Thanksgiving Fun!

Thanksgiving is almost here!  I don't know if I am more excited to be off for a few days or stand out in cold for Black Friday!

I've started gathering up some fun ideas for the kids.  We only have school on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, so we might as well have fun, fun FUN!

I started a new Pinterest page just for Holiday Ideas for Grades K-5.  Take a look at all of the fantastic ideas people have.  Here is the link for my new board:

http://www.pinterest.com/tracysmith827/holiday-themed-ideas-for-the-k-5-classroom/

Here are some of my favorites:

Click on the picture and it will take you to the Holiday Pinterest page and then you can click on the picture to go to the directions.  These are just a few of the great things I found.  I've already started pinning things for Christmas!  Can't wait!

All of these amazing ideas do not belong to me, I found them all on Pinterest and I can't wait to do them with my kiddos next week!

Happy Teaching!
Tracy

The Turkey Times!

We have been working really hard on our writing skills.  We seem to do really well with creative writing and they come up with the cutest stories, but we still are having trouble with writing to inform.  So I came up with this quick lesson and the kids got the biggest kick out of it.

They got to be a reporter and take notes on funny turkey facts.  Did you know that a turkey can have a heart attack?  Or that turkeys can hear but have no external ears?  Well we sure didn't and the kids thought those were the funniest things ever.

So I projected a list of turkey facts and I let them take notes from it just like a reporter.  They picked at least five that they could include in their news story.  Then, we wrote our rough drafts and had to see the chief editor (that was ME) for corrections before they submitted their final copies.  Finally, we published them on the front page of The Turkey Times!

It was a fun activity and we made it into this display in the classroom.  Click on the picture below to see the whole thing on my TPT site. 

Happy Teaching!
Tracy

Dig DEEP into Common Core Reading!

Sorry, I know I have been MIA for a few weeks.  The husband decided it would be a great idea to get sick and land in the hospital for a week!  At least I used the time to get some things made for my classroom.  Nothing like coloring on one of those hospital tables.

A few years ago I had this ring of cards with a reading questions on it.  I have no idea where I got it or who made it.  All I know is that I miss it!   In the move this summer, I lost them and really wanted to make up a new set.

I loved having them in different places in the classroom so I never had to think about which question to ask next.  I even made a few sets so the kids could use them during Turn and Talk time to help them ask each other higher level questions when they got stuck.

So since I have finally given up looking for them, I decided I had to try and make them again.

Here is my latest creation! 
It has 66 questions and each question is aligned to the Bloom's Taxonomy level.  You can take a better look, by clicking the picture to go to my TPT store.

Happy Teaching!