Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2022
Digital Earth Day Activities
It's April! The weather is warming up here and flowers are starting to come up. April reminds me that Earth Day is around the corner. Caring for our Earth is so important and there are so many easy things we can do as citizens to help it. Educating others about the Earth is one way to help!
I am super excited to post my NEW Earth Day Digital Mini Escapes on The Importance of Plants and The History of Earth Day, as well as some other resources for your classroom.
Here are some great websites for your students to learn more about Earth Day what they can do to help the Earth every day! I love that these digital Earth Day resources are easy to use.
- 52 Ways to Invest in Our Earth: This website gives you tips about the small ways you can help our Earth.
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- Kids Discover: Has some great content about Conservation broken up into different areas such as, Landfills, Recycling, Habitat Reconstruction, and Sustainability. You may need to sign up for a free account to view some of the content (not affiliated or sponsored).
- Animal Conservation: Animal Conservation has Disney and National Geographic Explorers in these short one minute videos showing work being done with different animals.
- National Geographic Kids: I like this website because it breaks up the information into different areas. You may want to review each section before students read to make sure there is not TOO much text to be overwhelming.
Earth Day Mini Digital Escapes
What makes a digital escape mini? In a mini escape, there is a focus on a shorter piece of text and only ONE lock to open. In these Earth Day-focused escapes, there is a non-fiction text, a short video, interesting facts, and a puzzle to solve with ONE lock.
Benefits of a Mini Escape:
- NO Prep: Just give students the link and then let them get to work!
- Shorter text: Students can focus on one topic of information
- Less time: Time is something you need, so these escapes can easily be completed in a class period or short amount of time.
- ONE lock: Having only one puzzle to solve also takes less time to complete.
Earth Day Digital Escape Room
If you have a longer class time or have time to break up this Escape Room, this one covers a lot of different topics. The Earth Day Digital Escape Room has FIVE different sections and locks. The non-fiction text covers the topics of:
- History of Earth Day
- Plants
- Water
- Recycling
- Animals
Each section will have a reading comprehension non-fiction text, video, fun things to explore, and the clue to solve. I like to use this escape during Earth Day week and do a section per day. Doing one section per day allows me to have time for reflection and other things during our Language Arts or Science time.
Here is a great preview of the Earth Day Digital Escape Room.
I love some good FREEBIES, so I have made these writing prompts to go along with these activities. I like to use these during our writing station time, just use the prompt for journals, partner writing, or even assigning students to do the writing at home. It's up to you how you want to use these!
I do have these as an Easel Activity so they are ready to go for Digital Writing!
Last, I also like this craft activity because it reaches all age levels! You can have younger students draw pictures with a word or two and older students write more content under the flaps.
Remember Earth Day is Every Day, so help our planet stay healthy!
Sunday, February 13, 2022
How to Run Book Clubs
Happy Pre-Valentine's Day! I hope you were able to get out this weekend or tomorrow to hang with your friends and family. Maybe you showed some LOVE by cheering on your favorite Super Bowl team!
I wanted to take this week to focus on Book Clubs and how exactly they work. First of all What is a Book Club? A Book Club or Literature Circle, is small group of students reading the SAME book. It can be a book they they have chosen themselves, chosen from a pre-picked list by the teacher, or assigned to them.
How Does It Work?!
Good question! A working Book Club is going to look different at each grade level because of the expectations in independence, questions, and leadership. Basically your Book Club is a time for REFLECTION and COLLABORATION of ideas for students.
Step 1: Planning
I usually give my students a list of books (and this will depend on what you have available to you in multiple copies in your building or library). I have them put their top choices either on Sticky Notes OR I love to use a Google Form for their picks. I be sure to note the reading level (just generically easy, hard, or just right in terms of the grouping of books). I also DON'T give students a heads up about the books and have them choose immediately so they aren't able to collaborate with their friend because it should be about interest and reading level NOT who is going to be in the group.
Step 2: Build Groups/Set a Schedule
Groups are built on what they are reading. So get the groups together and then explain the RULES of Book Club. All the rules will be different, but if you check out my Book Clubs pack above it will have a RULES book for students for you to get started. Also set a schedule of how many pages/chapters students will read each day and what they need to prep for the next "meeting" of their group.
