Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Character Analysis with Tattoos



Cool concept made for middle / high school kids that every age would enjoy! http://bit.ly/2duf4VB
Kids give characters a symbolic tattoo and have to support the choice of the design using examples in the text.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Informational Text Features


12 Informational Text Features Posters
(title, table of contents, heading, subheading, print styles, photograph, illustration, caption, map, diagram, glossary and index)

Fiction and Nonfiction Book Comparison
Students work in teams of 2 and compare 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction book of the same topic (ex: 2 books about sloths)

Informational Text Feature Scavenger Hunt
Students cut out and record informational text features from nonfiction magazines.
Once images are gathered in ziploc bags, students paste them on butcher paper or tape them on a wall underneath the 12 informational text feature categories.

What's the Main Idea?!
Students use 3 different text features to find the main idea of 1 nonfiction book.

+ Animal Adaptation Graphic Organizer
After learning about informational text features, I had the students research an animal and create a digital poster of 3 adaptations of their animal. They recorded all 3 adaptations on their organizer and the text features that helped them with their research.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Genre Sort Tic-Tac-Toe

Call students over to a table of books. They choose a genre to play tic-tac-toe with a peer. The first person to get three correct genres in a row wins!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Main Idea / Supporting Details



Over at The Schroeder Page, students had a main idea and supporting details scavenger hunt! 

Some students are given a main idea written on a paper headband. Other students have supporting details written on paper wristbands. Children have to go around the room and find the group they belong to. (4 in a group: 1 main idea and 3 supporting details). Check out the lesson here!

For more main idea activities check out Brain Pop Jr

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Text-to-Self Connection

T-Chart – Lola / Class (create after reading first few pages)
On the side that says Lola, write down all the food she does not like. Then, write down the food the students don't like on the other side. Continue reading the story. End of story: What happened after Charlie gave all the food Lola did not like fancy names? Next, go through the list of foods you made on the t-chart. Put a check mark by the names of children that never tasted the food they “do not like.”

Kids Compare
Lola didn’t want to taste _______. I don’t want to taste _______.
- Or – 
(children who tasted what they don’t like)
Is there a food you didn’t think you would like and you tasted it and loved it?!
Lola ended up loving _______. I didn’t think I would like _______, now I do!

Fancy Food Names
Come up with a fancy name for the food you do not like, just like Charlie did for Lola. Then, draw a picture that goes along with the new name you give the food you dislike. (ex: page of orange twiglets from Jupiter, cloud fluff, and ocean nibbles)

Text to Self Connection: Good readers think about how books relate to their own life. By comparing ourselves to Lola, we are able to understand the story better. Now that you have created cool names for the food you do not like, do you think you will taste it?

Extended Learning: Think-Pair-Share - Using a Venn diagram, compare foods that you like and dislike with a peer.

Click here for printables to go along with this mini lesson. 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Sentence Hunt (4 types)

Kids roll the sentence die and try to find the type of sentence it lands on! They can look through a book, magazine, newspaper - whatever they would like!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Mysterious Books?!?



To get kids to try reading a book outside of their norm, have them go on a "blind date with a book!" Wrap books up in newspaper so the cover is concealed. They choose one of the wrapped books and rate it after the first three pages. Then, they continue to read and see if they change their mind. Click here for the printable (above) to go along with the activity!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Lemonade WAR!

Lemonade War Book Unit 
Reading / Economics: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NgjwCHVZ6I0H82dx6z5KGufgA3_5JOS-/view?usp=sharing





Celebrate the end of the school year with lemonade in a bag! Kids explore fractions and measuring, while creating a tasty treat! Recipe is from Education.com.

1 serving:
1/4 lemon, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp sugar

add ingredients to ziploc bag and snap
mix, squish, and squeeze with hands
add an ice cube and a straw
sip!

Also, check out ice cream - it's in the bag!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Hungry Caterpillar Food Rope

Print and cut out caterpillar life cycle and food shapes, punch holes in them (leaf and food), and have kids create a hungry caterpillar food rope! What did the hungry caterpillar eat first? Kids use clothespins (or simply lace), putting the food in order on a piece of yarn. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Stuffed Pets


monkey via cuddle works
My Pet Pal - Revised
This is a lesson I'm creating for one of my education courses. You can view the original post I wrote here.

