This week's lesson is all about making inferences and I'm reading aloud the story, The Koala Who Could by Rachel Bright to practice our inferring skills. You can watch the full video lesson HERE: I'm using this printable to talk more about inferences and what readers do when they infer as they're reading text. To illustrate the concept of making inferences prior to reading the text, I created an "Inferencegram" printable to tell a story. Basically I explain that my mom has given me the task of buying a gift for her friend, but I know NOTHING about her and have no idea what kind of gift she might like. So, I need to INFER what … [Read more...] about The Koala Who Could – A Virtual ELA Lesson
Read Alouds
Charlotte and the Rock – A Virtual ELA Lesson
This week's lesson is all about a little girl named Charlotte and her pet rock. Charlotte and the Rock is a PRECIOUS story...from the storyline to the illustrations and everything in between, this is one of my most favorites. I'm using Charlotte and the Rock to reinforce the concept of making predictions. You can watch the full video lesson HERE: I'll use this printable as a reference for what it means to make a prediction. This printable would be great for your kids to have on hand as you're reading the story. While it can absolutely be used with any book you're reading, we'll use this to make a prediction about Dennis. … [Read more...] about Charlotte and the Rock – A Virtual ELA Lesson
Rot The Cutest in the World – A Virtual ELA Lesson
I love picture books with personality and Rot The Cutest in the World is full of just that! Rot is a story of a mutant potato who isn't short on confidence UNTIL he starts thinking he should be just like everyone else. The story is illustrated so incredibly well and the lesson/theme is perfect for kids of all ages. Rot is great to use as a mentor text for several different concepts & skills (theme, character traits, making predictions, etc.), but for today's ELA lesson we're focusing on Fact & Opinion (with a heavy emphasis on the opinion piece.). Feel free to check out this video to see this lesson from start to … [Read more...] about Rot The Cutest in the World – A Virtual ELA Lesson
25 Reading Activities for Home and School
Encouraging reading at home is a foundational step to instill within your child a lifelong love of reading.  Providing our kids opportunities for reading in any form (whether it be a book, comics, graphic novels, newspapers magazines, recipes, etc.) is critical for establishing a solid foundation.  Reading for the simple pleasure of enjoyment is so important, but if youâre looking for a few ways to extend a reading experience with your child, or students, these ideas might help. Challenge Accepted!Designate a specific number of books to read within a given time frame.  This can be done individually, as a family, etc. Keep a running list … [Read more...] about 25 Reading Activities for Home and School
Onomatpoeia. Say it Three Times Fast!
HA!! That's my little running joke with my firsties. They think this word is SUCH a HOOT!! Cracks me up. Weâve been talking about onomatopoeia words since October-ish. The kids LOVE to tell me when they find one of these sound words when theyâre reading and they sit on pins and needles waiting to say, âI heard an ONOMATOPOEIA!!!!â while Iâm reading to them. I love that theyâre so quick to identify these words without any help. I decided it would be fun to do a little extension to reading activity to reinforce this concept. Since the weather is changing and April showers are on the way, we read this … [Read more...] about Onomatpoeia. Say it Three Times Fast!
Celebrating St. Patâs Day!
The Irish in me is ALL.OVER St. Pattyâs Day!! I LOVE IT!!! I especially love celebrating it with the kids! I donât have many pictures to show you, but with St. Patâs right around the corner, I just wanted to share a few things Iâve done in the past to make it fun for the kids! Hereâs a fun little writing we did today. This is one of my favorites!! You can download the Loopy Leprechaun craft patterns HERE.  First we read this book⌠ Then we talked about luck and feeling lucky. Afterwards, I had the kids write about what makes them feel lucky using the prompt, âI feel lucky whenâŚâ. I got some darling responses! After they were … [Read more...] about Celebrating St. Patâs Day!
Tooth Fairies, Teeth, & Money/Coins
Have you ever wondered what the Tooth Fairy does with all those teeth?!?! We asked ourselves that same question and the kids came up with some pretty clever answers! First, we read a little book⌠And for a little readerâs response, the kids wrote about what they thought the tooth fairies did with their teeth! And they made some cute little scrapbook tooth fairies to go along with their writing. This is probably my favorite thing weâve done to date! I LOVE how they turned out! The kids did pretty much ALL of the work themselves. I showed them an example, but told them they could make their fairies look … [Read more...] about Tooth Fairies, Teeth, & Money/Coins
How Many {Antonym} Feet Do We Meet?!
This week weâve been working on antonyms and the kids are lovinâ it! We started by reading this bookâŚâŚand then we brainstormed a list of opposites. Surprisingly, some of my babies were having a hard time with the concept. So I had to explain to them, âIf something is ______ it canât be _______!!!â After a few go ârounds of that, I sent the kids off to trace their own feet and write a pair antonyms on either one!!I added all the pairs to a big anchor chartâŚThe kids have also been working on their very own little antonym books! Theyâve been keeping these in their book baskets and adding to them every time they have … [Read more...] about How Many {Antonym} Feet Do We Meet?!
Groundhogs & Their Burrows
The kids have loved learning about burrows and how groundhogs dig tunnels. Did you know they dig up to 700 lbs. of dirt when digging their burrows?! WHOA! We talked about burrows and other places animals calls homeâŚdens, lairs, nests, caves, etc. Then I had the kids pretend like they were groundhogs and do a little descriptive writing. First they had to draw their little burrows. CRACKING up that this one has a TV & a bed! HA! Then they had to write a few sentences describing their burrow as if they were a groundhog. Finally, they made a little groundhog. I LOVE this little art piece. It takes all of about 5 seconds to put … [Read more...] about Groundhogs & Their Burrows
Place Value, MLK, and Snowmen!
 Here's a fun little place value activity I made for my kids to do in their math tubs last week. Itâs a snowman place value spinner!  Graphics courtesy of Digi Web Studio  Last week we were working on place value with teen numbers, so thatâs what this particular activity reinforces. The kids spin the spinner on the middle portion of the snowman and collect that amount of ones cubes...or whatever kind of counter you want! Then they spin the spinner on the bottom portion of the snowman and collect the same amount of ones cubes as well. Then they count their cubes and see if they can make a set of ten. I always tell them, âIf you can … [Read more...] about Place Value, MLK, and Snowmen!
Mitten Loads of Fun!
We hit the ground running the first week back from break and it was so nice to be back in a routine. We did a lot of mitten themed activities and the kids loved it! Hope you enjoy them, too!!Of course, we started the week reading The Mitten, by Jan Brett. There was SO much to do with this book!! We created a flow chart to sequence the events, used puppets from the Jan Brett website to retell the story, discussed the story elements using a mitten themed story map, and lots more! {I kept forgetting to charge my camera, so I didnât take many pictures :(}We also read, The Hat by Jan Brett and compared it to The … [Read more...] about Mitten Loads of Fun!
Brown Bag Book Club
Years ago I was lucky enough to attend a Linda Holliman workshop. It.was.AWESOME!! She is such a hoot and her ideas are SO inspiring!!! While she was explaining a few different ideas to us, one of them really got my attention. She talked about how her kids would complete a readers/listening response on a lunch bag and then sheâd fill the bags with popcorn and have the kids partner up and share what they wrote. I LOVED that idea!!! Since Iâm such a big fan of book clubs, I decided to incorporate this idea and turn it into a book clubâŚhence the birth of the âBrown Bag Book Clubâ. YâallâŚmy kids are OBSESSED. And I gotta sayâŚIâm LOVINâ … [Read more...] about Brown Bag Book Club
Happy New Year!
Happy new year, friends! Itâs been a busy week! Isnât the first week back from breakâŚand every week thereafterâŚbusy?! HA! We started the week talking about goals and resolutions. I told the kids my resolution was to be healthier this year {aka: lose about 10 lbs. of holiday weight. MERCY!} I had my kids make goals for themselves either at home or school. They LOVED this activity!! I used the lined paper from a new year template one of the teacherâs on my team gave to us. I found this super fun scrapbook paper and used that to make the hats, glued on a fun little pom pom, and busted out the Dollar Tree party blowers for some sass! … [Read more...] about Happy New Year!
Christmas Catch-Up & Happy New Year!
Itâs been a BUSY holiday, but Iâm back in town and trying to catch up on everything! I know this post is a bit overdue, but just incase you need some ideas for next year, I thought Iâd share a few little things. We read this story. Then we talked about how grown-ups have to go through an application process to get a job. Then I had the kids fill out their own applicationsâŚto apply to be one of Santaâs elves! HA! They were ALL over it! I told them I was sending their applications straight to the North Pole. Iâve never seen such GOOD work!! You can download your application HERE.  We also read this story⌠And then had the kids … [Read more...] about Christmas Catch-Up & Happy New Year!
Reindeer Games
I feel like the 3 weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas break are so RUSHED! Not that Iâm complainingâŚI LOVE breaks :)âŚbut thereâs always so much I want to fit in in such a short amount of time! Last week we started learning about reindeer. Before we continue on with more reindeer fun this week, I wanted to start with some non-fiction reading and fact gathering, so thatâs just what we did! We started out by reading this non-fiction book about reindeer⌠I love reading non-fiction books because my kids just eat it up! Theyâre SO engaged when it comes to learning new facts. Plus, it gives me a chance to teach them about the table of … [Read more...] about Reindeer Games
Happy Grinch Day!
Happy Grinch Day, friends!! Hereâs my sweet team all decked out in our Grinch Day duds. We celebrated âGrinch Dayâ today and the kids got in on all the fun, too!! They came dressed in green and some of our little cuties even painted their faces and sported Cindy Louâs hairstyle. TOO cute! Of course, we started out the day by reading the book⌠ Then we brainstormed a list of adjectives to describe the Grinch⌠{I tried my best to draw him, but not so sure I did him justice. And please excuse the handwriting!} Not so sure that âteethyâ is a word, but my little sweetie who offered it up was just certain that it is!!! She INSISTED we … [Read more...] about Happy Grinch Day!