Step 3: Gather Information/Writing Responses
Students will gather information for their Book Club meeting such as writing down new vocabulary words, thoughts, questions, and connections. I like to teach students to write these notes on a sticky note and put in their book. You may like to have students write in a special notebook, journal, or a created document. I have these pages already created that you can laminate and students can write names s well as, blank ones you can assign as an EASEL activity for groups to write responses or for them to write their own!
I have organizers in this Response and Record Book if you want to check it out! Organizers include: 14 graphic organizers on inferring, asking questions, making connections, or author's purpose. Use this Response Book all year for independent reading, as well as Book Clubs.
Need ideas?! Here are some books that you may want to check out for Book Clubs!
|
Book |
Author |
Reading Level |
|
Flora and Ulysses
Because of Winn
Dixie
The Miraculous
Journey of Edward Tulane |
Kate DiCamillo |
3rd/4th Grade |
|
The BFG
|
Roald Dahl |
3rd/4th Grade |
|
The Chocolate
Touch |
Patrick Skene
Catling |
3rd Grade |
|
Any Magic
Treehouse Book |
Mary Pope Osborne |
2nd/3rd Grade |
|
The Little Prince |
Antoine de
Saint-Exupery |
3rd Grade |
|
Cam Jansen Series |
David Adler |
2nd/3rd Grade |
|
Time Warp Trio
Books |
Jon Scieszka |
3rd Grade |
|
It's Raining Pigs
and Poodles (poetry) |
Jack Prelutsky |
2nd/3rd Grade |
|
The Year of Billy
Miller |
Kevin Henkes |
2nd/3rd Grade |
|
Pax
Clementine Series |
Sara Pennypacker |
2nd/3rd Grade |
|
The Penderwicks |
Jeanne Birdsall |
4th/5th
grade |
|
Frindle
Lunch Money |
Andrew Clements |
2nd/3rd Grade |
|
The One and Only
Ivan |
Katherine
Applegate |
4th/5th/6th Grade |
|
Where the Red
Fern Grows |
Wilson Rawls |
5th/6th Grade |
|
Hatchet |
Gary Paulson |
4th/5th Grade |
|
The Giver |
Lois Lowry |
5th/6th Grade |
|
11 Birthdays |
Wendy Mass |
5th Grade |
|
The Lion the
Witch and the Wardrobe |
C.S. Lewis |
4th Grade |
|
Wonder |
RJ Palacio |
5th/6th Grade |
|
Out of My Mind |
Sharon Draper |
5th/6th Grade |
|
Escape from Mr.
Lemoncello’s Library |
Chris Grabenstein |
5th/6th Grade |
|
When you Reach Me |
Rebecca Stead |
4th/5th Grade |
|
Hoot |
Carl Hiassen |
|
|
Bridge to Terabithia |
Katherine
Paterson |
4th/5th
grade |
|
Esperanza Rising |
Pam Munoz Ryan |
5th/6th
grade |
|
Holes |
Louis Sachar |
5th/6th
grade |
Scholastic has a Book of the Week that is on sale! *not sponsored
I like to get Book Club books from Scholastic as they often have books for $2 or less per book. It's a great way to get a set of books without breaking the bank. You could also create a Wish List through Scholastic for parents.
Have a great idea for Book Clubs?! I would love to hear what works for you or any amazing titles your kids are enjoying!
Sunday, January 30, 2022
Resources for the first TWO days in February!
February is upon us! The snow and cold are definitely here where I am; it's been below zero and snowing! There are two important days within the first two days in February- Chinese New Year and Groundhog Day. I am going to highlight some resources for these two special days. Chinese New Year - also known as the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the New Lunar Year! Chinese New Year is celebrated all around the world.
Chinese New Year is February 1st, the year of the Tiger! Find out more about this tradition with the Mini Escape Chinese New Year. There are comprehension pages, a short video, puzzle, and pictures. You may not have time do incorporate this as a full lesson in your classroom, so this is perfect for a station activity. You can add one of the books below to read at the station as well! Since this is a MINI Escape the possibilities are endless for how you use this in your classroom.
Here are two great picture books that your students may like for Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year!
