Teacher's Notebook "Teaching Ideas for May" Program Launch

How would you like to pay only $8 for hundreds of dollars worth of amazing teaching resources?  Uh, DUH!  Yes, please!  Oh, what's that you say?  There are online presentations, too, from well known and wonderful teacher authors/sellers?  Count me in!!!

Want to check it out, too?  Just click below to learn more about the Teacher's Notebook's "Teaching Ideas for May" program!

Gail Gibbons and Seymour Simon (AND A GIVEAWAY!!!)

As you know, we're into our "Author's Study" unit at the moment.  We always have done a week about Gail Gibbons-- let's face it, the woman is an amazing writer, and her books are SO very 2nd grade "friendly".  The kiddos LOVE to read her books, and they can learn lots of facts without feeling so overwhelmed with a non-fiction book. 
Each year, along with studying her in "Reading", we also use her an inspiration in our writing.  It is very simple for students to mimic her page layout, with a few lines of factual text and the bottom, an accurate illustration at the top, with a caption, and of course, heading!  The page we use is the single page "Authors as Mentors: Write Like Gail Gibbons" sheet that you can see and download from TpT.  It is a stress free (and fun) assignment that students can easily complete in one week!  :)

This year, though, we also threw in Seymour Simon to the week's studies.  He, too, is a great non-fiction author, and while his books differ in the amount of text (and information!) and the photographs, it's still nice to let students see the varying non-fiction texts. 

In fact, my students completed great venn diagrams comparing and contrasting the two authors (very easily on their own, too, I might add!). 

 

ANNNND, the best part of the week, you may ask?  WEEEELLLLL, it HAS to be the fact that reading, writing, AND social studies/science were all so easily integrated!  That's right...our "Natural Disasters/Natural Hazards" unit fit so well in with reading Gail Gibbons and Seymour Simon books, since they both have several non-fiction texts about topics such as hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.


So, on top of having the phenominal books to get information out of, my students could then apply that information to many of the graphic organizers in my Natural Disaster Pack!  How amazing is that?  Let me just say, it totally made for many seamless transitions throughout the week, and my students loved every minute of it!

Okay, you've made it through the end...now the fun part: the giveaway!!!  The FIRST TWO PEOPLE to leave a comment about their favorite Gail Gibbons book to read to their class (or to use while teaching) will win a FREE copy of the "Authors as Mentors: Write Like Gail Gibbons" handout.  Simply remember to include your email at the bottom of your coment, and I'll try to get it to you ASAP!  :)

Happy Teaching and Learning!!!

Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess "Craftivity"

Hi sweet friends (or should I say, strangers?)!  I know it's been a while, but as I've posted before, for some reason this year has been a whirlwind of hustle and bustle, and now, just as I blink my eyes, it's already mid-April!!!  How crazy is that?!

I wanted to share a SUPER cutesy "craftivity" that is easy, fun, and cheap!  It can work for many grade levels, and I guarantee your kiddos will love it.  So what is it you ask?  Well didn't you read my title, silly?  :)  It's a great project using Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess story as a "springboard".

For the past few weeks, we've been in our "Author's Study" unit in our curriculum.  Last week, we focused on the amazing children's author, Robert Munsch.  His stories are always a hit, and the students always enjoy learning about him and reading his books!

After reading the story, The Paper Bag Princess, my kiddos completed a "4 Square" about the characters, setting, problem/solution, and their favorite part.  I used the printable from my Robert Munsch Author Study Pack, but technically you could just use any kind of notebook paper or plain paper.  Then, we cut out around the edges and glued it to the back side of a paper grocery bag from our local store. 

Next step?  Cutting up the front, cutting out a "neck hole", and cutting out 2 "arm holes".  Since we're in 2nd grade, and the latter part of 2nd grade I might add, my kiddos are a tad too big to fit in the paper bags as "dresses"...sooo we decided to make them more like vests!  (Which of course, the kids got a kick out of, because it immediately reminded them of Thanksgiving...)  :)  Anywho, finally they got to decorate their bag dresses with things from the story, maybe their favorite part, their favorite characters, etc. etc., and add a  "crown" (sentence strip) with the title of the book.

And that's it!  A super fun, easy, yet creative (and applicable!) "craftivity" to accompany Robert Munsch's story The Paper Bag Princess!

Oh, I almost forgot...the last step?  Show off the cute new "duds"!

(One final silly picture to round out this post...hope it puts a smile on your face!)

Have a fabulous rest of the weekend, and a great week next week!  :)

Understanding Author's Purpose Promo!!!

