Halloween: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

My favorite holiday is quickly approaching.  I love Fall and all that comes with the season. (Okay, maybe not the snow...) There are so many fun projects and activities for Halloween.  I decided to create a really fun activities packet for my students.  I'm excited to see how they enjoy these activities throughout the month of October. 

Here are some of the activities that can be found in the packet. You can find these activities individually in my TPT shop by clicking on the activity titles or you can find the entire packet HERE.

1. What's in the Cauldron Activity- Students create a new potion for a witch's brew. They have to list the ingredients, the directions, and the purpose of the potion.

2. Slimy Sally's Disgusting Restaurant Activity- Students help Slimy Sally create a new menu for her restaurant.  The grosser the food, the better!

3. Halloween Word Search- Students search for 21 Halloween themed words.

4. Halloween Cryptogram- Students use the secret code to solve the Halloween riddle.

5. Halloween Double Puzzle- Students must first unscramble the 15 Halloween themed words.  They then must solve the Halloween riddle at the bottom of the page.  A word bank is included!

6. Halloween Drawing Prompt- Students create an illustration using the prompt "Something in the closet was making a strange noise, so I opened the door and saw..." 

7. Halloween Word Bank Activity- Students try to create as many words as they can by only using the letters in the saying "Have a Spooky Halloween".

8. Halloween Writing Prompt- Students create a story using the prompt "It was a dark and stormy night when..."

9. Halloween Acrostic Poem- Students can create a Halloween acrostic poem using this template.

10. Halloween Maze- Fun and FREE Halloween themed maze.

 I hope you all enjoy this season as much as I do! If not, I hope these activity help you through October.

Hilarious Compound Words

I have to say that I love teaching compound words.  I think they are fun for 1st graders-5th graders. (Even I really enjoy doing this activity!)  I have now done this activity with 1st, 2nd, and 5th graders. All of the age groups have really enjoyed this activity. 

I recently taught compound words to my current 5th graders.  They were laughing out loud as they considered the possibilities for this activity. Students were given a compound word and told to draw a picture about the two separate words.  Instead of drawing a butterfly, they could draw a cube of butter that can fly.

Here are a few examples of what my students did for compound words.

 My students loved this activity and always ask if they can make more pictures.  This activity can be found here! It includes 30 templates like the ones pictured above and a blank template. 

 I still need to have my students play this Compound Word Sort Game. It can be found here. 

There is a FREE anchor chart that can be found here.

I have a complete compound word unit that includes all of the above items and more! The packet can be found here. 

Supply Person

My school divides up the jobs for each grade level instead of having one person in charge.  Each person is responsible for either ordering supplies, scheduling, working on the Social Committee, making sure we have team meetings, or meeting with the other grade levels.  This year I happen to be the... Supply Girl. 

I tend to like things to be more organized and there wasn't really an organized way for my coworkers to request supplies. (I usually don't remember when someone asks for tape as I'm rushing to make copies.) I created this little document to keep in our workroom.  My coworkers can now just write the supplies they need me to order. It makes it so much easier to have everything I need to order on one list. 

Here's the freebie for all my fellow Supply Girls/Boys. 

Teacher Note Home

I feel like I finally have my feet under me now that I've actually been teaching the same grade for a few years. Now I try to set a new goal for myself each year.  Having actual art assignments was my goal last year.  Art always seemed to end up being some quick little coloring activity before last year.  I really tried to make the effort to teach actual art skills. 

The goal for this year is trying to send personalized notes home.  And not just a quick email.  I wanted my students to know that I had taken the time to hand write a sweet note about them.  (Of course they read them before they give them to their parents.) It seems like it would feel great to have this note in your backpack that is complimenting you.  

Maybe I'm over thinking a simple note but maybe I'm not.  It seems like small acts sometimes go a long way with parents and students.  

I decided to make a template and I LOVE the way it turned out! I already sent home two notes. There's one that can be used for boys and one that can be used for girls.  Here's where you can find the Teacher Note Home template. 

Do you have any goals this year?

5th Grade Reading Street Concept Maps

My school started using the Reading Street program (Common Core Edition 2011) last year.  Needless to say, it was a little overwhelming at first. I think I got the the point where I knew what I really needed to cover and sometimes didn't worry about the rest.  This is called prioritizing...

