Though on the Norfolk coast, this handsome Regency house wears its beach credentials lightly, thanks to designer Veere Grenney, whose masterful mix of practical and decorative elements has created an elegant, liveable interior
This Anne Frank for Kids Reader works on reading skills while learning about a courageous young girl who lived in Holland during World War II.
Fiona, your stormy sky is spectacular! I don't get the chance to travel much. But that doesn't mean I don't love seeing, hearing and reading about exotic locales. Anthony Bourdaine, The Travel Channel, The Amazing Race, and travel memoir books - you might say I'm an official arm chair traveler. So I thought it would be fun to create some surreal hot air balloon collages with my classes this month, allowing each child to choose their own locale. My original post can be found here. I found some great landscape and global landmark calendars from the .99 Cent Store. So the first step was letting each child choose their destination from my collected calendar pages (these were cut out). From there, they created wet on wet watercolor sky backdrops using their choice of colors. On white construction paper, we created one large hot air balloon following a basic step by step lesson. These could be customized and designed using markers or oil pastels. Smaller balloons were created using painted paper and scrapbook paper to give the collage pieces a sense of depth and perspective. This was a fun project for my kindergarten through 5th grade groups. This lesson was inspired by and dedicated to my dear friend Gretchen, who traveled the world and lived life to the fullest!
Third grade used warm and cool colors and pattern to create these tempera paintings. The students viewed artwork by native people and how their hand print was not only a record of who they were or where they had traveled, but also a way to sign their art. The students each used their hand prints to sign their paintings. Notice how the warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) advance and the cool colors (blue, green, and violet) recede? This color effect creates an optical illusion. The boys and girls loved this trick of the eye! The boys and girls also learned how to "let their paintbrush do the work" while working with the cake tempera, a new medium for the third graders.
If you have been following our blog, you might have seen our post about our favorite teacher hack, earlier finisher packets! If you missed it, don’t worry, I will sum it up real quick for you. Essentially, despite teaching different grade, Emmy and I realized we were both having the same Issue. Kid
Simple tips for improving writing in your second or third grade classroom. These tips are a must if you want better writers!
Are you interested in using rekenreks with your students, but you’re not sure how? A few years ago, I was in the same boat. I had been to a math training that used rekereks and I couldn’t wait to use them in my classroom. I made a class set out of cardboard and proudly brought them to school. Except I had no idea what to do with them! I had learned a game or two, but needed guidance with how to teach my students about them. In this post, I’ll show
You don't have to spend hours finding theme activities for middle school. Check out my ideas and resources for teaching theme!
I recently found this cool fraction picture book in my mom’s old teaching files. I don’t have directions, but the pictures seem pretty self-explanatory. Using different common fractions…
In the first grade, the child still feels connected to the world of fairy tales with their inherent archetypes of good, evil, kindness, humility, rewards, punishments and transformation. Those who have been good and kind or have been transformed, live happily ever after. The seven-year-old child, is nurtured within these images - finding that all is right with the world, in the end. These stories are also interweaved into another tale, one of four children from four corners of the world that hav
Click here to learn more about a fun way to practice making predictions with your students! There are two different sets of pages included. Predictable Pictures: Look at each picture. Color the circle that tells what you think will happen next. Making Predictions: Look at each picture. Read what has already happened. Write what you think will happen next. Kaitlynn
Math crafts are fun! Add art and crafts to your math lessons to make them more fun! Download a FREE math craft project. #mathcraft #firstgrademathactivities
We have begun our unit on living systems in science (thank GOSH because Earth and Physical science have quite literally killed me this year...seriously, I feel like the most incompetent teacher when I teach science...but I digress...). Our main focus for the past week before Spring Break was the circulatory and respiratory systems. I thought I would share some of the things we have been doing, in case some of you are in the same unit yourselves. To get us started, we watched a few BrainPOP videos about circulation and blood. I found these in the HEALTH section, not the science section. The kids were very enthralled with these videos (they ALWAYS are really) There was quite a lot of information in them, which got us started on the right foot. The videos mentioned how the circulatory system was the delivery system of the body and that all systems were connected to this one. After some discussion, the students created this Circulation Data Disk from the Easy Make & Learn Projects: Human Body (Grades 2-4) (affiliate link) book. The idea of this circular disk was to show how all of the organs in the body played a very special part in relation to the circulatory