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

Μερικές ιδέες για τη διακόσμηση της τάξης μας ....ένα θέμα που μας απασχολεί όλους μας! Ιδέες για την αρχή της σχολικής χρονιάς και όχι μόνο. bulletinboardsideas.org aplacecalledkindergarten.blog hekindercupboard.blog media-cacheak1pinimg pinterest irstgradeblueskies media-cacheak1pinimg pinterest secondgradeclub.jpg teachingisforever.blog squidoo.jpg twelvecraftstilcrismas.blog

These are the coolest jello science experiments! Your kids will love exploring using this common kitchen ingredient.

I always start my year in religion with an overview of the Sacraments. Our 5th grade curriculum focuses on all seven of them as a gift to the Church from Christ. We will get into the nitty-gritty of each throughout the year, but I like to begin with a big picture. Because we have been talking quite a bit about symbolism within literature in our St. Maximilian Kolbe unit (more on that soon!), I thought we could make some connections with symbols that we use to represent the Sacraments. Here is how our graphic organizer turned out: Note that these are not necessarily the official "signs" of the Sacrament, just something that draws our mind to make a connection. I know there are many more symbols, but this is what the 5th graders came up with (some with a little help!). The graphic organizer also divides the Sacraments into the categories of Initiation, Service, and Healing, as well as lists a few Bible references connected to the Sacrament. We also now have a matching anchor chart on the wall to use as reference throughout the year. If you would like to use this idea to review/intro the Sacraments there are two printables available below, one filled out, and one with the note taking space left blank. They would make a great addition to a notebooking project! Click here for the graphic organizer that you can fill in yourself: Click here for the filled in version of our notes:

This Sunday we celebrate the glory and the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. A few weeks ago as I was teaching about the Sacrament of Marriage, I realized that I was missing something. We had read

Easy marshmallow science experiments and ideas for playful learning and fun with marshmallows in preschool and kindergarten.

This is the ultimate list of sensory diet activities for kids. Many ideas can be done with common household items and are easy to use!

Keep your toddlers and preschoolers busy and happy with this easy toddler craft using cellophane to make colored "glasses."

