Updated Bears - AGAIN!

Ok - so I just spent a few days updating even more of my Bear Snores on pack.... and I even copied off all the pages I'll need and planned my centers....

and then???

I realized I'll be having a sub next week (cough, cough - I feel a sickness coming on -haha!) and I didn't want to "waste" my activities I had planned...lol

I mean, it's not for the whole week or anything, but I really wanted to do this pack with my kids. It's one of my favorite packs.

SO, I'm pushing it back a week, and then I'm just going to extend the "snow" activities.

I know some of you are really tired of snow activities in your rooms, because well, you're probably really tired of the real snow - ha! 

But I was reading Snowmen at Work - and we were doing some cause and effect with the books, and  I asked "So, why do you think the boy thinks his snowman shoveled the snow on the sidewalk??"  They looked at me - so I elaborated....well, when it snows, where does the snow fall??

They gave me EVERY answer EXCEPT for the sidewalk...lol. They just thought that the snow didn't fall on sidewalks and roads - hehe...my poor kiddos. 

They LOVE reading about snow....

So next week?? I'm going to be doing non-fiction snow activities...

Soooo.... now I gotta get off here and plan for next week..... AGAIN...lol. Gotta go check my google drive files- and TpT...lol...I KNOW there are some awesome things out there on snow!

I PROMISE, tomorrow, I'll be back with some pictures of what we've been up to this week. Some fun stuff!!

Anyway - here's the updated pack (again!) - poor pack keeps growing and growing....

I just added some adjectives into the word sort activity, and some more story structure pages, AND a sentence scramble - my kiddos love these things!

What was already in it??

Non-Fiction Student Reader

Bear Facts writing pages

This pack uses Bear Snores on (as well as Bear Feels Scared). It also teaches about hibernation. Activities include:
Sequencing
Tree Map - is, can, do for both Bear in the story and nonfiction bears
Vocabulary Cards for the story AND for the hibernation unit
Picture Dictionary
Label a Bear with caption activity
Show what you know!
Compare and contrast - spring/winter bears and two different books
Writing extensions
Word sort with cut and paste activity

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Updated Storms

Next week our story in our reading series is Super Storms. 

I know, I know - but, Jen, you've said you don't DO the reading series! 

You're right. I don't.

BUT, I DO do weather, so I did make a pack to go with the story, because I can actually use the centers in my weather unit outside of the reading series.

WELL, I went to get the pack to get ready - and OH. EM. GOSH!

Yeah - it was one of my FIRST packs I did .....wow.

SO, I did a make-over on it - AND I added something like 10 pages to it.

I think it looks much better now :)

6 different activities:
~Vocabulary cards with a graphic organizer

~Compare and contrast (in both Venn Diagram and Double-Bubble) for rain/snow and hurricane/tornado with a writing extension

~Compound concentration game

~Sentence Scramble - these are written in a way that they are writing facts about weather

~Picture and caption - after brainstorming ideas, they create a "poster" and write about it

~What I learned - using a divided circle map, they jot down what they know and learned, then write about it

And here is a freebie from this pack - it's the vocabulary word graphic organizer - my kids love doing it!

You will also get some examples on what I do in the "More!" box - TONS of ideas.

So if you've already bought it, make sure to go download it again to get the updated version!

Make sure to head on over to my FB page - there's a nice surprise for you there!

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Catching Up on Penguins and Snowman Visual Plans!

Before I get started with the visual plans for the week, let me catch you up on last week's fun!

Well, we got a present in the mail from our pen pals from Japan!!

With the letters that we always get, they sent a present!!

You don't even KNOW how hard it was for me to wait for my kids to come back from activity before I opened it - ha!! It was so cool!! They sent a book about Tokyo friends, and as you read the book, you can see the English word, the Japanese word, AND their symbol for it - so cool!!

Thank you Suzy!!

OK...

SOOOO....

Last week was FILLED with some serious PENGUIN fun!!

We read TONS of books - 

  

We filled out our All About Penguins sheet as we learned about them throughout the week

We did a LOT of compare and contrast - this is just ONE of the venn-diagrams that we did.

 

THEN, for their reading test for the week, they had to compare and contrast Tacky the Penguin, to a real penguin, giving at least two way they are similar and different.

(awesome rubric from Sarah's Reading Response Rubric pack!)

For writing, we've started our planning sheet for our nonfiction book that's in my penguin pack

They are super excited to start that!!

AND, we did one of the things that they LOVE doing the most - blubber!!

I mean, LOOK at this face - she's so happy about it! lol 

They were putting their hands in 34 degree water....without the blubbler glove

And one in the blubber glove- 

How do you make a blubber glove?? You need 2 gallon bags, and a canister of shortening. and voila! You have a blubbler glove!