system. I purposefully whited out the info on the disk so that the kids could do the research themselves. Using our health and science books, the students discovered the role of each organ in circulatory system. We then used the Easy Make & Learn Projects: Human Body (Grades 2-4) (affiliate link) book and created a model of the heart. The kids diagrammed the model to up the rigor a bit. They then placed these in their science journals. Another great find (that the kids had a blast playing) was the Circulation Game from Ellen McHenry's homeschooling website. This is a free download and I am so glad I found it! It took a while to set up and explain, but once they were going, the kids really were into the game. They learned quite a bit about how blood travels through the body and how it disposes of waste. (just a little note, I printed out 5 of these and had each table play. That way, there weren't as many people playing on one game board) Finally, the kids watched the School House Rock video, "Do the Circulation". (I have the actual DVD Schoolhouse Rock! (Special 30th Anniversary Edition), (affiliate link) but you can get it on YouTube if the school doesn't block it....like mine does) I gave them the words and, combining language arts with science, we looked for all of the facts and opinions (as well as figurative language) in the song. We discussed why the writers would put opinions and figurative language in a song intended to teach us about the Circulatory system. The students decided that it was because without the opinions and figurative language, the song would be B.O.R.I.N.G! We also began working on our Body Systems project on Google Drive. I made a template for each body system and the kids all began filling in the information about the circulatory system. This worked out perfect here because the kids had so much background knowledge at this point. They didn't really need to do as much research since we were learning so much as it was! (click here to get the project for your own class!) This is a screenshot of the slide before the kids actually did any work. I forgot to take pictures of them working! To explore the respiratory system (a bit further, as we really were talking about it all along with the circulatory system), we first diagrammed the organs involved. Then, the students did a little experiment to measure their vital lung capacity (how much air can be forcibly taken in and blown out) and the tidal lung capacity (how much is taken in and out during normal breathing). The kids has SO much fun with this one! They really were surprised at how much air they *couldn't* blow. I think they all thought they would pop the balloons in one breath when, in actuality, they hardly inflated them at all! You can find the exact experiment and printables here. So there you have it. Our basic introduction to the systems of the human body. Up next is the digestive system. Wish me luck ;) What experiments have you conducted in your class to teach your students about the circulatory and respiratory systems? Follow me on Snapchat for even more teaching ideas!
Looking to learn about the great white north, eh? You will love this free printable Canada for Kids reader to color, read, and learn!
As part of our Renaissance art unit, 4th grade viewed the works of Guiseppi Arcimboldo. We traced a profile of a head and spent the first week drawing fruit from life with colored pencils. The next week, we found images of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants in magazines to add around the face.
This free printable reduce, reuse, recycle coloring page is perfect for Earth Day and environmental themes for pre-k and kindergarten.
This middle school Interactive notebook grammar lessons resource includes 40 different grammar lessons, activities, and examples for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Common Core Language standards. Download the preview to see the table of contents along with examples of the lessons included. PLEASE NOTE: THESE LESSONS ARE THE EXACT SAME INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK LESSONS FOUND IN MY MIDDLE SCHOOL MENTOR SENTENCES VOLUME II RESOURCE THE FOLLOWING CONCEPTS ARE TAUGHT IN THIS RESOURCE: Parts of Speech The Four Sentence Types Dependent and Independent Clauses The Other Four Sentence Types Subjects and Predicates Types of Phrases Action, Helping, and Linking Verbs Verb Tenses Verb Moods Active and Passive Verbs Verbals (gerunds, infinitives, and participles Common and Proper Nouns Plural Nouns Abstract and Concrete Nouns Vague Pronouns The Seven Types of Pronouns The Eight Types of Adjectives Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Dangling Modifiers Express Ideas Precisely and Eliminate wordiness and Redundancy Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases Object of the Preposition Indirect and Direct Objects Quotation Mark Rules Using Dashes Commas Capitalization Colons and Semi-Colons Punctuating Non-Restrictive Elements Apostrophes Comma rules Using numbers in English Determining the Meanings of Unknown Words Using words and context clues to determine their meanings Homophones Connotation and denotation Who vs. whom Figurative Language: Definitions Figurative Language: Metaphors, similes, personification, allusion, hyperbole, alliteration, idiom. Figurative Language: The Three Types of Irony
World War II Homeschool History Free Unit Study and Lapbook
A 3Rd Grade Math Staar Test Practice Worksheets is several short questionnaires on an actual topic. A worksheet can be equipped for any subject. Topic
Learn about Japan for Kids with this printable book to read, color, and learn about Mt Fiji, charming gardens, and sushi without leaving home!