I've had lots of requests over the summer to share what I do for the first day and week of Kindergarten. I'm always a little hesitant to do these kinds of posts. Each school, team and community as well as the kids are so different. And although this will be my fifth year teaching FDK, I am no means an expert. I make mistakes, and I am tweaking and trying new things every year in hopes of making my program more meaningful and effective for the students I teach. But I do understand how anxiety reducing it is, especially for new teachers to see exactly what another teacher who has taught the grade before does/has done. So I have decided to share, but as you read this, please keep in mind that this is just one way of many many ways you could structure and run your first day and week. FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: >> Arrival/Entry: 25 min. << Even if you don't have duty first thing in the morning, you'll want to be outside at duty time to meet and greet your new students and parents for at least the first day if not the first week of school. Show them where they can put their backpacks as they enter the Kindergarten pen. When the bell rings, show students how to line up with their backpacks and follow you into the classroom. As you come into the classroom for the first time, introduce the entry routines. Have students hang their coats and backpacks on their hooks, take their outdoor shoes off and put their indoor shoes on. Some of our parents send extra clothes on the first day so we help the kids take them out and put them in their bins. As students are done their entry routines they pick a learning centre to explore. Here is a view from my teacher table before we went out to greet the kids on the first day of school. >> Learning Centres #1: 20 min. << Always start with simple and self-explanatory or open-ended centres on the first day! You and your partner will most likely be busy helping students with entry routines and even possibly helping a few upset friends calm down. Don't make it even more stressful by putting out centres where they are going to require instruction or help! Some examples of things I put out during this learning centre block: Lego Centre: Play Dough Centre: These alphabet play dough mats can be found in my TPT store here. Writing Centre & Creation Station: My linking chart can be found in my Step by Step: Kindergarten Writing Plans unit here. Some other centres I open on the first day are: blocks/building, puzzles, whiteboards & dry erase markers, dramatic play (with minimal furniture and props), bookshelf, iPads and sandbox. If you want to see more centre examples from Learning Centres #1 you can check out my these blog posts: - Classroom Reveal 2016 - Classroom Reveal 2017 - Classroom Reveal 2019 >> Carpet Time #1 - Procedures & Routines: 25 min. << At the end of centres I say "Hands on top, that means stop" and have the students stop and put their hands on their heads. Then I say "When I say go, please put centres away and come to the carpet, go!" We then go around and show students where to put items away. Once most students have made their way to the carpet, I sing this song to reinforce carpet rules: Carpet Song (to the tune of Frère Jacques) Are you criss-cross? Are you criss-cross? Eyes on me. Eyes on me. Hands in your lap. Hands in your lap. Quietly. Quietly. Then I add: I like the way that ________ is sitting, ________ is sitting, ________ is sitting. I like the way that ________ is sitting, Oh so very quietly! (fill in names of students who are modeling great carpet behaviour in the blanks) Then, I introduce myself and my partner and welcome the students to our classroom. I also hand out name tags (usually just their name printed on sticker paper) to help me and my partner remember their names. Then I tell them that we are going to practice a name song to learn each other's names and also learn a few important rules about the classroom. We start with the "Name Song". I usually start by singing my partner's name and have her demonstrate the actions. If I have a big class, I start with 5-10 kids and then tell the students we will do the rest throughout the day. Then we go over the bathroom procedures. We have a bathroom that doesn't lock so we talk about only 1 person in the bathroom at a time, and turn the stop/go sign to "stop" when you enter the bathroom and change it to "go" when you come out. You can grab the stop/go templates for FREE here. Then we start an "At Centres" anchor chart. We put the title "At centres, super students..." and have students brainstorm what super students do during centre time. Usually the SK's will already know some things super students do at centre time (e.g. try different centres, use materials gently, share items with others, put things away when you are done, work on something the whole time etc.) so ask them to share what they know and write them down. Throughout the day after each centre block you can ask them if they have any other ideas to add until the anchor chart is full. Now I know this sounds like a lot and if you can't fit it in I would do the "At Centres" anchor chart before the next centre block instead, because you do want to go over any snack procedures you want them to follow before snack! >> Snack: 15 min. << In our class, I pick a couple of students at a time to line up in a straight line and remind them to wash their hands in the sink and dry their hands on the towel. Then we ask them to go and get their lunch bags and sit at a table. I don't assign seats so they can sit wherever there is a chair at a table. I set a large timer for 10 minutes. I love this timer because the kids can see the red part getting smaller as the time gets less and less. If they are done snack and the timer hasn't gone yet they are asked to put their snacks away, make sure the spot they were sitting at is clean (I have 2 mini brooms and dust pans they can use to clean up their space if needed) and then pick a book from the bookshelf and read on the carpet until the timer goes. When the timer goes I have students put their books and snacks away and come to the carpet. >> DPA: 10 min. << I introduce GoNoodle and I have a student who is sitting nicely come up and pick a song. While that student is choosing a song, I remind all students to be looking at the screen and thinking of what song they might like to choose in case they are chosen next. We do 2-3 GoNoodle dances. I review GoNoodle rules as needed after each song (stay in your space, hands to yourself etc). My partner usually supervises GoNoodle while I set up the next set of learning centres. >> Carpet Time #2 : 20 min. << We get going on creating our co-created alphabet line from the first day! This is what we did last year and what we are planning to do again this year. I start with talking about how we are missing some important things on the walls in our classroom. What are some things we should put up on the walls that would help us with our learning at school? I have the kids share what they think and we talk about the importance of an alphabet line and how it helps us with our learning (it helps us learn our letters/sounds, it helps us know the order of the letters etc.) Then I show them the plan I have in mind (the picture above). Then I say "We need to brainstorm some things that start with each letter so we can take a picture for each letter with things/actions or people that start with that letter!" Then we start brainstorming for each letter. First we add all of the students names under each corresponding letter. Then I have them tell me any item they want to see in our co-created alphabet line and what letter it begins with (if they can). We continue this for a few more days until all of the letters have at least 3-4 things. >> Learning Centres #2: 30 min. << We review our "At Centres" anchor chart quickly and students are invited to explore simple centres again. We mix in literacy-based centres in the morning. We circulate and talk to the students, help wanderers find centres and if I have time I pull kids and take head shots so that I have photos to use to make name cards for the word wall and to add to the cover of their writing portfolio's. FREE name card templates can be downloaded here. The templates for writing portfolio's can be found here. >> Prep: 30 min << Last year I had a prep period every day at this time but if not I would continue centres until lunch. Be sure to tidy up