Think back to a time when your students were working on a worksheet and you could just feel their boredom permeating the room. There’s no shame in this, we’ve all been there at least once. When I say ‘worksheet’ I mean good ol’ pencil and paper, students independently scribing at their desk (or wobbly chair ... Read more

The first week of school generally consists of getting to know one another, in addition to discussion and practice of classroom procedures and routines. We also got our creative juices flowing by creating summer reflection writing pieces, squiggle stories, and "All About Me" mini-posters. Students are getting to know one another and me, and we are learning to work together to build a successful and positive classroom environment. On Wednesday, I wrote out six questions, all having to do with how to make our classroom and ourselves function to the highest level, on six pieces of chart paper. Students, in groups of three, spent two minutes at each chart, collaborating and responding to each question on a sticky note. After all groups visited each chart paper station, I hung all of the charts up and we discussed each answer and noticed some very interesting trends. Here's the finished product, which you can click on to enlarge: Inspired by Life in 4B To tie into the previous activity, I was inspired by my wonderful teammates, Mrs. Fadden and Ms. Mattox, to develop at class pledge with my students. We reviewed our responses to the above questions, and then we put all of the ideas together to form a cohesive paragraph that we have all agreed will help us to remember why we are here at school and what our common goal is. Below is the rough draft of our class pledge (which I will type up, make pretty, and have all of my students sign): Since we were able to develop a class goal (to achieve success in third grade), I also had each student determine an individual goal after reading the story Matthew's Dream by Leo Lionni. I displayed our "Hopes and Dreams" for third grade near the classroom door, so that we can refer to, and revisit, them throughout the year. Lots of students are interested in learning how to sharpen their cursive skills, multiplication and division skills. I was very impressed by the number of students ready to take on our 40 book challenge! More on that later! Here's our class display of our hopes and dreams for third grade: Lastly, I read a book called Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The premise is that everyone carries an invisible bucket everywhere they go. When your bucket is "filled" you feel happy.When your bucket is "empty" you feel sad or upset. People can fill buckets by lending a helping hand, smiling, being kind, including others in games, and more. People can empty buckets by teasing, being ungrateful, acting disrespectfully, and more. I encourage my students to recognize the actions of bucket-fillers by writing them quick note and sticking it in their bucket display. This helps make everyone feel good. When we feel good, we want others to feel good. Therefore, kindess is passed from person to person. This is our bucket-filling display, complete with ways we can fill buckets and ways we can empty buckets: I look forward to more of these types of meaningful activities that promote teamwork, kindness, and achievement with your child!

