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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Mitten Themed Contraction Activities -- Freebies

Warm up to a contraction review with these two activities. Click on the pic below to download....and warm up my heart with a comment!


Don't forget to join my Snow Day Linky Party by clicking here! Share your favorite snow-related activity, favorite snow-themed book, or most inspiring snowy Pin from Pinterest!


Friday, December 30, 2011

Choose the Operation Snowball Fight -- Freebie

Students read each problem and choose the operation to make each equation true. Great practice on a little higher level!
Click on the pic to download...and don't forget the comment!


Don't forget to join my Snow Day Linky Party by clicking here! Share your favorite snow-related activity, favorite snow-themed book, or most inspiring snowy Pin from Pinterest!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Division Snowball Fight -- Freebie

How about a snowball fight to practice dividing by nines? Click on the pic to download....and throw a comment my way!


Don't forget to join my Snow Day Linky Party by clicking here! Share your favorite snow-related activity, favorite snow-themed book, or most inspiring snowy Pin from Pinterest!

Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Is There Anything Better Than a Snow Day? Linky Party and Freebie

Is there? Not in my book! Not sleeping much through the night so you can be sure to hear the announcement on TV that your system is OUT! Spending the day in your PJ's! Cuddling up to the computer or with a good book and a hot cup of tea!
But in order to have a precious Snow Day, we have to have SNOW! Maybe if enough of us get snow on the brain, the weatherman will get the message and put one in the forecast. Link up with your favorite snow-themed activity you have to share, your favorite snow-themed book to read with your class,  the best snow-inspired pin you found on Pinterest......anything snow related!
To start us off, here is a freebie based on Cynthia Rylant's precious book, Snow. Students distinguish between nouns and adjectives, then write sentences with two of the pairs.
Graphics by KPMDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com






Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Top Three Linky Party

Fern Smith is hosting a Top Three Linky Party on her blog. It was pretty interesting checking the stats on my blog to see which posts had the most traffic. I'm still pretty new to the blog world and don't have a lot of traffic, so my numbers don't compare to those who have been around longer!
My top post so far has been my shoutout to KPM Doodles and a prefix freebie I posted. It had 285 page views. Click on the pic below to check it out.

Next was the freebie Fractions at the Beach with 216 views. Click below to see it.

And the third place post was It's Snowing Verbs freebie with 155 views. Click the pic to see it.

I obviously need to learn how to promote my blog better!




Multiplication Snowball Fight! -- Freebie!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful break! Today is my day to do just what I want! I plan on spending the day in my pajamas!  I need to head over to the couch and watch a movie with my daughter. Have a great rest of the break!

Here is a quick review activity for the 7, 8, and 9 multiplication tables. Click on the pic to download.
Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Friday, December 23, 2011

Shoutout to KPM Doodles and Prefix Fun -- Freebie

I love KPM Doodles! Her graphics just make me want to keep making things! Here is a game on the prefixes mis-, un-, dis-, and re-. Just add a die and your kids and you are all ready!
Click on the pic to download.....and don't forget the comment! They have been wonderful early Christmas presents!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fractions at the Beach -- Freebie

Seems like I'm starting a beach theme here....maybe my mind is down on the Coast even though I'm stuck here in Tennessee! 
Here's a little freebie game on fractions. Enjoy! (And please leave a comment!) Click on the pic to download.
Graphics by KPMDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Surf's Up for Fractions!

Surf's Up! It's time to practice fractions. Students match up numerical, pictorial, and word forms of fractions. Please leave a comment! It keeps me motivated to keep posting!

Graphics by KPMDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Whoooo Knows Contractions?

Whoooo knows contractions? Your students will with a little practice! Use this freebie for some extra help in a center or as a whole group activity. Click on the pic to download. Whooooooo will leave a comment?
Graphics by KPMDoodles.com   Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Monday, December 19, 2011

Today is Celebration Day!

