The Best of 2013

The new year is here!  Traditionally, radio stations and television shows prepare a list of the most important news stories and/or best songs of the past year.   In that same vein, Stephanie @ Principal's Principles, has created a linky party of the best pins of 2013.  Fun! 

Here are my top 5 Pinterest pins:

I love Pinterest and it has shown me some love right back.  Such an awesome site!  What are your 5 best pins of 2013?

Happy New Year!  And, happy pinning!

I'd love it if you followed me on Pinterest!  

Winter Break Readiness

Before you start your winter break, though, make it a true break from your teaching duties by planning for January now.  You want to start the new year refreshed and prepared.  I'd like to help you do that. 

For years, I've been creating and utilizing centers for elementary students.  Let my work make your life easier. You need literacy centers.  Check these out:

Whether you teach The Mitten or not, this center is perfect for primary classrooms.  It's foci are initial consonant blends and rhyming words.  Your students will manipulate the 18 mitten cards to find 9 pairs of mittens.  Naturally, you can choose to use fewer cards if that is more appropriate to your class.  This center also has a recording sheet for your convenience.  

 

For older students, try Friendly Frog's Leap Frog Game.  

This center requires students to determine the number of syllables in words that pertain to frogs, bogs, and logs. They move their game pieces as many places as their word has syllables.  The center has a game board, 54 word or action cards, 6 game pieces, file folder labels. 

In the spirit of the season, I am planning several FLASH FREEBIES this week.  The above centers might be among the gifts I offer.  Check my facebook page for announcements of the flash freebies.  

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:

  

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.  

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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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!

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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