Hey everyone! It's Anna from Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey! The school year is officially in full swing-- and my students are definitely feeling more comfortable with me and each other! One thing I've decided we need to focus on more is our classroom community! Here are some quick ideas to help you promote a positive climate in your classroom! Use Team Builders Team building activities are easy to implement! They don't take a lot of time, students find them to be engaging, and they are often FREE! Here is a quick list of some of my favorite student team building activities: Human Knot (Students stand in circle, reach for hands of people across the way, and then they must untangle themselves without letting go. This can also be done as a spiderweb using a ball of yarn) Tallest Tower (Divide students into groups and give them supplies like straws, tape, blocks, etc. The team that can make the tallest tower wins!) Minefield (Set up a "minefield" that students must navigate a blindfolded partner through) Hula Hoop Pass (Can be played whole class or in teams. Students hold hands and must pass through a hula hoop as quickly as possible) Switch Sides If... (Use a chalk line, rope, or tape line. Have students stand on one side of the line. Read off items like "switch sides if you like to bake", etc.) The internet provides an infinite source of team building activities! I've included a few links below: http://www.ventureteambuilding.co.uk/team-building-activities/ http://www.momjunction.com/articles/team-building-activities-will-keep-kids-busy-summer_0074763/#gref http://mommieshobbies.blogspot.com/2014/01/switch-sides-if.html?m=1 Hold Morning Meetings Time is precious in my classroom because we departmentalize. It feels like we are always on the go. However, I feel that even something as small as a weekly morning meeting would help my students develop a more positive feeling toward one another. You can read more about morning meetings for older elementary students here! I also love this product from TPT! Write Daily White Board Messages I think this is a such a simple way to start the day off with a positive vibe! The night before (or morning of) write a simple prompt on the white board/chalkboard and have students respond on the board. This will foster another sense of ownership and community. You can find white board messages by searching google or Pinterest! Here are some quick ideas to get you started: 1 Thing Wednesday-- name one thing we've done this year that you'd like to do again! I Think I Can Thursday-- what is one goal you want to achieve this year? Flashback Friday-- what is one new thing you have learned this week? Write a compliment for a classmate by their name (no repeats!) Name 3 traits of a great friend What is your favorite book you've read this year? Thankful Thursday-- what is 1 thing you are thankful for? Make it Monday-- what is 1 thing you've always wanted to create?' Top 2 Tuesday-- write your top 2 favorite things about the school year so far Compliment Circles This activity would pair well with morning meetings! You and the students sit in a circle with everyone's legs out straight. Begin the compliment circle by giving a compliment to someone. Once someone has been complimented they cross their legs. Compliments continue until everyone has received 1. I think this is a great way to encourage students to see each other in different ways! Create a Kindness Board I created this one for the visual it would provide to my students. Plus, I wanted them to point out kindness when they see it in others! This one is easy to implement: 1. Print out the letters and hang on a wall or bulletin board. 2. Print the "caught being kind" strips on various colors of paper (I used Astrobright paper). 3. Cut the strips apart and keep on hand for when students catch others being kind. 4. When students experience a kindness or act of friendship, they come and ask you for a "caught being kind" strip. They write down their experience. 5. Start a paper chain and add a new link every time someone catches others being kind! You can find this HERE in my TPT store! Here is another type of board with a similar theme (kindness): You can find these fall themed board HERE in my store! I hope you found these ideas to be useful to implement in your classroom! If you have any questions-- feel free to leave them in the comment section!

Do you have open storage shelves in your classroom that could use a pretty disguise? I did!

Last year, I started a new Space Club program at four middle schools. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I searched the web for ideas and curriculum to implement. I soon became excited to find great resources like NASA and TeachEngineering , but I was

Elementary teachers need this quick classroom management strategy that increases attention rate during insurrections. Revamp classroom management.

Five classroom layout seating ideas that will transform your lessons today! These classroom seating options are perfect for any activity!

Don’t get me wrong — I love candy. And, a jolly rancher, a tootsie roll, or a starburst can work wonders in the classroom for student motivation and enthusiasm. So can pizza parties, and cupcake days, and brunch, and…I’ve had so many types of food parties I can’t even keep track! Recently, however, I’ve been […]

What Makes A Center Effective in Kindergarten? Read this for how to make your centers effective for academic success.

Massive list of classroom jobs for elementary students in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade - such great ideas for classroom jobs!

Classroom/behavior management is one of the most important things to master in your classroom. Having solid behavior management helps maintain a positive classroom environment, while enabling teachers and students to accomplish LEARNING! Here are TEN tips and tricks for behavior management I use in my classroom: Greeting Students at the Door The way you start

Start the Year Off With a Classroom Mantra % %

Kagan strategies are nothing new – if you haven’t been to a conference then surely you know a teacher who has. I was one of those teachers that absorbed all the information teachers could give me about Kagan Learning since I was never lucky enough to attend. While I pushed cooperative learning and being interactive, […]

This week in Grade 1/2 We are working on finding the "Main Idea" when reading. Here are a few things we did... Main Idea Tab...