Have students bring in a pet stuffed animal from their home. Ask students if they think they can determine an object’s weight and size without using standard tools. Write the children’s answers down on the SmartBoard. Then, try out their answers to see if they are right. Next, read the book Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy to show students ways to measure a pet without standard tools. 

Have students predict which pet is the longest, tallest, shortest, widest, and thinnest. Choose a nonstandard tool for measuring. Have students record their pet's measurements (ear, eye, nose, mouth, head, paw, arm, leg, tail, body). Also, have them write down the name of the longest, tallest, shortest, widest, and thinnest pet in the class.

Next, they will estimate which pet is the heaviest and which is the lightest. For science, construct a balancing scale. Provide the materials and have students infer how they can use the material to create a weighing device. Then, weigh your pets! Have them write down the pets' names in order from lightest to heaviest. Afterwards, have them weigh their pet and compare it with pennies. What does their pet weigh in pennies?

Then, students will describe their pet’s attributes using a bubble map. What makes their pet unique? Then, they will compare their pet to a friend's pet using a Venn diagram. Once they compare with one friend, they will create a fraction by finding other peers whose pets have similar and different attributes.

For writing, have students write down how they think their pet’s attributes might help their pet (animal adaptations). Why does their pet have large ears? How does long shaggy hair help their pet? Where would their pet live? After they've made an inference, they will work in teams to research all of their pet’s attributes on the computer or ipad to find out how certain attributes (like large ears) help animals.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Who made that scale?!

Read the Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, talk about sharing, friendship, and being unique! Have each kid create an original, one of a kind scale for an oversized paper fish for homework. Along with their scale, have them write a couple clues that describe their scale. They bring the scale back in a brown, paper lunch bag with their clues. Remind kids not to share their scale, it's a secret! Lay all of their beautiful scales out on a table. Then, pass out  the clues to each child, making sure they don't end up with the clues they wrote. Students must try to find the scale that matches the clues. Who do they think made the scale? Could they find the correct scale that matches the clues? Did they guess the right artist? Then, use their scales to create a lovely fish!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Fraction Animals

After reading the books Picture Pie and Picture Pie 2, by Ed Emberley, have students create a fraction animal! They could make fish, insects, rodents, birds, turtles, giraffes, anything they'd like! Try to have each student create a different animal. Make sure to remind them to write down the fraction of each shape they used.

Note: For a larger project, you could have kids create a fraction picture: sun, clouds, trees, flowers, etc. along with their animal. Remind them to stay true to the animal's habitat.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Steve Jenkins and the Common Core



Cross-curricular Activities: reading, writing, and math projects that tie in with the science common core units! Check out HMH Books' pdf by Zöe Ryder White.

Click here for book descriptions!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Casey at the Bat!

Children's Book featured: Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 By: Ernest L. Thayer
PBL learning activities that go along with the poem, "Casey at the Bat!" 

MILB (Minor League Baseball) has compiled a packet of lesson plans for active learning. Below are just a few of the activities included:

Math
- Double Play game with jersey numbers
- Create a concession stand to understand money and economics
Language Arts
- Create a baseball card
- Become a news reporter
- Baseball Vocabulary
Science
- Why do baseball fields have grass (and how to maintain it)
- Build a mini stadium
- Nutrition

Visit BSU for character analysis activities and freebies that go along with the poem!

Click here for baseball experiments!

Poem Link - EDhelper


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Simile Walk


Go on a simile walk and describe what you see! This is a great activity to get kids to think out of the box and improve their writing. Remember to use like or as.

Example:
That tree is as tall as a skyscraper.
That leaf is crunchy like a potato chip.
That rock is as smooth as satin.

Reading Connection: My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil

Monday, August 27, 2012

Ready, Set... ACTION!