I failed to mention in the last post that not only did I provide therapy in the self-contained special education classrooms, but that for four years my "speech room" was in self-contained classrooms. For two years, I roomed with one of my best friends in her early childhood classroom. The walls to my "speech room" were made of cabinets and I could see all that was going on from my desk. During another two year period, I had a desk in one of several self-contained special education classrooms in my school. Those two years, I moved from room to room conducting therapy in each student's special education classroom. When working in these classrooms, the teacher's understanding of the SLP's role is very important. Most liked having the extra help in the room; however, some wanted me to tutor and others considered my time in their classroom break-time. The majority were easy to work with and were willing to collaborate. Therapy in the classroom worked when I spent some planning time with the teachers and the goals, procedures, and materials were discussed. One year, I co-taught Everyday Math at the kindergarten level which was great for my students with severe articulation disorders. I have taught several aspects of language arts and social studies, but my favorite years were when I conducted three whole classroom sessions weekly while teaching science concepts. Not only can science be fun, but it is very interactive and perfect for speech and language activities. For students with very limited language skills, there are a lot of opportunities for language learning and active participation. AND, activities and materials are age appropriate. States of Matter - one of many science activities found at BoardmakerShare.com When learning about matter, students can tell the sequence of events that occur when matter changes state, predict outcomes, respond to questions about the changes, describe attributes, and sort and classify. Download my PowerPoint book, The ABC Matter Book, that was used as a describing activity and to reinforce vocabulary as part of a science sorting activity. Plant a bean seed and students can tell about the growth sequence, make predictions, label parts of a plant and tell the functions of each part, describe a variety of plants and make comparisons. Download My Bean Diary at SparkleboxShare There are many websites with great visual supports and science activities. Find wonderful activities at Science Online, BBC's Bitesize, Edheads, and Dragonfly TV. Many videos and resources can be found at Discovery Edcuation - most schools have subscriptions to this site. If you have Boardmaker, make sure that you look for science activities at the BoardmakerShare site. Diana © 2012
Make 3rd grade math FUN by using free printable math worksheets pdf as math minues with Grade 3! Complete instructions & answer key included.
Give wings to your child’s imagination and teach them to write confidently & constructively with these Creative writing activities for kids…
Enhance your child's science education with an engaging, fun lapbook of plant and animal cells.
Tougher, higher grade, more waterproof/breathable fabrics have been brought to Hoggs of Fife's best selling Green King range, as has a much more contemporary styling and some adjustments to fit. The result is a suit which performs better than ever on standard tests, is incredibly versatile and looks the part!
In 6th grade, we talked about how colors can evoke emotions. For example, red can mean love or anger. The students took self portraits with ...
Understanding division is an essential milestone in a child's mathematical journey. However, it can often be a challenging concept to un...
Today we have a little craft brought you by Pip Squeak! We have been eating a fair few ice lollies.. and the environmentally “friendly” so and so that I am, have been washing them and keeping them for the kids to craft with (yes, we have a stash of craft stick from the shops.. but...