If Take A Mouse To The Movies
One of my favorite holiday books⌠And thereâs SO much you can do with it! We had a little âIf You Take A Mouse To The Moviesâ day the other day and the kids had so much fun!! Of course, we started out reading the book. After reading, we talked about cause & effect and made a diagram to show the chain of reaction. I also assigned each kiddo to a story event and had them illustrate it. Then we came together as a whole group and I had the kids work together to sequence the events on a giant filmstrip! I really wanted a text to self writing activity, so I gave them the prompt, âIf you take me to the movies, I will ask you for someâŚâ. … [Read more...] about If Take A Mouse To The Movies
Gingerbread & Christmas Stuff
OkayâŚstill SO behindâŚbut here are just a couple of things weâve been working on! Weâre still going strong with fact families, so I had my kids make fact family gifts. They rolled dice to get the numbers to add together for the sum. I also had them roll the dice twice and add those numbers together to practice working with higher numbers. As you can see, they made their own bowsâŚbut real bows would have been a great âadditionâ too! ;)  Speaking of gifts, this is one of my most FAVORITE writing activities. I started doing this my third year of teaching and have been doing it ever since! I think itâs so precious and sweet and really gets … [Read more...] about Gingerbread & Christmas Stuff
If You Sailed On The MayflowerâŚ
Today we celebrated âMayflower Dayâ!! OkayâŚso I made that upâŚbut I thought that sounded pretty fitting for our day today :) We started by reading a non-fiction book about the Mayflower. I canât remember which one, but I checked it out from our school library and it was really good!! It was a great book to review Table of Contents also :) Each âchapterâ was only a page or two long. After each page, we stopped to jot. During our stop to jot time, the kids gave me a few facts they learned from that chapter. We learned a lot of really cool facts!! Did you know that the water was so unsafe to drink that everyone on the MayflowerâŚchildren … [Read more...] about If You Sailed On The MayflowerâŚ
Pilgrim Projects
Our kids are learning about Thanksgiving customs and traditions and weâve REALLY gotten into learning all about the pilgrims. The kids are FASCINATED!! They just canât imagine that little pilgrim boys and girls didnât have DSIâs & American Girl dolls ;) We started learning about pilgrims reading a few realistic fiction & non-fiction books from our library. We really LOVE this one!!! Itâs super informational and itâs got lots of great facts about the Mayflower, pilgrims, and the first Thanksgiving! We learned that life was different for pilgrim boys than girls. We learned a lot of neat facts about little pilgrim boys & … [Read more...] about Pilgrim Projects
A Time For Turkeys
We have been busy this month!! Weâve been learning about a little bit of everything from turkeys, to pilgrims, to the Mayflower. Here are just a couple of little things weâve been doing with turkeysâŚwith LOTS more to come!!! We were working on âlong aâ this week and our chunks were âake, âate, & âave. So I made these fun little word family turkeys and had the kids write words to match each turkey on colorful little feathers! They LOVED it!! I also included a set of turkeys with nothing typed in the belliesâŚ.just incase youâd want to program them yourself :)  We read the book, Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving⌠âŚand followed up with … [Read more...] about A Time For Turkeys
The Thankful Tree
I really love the idea of kids reflecting on what they have to be thankful for. So, we read the book, âThe Thanksgiving Bowlâ by Virginia Kroll. The beginning of the book talks about a sweet Grandma who sets aside a Thanksgiving bowl for her family to place strips of paper detailing what theyâre thankful for, and then all the little papers are read aloud during Thanksgiving dinner. Love it! I thought it was the perfect intro to adding a Thankful Tree to our room :) I have a stack of die cut leaves that sits in a little pumpkin close to my door. Every time one of my kiddos has something to be thankful for, they write it on a leaf and … [Read more...] about The Thankful Tree
Pumpkin Fun For Everyone!
Such a FUN week!!! I absolutely LOVE this time of year!!! We had a pumpkin themed week and we learned SO much!! We started the week out with a pumpkin shaped KWL that the kids helped me fill out. They are SO into non-fiction and loved helping me fill out the âWhat we Learnedâ part of the pumpkin :) {No picsâŚBOO!!} We were working on sequencing this week, so I put a little sequencing activity in the pocket chart & they had to sequence the life cycle of a pumpkin. They loved it! I found the real life pumpkin photos HERE & they matched them to sentences that I typed up on the computer. After they matched the pics to the words … [Read more...] about Pumpkin Fun For Everyone!
Skeleton Hiccups
For a little readerâs response fun, we read this book⌠SO darling! And then we got to problem solving. The kids had to write using the prompt, âI would get rid of a skeletonâs hiccups byâŚâ. Their answers were pretty dang cute! I drew the skeleton face & hips and had a mom cut them out. Then the kids decided how the rest of the skeleton would look! LOVE IT!! My favorite part is how different each of them look. Too dang cute! This might be one of my most favorite writing activities of the yearâŚIâm just sayinâ. Iâve done this for the last 7 years and I always look forward to it!! And the kids love it, too!! … [Read more...] about Skeleton Hiccups