One thing that I wasn't the best at doing was using the concept maps.  I hated trying to find them in my teacher edition and I also hated having them on my board the whole week. 

I decided that I was going to try to make more of an effort to use the concept maps so I revamped the way I used them before. The Concept Maps are now more usable and accessible. They can be displayed on the wall or a bulletin board instead of just written on the board. They could also be used in small group or student led group discussions by having the students sort the cards themselves.

I hope that I do better now that I have these! They can be found here for Unit 1 if you think you could use them too.

Cute First Day of School Treat

I saw this cute idea for a Back to School treat on Facebook.  I just wanted to share this really cute and simple idea.

Here are the supplies you will need:

Each Rolo pack makes one pencil.  The Hugs/Kisses are used for the pencil tip and the tin foil is the metal by the eraser. You will use pink paper and yellow paper to cover the Rolo pack.

Here is a little more of a step by step look.  You can use the string shown in the supply picture to tie on a cute note for your students.  You can also just write directly on the pencil for your note. 

I thought this was so cute.  Let me know what you think!

Back to School Already?!

I am always amazed at how fast the break seems to be.  Maybe we just plan so many things that we don't have a lot of free time.  I feel like I've been gone the majority of the break and now I have no time left.  As I'm trying to get used to the idea of going back to work, I wanted to make sure I had some fun activities for my students.  This is a great Back to School packet with 11 activities.  It will be a great resource for all during beginning of the year assessments.  I hope you find it useful!

The packet containing all 11 activities can be found here.

Here are the activities that can be found in the packet. You can find these activities individually in my TPT shop by clicking on the activity titles.

1.Back to School Word Search- Students search for 21 Back to School words.

 2. Welcome Back to School Word Bank-Students try to create as many words as they can only using the letters found in "Welcome Back to School"

3. Summer Snapshot- Students draw a picture and write about their favorite thing from Summer.

4. Student Get to Know Each Other Activity- Students have to find a student that fits the category like "has a pet". Each category has a point and students try to get the most points.

5. Back to School Maze- Maze activity that's FREE!

6. Back to School Activity Grid- Students think of a word that fits the category and starts with the letters in "Welcome". For example, a color that starts with 'W' could be white.

7. Good Teacher Comic- Students create a comic that shows what they think makes a good teacher.

8. Student Get to Know Each Other Summer Activities- Students have to find a student that fits the category of summer activities like "someone who saw a movie".

9. Back to School Double Puzzle- Students must unscramble 21 back to school words and then solve the puzzle.Word bank included.

10. Back to School Cryptogram- Students use the code to solve the riddle.

11. Back to School Crossword Puzzle-Crossword with clues to 15 back to school words. Word bank included.

I hope these help you ease back into the swing of things.  Good luck getting your classroom ready and enjoy the rest of your time off!

While the Teacher is Away....

I recently had a wedding to attend in Oregon and had to leave my class for four days.  I have NEVER had to leave my class for so long! Here and there I have taken personal or sick days, but never four in a row.  It's so overwhelming to plan for extended periods! I don't think very many people understand that sometimes it's just easier to go to work sick.  I have no idea how women plan for six weeks of maternity! I'm pretty sure something like that might induce labor.

Of course I worried a little bit while I was gone.  I have a great class but I think we all hope everything is running smoothly for our substitutes (and students).  Luckily, I attached a substitute feedback form to each day's lesson plan.  She completed the form throughout each day.  It was so great to get to read how each day went while I was gone.  I was able to see if there were any behavior issues, changes to the lessons, and more.  I'm pretty sure my students thought I had teacher super powers since I already knew all that had happened while I was away.  

Here's the FREE feedback form I used! I hope this helps others with their all-knowing super powers.

Student Gift Idea

Okay, this post is going to be really similar to the last.  I just love how these gifts are turning out! I have also struggled with what to do for students at the end of the year.  My students are going to middle school next year so I thought I should do something nice.  

I gave my students a questionnaire to gather information.  They kept asking what it was for and I just told them for an activity later in the year.  Sly... 

