Getting to the Core

Adding Zing To Your Your Story Time

Making It More Meaningful and Memorable With Masks!

story time tips, reading tips, ideas for making reading fun, readers theater ideas, masks, animal masks, monkey mask, owl mask, apple mask, bear mask, dog mask, cat mask, pumpkin mask, leaf mask, turkey mask, acorn mask, raccoon mask, gingerbread mask, snowflake mask, snowman mask, heart mask, shamrock mask, leprechaun mask, flower mask, elephant mask, frog mask I have found that even the shyest of students become more vocal and less inhibited when they can "hide" behind a mask and "become" someone "different!

My Y5’s LOVED making and wearing masks. I’d have them partner up after a story, don their mask and retell it to the other “raccoon” or “bear”.

It’s a fun way to help ignite a child’s imagination and reinforce a Common Core State Standard at the same time.

It never ceases to amaze me how they really “get into” the “characters” of the story this way, and it’s so quick and easy to do!

The packet includes directions and patterns to make 30 masks.

Act out books, poems, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales.

Pass them out and when that character is talking in the book, have the child wearing that mask stand up, or read their “lines” like a reader’s theater.

Use them to count when you’re reading counting books. As you read and count a new character stands up. When you’re done, count all the characters forwards and backwards as they sit down.

Make them for special holidays and celebrations.

Finally, make a few of your own. Laminate them, hot glue a Popsicle stick to the bottom and make your story time come alive!

Click on the link to view/download Mask Packet.

If there are some more masks you’d like to see, shoot me an e-mail, diane@teachwithme.com or leave a comment here and I’ll start a new list for a new packet.

If you're looking for more creative tips to enhance your story time, click on the link to view/download my Storytelling Ideas Book. It's filled with 260 simple tricks to add some zing!

story time tips, reading tips, ideas for making reading fun, readers theater ideas, masks, animal masks, monkey mask, owl mask, apple mask, bear mask, dog mask, cat mask, pumpkin mask, leaf mask, turkey mask, acorn mask, raccoon mask, gingerbread mask, snowflake mask, snowman mask, heart mask, shamrock mask, leprechaun mask, flower mask, elephant mask, frog mask Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” –Richard Steele

Published in Getting to the Core

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Directories of Teacher Pinboards On Pinterest

1 2 3 Come PIN With Me!

directory of teacher pinboards on pinterest, directory of elementary teachers who pin on pinterest, directory of kindergarten pinboards on pinterest, directory of early elementary pinboards on pinterest, directory of educational pinboards on pinterest, list of teacher pinboards on pinterest, I am a Pinterest Pinning Princess and LOVE that site! Click on the link to check out my pin boards.

It’s a super place to share and find ideas. I, as so many of my students, am a visual learner.

A picture on Pinterest sends my mind into overdrive!

If you haven’t heard of Pinterest click on the link to check out the front page and prepare to go to Happy Land.

Pinterest, simply put, is pinning something of interest to a board. Just as you would tack something "cool" on a bulletin board.

You can have as many, and any kind of boards that you want. Mine are mostly about education, because that is what "interests" me. You give your boards a label so you can keep things organized.

People can pop over and check out your boards and "re-pin" something to theirs if they like it, and so goes our wonderful techno-networking, flourishing in a frenzy of sharing some really interesting items and very creative DIY projects.

(My "to do" list is beyond belief. LIke I need another project!)

I just want to say thanks to all of the people everywhere who MAKE and TAKE the time to share all these super ideas; children are blessed daily by extra fun and creative lessons and brighter – happier looking classrooms, run by less-exhausted, more excited teachers.

We run our fingers through the Yellow Pages to find things, why don’t the Pinterest people categorize a list of people in a Red Book?

If you’ve wished for a list of other pinners who pin educational things, well wish no longer; Debbie over at Reachable Rainbows has a Pinterest Link-Up for you!

Primary Directory, an

Early Childhood Directory, and a

Kindergarten Directory.

Click on the link that fits you, scroll to the bottom of her BLUE list of other pinners, click on the blue “Click to enter” words by the "You're next!" phrase.

Copy and paste your PINTEREST URL into her form.

Click back to see that you are the next person listed on the list, and click on the link to make sure it takes you right to your Pinterest Pin Board, so everyone can see all YOUR cool pins!

Woo Hoo for Debbie for this great idea and getting us organized!

Be sure and pin the cover of the directory to one of your pin boards.

It would be nice, if you have a blog, to give a shout out there too. The more people, the more ideas, the more fun; so pass it on and play it forward!

Come on teachers/home school parents, aren’t we known for our uncanny ability to herd cats?

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"Work is LOVE made visible." -Kahlil Gibran

Published in Getting to the Core

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Teaching Common Core Standards With Kiddy Lit

A Great Back To School Book: Chrysanthemum!

I designed the Chrysanthemum packet to help reinforce LOTS of Common Core State Standards in quick, easy and fun ways.

As with The Kissing Hand Packet featured in yesterday's article, this packet reinforces Common Core State Standards: RI.K5,RI.K6,RI.K9,RI.K10,RL.K2, RL.K3,RL.K6, L.K1d, RI.1.9, RL.1.2, RL.1.3

The packet includes:

A beginning-middle-end story map, that will help students retell Chrysanthemum
A "favorite part" retelling "writing prompt" bookmark
A compare and contrast Venn diagram with Hooway For Wodney Wat
- Character, Setting and Event cards. (Laminate, put magnets on the back and put them up on your white board. Write down students' answers under the cards.)
- Cover to label book parts + review author and illustrator
- Question words activity sheet, reinforcing who, what, why, when, where & how
- 2 cover templates for the following activity:

I use the book Chrysanthemum as a wonderful lead-in story that the nursery rhyme: “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones but names will never harm me” is simply NOT true’ as words can be very mean AND hurtful!

