Items filtered by date: February 2012
What's The Weather Booklet
10 pages. A trace & write easy reader booklet about the weather. Sure to enhance your studies in a fun way. Includes 2 graphing extensions + 10 traceable weather word cards and matching picture cards with a cover to make an Itty Bitty booklet.
Wind Activities Packet
Wind Activities
Having A Blast With Wind!
There just never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done that has to be done and then try and include some science too.
Then if you manage to make the time, there’s always the problem of where can you go to get some quick and easy things to plug in, that will interest the students and be grade-level appropriate!
This was a dilemma that I had with every grade I taught. I wasted tons of time on the web searching for who knows what.
Now I just design my own mini science lessons to match the theme I’m doing for that particular month.
By including some math skills and writing activities in the process, I get lots of bang for my “time buck”.
Wind is a terrific theme for March and can easily be tied in with clouds. Both offer lots of opportunities to learn a little science.
In my Wind Packet I’ve included several hands-on “craftivities” that make a great incentive center. i.e., complete the required lessons for the morning and then you get to visit this special center and make a pinwheel, wind cloud, or wind-fact tinsel cloud!
Pinwheels are a fun way to show the movement of wind.
I’ve included 5 patterns for you to choose from, or simply run off the plain pinwheel on a variety of brightly colored construction paper.
Having students pretend to be the wind and blow paint around on a cloud using a straw, reinforces the colors of the rainbow and makes a pretty pattern.
Your students will enjoy making a Wind Facts - Tinsel Cloud, which gives a list of facts about the wind answering questions like: What is wind? , What makes wind? and What is the record for the fastest wind?
There’s a writing prompt on the back that gets students to think at a higher level and is a nice introduction to metaphor or simile.
I’ve also included 4 quick and easy wind experiments sure to knock your students socks off and add interest to your science time.
Will The Wind Blow It? Has students become little scientists. They make predictions and record data and then analyze the data and come to conclusions about the results.
Wind Chill uses hand sanitizer for a fun “hands on” evaporation and wind experiment that takes just a few minutes.
Up Up And Away involves a balloon race and incorporates measuring and comparison skills.
The Egg In A Bottle looks into wind pressure and is my personal favorite. It will have your little ones in awe!
If you do all of the experiments do the graphing activity and then have students make the class wind book writing about which one was their favorite.
I've also included the nursery rhyme "Rock A Bye Baby" with links to several YouTube videos. I try to include this genre into my story time whenever it fits in with a theme that I'm doing.
I hope these ideas add delight to your day.
No one will ever think that you’re a boring wind bag when you spice things up with a little scientific fun!
Click on the link to view/download the Wind Packet
Be sure and pop in tomorrow when I’ll some weather activites!
More Ideas To Get Students Writing!
Spin A Story Wheels
Looking for a way to spice up your Writing Center or add something different to your Daily 5?
Include a Spin A Story Wheel and help motivate your students to WANT to write!
Students spin the wheel 3-4 times and write sentences or a 1-paragraph story and include the picture ideas in them.
Challenge students who are writing sentences to try and write one sentence incorporating ALL 4 picture prompts!
Click on the various links for the Spring-Summer Spin A Story Wheels.
March Story Wheel, April/May Story Wheel, Summer Story Wheel
For your convenience, if you’d like the entire collection, I’ve bundled them up in one download as well.
Write on and happy spinning!
Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more teacing tips!
Get Students Reading & Writing
Rainbows are yet another theme for March. It’s a wonderful way to review colors, color words and a specific color pattern.
I designed the easy reader booklet Let’s Color A Rainbow to reinforce ordinal numbers as well.
Students trace and write the ordinal numbers and colors in the matching color, cut and glue the appropriate picture to the page and then think of another object that is also that color and write it on the bottom.
Lots of core standards are covered in this little booklet!
A colored page of pictures is provided as well as one in black & white if teachers opt for their students to color them.
This might take a bit more time, but it reinforces the concept in yet another way.
When everyone has completed their booklet, read it as a whole group. Students will enjoy taking this booklet home and sharing it with their families.
Click on the link to view/download Let’s Color A Rainbow
For some more rainbow fun, take a journey with your students to the end of the rainbow and discover the Leprechaun’s pot of gold.
What would they do with all of that money? Sounds like a wonderful writing prompt to me, so I made it into a class book for March.
Class books are a fun way to get students writing. Children complete the writing prompt sentence with their own ideas and illustrate the page.
Teachers collect, collate and then read to the class, or have students share their own page when they come to it.
Class books are perfect for parent-teacher conferences and a terrific way to show improvement in writing.
There are 5 class books in this collection including 2 graphing extensions.
Click on the link to view/download March Class Books
My easy reader booklets and whole-class books, are simple and quick additions that can spice up your writing centers or Daily 5 activities.
I hope these ideas color your world with excitement for reading and writing!
Be sure and pop in tomorrow for another interesting way to get your students writing with Spin A Story Wheels!
Do you have a teaching tip you’d like to share? I’d really enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas. Thanks in advance.
March Class Books
Let's Color A Rainbow Ordinal Number Booklet
Clouds
Cloudy With A Chance Of Learning...
Yesterday we were flying high with kites in the sky.
Today clouds are in the sky. It’s another one of the themes I like to touch on during March Is Reading Month.
I like to design easy readers that help review difficult standards like those tough 3D shapes.
I figure if I can make a little booklet about them, my students get to do a hands-on activity that makes learning more fun.
My 3D-Cloud booklet, covers concepts of print as well as writing skills, while reinforcing the 3D - shapes, so I get more “bang for my time buck!” so to speak, plus students really enjoy making these just-my-size booklets and sharing them with their families, so they help reinforce the lessons at home as well.
I include a graphing extension to nail yet another standard, which get students actively involved in discussion.
Click on the link to view/download My 3-D Cloud booklet.
The Shape On My Cloud reviews 6 basic flat shapes, colors and counting. The surprise ending incorporates a rainbow for a little bit of science.
Students trace the shape, colr and number words and shapes. Click on the link to viw/dwonload the cloud booklet.
Great Reads: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, Little Cloud and It Looked Like Spilt Milk
While surfing the net this morning I came across a Linky Party.
Click on the link and join Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle. Add your blog to her list. She’ll be turning it into a pin board list on Pinterest.
Just click on the little blue “Add Your Link” button on her blog. It’s super easy!
Enjoy and have a great day! Spring has really “sprung” here in Michigan. It’s going to be 80 today!
I hope wherever you are, you too are enjoying the rejuvenating sunshine and sweet smell of springtime.
Summer Spin A Story Wheel
March Spin A Story Wheel
