This “Selfie Sculptures” activity was designed to help elementary teachers of gifted children facilitate meaningful conversations about their social and emotional learning and needs. With guidance and support, students will be able to recognize social and emotional characteristics and needs within themselves and represent them in a “Selfie Sculpture.” These final sculptures will include color-coded shapes that represent each student as an individual while encouraging creativity and a sense of community in your gifted classroom. What’s Included: There are two different versions of the project handout—A & B. The bottom spiral descriptions are different on these handouts. Use whichever you prefer for gathering information about your students. An extension handout C is provided to help gather additional information about the needs of your students. It may be a good idea to print the project handout (A or B) of your choice with the extension handout (C) on the back side for early finishers. "Selfie Sculptures Observations" pages are included for teachers to observe and record sculpture choices as a group. These notes can be used to help you plan future SEL lessons. If using different colored paper than suggested, editable versions of handouts A-C are included for the teacher to write in the colors of paper that are being used with students, as well as editable observation pages.
Handprint Pigeon Craft For Kids | Fun Mo Willems idea. Use a free printable PDF template to cut out & make. Great for preschool, kindergarten, + elementary.
Are you ready to discover new ways to engage your students in primary science? I want to help you. Sign up to my mailing list to receive the printable template for this fun and engaging dinosaur fossil foldable activity. I’d also love to send you ideas for classroom and home activities, and information about my […]
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Tweet We are 7 weeks into the school year and gearing up for parent teacher conferences later this week. In our school, we try to schedule all conferences on a Thursday evening or Friday morning. This way if multiple folks need to be involved in the conference, we are all in the building at the same time. The evening hours also work much better for parents. As the math specialist I get invited to attend the difficult conferences. If a student is behind or in some cases very ahead of their peers, I will often be asked to join the conference. Classroom teachers also invite me when they know parents have specific concerns or when it is a student I have a lot of contact with. Sometimes I am asked to sit in on a conference because the parents are very difficult or have expressed opinions about their students math learning that do not show understanding of how or why we are teaching math as we do. Depending on the reason for the conference and what the concerns are, I have many approaches but here are a few things I always do in conference situations. - I like to start on a positive note by sharing a recent piece of student work that illustrates something they can do well or something that shows how far they have come. Because I do so much formative assessment, I have a lot of student work samples available to choose from and can always find something positive. - I then like to have parents share how they think their child is doing and any concerns they have. - I am all about data driven decision making so then I will share any assessments. For primary students this often includes individual interviews, especially if a student is behind. I go over the current assessment results and show their progress over time if applicable. - I show other student work and point out specifically how the work illustrates them progressing or not progressing toward meeting the standard. I also like to explain what the next steps are in terms of what we are working on next. - I prepare myself to answer the hard questions. Why are you teaching it this way instead of that way? These big questions parents have when they are new to my school or my way of thinking about math used to really challenge me. As I have become more experienced and read more research on math education I have been better prepared to answer these questions. I like to show parents that it isn't MY way of teaching that I am going for but rather what the research says works. - I focus on the big mathematical ideas for that grade. For each grade level I can think of 3-5 things that are the most important things kids have and understand in order for them to be successful in the next grade. If a student is behind, I focus the conference on the most important skills and make sure my discussion focuses on how to move a student forward with these big ideas. This year, in addition to my role as a math specialist (part interventionist and part coach), I have 2 groups of students that I am doing the primary math instruction for. This means that I will hopefully get to meet with the parents of kids in these groups because their classroom teachers don't see them for math. To help out with ones I might miss and to keep the classroom teachers up to speed on what their students are doing in math, I have been gathering data and putting together some things that can be shared with parents. One of the things I created for my fourth grade group was this quick reflection on their learning. I loved seeing their responses and it gave me great information about how they are feeling about math! Want to use this with your students? Click on the picture to get it from Google Drive.
