Rockin' Teacher Materials: Tips For Keeping Your Students Healthy During The ...

Rockin' Teacher Materials: Tips For Keeping Your Students Healthy During The ...: Hey all! I wanted to share a guest post from Marcela De Vivo about keeping your school kids healthy. Good reminders for a brand new year!

10 Page My First Day in ______ Grade Freebie!

Friends~Don't miss this fun 10 page freebie from The Schroeder Page.  Your students will love recording all of their first in class with this simple draw and write booklet.  

Copy it on half sheets of paper back to back to save paper!  It is perfect for a time capsule activity!  Click over to grab this freebie and sign up for The Schroeder Page News!  You will get a free link to my Singing is Learning songs on Sound Cloud.  

Two Math Games

It's important that children spend some time in conversation.  Brain research proves that, and as classroom teachers, we know we need to let them talk... sometimes!

Brain research also proves that getting the emotions involved helps the memory.  (Think back to those very emotional times of your own life... they bring back strong memories, don't they?  Think:  weddings, babies, holidays)

For those reasons, I make sure my kids play plenty of math games.  There are so many math skills that need to be repeated to be strengthened, and games can be played again and again!

Come on over to Elementary Matters to download these two math freebies!

Creative Ways to Line Up Your Class {Freebie}

Sometimes, if you're like me, you need a fresh idea for lining up your little sweet peas.  Walk on over to I Love 2 Teach to scoop up a free copy of twenty-four ideas that you can use to creatively get your kiddos in line.  Here's a sneak peek...

See you soon!

The Brain, Baseball, and Geography

I read a lot about the brain because I find it absolutely fascinating.  I also want my students to learn, so I'm always searching for ways to help them remember what I've taught.

I've found that kids learn best when they get a little bit at a time, frequently, rather than one big lesson all at once, then never to see it again.  (Unfortunately, our present Math program does the latter.)

There's plenty of evidence out there to prove that frequent review and practice is the best way for children to remember what they're learning.

There's also plenty of evidence to prove that connecting the learning to the passions of the children help the learning process as well.

So, what does this have to do with baseball?  Come check out my blog at Elementary Matters to find out!

What's up for Spring Games?

I am so ready for Spring!  Here in New Hampshire, the temperature seems to have trouble getting past the 40s, and there are still patches of snow everywhere, including my garden!

But Spring is in my heart, as well as my classroom.  

Games make up a big part of my centers, and I have several spring activities in my classroom!

Come on over to Elementary Matters to see some of my Spring Activities!

Earth Day Writing Freebie

I'm a big fan of Earth Day.  I think looking out for our world is HUGE and it needs to happen now.  Each and every one of us needs to do what we can to help this place be around for our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren.

I always celebrate every Earth Day with plenty of good literature.  Here are some of my favorite children's books with an Earth Day theme:

          

Earth Day is an ABC book, and makes a great introduction to the concept of protecting the environment.

The Lorax, is classic Seuss!  He tells about a mystical land of fantasy, which, in true Seuss fashion, a much deeper real story.  Even my second graders understand this valuable lesson.

The Wump World is a fun book to read to the children and NOT show the illustrations (even the cover) until the children have had a chance to show the Wumps and Pollutians that they visualized while listening to the story.  Another great story about a fantasy world with very real lessons!

This one is a new discovery to me, and my new "Earth Day Favorite". 

A River Ran Wild is a story that dates back to the days the Native Americans ruled this area, and respected the earth.  It continues through European settlers, the industrial age, and attempts to clean up the river.  This book is based on a local river, which makes it near and dear to my heart, but it's a valuable message about protecting our world.  My students became very upset when they saw what happened to the beautiful river!

See THIS BLOG POST for more about this book, and an art activity to go with it.

You can click the images above for a link to Amazon, to learn more about these books.

After reading, I intend to have the children do some opinion writing and/ or explanatory/ informational writing based on what they have learned about protecting the environment.

Here's a collection of writing paper with the Earth Day theme that I'll be using.  

Come over to Elementary Matters to download this freebie.

How are you honoring Earth Day this year?

Twelve Ways to Celebrate Writing

As a blogger, I know the power of the audience.  It's you readers out there that make me want to blog, and make me want to make quality blog posts!  Don't our children need this same sense of audience to motivate their writing?  I think so!

Here are some ideas for celebrating the children's writing:

1.  Share in Class!  Have one child read his/ her story to the class.  Class is expected to listen and ask questions that "prove they were listening."  This works well when the child is "mid-story" in order to get ideas on where to go from this point.

2.  Small Group Shares! Have children work in groups of 2 or three to share their stories as above.

3.  Share Your Best Sentence!  I like this one because there's usually enough time for each child to share one sentence.  If the children know it's coming, that helps motivate the children to work on the quality of their sentences.

4.  Share With Someone Else in the Building!  There are lots of adults in an elementary school who would be thrilled to "play along" with this one!  It's a great motivator to promise a child that he can read his story to the custodian, or the secretary, or the cafeteria workers.  It's a win-win!

Come on over to Elementary Matters to see more ways to celebrate the writing of your students!

Prefix and Suffix {Freebie}

I'm not a fan of worksheets, so when it comes to understanding and using prefixes and suffixes, a foldable came to mind.  Grab your free copy at I Love 2 Teach.

 

Enjoy!

Teaching Fluency Through Poetry Giveaway!

Hey friends, head on over to McCumbee Talent Development to enter to win this fantastic giveaway!

Eggs-cellent Freebie

Looking for some ideas for those cute little plastic eggs you find everywhere this time of year?

I've got a few ideas!  Come on over to Elementary Matters to download this freebie, and check out a few other ideas!

Easter Freebies!

Do you have an Easter freebie to share?  Are you looking for Easter ideas?

I felt it was time for an Easter Linky Party.  I hadn't seen any, so I decided to set one up!

Just hop on over to Elementary Matters, link up, or check out the freebies left from others!  Have fun!

Many Free Downloads!

Hey Friends! I have created a new section on my blog called Professional Development with tons of free downloads. I hope you will stop by and look around. Click the picture below to head on over to my blog and begin browsing!

St. Patty's Day Fun and a Freebie

Don't you just love St. Patrick's Day?  It's one of my very favorite special days!

Why?  Well, I admit, I have Irish blood in me, but I think it's because of the timing.  In New England, the winters are so very long that by the middle of March, we need something fun and silly to celebrate.  So we all wear green and wear silly leprechaun pins and headbands.  It's good for lifting spirits while waiting for those first signs of spring.

Plus, it's an opportunity to sneak in extra practice on those important skills!  Below are some free addition and subtraction story problems.  (I don't think they can get enough problem solving practice, and adding stories about leprechauns makes it more fun!)  These are designed for second grade, but would be useful for high first graders or review for third graders.

Come on over to Elementary Matters to download your freebie and see a "shillelagh full of ideas" for the big day!  (If you're not sure what a shillelagh is, see THIS LINK to Wikipedia!)