Celebrating Valetine's Day Early at 3L + 1T

It is February 1st so...Valentine's Day is RIGHT around the corner.  Have you started to think about what you want to do in your own classroom? I'm sure there will  be yummy treats, cute little crafts, and maybe some cards exchanged.  Have you thought of some fun ways to include learning into the mix of it all?

Have no fear, Mrs. Valentine's Day to the rescue! Catchy, right?  I have created a few products that will allow your students to still have fun, think about the holiday, and learn as well!

The Perfect Match: Synonyms & Antonyms

I cannot wait to use this in my classroom! I think this activity will be great when working in small groups during stations/centers.  The product includes:

• 21 pairs of matching synonym cards
• 21 pairs of matching antonym cards
• 1 quick check assessment for synonyms
• 1 quick check assessment for antonyms
• 1 combined assessment to use a synonyms and antonyms in writing a story and identify the words they used

I can see myself using the cards during my Word Word Station where students can play matching games with partners like memory or a Go-Fish kind of activity.  I also think it would be great to get notecards, and students can write cloze sentences where their partner has to find the missing word to go into their sentence. Really make those kiddos think!

The assessments would also be great to use after a mini-lesson or when you feel your students are close to mastery.  The assessments include matching, defining, using in a sentence, and identifying.  The final assessment asks students to write a story of their choice.  They must use a certain amount of synonyms and anytonmys.  When finished, they must go back to underline and circle those words they used. I love assessments that allow students to be creative, but also apply the skills they learned.

Have no fear...this product isn't JUST for Valentine's Day.  Use this all year around, as the only thing Valentine's Day about this is the hearts and the title.

 Check it out...here!

 

Valentine's Day Letter Writing

I just reduced this price on this product! I created 2 templates---one a post-card and the other a letter for students to write friendly letters to teachers, friends, and/or family members.  This would be a great way to start your day off. Have students finish up before starting your day of lessons and during the celebration in the afternoon...take a 10-20 minute break to go and hand deliver the letters/post-cards. It will make someone's day! I love teaching students about the gift of giving. Check out my Christmas post here to see how I try to do this all year long! 

I would absolutely love to see these products in action, especially the post-cards and letter templates.  Feel free to comment below to share some of your student's work!  

Grab the product...here!

Valentine's Day Synonym Cloze Writing 

The last item for you to pick (also reduced in price) from is a Valentine's Day synonym cloze activity.  This one is great for a writing center, morning work, or an "early finisher" type activity.  Students are asked to read the letter and fill in words that would  make sense or use the word bank in the bottom part of the paper to help students.  The choice is up to you! Although there is a answer key included...but you can always ignore that! Make it even more challenging for your students and have them create their own letter using 10 "fancy" adjectives.  Have them impress their loved ones.

 

Get the product here 

What Makes a Good Friend? Opinion Writing Project

Start a Valentine's Day theme next week with your students right before the holiday.  I am really excited to complete this project with my class.  The project goes through each of the stages of the writing process. Students can start with a heart shaped graphic organizer so they can organize their thoughts. I focused a lot on the next stage which is explaining each one of those hearts in greater detail.  This is where I see my students struggle as they do not know what to say about these subtopics.  From there, there a page dedicated to each heart where students can organize their thoughts deeper so they can elaborate on the individual hearts.  

The next steps are to write the first draft, edit, and revise. Students are given the appropriate paper, and a small quick-check rubric so they can remember to check their own work. I normally incorporate another rubric into the mix---one that I make with students before starting the writing so they understand their expectations and objectives from the start.  

Students can finish the project by rewriting their paper on the final draft format and complete a picture in the decorative hearts as a final step in their publishing.  I also like this project because you can make it into packet format to complete together, in small group, or individually if you think your students are up for the challenge. 

Hope you enjoy this and more importantly...your students have fun with this!

Check it out!

Happy {Early} Valentine's Day! Don't forget to share the love by pinning, liking, and sharing my products on your social media sites!