I was asked at one of my recent sessions if I could write a ‘how to’ for the iPad carts that I collaborated on building for 10 classrooms in my current school. I am going to do that, b…

When it comes to classroom management, some of the most common struggles I hear about from teachers are the lack of respect students have for their learning space, and a desire to maintain a more organized classroom. If you are struggling with these, I urge you to consider utilizing well-developed classroom jobs, and a classroom […]

April 16, 2012 This session I will be teaching my fifth grade class. Unfortunately my sixth graders left and will be moving onto the middle school next year:( I will miss them greatly. What a good bunch of kids! April 15, 2012 Silkscreening T-shirts with a Social or Environmental Message! Miss Flegal and I cashed in on these stretcher bars we came upon and combined them with white organza fabric to make silkscreens! Students brought in their own t-shirts and used elmer's glue to create a resist. The exciting component about this project was the glow-in-the-dark printing ink I was able to find to make their shirts really special! March 21, 2012 Sixth grade silhouettes complete! Our art program has been getting so many positive comments about the front entrance of our building and these vibrant mosaic silhouettes. Using marbled paper that the students made and thinking about color choice that coincided with their action or movement was very important. Lastly, we incorporated a literacy element inspired by Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? March 9, 2012 My sixth graders are back and we are working on life sized art projects combining two types of art we just looked at and learned a lot about-- silhouettes and mosaics. These were inspired by an installation art piece we did last year as an entire building. I cannot believe how cool these are looking! Our media for this project has included cardboard, black latex paint, various colors of construction paper, shaving cream and tempera paint for marbling, scissors and glue stick. The poses for the silhouettes were derived from the children themselves and interests they have both in and outside of school as well an energy or emotion they are trying to evoke. When all is said and done we are incorporating an element of Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear book. I can't wait to post more when they are finalized next week! December 2, 2011 This six week session I will be instructing my fifth grade class and will return to teaching fifth grade again in February. Stay tuned... November 11. 2011 Self Portraits in Chuck Close Style Students in sixth grade are integrating math skills by measuring and creating a grid for an exact self portrait drawing. This is the method that artist Chuck Close uses to create his portraits. After spending extensive time learning about his life-- he is my FAVORITE artist, we are now in the beginning stages of creation. So far, so good! November 4, 2011 Oh what a busy Friday! Students were busy glazing ocarinas as well as using acrylic paints to put finishing touches on their cubism Picasso sculptures. It was a great way to end a busy week and we will look forward to working in new art media next time. October 26, 2011 Pablo Picasso Sculptures in progress... Students are using some unconventional tools for their current sculptural project-- wood scraps, glue, wire and pantyhose. Yes, you heard me right. If your child has recently come home talking about using pantyhose as part of his art project, he is not lying to you. Here is what we have started in the past few days. October 19, 2011 Ocarinas We are trying our hand at constructing ocarinas out of clay. Students did extensive research online and here is what we have learned so far. The ocarina (/ɒkəˈriːnə/) is an ancient flute-like wind instrument.[1] Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is often ceramic, but other materials may also be used, such as plastic, wood, glass, clay, and metal. The ocarina belongs to a very old family of instruments, believed to date back to over 12,000 years.[2] Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. The ocarina has similar features to the Xun (塤), another important Chinese instrument (but is different in that Ocarina uses an internal duct, whereas Xun is blown across the outer edge.)[3] In Japan, the traditional ocarina is known as the tsuchibue (kanji: 土笛; literally "earthen flute"). Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted by Cortés, resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs had produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought the song and dance to Europe that accompanied the ocarina. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.[4][5] Its earliest use in Europe dates back to the 19th century in Budrio, a town near Bologna, Italy, where Giuseppe Donati transformed the ocarina from a toy, which only played a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first "classical" ocarinas). The word ocarina in the Bolognese dialect means "little goose." The earlier form was known in Europe as a gemshorn, which was made from animal horns of the Gemsbok. The ocarina was featured in the Nintendo video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, attracting a marked increase in interest and a dramatic rise in sales.