Today is our Christmas Celebration at school. We go all day, then come in tomorrow for two hours. We don't come back until a Staff Development Day on January 4.
I'm going to do the same thing I did for Halloween and project our schedule of activities on our Promethean Board. It helped to keep the kids on track and contain their excitement for Halloween, so I'm hoping it will work today, too!



I'll have all the materials for the day hidden in shopping bags, so they'll have to be sitting out. The kids will make some good guesses/inferences/predictions about what's in the bags and justify their answers.


Each student will get an individually wrapped Christmas brownie. They will use their senses to write a paragraph about their brownie.



We need to review nouns, so we are going to do a Scavenger Hunt using our Christmas books. For a little added fun, they are going to get a giant ink pen I found at The Dollar Tree to record their answers.



Jake, our elf on a shelf, has been watching us closely. This is the student's last chance to convince him Santa needs to visit. They will write a persuasive letter to Jake. 



I'm going to use some of the Christmas-themed activities I've made over the past few weeks to do a speed review of some of our most important skills.




Mrs. Frizzle and the gang are going to take us on a holiday adventure to a recycling plant. The students will make a graphic organizer to show what new information they learned from the movie.




Each student gets a giant candy cane stuffed with kisses to use to make up multiplication and division word problems. They will ask their table group to draw bar models to solve the problems.

After that, it's lunch and then refreshment time....and finally, dismissal!


Sunday, December 18, 2011

Accountability for Station Work

Several of you have left me comments asking how I hold my students accountable for the work I ask them to do in our learning stations. Click here to download a copy of the "I Can" sheet my teammate and I developed to help our kids keep up with both their work and what they are learning. Asking them to write the "I Can" statement for the activity helps them to focus on the skill. They also add their likes and dislikes about each station to help us improve what we choose as activities. They keep their sheet in their binder and fill it out each day. On Friday, they turn it in.

We are lucky to have a dedicated two hour literacy block. My students go to two literacy stations each morning. The third rotation is always Read to Self. Last year, I only had five stations and students went to every student each morning. That meant I had to come up with 25 meaningful activities each week. This year, I have ten stations for the week. Each station is about twenty minutes. I do a focus lesson at the beginning of the morning before we do our first station rotation and another lesson after each of the first and second rotation before students move to their Read to Self time. (Monday's first focus lesson is always an explanation of the stations for the week.) I have small groups while they are working in stations. One group usually misses Read to Self for a small group session, so I vary the order of groups each day.

For Math, I start off with whole group instruction and move into small groups at the end of class. Part of my class goes to a Math station while several of my students have their RTI time after Math class. They usually just get through one station before we have to go to lunch. This is the first year I have tried to implement Math stations. With my schedule, this is what works for me this year. It probably won't look quite the same next year!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Mitten Tree -- Freebie

The Mitten Tree is a beautiful book of friendship in unexpected places.Click on the picture below to download activities on sequencing, identifying nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and distinguishing between even and odd numbers. Please leave me a comment if you download!


Friday, December 16, 2011

The End -- Freebie on Cause and Effect and Synonyms

I love, love, love this story! And so do my students. It's a fairy tale told backwards, so they have to think a little as they try to identify the cause and effect. I added a freebie for synonym practice, too. Click on the pic to download. Please leave a comment!
Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com and KPMDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Snug as a Bug---Shhh! It's a Secret!

I found this cute little book today that I'm going to give to one of my First Grade friends tomorrow with these activities as her Christmas present. (Hope she doesn't read this post tonight!) The activities to go with the book are on a lower level than what I usually do, but my Third Graders that need a little extra help can still use these. I thought some of you might like them, too.
(Merry Christmas, Terra!)
Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Monday, December 12, 2011

The Gingerbread Pirates -- Freebie

Students can't rely on just the text to arrange these events in order. Events are paraphrased to make students think a little harder!
Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Please leave a comment if you download!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Fancy Nancy's Splendiferous Christmas -- Freebie

Let Fancy Nancy review sequencing events in a story with your students. There's also a vocabulary and sentence writing activity included in this freebie.

Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Now I'm off to watch Once Upon a Time.....I spent all afternoon working at school while I was listening to/re-watching all the episodes! Anyone else hooked?

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash -- Freebie

I needed this activity for my skill this week, so I decided to go ahead and post it even though everything else I've done lately has had a Christmas theme. If you are doing cause and effect, this one's for you!


Thursday, December 8, 2011

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Freebie

Alexander's day might have been pretty bad, but he might be able to help your kids practice arranging events in sequence.
Click on the pic below to download.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Santa's Eleven Months Off -- Freebie

Here is another fun book to review sequencing and common and proper nouns! Your kids are going to love Santa's Eleven Months Off almost as much as I love reading your comments!
Click on the pic below to download.


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Santa is Stuck in the Chimney...and He's Bringing You a Freebie!

If you can get him out of the chimney, he's got a sequencing freebie for you! Click on the pic to download.



Monday, December 5, 2011

How Santa Lost His Job -- Freebie

Here's the sequel to How Santa Got His Job I promised. How Santa Lost His Job is just as funny! Read the story, then choose from two cause and effect activities and a sequencing activity. 
Don't forget the comment!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

I've Got Sunshine...on a Cloudy Day....AND a Christmas Noun Freebie!

(Freebie is at bottom of all the Thank You's!)

I've gotten a little behind on my thank-you's since my observation and wanted to be sure to send some out! To all of you who left comments....thank you, thank you, thank you! No matter where I am, if my Blackberry goes off to let me know I have a message from one of you, it puts a smile on my face! 

And a special "thank you" to...
Mrs. Corbitt at Tadpole Tidbits
Patricia at Primary Practice
Denise on Yearn to Learn
and
Mrs. L at Life with Mrs. L

All these kind ladies nominated me for a Sunshine Award. Be sure to go check out their blogs as soon as you can. I get a lot of good ideas from them!


When you receive this award, you have to do three things:
1. Say thank you to the person that nominated you
2. Answer some questions
3. Pay it forward

Here are my answers:
Favorite Color: Green (I guess....never understood why we had to pick one)
Favorite Animal: Tillie, our dog
Favorite Number: 3
Favorite Drink: Diet Coke
Facebook or Twitter:  Facebook, but not as much nowadays!
My Passion: Reading, Making activities for my kids at school (and sharing with you!)
Giving or Getting: Definitely Giving!
Favorite Flower: Zinnias and Gerbera Daisies
Favorite Day: Definitely Thanksgiving!

Some of my Go To blogs and my Nominees:


Okay, I promised a freebie (drumroll, please........)
We still need practice on types of nouns. Here is a Christmas themed Noun Scavenger Hunt. Click on the pic to download.


Happy Sunday!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

How Santa Got His Job -- Freebies for Cause and Effect and Sequencing

If you aren't familiar with this book, it will soon become one of your favorites! Click on the pic below to download a freebie with two activities....one on sequencing and one for cause and effect.

....and stay tuned for additional activities on the companion book, How Santa Lost His Job.

Thank you for all the comments you have been leaving. It warms my heart to know you are using my activities with your kids! Please keep 'em coming!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

How the Grinch Stole Christmas Freebie

Who doesn't love the Grinch? He may be grouchy, but he makes a review of sequencing, rhyming words, and verbs fun! There are three separate activities in this download. Click on the pic below to grab your copy.....and leave a comment under my tree!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Twelve Days of Christmas Math Freebie

Use this activity in a center or as a whole group activity by handing out the cards to students and letting them find their number families. Either way, it's a great way of reviewing various ways of expressing numbers. Click on the picture to download. 
Thank you for all your kind comments on my activities! Makes my day!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Polar Express Sequencing -- Freebie

Here's the last Polar Express freebie. Students sequence the events of the story, then write a summary. Click on the pic to download. Hope your kiddos like it!


