One of our most popular recipe - you will go nuts for our spinach gratin. It’s super easy, packed with spinach and tastes amazing!

Just another Snipe Hunt Media Sites site

Happy Sunday, Friends! I hope you are staying afloat as we officially begin to countdown the days until summer! This is the time of year where engagement is lower due to exhaustion! Students are easily as tapped out as teachers! To ensure engagement with rigor, I set the stage for an underwater adventure and raised the bar with the content taught! My kids rose to the challenge! A few party streamers and a couple of inflatable sharks made such an impact! I'm aware many schools are unable to hang from their ceiling due to monitoring systems. I get it! I was at a school for nearly 10 years and had some of the same challenges. I'm blessed to be in an environment where this is no longer the case! Each time the AC kicked on, the streamers blew as if the seaweed began to travel with the tide! This elicited such an amazing reaction from the kids! Over several weeks, I guided students while researching sharks. With a class full of English learners, I feel it's important to instruct on ONE topic until there is an understanding of how to gather information. The kids will have a chance to write individual reports on a topic of their choice with a follow up report. I prepared a complete unit on sharks! Click to Link To ensure a successful adventure exploring sharks, I linked digital resources in the above file. My favorite website is Jonathan Bird's Blue World TV! http://www.blueworldtv.com Throughout the two weeks, my students were exposed to a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts about sharks. One of my kids absolute FAVORITE fictional reads was The Three Little Fish and the BIG BAD SHARK!!! They were enchanted with the familiar story.  At the start of the shark unit, we began with a KWL. While kids completed their own graphic organizer, I charted their background knowledge and questions. Each of my lessons began with an introduction to vocabulary. In the above unit, I provided vocabulary cards, a vocabulary book, and/or interactive pages. I used reading and science to introduce vocabulary on the first day of sharks. This unit provides a diverse amount of vocabulary. Not all words have to be instructed. Select the ones that work best for your class needs. Divide the words into different lessons. I used the above words in my reading instruction. Following vocabulary instruction in reading, I shared Jason Bird's introductory video on sharks. This 10 minute underwater adventure provided my students with a concrete example of the previously instructed words! http://www.blueworldtv.com/webisodes/watch/shark-biology The above set of words were used in science. The vocabulary featured helped explain some of the sharks' super senses and assisted in their diagrams. For the remaining reading lessons that week, I used fictional stories about sharks. This allowed practice with comprehension strategies. You can review previously taught strategies or instruct on the strategy that aligns with your learning progression. For the remaining science lessons that week, I introduced each shark featured below. I included a poster for each shark and a page with three facts for each of the following: anatomy, habitat, pups, diet, and fun facts. All facts and poster fit perfectly on one chart paper. During the second week of instruction, we practiced our vocabulary with the informational reader provided in the above unit. I projected the color copy on the screen. A copy of the vocabulary words are displayed on the board underneath. Each of the vocabulary words were underlined in the text. A blackline was provided, too. I printed a copy for each student to read independently throughout the week and for small groups to guide my littlest learners! During the second week of science instruction, I read What If You Had Animal Teeth? This story was a perfect way to instruct adaptations. My students quickly identified the story had a fictional and nonfictional component. For the follow up activity, my students used construction paper to create themselves and added sharks teeth!  