Free Quiet Book Template, Free Quiet Book Pattern, Free Quiet Book Tutorial, Free Quiet Book Templates, Free Quiet Book Patterns, Free Quiet Book Tutorials, Quiet Book Pages

With living books, I find that thinking of people and places we've studied is like remembering an old friend or a family vacation.

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!

This week for Virtual Book Club Summer Camp it is Forest Fun Week! Here at Toddler Approved when we think of the forest, we think of one thing... THE GRUFFALO! So, this week we'll be

The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher has their own plan of action for that pivotal time. Here are 5 things I can’t live without during the first week of school: One: An Icebreaker. I aim to try and make kids feel comfortable in my classroom on day one. One of my favorite little activities is Fact or Fiction. Each student receives a small slip of paper and they’re instructed to write one fact and two fictions. Then each person (including myself!) introduces themselves and we all try to guess which statement is the fact! It’s a great way to quickly learn about each other. Two: Classroom Information and Expectations. This is every teacher’s staple, I know, but it had to go on the list because it’s a must-have! When you’re making your own, spell everything out – from the obvious grading procedures and late work policy to how to pass back papers and when to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Trust me, leave no stone unturned. Your classroom will function much better if you set the tone from day one. (Oh, and don’t forget a seating chart!) Three: Fun and Games. On the second day of school, I love to start class with a little game. It’s a great way for the kids to start practicing our classroom procedures and expectations while getting familiar with their teacher and classmates. Here are some of my favorite games that I use during the first week of school: (P.S. Some of these activities can be found in my Back to School Activities resources! Click the grade level you’re teaching to check them out: Sixth, Seventh, Eighth) InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing fellow classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name in the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: I love skits. LOVE THEM. I like to introduce students to the idea of skits during the first week by allowing them to create their own based on our class expectations. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits – one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. They get to be silly and I get to reinforce my class expectations. After each skit I happily point out all the positive behaviors as well as each time a class policy was violated. It’s a light-hearted way to grab their attention and create a positive atmosphere all while practicing the laws of the land. Classmate Bingo: I love to play this game at the end of the first week. I give each student a blank bingo board with a large selection of personal characteristics, hobbies, etc. at the bottom. The students choose 16 off the list and create their customized board. Then, I randomly select characteristics from the list. If a student has that characteristic on their board, they have to write down a student’s name that matches the characteristic – but no cheating! They have to use what they’ve learned about others during their first week of school to try and win the game. Four: A Pre Test. After a few days of class information and fun, it’s time to start getting down to business. Each year, I make a short pre-test on the information they’ll learn about that year. It gives me a chance to see what the kids already know and gives them a feel for what subject matter they’ll be learning about in the coming weeks. FYI: Your pre-test probably won’t take the whole class period. Make sure to have plans for other activities, too, on the day you give your pre-test! Five: A Writing Activity. True fact: when I tell kids they’re going to do a writing activity, they groan every time. It’s a signal that the “real work” is about to begin. Luckily, they’re always relieved when I assure them that this activity will require very little research because it’s about a subject they’re experts in – themselves! I have a few different activities to choose from each year. Here are some suggestions: Student Survey: What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What do you hope to learn in this class? These are just some of the questions I ask students in the survey. The more I know about my students, the better I can help them achieve success in my class. Write Away: A staple of many: write a letter to a future you! I ask students to write goals for the year, dreams they wish to see realized, and questions they want to ask their “End of the Year” self. I tuck these letters away and revisit them during the last week of school. I’m Ready: Like every middle school history class, we do a lot of writing and students always have to back up their reasons, statements, etc. with evidence to support their claim. In this writing activity, students have to identify which class rule or expectation they believe is most important and provide evidence to support their claim. This activity both reinforces my classroom policies and secretly gives me a preview of their writing proficiency. Have I left anything out? If you have any fun plans for the first week of school, share them in the comments. I’m always looking for new ideas for my classroom!

