A weather bear is a fun addition to our daily calendar time as we track the weather day by day and practice putting the correct clothing on Berry the Bear.
This post was originally posted back in 2015 on my blog and has been a popular post since that time. I worked for a decade as a family counselor and elementary school counselor before staying
My son have to determine where to dig a well and where to build his house in our play dough core sampling project.
Do you play music in the classroom? Here's our classroom playlist of first grade greatest hits!
I decided to sneak a tiny bit of learning in on a day when it was too yucky to play outside! We used marshmallows to practice counting and adding. With the printable cards, preschool marshmallow math practiced 1-to-1 correspondence and my older child practiced addition within 10.
Do you play music in the classroom? Here's our classroom playlist of first grade greatest hits!
Baking is a fun (and often tasty!) hobby. Here are some ways to teach science through baking activities, for children of all ages.
To get extra practice in double-digit subtraction beyond the worksheets, I decided we had shake things up a bit with a playing cards game!
To get extra practice in double-digit subtraction beyond the worksheets, I decided we had shake things up a bit with a playing cards game!
After watching a movie about fish friends, do some hands-on learning about the coral reef to make school fun and exciting
Go back on schedule to ease transition back to school. A visual schedule helps our homeschool get on track. (Free editable visual schedule printable.)
The "Does it Go?" sort keeps us laughing and the tiny vehicle town lets us move vehicles around town. Great busy bag for preschool!
Products, lesson plans, and other helps for the homeschooling parent, teacher, or other educator during the learning journey.
Go back on schedule to ease transition back to school. A visual schedule helps our homeschool get on track. (Free editable visual schedule printable.)
After reading I'm a Dirty Dinosaur, in which the dinosaur was painting out of mud, we enjoyed our own mud painting fun!
My daughter loves ducks right now, so here are more than 30 of the duck picture books we've loved reading lately!
This worksheet provides young children a place for taking note of the prophets and apostles who may speak at LDS General Conference.
We use eading programs and free summer bookmarks to get even more excited to read throughout the summer months.
I created a simple flip-flap sorting center for my son to learn about the five kingdoms of living things.
After we made our bridges in our STEAM class, I gave the students this list of the best bridges picture books (with building, engineering and architecture).
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
Hi there, I am thrilled to be joining my #kinderfriends for another great blog hop! We are sharing some of our favorite books for the classroom. The books I'm sharing today are all about bugs. I always end my school year with a big unit on insects and these are some of my must have books on the topic. I also have a great FREEBIE for you, so keep reading to go grab it. Bugs for Lunch is written by Margery Facklam and illustrated by Sylvia Long. I love this book because it introduces the concept of predators who eat insects. It has wonderfully written rhyming text just right for young children. The detailed illustrations are realistic and easy to understand for the little learners who will be looking at each page. It has a section in the back of the book with more information about each of the predators including humans with some of the countries and cultures where people eat bugs. You can go grab this book at Amazon by clicking on the image above. If you purchase this book through my link, I will recieve a tiny commission for sending you there. Thanks! (This is true for any of the links to Amazon on this post or anywhere on my blog.) All the book images on this post should take you to Amazon so you can get the book. The Backyard Books series by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries are MUST HAVES for a unit on insects. I alternate the focus of my unit each year between butterflies, ladybugs, and honeybees. I have one of these books for each of those insects. You can also find these books for ants, dragonflies, snails, and spiders. This book, Are you a Butterfly? takes your class through the journey of a butterfly's life cycle in a fun and conversational way. It is loaded with information including food, molting, growth, and also has a section at the end with more interesting facts. The illustrations are incredible and depict many important concepts you will be teaching your students if you do a unit on insects. You can grab this over at Amazon by clicking on the image above. Beetle Bop is by Caldecott Honor winning author and illustrator, Denise Fleming. This book is so much fun! Her colorful, vibrant illustrations and energetic, rhyming text will keep your little students engaged as you enjoy a variety of examples from the largest group of insects - beetles. My kiddos were interested to learn that ladybugs are part of the beetle family and we discussed that they are actually named ladybird beetles. This book is perfect for pre-k and kindergarten students! There are lots of language lessons you could connect with this book. It also makes a great five minute filler when you just need something quick. Do you know these books written by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long? I absolutely adore them. I own every single one they have created and my kiddos love them too! A Butterfly Is Patient is a non-fiction introduction into the world of butterflies that covers a variety of interesting concepts. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and they will delight your little entomologist's minds. I consider this book a treasure and I can't recommend it enough. If you teach a unit on insects or butterflies, you need this book in your collection. It touches on life cycle, pollination, protection from predators, food, size (smallest and largest), wing scales, comparison to moths, and migration. You may also want to check out some of the other titles by this dynamic duo. My other favorites include A Seed is Sleepy and An Egg is Quiet. After reading an awesome non-fiction book, I like to record some of the information my students remember or find interesting. This year we used a tree map to do that. We recorded information after reading A Butterfly is Patient and Are You a Butterfly. The check marks on the chart show when a second or third child contributes an idea that has already been recorded. The tree map becomes a handy reference in the classroom during our unit. This chart is blank and laminated so I can use it for any topic we are studying. I use Vis-a-vis wet erase markers to record our ideas. Then when we are done with our topic, I just wipe it down and tuck it away until we need it again. That's a little time saver for charts you know you will use over and over. I also want to share a fun art project you can do with your students to make the butterfly life cycle come to life for them. We made caterpillars using egg cartons cut down to four sections. First my students painted them and then we decorated them another day. The caterpillars were up on our flower garden bulletin board for several days. Then, when our live classroom caterpillars went into chrysalises, each of my little students wrapped their egg carton caterpillar into a butcher paper chrysalis. Then we hung those back on our bulletin board. Meanwhile, I also had my students paint a set of wings that were perfectly sized for the egg cartons. I framed this painting activity as a lesson on symmetry and didn't mention that the wings were for our caterpillars. The kiddos only painted one side of the wings and folded them in half to paint the other side. If you do that with your students, make sure they use LOTS of paint. This is the bulletin board with the chrysalises hanging in the garden: Then... this is the sneaky part... on the Friday afternoon before our open house, I take the caterpillars out of the paper chrysalises and glue the wings onto the caterpillars. I come back in on Sunday, when they are dry, and gently fold the wings around each body as I tuck it back inside the chrysalis and tape it back together. They go back on the bulletin board so that my little learners don't suspect a thing. Each student gets to open up his or her chrysalis during open house and discover that the caterpillar grew wings inside! This project is a bit of a time investment for the teacher, but the payback in joy for children is so worth it. ( It makes parents really happy too.) Here is another one up close: Her rainbow striped wings match her rainbow caterpillar perfectly! I think she knew what the wings were for... I usually put the butterflies back up on the bulletin board for another week before I send them home. Here it is: OK, this is my last book recommendation for you about bugs. I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe and Ed Young is a fictional story about the littlest cricket at Swampswallow Pond. The cricket is desperately unhappy because he has taken a criticism to heart and believes he is ugly. He whines "I wish I were a butterfly" on just about every page of this classic tale. After lots of great advice from other bugs at the pond, it finally takes a long talk with a dear old spider friend to make him realize that being special is about much more than outside beauty. The story ends with a fantastic realization as a butterfly hears the cricket's beautiful music and declares "I wish I were a cricket" leaving young readers to infer how that made the littlest cricket feel and what he might have said next. The almost abstract illustrations by Ed Young are truly extraordinary and create a pond environment from a bug's perspective that will inspire a young child's imagination. I adore this book and read it to my class every year. I would read it even if I didn't do an insect unit. It's a great story with a good message. And finally... here is your freebie! This story map page can be used in many ways. Here you can see we used it as a way to record the setting, characters, and plot from the story above. I have my students do this as a small group activity with an adult to do the labeling and dictation. It is a great way to check comprehension and extend learning about any piece of fiction. Students can also use it as a map for their own story writing. Here is another by one of my little students: And here is what the blank looks like. The section in the upper right hand corner is blank so that you can write in the title and author/illustrator of the book you are using before you make copies. I hope this is helpful to you and your students! You can go grab this in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Just click on the link below the story map to go get it. Story Map FREEBIE by Katie Byrd There are lots more great books and ideas from the #kinderfriends. Keep hopping along and go visit my friend Robin over at Class of Kinders. Just click on the link below her picture. Class of Kinders - Book Bash Blog Hop Thanks for stopping by! Happy teaching!