[6][7] How an ocarina works: 1. Air enters through the windway 2. Air strikes the labium, producing sound 3. Air vibrates throughout the inside of the ocarina Covering and uncovering holes lowers and raises the pitch Source: Wikipedia Here are our ocarinas in progress... Let's hope they make music once they are come out of the kiln! October 17, 2011 After not having my sixth grade class for the first six weeks of this school year they are now occupying my room every morning for 45 minutes for the next six weeks. It is such a joy to have them and experience their growth since I last saw them as fifth graders. We started our time together with a pencil study called The Vanishing Snack. I adapted this from high school art teacher Mrs. Vogel of Field High School. My students as usual have risen to the challenge and are producing wonderful work. At each stage of their four part drawing, they are wrinkling a pop can and drawing it as well as all of its highlights and shadows in its new state. September 7, 2011 Because of our new six week schedule I will not see my sixth graders until October 10th! Stay tuned... June 1, 2011 Tile Triptychs in progress! Students in sixth grade are embarking on a triptych constructed of clay. A triptych is a three paneled piece of art that views as one continuous piece but is constructed in stages. This has been a great opportunity for them to learn about specific properties of clay and how to work with this medium from one class to the next, keeping it moist and workable. The students were expected to include text, an image and possibly a favorite verse that states something about themselves as an individual. April 21, 2011 Plaster Hands and Feet March 13, 2011 In sixth grade we have about three projects going on at once. One is our plaster hands and feet project that we started back in January. Here they are as works in progress.... January 31, 2011 Recently in sixth grade I set my students loose with plaster and these thoughts in mind. Below are the results so far. Once again, their minds, their thought processes and their creative journeys amaze me. I will keep blogging as their projects move along... Take a moment and think about all of the uses of your hands in the course of a day, the course of a hour or even a minute. For example list every way you can think of that you used your hands just this morning… -to brush your teeth -to eat your breakfast What do you think your hands can say about a person? Can they have polished nails? Wear certain rings? Does their appearance tell you a story? For example having wrinkles… Let’s think about some of those features. Next think about phrases that have the word hand in it… “hands of time” “helping hands” “clap your hands” “give me a hand” “lend a hand” “in good hands”… If you could compare your hand to another object of similar form what would that be? A growing tree branching out? Sunday, January 16, 2011 Don Drumm Inspired Endangered Animals Students in sixth grade studied the metal art works of local artisan Don Drumm and then decided to make a statement with their art. After doing some research about the current Endangered Species list they created these metal embossed pieces about animals of diminishing numbers. Next, by adding a statement, they could give the animal a voice to be heard. Won’t you do your part in raising awareness for some of these unknown creatures? Below is our display of the completed sixth grade Chuck Close inspired portraits. Chuck Close Self Portraits in Progress November 29, 2010 We are wrapping up our Chuck Close portraits and the end results are amazing. Not only are students manipulating charcoal very well to create various tones but they have mastered a likeness of their own face! Chuck Close Self Portraits November 15, 2010 Wow! It has been awhile since I have updated my sixth section of the blog. Students have been hard at work and are tackling difficult projects and techniques. Most recently we have begun working in Chuck Close grid style. You can see his work at http://www.chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/. He is my favorite artist. Using a grid, students have integrated math skills into their drawing by focusing on exact measurements for precision. Here are a few of their starts... Vanishing Snack Drawings October 14, 2010 Students in sixth grade are training their eyes to see close details through these altered still life drawings. They are working on drawing a pop can and then slowly crushing it until it becomes very minimal. At each stage they have to look closely at how their object has been changed and then try and draw it. Charcoal has aided them in learning about the value scale. They are beginning to see that with shadows some parts can be extremely dark and extremely light.

