Amelia Bedelia and Multiple Meaning Words -- Freebie

Who doesn't love Amelia Bedelia? Work with determining the meaning of multiple-meaning words with the fun, fun, fun book, Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School, by Herman Parrish. This activity for a learning station or or as a whole group activity is correlated to the Common Core Standards.

(How many multiple-meaning words can you use in a comment?)

Happy Endings -- Suffix Freebie

We have been working a lot -- and I mean A LOT -- with suffixes this year. This activity uses words from the book, Happy Endings, A Story About Suffixes, by Robin Pulver, to review what we've learned. Instead of giving the students categories for sorting words, I am only giving them the words. They have to come up with the categories, create their own graphic organizer, and write a few sentences using these words. It is correlated to second and third grade Common Core Standards.

Multiple Meaning Words -- Freebie

We are reviewing multiple-meaning words this week, so I'm starting off with this activity with my whole group. Hand all the cards out and ask students to match up in threes according to the word and two definitions. Give each set of students paper and ask them to write two sentences, one with each definition. They should also illustrate the sentences. The activity can also be used in a learning station. Click on the pic to download....and please leave a comment.

More Bears! -- Freebie

I just bought More Bears! at our school's Scholastic Book Fair and it is it ever cute! Click on the pic below to download a Google Doc with sequencing, multiple meaning, and writing activities all correlated to the Common Core Standards.

....and please leave a comment if you download!

Have a great week.

Picture Pie -- Fractions

I decided we needed some hands on time with fractions since my kids are having trouble "seeing" that one half is the same as two-fourths and other equivalent fractions. I started looking for ideas and found Ed Emberly's Picture Pie, A Cut and Paste Drawing Book. 

The pictures in the book are so stinkin' cute that my kids wanted to make their own RIGHT THEN, no waiting!

Here's what they came up with. Each child added a post-it telling what fractions they used in their picture.

Cute, cute, cute!

Whole-y Cow! -- Freebie

Whole-y Cow, by Taryn Souders, is a fun book about a cow who decides he wants to do things a little differently for awhile. Click on the pic below to download a barnyard based game on beginning fractions.

George Washington's Birthday, A Mostly True Tale -- Freebie

George Washington's Birthday, A Mostly True Tale, by Margaret McNamara, debunks some of the myths about George Washington we have all grown up with. (He didn't really wear a wig...only powdered his hair.)

Click on the pic above to download a Google doc. The students will classify the statements as either Truths or Myths.

What Presidents Are Made Of -- Freebie

 I learned a lot about our presidents by reading What Presidents Are Made Of, by Hanock Piven.

This activity lists some of those facts. The kids have to match the fun facts with the right president. Be sure to read this even if you aren't sharing it with your kids! The facts are little-known fun snippets you can throw out at a party when everyone else is tossing around trivia!

Barack Obama -- Freebie

The teachers in my block rotate to each other's classes in the afternoon to teach Science and Social Studies. We are doing Social Studies this week and are each taking a different president. I have President Obama. Barack Obama, Son of Promise, Child of Hope, by Nikki Rimes, is a beautiful book that tells of Barack Obama's life from his childhood to the present. This freebie is a sequencing activity based on the information in the book.

Click on the pic to download....and please leave a comment! It's going to be a busy week and I need to hear some love!

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!

Fraction Memory Match -- Freebie!

I remember leaving my third grade classroom when I was a little girl and walking to piano lessons (crying all the way), because I didn't understand fractions.  I don't want my own third graders to feel that way these many, many years later, so I'm doing all I can to make fractions fun and understandable for them. Click on the pic below to download a matching game.
Please leave a comment if you download!

If you are working on fractions and missed my earlier posts on fraction activities the first time around, here are links to three. Just click on the pics to go to the posts.

Happy Saturday!

Graphing Data with Tally O'Malley -- Freebie

I love, love, love Stuart J. Murphy's books......and so do my kids. Nell from Tally O'Malley is one of my favorite characters. Let your students use the data from the story to create a bar graph, pictograph, or line plot. They write questions based on the data and share them with a friend. Click on the pic to download. And remember....I'm tallying up my comments!

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!

Graphing Data -- Freebie

Our new Math unit is on interpreting data. The kids will love these activities. They will roll a die twenty times, make a tally chart, then show the data in various ways. After graphing, they will write their own questions that can be answered by comparing the data and share them with their friends. Click on the pic to download. (And add to my comment data by leaving one!)

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!

Grinning Like a Groundhog!

If groundhogs grin, then I'm grinning like one! I just got an email from Pat Miller, author of Substitute Groundhog, saying she had seen my activities about her funny, delightful, engaging book and wanted to know if she could link them to HER website! (Can she?? Really??? YES, PLEASE!!!!) PLUS she is sending us an autographed copy of the book! I cannot wait to tell my kids on Monday. They are going to hit the roof with excitement! Plus there will be 22 other goofy groundhog grins in the room! 

If you want to see the activities, just go HERE for the post. 

Click HERE for Pat's website. She has links to a teaching guide and Reader's Theater for Substitute Groundhog and her other books. What a generous author to share with us!

Froggy's First Kiss -- Freebie!

My kids loved, loved, loved all of the Froggy books last year in Second Grade and will still pull one of the shelf this year every once in awhile. Here is a fun freebie on sequencing, as well as a scavenger hunt for various types of words.

Click on the pic to download....and please leave a comment! It's been a loooooong week and I need a pick me up!