~~~Penguins & Sneaux Days~~~

"Sneaux" Day Louisiana style!!  Yes, we are having snow days in Louisiana, third one to be exact.  Who would have thought we would have snow here!!  It's sad that everything closes because of a little snow and sleet.  I don't know how to drive in icy weather and neither does anyone else here!  Check out our "Sneaux"!!!

                     

I am trying to keep up with my New Year resolutions and blog. So far, I have accomplished all of my goals EXCEPT blogging more!  I just can't find the time to write!  At least I am working out regularly and eating healthy every day~~Yahoo!  

Penguins, Penguins, Penguins~~We love Penguins!!  My third graders wrote an informative nonfiction essay about penguins.  We started by reading several penguin stories.

Here are the books we read. 

 

Our favorite was Antarctic Antics.  There is also a video (which is my favorite too!). The video can be found on the Discovery Education site.  Our school has a subscription to this site so I am not sure if you can access it.  After reading several books and discussing what we know and learned about penguins, students did a prewriting activity.  They had to write several penguin facts.  The facts could be about anything we discussed as a class or something they read  from the books.  You can download your free copy of the fact sheet HERE. Then, they made penguin puppets and wrote the facts on the back using a bubble map.  Check them out below. Sorry, I do not have a pattern to share for the puppet. 

 

 

 

Students wrote their rough draft using the bubble map.  I found a cute way to help them edit their writing.  I used skittles after each complete sentence.  This way they could see if a sentence had to be changed.  Check them out below!

 

 

Last, students wrote the final copy of their penguin essay.  They made penguins from toilet rolls and puffy paint.  The puffy paint was made from liquid glue and black paint. 

 

The finished essay came out adorable! 

 

I hope you enjoyed our Penguins!  Now, I'm off to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate!!

 



 

~~Writer's Eye~~

I started back in my classroom today.  I am so excited to share my Writer's Eye bulletin board with you.  I think it came out sooo cute!  I can't wait to share it with my students in August!!  I created my own posters, but stole borrowed the idea from Sailing Through 1st Grade.  The large pencil can be found at The Teacher Wife blog.  I have been waiting all summer to create my own board.  Hope you like it!!!

~~I want S'more~~

I LOVE S'mores, I mean really, really love them!  And...I also know that my students love them just as much as I do.  Making and eating S'mores in the classroom was something I HAD to do.  Sooooo, I decided to devote a whole week to this fun, oozy, gooey, little, bite of heaven.  Students wrote a nonfiction, how-to guide for making S'mores.  There wasn't a single student who didn't have chocolate or marshmallow cream everywhere!!  Not only were the students having fun, but they didn't know they were learning too!!!  Please check out our creations below.  I made up some activities of my own and borrowed some from fellow teachers.

I am linking up with Teaching Blog Addict: Freebie Friday and Classroom Freebies: Manic Monday to share my S'more Freebies. 

For a prewriting activity, students made S'mores and completed an activity involving their 5 senses. Last year, using the microwave took too much time with melting the marshmallows and chocolate. I changed it up a bit by using chocolate sauce and marshmallow cream (see first photo).  While enjoying the S'mores, students created a chart using adjectives. 

Grab your copy of the S'mores chart (HERE)

 

 

 

 

For the rough draft, students wrote a step-by-step guide for making S'mores.  I used Awesome in 1st: How to make a S'more packet.  Students wrote the steps first as a rough draft.  Then, they created a flip book with the steps.  I created some tabs for the flip book.   

 

Click (HERE) to download a FREE copy of the tabs. 

 

 

Here are some photos of our rough drafts. I helped the students do all the editing.  Usually, I send home the rough draft for the parents to edit.  Since this writing activity was not our usual 5 paragraph paper, I did the editing myself. I used the S'more packet for the rough draft.

 

 

Last, students wrote the final copy of the steps using stationary from the  S'more Packet.  They glued the final copy on black construction paper and made a small paper S'more for the corners.  Check out our finished products below.

 

 

 

 

I also created a S'more Rubric to grade the writing activity.  Grab your FREE copy (HERE).