at least 10 minutes before lunch and review lunch time rules and routines (both for while they are eating and for playing outside)! >> Lunch & Lunch Recess: 60 min << Eat lunch! But also remember to do any important first day routines. At my last school parents filled in dismissal forms after they dropped their child off and we had to pick them up from the division chair and go through them quickly to familiarize ourselves with dismissal permissions. Touch base with your teammates if you have any too, they will remind you of any important first day procedures you may have forgotten! >> Entry / Book Box / Carpet Time #3: 30 min. << As students come in, I remind them of entry routines and invite them to grab their book box. This is a good way to see who can recognize their name. Have them sit on the carpet and read/look at their books quietly until everyone is reading from their book box. I keep this super short on the first day and have even done a story from Storylineonline.net instead (I highly recommend this site for indoor recesses too!) when we had staggered entry (the SK's came in the morning and JK's joined in the afternoon) so that the kids were engaged while we were helping the new friends that just joined. You can grab my FREE editable book box labels here or by clicking on the image below: >> Learning Centres: 75 min. << Especially if you have any new students joining in the afternoon, review the "At Centres" anchor chart. Quickly introduce the afternoon centres. I mix in numeracy based centres in the afternoon. Then we choose a few friends at a time to pick a centre until everyone has picked somewhere to start. Here are some centres I put out in the afternoon on the first day: A Number Provocation: Number Locks: Sorting & Shapes Sensory Bin: Some other centres I put out/have open in the afternoon on the first day are: blocks/building, dramatic play, creation station, puzzles, iPads, snack, a simple shape provocation, a simple patterning provocation, bookshelf and sandbox. Once everyone has picked a space to start in and are playing at centres, I pull any kids that I didn't get a picture of in the morning and small groups to do their September writing piece (only if I can!). You can download this first guided writing sheet by clicking here or on the image below (September to 2025 is included in the file.) This will be going up on our writing wall as our first piece of writing and it helps me see who can write their name independently. I make note on my clipboard who can recognize their name, who can copy their name, who can recognize letters in their name etc. so that I can make name bags for students who need more practice with their name. These name bags will be our first guided literacy groups eventually. You can grab name bag printables from my TPT store for FREE here. We have a snack table in the afternoon so students are invited to eat at that table when they feel hungry. For the first week or so I stop and ask students who have not yet eaten to go to the snack table about 15 minutes before centre time is over, to make sure that they eat what their parents sent with them and to remind the kids to eat. >> Carpet Time #3: 30 min. << Have students practice clean-up routines and come to the carpet. If you have time, have students share what their favourite thing from the day was. Then talk about dismissal routines and outdoor play rules. Make sure you are specific and clear about what is and isn't allowed so the students know the expectations before you get outside! >> Outdoor Play & Dismissal: 30 min. << Get ready to pack up and go outside. I have a bin with their agendas/zippys so I pull them out one at a time and call the student to get ready. Remind them to show their agenda/zippy to their parents when they get home and bring it back to school every day. Be sure also to tell students where you want them to line up after they are ready too! Once all students are ready, review the outdoor rules one last time. Tell students where to put their backpacks when they get outside. Also review what to do when the bell rings. I have students put their backpack in a line by our gate and then come to their backpack and get back in line when the bell rings. I remind students that it will take a little longer on the first day because I am still learning their parents and to wait until I call them to come to the front to be released. Remind them that they must wait until you call them so that I know they have been picked up by a safe adult and how important that is. I show them my dismissal clipboard and tell them I check each student off as they leave to make sure everyone left safely and if they leave out another gate without letting me or my partner know I would think they are missing! The kids seem to get it when we tell them why we don't want them leaving through another gate, especially without telling us first, when you tell them why it's so important. Also, make sure you check what the dismissal rules are at your school is as well. Can you let them go 5 minutes early if the parents want to take them early? Some schools are very strict about not letting anyone out before the bell unless they are signed out at the office. Check these things before the first day so you know what the rules are and can explain to parents that it is a school wide rule! We have all walkers so we get out early and let the kids play. As the parents arrive we make sure to go and greet them so that we can learn who the parents/pick-up people are for each child. When the bell rings, students line up at their backpacks and I call one student at a time to meet their pick-up person. Once everyone is picked up you can go back into the classroom! Phew! That was a lot. There is so much to remember to do on the first day. People often say if the kids all come, have fun and leave safely at the end of the day it is a first day win and it is so true. Don't stress too much about your centres or any guided work you wanted to do. Always focus on the rules, routines and procedures and only get to the the guided work (like the September writing page I mentioned) if you have time! The rest of the week is much of the same so I'm just going to post my week plans from last year, in case you want to take a look. You can download it by clicking here or on the image below. If I had previously written a blog post about an activity I have linked it in the PDF. If you open the PDF and hover your mouse over the page you will see the clicker change into a little hand where there are links on the page. Kelso's Choices is a social-problem solving program that the school's I have been at have used since my first year of teaching. It introduces a lot of Kindergarten friendly ways to solve social problems independently. You can learn more by going to their website: http://kelsoschoice.com I hope you find this helpful and it gives you some ideas on what to do on the first day of school/week. Good luck on the first day! - Yukari UPDATED 07.14.21: This post was written in 2017 and since then I have made lots of updates to my program. I'm not going to rewrite the whole post right now (I hope to do so in the future!) but I wanted to quickly highlight some new first day/week resources that I now use: The name poem I use during the first week of school can be found in my sight word poem pack here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fill-in-the-Blank-Sight-Word-Poems-for-Kindergarten-5914838 The read alouds I now use (and the corresponding lesson plans and printables can be found in my "Kinder Read Alouds - September" pack here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/KINDER-READ-ALOUDS-SEPTEMBER-4266690 Here are some photos from the lessons: I also shared my centre plans for September to March in my "Kindergarten Centre Plans for the Entire Year!" last August. However, it is a growing document and I only have up to March completed. Other projects took priority this past year and I don't know when April to June will be added.. but hopefully you can use and enjoy September to March for the time being! If you download the file, most of the images are clickable and it will either take you to a product, a blog post, an Instagram post or an Amazon page, depending on what the centre is! You can download these here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/-FREE-Kindergarten-Visual-Centre-Plans-5848330 I hope you find some of these resources/ideas helpful! - Yukari