I Xerox off the cover of the book Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes, and read the story.

Each time someone hurts Chrysanthemum's feelings, I pass the paper around the circle.

We each crumple up the paper, say "I'm sorry" and then smooth it out. By the time I am done reading the story, the picture of Chrysanthemum is in shreds and full of holes as well.

We discuss the fact that words hurt, and even though we say that we are sorry and “smooth things out” with that person, we have still hurt them.

The words sort of leave “scars” on their heart and in their mind, just like the dilapidated paper visually demonstrates.

I cut out a large red paper heart and glue the poor shredded cover of Chrysanthemum next to a fresh cover, as a gentle reminder to think before you speak, as words DO make a difference.

I also want children to understand that being critical of each other and saying things like "I don't want to be your friend” and leaving them out of a group when they play, is also hurtful.

I'll ask them a question like: “How would you feel if Mrs. Henderson said that to you?”, or how would they feel if I gave everyone else a toy or piece of candy, or let everyone go out for recess and didn't let them go? It really gives them a wake up call.

Chrysanthemum discusses making fun of a child’s name. Hooway For Wodney Wat is a wonderful book that delves into bullying and making fun of a child with a speech impediment.

This is a great comparison-contrast book to work on that Common Core Standard, using a Venn diagram that once again brings home the fact that teasing is hurtful.

Click on the link to view/download Chrysanthemum Packet Thank you for visiting today. Hope you can pop back tomorrow for more helpful tips. Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find useful.

“All you need is a plan, a road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” –Earl Nightingale

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More Back To School Helpful Ideas: Wel-Gum To Our Sweet Class!

123 Come Color With Me!

back to school activities, back to school lessons, name activities, name lessons, first day of school activities, first day of school lessons, color activities, color lessons, color graph, favorite color graph, gumball activities, gumball lessons, favorite flavor graph, writing prompts for the first week of school, back to school writing prompts, color day booklet, color booklet, One of the ways I counted up to 100 Day was with a cute gumball poster by Really Good Stuff. Each day I’d choose a quiet child to X off a gumball.

back to school activities, back to school lessons, name activities, name lessons, first day of school activities, first day of school lessons, color activities, color lessons, color graph, favorite color graph, gumball activities, gumball lessons, favorite flavor graph, writing prompts for the first week of school, back to school writing prompts, color day booklet, color booklet, Because of this poster, I designed the “Wel-gum To our really sweet class” find your name skill sheet.

Learning how to recognize their name was one of my Y5’s report card standards, so we worked on this every day.

I made this worksheet a bit more special by including my last year’s school picture inside one of the gumballs.

When they found their name, I had them color the gumball their favorite FLAVOR, and then we graphed the results.

We discussed the difference between favorite flavor and favorite color, for many, this was their first introduction to graphing.

Everyone enjoyed learning something about their new friends.

This packet also includes 2 class books. One the children trace and write the sentence about their favorite color.

To make the book more special, include their school photo as well.

I also made a class color book, by including pictures cut out from magazines of things of the various colors.

Each child brought a color picture in on that particular color day, as well as wore the appropriate color.

I took a class picture each Friday and also included that in our color book.

back to school activities, back to school lessons, name activities, name lessons, first day of school activities, first day of school lessons, color activities, color lessons, color graph, favorite color graph, gumball activities, gumball lessons, favorite flavor graph, writing prompts for the first week of school, back to school writing prompts, color day booklet, color booklet, This packet includes the letter home, a calendar + a poster for your parent-teacher conferences.

Click on the link to view/download Wel-gum packet.

Thanks for visiting today.

Feel free to PIN anything you think others might enjoy.

“Never be too big to ask questions. Never know too much to learn something new.” – Og Mandino

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The Colors Of Fall

It's Time For Fall; It's Time For Poetry!

the colors of fall, color activities, color lessons, color ideas, color booklet, poetry lessons, poetry activities, rhyming activities, rhyming lessons, back to school activities, back to school lessons, lessons for the first week of school, lessons for fall, I love poetry and enjoy dabbling in it every now and then when I get time, or an idea pops into my head.

My editor at Mailbox Magazine sometimes had that on her list of assignments.

I always run my “creations” by my husband Dan. He’s great with word choice, and making things have the correct amount of syllables and still make sense!

Through all sorts of laughter, he helped me so much with The Colors Of Fall; I simply had to add his name to the “credits”.

I tried to include poetry, nursery rhymes, and other easy readers that rhymed as part of my genre each month, so that my Y5’s would get used to hearing rhymes.

the colors of fall, color activities, color lessons, color ideas, color booklet, poetry lessons, poetry activities, rhyming activities, rhyming lessons, back to school activities, back to school lessons, lessons for the first week of school, lessons for fall, Eventually I would pause, during the reading of a poem, and leave the rhyming word off, waiting for them to fill it in. It never ceased to amaze me how adept they became at this.

I’ve included the poem on a separate sheet of paper, for you to read and hang up, as well as the booklet.

You can simply read it to your class or print off copies and have them trace and write the color words in their matching colors.

the colors of fall, color activities, color lessons, color ideas, color booklet, poetry lessons, poetry activities, rhyming activities, rhyming lessons, back to school activities, back to school lessons, lessons for the first week of school, lessons for fall, After you read the story, ask students what else they see in fall that are each of the colors. Perhaps you can have each student design their own page as a class book.