Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom. Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher. Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection. Day 1 To begin, I asked my students to write any name they wish they had on a sticky note. They then placed it in a mason jar. I read my class the story "The Name Jar" by Yansook Choi. We stopped at several points in the story to predict, make connections, infer, and ask questions. At one point, we paused in the story so that students could journal about the name they wrote down on the sticky note earlier: - Did they choose their own name? Or another? - Why? - If you chose another name, where did you hear that name before? Day 2 At the end of Day 1, students were given homework. (Stick around to the bottom of this post for a chance to get your own copy of this sheet.) I make it very clear, that while names all have meanings, your family may not have chosen your name for that reason. They might not know the meaning, and you can choose to look it up with your family if you wish. I also focus a lot on nicknames and your own feelings about your name. While I've never taught a student in foster care, or one who was adopted, I do think it's important to mention that this could be a touchy task in those situations, so be sure to know your students first, and modify as needed. Students use the homework task, and the journal write from the previous day, to write "The Story of their Name". Some possible options to include are: - who you are named after - the meaning of your name - a name you'd rather have - your feelings toward your name - nicknames you may have - the person (or people) who chose your name - how your name was chosen This piece of writing is then self, peer, and teacher edited, and a "good" copy is made. Day 3 I found this excellent step-by-step self-portrait from "Art Projects for Kids". I modified the task so that instead of drawing the left or right side of their face, they would draw the top half. Students find that folding their page into quadrants as she suggests is very helpful. Under the document camera I demonstrate each step, and students copy, adapting to their own facial features. Each student gets a mirror to look in to help them personalize. The final pieces are put on a bulletin board for display. Students also coloured in a bubble letter version of their names to complete the display. (I used the font KG Red Hands Outline for this.) Day 4 Once we've completed the task, the last job is to reflect on our work. I pulled some elements from our Arts Education curriculum (very relevant regardless of where you teach) for students to self-assess on. I've used the proficiency scale language our school has moved to for all reporting. A few students found it helpful to complete their reflection while looking at the finished product on their bulletin board, but most didn't need this. Want a copy of both my homework and reflection pages? Follow the image or button below to grab your copy. Take Me to the Free Download Pin this post.
In today's post, I'll share ideas for teaching inferring through a gradual release of responsibility. Make sure to read all the way through the post, because there are several different freebies you can download and use right away!
Dive into the world of literacy centers and unleash their full potential with insights from the science of reading!
Reading patterns for a macrame project can be very confusing. Today I'm sharing 19 macrame terms for beginners you need to know.
Effective ELL teaching strategies with our top 10 tips to support Level 1 students. Includes a free resource to help newcomers...
10 significant reasons to read aloud to students on a
A couple of weeks ago, my 1st and 2nd grader did some work on 2D and 3D shapes. You might remember our shape assessment page. Today, I’m sharing some of the quadrilateral activity pages we did together. *This post contains affiliate links. **The free download can be found at the END of this post. Just look ... Read More about Quadrilateral Activity Pages {FREE!}
Today I wanted to share about about using 7-Up to introduce new vocabulary. This is a quick and material-free way to engage students with words they are learning! When introducing a new word to students, our school follows Jan Richardson’s method. Then, we throw in a little 7-Up twist. It looks something like this –...
Today I'm sharing 25+ beautiful silhouette images. These are some of my favorites, and silhouettes are perfect for so many holiday crafts, like cards
Are you looking for tips and tricks for working with partners in the classroom classroom? Read on to learn all the hacks!
Back when I was a student, there is only one vocabulary activity I can ever remember doing in class or for homework. It was looking up the word in the dictionary, writing the definition, and using the word in a sentence. I can recall this assignment itself (probably because of the sheer number of times I had to do it), but ask me how many of those actual words I am able to remember. Couldn’t tell you a single one, to be honest!
Vocabulary instruction is so critical in today’s classroom! A vast vocabulary will help students to become better readers and writers. Vocabulary is also essential to their performance on standardized tests. Helping kids to develop their vocabulary is time that is well spent in a busy classroom. I have developed a routine to teach new vocabulary
I am so excited to launch my first "series" of blog posts! It's making me feel all grown-up and blogger-like :)My first series is going to be on increasing student engagement in the classroom. Over
What is unschooling? Why should you do it? How do you do it? What should you read? We’ll talk about all that today and give you resources to help you start.
Use these Chrysanthemum name activities, name graph and name crafts to practice and compare names in preschool and kindergarten!
A collections of ESL worksheets to teach directions / giving directions in English. Download and use in class today!
