LOTS of Spring Activities, Fun Photos, and a FREEBIE!

While many of you out there are thinking more along the lines of SUMMER BREAK - maybe your vacation has even started already... lucky you! - our school is still thinking Spring, or at least I am.  We are on a non-traditional year-round schedule, so our last day of school is not until June 20th.  Anyway, I have LOTS of photos and ideas for some fun Spring activities to share with you today!

 

You may have read in the past about the calendars that my two First Grade groups work on each month.  I love having the kids do these because they incorporate numbers, writing, art, discussion, and the calendar concept.  Here are the calendars that we created for the month of March:

 

 

My kiddos also had the option of creating a bird (with their handprints as the bird wings) or a kite, if they chose not to create an Easter basket.

 

As always, the students had to respond (verbally and through writing and illustrating) to the following question, "What can we do this month?"  The actual calendars are glued at the bottom.

 

 

This was my May example.  You can see how we always highlight holidays, birthdays, and special events that are going on at our school.

 

 

I wanted my students to create Spring scenes as their artwork for the month of May, but there was NO WAY I was going to take the time to cut out these little pieces and there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I was going to waste valuable learning time having the kids cut out all those pieces, soooo...

 

I contacted the Production Center at our district office building!  Do you have something like this in your school district?  They will cut out designs and letters, laminate, bind books, etc. all for a minimal fee.  Such lifesavors, they are!  And they are FAST!  I sent them an e-mail and in a matter of a few days, these arrived in my mailbox.  How easy is that!?

 

 

I was able to get all of these for a little over $3.00!!

 

 

Here is a close-up of one, but I am sure you get the picture:

 

 

Creative minds at work!  I love providing my students with opportunities to use their artistic sides, but yet not taking up too much of our valuable time doing so.

 

 Here are some of their Spring scene creations: 

 

 

 

Almost all of my groups participated in some sort of Easter egg hunt.  I couldn't just let the kids "have fun"... I tied the activity to academics.  (What a mean teacher, I am!  Hehe.)  My intermediate kids, who are reading chapter books, found eggs that had questions inside about the stories they are reading.  They, of course, had to write the answers on a provided recording sheet, after the hunt was over.  My primary kids found eggs that had high frequency words, questions about books we had read recently, etc. depending on their needs.

 

 

You would think the egg hunt would go rather quickly, given the fact that I teach in a small room... but it took them longer than I anticipated to find all the egss.  Some of them seemed to be lost for good!

 

In the 4K classroom, we were learning about how living things grow and change.  One week, we focused on gardens, plants, and flowers.  We read the book, I'm a Seed, by Jean Marzollo (super cute book)!

 

 

Then, I partnered up the kiddos and gave each set of partners a little baby food container that held various types of seeds:  corn, watermelon, sunflower, pumpkin, peas, etc. 

 

 

I just bought the packets of seeds at Wal-Mart for a buck each.  The plastic containers are Gerber baby food containers that my husband so kindly washes for me, after my baby boy is done eating.  :)  My hubby keeps asking me if I need more... really I don't, but I just cannot stand the thought of recycling them. 

I instructed the kids to sort the seeds into groups, any way they liked.  But I told them they had to EXPLAIN to me how they sorted.  Hard at work!  I just love this sight!  :)

 

 

A group of my Second Grade students read the following books for Earth Day:

 

 

(Todd Parr is one of my very FAVORITE children's book authors and illustrators!!  His illustrations are colorful, simple, and clean.  His words are easy-to-comprehend, yet powerful.  I highly recommend any and all of his books!)

 

 

I found this one by accident at Barnes and Noble.  Once I started skimming the pages, I knew I had to have it!!

 

Then, the students wrote about ways they can help the Earth.  I required them to include an opening, 3 support statements, a closing, and temporal words.

 

We glued their writing pieces to green construction paper.  They made a green handprint on light blue paper (to represent the land and water on Earth) and sprinkled it with glitter.  Finally, we took their photos as though they were holding the Earth, cut them out, and glued them accordingly.

 

Here are some close-up shots of their work:

 

 

(The Earth is heavy!!  What a hoot, she is!)

 

(Or maybe it's not such a challenge to hold.  This guy is taking a nap!)



 

We also went outside one day, so the students could write about what they saw, heard, smelled, and touched outdoors.  They love any reason to go outside; I love any way I can get them excited about writing.  :)  Oh yeah, and anytime students get to use a clipboard...that really gets them geeked!

 

 

 (Random side note:  Do you see the yellow and blue playground set?  Along with several very generous donations, our students raised money to purchase that set!  Our staff is currently looking into ways to raise money for phase 2 of the playground.  If you have any great ideas, please share!  I would so appreciate it!)