Hi! I’m here today to share with you a meaningful art project for your younger students. This would be good as as a “getting to know you” activity. The following examples were all made by kindergartners near the end of the year, but I would think this lesson would be suitable for kids through grades 2. Many art teachers have taught about the artist Faith Ringgold and had their students create paper quilts. I have a free printable for you … Read more... →

Each classroom brings students of multiple learning styles and backgrounds. It is our job to provide opportunities that reach all of the many different learning styles that come to us. For this reason, it is

Geometric Art

ALL ABOUT EARTH Get ready for a month filled with so many fun activities to teach your kiddos all about our planet Earth . I teach this unit in April so it coincides with Earth Day. I’ve loaded up this blog post post with read aloud book ideas, free videos you can share with your students,

Teaching growth mindset can be done with read-alouds! Rosie's Glasses is a great book for this. Get ideas for using this book to teach being positive.

When I start the new school year, I pick a book of the day for the first two weeks. I create a variety of activities to go with each book. I use a lot of books that focus on social and emotional learning, including kindness, friendship, and respect. But, I also add in some fun ... Read More about 8 Books for Back to School

In the second of the Elements of Art & Principles of Design series, we'll walk you through how to teach line in art to students in K-7th.

These coloring pages and sorting activities are fun for preschoolers to begin distinguishing between different colors. Click HERE to get the download on my blog! You Might Also Like:Falling for Math SortingFree Sorting Pumpkins CardsJelly Bean AdditionFree French Color Reference Signs

What could be more fun than a day full of Rainbow Fish activities? Children love this book with beautiful illustrations and a wonderful ...

Jill of Homemade by Jill is sharing her templates for an appliqued “quiet book.” Run over to her blog and get them. This original post needed some expansion so we have added some…

My students presented their Paper Bag Character assignments today. LOVED it!!! They worked so hard on these projects, and it definitely paid off. Their final projects were awesome! When the students finished presenting their 10 items inside the bag, we set all the projects up in the nutrition area outside my classroom, and had a gallery walk-through. This is the first time I've done the gallery walk-through with these projects ... but not the last. Next year I'd like to invite a few classrooms to see our fabulousness. I was so excited about these projects I stayed for a bit after school to get them hung on the bulletin board. I'm just waiting for a few more projects to come in, then I'll hang our learning goal - and I'll be one happy teacher! (As you can see, I've got some Suzanne Collins fans in my class - I had 5 different projects on Katniss (but from all three books in the trilogy), and 3 different projects on Gregor the Overlander (a five book series from Suzanne Collins). I've never been one for traditional book reports - we usually only do one a year, just to practise the writing form ... whenever possible I try to give my students fun variations to share their reading with the class. For this project students must illustrate the front cover with a picture of their main character. I also had them add the title and author of their novels. One of the side panels is for the character's likes and dislikes, and the other panel is for how other characters react to and interact with their main character. The back panel has the character's growth throughout the novel. Students have to provide supporting evidence and their own thinking for all the panels. But my favourite part is the inside - students must place 10 objects in the bag that symbolize something important about the character. They also present this information to the class - making sure they give a deep explanation about why the object is significant to the character - not just how it is connected to the book. My students had such amazing insights this year ... hard to believe some of them are only in grade 5! If you're interested, my Paper Bag Characters assignment is a product at my TPT store. You can view it here. I also have this assignment included in a larger Characterization bundle which you can view here. And now, if you'll excuse me ... I must go read. My Fifty Shades trilogy arrived today and I've already started the first book. I'm thinking it's about to get a little hot in here ... (and no, I won't be doing a paper bag character assignment on this one). ;) Happy FRIDAY!!! Cheers to the weekend!!! Reading Comprehension Strategy Bundle Book Report Bundle Building Better Reading Responses Reading Concept Posters Bundle InLinkz.com

Edelweiss, a Beautiful Song

I first used this craft as part of an “All About Me” themed session where we also made a fingerpainted house and created some fantastic self portraits on the painting table! It's really simple idea and craft but very often the most simple ideas are the best! It was such a popular craft for younger children that it’s one I’ve taken out and about again and again. Kids love to make their whole family so it’s worth printing out quite a few extra templates – and it’s a craft that can be used as a great learning tool for colours, families and body parts as well as exploring different textures. Older kids can also use it as a scissor practice exercise! This is what you’ll need Stiff a4 card Glue Pens or crayons A box of different materials – fabric, card, papers,wool, tissue…….. Firstly, print out the A4 template below onto card – like I say it’s a good idea to print out a few! You should hopefully be able to copy and paste this template and then resize it if needed - if not then you can download templates elsewhere or just draw your own person! Let your child get creative with the template, materials and glue – dress it, colour it in, add hair (or not!). You can either leave the person as he/she is on the card – or try cutting it out to make a cardboard doll!