The Art room offers an extra set of challenges to teachers as students are no longer facing the front in rows and are often given more freedom.

We had our first day of school with students Wednesday and I forgot how utterly exhausting and mind blowing that first day is! We did lots ...

I could never say enough positive things about using a work box system in the classroom-- for any child. I've used them with typically developing peers in the classroom as well and it's an amazing way to in-bed practice and skill maintenance, all while working on attending to a task as well. Over the summer I did a whole post on how I structure this system in my classroom. You can check it out {here}. But one thing I've never done is actually post photos of the activities I have in my boxes. My boxes have grown since I last posted a photo this summer. I have 83 work boxes available in my classroom at all times. I know that sounds like the only thing that make up the shelves in my classroom are work boxes, but I promise it's not. It might be close, but it's not! I don't have a lot of remaining storage in my classroom. So to constantly be changing out activities and finding a storage system for previous activities is a little challenging for me. So I prefer to just have a lot of boxes available. We also need a high number of boxes to complete each day. Let's break it down. I have 10 students total, 8 of whom complete work boxes at some point doing the day. Children complete anywhere between 1-10 boxes a day. Right now, as a class, we are completing 28 boxes a day. We come to school 4 days a week, so that's completing 112 boxes a week. And planning so strategically that a child doesn't repeat a box during the week. It's a huge planning challenge. And my paras are awesome at catching my goofs! I'm hoping to come across some appropriate shelving between now and the end of the year to expand our boxes even more. Sounds crazy I know, but it will make the planning challenge so much easier when there is a larger amount to pick from. So the whole point of this post-- what's in the boxes?! I use a combination of handmade activities, printable activities, and existing manipulatives from my classroom to make up my boxes. Our lowest tasks are simple "put-in" activities and our higher tasks include activities like capital and lowercase matching using clothespins and sight word matching mats. I've been trying to come up with more and more put-in activities so that's what I'm going to share with you today. In another post I'll share another category. For this activity I saved a small peanut can from the grocery store. (Yes I washed it out) I simply cut slits in the lid--these lids are super easy to cut into which is nice. It's the perfect height for dropping these mini popsicle sticks into. This activity is another saved container- an almond one. I have saved a ton of these! They are a great size and again, the lids are easy to cut into. This one has a circle in the middle of the lid and heart erasers to put into the container. This activity I found on pinterest. I simply saved a Parmesan cheese shaker, washed it out and added q-tips. When students open the box the cheese shaker is already open. (It would be too challenging for my little guys to get open independently- it's tough!) This task I clearly didn't make. It is courtesy of Lakeshore Learning. Students simply place the buttons in. This jar is one of three included in the pack and can be purchased by clicking {here}. If you wanted to make a more challenging task for a student you could place two jars into one task box so the student has to sort as well. This is the second jar included in the Lakeshore pack. I used another almond container for the activity. And obviously a hole punch to put the holes in the lid. Students have to put the beads into the container through the holes. I saw someone else blog about these small paint containers they found at the Dollar Store. They really are great! I bought four of them and used one for this work box. Students simply push the pom-poms into the container. This activity is similar to the Lakeshore bucket with buttons. I found the small yellow containers at the Dollar Tree in the baby section. They come in a multi-pack which is nice, BUT, they are a pain to cut holes in the top. It's a much harder plastic than I thought, and it cracked in the corners. If I hadn't gone through so much trouble to cut the slot in, I probably would have used another almond container. This was one of the first work box activities I made. I recycled a cookie dough container and cut holes in the lid. Then students just have to put pom-poms into the holes. I'd like to re-do this container at some point because most students catch on that the middle hole is big enough to just drop the pom-pom in versus pushing it through the hole. I don't know if you would call this a "put in" task, but I do. They're putting pegs in a peg board! I can also guarantee you that this peg board is older than I am. For this activity students push down the lever on the gumball machine to get a stone out, then they have to place the stone in the container. I liked the idea of students using their index finger to get the lever done-- additional fine motor practice. Sometimes more than one stone may come out, but that's okay. So there you have it. Those are our current "put in" activities. I hope you get some new ideas for your own work boxes from these. Next I'll share our sorting activities.

{My First School Project} A few weeks back the twins’s teacher sent me home with two blank white pieces of cardboard. I was told to have the girls help me put together a board that told ALL about them. Well… the girls helped for about 3 minutes, lost interest, and I was left to finish…

This is an idea that comes from one of my interns this year, Tracy. She saw it in another classroom. I could not find anything about it online so I just had to make my own poster. When you begin teaching handwriting on the “lines” this is such a helpful visual for the children. Chicken […]

Discover step-by-step strategies, personalized examples on how to write behavior goals, and real-life examples to navigate the world of behavior goals with confidence. From identifying specific behaviors to crafting measurable and achievable goals, this resource provides insights for both seasoned educators and those new to the classroom. Foster a positive learning environment. Dive into the art of behavior goal-setting today!