The kids were terribly excited to hold and examine shark teeth! We read and explored a few books on food chains and food webs during science. My favorite book to teach ecosystems is What If There Were No Sea Otters? This story gives a wonderful explanation of the loss that can be experienced when one component of the food chain becomes extinct. To follow up, we created our own food chain with the marine images provided in my unit. The chain became another decoration for our underwater experience. I simply attached their images to the party streamers already hanging in the classroom. The following lesson dove into food webs. I hung each of the marine images from my unit on yarn and placed around my students' necks. The kids were positioned around our instructional rug. I handed a ball of yarn to the top predator of the food chain. He tossed the yarn to prey. We continued to toss the yarn down the food chain. Each student held on to the yarn tightly. I cut the yarn and handed it back to the top predator. He tossed the yarn to different prey, creating a new food chain. The yarn became a tangled mess but a fantastic visual example of a food web. For the follow up activity, the kids created a marine food web. I'm aware the arrows go in the opposite direction, I decided to have the kids draw arrows from predator to prey. If you recall, I instruct a group of first grade English learners. Many are working to understand the vocabulary. The visual needed to represent our lesson with yarn! During dismissal each day, I used a book of guided drawings to assist students in creating a tropical reef for our back cover of the published books. Learn to Draw Sea Creatures was purchased at Michaels! We began writing about sharks during the second week of our themed unit. During readers, I used many of the non fiction texts and reviewed all the text features previously instructed and introduced captions. I allowed students to determine their heading, but without my support there was mass confusion, so I provided the heading for each day. The kids used their fact sheets, books, and their informational reader to assist in writing their own paper. Example of Medium Level Vocabulary Example of High Level Vocabulary I purchased the colors for the cover in one fabulous pack from Michaels. The template for the craft is provided in my unit! To conclude, we had a shark celebration. I invited a third grade class to visit. The kids shared their smarts as they helped define the vocabulary used in our unit, read their books to a third grade partner, and passed around a 4D model of the shark. It was fun watching the kids become a teacher and explaining content. I sent my darlings home with a shark picture, shark tooth necklace, and remarkable memories! To follow up, my kids will create a non fiction paper independently on a topic of their choice. I created an editable freebie to assist students in writing expository papers. Provided are four animal groups with 12 animals in each group. Aquatic: crab, crocodile, dolphin, duck, fish, frog, octopus, sea horse, shark, toad, turtle, and whale Farm: billy goat, chicken, cow, cat, dog, duck, horse, mouse, pig, rooster, sheep, and turkey Forest: bear, beaver, deer, fox, gopher, hedgehog, owl, rabbit, raccoon, rat, skunk, and squirrel Wild: elephant, flamingo, giraffe, hippopotamus, kangaroo, lion, monkey, penguin, rhinoceros, sloth, snake, and zebra The file has writing papers like the ones from our shark reports above. It's filled with text features. The editable file includes a title page, table of contents, headings, captions, bold print words, diagram (labels), map, and a glossary. Also provided are tools for students to write with proper conventions. Two checklists will assist students in editing their papers. Whew, congrats on making it through my extra long post. This file will remain on sale for a short time. I sure hope you enjoy the freebie! Best wishes on a success week! 

