Interrupting Chicken: Books Bloggers Love

Because August marks the beginning of the school year and we are just starting to focus on classroom rules, I love reading Interrupting Chicken! This book is all about...how did you guess??...an interrupting chicken. The little chicken wants a bedtime story, but he constantly interrupts his father throughout the book. David Ezra Stein uses powerful illustrations and speech bubbles to show how and when the little chicken interrupts.

I use Interrupting Chicken during the first week of school to teach students the importance of being respectful and not interrupting others.  There is some repetition throughout the book which helps students to participate actively the entire time. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the fact that the chicken appears inside a book inside of the book! This is an excellent opportunity to show students the difference between the actual book and the story within the book. My students are always thrilled to read this story again and again!

After we have read the book one time, I show my class this video as a review. Then, we use this freebie from Mrs. Wheeler (see the pictures above) to apply the book to our real lives. We sort the cards in a pocket chart and discuss how we can all be "Respectful Students" instead of "Interrupting Chickens". Throughout the year, I may teach a few mini lessons on this same topic to remind students of respectful behaviors. This book is the perfect addition to your year, because students will never forget the interrupting chicken!

Do you love books? We do! Each month, I will be joining 12 teacher bloggers for a link-up called Books Bloggers Love. We will each share one of our favorite books to use for the following month and show you how we use it. Keep in touch and you will have a chance to win 4 of the 12 books that we blogged about each month! Enter below to win 4 books this month!

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An InLinkz Link-up

Milestone Giveaway & Freebies!

I am SO excited to announce that my little store has reached 1,000 Facebook followers and 4,000 Instagram followers! You all are the best! When I started this journey last April, I never thought I would get this far. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I couldn't have done this without you --- so how about a giveaway and some freebies?!?

Scroll down to enter!

I will be posting freebies on Facebook from some lovely teacher friends throughout the day. One product will be posted every hour, on the hour, starting at 8:00am. They are only free for 15 minutes, so HURRY!

GIVEAWAY!

21 teachers are joining me in the celebration. Each of them is either donating store credit or a product for you to win. Enter the Rafflecopter below to get a chance to win all this goodness! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for following along with me on this journey!!!!

Unwrap a Gift from Me!

Are you in need of some low-prep activities to get your students through the holiday season? Check out my newest close reading passages! They are perfect for small group, guided reading, weekly homework, and thematic units. All you have to do is simply download and print! If you are not familiar with close reading you can read more about it in my Close Reading Mini Series.

I'm excited to be a part of The Primary Gal's Unwrap a Gift Linky Party. There are so many engaging gifts for you from some of my favorite teachers. Keep reading for a closer look and be sure to unwrap your gift at the end of this post! 

I have two sets of holiday close reads: European traditions (7 passages) & Asian traditions (6 passages). Each passage is written at an appropriate text complexity level for 2-3rd grade according to the Common Core State Standards. However, it totally depends on your students. I often used similar close reads with my high first graders, and I have a friend who uses them with her struggling fourth graders. There are two different versions of most handouts within each set. Instant differentiation!

Close reading is all about developing a true understanding of the text. Therefore, I make sure that students are rereading many times. One passage will last us 3 days to a full week! Students reread the passages silently, aloud, and to partners. Then, they annotate by highlighting or circling unknown words, numbering paragraphs, and underlining answers in the text. You can have students use any annotation marks that you like (although I recommend no more than about 3 at a time - see the close reading blog series above for in depth information).

After reading, students will respond to text-dependent questions. I ask students to go back to the text and underline or highlight their answers. They are also required to write the number of the question beside the sentence in the text. This is a wonderful skill to start early on! It works wonders on standardized tests! Each passage in my close reading sets has two different sets of response questions which is great for differentiation in class.

I hope you enjoy your holiday season! Click the image below to UNWRAP YOUR GIFT!

Head over to The Primary Gal to unwrap more gifts!

Fall Favorites Blog Hop - Taste Tests!

Welcome to the Fall Favorites Blog Hop! I hope you enjoy hopping from one blog to another to hear about many different fall lessons and activities. Maybe you can try one in your classroom...Stay tuned for a freebie at the end of this post!

I absolutely love fall. I don't get much of it {FL girl, born and raised}, but it is my favorite. I incorporate many thematic units from September-December in order to keep the kids engaged and hit all of the necessary curriculum in a fun way.

In October, we spend an entire day looking at pumpkins. We write, read, sequence, create, and experiment with pumpkins. We count, practice math skills, plant, and predict with pumpkins. In November, we spend an entire day acting like the Pilgrims and Indians (Colonial Day). We write, read, sequence, create, and experiment with colonial items. We practice math with corn and design maps of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pumpkin Day!

But today, I would like to introduce you to the student favorite of both themed days - The Taste Test.

DISCLAIMER: Please, please, please check your students for allergies before including this in your classroom.

