Essential Questions

Ok, so we know that Essential Questions are important to student learning, but I know I personally always have a hard time keeping them updated.  So luckily Pinterest came to the rescue once again!  We saw this done here and adapted it to our individual needs.  A trip to Micheals had everything we needed to complete this project, large frame (or smaller ones if you wanted to differentiate that way), scrap book paper, and stick on letters.  The whole project took less than an hour to complete, and we absolutely LOVED the end result!

Wanted!

I saw this idea on Pinterest (my newest obsession)! I don't know why it took me so long to start. There are so many great ideas on there! Anyways I saw this idea for a cute way for students to show the different ways to make numbers. I also thought it could be a good way for students to show word families, fact families, or vocabulary too. You can find the template I made HERE (I couldn't find one from the link on pinterest). Let me know what kind of other ideas you come up with! Here are some pictures of the number one we did.My camera does not have any flash...sorry they came out so dark but hopefully this gives you an idea of what it looks like.

Color Persuasion

This 9 weeks my school is working on persuasive writing. On pinterest I found the coolest way to teach it. OREO! Click on the oreo picture below to check out the website...it even includes a template!

I saw this crayon paper at the Dollar Store and thought my students would like the cool paper and it would be a great way to use the OREO outline for them to persuade each other about colors. First they brainstormed using these graphic organizers I made this summer. I had them color the star green and the last arrow to show opinions and the two arrows in the middle yellow for reason and example. The next day I gave them the crayon paper and they copied their sentences and colored the crayon. They loved it. Here are some pictures of how they turned out. Hope your students have just as much fun persuading!;)

Light and Shadow!

Happy Belated Groundhogs Day!
We are lucky that our Science Instructional Calendar lined up so that we were studying Light and Shadows on February 2nd this year.  With all the standards that we have to fit in, it's great to have a reason to celebrate :-)
This year my kids did some cute Groundhog's day writing, talking about what their life would be like as a groundhog.  I was really happy with and amused by their finished products!
We also talk about how to make a shadow, and different light sources.  Because I feel our Science Resources are sometimes lacking, I created a Light and Shadow Unit for my students.  My friend The Lesson Plan Diva got to use some of these activities in her classroom today and said her students really enjoyed them.  Click here to grab your copy!

And here is an awesome Mini-book freebie, your students will love being authors and illustrators!

Freebie!!!! February Journal BINGO

Click on the picture below to find February's Journal BINGO. Sorry I'm a few days late..Hope your students are enjoying them!