Monday, November 28, 2011

Polar Express Synonyms -- Freebie

This Polar Express freebie is all about synonyms. The students match up synonyms, then use the pairs to write sentences. (You can use synonyms in your comments!)

Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Polar Express Parts of Speech -- Freebie

Here's the next Polar Express freebie. This gives the kids practice in identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, as well as in writing sentences using those parts of speech. (Don't forget the comment!)
Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com   Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Polar Express ABC Order -- Freebie

Here is the first of several activities to go with The Polar Express, one of my favorite Christmas books.
This one is fun practice on ABC order. Click on the pic to download..... and please leave a comment. I love, love, love reading them!


Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com



Monday, November 21, 2011

Has and Have Freebie

Here is a freebie for some extra practice on choosing either "has" or "have." Click on the pic to download.


"Have" you left a comment?

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Build a Snowman Multiplication Freebie

My kids love drawing snowmen. Combine that with much needed multiplication practice and you've got a winner! Click on the pic below to download.
Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com  Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Baking Up Common and Proper Nouns Freebie

My students just can't identify nouns as either common or proper nouns. Hopefully, this sorting activity will be good practice for them.
Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com   Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

Please bake up a comment if you download the activity!



Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Observation Celebration! Freebie!

Finished my first observation today! In celebration, here's a freebie I used as part of my lesson. We were inferring what authors tell us about characters in the pictures of a book. This download is for one of my Literacy Stations that went along with the lesson. Students look at wordless picture books and complete leveled activities on the characters. Questions for checking answers are included. Click on the picture to download.

...and help me celebrate by leaving a comment!


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Decorate the Tree....and Practice Multiplication and Division (Freebie)

Practice multiplying and dividing by nine with this free game!


Don't forget to decorate my blog with a comment if you download! Thanks!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Pick an Operation Freebie

Students will match the incomplete number sentences with the correct symbol to make the number sentence true. Click on the picture below to download.
...and please pick a comment to leave, too!



Sunday, November 13, 2011

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies.......

.....you know you are in for a treat! I love, love, love ALL the "If You Take a...." books by Laura Numeroff.  Here's some fun for you to help get you in the Christmas spirit.(I know...it's still too early, but teachers have to plan ahead!)

And if you download the file, you know I'll want a comment!
(If you downloaded before 9:00 on Sunday, do it again. When I was printing it for myself, I found a mistake.)



Saturday, November 12, 2011

Spots and Dots

Thank you to everyone who has left me one of those wooooonderful comments about the activities on my blog. I love reading them and knowing someone out there in blog land likes what I've been posting. I intend on continuing to share the love and keep all the "freebies" free. Teachers are probably the most "share-ful" people there are, so I want to pay it forward however I can.

I do have a favor to ask. Two of my friends (my assistant principal and his wife) are the proud parents of two beautiful, "all-boy" boys (wink, wink). The youngest son has been chosen to participate in the national calendar for "Spots and Dots," the supporting organization for families of children with a nevus. He has just completed his eighth surgery for nevus removal and/or skin expansions. He is a trooper and doesn't let those surgeries get his little two-and-a-half-year-old self down! They are selling calendars for ten dollars to help promote awareness of children with a nevus. 



If you would be interested in getting a calendar, please leave me a comment below. They are taking pre-orders now through November 18. If you would like more information on a nevus, you can go to www.nevusoutreach.org.




Friday, November 11, 2011

Merry Matchups Freebie -- CORRECTED COPY!

Let your kiddos use this merry little game to practice multiplication and division facts.


......and leave a merry little shout out if you download, please! Sometimes those comments are the best part of my day!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

It's Snowing Verbs! -- CORRECTED COPY

This cold weather has made me start thinking about snow....and snow days! Click on the pic below to download a quick review on verb tenses. Use it as a learning station or as a whole group activity to match up trios of students.


Graphics by ScrappinDoodles.com   Fonts by KevinandAmanda.com

.....and you "sno" I love to read your comments!
(This is the corrected copy!)