Fluid art is a VERY fun way to create abstract art mixed with science! We used TEMPERA paint that was watered down and mixed with different household items! We mixed the yellow with water, dawn dish soap, and we also tried liquid starch which worked well The magenta was just mixed with water The blue was mixed with water and rubbing alcohol The white was mixed with hydrogen peroxide and water -I went to each students and poured a generous amount paint on their paper. I used 80# white sulphite paper. Any multi media paper would be great! I even did a batch on white index tag board and it worked great!! -students scraped very gently across the paper ONE TIME only ONCE!! You can see the paint separate into "cells" as the chemicals resist each other and the difference in density makes colors rise/sink like colored spots -then I came around and flicked some rubbing alcohol on top to show the colors beneath!! -students let the paint drip while they turn slowly in every direction to spread it over the paper. It begins to make tons of new colors and makes lines similar to sedimentary rock We let these dry for 2-3 days. They dry very matte and a tiny bit faded, so we paint a layer of tempera varnish over them to bring out the vibrancy of color and make them SHINE!! Students could also choose to outline shapes and animals that they see in the artwork!! (you can see some of those at the bottom of the post)

Clay marble mazes is a great activity to encourage hand strengthening, eye hand coordination, visual tracking skills and more. Here is what we did: 1. Cover a recycled, clean styrofoam tray with tin foil. Use a small tray if you have a little bit of clay and large tray if you have a lot […]