I love the tradition of Groundhog Day! It's exciting to wake up and see if the groundhog will see his shadow or not. The kids love predicting whether or not the groundhog will run back into his hole if he sees his shadow or whether he will stay outside for an early spring. Everyone watches each year to see what Punxsutawney Phil will do in Pennsylvania. It's a tradition that started in 1887. Groundhog Day is February 2nd! Celebrate by doing this Mini Escape to read about this special day and about groundhogs.
Check out these two great reads for Groundhog Day!
Here is a fun game for Groundhog Day! This a fun game I found on Highlights that might be something to just post on your website for kids to play on their own at home or when they are done with station work.
Check out these FREE resources for Chinese New Year and Groundhog Day!
Sunday, January 16, 2022
Immigration Resources in Digital and Print!
Happy weekend! Most of you like me have MLK Day off tomorrow, so I was thinking about resources that I am using right now that might helpful to you during this time of year! I am usually teaching Immigration during this time or gearing up to teach it.
I have two texts that I recommend for teaching Immigration, but I have included a few other texts below I have used as well. There are SO many great books and resources out there on this topic. I have also linked a couple great websites I have used, as well as a digital escape room that your kids will love!
I do an Immigration Simulation with my students as a big culmination to this unit, but I think I will do a separate post about that. There is just too much to include!
This text is awesome because it is a question/answer format with short sections that can easily be read as a whole group, independent, or partner.
The If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island Book Study Workbook below has activities to support comprehension while reading this text. This book is an introduction to the journey immigrants made when America was young. It guides students through the book as they get a better understanding of just what it would be like to be an immigrant coming to America. This can be printed OR it can be a DIGITAL Easel activity.
This text is a novel and would be great to use in Book Clubs. I had my class reading this text as a choice for a small groups. It would be awesome if you had a class set of this book and could have the kids read along with you. I have provided the link above so you can view this text.
Dominic Cantori is touring Ellis Island with his class on a field trip. Dominic gets separated from the group and hides in the museum. Suddenly the voice of an Italian immigrant comes to life and begins to speak to him through one of the exhibits. Before he knows it, he is transported back in time to Italy 1908. He unlocks the door to his past and discovers the history of his own family.
The Comprehension Workbook for The Orphan of Ellis Island is a great companion to the text by having students answer questions, make predictions, draw conclusions and analyze the text. There is a character study, as well as comprehension questions for the chapters. It is one of my favorite books to use for studying Immigration.
Other books that I have used for Immigration either whole group or Book Study groups that you may like:
An AMAZING resource is this Immigration Walk-Through provided by Scholastic. It has great PICTURES and AUDIO clips which are sometimes harder to find in other resources. There is A LOT of things in this resource so you will need to pick and choose what you have students complete/read. I have used this just as a side resource on my webpage for kids to explore on their own.
If you do only ONE thing with this resource I really like the stories of REAL kids who are immigrants on the 2nd tab. You could easily assign students to read one of these and summarize the information as a station activity or homework.
Also a great website is this Choose Your Own Adventure type digital experience. You can choose from several people as they take their journey and you make decisions along the way!
To wrap up Immigration or to get a great overview if this is all you have time for, I recommend this Coming to America Digital Escape Room. This would be for older kids that can read independently and also use clues and critical thinking to solve puzzles. You can easily break this Escape Room into different parts for various days if needed. Great for those distance learning options or assigning to students easily as a NO PREP option.
If you want to try a resource here is a FREE sample of If Your Name Was Changed At Ellis Island Workbook. That way you can see the resources and if it will work for your classroom. This is a PRINT and Digital Easel Resource for you!
I love this unit so much! I have SO many things we do. I would love to hear any ideas or resources you use! Happy MLK!
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Get Started Early! Happy NEW Year!
Happy New Year! I am still on break and relaxing one more day before we head back tomorrow. We have a teacher work day and then the tiny humans are back on Tuesday. Like most of the human race I always have great intentions for the New Year. I am a person who likes to implement too many new things, so I am here to tell you choose 1-2 new things to implement in your classroom for the New Year.
I am always thinking ahead and NOW is the time for you to be thinking about February and Black History Month. Why?! February is such a short month that if you start thinking about it now, I promise it will seem less stressful later. So this post is all about prep for February and making your life easier.
