Pages

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Go Green & Get Groovy {Earth Day Ideas with a Freebie!}

 Earth Day... 
 
National Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22.  This annual day is held to demonstrate support for environmental protection.  In 1970, the first Earth day was celebrated. The movement made people aware and helped to channel human energy toward environmental issues.  Forty-six years later, caring people continue to lead with groundbreaking ideas.  The greatest lesson of the original Earth Day was...It must never be forgotten. 
 
There are many fun ways to celebrate Earth Day in the classroom with your students.  Students want to make a difference and this is a great opportunity for them to do so.  Simply turning your classroom lights out for the day is one fun option.  My students think this is such a fun way to conserve energy for the day!  Showing the video/DVD of The Lorax is always a favorite along with the many fun activities that go along with it.  Writing Earth Poetry on whiteboards or with sidewalk chalk is a way to express the love for our planet.  Another favorite in my classroom is Earth Day Bingo with little plants in compostable cup as prizes. 
 
I have created a fun way for students to channel their inner 1970s hippy for Earth Day!  Students choose their own "Green and Groovy" name with this fun activity.  Much like an Elf Yourself activity, students use the month they were born to discover their Groovy first name and the date they were born as their Groovy last name.  Students draw a Polaroid of their new groovy persona.  A variety of environmental prompts are included so that students can work individually or in groups to come up with responses.  Students can even work their new groovy personas into the stories they create.  With some Sharpie markers, crayons, and colored pencils, the colored Polaroids and stories/prompt responses make a great bulletin board!


 
 
 
 
Here is an Earth Day freebie as well...
 
 
Feel free to swing by my store this weekend - I'm having a sale. :)
 
Have a GROOVY Earth Day!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

A Slice of Pi!


Pi Day is March 14, for all you math fanatics!
 It’s when people around the world celebrate this mathematical symbol. 

Pi represents a constant, which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter—approximately 3.14159.  Pi is helpful when solving geometry problems that involve circles like finding the area of a circle or the circumference of a circle.

Why not do some related activities to celebrate Pi Day? 
 
You and your students can host your own Pi Day party. Have pi-related foods such as fruit pies and pizza pies. You can also tell students to come to Pi Day with a few math questions and everyone can try to solve them using pi. The questions should be geometry related.  Another fun activity is seeing who can memorize as many digits in pi as possible then reciting them to the party or seeing how many digits you can write. In gym classes, or during recess, students can collectively run or walk 3.14 miles!  In your teacher lounge, teachers can bring in assorted pies and enjoy the sweet treats all day long.
 
If you are looking for a fun, minimal prep activity for Pi Day, click on the link below. 

 
Have fun eating some yummy pie!

Monday, November 30, 2015

TpT Cyber Sale!


Get ready for the HUGE TPT sale that will start Monday and run through Tuesday, December 1st!!! My ENTIRE TPT store will be 20% off and you can use the promo code SMILE to get an additional 10%!!!  My cart is loaded up!!  This sale makes for some great savings! 
 
 
Here are some new items and a Winter favorite!
 
Just in time for the movie later in December.
 
  
   

 A Winter favorite with students!
 
Happy Shopping!
 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Thanksgiving is Right Around the Corner!

Everyone is shopping this weekend for Thanksgiving goodies and looking forward to those yummy treats on the table!  The short workweek and long weekend is appreciated by teachers everywhere.  Here are a few last minute activities to use with your students if you are still looking for something.  Each one was developed to be fun, yet include an educational twist that students need.  My students do not receive much in the way of grammar before they come to me, so I use my Love Letter To My Favorite Thanksgiving Food as a fun way to incorporate prepositions and a bit of descriptive language.  Students write about a favorite food of theirs that is on their Thanksgiving table using prepositions to describe the food.  I've noticed several anchor charts on Pinterest boards about describing food, so this is definitely something that most teachers are doing anyway.  Why not let kids put thier own funny twist on it!
 
 
 
My students learn about narrative and descriptive writing in the beginning of the school year.  Around this time of the year they need a little refresher.  I designed my Thanksgiving Stuff Your "Selfies" as a way for them to write about how they became as STUFFED as they are!  The product includes silly names that students receive based on their birthdays.  For instance, your new name could be Ginger Custard Gobbler!  The activity requires students to think about their new Stuffed name and then write about how they came to be.  Students create and color a Stuffed "Selfie" of their new persona!  Students love this activity and the finished products look great on a bulletin board. 
 
  
 
I also have some fun Thanksgiving Would You Rather...? Questions that I put in a cornucopia and let students pick one out.  They think it's fun to reach into the cornucopia, think about and answer the silly prompt, then share it!

 
 THANKSGIVING WOULD YOU RATHER...? QUESTIONS

Have a GOBBLIN' GOOD Thanksgiving with your family and friends!

   



Thursday, October 29, 2015

National Candy Corn Day!

October 30 is National Candy Corn Day!  Stop by my store for some last minute ideas. 
They are certainly sweet and corny!
 
 
 
Have a deliciously sweet day!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

"Franken" Fun and Some Dollar Deals!

Happy Friday!  Halloween is quickly approaching.  My students LOVE this time of year.  Our classroom is decorated with tons of Halloween themed student works of art.  All have something to do with academics, so a "win-win" for teacher and students!  One activity my students love each year is our -Franken- "Selfies" activity.  Students create Franken Name based on their birthday date. They create/draw a selfie of themselves.  Then, they write about how they actually came to be the Franken Monster they are.  Loads of fun and lots of giggles! 
 
 
I also have a few Dollar Deals for the day.  Take a look around my TPT store to see if it's something you've got on your wishlist!
 
Have a "Franken Fun" kind of weekend!