Great as a side dish (or a main meal, let's be real) these homemade vegan scalloped potatoes are "cheesy" and delicious.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe – Brussels sprouts are halved and tossed with a savory mix of parmesan, herbs, salt, and pepper, then roasted on a single sheet pan. This Brussels sprouts reci…

Scallops and risotto, quite probably the most perfect meal when you can get fresh scallops!

Have you struggled with guided reading in your classroom? Do you teach whole group, small group, or a combination of both? I have been teaching for 20 years and I finally feel comfortable with all forms of guided reading. Believe me, I have been around the block with too many programs to name them all. For 2 years I have been working on building the perfect whole group guided reading curriculum for first grade. The success I felt this past year with my students was undeniable and I'm so excited to share it with you. Here is what Guided Reading with a Purpose looks like. This is picture of SOME of the books included. Guided Reading with a Purpose is REAL LITERATURE. Each day a new book is shared with your class. My students love picture books and they love hearing a new story everyday. The books that are shared are based on the weekly theme. After sharing the story with your class, you work on the focus. If the focus is main idea and details, then all week you will work on that skill. Your students will have loads of practice and a full understanding of it all while enjoying a new shared reading each day. When picking the books for the units, I made sure they were still in print and readily available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Scholastic. Guided Reading with a Purpose is STANDARDS BASED INSTRUCTION. Each week the focus is based on a standard. It is all mapped out with the focus standard stated on the chart. Keep in mind many more standards are integrated in daily lessons but I thought it was important to state the KEY focus for the entire unit. Guided Reading with a Purpose provides a weekly LESSON PLAN GUIDE for instruction. We as teachers all know what is best for our students so a framework is provided for you on how I teach each unit with suggestions for extensions throughout the week. Guided Reading with a Purpose is filled with anchor charts and posters. This is by far one of the most beneficial pieces to use each day. I'm not going to lie, the prep work of copying and laminating can be time consuming but it is well worth it. Everyday after school, I would set up my posters and charts to prepare for the next day's lesson. It really helped guide my discussion after the shared story. I also used it to review after they completed their independent work and as a reference for many writing activities. It was almost like a teacher's helper throughout the lesson. Guided Reading with a Purpose provides lots of PRACTICE. I always tell my students that if they want to be better readers, they need to read. This is true for writing and anything in life.. Practice makes progress. For each shared story there are different opportunities to practice the focus skill. I tried to give differentiated version so there was choice. Ultimately, you will know what is best for each student or class. In this picture, my students are comparing polar bears to penguins. When they finished, they shared their posters with their classmates and we hung them up in the classroom. Guided Reading with a Purpose has GROUP WORK. My students LOVE to work together. Throughout the year we did more and more group work. Nobody wants to sit at their seat and do paper work all day long. There are ample opportunities to work together and learn from one another. During the week that we were learning about text to text connections, students were encouraged to bring in two books and share the text connection. Guided Reading with a Purpose has SHARING & PRESENTING. Some students love to share and some are very reluctant. I will be honest, I'm not a huge fan of homework or big projects. I tried to make things that came from home simple or something my students could do independently. I think sharing and presenting is an amazing skill to develop and work on (plus it is also a standard). My kiddos loved the opportunity to share and were always so proud. (So was their teacher) Guided Reading with a Purpose is WRITING. Do you struggle with teaching writing? I'm here to tell you that children's literature is a great way to generate ideas for writing. Each story, I provide a connection to use in writing with either informative, opinion, or narrative writing. My first graders are super writers by the end of the year. Guided Reading with a Purpose includes RESEARCHING. Another one of our standards is research. The last few units are filled with research based learning. It is such a fun way to spend the last month of school. They are more independent, they get to collaborate and they share all that they have learned throughout the year. Guided Reading with a Purpose included CRAFTS. Tons and tons of crafts for the entire year. I personally like to change things up a bit from year to year. This allows me the opportunity to pick and choose what I want to do with my kiddos and work on their fine motor skills at the same time. I had an INCREDIBLE year last year using my Guided Reading with a Purpose. My kids grew so much and really LEARNED the different reading strategies. There were numerous times I laughed inside when they would say "Mrs. Mitchell, I can make a text to self connection". or "Mrs. Mitchell I know this is non-fiction because it has a table of contents and real photos". I can't wait to teach all of these units again this year and see the same growth. Here is what people have said about this unit... "WOWZA ... This is one of my favorite TPT purchases. It has it all. Thanks for all your hard work." "What an amazing and comprehensive bundle! This has helped me organize my guided reading time and meet the needs of all of my students. Thank you for an amazing resource!" "Wow! I have never spent this much on a TPT resource at once but after watching your FB videos about this product, I was HOOKED! I am so excited to use this in my classroom and appreciate all of the hard work and time you put into making this! Thank you!" "Love the craftivities and how you organize your product! Your booklist is also practically the same as the ones I had in mind for this year!"

Braciole met Tomatensaus, met dutch oven een Italiaanse specialiteit.