 

So I have a group of primary kiddos (1 Kindergarten, 3 First Grade) that are pretty low, in terms of their English language acquisition (though they have made awesome gains this year).  Academically speaking, each of them is quite high.  But we focus quite a bit on vocabulary and the 4 domains: speaking, listening, reading, and writing in the English language.  All the activities they have been doing are tied into our "Spring" theme in one way or another.  So we had to build that Spring vocabulary.  We started with a Word Wall.

 

 

We created booklets, in which they had to read the vocabulary word, say a sentence using that word, write the sentence, then illustrate the sentence.  This took several of our sessions together, but it was totally worth it and the boys really loved making their booklets.

 

Recently, the kiddos participated in a vocabulary review using technology - iPads... and boy were they ever excited!  (Our school is quite fortunate because we have an entire class set of iPads.  We do have to share with the whole school, but our school is kind of small, so getting our hands on them is not that difficult.)

 

 

Are you familiar with QR Codes?  If not, I recommend checking out QR Stuff.  It is a free, easy-to-use, pretty self-explanatory website for creating, downloading, saving, and printing QR codes.

 

 

I created 12 QR codes for 12 of our Spring vocabulary words.  Then, I printed them, cut them out, and taped them around our classroom.  I also stuck a number card next to each QR code.

 

First, we discussed my expectations for iPad usage:  1) Only use the iPad in the way that Mrs. Unger is instructing you to do.  In other words, they were not allowed to poke around on other apps...stay on task.  2)  Use the iPad with care.  We talked about things to do and NOT do with the iPads.

 

 

Then, I gave each of my kiddos a recording sheet and explained the directions.  Their job was to hunt for QR codes, scan the code, verbally identify the picture that popped up, go back to the table (I teach in a very small room, otherwise I would give the kids clipboards to write on), read the word that matched the picture, then write the corresponding number in the circle next to the word.

 

By the way, the name of the app on our iPads that we use to scan QR codes is "Scan."

 

 

If you would like to snag a copy of this FREEBIE to use in your own classroom, please visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking HERE!

 

(The green scallop frame was a generous freebie from Kyp McLaren.)

 

So this was my first experience trying out QR codes and it went over REALLY well!  The activity was easy-peezy to set up, the kids LOVED it, they were using technology, and the kids were able to get up and move around, while reviewing vocabulary.

I have a group of 1st graders who also spied the QR codes taped around the room.  When the kids asked what they were and I explained, they also wanted to partake in the fun.  This group did not need help on Spring vocabulary, nor was that something they had been working on, BUT I just could not resist allowing them to have a little fun with the iPads, too.  (Next time I will be better prepared and have a QR Code Hunt ready that aligns with what they are learning and doing.)

Anyway, back to my Kindergarten / First Grade group of ELLs that was working on Spring vocabulary... here is another review activity that we did the other day.  This was a listening activity.

 

 

First, I had the kids start at the table, standing with their hands on the table.

 

Then, I gave clues by describing a Spring object / one of our vocabulary words.  The boys then had to walk around the classroom until the found the corresponding picture laying on the floor.  I had told them to stand on our around the picture, but they decided a group hug seemed more appropriate.  ;)

 

 

 I really liked doing this activity with them because it was easy to set up, it was quick to implement, it focused on one of the 4 ELL domains (listening), the kids were up and moving, and it was a fun way to review our vocabulary again.

 

 

 This 1st Grade / Kindergarten group read Spring-themed poetry.  I assigned each of them a different poem, based on their reading levels.  They practiced independently and with the teacher before reading it aloud to the small group.  They were so proud of them themselves when they were able to read them in front of the group!

 

 

 I had planned to work on acrostic poems with a group of my 2nd grade students, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this book in our school library!  We started off by reading this mentor text.

 

 

Then, we created an anchor chart of Spring-related words.  My intent was for the students to use this (along with our Spring-themed Word Wall) when they got stuck coming up with sentences that started with the letters in their chosen Spring word.

 

Next, the students chose a Spring word and got to work.  I have to be honest... I was expecting to have to provide LOTS of support with this activity (I thought it would be challenging for them to come up with sentences that started with a certain letter AND related to their chosen word), but these kiddos blew.me.away with their creativity.  They came up with better sentences than I would have ever thought of!

 

(Side note:  I laminated some scrapbook paper and taped them to my door to provide pretty backgrounds behind my students' work.  I really like the way it turned out!  I intend on changing up the scrapbook paper each season.)