Pumpkin Taste Test

The idea is quite simple: Just buy some foods, place them on the table, print the graph, and EAT! Let me tell you, the kids have a fabulous time! It is also quite cute to hear all their Mmmmmmmmm's and Ewwwww's. Amidst all this excitement, the students don't even realize that they are practicing graphing!

Thanksgiving Taste Test

You can choose whichever foods you prefer or have access to. Here is a list of ideas that I have used in the past:

Pumpkin: pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin ice cream.
Thanksgiving: biscuits, corn bread, popcorn, apple pie, cranberries, cranberry juice.

Thanksgiving Taste Test

You may be able to get some donations to have a fun day like Pumpkin Day or Colonial Day! Ask parents in advance! Get volunteers to come in. Make a day of it! If you are interested in the entire Pumpkin Day product, you can check it out by clicking the picture below. The Pumpkin Taste Test graphs are available in this pack.

All students can use practice graphing! Soooo...here's a little freebie for you. Click on the image below for the graphing freebie! Also, be sure to hop over to my store to check out some fall product discounts!!! Happy Fall Ya'll!

Now be sure to hop on over to my friend Kristen's blog for more fall fun!

FREEBIE! - Mental Math Center

I'm excited to share this little freebie with you!

I'm currently obsessed with the bright, clear, and adorable clipart from Krista Wallden at Creative Clips. So, when I got these adorable little soccer dudes, I just HAD to create!

Since, I don't have a classroom this year, one of my sweet friends sent me a few pictures of her kids using this during math centers...(Pardon the cropping...I had to cut their sweet faces out!)

So, the center activity consists of task cards, soccer ball number cards, and a recording sheet.

Students read the question on the card. It may say something like "What number is 10 more than 43?". Then they look for the soccer ball that shows 10 more than 43. 

The kids then match the soccer ball to the correct task card (as you can see on the top two cards in the picture). If this game were played on the floor or at a table, students would be able to "make a goal" by putting the matching soccer ball right on top of the goal!

I've gotten some great feedback from teachers at my own school who are using it in 2nd and 3rd grade as a review of 5 more/less and 10 more/less addition and subtraction skills. The kids are all excited about the soccer theme and love "making goals".

Be sure to grab a copy of this forever FREEBIE! Happy Teaching! If you like what you see, be sure to follow my blog & check out my Close Reading Mini-Series or Math Center How-To for lots of ideas! Also, be sure to grab some other freebies by heading over to Freebie Friday at the Teaching Blog Addict!

TPT Inspiration

So, we all know Deanna Jump. She is an inspiration to teachers everywhere! Not only did she start out on TPT wayyy before many of us, but she paved the way and showed us all how to be successful teacher-preneurs. I look up to her and wish that I could've met her in Vegas this year. {I will definitely be there next year!} 

I've seen this quote floating around blogs and Instagram. Seriously, it made me tear up when I first read it. This quote explains everything we do as teachers and TPT sellers. I knew I had to print it out and hang it in my office, so I created this little freebie for my store. I hope you all enjoy it! Click the freebie link or the picture below to grab it!

My hope is that this is a daily reminder to you and your families. We will do the work, when He shows us the way.

Monday Made It - 6/30/14

Today I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It! :)

This week I decided to finally make the Pinterest inspired jewelry cork board that I have been wanting for oh so long! You see, this is what just some of my jewelry was looking like...

Like I said, this is just some. And I couldn't stand it looking like this any longer. So I got to work!

I picked out some fun metallic medallion fabric at JoAnn's and measured it to fit my cork board.

If anyone is going to try this...take it from me. Use spray adhesive and only do a little bit at a time. Start in the corners and flatten the fabric out as you go.

When you're done, organize your jewelry into groups and make sure you have your pins ready.

I bought the T-Pin 32350 on Amazon.com (for the necklaces & bracelets) and got the other pins (for the earrings) at JoAnn's. The pins from JoAnn's worked great because they are U shaped and will hold dangling earrings! Just stick the pins in wherever you would like and just like that, you will have organized jewelry at your fingertips!

It's more fun to pick out jewelry each morning when it looks like this!

 My second creation this week was similar to the first, but it serves as an actual cork board. I wanted to add a bit of color to my tiny office area.

 So I found a cute fabric, cut it to size, and glued it on with spray adhesive.

 I painted the outer rim of this board, but I was not patient. I was very anxious to see the completed project. P.S. - Don't try to glue your fabric on the same day that you paint. 

Here is the completed board with a few papers that I need, and some cute cards from my students. I added some yarn around the edge just for fun.

Lastly, I created this pretty teal background for my new MacBook Pro! Oh how I love my new laptop! This little addition helps me organize all my files and reminds me to concentrate on what is MOST important in my life.

This is a freebie at my TpT store. Stop by and check it out! I'd love some feedback! Thanks a bunch! :)

And that's all for now! Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to link up with other teachers to see some more creative ideas!