Submitted by Jennifer C. Library List: Pass the Fritters, Critters by Cheryl Chapman and Susan L. Roth Me First by Helen Lester May I Bring A Friend? by Beatrice de Regniers Clifford's Manners by
Do you teach about biographies? Last week we used the anchor chart above to introduce what a biography is (…isn’t George cute?) I saw him originally at Apples, Crayons, and Caffeine. We brainstormed the things we thought a biography is, what’s included, and the questions it might answer. We read about Tomás Rivera in our reading...
Want to host an epic Grinch Day celebration in December? These free printables and fun ideas will help you have the best Grinch Day ever!
Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol'- Mini Unit Study If you've never tried a unit study before, this busy time of year might be a good time t ...
Summary: This two week unit of work with lesson plans for a year one classroom and is focused on the text form of recount, with these lessons illustrating to students how to construct a recount. My first two lessons have the essence of a retell text type. Students are not retelling the story, I am […]
I'm a librarian and lifelong book lover. I'm also about to have my first kid. While other soon-to-be-parents are obsessing over strollers, car seats, and
One thing I have been meaning to do on this site is start writing a few “mini” book reviews of books on Japan that I have already read. It takes me a while, especially in the midst of g…
At the beginning of this summer I was privileged to hear Angela Maiers speak about her book, Classroom Habitudes: Teaching Habits and Attitudes for 21st Century Learning, and her movement, Choose2M…
Do you need help with ideas for teaching students how to develop characters in their narrative essays? This post will share an effective way to teach character traits and focus on developing characters in a narrative essay. These ideas are ideal for any writing curriculum and are part of
For the last two weeks we have been reading fictional farm stories. We have been using this anchor chart created by Abby Mullins fro...
Just because Facebook isn’t doing anything about it doesn’t mean you can’t.
I've fought the princessification of my girls valiantly, as a mama who wants her girls to admire heroes who don't wait around for some dumb prince to find
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Hi There! Lisa here, from Growing Firsties & I'm going to share a little bit about Growth Mindset today, which is based on Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck's work. Heads up that I do have some Amazon Affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to use the links, I'll earn some "circle money" as my daughter calls coins. :-) Half of my affiliate proceeds are for paying it forward - each month I receive earnings I give to my local food pantry/outreach services organization. The other half is spent on books and items for my classroom. With a growth mindset, people believe that through effort and practice, they can develop and improve their talents and abilities. In a fixed mindset, people believe that their talents and abilities are fixed...and that it's talent (not effort) that creates success. Woah. Years ago, I first began to think about mindset in terms of working with struggling students...those students where the learning is hard. Students, who, if they don't have the mindset to keep trying, will give up. Then what will they learn? My thinking expanded as I witnessed students labelled as gifted hitting a struggle academically and not knowing how to handle the struggle when they are unfamiliar with the resilience and effort needed. Then I realized that mindset, resilience & perseverance are critical for all of us. Regardless of age. #helloIhatecardio #gottadoitanyways You may have seen this Growing Firsties post from a few years ago, containing this freebie download. Or maybe this post from last summer all about perseverance. I am blessed to work at an amazing school! Some talented colleagues ran a book study on Dweck's Mindset book this year and it was such fun to re-read and discuss mindset with like-minded teachers! I also added Mindsets in the Classroom (by Mary Cay Ricci) to my collection. We read aloud some great books and I expanded my collection beyond the wonderful texts from Peter H. Reynolds (Ish, The Dot, Going Places...) One of my teammates asked me if I had a printable for our work on mindset and that gave me the motivation to put my swirling thoughts to work....Here's a little peek at the inside... Scroll down to download this freebie! :) You might be interested in reading an article by the always eloquently-thought-provoking Alfie Kohn "The Perils of Growth Mindset" education. You can get to it {right here}. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, has written this EXCELLENT article...you'll definitely want to check it out! You can get to it {right here}. I have a Pinterest board called Mindset and I love pinning to it! You can check it out by clicking here or the screen shot below. You should really check out the Famous Failures video! It's amazing! We'd love to hear what you do to help build a growth mindset with your learners!
Have you seen the story about the guy who couldn't find comics for his seven year old daughter? We want to help.
Teach character traits through reading! These wonderful character building picture books will help you do just that.
[[Roald Dahl Literature Series]] The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me Character Analysis Tri-Folds Grades 3-8 Product Overview/Preface: Explore the idiosyncrasies and antics of the characters in Roald Dahl’s the hilarious children’s novel The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. You can design your own foldable (after printing) by creating your own headings. You can also have students create them for a more inclusive activity. Tri-Folds are the perfect companion activity for the novel. Works well for bulletin board display, end project, book report or traditional essay alternative. Includes: < 11 Pre-made Tri-Folds < 7 Insert Pages < 3 Customizable Tri-Folds (After Printing) < 1 Vocabulary Literary element List < 1 Characterization Mini-Lesson Handout < 1 Character Types and Roles Handout < 2 Literary Element Analysis Graphic Organizers < 1 Citing & Analyzing Text Evidence GO < 1 Character Analysis Graphic Organizer < 2 Comparing & Contrasting Basic Graphic Organizers < 1 Instruction Page for Creating the Tri-Folds Please feel free to ask any questions—I will definitely respond to all inquiries in a timely fashion. Please Check out My Other Products and Resources: Hopefully my products will help strengthen your lessons, help your students learn, and make your life easier. Thank you and enjoy! —J.D. Whitaker Copyright © 2014 James D. Whitaker, SophistThoughts™ All rights reserved by author. Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only. Not for public display.