Well it's that time of year that our district is studying Author's Purpose.  From Kinder up to at least 2nd grade, we've been investigating the 5 "reasons" why writers write!  It's one of  my favorite weeks of study in Reading curriculum, and I know my kiddos always seem to have fun.  If you weren't following last year, here's a link to my kiddos' experience with Author's Purpose in 2012.

This year has been very similar, with a few teensie changes.  I've still used my favorite Author's Purpose Pack, that you can find on TpT.  It has great visual "posters" you can print out on full size paper, or print 2 to a page and have students glue into their own journals for reference. 

Last week, though, I created some quick and easy "examples" of the purposes: to inform, to explain, to entertain, and to persuade.  I simply printed them off, cut them into strips and used them 2 days in a row.  The first day, the class worked as tables to identify the purpose of each paragraph.  Then, the second day, the kiddos worked alone.  On the back of each strip, I had them use the sentence starter: "I think the purpose is to ____ because _____,"  Here are some shots of my students in action:

"Strips" on the left, Reading Notebook in front...Student using his noggin to determine the intent!  :)

It was great practice, and because of these little strips, my class scored incredibly high on the assessment in the Author's Purpose Pack!  So here was my thought...why not use it as a FREEBIE promo?! :)

For any follower who purchases my Author's Purpose Pack in the next week will not only get to buy it on SALE, but will receive this one page file of my text "examples" that you can use as practice with your class.  Simply purchase my pack, then email me at JustTinkerinAround(at)Yahoo(dot)Com.  Tell me your TpT username, and simply ask for the FREEBIE add-on!  I'll send it right away!  :)

Happy Investigating Intents!!!

A SUPER Weekend (with a SUPER STRANGE Super Bowl Story!)

I have a special connection with Super Bowl Sunday.  It's funny, because I'm really not a football fan.  I really don't like wings, I can't drink beer (I'm allergic to barley, but even if I wasn't...yuck!), and I was never a cheerleader.  So you might wonder then, what's my connection...

Well, see, as a little girl, I lost my very first tooth on Super Bowl Sunday!  I was standing in my garage, watching my dad complete some "handy man" project of some sort, and out it pops, rolling only God knows where...

And it was gone.  Gone.  I mean the whole family look for it, no where to be found, move the toolbox, sweep the floor GONE. 

Now I'm sure how, as teachers, we all know first hand just how special loosing teeth is to our children.  So just imagine that experience!  :)  I'm not bitter though, in fact, Super Bowl Weekend always makes me smile when I think of that story each and every year.  :)

It also makes me remember how SUPER lucky I was as a child to have such great parents to tear up our garage looking for my tooth.  Such great parents that they put in a good word to the Tooth Fairy, and she came anyways.  Such great parents that have taught me so much kindness and helpfulness, which, in turn, I model and try to teach my class everyday.  So, there's my connection.  My SUPER connection, to this SUPER Super Bowl Weekend!

What's even better than my SUPER silly story you ask? 
Well, how about a SUPER sale?! 

I'm sure many of you have heard about/read online about the upcoming TpT sale on Sunday.  How exciting!  I already have my "wishlist" piled high with items.  Are you ready to shop?  My personal store is already on sale, with all items 20% off!!!  Tomorrow, you can "stack" your sales...my 20% PLUS another 10% from TpT when you enter the code "SUPER" at checkout.  How great is that?!  :)

Can't wait to shop?  That's okay.  Stop by my store now...because it's already on sale!

Hope you have a SUPER weekend!  Oh, and if there's any loose teeth out there, make sure to have your kiddos stay OUT of the garage!  :)

Boosterthon Fundraiser

For the past 3 years, our school has participated in the Boosterthon Fun Run to help our PTA raise money for our playground.  What's the Boosterthon Fun Run, you ask?  Well, here's a little "blurb" from their site:

So, basically, it's a 9 day (although, this year, because of MLK Day, ours is only 8) of fun for the kids.  (Yes, I did say "the kids", and at times, you may get an eye twitch or two, but it REALLY is worth it!)

The first day starts out with a HUGE pep rally to get the students excited and to explain the program to new students who have never participated. 

It's about 30 minutes of LOUD craziness (did I mention all the teachers had to go up from and dance?!).  The kiddos get SO excited though, and thus begins our "pep" to last thoughtout the week!

