Showing posts with label St Patrick's Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Patrick's Day. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2016

Leprechaun Writing, STEM, and Visualization


Another week comes to an end and is time for Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching.


I love St. Patrick's Day.  I'm not even Irish.  I just pretend I am in March because....it's fun.  I have a great time in my classroom doing fun time on learning (ahem) with projects. 

We wrote narratives about a leprechaun that gets loose in our school.  We are learning how to structure and organize our writing. 


We used this anchor chart as a mini-lesson and visual reminder.

narrative writing: tell how a leprechaun got loose in school.

 Didn't they come out cute?
Writing Craftivity to tell about a leprechaun getting loose in school, trick and trap a leprechan blueprint and parent letter, and more.




Click here to check out the writing craftivity included in this product.


This STEM project by Brooke Brown is fabulous!


We had great fun learning experiences, making a wind powered maze using base ten blocks, snap cubes, popsicle sticks, straws, and marbles. 


STEM for March by Brook Brown

In other news, this is certainly newsworthy...


Bentley, our beagle and Jack one of our cats, are lying beside one another. 

Bentley is not chasing.

This is worth posting on the web.

Most days, between the running of dog paws and the screams of a cat it sounds like someone is being murdered in our home.  Lately, things have been calming down more and our furry friends are co-habituating in peace.  For now.



This is what a mess 267 baby photos looks like. I printed them off this week with a 40% off coupon for Walgreens.

I decided it would be a good idea to print all the photos my Dad has of my son so that they are off a device and....on my bedroom floor.

I do plan to put them in an album. Or scrapbook them. But most likely it will be a flip album because I'll get lazy and my husband will say "What are you going to do with all those pictures?" So...

I should also say that my son is now 10 so...

based on the rate I'm going, the flip album option is looking pretty good.


We have been learning about visualization this week as part of our balanced literacy lessons this week.


 visualizing strategies anchor chart

This anchor chart helped my students understand that good readers make a "movie in their mind" when they read.

FREE visualizing strategies

BrainpopJr. has some great videos about visualization, as well.

This is a freebie in my store.


Well folks, that's my week. 

Pray for me I have parent conferences next week. 




Thursday, March 3, 2016

March Pinterest Picks


It's the 3rd of the month already which means we are sharing out top 3 Pinterest picks for the month again. Many thanks to Pawsitively Teaching, Inspired Owl's Corner and Just Reed for hosting. I get so many great ideas from this linky each month so make sure to check out the picks from the other bloggers too!

Here are my picks for March...

 
click on the picture to go to the original pin.
 
This banner is for sale on Etsy (which is where the pin is from) but this banner can easily be made for home or for the classroom.

 
Click on the picture to go to the original pin.
 
This FREE scavenger hunt would be really fun to do at home or at school!
 
 
Click on the picture to go the original pin.
 
My name is Julie and I'm addicted to sweets. Which makes this.....the perfect pin for me.  Yum!


An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Seeing Green

Perhaps it's because I'm Irish but I LOVE St. Patrick's Day!  I love how the holiday seems to come at a time when we desperately need some fun in the classroom amidst assessments and obtaining data for report cards.

I kick off the day each year with a great read aloud: Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute.


The kiddos love having a engineering/craft project for homework.  It cracks me up how they think I am rewarding them when I send this letter home.



We talk about building the traps in class before the note goes home and I show them some examples from Pinterest so they have some ideas.

Then the fun begins!
 


Using a "blueprint" helps students with important pre-planning skills. Students draw and label the materials used to create their trap, as well as a final drawing/map of the trap.  When they complete their traps and return them to school with their blueprints, we share our creations. I love seeing the creativity!

Students also write an informative writing piece on how their trap works.  When I tell you it is a riot....it is just precious!


Another fun writing activity that we enjoy is to imagine that a leprechaun got loose in our school. Some of the responses are a riot!  At this point of the year you can really see the progress in their writing and it begins to have a "voice" so these gems get hung out in the hall! You can get this writing craftivity and project here.

Of course, the leprechaun has to come and create some mischief, right?




The little rascal tips over our chairs, leaves little shamrocks and gold coins all over (Dollar Tree), and even leaves tiny green footprints all around our classroom.  Right next to the window, open a crack, we find this letter.

We also find some treats on our desks! These treat bag toppers are FREE.  Just click the pic to grab 'em!


Happy St. Patrick's Day!





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