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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Holiday Ebook from TpT


There’s “snow” time like the present to grab your FREE copies of the 2013 Winter Holidays Tips & Freebies Ebooks from TpT!

For the 3rd year, some of the most wonderful TpT teacher-authors have generously given their time and talents to compiling and editing ebooks filled with tips for teaching during the days of December and providing links to FREE resources.  Each book is composed of gifts for you from 50 teacher-authors.

There are 4 books, delineated by grade levels.  Click on the thumbnails below to get the ebook(s) of your choice. 








A huge thank you goes out to the editors: Krissy Miner, Hilary Lewis, Rachel Lynette, and Addie Williams.

BTW, I am honored to be included in the Grades 3-6 ebook.  I hope you will check out my tip and FREEBIE on page 14 of that book.

Happy holidays everyone!


 Other December resources:

  


Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!


     May your stuffing be tasty.
     May your turkey be plump.
     May your potatoes n gravy have nary a lump.
     May your yams be delicious,
     May your pies take the prize.
     May your Thanksgiving dinner                     
     Stay off of your thighs.

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with family, fun, and many, many blessings.



P.S.  It's about time, teachers, for the annual TpT Cyber Mon. & Tues. sale. Everything in my store will be 28% off with coupon code CYBER.  

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month.   Celebrating their heritage with my students is something I look forward to each November.


Legends are inherent in any study of the Native American culture.  Thus, I begin by sharing picture books that are based on such legends.  Here are some of my favorites:


Perhaps my uber favorites are:



After reading The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, my 3rd & 4th graders research other wildflowers in the computer lab. They choose one for their own legend, telling how the wildflower came to be.  


My 1st & 2nd graders focus on winter counts and skin stories. After sharing pictures of actual winter counts, we compose a skin story together.  I display picture dictionaries of Native American symbols and we collaborate on how to "tell" our story using the symbols. Then we prepare a "skin" using a paper grocery bag or construction paper.  Tear the corners and sides to mimic the shape of an animal skin. In an effort to be more authentic, we record the story on our skin by writing in an oval that expands outward.
This is a collaborative story by a group of 1st graders.  2nd graders can do this independently.

The vocabulary of the Native American culture is often foreign to my charges.  Thus, I have created several literacy center activities that allow the students to work with the vocabulary while practicing skills aligned with the CCSS.  
This one requires students to put the words in alphabetical order, using up to the 2nd letter.


This one asks students to sort the nouns cards into piles of people, places, or things.

For more activities to extend The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, check out my thematic unit.  It is available on TpT and TN.










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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

A Poem for Veterans' Day

It's about time for Veterans' Day, teachers! That means it's about time for a poem.  And, of course, some activities to go with it.





You could also challenge your students' detective skills.  Since this poem is replete with polysyllabic words, ask them to find all the 3 syllable words, 4 syllable words, etc.  Put this poem in a literacy center and direct your students to find and list all the homophones and their alternate spellings.


The poem and possibilities are found in my unit, Poetry Possibilities -- Fall.

Thank you, Veterans!


Sunday, October 27, 2013

Family Reading Night

At my school, we have Family Reading Night in which families return to school in the evening. They are encouraged to visit up to 3 rooms where guest readers are sharing some favorite books. Our committee works hard to find some local celebrities to read.  We implore radio personalities, the weather girl on the local TV station, a player or coach from the U of I's athletic teams, ...
Ironically, the most popular reader is always the retired kindergarten teacher who touched so many of our children's lives and invoked their love of literature.

One of my favorite activities for Family Reading Night incorporates my passion for poetry.  I share the following poem with my students:



I love to challenge my kiddos' creativity while helping them focus on the /ook/ rime.  To that end, I point out the lines,
          "Chefs read cookbooks,
          Pirates?  'Hook' books!
          Little kids read lift-and-look books!"
Working together, we think up other "-ook" books and readers.  For example, fishermen read bait and hook books.  Or, Chess players read rook books.  My students never fail to amaze me with the lines they create.   The all-time favorite line came from a student who had just returned from vacation in the Pacific NW.  Her line was "[Native Americans] read Chinook books."  (I inserted the pc term; she actually said, "Indians.")  How amazing is that???


If you are looking for a set of books that promote reading and a love of literature, I recommend the following:


  • Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco
  • The School Mouse by Dick King-Smith
  • Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
  • Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
  • Born to Read by Judy Sierra
  • Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr
  • The Best Book to Read by Debbie Bertram & Susan Bloom
  • The Best Place to Read by Debbie Bertram & Susan Bloom
  • The Best Time to Read by Debbie Bertram & Susan Bloom
  • Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) by Barbara Bottner

If you like this poem and activity, you can find more fall poetry, teaching points, skill lessons, and activities in my product, Poetry Possibilities - Fall.



It is available in my TpT Store or in my TN Shop.




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Monday, October 21, 2013

Halloween Boggle Board

A few weeks ago, I posted about the brilliance of Boggle boards that are sweeping into school rooms everywhere.  I love, love, love them!  Then, as I was cleaning out some old files, I discovered that way back when I was first teaching (a few decades ago), I made a bulletin board for Halloween that was a predecessor to the Boggle boards. 



That's how we did it back in the day ... construction paper, markers, and free hand drawings. Nevertheless, my students had fun identifying the holiday words on my Jack-o'-lantern. 

Fast forward to the 21st century and the wonders of desk top publishing.  Although my new version is not exactly like the Boggle boards I admire, it works the same way; words can bend and turn at will.  There are at least 35 seasonal vocabulary words included. 

You can treat yourself to this FREEBIE by going to my TPT Store.


Until next time...



You may also be interested in these Halloween products:




    

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Critical Thinking & CCSS -- Are They Compatible?

Way back in 1983, the National Commission of Excellence in Education described the U.S. as a “nation at risk.”  That report fostered an opinion that American students, and by extension, American education, were deficient.  The NCEE findings further explained that the demise could be attributed to a failure of education to foster critical thinking.  Predictably, critical thinking became a buzzword in education.

Picture the one room schoolhouse a century ago, presided over by a ruler wielding marm who imparted information and content.  That wisdom was returned by rote.  Students were passive receptacles who dutifully practiced their times tables on slates.



Fast forward to the 1980s when that NCEE report shocked a nation.   There was an immediate focus on providing critical thinking skills to active learners.  The shift to knowing how to think versus rote recall was dramatic.  Starting in kindergarten, teachers began asking open ended questions, encouraging collaborative problem solving, and allowing children to make decisions.  
 


Now, in the 21st century we have a new buzzword: CCSS.  Over and over, I have heard elementary teachers complain that strict adherence to the Common Core State Standards has supplanted the creativity that was a hallmark of early education and limits the opportunities to teach children how to think.  I wonder if the sense of urgency the CCSS imparts precludes the chances to encourage students to be problem solvers.  Is strict adherence to timelines robbing our students of time to learn critical thinking?  Are they mutually exclusive?  What do you think?



You may be interested in these critical thinking products in my TPT Store: