Whacka! Whacka! Cause and Effect Freebie!

We are working hard to help our students answer Why? questions. This past week's focus has been on cause and effect. The students have loved matching up a cause with the right effect. 

Here is one of the activities we used during small groups. The kiddos loved whacking the sentence strips and identifying the cause or effect. 

The entire package is on my TpT store.

Don't forget that the Teacher Pay Teachers Back to School Sale is August 18 - 19. Lots of stores have their products marked 20 percent off and Teachers Pay Teachers is adding an additional percentage off that!

Enter the Promo Code BTS13 at checkout.

Just click on the pic below to go now and add my products to your Wish List so you can pick them up August 18 - 19 at a great price!

Santa's Job - Freebie

Steven Krensky has written two books you are going to love!

How Santa Got His Job and How Santa Lost His Job tell the stories of how Santa got the best job in the world...and how he lost it!

This packet combines activities for both books. Although I published them on my blog last year, I've updated them to include the Common Core ELA Standards and put the activities for both books in one packet. 

Just click on the pic above to get double the fun!

To get even more mileage out of the books, I used them both as writing prompts. Before reading, I asked the kiddos to make their own predictions about how Santa first started making and delivering toys. They wrote their own stories, then compared their predictions to the books. We did the same to tell how Santa lost his job.

Please leave a comment! I love reading them!

Have a wonderful end to your Thanksgiving weekend.

Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! - Freebie - Text Exemplar

I think one of the hardest Common Core standards to find resources on is the informational text standard requiring students to make connections between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures. My latest activity for a Common Core text exemplar includes activities for the book Boy, Were We Ever Wrong About Dinosaurs!  

Students read details from the story and categorize them according to what we currently believe about dinosaurs or what we thought in the past. The file also includes an activity on antonyms that pertain to the text. Just click on the pic above to download the activity.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about my series of activities for the text exemplars.

Be an Informational Text Super Hero! -- Freebie

We got out early today because of the threat of storms. Since I had a little extra time, I've been working on an informational text packet that you can use with either second or third graders. This addresses the Common Core Standards for both grade levels. You can pull out just the parts you are ready for or give the entire packet to your students to complete after reading an informational text of their choice.

Don't you just love, love, love the super cute super hero graphics? They're from Spring Hill Farms. Check out their shop on Etsy.

Be my hero and leave me a comment if you download!

Lots and Lots of Freebies to Make up for Busy Week!

It has been busy, busy, busy here at the Pitner Ponderosa these past few days, so I haven't posted much. To make up for that, here are lots of Valentine-related goodies for you to download free! Click on each pic to get the freebie file.

The Kiss That Missed is a...door....uh...bull!!!!!! You are gonna L.O.V.E. it! (And check out that cute, cute, cute artwork! My newest graphics are from SpringHillGraphics.com. Check out her work!) This activity is on sequencing.

Give your students practice with alphabetizing to the second and third letter with these Valentine words.

 This is going to be in my Writing Literacy Station this week. The kiddos choose one word from each category and write a story. Wonder what will happen when Cupid and Santa meet up?

 I love, love, love Cynthia Rylant's books. If You'll Be My Valentine is a rhyming trip through Valentine's Day with the cutest little boy ever! Students can put the events in the correct sequence, then add their own verse to the story.

The Day It Rained Hearts is precious. Words from the story will be sorted into different parts of speech in this freebie.

 Please, sir, can I have more......practice on cause and effect?! Get your kids up and moving with this match up activity for a whole group or put it in a literacy station.

Hope you can use some of these for part of your Valentine's Day celebration. Show the love with a comment if you use any!

Hugs from Pearl -- Freebie

If you haven't read Hugs from Pearl, you are missing a cute, cute, CUTE book! It's Per. Fect. for Valentine's Day. This freebie includes activities on sequencing, cause and effect, and problem solving. Click on the link to download...and leave me a hug in the comment box!

Cause and Effect Treasure Freebie

We are reviewing cause and effect this week, so I'm using this activity as a whole group review. You can also put it in a folder for a literacy stations activity. Click on the pic below to download. Please leave a comment if you download! Enjoy!

The Snow Day -- Cause and Effect Freebie

I love, love, LOVE The Snow Day, by Komako Sakai. It's a good way to introduce picking out cause and effect statements that do not have clue words. This is a quick activity to let students practice without getting frustrated. Once they have identified the example from the story, they write their own based on a snow day. Click on the pic below to download.

Have a great day, even if it's not a snow day!

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

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!

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!

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!

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.)

Diary of a Worm

We are reviewing sequencing, graphic organizers, fantasy, and realism this week. I'm using one of the students' favorite books, Diary of a Worm, for some fun practice. Click on the pic below if you want to download these activities. The activity packet also includes activities on making lists and identifying cause and effect. If you download the packet, please leave me a comment and let me know how it went with your students.