Collaborative practice in the classroom can facilitate acceptance, cooperation and teamwork. This collaborative activity was created from the rubric of one of my most popular resources and will be offered "free forever" as part of my own collaboration with teacher/authors here on TpT who are committed, as I am, to teach and model tolerance, respect, empathy and compassion for all children in our classrooms and communities. The concept is simple – the results are awesome! Using simple materials such as colored pencils, markers, crayons, paints - each student works independently on his/her “tile.” Once completed, 4 students join their tiles together to form a whole. Simply trim away the excess paper and tape the squares together on the back. Easier still, tape them in place on a large sheet of colored paper. The completed piece is accomplished by turning each square 90 degrees clockwise and measures app.15½ x 15½ inches. Classroom Teachers It’s no secret that integrating art into your subject matter can be highly effective. After all, this product was created based on radial symmetry and fractions! As a math resource, this page is perfect. Also consider the impact a wall of “Heart Hands" could have. What a unique and powerful presentation! Art Teachers This is a must-have for your sub folder - a no-fuss, engaging project for a wide range of grade levels. Better yet, customize the page to complement your own curriculum. Based on your specific directives, this product can be adapted to fit your units on color, line, shape, symmetry, asymmetry, pattern, texture, shading, contrast and more. This is a resource that not only delivers on a number of learning levels - it brings the “fun factor!” Your kids will love the ease of the process, the opportunity to create their own page and finally the “wow” moment of contributing to the cool, collaborative artwork. Enjoy and spread the kindness! Mary You also might like: Radial Symmetry COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages Radial Symmetry (2) COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages Radial Symmetry (3) COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages Radial Symmetry (4) COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages CULLABORATIVE Butterfly Mural COLLABORATIVE Flower Mural COLLABORATIVE Flower (2) Mural COLLABORATIVE Flower (3) Mural 3 COLLABORATIVE Flower Murals Count on US to Be KIND" COLLABORATIVE Door Design Spring Bird COLLABORATIVE Door Design "Thank You!" COLLABORATIVE Door Design Holiday Ornament COLLABORATIVE Door Design" "The Scream" COLLABORATIVE Door Design "Together We SHINE" COLLABORATIVE Door Design "TOGETHER WE'RE BETTER" COLLABORATIVE Door Design "Best Class EVER" COLLABORATIVE Door Design Flower Power COLLABORATIVE Door Design Earth Day COLLABORATIVE Door Design Valentine COLLABORATIVE Door Design "Effort and Heart Make Great Art" COLLABORATIVE Mural The Starry Night" by Van Gogh COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages "The Water Lily Pond" by Monet COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages "Goldfish" by Matisse COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages "The Great Wave" by Hokusai COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages "The Three Musicians" by Picasso COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages "Dance" by Keith Haring COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages Still Life with Fruit Dish" by Cezanne COLLABORATIVE Activity Coloring Pages Visit me on PINTEREST Mary Straw Activity Coloring Pages INSTAGRAM @marystrawactivities This item is protected by copyright. It is unlawful to copy or distribute it without my permission. How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: Feedback = TPT Credit. On your My Purchases page – beside each purchase – you’ll see a Provide Feedback button. Click the button and you’ll be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. How to learn about sales, freebies and shiny, new products? Follow this store! Stay posted (via email) to all things new and upcoming by clicking the little green star near the top of this page. Thanks again! Mary

No windows? No problem! Get inspired by how we transformed this small middle school classroom with world history themed decor!

Classroom jobs in kindergarten aren't always the most effective way to teach responsibility. Try this simple classroom helper system instead!

Decorate your science classroom with purpose using by learning how to make and use anchor charts with your grade 4 5 6 science students.

This free play dough mat is an intrinsic hand strengthening exercise to build strong grasp and pinch strength through play.

This post shares some of the top ways teachers may be unknowingly "encouraging" student misbehavior with tips for dealing with misbehavior.