Multiplication made fun! Ideas, strategies, and anchor charts to help you teach multiplication!
Hands-on ideas to help the teacher, homeschool parent, or afterschool parent along the life-long education journey.
I decided to sneak a tiny bit of learning in on a day when it was too yucky to play outside! We used marshmallows to practice counting and adding. With the printable cards, preschool marshmallow math practiced 1-to-1 correspondence and my older child practiced addition within 10.
The challenge was to find area and perimeter of his bedroom. I asked him to build a bedroom model using LEGO bricks.
The challenge was to find area and perimeter of his bedroom. I asked him to build a bedroom model using LEGO bricks.
I decided to sneak a tiny bit of learning in on a day when it was too yucky to play outside! We used marshmallows to practice counting and adding. With the printable cards, preschool marshmallow math practiced 1-to-1 correspondence and my older child practiced addition within 10.
After reading The Cat in the Hat, we played with balancing as we learned about the center of gravity.
We made our own fake snow and practice writing in the snow at our kitchen table, using English and not Chinese characters as they did in the picture book.
I came across a pin the other day about helping students set academic goals for themselves and I just loved the idea! Setting, working towards, and achieving goals is a powerful skill that will help students not only be successful now, but also in the future. This is learned skill they can benefit from for a
The 5 domains of language include: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Why are they important for therapy and language development? We will discuss why!
The aromatic sweet seeds of Myrrhis odorata can be used in place of aniseed or fennel seed for flavoring beverages and dishes. Note the seeds are most flavorful when fully formed but still green; see image below. Now in early fall, the seeds of sweet cicely are dark brown and lack
grammaire, nature, classes, classes de mots, déterminants, adjectifs possessifs, articles, adjectifs démonstratifs, adjectifs indéfinis, adjectifs numéraux, adjectifs interrogatifs, adjectifs exclamatifs, CM1, CM2, collège
If you have followed the discussion over the past years about "21st Century Skills" or have been on this planet long enough, you know that the ability to work with others is just as important as any "content" knowledge that we, as teachers, can provide. That being said, working "cooperatively" is NOT natural for all people, especially young children, and we have to make sure we are thoughtful about how we help students learn this valuable skill. Today I thought I'd share three key things to keep in mind--and then offer a few suggestions to get your brain thinking about ways to incorporate more learning partnerships in YOUR classroom! Partnerships are the perfect "starting point" for cooperative work! Think about how difficult it is for us, as adults, to get 4 or 5 of us to agree and be productive! Young students simply haven't been around long enough to know how to do that "delicate dance" of sharing, contributing, listening, and more. Learning how to actively listen is easier with just one other person. Sharing with just one person is so much easier for student who are more shy--and it's easier to have a back and forth conversation than try to balance several people. As students become accustomed to working with pairs, then it becomes easier to add people to the group. When forming partnerships, be mindful of your students' feelings. Be careful about the "find a partner" direction--because that is SO difficult for so many students. Whether they be shy, slower thinkers, worried about other students' feelings--asking students to form partners on the fly is often a tricky situation. Think about those who struggle finding partners and make sure everything is safe for them. Ideas? Use a "people picker" like popsicle sticks or index cards. Premake partnerships whenever possible (in addition to avoiding popularity contests, this allows you to encourage students to work with MANY other students, not just best friends). If you DO have students pick partners at times, consider a disclaimer, "If you don't find a partner in 15 seconds, come to me." so you can quickly help pair off those last few students. My students get very used to working with EVERYONE in the class (males, females, tall, small, etc) and they actually REQUEST me to pick popsicle sticks to take the partnering process out of their hands. We need to explicitly TEACH partnering skills Before I ask my students to work in partners, we have a number of discussions where we talk about what partnering LOOKS like, SOUNDS like, and WHY working in partnerships is beneficial. Together we made a list that we continue to refer to as we refine our partnering skills. The students did a pretty good job, I thought! Consider making a similar list with your students to make sure they understand that partnering isn't always easy--but it's worth it! As students start to work in pairs, you may need to stop and review some of these...and your students may come up with different ideas as well. Students need to realize that partnering isn't easy--and they will have to work at it! For some students, understanding that "balanced power" means that BOTH people have to share and both people have to listen is