In 1959, Friedensreich was a guest lecturer in Hamburg, Germany. For his presentation, the artist drew what he thought was the world...

Are you looking to add even more sensory play to your kids' line up? Check out these sensory balloons. They are so fun and relaxing to squish, smoosh and manipulate. As an adult, I love using them too. They are a great stress reliever for us, too.

We are really hoping for spring around here! The unseasonably warm day was a welcome change and melted away our 22 inches of snow. And in that spirit we decided it was time to think about Saint Patrick's Day! Today we made a cloud with rainbow rays. All of our rays were different in lengths and we were challenged to put them in order from longest to shortest, and shortest to longest. The activity was great for color recognition, understanding the concept of length, ordering objects by length, and comparing lengths. Also it was a great fine motor activity!

Lovin' Contractions and a Freebie for You! 4 comments Grammar Today we made these super adorable contraction banners. After briefly reviewing contractions at the start of our lesson, the students chose a contraction from the contraction scoot recording sheet from yesterday. They used that contraction to make their super cute sign. As you can see, on the first two hearts the students wrote the two words that are used to make a contraction. They are separated by a plus sign. After the second heart is an equal sign. Then, on a third heart, they wrote the contraction that those words form. The hearts are taped to ribbon (5/8 inch wide by approximately 1 1/2 feet per student). You could also glue them to the ribbon, but I can't stand white glue, so tape is my preferred method. No matter how you attach them, the end result is super cute! I just **love** projects that reinforce concepts but also add a bit of festivity to the classroom. The students enjoyed selecting their own contraction to work with and they always get excited when we make fun holiday projects. If you like this project, you can get the templates for free by clicking {HERE}, or by clicking either image (your download will not have my logo plastered across it; I promise). I hope you can use this freebie! Toodles! Share It:

Welcome to part 4 of a series about incorporating geography with STEM. In part one, I wrote about studying science and geography together and in part two, I shared ideas for learning about technology in conjunction with geography. Part three taught about engineering with cartography. The final part in this series moves onto the M in STEM: math. Math and maps…two of my favorite things on the planet. You may be wondering what math has to do with geography. Why is math important in the field of geography? Math is used in map creation. Math is used in surveying land. Math is used in city planning. Math is used…

The insider's guide to navigating the city's many neighborhoods, restaurants, hotels and more.