 

 Well, I have run out of pictures, so I guess that means I am (finally) done.  I hope you were able to snag a few ideas that you can use in your own classroom.  Have fun!  As always, thank you for stopping by.  :)

 

 



Optimum Organization Linky Party!

Yes, yes, YES!  When I saw that the amazing Kristen and awesome Elizabeth were hosting a Linky Party called "Optimum Organization," I just knew I had to join the fun!  Anyone who knows me knows well that I live for organization...it is what keeps me sane.  Without to-do lists, Post-It Notes, and my computer, I would go absolutely bananas!!  And really I cannot hide it, I LOVE organization!  (Does that make me a nerd?  I think so.  But I'm alright with that.)

My plan is to share with you several organizational "systems" that I use frequently.  None of them are unique or particularly amazing, but they work for me and my hope is that you might pick up a organization strategy or two.

(Update:  Yeah, so I started this blog post on Monday and here I am, almost a week later, finally finishing it up.  Such is life!)

1 - Post-It Notes:  No joke, I do not go anywhere without them.  You just never know when you are going to need to write something down.  For example, if I run into my principal in the hallway and he asks me to do something, but I am on my way to teach a class, I can simply write myself a reminder and then I do not have to worry about remembering the task.  I like that you can stick the notes where they are needed and you can rip them up when the task is done - man, do I LOVE that feeling of accomplishment when I rip that little paper in half!

2 - Photos Embedded Into Lesson Plans:  I am mostly definitely a visual learner and I know I do not stand alone in this.  This year, my first year as an ESL teacher, I have been handwriting my lesson plans.  Long story short, what I can do with students in a 30 minute (or less) period of time is minimal and, therefore, I do not need to write much.  Furthermore, my lessons depend greatly on the needs of my English Language Learners.

 

However, prior to ESL, I typed my Kindergarten lesson plans.  Anytime my students would create something or if I got a great idea from Pinterest, I would actually copy and paste a photo of it directly into my lesson plans.  This helped me SO much, especially when I would pull up my lesson from the previous year and try to remember what we did.

 

 

(See the picture of the raccoon paper bag puppet?  We made those after reading "The Kissing Hand.")

 

3 - Days of the Week Bins:  I have been using these bins for a couple of years now.  I used to put photocopies AND books in them, but my copies were getting crushed and the bins were overflowing, so now I only put papers in them.  (I put my books that I am using for the week in seperate bins.)

 

 

I bought the bins in the dollar bins at Target (though I think they were a bit more than a dollar) and I used foam stickers to write the days of the week on the front.

 

 

4 - Book Organization:  If you did not catch my post about the app called "Booksapp," be sure to read about it HERE!  This app will change your life!!  Okay...well, maybe that is slightly extremely dramatic, but no joke - it is amazing for organizing your books.

 

Another tip:  Organize the books you use for teaching purposes by topic by sticking rulers (or other stick-like objects you have laying around) between each topic.  As you can see by the date at the bottom, this picture is super old - but you get what I mean.

 

 

5 - Keep Your Cabinets Clean:  Yes, this is something I am striving to do myself.  It has been an ongoing project for me this year.  Here is something I just did this week...

 

 

This was a Pinterest idea - shocking, I know!  I poured my tubes of glitter (which the kids were dumping all over their projects) into small salt and pepper shakers.  I found them at a local odds and ends store called "Nelsons" for $2.19...each - which was more than I wanted to pay, BUT I am glad to have my glitter more organized and easier for the kiddos to use.

 

 

Side note:  I love to reuse.  Do you have any creative ideas for how I can reuse these leftover plastic glitter tubes??

 

I am totally bummed as I had taken a bunch of pictures this week and left my school camera in my classroom!  Oh well.  I guess I will have to write another blog post again soon.  :)  As always, thank you for stopping by!

 

 

Flat Stanley, Photos, and a FREEBIE!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mommies out there!  It is midnight here in Wisconsin, so I am officially beginning my very first Mother's Day celebration (which, apparently, involves taking some "me" time to blog).  :)

 

Throughout this school year (my first year as an ESL teacher), I have found it extremely challenging to keep my lessons cohesive.  After all, I see most of my students only a few times a week in small groups for about 30 minutes.  Then, you throw in intersessions (our school is on a year-round schedule), holidays, early release days, professional development days, sick days (on my end), absentees, etc.  It can be quite difficult to keep everything "glued" together!

 

Something that has been working though, specifically with my intermediate groups, are chapter books.  In the Fall, I browsed our school library for chapter books that I figured would be interesting for the students and appropriate for their reading comprehension levels (I read aloud to my English Language Learners).  Oh yeah, and I looked for books with SHORT chapters!  (Did I mention I have limited time with my groups?)  Nearly every session, we read a little bit of our chapter book.  That way, we all have common background knowledge that we can move forward with in order to engage in activities that meet our district standards.