My tip from me to you??? TAKE OFF YOUR RINGS when you're scooping the shortening into the bag - haaha!

Here's one of my fave teammates trying it out - what a good sport! 

This is also where I introduced temperature - being able to read a thermometer

Another favorite thing they did was learn how to waddle like a penguin. hehehe

The put a nerf football in their legs, and tried to waddle - it was so funny!

And they did their own diagram - with my guided drawing in the pack to help them.

So - that was the penguin stuff - whew!!

And we started our states of matter books too - this week we'll be finishing them up.

check out my matter pack

NOW, here are this week's visual plans:

Remember...click the picture of the plans (or click HERE), and it'll take you to a PDF document to download...when you download the PDF, you can click on all the pictures and links to take you where you can find all the activities (TpT, blogposts, websites, or Freebies!)

You saw last week's plans with all kinds of penguins and matter and money activities - and some freebies too!! Go check it out if you missed it.

 This week's stories are the Snowmen stories...

I'm going to use activities from Lori’s “Snowmen at” pack throughout the week in whole group and centers - since we're doing the Snowmen at Night and Snowmen All Year books this week.

Before I forget - one of the new things I found on TpT is Lisa's seasonal reading graphic organizers - I'm officially OBSESSED!! I'm doing her winter ones this week in my centers - and I can't wait for the next's month's set - every month! ha!

Which is actually great timing because we're doing cause and effect, so I wanted a little writing activity that showed a cause and effect that went with our story - click the pic to download.

which is why I'm using Miss T's Melted Snowman pack - it's perfect for cause and effect AND states of matter!! woop woop! hitting so many birds with only one stone!

Also - don't forget, I posted yesterday about my new Money pack!

and there's a freebie!

It's actually the spelling center I'm doing this week.

last week we already did one of the activities in the pack.

I wanted to see if they actually knew the coins, so I made them all the same size, so they couldn't just see the smallest  one - they had to know which person or "thing" was on it. 

There are just a few more hours to get it 1/2 off!! Sale ends later today with the pack.

Go check it out!

Hope y'all have a relaxing Sunday!

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Learning with Money!

Here it is - my new baby!

This pack has TONS of activities to get your students working with money!

Coin value sheets - in color and b/w

Student fact sheets with money rubbing - with an option to do them as a student book (my kids love doing books!)

Know Your Coins game boards

Coin and value tree map or flip-foldable

Let's Go Shopping - matching coins to the price

Do I Have Enough - adding coins to decide if they have enough to buy the food

Put 'em In Order - greatest to least or least to greatest

Make a Dollar - with a work mat for centers or an individual mat for independent work

Clip It - clip the clothespin to the game board on the square that matches

I Have, Who Has - two different levels

GO check it out HERE!

I've uploaded one of the centers as a freebie!

Check out my Word’s Worth Freebie to test out one of the centers included in this pack!

Get it for the next 24 hours on sale for 1/2 off!

(sale ends Sunday night at 6:30!)

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Completing Tasks and updated Sound Mapping

OMGosh - this week has been CUH-RAY-ZEEEE

Wednesday - we had family night...

it was Autumn's first time bowling - she LOVED it!! It was sooo cute!!!

and LOOK!!!!

the little stinker beat me!! haha!!

Maybe I needed the bumpers up??? lol!!

Then Thursday, we had parent-teacher conference night. I actually try to do all my conferences at other times, so that I can have a two hour planning period...lol

Except this time?? It didn't work - I had about four parents come in on their own to conference...ummm...ok.

Come on in! 

And these are the parents I talk to all the time anyway.

Oh well, I'm glad their involved at least!

So, I have a few little angels in my room that can NOT get work done...I'm not sure why, since I give them AMPLE time and chances...BUT, after talking with their parents, the plan is to send something home with them daily so they can see if they completed what they were supposed to for that day....

So I made a little diddy - nothing special, but it gets the job done!

Not only am I going to write the things they have to turn in, but also things like center activities, or whole group writing activities - JUST so they can see what kinds of things their kids aren't doing...

Click the pic if you want it - hope it helps you too!

So, I did a little updating to my sound mapping freebie. I use it ALL the time in my RTI groups,

and my kiddos are CONSTANTLY looking at my alphabet on my wall (thank goodness it's below my chalkboard so they can see it easily).

Well, I finally took the time to put the alphabet on the printouts for it.

I put both lower and uppercase, because sometimes we write names, since they too, have the phonics skills in them - well, SOMEtimes they do. And other times?? they TOTALLY don't follow the rules.

I'll be back tomorrow (maybe) with some pictures of our penguin week!!

Hope you guys had a great week!!

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