Here is the questionnaire I used: Student Questionnaire

I then used the fabulous Tagxedo to create my gift.  I just typed in all of the information I gathered from the questionnaire.  Then I chose the font color based on their favorite color.  I also tried to pick a shape based on something that interests them.  There were a lot that didn't have shapes that correlated so I just chose a fun shape.  

I purchased frames from my local dollar store and voila! 

I love the way they turned out and I can't wait to see my students' reactions when they get them.  Such a quick and cheap gift!

What gifts do you do for your students?

Parent Volunteer Gifts on a Limited Budget

I always feel like I should do something for my parent volunteers or room parent.  I choose to do a committee instead of having just a single parent in charge of everything.  There is one parent that is kind of in charge of the committee but she has just made sure everything was divided up and taken care of throughout the year.  I have gotten a lot of positive feedback about the committee.  Parents seem to like not having to commit to and entire year of activities.  However, the committee means I have more parent volunteers to get a gift for! The end of the year also means the end of my budget.  

I have tried several different small things throughout the years as gifts. Last year I used wordle to create an easy gift.  This year, I think I found the perfect gift.  It's thoughtful and easy on the wallet. All I had to buy was a frame.  I purchased a few at my local dollar store.  I then used this amazing website to create the item that will go in the frame.  

Here is the website is used to create this cute gift: Tagxedo

 

After entering all of my students names, I just needed to pick the font, font color, and shape of the finished product.  I decided to go with a hand because it went with my theme.  You can pick from a variety of shapes if you don't like mine!

I made my cute tag using a frame designed by  

Dancing Crayon Designs.

Here is the final product!  

Not bad for $1.00! What do you think?

 

Fun in the Sun

I have to admit that I am counting the days until the end of the year. (Even though I will miss my students terribly!) I have Spring Fever!  I can't wait for the nice, warm (more like hot) weather.  I know that my students are suffering from the same illness.  I wanted to have some fun activities for them since we're getting so close to our vacation. These are perfect to have during my crazy testing schedule.

1. Beach Ball Maze- This activity is pretty much self explanatory and it's FREE!! (Makes the activity even better!

2. Summer Crossword Puzzle- This puzzle has 15 summer word clues.  A word bank is also available depending on how much of a challenge you would like for your students.

 

3. Summer Cryptogram- My students always love figuring out "secret codes".  Students use the code to solve the riddle.

4.  Summer Vacation Word Bank- This is a great way to make your students think and brainstorm.  They try to create as many words as they can only using the letters in "I Love Summer Vacation."

 

5. Summer Word Search- Students search for 21 summer words.

I hope these activities will help any others that are suffering from Spring Fever!

It's That Time of Year Again

I can't believe that the end of the year is almost here.  I'm so excited for the break but I'm sad to say goodbye to my little kiddos.  Especially since my current 5th graders were my 2nd graders during my first year of teaching.  This will be the second time I will have to say goodbye to them! 

As I am preparing to say goodbye, I am also preparing my end of the year activities.  I have created 10 really fun end of the year/summer themed activities.  The activity packet can be found here.  

Here are some of the activities that can be found in the packet. You can find these activities individually in my TPT shop by clicking on the activity titles.

1.  Then and Now Activity- I love this activity.  My students really enjoy getting to compare how they were at the beginning of the year to how they are now.  They like seeing how much they've changed. 

2. End of the Year Advice- This is a really fun activity.  I give this to my students at the end of the year and then save them for my new students.  It gives a chance for the students to tell other students what to expect.  They love getting to give advice and the new students love reading what past students wrote.  

3.  Letter to My Teacher- This gives the students a chance to write a letter to their teacher at the end of the year.  I really enjoy getting to read these.  They make great mementos! 

4. Class Awards- My school does not have a yearbook! I have a yearbook from every single year of school.  I feel bad that my students don't have yearbooks so I try to have a few "yearbook" activities.  This has 15 different awards with two students for each award (30 awards total).  The awards include Best Laugh, Best Athletes, Best Artists, and more!

5. Autograph Pages- This goes along with the yearbook activities.  These pages allow students to gather autographs from their friends.  This is a great last day activity and they're FREE!!

That's all for now.  Good luck to everyone else preparing for the end of the year!