 

 

 

One of my 3rd grade groups (that I only get to see twice a week) is finishing up the second book in the Flat Stanley series.  Earlier in the year, we learned about "Fact and Opinion," tying it all in with the story.  We also created our own Flat Selves and wrote letters to some friends in Australia.  A few weeks back, we received a special package in return!  My students were pretty darn excited, to say the least.  :)

 

 

 

Our Australian friends asked us to take their Aussie Stanley on a tour around our school and snap some photos that we could share with them, so we grabbed my camera and off we went!

 

 

 

 

So now these awesome kiddos are working on the following Common Core Standard:

 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3a Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3b Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3c Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3d Provide a sense of closure.

I created a simple graphic organizer to help them brainstorm ideas and get started.  (Side note:  Our Reading / Writing Coordinator for our school district visited our schoon on Friday in order to do a Writing PD.  She emphasized the use of graphic organizers as a pre-writing tool.  Yay!  Don't you just love when you are told to do something you are already doing!?)  Anyway, if you would like to grab this FREEBIE to use in your classroom, please click HERE to visit my TPT store.  (P.S. - I always appreciate comments on my always free products.)

 



Are you interested in finding a school across the nation or even across the globe, so that your class can also take part in the Flat Stanley project?  This is the place to go:  Flat Stanley!

 

Okay, I am off to bed.  Enjoy what is left of the weekend!  As always, thank you for stopping by my little blog.  :)

 



Most Amazing FREE App...EVER!!

So, I cannot hide it - I was TOTALLY excited to log on to my blog this evening and find that it has reached 200 followers!  Yippee!  (Yeah, yeah, I know that's nothing compared to so many of you out there, but it makes me feel special.)  Thank you to those of you who take the time to read my posts...that I randomly write, hehe.  :)

 

Anyway, I have 1.5 hours to post something new before April officially concludes.  One of my New Years resolutions was to blog at least once a month and I was doing well...until April came around.  So here it goes!

 

 

There are many things I would love to share with you right now, but the one I am probably most excited about is a new app that I recently came across called "booksapp."  You can click HERE to read more about the app on its website.  There is also an introductory video for those visual learners out there.  (Apparently, there is also a "booksapp2," but my phone does not seem to have that version.)  It is an app for your phone that allows you to very easily and quickly organize a list of your classroom library and/or personal collection of books.  There are so many AMAZING features about this app, but I will share my favorites:

 

1 - The app is on your phone, so you can access it anywhere...school, home, Barnes and Noble...you name it!

 

 

(This is what the "home" screen looks like...very simple.)

2 - The app does all the work for you!  Seriously...it has a built in scanner and all you have to do is scan the bar code on that back and all the information for the book pops up, including the title, author, publisher, number of pages, the dimensions of the book, a picture of the front cover...anything you can think of!

 

 

3 - You can tag each book by subject area.  Now this part I LOVE!  So when I am unit planning and I am wondering, "What books do I have that teach...say...numbers 1 through 10?"  I can go to the subject area that I have called "Numbers" and all my number books will pull up.  A-MA-ZING, I tell you.

 

 

(These are some of the subject areas I have created so far.  Haha!  Nevermind my reflection in the phone.)

 

4 - Do you lose track of what books you own?  I sure do.  I often find myself browsing at Half Price Books, spy a favorite book, and then ask myself, "Do I have this book already?"  You can type in the title of a book in the search or "filter" feature and it will let you know if you have that book or not.

 

 

(This is my book list so far.  I have lots of books to scan yet!  Do you see that white rectangle at the top?  If your eyes are good, you might even be able to read "Filter" inside the box.  Anyway, that is where you search for books.)



 

5 - Do you see that link that says "Lend book" in blue?  If you borrow a book out to someone, there is a feature on this app to make a note of that.  Someone was definitely thinking here!!

 





 

 

6 - It is 100% FREE!!

 

Seriously...I am in love!  <3

 

Okay, one more random picture.  Last month, I wrote about some things I was doing for Spring Open House and I talked about the raffle I was having for kids who showed up with their parents.  I noted that one of the prizes was a t-shirt that said, "Proud Student of Janes Elementary School."  Well, that cool t-shirt now has an owner and I asked him if we could take a picture together.  This kid is a superstar for sure...I wish every teacher had a kiddo like this guy in their class.  :)  (If only I could show his sweet face...)

 

 

And I am done...with 1 hour to spare.  ;)  As always, thanks for stopping by.