Great Americans Day/President's Day

Another holiday is right around the corner.  Some of you around the states will be going to school on this day and I'm guessing others may have it off as a "Snow Make Up Day".  Whatever your story is...this holiday is not one to be forgotten.

I'll be honest, in the past I always do some sort of activity...but I never am completely satisfied with the level of authenticity at the end of the day.  I have been guilty of just finding a few president based worksheets or discussing it for a little with my students.  We never dig deep into the true meaning of the American holiday.

So...I have created two products (hopefully more to come) that I would be proud for my students to complete.  I would feel like they could apply reading, writing, thinking, collaborating, and listening all into one activity.  After taking a few courses recently in hopes to get my Certificate for Literacy Instruction I have learned the importance of authentic work and having students understand the connection between reading and writing.

Research a President

This first product is a breakdown of all of the presidents we have had in the United States.  There is a page per president to fill out information such as:

1. Presidency dates
2. Previous office/job
3. Vice president during term
4. Political party
5. Research collected about president (early life, family life, important events during his time in presidency)

My hopes is that each student takes 1-2 presidents to research.  This could also be a great small group activity among tables.  Have them each in charge of a few presidents a day to complete the research.  Also, within the pack the students can compare and contrast two presidents (Venn Diagram and T-Chart).  There is a place for students to take their research to compile it into an essay format and of course...draw a self portrait of the president. You can always print out a picture online if you prefer, too. 

I am really excited to use this in my classroom, as I can see it will be an easy project to prepare for and students will gain the necessary skills when it comes to researching and putting that into an essay form. I'm not asking students to write a 3 page report on their president, as there would not be enough information to get that complete. But I feel the lesson is authentic and can teach students a lot about our past presidents.   Plus it will make a great bulletin board!

 Get the product here

Interviews with Great Americans

Another idea that I am wanting to try in my classroom is a product where they research a Great American (or President) and pretend to interview them. They will answer the 9 questions as if the Great American (or President) is answering.  If you feel this could get too confusing for students, have students pair up.  For example,  I would research Abe Lincoln and my partner would research George Washington.  We would interview each other answering the questions about our person we researched.

After the (9) questions have been answered, you can choose how the students present the information. Do you want them to dress up and present it to the class? Do you want them to write an essay? Compare and Contrast two of the people selected? Or my personal favorite...make a newspaper article about the information they found.  This would be a fun way to write informational articles! I have created a few newspaper templates, and left space for students to draw a picture next to their writing. Once again, I see great potential with this for a bulletin board idea.  How fun is it to let students draw at any age? They really can surprise you! I know what you're thinking...where do you get the time to let them sit and draw? These spaces are fairly small, so it won't take a lot of class time out of the other subject areas.

Find the product here

Good luck teaching about Great Americans/Presidents.  I hope you can create an authentic activity for students to complete and not stick worksheets in front of them and cross your fingers they leave with new knowledge about the holiday.  

Links for the Research:

Research on Presidents

Presidents of the United States Resources

Presidential Biographies for Kids

U.S. Presidents

National Geographic for Kids: President Facts

Other In-Class and Online Activities

Scholastic

President's Day Printables & Online Activities

Primary Games: President's Day

National Education Association: President's Day

Education Place: Presidents' Day

 

10 Amazing Links to Christmas Crafts

Happy December! I, personally, cannot believe it is December let alone almost 2015! To start off the holiday season, check out the Top 10 Links below that include crafts, gifts, and food ideas to do with your kids and/or students! I made this list thinking about a variety of skill levels, amount of resources to create them, and of course...time. Depending on which of these you struggle with, hopefully you can find one...or two that will work well for you and your children/students!

Top 10 Festive Activities to do with Kids:

1. Popsicle Stick Ornaments
2. 36 Adorable Ornament Ideas
3. 30 Kid-Friendly Handmade Ornaments
4. 25 Kid-Friendly Crafts
5. Child Friendly Christmas Tree Ideas
6. DIY Holiday Wrapping Paper
7. Applesauce Ornaments
8. Easy Snowmen Crafts
9. Yummy Holiday Treats
10. All Skill Levels for Festive Treats for Kids  

The Gift of Giving
In my classroom, every year we make an ornament for students to share with someone at home.  They wrap it in a small bag, and take it home the day before Winter Break.  Students are really excited about this!  I also think it is important to teach them the gift of giving.  Since I cannot control what they do with their ornaments when they get home, or enjoy the look on their parents' faces when they give it to them...I do this at school as well.  We make about 20+ extra ornaments to pass out to administration, support staff, and other special helpers that help us in our classroom.  Students work together to complete the extra ones.  The last day before Winter Break, we walk around the school with the wrapped ornaments to give to these special people in our life.  Students are SO excited to see the faces of the teachers open their packages.  Students do a really great job walking around the building finding our gift receivers.  All-in-all, my goal is for students to feel the gift of giving, rather than receiving. My hope is they will continue to love the feeling of giving so they grow up to be well-rounded, caring members of their community.


Ornaments My Students Have Completed
As friends and family members are putting up their Christmas decorations, a great friend of mine sent me this picture below:

You just have to smile when looking at art of an 8-year old. Made with lots of LOVE!

It makes me happy, as I'm sure it would as well for my students last year, to know teachers are proudly displaying my students' work of art on their trees still! So we obviously made Christmas Trees out of Popsicle sticks this past year.  It was a total of 1 center a day for 3-days...so not much academic time was missed out to make these trees.  Day 1: Painting the sticks; Day 2: Gluing the sticks together & decorating; Day 3: Items are dry, so we write on the back & add a ribbon to hang! I leave a day in between the gift giving just in case someone is absent or something goes wrong.  By Day 5, students are giving out their gifts. 

A mentor of mine taught me how to make cinnamon ornaments with my students.  We have done this activity in the past, which makes my room smell wonderful.  It does take a little more effort as baking is involved.  One year, students made these circle-shaped foam ornaments one year.  They were able to draw, decorate, and glue tons of fun things on them and they only took a couple days as there was minimum amounts of drying.  So if you're running low on time, run to the craft store and pick up multiple shaped foam pieces and make some cheap and engaging ornaments.

Good luck finishing those presents and have fun sharing the holiday spirit with your students, fellow colleagues, and your own family!

Happy Holidays

and as always...

My Gift to YOU!

Happy Holidays from 3L + 1T!  My gift to you all for being great followers, a Teachers Pay Teachers sale! On December 1st and 2nd, enjoy 20% off of ALL (yes, that is correct) ALL of my products in my store. With the gift TPT is giving you, you can save up to 28% on products.  What a great way to start the New Year!

Click the banner above to go directly to my store!

Check out my other blog posts for great ideas and direct links to products.

Literacy During the Holidays

Thanksgiving Ideas

Parent Teacher Conferences

Writing Ideas

Back to School Night

First Day of School

Centers/Stations

Student Data Tracking: Math Facts

Birthdays

Organization

Common Core Checklists

Summer Success

Genre Study

Classroom Rewards
Writing as Homework
Student Data Tracking: Reading Levels
Review Cards: ELA
Spring Activities
Multiplication Bulletin Board

Making Your Math Block Full of Holiday Cheer

I love teaching around the holidays, as it adds something new and exciting in terms of themes. It is a fun way to keep them engaged, as we know they are all thinking about holiday treats, presents, and snow days! So why not include those items they want to discuss with you into something educational? This post is all about including holiday cheer into your math block, but if you're looking for literacy based activities, visit my holiday literacy post.

Perimeter and Area

In my math block, we were studying perimeter and area (now that we are finally learning our multiplication facts!) in December.  I decided that I didn't have time to do something too extreme, like wrap multiple shaped packages to them to find the actual perimeter and area. I love activities, but I did not have time for that!

I created an interactive worksheet where students can work with presents of all shapes and sizes to find the perimeter and area.  Now, we haven't worked too much with measurement this year, so I didn't have them use their own measurement tools, but you could do this (outside of my TPT product).

Find my "Wrappin' Up Perimeter and Area product...HERE!