Xtranormal - Kids can get creative with camera shots, sounds, and their character's movement and speech! This free web 2.0 tool is fun and easy for kids to use. Kids can choose different scenes and add music. AnimotoPhoto Peach, Vuvox, and Kizoa are simple, free slideshow creators for educators and students.

Project Examples:
1. Have kids create a book trailer!
Below is a quick slideshow example I made in iMovie. Kids can easily make a book trailer using any of the web 2.0 slide creators listed above.

2. Photo Peach
Example: Jack's Trade by E is for Explore (Key details in a piece of literature / Social Studies, Needs vs. Wants). 

3. Animoto (only permitted 30 seconds free)
Example: little BLUE by E is for Explore (Introduce Water Cycle for comic strip project)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Reading Musical Chairs

Miss Sporn's Class sparked kids' interest in reading with the game musical chairs! Lay a book on each chair and turn on some music. When the music stops, kids plop in the nearest chair and check out the book in their seat! Click here to see Miss Sporn's class in action (video included)!


chairs via bambino goodies



For more twists on the game musical chairs, check out place value musical chairs and musical clocks!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Kid QR Codes



Free QR Code Generator: KAYWA is a fantastic tool for the classroom. It's super easy to use! Kids simply insert a url, text, phone number, or sms in a box to generate a QR code for free!  Students can embed their QR code or download it as an image, cut it out, and paste it wherever they want around the classroom! Kids have a blast scanning QR codes! 

Ways to use QR Codes with Kids:

1. Teachers can set up various learning stations around the classroom with different codes. Children can scan the code to take them to a variety of online activities. What's great about using codes is that students don't have to remember a website address. QR codes make access to online games and learning activities quick and easy. Students can use an ipad to scan the code and access the games. All you need is an app, such as i-nigma 

2. Learning badges - If students do really well on a spelling test, they can scan a code and be awarded a spelling badge. Many people would say why bother, just give the students a sticker or a stamp! However, I think the process of scanning and earning a surprise badge is much more exciting than earning a sticker! 

3. Scavenger hunts - Students can work in teams, scan the codes (which would be set up at different stations or locations), and receive a clue that will lead them to the next destination. iLearn Technology demonstrates how to conduct a QR code scavenger hunt. If you've never visited this site you must! It has so many ways to implement technology into your classroom. It is always up to date on the newest web 2.0 tools as well. 

4. Inside the Classroom Outside the Box had the idea of putting QR codes on books in the classroom. Each student created a QR code for a book they read. The QR Code revealed their  recommendation for the book. They even made mini book trailers using iMovie! Check out the site for more QR code ideas!

5. Sample work -  you can also create codes for students who would like to see a good example of work. If they are questioning a project assignment or need a few ideas, they can scan the code to view examples of excellent work.

6. QR code generator makes the classroom greener. Teachers can post instructions to an assignment and notes, without wasting paper. 


Overall, QR codes make access to online links quick and efficient. Also, they make learning fun! Students are used to traditional teaching methods of earning a sticker or a happy face when they produce good work. They have also been exposed to scavenger hunts that lead them from clue to clue written on a strip of paper or a post-it note. QR codes make activities more interesting. Moreover, if you are working with pre-readers, QR codes are more universal for students who are struggling with reading. A QR code will take them right to their game destination without having to be able to read and type in a web address.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Reading Passport

Genius idea from Classroom Magic and free printable! Students created a "Genre Passport." They received a stamp for each type of genre read. This is a fantastic idea to get students inspired to read a variety of books! Visit Classroom Magic for a free printable (passport book and stamps) and the full activity. Note: You could also buy stickers to represent each genre.



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Let's Read Marathon!

photo credit: John Morgan - flickr cc
Awesome idea to help kids comprehend from Fabulous in Fourth and Ms. Winston's Blog. I adjusted the activities and timeframe (older kids read for 10 minute intervals) for younger children who aren't reading chapter books yet. A reading marathon begins with kids choosing a book. Then, you set a timer. Students read for a bit, then stop and complete a task. The tasks they do will help them remember key details from the text. When they have finished all the tasks, they make a timeline. Incorporate some technology into the activity with Popplet! Kids can create a mind map to organize their thoughts.