No matter what class I'm on or which school I visit, I always come with a range picture books. Not only do I love reading them, I also love using them to spark creativity and inspire learning. Today I'd like to share my top three picture books, and accompanying art and literacy lessons, that I just could not live without! I hope these books inspire you as much as they have me! This is a beautiful book about being confident and embracing your uniqueness. In the story, Gerald the Giraffe loves to dance, but thinks his legs are too skinny and his neck too long to join in at the Jungle Dance. With some advice from a wise cricket, Gerald starts dancing to his own unique tune. After reading this book, the students feel so uplifted and I always enjoy having a discussion about the ways in which the students are unique and how they can be confident and love all of their special qualities. As a follow up activity, I also love doing this artwork: For this art lesson, I use the FREE Giraffe Scaffold from Teaching Ideas UK. Then students simply colour, cut and arrange the giraffe doing their chosen dance move, and paste on top of a water colour background. The artworks look AMAZING once put up! I love how unique all the giraffes and paintings are! Want a copy of my 'Giraffes CAN Dance Poster'? Here you go! Haven't got the book? No problem, click on the picture to watch it FREE on Scholastic Interactive! This is a hilarious book, and one that many students will be familiar with. In the book, poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown, Blue needs a break from colouring in all that water, while Pink just wants to be used. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other. The battle lines have been drawn. After reading the book a great follow up lesson is to get the students to write their own letter, addressed to themselves! Ask the students if they think their crayons are happy with their treatment, or if they're disgruntled from misuse or mistreatment. The kids just love writing from this perspective and some of the most creative pieces I've ever read have come from this task. To help scaffold their ideas and for some gorgeous writing paper, I use Boy Mama Teacher Mama's FREE resource. You can grab it HERE! Check out this super cute, if somewhat demanding, letter written by a Year 2 student. The red underlines identify where the student believes they have used persuasive language. Haven't got the book? Here is a lovely version with origami animations. Note, it's a shortened (abridged version). If... is a stunning book which offers a surrealistic view of the natural world. The two-page spreads present artful watercolours paired with strange possibilities, such as: This book is truly magical for all age groups. After reading, students come up with the most amazing and creative and surreal ideas and this allows for a range of possible art lessons. This is one such artwork completed by a Year 4 student. I think the artworks look best when, like the picture book, the background is one solid colour which juxtaposes the main picture. This is definitely a book I would recommend purchasing, as I think it's more impactful when you read it aloud at your own pace and stop to discuss all of the wondrous images along the way. However, if you're short on time or don't have the book, here is an electronic version! So there you have it, my top 3 picture books I could not live without. I hope I have helped inspire some new and creative ways to incorporate beautiful literature into your classrooms! Happy teaching and happy reading!

Sit down in your seat, it’s time for math. Please sit down in your seat, Tashir cannot see the board. Alright, time to start our work why don’t you have

Vowel Surgery

DNA Gene Bracelet for Kids, an easy STEAM Activity using beads to create pattern bracelets. DNA is also a pattern.

Classroom review is a lot more fun with the Four Corners game! I love using this strategy for test prep, icebreakers, and more.

346K views, 4.6K likes, 299 comments, 1.1K shares, Facebook Reels from Amz Magical Teachers: I was so nervous about this!! My principal asked me to lead the faculty in playing music together as a...

What are modal Verbs? Can, Could, May, Might, Shall, Should, Will, Would, Must, Ought to, Need to, Have to, Had better, and Would rather ETC.

Sometimes, quiet and independent work is necessary. Here is a good start to finding quiet independent classroom activities that will work for your students.