We bundled eight of your favorite literary terms into one low-priced poster set. Using quotes from the most frequently assigned works in high schools nationally, this series of posters highlights eight common literary terms: symbolism, paradox, onomatopoeia, alliteration, foreshadowing, metaphor, irony and personification. Print set measures 11" x 14" or 18" x 24." Each size available plain paper, laminated, or framed. SHOP QUANTITY DISCOUNTS • Purchase any 2 prints or sets and get 10% off your entire purchase. Enter code ECHOLIT10 at checkout. • Purchase any 3 prints or sets and get 15% off your entire purchase. Enter code ECHOLIT15 at checkout. • Purchase any 4 prints or sets and get 18% off your entire purchase. Enter code ECHOLIT18 at checkout. • Purchase any 6 prints or sets and get 20% off your entire purchase. Enter code ECHOLIT20 at checkout. FRAMING INFO • Our 8" x 10" print is framed using our custom built Soho black solid wood frame, 2 inch off-white matte and glass. Finished framed size is 12.5" x 15.5." • Our 11" x 14" print is framed using our custom built Soho black solid wood frame, 2 inch off-white matte and crystal plexiglass. Finished framed size is 15.5" X 19.5.” • Our 18" x 24” print is framed using our modern black metal frame custom built with crystal clear, safe, durable plexiglass. Finished framed size is 18" x 24.” Digital copies printed using vibrant, premium, high luster, fade resistant Lucia Archival inks on heavy matte fine art paper. Carefully packaged to prevent damage during shipping. Thank you for visiting our shop!
The list below contains the books I have used over the years for teaching figurative language. Some of them are designed to teach about figurative language and some of them are books with figurative language woven naturally into the poem or story. Just recently, we shared how we used one of these books to do a text ... Read More about Books with Figurative Language
Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute
Description About the Book Piggie tells Gerald she has a surprise for him, but it is not there yet so Gerald must be patient. Book Synopsis Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Waiting Is Not Easy!, Piggie has a surprise for Gerald, but he is going to have to wait for it. And Wait. And wait some more... Review Quotes PRAISE FOR THE ELEPHANT PIGGIE SERIES*Accessible, appealing, and full of authetic emotions about what makes friendships tick, these titles will put a contemporary shine on easy reader collections.--Booklist (starred review) *These books will easily take their place alongside Seuss and Eastman as classics in the beginning-reader genre.--The Bulletin (starred review) *These masterful mini-dramas will delight and amuse early-reader and picture-book audiences, alike.--School Library Journal (starred review) About The Author Mo Willems (www.pigeonpresents.com), a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions (for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity). Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was also an inaugural inductee into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame. And his celebrated Elephant & Piggie early-reader series has been awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal on two occasions (for There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside?) as well as garnering four Honors (for We Are in a Book!, I Broke My Trunk!, Let's Go for a Drive! and A Big Guy Took My Ball!).Other favorites include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and City Dog, Country Frog, illustrated by Jon J Muth. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts. See above.
***Pick up your FREE Activity Pack*** Aircraft in World War I The airplane was invented by the Wright Brothers a mere eleven years before the start of World War I, but it quickly came to be an important part of the fighting. The first use of airplanes in the war was for reconnaissance. They would fly above the battlefield and enemy territory, take photos, and report on enemy movements and weaknesses. However, as the war progressed, airplanes were being used for dropping small bombs and dogfighting. Early dogfighting consisted of pilots shooting at each other with small arms. Then they tried mounting a machine gun at the front of the plane, but the propeller got in the way of the bullets. Eventually, the 'interrupter' was invented, which allowed machine guns to be used without interference. Pilots became soldiers in the skies, and the best of the best were dubbed "Aces." The Lafayette Escadrille While America did not officially join World War I until rather late, many Americans served overseas with Allied countries. Some Americans volunteered to fly alongside the French in a unit of fighter pilots, originally titled the Escadrille Americaine. This squadron - officially formed in 1916 and renamed the Lafayette Escadrille - consisted of American pilots who were members of a flying corps based out of France. More than 200 Americans were trained as pilots, and they served on nearly every battle front in France. Only nine pilots were lost in action. Because of the experience they gained in battle, they helped to teach combat pilots that came later, including those who fought in World War 2. The Lafayette Escadrille has been called "the founding fathers of American combat aviation." We've enjoyed learning about several eras of aviation, including the Wright Brothers and modern military aircraft! Our spine novel is We Were There with the Lafayette Escadrille Access the complete unit in the 'We Were There' Novel Studies Bundle! Includes THIRTY-SIX unit studies covering World & American History. Each unit addresses a new topic, spanning the the ancient world through post-WW2. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available. After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students. You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon. There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify. Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included. We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together. Our family has used unit studies as curriculum for many years, and we hope that your family will enjoy these, too! Product Samples: We Were There with Richard the Lionhearted in the Crusades We Were There with Byrd at the South Pole We Were There at the Opening of the Atomic Era
Our happiest homeschooling times are when I read aloud from delightful, living books! Everyone, including my high school daughter and even my husband, put their work aside, draw closer and listen. …