Roll a Holiday Tree 

I also think it is fun for my students to have some holiday fun during centers/stations. Although the rest of my centers may include current skills, I like to include one engaging one where they can work in partners/small groups with dice to complete a task.  I also don't add a lot of coloring, drawing, unless it has a complete educational purpose...but this time, I don't mind!

Roll a Holiday Tree is where students take turns rolling the dice.  When it lands on a certain number they draw the item associated with the number.  For example, if 4 says to draw the ornaments, that's what they have to draw first. The pictures end up coming out great as they have to really think about the placement if they are not able to draw the tree first.  The product works on teamwork, following directions, number skills, and fine motor skills.

Go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store for other holiday activities or view the product here!

*Holiday Literacy Activities

If you are also wanting some literacy activities to complete around the holidays, I have a post on this as well.

Happy Holidays from 3L + 1T!!

 

 

Adding Literacy During the Holidays

Book Clubs

Winter Break is right around the corner which means students will start getting a little antsy as they are getting ready to be on an extended beak and well for the most of us around the States they are stuck inside because of cold and snowy weather outside. I really try to make the 3 weeks in December really engaging, although I want them to still have lots of academics before break as well.  Chances are many students won't read a single word over their 2-week break. Scary, Scary, Scary!

I LOVE book clubs, or many call them, literature circles. I enjoy these because they are highly engaging, group oriented, bring a lot of discussion amount equivalent readers, and all have the reading/writing connection.  I have created 4 different holiday book clubs for my third grade classroom. The book selection was based on the needs of my classroom, so these may not translate  to every third grade class around the world.

1. Judy B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake (GR: Level M)
2. Judy Moody & Stink, The Holly Joliday (GR: ~Level M)
3. Miss Holly is Too Jolly (GR: Level O)
4. Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? (GR: Level Q)

Each book contains a breakdown of what chapter(s) to read during a 7-day period, except for Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? as this was my highest reading group and I was able to work with them a little differently since the book was at a higher level.  The group was independent enough to work on their own and together to complete the task.

Each group met with the teacher 2-3 times during their 7-day book club project.  I know 7 days does not match up with a normal school week, so it was technically a two week project (10 days).  Seven days they were reading, 1-2 days to catch up if we were behind, and/or 1-2 days to complete the final project.

The final projects were group oriented and we spent 1.5 Literacy Blocks completed them.  Because I wanted everyone to learn about the books other groups read, we created large movie posters (No pictures...bummer, I know!) to try to entice classmates to read this book over break.  Each student had a job (writer, artist, leader, supply manager, time manager, question master, presenter).  I hope to have a blog post soon on how these group activities work in my classroom.

After they completed their movie poster, they presented to the class what the book was about (without giving too much away).  It was a great informal assessment as you could truly tell which group members understood the book well and could answer the questions their classmates asked with confidence.  I added this as a grade as well.

A little more about the books/questions:

 Judy B. Jones group is asked to complete summaries of each chapter they complete using Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then and then completed a final summary in paragraph form of the book. Judy Moody's group is asked to complete a variety of questions about the text. They are comparing/contrasting, describing, identifying, and summarizing.

 Miss. Holly is Too Jolly asks group members to complete a variety of questions including grammar based, comparing, identifying, giving details, and summarizing.  Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? is all summaries of the chapter(s) read in paragraph form.

*Each group has the "Rate this Book" at the end of

Adjective Passage

If you are not looking to create a huge project around the holidays, as there is too many assessments, projects, papers, etc. due I also love included reading into grammar skills. No matter the grammar subject, my students are always reading and identifying it in text.  I think students retain the information more when they practice in text rather than the skill in isolation.

I have created a passage that has LOADS of adjectives in it.  Students are asked to read the passage and find the adjectives within it.  Where does the holiday part come in you may ask? Well, the passage is about a snow day! Many of us can already relate to a snowy filled day already this year!

Students will circle all the adjective they find in the text, but then they are also asked to draw a line to the noun it is describing, as that is just as important as the adjective itself.

Get this product...here!