 

 

 

 I hope you come back for S'more activities!!!

 





 

~~Frankenstein Writing & Freebies~~

My favorite holiday of the year is finally here~~Halloween!!! I really don't know why I love Halloween, I just do!  Maybe it's the spooky stories, zombies, bats, ghosts, or horror movies, which ever one, I love Halloween!  My first Halloween treat of the season was homemade.  Check out these precious candy corn treats!!

Now...my writing assignment
I finally found something my students adore~creating a Frankenstein!  In English this week,  students created their version of Frankenstein and wrote creative stories about his/her life.  The final essays came out A-MAZ-ING!  I couldn't wait to hang them in the hallway for everyone to see.  The students were so excited about this assignment.  I am so glad I searched Pinterest!  Check out the finished essays!  Don't worry~~~I posted links of the bubble map and lined paper we used!

First, we brainstormed about Frankenstein.  I allowed each student to tell me everything they knew.  We had quite a discussion about if Frankenstein was real.  After sharing their thoughts, I read the students a cute story. 

Next, I gave each student a copy of a bubble map.  They had to write about his/her Frankenstein~~where he/she lived? who were his/her friends? what does he/she look like? what does he/she eat?  They were instructed to write at least 3 details in each bubble. Many of them just had to draw a picture of Frankenstein on the back.  They couldn't contain their excitement! Check out some of the sample bubble maps. Grab your free copy (HERE).

Then (the next day), students used the details on the bubble map to write an essay.  This essay was a simple writing assignment.  Students had to come up with at least 5 complete sentences~we're having a bit of trouble with this skill lately.  Check out some of the sample writings.  Students did all editing at home with their parents.  You can see below how the editing was done.

 

Last, students copied their edited essay on lined paper.  Grab your free copy (HERE).

After putting the final touches on their essay, students created their Frankenstein.  I gave them a piece of green construction paper and a pile of other colors~~then told them to go create!  Check out the finished essays.

Don't forget to grab your free copy of the bubble map and lined paper below.

 

Free copy of paper: (HERE)

 

Free copy of bubble map: (HERE)

Hope everyone has a safe & spooky Halloween season!

End-of-the-Year Linky Party



What a CRAZY week and weekend!!!  We are finished with our state testing and school fair.  Yahoo!!! This past week consisted of finishing up state testing, teaching students a dance for the fair performance, painting a picture for the fair silent auction, (see picture below), making over 50 candy apples for the sweets booth, and practicing for the teacher fair performance!  Yes, I am one of 11 teachers who actually dances in front of the parents and students at the fair!!!  I think the best part of dancing would be attending all practices after school!!!


enjoying the fair

candy apples for the sweet booth

silent auction: each student painted a different picture on the canvas




End-of-the-Year Linky Party

With state testing & the fair behind me, I can start preparing for the end of the year. I am linking up with Clutter-Free Classroom and sharing my end-of-the-year ideas.  I can't believe May is right around the corner!!  Where did the school year go?  I still need to put together portfolios and make a power point presentation.  I love making a power point from all of the pictures I take during the school year.  I must admit that it takes over a week to construct because I always find a way to mess up something!  It never fails that every year I make some kind of mistake!!!  For the portfolios, I save the students' work all year and use sheet protectors in binders.  I like to put the work in order from the first to last day for the parents.  I put all work in sheet protectors.  The parents appreciate the organization of the work so much because it saves them the time of doing it over the summer. 


Also, students complete a summer writing activity.  This writing activity is my favorite one of the year.  The creativity that flows from the students' brains is amazing!  Students are asked to write about a summer trip they have taken already or plan on taking.  After editing the rough draft, students write the final copy of the essay on sunglasses.  Students glue glasses on large white construction paper and draw a picture around the glasses.  I was amazed the first time I did this with my class.  I did not instruct them to draw a person.  The end results were more than I imagined!

summer writing

summer writing

end-of-the-year presentation set up

 

 

Click (HERE) to grab your sunglasses template.

 

 

What a post!  Please check out Clutter-Free Classroom Project and join the End-of-the-Year Linky Party!

With much appreciation,