Here is a fun math center or small-group game to play with your students. It will help them become familiar with using a ten frame and get them practising addition and subtraction. All you need is an egg carton, fluffy spring chicks, and a copy of the worksheet. Students will also need a paper clip and pencil to 'spin' on the worksheet. The egg carton becomes a ten frame by cutting two sections off. I painted my egg carton green to make a garden! Start with 5 chicks in the ten frame to commence the game. Your students will spin and identify the instruction they need to carry out - either +1, +2, +3 or -1, -or -3. Students then model this using the chicks in their garden (ten frame). Students can record their adding and subtracting on their worksheet. If a student gets to exactly 10 chicks, they may be declared the winner! You can download the worksheet from Google Drive by clicking on the image below: If you need more Ten Frame Activities, look no further than my "Ton of Tens" resource pack. I just updated it! It now includes 180 (up from 100) game combinations. There are 15 ten frame 'themes' that you can combine with 12 different games to get your students learning and loving ten frames! For example, combine the garden cards with the "Make It" game to create a game for your students called "Make Ten Gardens" - or combine it with the "Snap Snap" cards to have a game of "Make it Snap Snap"! Use seasonal and theme based tokens and counters to make the game more exciting for your students also! Click on the image below to find 'Ton'o'Tens' in my TpT store! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Do you have problems writing learning outcomes/objectives for your content or courses? Or more specifically, do you have trouble finding the right ACTION VERBS to describe what you want your students to achieve from the course, module, topic or unit? Have you tried using Bloom's Taxonomy wheel(s) before to assist finding those magic action verbs? New version (2014): Creative Visualizations of Bloom's Taxonomies! from Zaid Alsagoff Old version: Bloom's Revised Taxonomy Wheel Source: http://www.cobbk12.org/sites/alt/training/Blooms/circle.GIF Source: http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/downloads/bloomimages/bloom_plts.jpg Bloom's Taxonomy Wheel Source: http://www.alline.org/euro/images/bloomwheel.png Source: http://teaching.uncc.edu/sites/teaching.uncc.edu/files/media/files/image/resources/pedagogy/diagramforwriting.gif Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blooms_rose.svg Why not print out the one you like most (not too many, due to the shortage of trees today!), or download the Bloom's Taxonomy wheel images above, and then use them to find those magic action verbs that you might have struggled to find before. These wheels work much better than idiotic tables of action verbs according to Bloom's taxonomy. Trust me! Also, please learn how to apply Bloom's taxonomy to web 2.0 learning tools (and 21st Century learning): Bloom's Digital Taxonomy "It's not about the tools, it's using the tools to facilitate learning." Finally, here are a few sites worth exploring to learn more about the Bloom's taxonomy (if needed): Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains Writing Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy Critical and Creative Thinking Instructional Design - Knowledge, Attitude & Skills REFLECTION I still remember when I started off as an Instructional Designer in 2001, I was required to assist subject matter experts (SME) in constructing learning objectives/outcomes. Especially, in the beginning it was a nightmare, because I struggled with finding and suggesting the appropriate action verbs. But then one of the senior instructional designers introduced me to Bloom's taxonomy wheel(s), and from then on writing instructional sound learning outcomes has been as easy as eating rambutan. When developing content with SMEs it certainly helps having relevant and agreed upon learning outcomes early on to guide the content development process. In other words, it is good to spend some time on constructing them, and not just creating them as an afterthought, because of some education ministry requirements. I am not sure about your country, but in Malaysia the Bloom's taxonomy is the reference that Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) recommend (a requirement to use!), and most Universities use it to construct learning outcomes with an eye on infusing more deep thinking (critical and creative), or higher order thinking skills (HOTS). As an action verb classification system I am fine, but I have low regard for Bloom's taxonomy as a pyramid, whereby Evaluation (old version) is on the top. It is helpful, but to me it is misleading. But that, we can discuss in another post sometime in the future (However, your opinion about Bloom's taxonomy would be highly appreciated). Also, I would like to highlight that Clayton R. Wright has simplified the process in finding those magic action verbs. He found that many participants in his workshops found it easier to deal with a smaller number of categories than the six stated by Bloom. Some verbs can be found in several categories, but it depends on how they are used. Rather than use verbs at the lower-end of the skills spectrum, he suggests that emphasis should be placed on application and problem-solving skills. The list is not "a magic bullet", but it helps educators who have difficulty finding the word that describes what they want their students to achieve. Click the graphic to enlarge it (Reference: Instructing in an International Setting: A Handbook for Those Who Will Provide Training in Developing Countries (p. 3-24), by C. R. Wright, 1997) "If we could transform these tables into a wheel, it would simply be awesome!" When creating objectives for secondary and post-secondary courses, Clayton reminds his workshop participants to also consider the 21st Century Learning Outcomes developed by the League for Innovation and sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts. These learning outcomes were validated by 260 colleges in Canada and the United States. They cover a variety of skills such as technology skills, communication skills, computational skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, information management skills, interpersonal skills, personal skills, and community skills. All of these skills are important for those living in a digital world. Although, learning outcomes usually helps in the content development process, but do they help or guide students in the learning process? Let's recall our own experience as a student. To be honest, as a student I never gave two hoops about reading learning outcomes/objectives, whether they were in the course plan/guide/outline, courseware, or in a book. Neither can I recall discussing, nor listening to other students discussing about their learning outcomes. Well, that is my experience! However, it would be interesting if there was some actual research done on how students use learning outcomes to facilitate their own learning. Or perhaps they don't use them at all! So... Are learning outcomes really important to facilitate the learning process? Do we need them? Are they destructive to facilitate creativity and innovation? Are there other ways to tell our students what learning output we should expect from them? Do we need to be more creative in the way we express learning outcomes? What do you think? Speak up! It is about time! Thank you :)

