One of my favorite things to do is make literacy centers for my class. It's taken me a few years but I've figured out what works for me. I realized that I couldn't change them weekly, so my centers are changed monthly. Here's how it works: They get a literacy menu each month. The menu is divided into four categories: Reading, Word Work, Writing, and Sentence Building, and there are four ... Read More about Literacy Centers
money dice game
I played this game today with my class. It's a way to use dice while practicing counting money. You can download it here. ... Read More about money dice game
President’s Day unit part 1
I'm slowly getting my President's Day mini-unit together. I have a lot of great books to read to the class, which will help with all of these activities. First, I'm going to do this tree map with the class. There are four different options: Page 1: They can write it in themselves after reading/discussing Page 1 and 2: They can cut out and place in the correct column Page 3: They can do ... Read More about President’s Day unit part 1
Groundhog Day
Once again, my students inspired me today! We were reading this cute groundhog story, when one of my students asked, "how come he only sees his shadow sometimes?" Of course many of the other students were excited to tell him the answer to his question. :) But, I still thought it would be fun to do a little investigation anyway. I spent my lunch half eating and half making an investigation ... Read More about Groundhog Day
how to build a snowman
The art teacher at my school did an adorable snowman craft. So, I made this writing activity to go with it. Right now, it is wishful thinking because we rarely get snow in Portland, Oregon. :) I'll add pictures soon. You can get the writing activity here. There are two different formats to choose from. I'm also working on a President's Day mini-unit. Hopefully I'll get that finished and ... Read More about how to build a snowman
Bear Habitat flip books
Today we finished our bear habitat flip books. On the front flip is the name of the bear and inside is the corresponding habitat. A great book to read before this activity is Alaska's Three Bears. It's a very cute story about the polar bear, black bear and brown bear traveling to find the perfect home. ... Read More about Bear Habitat flip books