We are sure that most of you have used a ballpoint pen at some time or the other. It is something that we do without giving a thought to it but we all
HeNRI MATISSE December 31, 1869- November 5, 1954 I began this unit on Matisse by showing the video "Dropping in on Matisse", then reading the book "Drawing with Scissors". I read on more on my own the book "Matisse from A to Z". I am totally hooked on Matisse for some reason. So, I decided to try three lesson inspired by the artist this year. The first one is... PICTURE IN A PICTURE (worksheet below created by Tabitha Seaton) (This is a new lesson I will be doing soon, examples coming soon...) Haley A. 8th grade Kimberley R. 7th grade Angel S. 8th grade Autumn B. 8th grade Rosie, 7th grade Chloe, 6th grade Aracely, 7th grade Alexis A., 7th grade Emily A. 7th grade Hailey j. 6th grade WILD BEAST WINDOWS Matisse was always bringing the outside in. He loved to work indoors, but look outside. He was like a goldfish in a bowl, a spectator always looking out but being protected from the elements. So, he brought the light into his work by opening up all the windows. He always enjoyed using colors that "sing" since he was a Fauve (Wild Beast in English). So, we are going to create a window that brings the outside into us. Lets use the same wild colors that Matisse uses. They don't have to make sense. Trees can be pink and purple, the sky can be green! The crazier the better. Choose colors like a wild beast! Matisse would love it... Mrs. Seaton's Windows 1. Have the kids make an "X" on their paper with the corners of the "X" meeting the corners of the paper. The center of the "X" becomes the Vanishing Point. Let them know that the vanishing point is always on the horizon line of the landscape that they will create later. 2. Make an opening for the window by creating a rectangle. All corners of the rectangle must match up with the lines of the "X". Each corner of the window will rest on the "X". (use a ruler) 3. Create a sill under the window to put objects on. These objects can be something important to the artist to share with us their personality. Matisse usually put goldfish, plants, or flowers on his tables. I put my daily devotional book, my prayer shawl, my Chai Tea and my cat. Kids can put a football, their favorite book, or their phone in the sill. 4. Make a patterned curtain (Matisse loved wild prints) or use the vanishing point to create shutters or lines on the ceiling. *I will count points for this or bonus (depending on level of grade). 5. Draw a landscape of choice. Matisse usually showed a sunny, hot place by the sea (his favorite). I drew a hiking path at the Nature Preserve. Students can draw their favorite vacation spot, their front yard, or downtown city streets. Draw Draw Draw, be creative... Matisse thought that art was not meant to look like a photograph. So, don't mimic realistic nature, draw what is in your imagination. 6. Now color crazy! Go pick the brightest colors you can find! Find the crayons, markers, and colored pencils that sing the loudest and use those for your picture. (above in colored pencils by Tabitha Seaton) (above in Acrylic Paint by Tabitha Seaton) (above in crayon by Tabitha Seaton) Mrs. Seaton's Student's Windows These are older examples that we painted. After we were done we hung them in the halls above the lockers to give a view into our artistic imaginations... PAPER CUT OUTS Matisse created the idea of paper cut outs when he was old and restricted to a wheelchair or in his bed. He was unable to stand for long periods of time and do all the usual art from his younger days. Although his body was tired, his imagination and creative spirit was UNSTOPPABLE! He was not going to quit. Sometimes it is out hardest time that makes our art it's finest. Art is medicine to the soul! It keeps your heart alive when your body is dying... So, he got scissors and cut organic and geometric shapes from painted paper and arranged them harmoniously. He called this "drawing with scissors". His place was a mess, filled with scraps of painted paper everywhere. Mrs. Seaton's Examples I did this paper cut out when my first daughter Maisy was very small. It shows the joy of a new mother as her girls grows. I did this paper cut out after I had gone through a spiritual transformation to a Christian retreat in 2008. I made these 2 above between 2009&2011 student examples from Mrs. Seaton's class Spring 2014 Sheila, 7th grade Breanna M., 7th grade Annalee, 7th grade Autumn, 7th grade Alison, 6th grade Ashley O., 7th grade Ricardo, 8th grade Daniel, 6th grade Shae W., 6th grade Jocei, 6th grade Hailey j., 6th grade Kaitlyn pickle, 6th grade Anjel, 6th grade Allen, 6th grade Madison, 6th grade Josh h., 6th grade Lauren Speights, 7th grade Rachel Drennon, 7th grade Lauren Speights, 7th grade Kimberley Ramos, 7th grade RaylanTave, 8th grade Caleb teeters, 7th grade Lauren Speights, 7th grade Kaylynn Payne, 7th grade Jose, 7th grade Grant, 8th grade Maria S., 7th grade Omar, 7th grade Jonathan, 7th grade
You will love these Olympic-themed party ideas, from food to backyard games and lots of kid-friendly crafts! Who else is super excited about the Olympics starting? We cannot wait! Especially since it's now been 3 years since the last Olympic games. As a family, we decided that we're going to have an Olympic-themed party for the opening ceremonies, and my kids are already brainstorming ideas. There are so many fun ideas that we found, we just had to share with you guys. Which one of these ideas is sticking out to you? I want to make them all! This isn't
Healthy habits are an essential part of maintaining physical and mental well-being. From exercising regularly to eating a balanced diet, man...