I love finding common items around the house and making games with them. I recently came across a tin of dominoes and put those babies to work! My students LOVE the idea of playing with dominoes even if they are sharpening their math skills while doing so! These games can be played alone or with partners. Partners tend to make them even more fun! Ordering Products Students choose five dominoes, turn them over, and multiply each side together. Order the products from least to greatest or greatest to least. Want to make it a game? Partners order their dominos then find the difference between their greatest number and least number. The partner with the greatest (or least) difference wins. Multiplication War Students begin with dominoes face down. Each student chooses a domino. On the count of three, students turn over their domino and multiply the dots on one side by the dots on the other side. The student with the highest product wins the dominoes. Even/Odd Sort Add, subtract, or multiply the dots on the dominoes then sort the answer by odd or even numbers. Want to make it a game? Before the game begins state a rule. The partner with the most even numbers or odd numbers wins the set. Prime/Composite Sort Add, subtract, or multiply the dots on the dominoes then sort the answer by prime or composite. Want to make it a game? Before the game begins state a rule. The partner with the most prime numbers or the most composite numbers wins. Coordinate pairs Provide students with a coordinate grid. Students plot points using the dots on the dominoes. One side is the x-coordinate; the other side is the y-coordinate. Ordering Decimals Students choose five dominoes and turn them over. One side is the whole number; the other side is the decimal. Order the decimals from least to greatest or greatest to least. Want to make it a game? Partners order their dominos then find the difference between their greatest decimal and least decimal. The partner with the greatest (or least) difference wins. Compare Decimals Students choose two dominoes and turn them over. One side is the whole number; the other side is the decimal. Compare both dominoes. Want to make it a game? Each partner chooses one domino. Then, they compare their decimal. The partner with the greatest (or least) decimal wins. Add or Subtract Decimals Students choose two dominoes and turn them over. One side is the whole number; the other side is the decimal. Add or subtract the decimals. Want to make it a game? Partners compare their sum or difference. The partner with the greatest (or least) sum or difference wins. Compare Fractions Students choose two dominoes and turn them over. One side is the numerator; the other side is the denominator Compare both fractions. Want to make it a game? Each partner chooses one domino. Then, they compare their fraction. The partner with the greatest (or least) fraction wins. Ordering Fractions Students choose five dominoes and turn them over. One side is the numerator; the other side is the denominator Order the fractions from least to greatest or greatest to least. Want to make it a game? Partners order their dominos then find the difference between their greatest fraction and least fraction. The partner with the greatest (or least) difference wins. For a printable version of these games, you can download it HERE. This printable is perfect to laminate and attach to a loose leaf ring for easy access. Teaching With Simplicity Pinterest Facebook Instagram Teachers Pay Teachers
Looking for engaging, musical games to play with your students? Here are a few of my favorite games and activities for elementary music classes, children's choirs, and elementary group classes.
In this Aquarium Perspective Lesson, Middle School students will dive right into learning about the principle of perspective while designing an aquarium.
Teach children art history through a variety of fun art projects and lessons. We love using artists as inspiration for our own creations.
Homeschool resource or school teacher printable. Lined handwriting paper with picture window for a student to draw artwork.
Using sentence frames to get ell students writing. Click here for more:
Un’idea per una attività estiva tratta dal web: i bambini dipingono il mare sott’acqua con un pesciolino sulla destra. A sinistra viene incollata una fotocopia ingrandita del viso del b…
For four years now, I’ve relied on the same Montessori albums from Cultivating Dharma. They were generously provided free of charge on the website, www.freemontessori.org for years, but curre…
Learn about stars for kids with this handy, free printable Constellations Booklet to learn about star patterns in the night sky.
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... →
Scribble monsters are a favorite in my adapted art class! If you follow me on Instagram you probably know that I am absolutely head over heels in love with teaching adapted art! I love teaching and creating lessons that meet the individual needs of my students in order to provide them with their own authentic, enrichin
Teaching the elements of art to elementary school children can be a rewarding and challenging experience for educators. The elements of art are the building blocks that form the foundation of visual arts. These elements include line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color. Understanding and mastering these elements can help children create beautiful and meaningful art.
Engaging vocabulary review Ideas & activities that can be used with K-5 students! Five fun & collaborative vocabulary instruction ideas.
If you are looking for an art rubric for your elementary students, here’s one created with real teacher feedback.
I love weaving with 1st grade! Here is the paper weaving that I did this year with my 1st grade... Watermelon Weavings! To start the lesson I had them weaving with their body. This year I taught this lesson over two days. In the video below you can see how I broke it down. Every time you see 'Your Turn' I would send the kids to their seats to 'do' then they came back to the carpet for the next instruction! Lots of movement in this lesson. We went BIG with these weavings! I like doing weavings over two days so I can see who need a little extra help. As they turn in their work on day one, I put them in two piles. Day two, they watch the weaving portion again and I hand back the weavings. The 'needs help' pile, I have sit by me on the carpet until I see they are able to be successful on their own. I have found this also give the 1st-grade brain a little time to let it soak in. They always do better the second day. As I mentioned, I LOVE weaving with kids so I have plenty of weaving lessons in past posts.
Please Note: All images seen below are of my students artwork only. These photos/lessons are not posted in any particular order regarding the flow of my curriculum. Hot Air Balloon Collage Hot Air …
To begin class, we talked about the basics of portrait drawing: your eyes are in the middle of your head, your head is 5 eyes wide, your neck is as wide as your pupils, etc. I had the students make…
When determining which students need a math intervention program, we to understand WHY they are struggling.