Picture Exchange for nonverbal students is an effective way to implement a communication system. It relies on three main principles and a cycle of phases.

Teach children about the life cycle of a butterfly with this fun and easy butterfly and chrysalis craft for kids.

10 Creative & fun ways to build fine motor skills. These activities are perfectly adapted to special needs learners as well.

Image 1 of 11 from gallery of Arena Teques / AT 103. Courtesy of AT 103

Looking for opinion writing prompts to engage your 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students? Help your students succeed with opinion writing with these high-interest real-world writing prompts and topics that you can use all winter long! Opinion writing anchor charts, student reference sheet, graphic organizers, and student checklist are helpful reference tools for young writers, both throughout these activities and all year long! The resources included will keep your writers organized throughout the entire process. These writing prompts do NOT include any holiday topics so can be used during any winter month or as an alternative to Christmas writing activities. This pack can be easily infused into any writing program. All prompts come with a challenge activity option-use for all your students, or just some to differentiate. The teacher rubric will help you assess your students quickly and effectively. Save 20% by purchasing this pack in the Opinion Writing Bundle This set now also includes a digital version to use with Google Classroom™. Contents: Link for Google Slide use and digital directions Teacher Suggestions and Book List Classroom Anchor Chart Posters (in PDF and PowerPoint version) Modeled Writing and Guided Questions Student Directions 3 Student Prompts Student Opinion Graphic Organizer Student Opinion Writing Checklist Student Opinion Writing Reference Sheet (in 3 sizes) Teacher Rubric Pick an Opinion-Opinion Writing Challenge Option Opinion Writing Illustration Sheet Extra Lined Paper Extra Lined Paper(Winter Themed) Bulletin Board Letters in 2 sizes-Would you Rather? Teacher Approved! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Well done! So easy to use and very thorough. Thank you!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This is a great unit with fun prompts to encourage opinion writing. I really like the challenge option for some of my strong writers. Thanks." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "I loved the "whats opinion writing page" I was able to print 4 to a page and have the students glue it into their writing journals so they could reference it whenever they needed " ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Excellent, organized, highly-engaging plans!" You will also LOVE these resources: Any Time Opinion Writing January Writing Prompts All Genres 12 Days of Winter Activities Groundhog Day No Prep See the holiday opinion writing pack HERE. Follow me HERE for notifications of new products and sales. Remember new products are always 50% off the first 24 hours! Questions? Email me directly HERE.

I made a lot of mistakes trying to teach students how to T.H.I.N.K before they speak, but I finally landed on the perfect lesson!

Kindness Quilt: "Rules" in Preschool from the Child's Perspective at RainbowsWithinReach

Are you looking for free printable worksheets for autism? Or how about free American Sign Language printables? While it may not have been the initial primary focus, one of the focuses has always been to

The first lego math activity is all over the blogging world so it is nothing new. You just find lego pieces and create simple addition/subtr...

This free shape game comes in two levels of difficulty - perfect for kids in kindergarten and first grade!