Overview and review of Traditional Spelling II from Memoria Press. This program merges phonics with spelling.
Hi, kidz! Welcome to the second installment of postings from my school-wide collaborative series (btw, I've decided "school-wide collaborative" is just too much work for my mouth. Hence forth, it will go by it's abbreviated and funner name: scollab. Pronounced skoal-lab, not school-lab. Cuz art class in a school lab is just bound to end in 'splosions and flames. Which actually sounds super funner-er.) In this here post, Ima share with you one of the happiest scollabs we did this year: Our School has Heart Mural! If this looks vaguely familiar to you, that's because I blerged about the first phase of this project here. This lovely scollab masterpiece hangs happily in the front office of my school. Previously, the front office was referred to as the DMV for it's warm and welcoming wall color (what is that, Sherwin William's "Institution White"? "Padded Room Gray"? "The Last Color I See Before My Date with the Principal Blue"?). It was mentioned that some art might cheer the place up and that's all it took for my ears to prick up. ART?! Did somebody say...art?! We started this project way back at the start of February so love was in the air. Which explains the smell. I decided that each kiddo was gonna contribute and each grade level would do a little something different. I'll give you the quickie version here but you can visit this post for the full story. The kindergarteners were given a paper heart template to trace in black oil pastel. Then they doodled in warm or cool colors and then proceeded to water color the daylights outta that thing in either warm or cool. The first graders were given 3" square pieces of felt in whatever color they liked. Then they traced that same hear template in chalk and painted with tempera. Painting on felt is really rad cuz it gives the piece this almost oil painted appearance. If the kids painted the hear with warm colors, they were to reverse that color scheme for the background. Puffy paint was added because why not?! Puffy paint is the jam. Second grade town created these pipe cleaner hearts that they yarn bombed and bead attacked. I had the pleasure of hot gluing them to the felt of their choosing. Third grade thought that Christmas came early when I showed them how to embroider. Every last one of them enjoyed this so much and was able to complete their stitching (and button sewing!) in one hour long class. Needle felting was introduced to my fourth grade students. We really enjoyed this and only had one bleeder (those needle felting tools are both sharp and serrated, y'all. They ain't for sissies). As the students completed their work, I started to lay them out on two pieces of foam core. I happened to have two 3' X 6' pieces of foam core to my name because, well, why not? I originally thought of doing a value gradation but rainbow order ended up looking the best. Hot gluing over 400 hearts wasn't exactly my idea of a good time. The upside is I no longer have finger prints and the cops will never find me! Take that, coppers! Once all the gluing was complete, I took the two boards to the office and my super awesome bookkeeper buddy and my radical rockstar custodian friend hung them up for all to see. Don't miss! I'll be presenting on school-wide collaboratives at the AOE conference this summer! And now, let's talk GIVEAWAY! Last week's winner is Lil! When asked what her fave collaborative project was, she wrote: This year my third grader class created large, beautiful, textured and patterned frogs. Then each table created their own scene on huge mural paper. There was an outdoor birthday party, with an airplane toting a birthday wish sign. One group made a water theme park setting with a lazy river - one frog was definitely relaxin' on his tube!! Another group made a nail salon - now who doesn't like a good froggie pedi??! Oh my gosh, the kids absolutely loved working together on such a huge creation. Do you think it was because they got to spread out on the floor to paint and cut and create??!!!! Congrats, Lil! I hope you enjoy the artsy t-shirts! Now, I know most of y'all are enjoying your summer days. How 'bout you spend some time creating with a good book? To enter this giveaway, just do the following: * Tell me what dream scollab you would create with your students. A permanent mural? A tile project? I'd love to hear! Maybe if we start dreaming big now, we'll have the energy to make it happen come this fall! * Leave your email address in your comments so I can contact you.
How I implement and run guided reading and small group in my middle school and upper elementary ELA classrooms