Download a Free Dyscalculia Toolkit

A blank novel outline template for use with Google Docs, Google Keep, and Scrivener. The One Page Novel is a simple, memorable structure for novelists.

You hear it all of the time. What’s inquiry-based learning? What is an inquiry-based lesson? It seems to be all the rage in education...

Do your students love Directed Drawing activities? Aly from Just a Primary Girl and Erica from The Enthusiastic Class mentioned through the week using pages from my packets to create books for their students. Aly uses them in her 'work on writing' stations and Erica is making a gift for her students for Christmas. I thought it might be nice to offer a generic cover for a 'drawing book' in case this is something you might like to do for your little learners. Here is the book I made for Sam yesterday. I added a 'My First Directed Drawing' packet to the series this week with my little man in mind and used the pages from this packet. It has 10 super simple pictures that students are often asked to draw. I just printed the 'Big Draw' pages from the 4 project alternatives within my packets, as I wanted to give Sam plenty of room to draw. I also placed them side by side when I collated the pages so he can use the prompt page directly next to the drawing page. I've included 2 alternative covers for you and students can spend some time coloring and decorating them as well as writing their name as the 'artist'. Find these covers as my gift to you, in Google Drive: Drawing Book Covers The covers will work with any of the directed drawing titles in my store! Thanks so much for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend! - Mel x

Inspired by my previous post, I have created a series of 6 doodle sheets that are free to download. I have produced them at A5 size (though they could be made smaller or larger if you choose) and they can either be printed off and used as they come, or trimmed and laminated to make re-usable doodle sheets, as illustrated here. If laminated, they should be used with special dry-wipe pens to allow them to be wiped clean. I also punched a hole in the corner of each sheet and tied them together using a keyring so that I could carry them about more easily. You are free to use these however you choose (except commercially of course!) However if you do wish to use them, please consider making a small donation to help support my personal blog. You can do this by clicking on the button below, or by using the Ko-Fi widget in the sidebar. To get your doodle sheets just click on the each image to open up the full size image, then right click to download a copy. Garden-Doodle Masterpiece Doodle View Doodle Knight Doodle Undersea Doodle Space Doodle

These Joshua and the Battle of Jericho activities can be used in Christian Preschool programs and Sunday schools. Joshua & Jericho Sequencing

Using our Digital Dice with a "Roll-A-Story" is super simple. Follow these three easy steps: Find the type of Roll-A-Story you want to us...

2nd graders studied the life and art of Leonardo Da Vinci! They learned that he was practically a genius in all the amazing inventions that he had and art that he created. We studio The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. In addition to being an amazing realistic painter, he drew in his sketchbook the first helicopter, tank and even a robot well before these were even created! After studying the robot invention, 2nd graders created their own robots and used random gadgets to do some printmaking in the frame! https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw9aQPtQ5VU0cHVwcE9MczlWWFE/edit?usp=sharing Download Lesson Plan Here

A summer review packet for rising first graders. To get a FREE copy of this summer review packet with your students, when you get to the blog, click on the picture.

Oh my word? Have you ever spent hours at the end of the school year sorting through student work to put into memory books. Have you ever lost your mind trying to figure out who stole the binding machine to put together books while you so desperately need to begin yours. Were you that teacher who took the binding machine? Oh geez, this is stressing me out just hearing about this! If you hate putting memory books together, then I've got the solution for you! All you'll need are file folders with the prongs and a two hole punch. See the entire tutorial over at Easy Teaching Tools! Want your very own editable copy of the memory book cover? Head to Easy Teaching Tools to pick up several color options for FREE!