Negative leaf print by one of my second grade students earlier this year. Hey, guys! This post has been very popular on my blog...if you are interested in other leaf-y projects, look at my Leaf Relief project and my Pressed Leaf Project as well. Thanks! I don't know what it's like where you live, but here in Tennessee, we are experiencing spring-like weather. For the most part. I mean it did snow the last two Saturdays (and, in Tennessee, "snow" means just a few flakes and a couple of inches) but the other day it was 78 degrees. Crazy, right? For that reason, I've got touch of spring fever. You too? Well then you might enjoy this leafy printmaking project I did at the beginning of the year with my second graders. It's simple, scientific, beautiful and fun...okay, enough talking about me (!), on with the lesson. For this project, you'll need the following: gelatin, not Jell-o. Most grocery stores carry a brand called Knox which sells in boxes of 16 pouches. cookie sheets printmaking brayer, sold at most craft stores printing ink variety of leaves paper Print pulled from the same printing tray, this time the positive version. The night before you begin, you'll need to prepare your sheets of gelatin. To do that, bring about 3-4 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, whisked one pouch of gelatin into the pot. You don't want any clumps of gelatin, so whisk like there's no tomorrow. You'll end up adding about 12-15 pouches of gelatin into that one pot. Sorry, I'm not into exact measurements. Which could explain a lot about my cooking. If there are any remaining unwhiskable clumps, remove them with a spoon. Pour mixture into a cookie sheet filling it about 1". Leave uncovered over night. If you see any bubbles in the cookie sheet, pop them or remove with a spoon. For my class of 20 students, I made three trays. Pulling the first print always managed to get oohhhh's and aahhhh's aplenty. The following day, we were ready to print. The surface of the gelatin was squishy yet very firm, perfect for holding our printing ink. I think I can explain this best in steps, so here you go: Using a brayer and printing ink, cover surface of gelatin in ink. Place leaves onto the ink-covered cookie sheet with the veiny side down. I don't recommend using anything with pine needles because that will puncture the gelatin. But experiment, you never know! Once leaves are in place, lay paper on top of cookie sheet and rub (er, we call it "massage") the paper. Pull paper off, as you see in the above photo, and viola! You have your first print! Notice how clear the gelatin looks. All of the ink that was once on the tray is now on the paper. I love her dainty fingers pulling up the second print. So sweet. Now for the second print: Gently remove all of the leaves from the tray. It's best to pull them out by the end of the stem. Place a new sheet of paper over the now-empty cookie sheet and rub. Pull second print which will be a positive image of the first. Looks like a black and white photo, don't you think? Once both prints have been pulled, re-ink the tray and begin the process all over again. With a class of 20 students and 3 pans of gelatin, about 10 kids were able to print per half an hour class. The pans of gelatin can last about two days with an endless amount of printing. I tried to cover the gelatin and keep it for a little longer, but condensation droplets created strange little craters on the surface. If left uncovered for too many days, it begins to dry and crack. For that reason, if you plan to do this project for longer than a couple of days, you'll just need to prepare more gelatin pans the night before. Our second go-round of printing involved using white ink on black paper. Just as pretty. This project is so easy and the results so stunning that everyone is successful. I've now had a couple of craft get-togethers and this is always a hit. Once those leaves start growing in your neck of the woods, I do hope you'll give it a shot! I love the photo negative quality of this print.

Friends~I finally figured it out-2 for 1 composition books! I have been loving the composition books that have been cut in half recently. I have seen them on several blogs and I have gone to Lowes and Home Depot as suggested to have my 12 books cut in half so that I had 24 smaller books. Doubling my lot! (The kiddos never use a whole page anyway:) Here's my journey for the 2 for 1! I first made several trips to Lowes and Home Depot but they left me defeated. Don't get me wrong the guys that helped me and tried to cut the books were super kind but their saws ate, destroyed, tore, and mangled my books. After the loss of my 2nd book the man at Home Depot suggested that I try Office Max. Look-ie, Look-ie! It was less than $3 to have these 2 for 1 babies cut! Office Max can cut around 8 at a time. I am so super excited about it! Check out my labels below for the front of the books. I am using one for my calendar journals and one for spelling. You can download the labels that I plan to use on the covers for My Calendar Journals next school year by clicking the images below. If you do so, I would love for you to leave a comment and follow my blog so you don't miss any Back to School Freebies!

Henri Matisse turned to collage when he could no longer paint because of illness. This is a great hand out for students to use as a reference when creating a collage in the style of Henri Matisse. I tell my students that the shapes don't have to look exactly like the pictures. The pictures are sh...