.  Have students spell names of family and friends.  After they make a name, mix up the letters and have them make it again several times!

2.     Alphabetical Order.  Use the upper and lower case letters.  Put them in alphabetical order.

3.     Match Your Favorite Book. Use favorite books to spell out the titles or favorite page.

4.     Rhyming Pairs.  Build several words and show your students how to change the first letter to make a new rhyming word.  Let them come up with their own!

5.     High Frequency Practice.  Students often, on their own, will spell out all the high frequency word wall words with their magnetic letter cookie tray!  I encourage them to put them in rows of one letter words, two letter words, three letter words, and so on.

Hooray for St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is here, you see.
We'll pick some shamrocks, one, two, three.
We'll count the leaves and look them over,
And maybe find a four-leafed clover.
I'll sew green buttons on my vest,
Green for St. Patrick is the best.
I'll wear a green hat, very high,
And dance a jig--at least I'll try!

Click Here to get this PRINT and GO Shamrock Craftivity!!

What To Do in Preparation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!

I’ve gathered ideas that I have used with great success in my classes over the years to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  These are great activities to do in preparation for the holiday, since we are not in school on this day! 

It is always my hope that these experiences will serve as a reminder to my students that the journey toward better understanding and respect for one another is both worthwhile and ongoing.

We make posters and complete the sentence, “I have a dream that all the people in our country . . .” to compliment the poster.  We take these on a PEACEFUL MARCH around the school campus.  When we return we discuss how it felt to share our message.

We learn the song “We Shall Overcome” and the meaning of these words.  We sing this song for our families at our “Freedom Celebration Open House” in my classroom.

We collect seeds of all different shapes, sizes, and colors and plant them in a giant pot so that they may sprout side by side.  Once these are large enough, we transplant them outside of our classroom in a small garden.  This is a great demonstration of the beauty of diversity!  It is an example of Dr. King’s dream to see people of all races, colors, religions, and beliefs living together in harmony!

Each student creates a book in the shape of a “Peace Sign” and fills each page with something they can do to make this world a more peaceful place.  Each child shares his/her book during our “Freedom Celebration Open House” and receives a “Peace Prize” certificate afterward!  A very proud moment for my students!

I read aloud to my class a variety of stories about Martin Luther King, Jr.  Many of these I prepare for the students to use as a Reader’s Theater. We perform these Reader’s Theaters during our “Freedom Celebration Open House.”  Click on each of the three Reader's Theaters below to see a sample.

Click to get this Reader's Theater!

Click to get this Reader's Theater!

Native American Animal Skin Pictograph Stories!

We created an animal “skin” to write our Native American pictograph stories on, by drawing the shape on a large paper bag that was cut open.  Cut out the large shape and it is ready to go!  We used a Native American Pictograph Symbols Chart to guide the writing of our story!  We also made up our own symbols!