I posted about these songs about a year ago on my Instagram feed and so many of you asked if I would be putting these in my TPT shop to sell. At the time, we had only written three, and I just didn't feel like that was enough to make a whole resource with. Since then, I have been working on writing new transition songs that are sung to some of our kids' favorite tunes! Singing CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SONGS AND CHANTS during transitions makes moving from one thing or place to another almost seamless. Songs and chants keep students engaged, focused, and excited to learn, which in turn will save valuable instruction time. It also helps eliminate unwanted behaviors by giving your students the structure, consistency, and support they need. Most of the songs included are parodies of popular songs most kids will know. The words have been changed to help students transition in a positive manner. I printed the songs on cardstock and laminated them. I used a binder ring to attach the set together to hang on my board for easy access. There are also three different color options included. :) Let's go through a little breakdown of when and why we sing each of these songs: The Carpet: We sing this when it's time to transition to the carpet. I start they song, they join in. They have to be on the carpet in their assigned spots by the end of the song. Works like a charm every single time! I even added in some little hand motions that end the song with their hands in their laps. All I Do Is Freeze: We mostly use this when students are working in groups or with a partner. Sometimes, I need them to stop what they are doing, so that I can give them a direction or clear something up. It's a great way to get their attention! Clean Up Chant: This one is pretty self-explanatory. I do not instruct them when it's time to clean up; I just start the chant. You may want to add a timer to it afterwards if you need them cleaned up in a certain amount of time. Let's Line Up: Will kids ever get over Frozen? Probably not. If yours are still obsessed, too, they will love this line up chant. It gets them lined up quickly and without distractions, which saves so much time! Back to My Seat: We sing this when we transition from the carpet to their seats. We usually sing it a couple of times to give them plenty of time to make it to their seats. It's a really quick song! Partner Up: This song probably takes the most practice. Anytime you need students to get with their partner, you can sing this song. It also reminds them what to do when they are with their partner. Learning Math is Awesome: Sing this song to signal that it's time to begin math. I can guarantee it will get stuck in your head afterwards. Sorry. We Can't Stop Reading: This song can be used to kick off your reading block each day. It gets them excited about books and where those stories will take them! Quiet Time: I may or may not have sung this one the most. It works so well! I sing it in a calm, quiet voice, in which students will mirror. It immediately calms the room. Sing it a couple of times if needed! See!: I had to incorporate some Taylor Swift in these songs. We want students to be proud to share their thinking and comfortable talking with a partner. We also want their partners to be respectful and value what they are saying. This song is great to sing before students share with a partner or to close out a lesson by sharing what they learned or took away from the lesson. I just added some NEW songs!!! Like It Was: This is another clean up song. You could sing this one at the end of centers. It's really good about reminding students to put everything back in its place. Good For You: This is a song that you can sing as a class to celebrate someone! Maybe someone had a really great idea or accomplished something amazing, you can sing this to pump them up! We're Amazing: I am all about incorporating mindfulness into our day, so I knew I needed to create a song that encompassed that. This is another one that is going to take some practice to get down, but you can always display it as you sing. Some of the songs might take lots of practice to get down! But don't give up! After you sing it over and over, you will eventually get it. You will sing them to the tune of the chorus from the songs. I have added links to the actual songs in the PDFs. You just click the blue arrow at the bottom of the page. Always check these first NOT in the presence of students. I have gone through them to make sure they are safe, but you never know when things can change. A few of these parodies are straight from my students. I asked them what songs they wanted me to write transition songs for, and these are what we came up with. This group in particular had difficulty this year with transitions because they were all best of friends and LOVED to talk, which in turn got them distracted. I LOVED that about them, but we were losing valuable time trying to get refocused. Once I introduced a song or chant for them to do while transitioning, the difference was crazy! It keeps your learning environment positive, too, which is super important. You can check out the resource by clicking HERE or on any of the images in the post. Let me know how your students do with these songs or if you need another song added! I love your feedback! Happy transitioning!
My main goal with my children is to instill a love of the Lord in their hearts and to train them to have GOOD character! There are way too many children nowadays who lack any type of character or morals.
Get your students reading and writing this summer with these fun and engaging enrichment activities for elementary grades.
In my three years of teaching I'm yet to have a sick day (now that I've written that I will probably be bound to my bed with some sort of ailment tomorrow or next week during Spring Break). Sure, I've had subs, but conveniently for me I've always been able to plan out lessons in advance. As all teachers know--SUB PLANS WILL BE THE DEATH OF YOU. When I start to write them I always ask myself, "Do I really have to be gone, this is just too much work!" And then I have to think about "will my sub actually be an 'art' person?" Not knowing this I don't always want to continue on with our projects because you know...I don't want them to be destroyed! Ye of little faith, I suppose. Anywho, I try to simplify it as best I can for the sanity of the sub and myself. This lesson here was awesome. I was doing mono printing with 4th and 5th graders and no way was I about to continue that with a sub (my head hurts just thinking about it). The only resource they used was this handout to draw, otherwise the rest was up to them. My favorite resource to inspire sub lessons is Art for Kids Hub. The "how to" drawing instructions ROCK, plus the videos are pretty cool too. We all know how I feel about erasers and the drawing how to's don't even require erasing lines! What are some of your go to resources when planning for a sub?
Engage your math students right from the start! In this post, I share five engaging lesson hooks for math, including resource links to get started.
Helpful free Montessori elementary resources for Montessori elementary teachers and homeschoolers looking for specific 6-9 and 9-12 Montessori elementary materials
There are so many ways to approach self-portraits with children: observation, inspired by a particular artist, symbols of interests and activities, the list goes on. This time, I wanted to create an engaging, multi media
