Project Idea and Text Feature Chart

Hey everyone! I feel like it's been FOREVER since I blogged! I am trying to get all of my parent conferences complete. Hopefully I will have WAY more time to create stuff for you all to use once those are out of the way! 

Over the next week, we are doing a Science and Social Studies combined project to get a major grade in both areas. While I attended the SC Social Studies conference, I heard about this menu idea to give students an alternate and differentiated assessment. Even if you don't teach in South Carolina, you could create your own and adapt it for your own needs! Here is an example...

For those of you who teach in South Carolina and would like a copy of this, please just click the picture above to download it. I included two of the same page so you can print two to a page if you wish. 

For those of you non-SC teachers, you can also download a copy because I have included a blank template page for you so you can adapt it for yourself!

We are also working on non-fiction text features this week so I created this chart for students to use during their independent reading. Each day, we will look at two text or graphic features on the promethean board and then while they read their books, they will fill in the corresonponding sections we worked on with the title of the book and page number they found an example of each feature on. They will also write how it helped them while they were reading. I will take it up for a grade at the end of the week! 

In other news, I am working on a new product that I know I am in desperate need of: The ULTIMATE Early Finisher Pack for Math. It will be Common Core aligned. I am working on the 3-5 version right now and then I will start on the K-2 pack! I plan on using the Common Core standards for each grade level and each CC standard domain as a guide to complete this massive file! 

Eventually I hope to complete one for ELA, Science, and Social Studies as well! Here is a preview!

I have only complete the cover page so far. I am still in the brainstorming phase. I'm trying to figure out what all you would like to see included, so you upper elementary teachers, this is where you come in!

What kinds of activities would you like to see included? For example, Sudoku puzzles and number searches...Games? Practice sheets? etc...

Have a great Sunday!! Who else is excited about The Walking Dead tonight!?  

Native Americans and Predictions

In Social Studies, we are beginning a new unit on South Carolina Native Americans and so my fabulous team came up with the idea to rotate around the room to three different posters of each tribe with related photos and words on each one. Students will go around the room and with their recording sheet and write predictions they have about each tribe by looking at the posters pictures and words. You will notice that some of the posters have the same pictures. Hopefully your students pick up on this and write it down on their recording sheet!

At the end of the rotation activity, students will share the predictions they made with the class and add to a class chart. We have already learned about the regions of South Carolina so we will then show a map of South Carolina and see if students can figure out where each tribe is located based on the pictures, words from the posters and from the predictions they made on their sheets. Here is a sample picture of the poster images and recording sheet. To download the full files, click HERE and HERE. 

There are more pictures and a page of words included as well to add to your posters. This is just a preview!

I love South Carolina history! I can't wait to start this unit Friday! Kids always get so into it!

I hope to be back soon with more ideas to share! Tomorrow is Hump Day!! Whoo hoo! I'm ready for Fall for Greenville this weekend (the most amazing food, beer, and fun festival of the year in our town)! Bring on the chili cook off!

Boo in the Zoo Halloween Unit and Habitat Posters

I have FINALLY finished my Halloween themed animal unit: Boo in the Zoo!! I can't wait to use some of this cuteness at school with my students! Yes, I just called my stuff cute...Don't hate!

You can get them at either of my shops by click the store buttons below!

And because I knew many people would want the habitat posters instead of the whole Halloween unit, I have separated the Habitat Posters and descriptions into another file. =) 

You can get those by click the store buttons below!

I wanted to share some funny writing that my students did while I was at the South Carolina Social Studies conference a while back! They had to write about what they think happened to their teacher! 

That just cracks me up!! HAHA It was kind of true...

I mean, REALLY!?? lol I hope he doesn't think that because I LOOK pregnant! HAHA

Man, I am exhausted after this week! We did our annual region cookies!

P.S. I Love that kid! He's so stinkin' cute!

We also did our first book buddies with a kindergarten class! It was sooooo cute seeing my kids read to those little ones!

How sweet are they!?

And finally, people were asking me about where I got my dice containers pictured below...

I found them at Publix oddly enough! 

Oh, and the first person to comment with my favorite COLLEGE football team will both of my new products. =) Annnnnd go!

Properties of Addition Foldable

I feel like a BAD blogger! I have just been so busy and then trying to work on my new unit on top of school and life! Here is a preview of my progress! I only have the animal research part complete so far, but I hope to more time tomorrow to work on it!

In other news, my friend Jeannie just started a new blog called The 2nd Grade Surprise and so she is having a giveaway to celebrate her newness! I'd love for you to go check her out and follow her! =) 

Click HERE to enter her giveaway!

And finally, we began our addition and subtraction unit this week so I made this foldable to help teach the properties of addition!  Just click the picture to download!

Just print the pages separately and place the first one on top and staple them together. Just cut along the lines where you see scissors! I always use this great flipchart from promethean planet to accompany the lesson! Click HERE to head over and download it free!

And as for a spur of the moment math game, I purchased some dice containers similar to this earlier this year (I keep forgetting to post them!) and just decided to make up a new game! 

(Note this picture is from Liz's Speech Therapy Ideas)

I called it Shake It Up to 20 Addition! Put students with a partner. Then, they shake twice and set it down on the table. The first student to call out the math fact gives theirself a point. The first to reach 20 wins! Nothing all that new. I just used the containers for fun and to cut down on flying dice! 

Tomorrow is HUMPDAY! Woo hoo!! It's gonna be a crazy day tomorrow! I can't share why yet. Check back later for news!!! 

Anchor Chart Ideas

I have some anchor charts and things that I have been meaning to share, along with about a million other things, but I finally have some time to breath and blog today. =)

I actually took this picture in my teammie's classroom because her idea was so cute and told her I was going to share it on my blog! She had the students write one word that describes something they learned about each SC region on a sticky note and then she used all of the words to make a wordle! Then, she attached it to the SC region map. GENIUS! And it looks so cute! I decided I am totally doing this as an end of unit activity!

Obviously, we haven't gotten to the last two regions yet!

And here are a few math anchor charts I've made since we have been learning about place value. I think I saw one of the ideas on Pinterest.

My kids just love the Rounding Rap! You can view and listen to it HERE! It's so funny and very catchy! I've caught myself singing it WAY too many times in the last two weeks! I posted about the Rounding Mountain and CUBA method last year and you can view that post HERE for more info! I think the number line is self explanatory, though I have found this way is very confusing for some kids. We (my inclusion teacher and I) taped a number line to the floor and practiced hopping to the the rounded number when we introduced rounding.

I am leaving that last bubble blank for when we begin our addition and subtraction unit next week. I will add an equation in there to represent another way to write a number.

And I saw this fabulous idea on Hope's blog post about real readers! I did the Real vs. Fake reading last year, but I think this way is a much more exciting way to introduce it! You can read all about her fabulous lesson idea HERE! 

I have a sub for the first time this year tomorrow because I am attending the South Carolina Council for Social Studies conference tomorrow and I am pretty excited to learn some new stuff!

In other news, I finally began working on my "Boo in the Zoo: Animal Themed Halloween Unit." 

Here were some of the things I want to include:

* Animal Research (Bats, Owls, Cats, Spiders, and other creepies)

* Spooky and Weird Animal Adaptations

* Habitats Trick or Treat (Students would pretend they were going Trick or Treating in each habitat and draw or write things they would find there to add to their Trick or Treat bag) I know it sounds crazy, but I'm still in the thinking phase! =)

* Bewitching Words (Students would pick and animal and write describing words)

* Monstrous Metaphors & Spooktacular Similes (Animal related of course!)

I would love more suggestions for activities to include!