After the initial pep rally, our class gets to see the Boosterthon guys each and every day for about 2 weeks.  They come into our rooms for little "mini lessons" about character, leadership, respect, etc, and also at that time, announce students who received pledges the previous day/night.  Students can get pledges from family members, relatives, family friends, etc.  Pledges can be paid on a "per lap" basis or just a flat donation.  Generally, our kiddos run 30-40 laps in the Fun Run, but I think they put a "cap" on the laps (for donation purposes) at 30.  So, Uncle Bob can say he'll pay little Jenny $1 per lap.  Jenny can enter this pledge online, and she then receives a small little prize at certain steps along the way.  Then, after the Fun Run, Uncle Bob will pay the total amount of $1 x how many laps Jenny ran (up to $30).  Or, Uncle Bob could just donate a flat rate of $10, or whatever...

WHEW!  Did I explain it all clear as mud?!   :)    Let me just say, I'm not affiliated nor do I work for the Boosterthon people, so trying to explain it got me a little tongue tied!


Anyways...it is really fun and the school really loves it.  The first year, we raised enough for a whole new set of playground equipment.  Now, we're on to raising money for a shade structure, because our poor little playground has about 2.5 tiny trees on the whole thing! 

On the day of the actual run, we all get to go outside during the set time (per grade level) and run on a set up track that the Boosterthon people bring.  There's a live DJ and the Boosterthon guys are there too.  Very exciting for the kids, who are surrounded by female teachers all day!  :)

So right now, we're in our first week of our Boosterthon.  Not only does the Boosterthon bring excitement to our classroom during the mini-lessons this year, but the excitement is also there throughout all our days so far!  (Last year, I don't quite remember my class being sooo caught up throughout the day, but hey, I could be wrong!)  My class even wants to do our shared writing about the Boosterthon:

Good thing our focus this month is on expository texts!  This made the perfect "All About..." topic!

Donate to our class here!

Do you like our team name: The Chocolate Chippo Hilarious Hippos?  :)  Made with love by my comical class this year! 

Anyways, my kiddos have been working so hard to get pledges, and this year, Boosterthon has started a new thing where teachers can get pledges, too!  How neat is that?  So of course, I couldn't resist the urge to put it here, on my blog.  I'd LOVE any help I could get for my dear, sweet, chocolate chippo hippos :)

Want to donate even a flat $5?  (Notice how I'm not asking for any "per lap" donations??  Yeah, I'm not really much of a runner, so poor Ms. Hubbard is going to be doing a LOT of walking around the track :)   yes...a LOT of walking...)  Click here to go to my personal Fun Run page.  Any donations go straight to my class total, so they can be in the running for school wide prizes, like recess with the Boosterthon guys, Lunch Bunch, extra recess, etc.

Thanks for making it all the way through this super long post, and thanks for any donations you're willing to give! 

Oh, and if you haven't really learned enough, or want to know more about bringing this awesome fundraiser to your school, you can visit their own site at Boosterthon.com. 

What's On Your School Supply List?

Although Monday was a holiday for many, it was an inservice day for our district.  We spent the day planning for upcoming weeks, learning new views on instruction, and even began talking about next year.

YES, you heard me right...NEXT year.  Can you believe it?  It's only January, however, our district is opening it's 17th and final elementary school next year for the 2013-2014 school year.  So naturally, our principal needs to know our thoughts and desires, if we're planning on staying, retiring, transferring, etc.

On top of that, we were asked to start looking at our school supply list for the upcoming year!  This is the list that goes to all parents of items that their child needs to bring on or before the first week of school.  Many families even buy the pre-made "wrap packs" that already have all our requested supplies inside.

So, that leads me to my question:  what's on YOUR school supply list?

We never change ours up much from year to year, as our state (or district...) mandated budget is pretty consistant.  We can only ask for supplies up to a certain dollar amount.  The one change we made for next year though, was our pencils.  Sound funny?  I know!  BUT, this year, we were really short changed with the generic pencils we received!  They break so easily, and the mechanical pencil sharpener loves to eat them...not sharpen them.  :-/

Goodbye generic pencils, and hello to my FAVORITE Ticonderoga pencils!  Yes, I'm a HUGE dork that actually has a favorite pencil type and brand!  :)  They just write so smoothly and sharpen SO well, how can you NOT love them!  AND, according to their site,   Dixon Ticonderoga Wood-Cased Black-Core #2 Pencils(13806) are "the world's best pencil"!  (no, I'm not linked or affiliated to Ticonderoga in any way, just a nerdy, pencil loving teacher...)

Back to the question of the day, though...Give me your thoughts and ideas.  I'd love to hear what's on your supply list?  What do you wish you had that you don't normally ask for?  What do you ask for that you don't use?  Leave me a comment below!  I'm dying to know!  :)