Fred feels so angry one day! Luckily his parents are here to help him manage his feelings. Read the best bedtime stories, fairy tales and short stories here!
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Week 35: Practice Writing – Write a Book! Having your kids write their own book is wonderful writing practice! When my son was 5 and waiting for his little brother’s Play Gym class to en…
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!
Check out these fun activities from Award Winning Author/Illustrator Jarett Lerner to do at home or in the classsroom. Includes comics, drawing, and more.
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
This is a fun worksheet to practice the Past Simple or the Past Continuous. Students look at the pictures and fill in the gaps with one of the linking words in the box in order to complete the story.
These methods of outlining will help you create a novel outline that makes writing your first draft a breeze, whether it's your 1st or 10th time writing a book.
Idioms for everyday use introduces more than 230 common idioms. The hands-on worktext format helps individuals both to understand the idioms and to use them with confidence in their own communication. learners will eagerly follow the light-hearted stories-illustrated with cartoons that provide entertaining and instructive visual interest and will benefit from the variety of activities that will help them communicate natrurally using english idioms.
Teaching with the Story Mountain Plot Diagram bulletin board set for students makes teaching books and stories much simpler.
Kurt Vonnegut published fourteen novels over a period of fifty years as well as numerous short stories, plays and works of non-fiction.
This list of 20 Short Short Stories for AP Lit accompanies ideas for how to use Flash Fiction in AP Literature and High School English...
Check out these fun activities from Award Winning Author/Illustrator Jarett Lerner to do at home or in the classsroom. Includes comics, drawing, and more.
The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
This teaching pack is bursting with ideas for teaching English at KS1 and KS2 while celebrating Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear books...
Read Let's Practice 4 The Story Garden Premium by ELI Publishing on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
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One of my favorite lessons to teach in my short story unit is the Hero’s Journey. I enjoy teaching the hero's journey because I love seeing my students’ aha! moments - the moment when they get it, and they start making the connections between the content I am teaching and their favorite books and movies. Their faces light up, and faint chatter about Harry Potter, various Disney movies, and other stories slowly fills the room.
A story problem is a simple way to envision your character's plot arc. Choose your main problem, break it down into smaller challenges, and...
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One of the fun and hands-on activities from my Seasons K-2 Unit Study is this 4 Seasons Flip Book. Actually, there are two seasons flip books included: one that’s more picture-based with simple language and one goes a little more in-depth. You can get both season flip books in one quick download today. Just click ... Read More about 4 Seasons Flip Book {2 FREE Levels}
Writing stories together can be a great exercise for little ones to develop storytelling, literacy and writing skills. Connect storytelling and yoga by asking kids to write stories about their favorite yoga poses. Use our Mountain Pose template to help kids develop proper story structure!
If you are looking to add some high interest activities for teaching characters and settings, try using the animated short Geri’s Game.
This is a worksheet that students can use to identify the elements of a plot in a story. They can also use it to create a plot for a story they are writing. It asks them to identify the conflict, characters, main events of the story, climax and resolution.
Welcome to the 30-Day Short Story Writing Challenge. You need to use the prompt in the checklist and create a short story.
What I love about this book is the repeating vocabulary and funny storyline that captivates children. It’s the perfect book to build a lesson around for little English learners.
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The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
As we have entered the month of August, every teacher, whether she likes it or not, starts thinking about school. Some of us have dreams (or nightmares). Some of us go on a Pinterest spree. We walk through Target and ask ourselves "What do I 'need' from the dollar section?" You don't do this? Okay, maybe it's just me. Anyway, we are also thinking about what were some of our students' challenges last year, and how we will address them this year. My third and fourth graders had difficulty with vocabulary and making inferences, which was evident in how they would describe their characters: Nice Mean Sad Oh my. So late last school year, I developed this chart of character traits with the intention of helping students organize their thinking when selecting a character trait. Traits are arranged in alphabetical order in the following categories: nice/mean/sad, confident/nervous, and does a lot/does very little. The rest of the categories are partially alphabetical and having a corresponding opposite. This year I will be teaching second graders, so I'm thinking how I will adjust this chart to better suit their developmental abilities: Less words? Words that are more relevant to a second grade schema? Some pictures or graphics to support the vocabulary? Some food for my thought... Many teachers or parents who have downloaded this chart seemed very happy, and I'm happy that they're happy!! Update: Hello there, long time friend! If you found this resource useful for your students, please check out my Character Feelings blog post and TPT product!
We LOVE activities to go with books! This Free Printable Mouse and Cookie Hat is a fun activity for your kids to recall and retell the story.
This is a fun activity to practice the simple past. Students look at the images and talk about what Daisy did last Saturday. You can also have them figure out where Daisy forgot her umbrella.
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...