All Thing Kids bloggers are teaming up this month to bring you an exciting series on Showing Kids Love. We’re each focusing on one of the 5 Love Languages – Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts,…

This classic Jewish Shabbat dish can be started the evening before Shabbat and cooked overnight so it’s ready (and hands-off) the day of. There are endless versions of the dish; this one features short ribs for celebratory richness and gets subtle sweetness from honey, tomato paste and carrots. We also add whole creamer potatoes, a variety that holds up well to long cooking and will absorb the delicious beef flavor. Although cholent can be cooked in a low oven or on a hot plate, using a slow cooker means the dish can simmer overnight and stay warm until you’re ready to serve.

Szechuan style noodles with soy sauce, tangy rice vinegar, plenty of vegetables, and thick egg noodles...with the most addicting toasted sesame chili oil spooned over top. All made in about 30 mins!

A good recipe to make in between eating cookies.

A revised classic lasagna bolognese, made with your own hands, from scratch. Will it take you all weekend? Yes. Is it worth it? HELL YES.

This Vegan Tofu Adobo or Adobong Tokwa is a vegan take on the classic Filipino dish, that’s commonly cooked using chicken or pork. This version uses tokwa, which is tofu in Filipino that I sliced into cubes and pan-fried to crisp before cooking down adobo-style. It’s packed full of flavour with the tofu acting like sponges and absorbing all the flavour. You can’t pass off on rice with this dish!

Try delicious McDougall recipes!

Soup season has ARRIVED. We are here and we ready. for. it. There's nothing quite like a big ol' bowl of soup on a chilly fall day. And that moment you

Every year after Spring Break, it has been a tradition to teach my first graders about sharks. It all started 17 years ago when I had zero resources to use in my classroom due to our building closing from a mold. We were displaced to a local church that was kind enough to take us in. It was my first year transitioning from 4th grade to 1st grade, and I literally had nothing. So, I looked at the standards and asked my first graders what they wanted to learn about. That is how this shark unit was born. It has of course grown, just like every other unit of mine, but the joy it brings my students hasn't changed a bit. These animals are fascinating and a bit scary. (Which is why I don't teach it before Spring Break). Here are my favorite books to share with my class. I like to have a paper pencil book as you can see above so we can really dig into the non-fiction text features. Then we just build on our learning from story to story. This is part of Guided Reading with a Purpose Series Week 32. Our focus for the week is captions and labels. So with each story shared, we do discuss and work on these specific features among many other things. With every non-fiction unit I teach, I love to have some sort of interactive anchor chart. Here are just a few of the ones I have used in the past. Not only do these build each day, but they also provide a place for my students to go and visit when needed throughout the week. In this picture, you can see my two focus strategies, captions and labels. I also have some real shark photographs for my students to refer to. Here is a photo of just some of the things we do during the week. There favorite is the Non-fiction text feature checklist. We use the mini book and dig through it with our highlighter and pencils. They learn so much being able to circle and highlight in the book. Here is a picture of a diagram and label from last year. This is an activity we did after reading All about Sharks. When working on captions, we draw a picture from the story and write a short 1-2 sentence description of our picture. This is the first time we complete a research project on an animal, so we do it all together. Each day we work on a page during writing. This is an activity that we will do throughout all of our animal group units so I love doing it whole group first. When we are finished at the end of the week, they have an awesome shark report! This shark unit wouldn't be complete without a little fun. At the end of the week, we measure 4 different sharks using 1st graders. Last year I got smart and used a tape measure and blue tape to mark the length of each shark. (Previously I was using calculator tape that I had to roll up year after year) Then we laid first graders in between the two tape lines to see how many first graders it takes to make each one. You should hear their excitement when we do the whale shark. It is almost hard to imagine the animal being that size. Here is what we do with the information. Another example. You can see the calculator tape here! Finally, we end the unit with a craft. I usually switch it up from year to year because there are two different options. If you are looking for a great non-fiction unit that your students will love, I can promise you this shark one will do it. TO SEE THIS SHARK UNIT, CLICK HERE

These creamy, tender mashed potatoes made in the Instant Pot require no draining since you mash the potatoes right in the pot.