Today, I had arranged for our Region to go to The Hyde Collection, a gem of a museum. We toured the special exhibition, The Late Drawings of Andy Warhol, as well as a selection of work by Winslow Homer. Most of his drawings were traced from an overhead projector, which sparked some interesting conversation about the nature of art. This has been on my mind lately, due to some wonderful lines in a book I've been reading. (But I'll save that for another post. This post is about screen printing.) But anyhoo - no photos were allowed in the gallery, so I can't share the exhibit with you (though we were allowed to pose with Andy). After our tour of the exhibit, we went to the art room for a screen printing activity. I had no idea what to expect, and doubted it would be something that would work well with kids. I was WRONG. It was easy! We started by cutting a quickie stencil on freezer paper. (Is that what it's called? I'm drawing a blank.) It's waxy on one side. We didn't pre-draw at all. We cut with stencil knives, scissors and hole punches. Hmm, I don't recall this step of the process (below) being demonstrated to us... Then our stencils were ironed, waxy side down, onto a piece of thin fabric (not real silk, I'm sure... just polyester). We spent a little time at lunch afterward discussing a number of alternatives to the iron, such spray glue, or making the stencil from sticky contact paper. I'll have to try it out. Here's a museum educator ironing someone's stencil. We put our fabric with the attached stencil into an embroidery hoop, so that the stencil side was inside the hoop and the fabric was underneath, if that makes sense. Below is my stencil, ready to use. You can see how thin and light the fabric is. Then we put small dabs of thick acrylic paint onto our stencil. Look at this paint! Isn't it enticing? We squeegeed our design (using scraps of cardboard as squeegees) onto a large piece of mural paper. (Many people also made individual prints to keep.) In the photo on the left below is a museum educator demonstrating. We all quickly jumped into the process. Cool stencil! Below, the almost finished work of art! We are saving it to hang somewhere at our state convention in November. Honestly, the only challenging step was putting the stencil into the embroidery hoop, and in a short period of time we made a great collaborative piece. This idea is definitely a "keeper". I can see potential for it in an elementary or middle art program, and even at the secondary level as a quick introduction to the concept of screen printing. Great workshop! Even Andy thinks so.
I’ve kept my list of wedding invitation fonts tight over the past few years, but today I’m excited to lend a little hand to my wedding stationer friends out there and share the fonts that I believe are the best calligraphy wedding invitation fonts on the market right now!
A three-step process for teaching your students how to identify,
A step-by-step introduction to crochet pattern diagrams. Plus my favorite free and easy crochet stitch charts for beginners.
Hey everybody… I hope your day is going well! :) Today, I’m going to share with you a scalloped potato recipe that will knock your socks off! Now, I will tell you, I grew up on boxed, B…
Are you gearing up for back to school? Don't worry! I'm going to walk you through 4 must dos for the first day of school.
This free printable set of 8 Minecraft bookmarks to color are creative and easy ways to enjoy fun activities with kids.
DESCRIPTIONThese Miffy magnets are a great gift for anyone. An ode to two Dutch icons: Royal Delft and Miffy combined in one Delft Blue magnet. Miffy is reading a gook book on this magnet. Royal Delft magnets are made with a transfer technique. DETAILS- Craftsmanship: Handmade & decorated with a transfer designed by a Royal Delft master painter.- Size: 3"× 2" × 0.4"- Color: Delft Blue- Handmade in Netherlands- From the Nijntje (Miffy) collection About Royal Delft's CraftmanshipRoyal Delft has been creating high-quality Delft Blue since 1653. The craft of painting is at the core of the company, although other decoration techniques have been developed over the years to create high-end earthenware. Carry on reading to discover the two different techniques that Royal Delft uses to this very day to make unique blue and white objects. Transfer TechniqueThe decoration on these products is applied by using a transfer technique that was developed in England in the 18th century. In those days an engraved copper sheet with wet ink was pressed on tissue paper and afterwards the tissue paper was pressed on a ceramic surface. Finally, the ceramics were fired at a low temperature and the decoration appeared on the product. Nowadays the transfer is made with a screen print.
Use these Chrysanthemum name activities, name graph and name crafts to practice and compare names in preschool and kindergarten!
Just because your tomato soup is coming from a can, doesn't mean it can't have a bit of zing! Check out these 5 ways to dress that soup up for a total tomato soup makeover!
Don't know how to read crochet charts? This beginners guide will help you learn the basics & get you confidence to start reading crochet charts. Learn today:
My second grader is doing a little review in math before the end of the year test. So, I created a simple Expanded Form Learning Mat for her to review this skill with three-digit numbers. I’m sharing it with you today. While I don’t share math resources as often, you can find them all here. ... Read More about Expanded Form Learning Mat {Free!}
IEP goal bins will help you keep your students' goals and materials organized so you can focus on what's important: the students.
I didn't have a very hands-on family when I was growing up, so I really enjoyed taking a Home-Ec class when I was in highschool. I learned a few things that I still use today, but I wish I would've had more hands on training in home life skills.
The beginning of the year is always a whirlwind with the first few days of school and Open House/Visitation. Whether you have your Open House/Visitation before school starts, or once the year is already in full swing, it’s still a huge undertaking! Today I’m sharing with you my 5 favorite tips for your Open House ... Read More about Kindergarten Visitation!
Walking the Cinque Terre trails is a must-do whilst you are fit and able. The trails provide a spectacular view of the five villages. Don't miss them.
Are you teaching goal setting to elementary students? These goal setting picture book stories and activities will help you set goals with your students this back to school season. Freebies included!
Looking for an easy science activity? Today I'm excited to share this sink or float free printable. It's fun one that is great for all ages. It can be a quick activity or if you're looking for something to keep them busy this summer, you can add lots of items to "test". There are 2 versions you can download and print for free. One has some suggested items to try out and one is blank. For the blank one you can have the kids gather a bunch of items they want to test out and write them down themselves. For little ones that can't write yet, have them draw the object.
Celebrate apple week with your kindergarten or first grade students with these interactive apple investigation activities!