key--they can all relate to times they have had someone try to take over a group...and trying to work with someone who is NOT engaged or on task. So when should I use partnerships? All day long! Think about all the different ways that "Two heads" might be better than one...try some of these! Creating a climate where students work peacefully together will help increase engagement, improve learning, and increase the amount of academic discourse in your classroom. Another added bonus? As students work well TOGETHER, you are free to circulate, coach, and get a better sense of what is happening with your students' learning. Buddy reading Whether your students read with younger students or with others in your class, learning to read so others can hear, taking turns, staying on task, and using an appropriate voice level are all easy to practice with buddy reading. Try making copies of a fun poem for students to experiment with--or have them partner read an article. If you really want to dig in, have students read a novel as partners where they have discussions and buddy reading over an extended period of time. They can even complete a culminating project together! Checking for accuracy One of the first "partner routines" my students learn as we start the school year is "check for accuracy". I start this with basic math problems, math homework, and other tasks--where students work alone, then compare answers with a partner. We then practice how to handle when answers are different...and learn how to re-solve the problem together to see who was wrong and how to "fix up" any mistakes together. This really helps create a climate for collaboration, not competition and is a great way for students to check homework, to check over practice work, or to test the spelling of a tricky word! "Turn and Talk" One of the classic partner activities...and a GREAT way to get all students involved in discussions--turn and talk is a way for students to participate more frequently. This DOES need to be explicitly taught as well. If you simply say, "Turn and talk to a partner", you can sit back and watch certain students immediately turning to a best friend, other students sitting back and waiting to be asked (often ending up sitting silent)--and this doesn't lead to productive talk. Teach students to turn and talk by first checking around them to "include" students (may mean creating a trio!) and to make sure that each partner has a chance to share their ideas. This is a great way to get everyone talking--especially when asking questions ALL students should have access to. Not all students will know the answer to all math problems...but everyone should be able to answer questions related to opinions...to read alouds ("What do you think Ally should do next?")...or other easily accessible ideas. Math games Math games are a fun and easy way to teach the give and take of partnering. When students struggle, you can sit with them and coach the fair play and sportsmanship...but with games, the turn taking part is more automatic and students can work on some of the other factors such as voice level, on task behavior, using supplies wisely and more. This is one of the games in one of my "Partner Play" resources! Partner journals One thing my students enjoy once in a while is what I call "partner journals". You can do a lot of different things with this--but essentially in involves "sharing a notebook" to reflect back and forth on a read aloud, an article, a math problem--anything. Check out THIS POST for more information. It is a great way for students to realize that they write so that others can understand--and if they don't, communication breaks down. Try it and see! Challenge problems Putting students in situations where they need to solve difficult problems can be a great way for partners to learn how to make suggestions, listen to ideas, and politely disagree. When the answer isn't immediately obvious, it becomes clear that "two heads can be better than one"...and students can take their learning to higher levels. What about when students WANT to work alone? This is when coaching might be important...students need to see that other students might have great ideas, might help them find errors in their own thinking--and can make the entire process more fun! My students did a great job partnering on this back to school shopping challenge! These algebra thinking cards were MUCH easier when partners started working together! The math discussions they had were fantastic--and they found lots of misconceptions and mistakes they were making as they worked! My favorite quote? "I knew I could never do math this hard by myself!" And so much more! These are just a few suggestions to get your students working in pairs--but there are so many more! Keep stressing how important collaboration is--and how it takes practice to get good at it...but when we ARE good at it, working together can be so much fun! Follow me on... Facebook Pinterest Instagram @Fourthgradestudio Twitter @FourthGrStudio Periscope @ FourthGrStudio Teachers Pay Teachers Store Blog
Spelling practice with alphabet stamps helps reinforce spelling knowledge in a hands on way.
These STEM Valentines are not too difficult, but they hold plenty of fun as they introduce the concept of codes to a class.
Products, lesson plans, and other helps for the homeschooling parent, teacher, or other educator during the learning journey.