Pour les TPS, il y a beaucoup de fichiers disponibles en ligne gratuitement. Alors si votre enfant aime beaucoup faire des fiches comme Graine 2, qui aime tout faire comme sa grande soeur; inutile de dépenser vos sous. Vous n’avez plus qu’a imprimer. Toute mon année en

Special Education teachers are the masters of data collection! At times, collecting data can be overwhelming, especially when you sometimes have to outsource the collecting to other teachers, specialists, or teaching assistants. Tracking accommodations is necessary to make sure an IEP is being followed and can be helpful in determining which accommodations should be added to or removed from the IEP. Believe it or not, collecting data on accommodations and modifications does not have to consume your life! Share Information Be sure to share vital information with all teachers and assistants that work with your students. I have an accommodations organizer that I organize all of the information of my class. The information is in one place which is helpful for sharing information with assistants, special area teachers, and substitutes. When I first began teaching, I did not bother sharing such information with special area teachers until it was brought to my attention that a student of mine did not complete a test in physical education class. That student had trouble reading and was supposed to have his tests read. The PE teacher was unaware of his accommodations and therefore did not deliver them. I use a special form that reminds me of who needs to be informed of accommodations and modifications at the beginning of the school year and after an IEP annual review. Train Your Team If you have paraprofessionals in your classroom working with students, it is important to train them in how to deliver and how to track accommodations and modifications. Some interventions are more detailed than others. Observe your team while they are working with students and provide feedback as needed. The time you put in to properly train your team to record data the same way you would is so well spent! Use Checklists When I first started teaching, I used to write notes on a post-it that included which accommodations and modifications were used on assignments along with their effectiveness. It was very time consuming and often times, I forgot to add some things. Finally, I came up with a few checklists and forms to help the process. Level of Support One of the forms I use tracks the level of support a student needs from an adult. I use this one to determine the need for a 1:1 teaching assistant. It is useful before adding a TA and to collect data to see if continuing the intervention is a necessity. The adult that works with the student at that time fills it out while working with the student. Accommodations and Modifications Tracker I use this form two ways, depending on what I am collecting data for. As an IEP meeting approaches, I like to review the need for the interventions on the IEP. I can track the types of interventions are needed for different types of assignments and activities. More importantly, I can track the effectiveness of such interventions. I can also cut this tracker apart to staple it onto work samples. The work samples can be to show the Committee on Special Education the student's growth or regression. I also like to send work home with students with the form filled out from time to time so parents can see what kind of help the student needs in order to complete assignments at school. Frequency Tracker Another way I like to track the use of accommodations and modifications needed in school is with a frequency tracker I created. This gives me a quick visual of which interventions are being used and which are not. I focus on this during the weeks before a meeting so I can determine which accommodations and modifications need to remain, be added, or be removed from an IEP. Data collection is so important but it doesn't have to take over your entire life. Once you create a few checklists that fit your classroom or purchase one of the many checklists and charts from my TpT store, you will save yourself a ton of time and will have more data than you've ever had before!

Supporting kids with special needs works best when both regular education and special education staff work together. That's why it is helpful for all teachers to understand how they can modify and accommodate for students in their classrooms. For newer teachers, learning that you need to modify work

Simon and I recently finished reading Charlotte’s Web together (meaning I read a bit of it to him every night before bed). We both really enjoyed it. My older

An elementary art teacher blog with art projects and lessons, DIY projects and outfit photos as well as clothing I have made myself.

Our Kindergarten teachers approached me with a request for an art project for the back cover of their memory books. The kids have filled out pages in their memory books all year and they wanted a colorful back cover. I found a fun and easy way to make fingerprint art on the Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails blog. Then, we used a great end of year poem by Helen H. Moore. We started by dripping water in pans of … Read more... →

Art museum activities encourage children to explore art and express their own creativity. Try our art museum activities with your kids!

Hands-On Inference lesson where students become inference detectives to solve the Case of the Missing Cape! Engaging and SO MUCH FUN for K-1!

Personal Collages: 4th and 5th Grade We read the book Emily’s Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own “blue period” of sadness. Her art teacher asks the class to make personal collages about their homes. She doesn’t know what to do because she has two homes now. She ends up … Read more... →