Ok here's some ideas for you and what I will be doing, but I am going to start NOW so that I am ready.
So if you are overwhelmed, stick to my advice and choose ONE of these activities!
1. Biography Puzzles: These are printable and you have FOUR people to research and learn about. There are 4 weeks in February... coincidence?! Study one person per week by reading aloud a picture book (yes older kids still like these) and working through the reading, writing, and puzzles as a class, partner, or individual. This is a super LOW prep option. This can also be an independent study. Have students choose maybe 2 people and then they have 2 weeks to work on them.
2. Biography Lapbook: The great thing about this is that it can be used for ANY person to research, so if you don't get around to this for February, you can have in your back pocket for any person!
Tip: If you have younger kids and any parent help, have a parent cut out the shapes and help you assemble OR send this home for a project that will be ongoing. Parents can pick-up and do the prep at home for you!
First I have students choose from a list 3-4 people they are interested in. I did NOT have them choose MLK. We do so much with him that he wasn't a choice. Once they narrow down their person, we start with the timeline.
I use Pebble Go for my students because it is super easy to navigate. It's a research site that our school subscribes to. Most schools or libraries have a kid friendly database which is easy to use for Biography research. I would check with your Media Specialist or look online for an option that is user friendly. Your media specialist may even have some books he/she can pull for you OR ask your local library to pull them now for you!
After students chose their person; they took notes about the character traits (I did a separate lesson on this) and chose a few vocabulary words. I used this dictionary and some picture books. Check out my other blog on Character Traits.
Here's a picture of one of the finished products.
I also gave my students scrapbook paper that I had laying around to use to glam this up! Don't be afraid to send home some portions of this as homework! There are a lot of parts so maybe you don't have time to do them all. You could easily pair this down to make it more manageable for you!
Check out this also for Biography Projects for Research. You have templates to assist your students in their Biography Project to present. This would be a great alternative if you don't have time for the lapbook and you are able to give students CHOICE!
3. Last is a NO PREP Digital Escape Room on Civil Rights. It has some of the same people as the above #1, so you could do both or just stick to this one.
This has video, reading passages, and puzzles to solve. So if you are short on time- I would highly recommend using this as your resource.
Remember this is YOUR year. I will be making a plan and trying my best to stick to it.
Cheers for the New Year!
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Let's Get Reading for the Holidays and FREEBIES!
Deck the Halls! Only 2 weeks until we are on winter break! Not sure if you have more days than that to go, but either way the countdown is ON! This week I am sharing some reading response ideas and books for the holidays! Why?! It is SO versatile for independent, partner, or whole group. Reading Response is so fun! You can do holiday themed books, let students choose, or lead with your own theme or genre.
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is an awesome book to use for this time of year. You are asking yourself why?! This isn't a holiday book?! No, but this book talks about memories and could spark some great conversations of winter, holiday, and tradition memories.
You may want some read alouds or books that students can read independently or with a partner. Here are some FUN Holiday books to pair with any of the reading response organizers below. Remember you DON'T have to read holiday books! Winter or just any books that you choose or are student choice are going to work any time. It may be fun though to change it up and have students choose which books they want to read or have them be holiday/winter related.
Use these organizers with ANY book! Print a few and have students choose which they would like to do independently or with a partner OR print any of the reading response pages for one book or as a book with several pages.
I am going to drop this reading log here too! Now would be a great time to introduce this for second semester and right before the holidays for students to track a goal. Make it a small one! Maybe just 1-2 books over break? Or wait until students get back! Either way students will be more prepared and ready to take this on second semester.
Do some creative writing with your students! I just released these Bubblehead characters for the Winter Holidays and with 14 DIFFERENT ones to choose from they are so fun to get the creative juices flowing!
FREEBIES! Check out these FREE products to help with reading and the holidays!
This fun spinner can be used for any book for some partner conversations and fun!
Use this Battle of the Books Bracket to fill in Holidays books, Read-Alouds from this year, or any books that students choose to Battle it out! Then use any of the graphic organizers from above for these books.
Need something just for fun?! I like to give the kids a sort of 'party' and this is the perfect interactive activity. Check out my fun Escape Room! Stan the Snowman: Lost in the Snowstorm. Students find clues to help Stan find his way home!
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