One impossibly hot summer afternoon, Nico and I decided to go outside to play. We don't have a fan in the living room/play area, so we roamed into the side yard hoping to catch a breeze. After watching Nico sweat it out for a few minutes, a brilliant idea occurred to me. I could turn the broiling day into a teachable moment! Nico already knew it was hot, he told me as much several times in both English and Spanish, so I came up with a fun way to cool him off without leaving the house and without wasting too much water. I went inside and grabbed a milk carton that I had been saving for a spontaneous craft, and using scissors, a sharpie, and a stapler, I turned it into a "watering can" and a "water house"! It's okay if the pitcher has holes in it! The point is for the little one to see and feel the water fall out The hole in the front is so that water can been seen going through the carton The flap on the side is so that the toddler can see the water pouring off onto the ground Once our supplies were assembled, I went inside and gathered water from the sink into a large pitcher. That's when the real fun began! Nico learned about pouring water, and that though it is tangible, it cannot be grabbed, only felt and contained. Of course I wasn't trying to explain those complicated concepts to my 23mo, he was content to figure it out in his own way. Please excuse his naked lower half, we are still potty training =) He also learned that some things sink in water, while other things float, and that if you put enough force on an object in the water, you can push it to the bottom. By the end of our little experiment, he was cooled down and soaked! He ended up running free in his birthday suit without a care in the world, and the hot hot sun was long forgotten! It was just another day of trying to keep my Gummy Bear from melting!

Teach addition with regrouping (carrying) with a hands-on LEGO math activity! Print the free activity pages and addition problem cards.

An educational blog hosted by a collaborative group of teacher-authors hoping to share creative and colorful ideas and activities from our classrooms!

Dollar Store quiet bin ideas. Use quiet bins at home or in your preschool classroom to manage transitions or create calm and restful times in your day.

Pictograph by Marta Ray

These 40+ free STEM websites: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are for grades 6-12; middle school and high school. Hands on science

We're learning about 3-D shapes this week. I began by briefly introducing a sphere, cube, cone, and cylinder by holding each one up and telling them the name. Then we began talking about the parts that are found on a solid shape: a face, an edge, and a vertex. I made this anchor chart to help them remember the parts. It has taken us all week to remember the words vertex and vertices. I had one sweetie that remembered regurgitate from studying about penguins and combined it with vertices for "vertitate" and one that called a vertex a Veggie Tale. At least he made the connection that they both started with the letter v. Hehe! I'm really trying to teach them the correct math vocabulary terms and get them to use them more frequently this year than ever before in hopes of helping them become better able to communicate their math thinking. Today we zoned our focus on identifying a cube and composing a cube. Students got to work with a partner and each one got a tray with the materials they needed to build a cube (12 toothpicks and 8 balls of play-doh and a small cube for reference) and they got busy. I thought about leading them through the process step by step and decided to see if they would be able to do it with their partner's help. And I'm so glad I did! Instead of focusing on following step by step directions that I would have been giving them, they used those little brains and figured it out all by themselves or with the help of their friends. Then the play-doh balls started falling apart so the cubes started falling over and the kids started falling out! Thank goodness we had some marshmallows on hand to calm the situation. I think I'll use modeling clay next time to prevent any collapses of the cubes. I had students put stickers on each edge (toothpick). I gave them a small sheet of paper and had them take the stickers off and place them on the paper and count them to see how many edges their cubes had. We also counted the vertices (marshmallows) and faces and recorded how many on our anchor chart of 3-D shapes. We will be adding to our chart and finishing up our unit next week.

One of the best things we can do as believers is walk through the 5 Steps of Repentance with the Lord and with others! I know you’re thinking, whoa. Repentance is a big word, Jules. What kid is going to understand that? It might be a big word, but it has a pretty simple definition. […]

Sensory activities are especially important for deaf children to help them to develop on their hearing as well as all the other senses.

Teaching 2-D shapes is probably my most favourite math strand!I love making it interactive and hands-on for my students. Provocations are scattered throughout my classroom - this is a simple and easy

Rainbow Soap Foam Bubbles Sensory Play