Buy One Get One Free Sale

 TPT is finally having their HUGE Back 2 School sale! I've teamed up with some awesome bloggers to bring you a buy one get one free special. It's simple, just buy Picture Perfect Vocabulary (Quarter 1) and get Back to School Activities for Teaching Procedures FREE!! When you buy this, you will get a secret link located after the cover page of your resource. Go to this link and download my Back to School Activities for Teaching Procedures (worth$8.00).

Get ready to turn your students into word enthusiasts with this vocabulary program! Each list takes vocabulary words from popular picture books that are available to teachers for free online. Each of the picture books can be found on the website Storyline Online. Each list includes 10 vocabulary words, Power Point, graphic organizer, flashcard set, anchor chart/word wall cards, practice sheet, and quiz. There are 9 word lists included in this product. This is a vocabulary technique I've been using for 10 years in the classroom. Your students will LOVE it!This first quarter includes vocabulary from the following very popular picture books:
A Bad Case of Stripes
Brave Irene
Enemy Pie
Knots On a Counting Rope
Private I. Guana
Romeow & Drooliet
Sophie's Masterpiece
Stellaluna
When Pigasso Met Mootisse
When you buy this product you will get my Back to School Activities for Teaching Procedures.

Check out these  Buy One Get One deals from some great bloggers!

Procedures, Procedures, Procedures!

I remember during the first 5 years of my teaching career I dreaded the first week of school. Yes, I said the first 5 years! I knew what to do after I got started, but I just had trouble getting started. Luckily, I stumbled onto some great books by seasoned teachers that showed me what teaching procedures look like. As I started putting together this back to school unit, I thought back to what I've learned about teaching procedures. I have tons of back to school activities that I've collected over the years, and I'm sure you do to. But how do you use those activities to teach students your classroom procedures? That is what I considered when I put this packet together.

When you think about your favorite beginning of the year cooperative activity, consider using an anchor chart to show students what teamwork looks like and sounds like. Be explicit when teaching your procedures and routines. 

This back to school packet has everything you need to start your year off on the right foot. It includes 9 activities, 4 anchor charts, and a craftivity that makes for a great display. Click HERE to check it out.

Favorite Pins

First Grade Parade has come up with a great linky idea--Favorite Pins Friday.
Here are a few of my favorite pins from this week:

This pin comes from All Things Upper Elementary.  There you will find the idea of The English Police and it sounds like an amazing hook to get students excited about English.

Next we have this cute science craft from Doodle Craft. Kids use old tights and grass seeds to create these cute characters.

Finally, this pin is from Science for Kids. This post is so cool and I know my students will be fascinated to read about de-extinction. I've never heard of this and didn't even know it was possible. I can think of some cool writing prompts to go with this. This is a must read.

Tried It Tuesday

I'm excited to be linking up with Holly at Fourth Grade Flippers. My Tried It Tuesday is dry erase sleeves From Oriental Trade.

I use these daily in my classroom. They are great for center games and any repetitive skills you want to practice. I got a sample of one at a teachers conference. It had an opening in the side, and I fell in love with it. However, they are really expensive. I recommend trying these first. If you already use whiteboards in your classroom, I'm sure you will love these, too. You can get a dozen for about $12 at Oriental Trade. Go check out other things everyone else has tried!

Engineering Fest

Have you heard of STEM? It stands for Science Technology Engineering and Math. Earlier in the year I set aside an entire day to celebrate the field of engineering. The students rotated through stations. Each station highlighted a different field of engineering and had a lab to showcase the specific field. All of the labs were inquiry based with very little teacher intervention. Each one helped to build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. One of the labs was a the Windmill Challenge. Students had to make a windmill that would pull as many pennies as possible. They had different designs to choose from and had to figure out how to make it pull pennies. They had to work through the entire Engineer Design Process.

We carried the theme through lunch. Students made a solar oven and cooked their own hot dogs for lunch. This was not an inquiry activity. I walked them through the entire process. You can grab a copy of my solar oven design by clicking on the picture. You could easily turn this into an inquiry activity and also align it with the Next Generation Science Standards by letting the students design and test their own solar ovens. I'm thinking I might try it next year. This one was a super simple version and worked really well.

If you'd like to check out my Engineering Fest that includes 7 STEM activities, an anchor chart, station signs, and student booklets, just click on the picture. 

Common Core Camp-out

When my students got back from Spring Break, I had the room completely transformed into a outdoor camp. I could not believe how excited they were. One of my sweet boys said, "I was really not happy about having to come back to school, but then I walked in and saw the tent, and I knew everything was going to be great." Totally made the three hours I spent decorating worth it:) I also had a big banner outside the classroom welcoming them back.

This was my smoke and mirrors trick for sneaking in some test prep. I disguised it all with a camp theme. They really enjoyed it and it made the test prep tolerable.

I got most of the decorations from Oriental Trade. Since I had to take everything off the wall for testing anyway, I thought I would put up some decorations that could stay up. I put up a mountain backdrop, some pine trees, and camp signs. I even put some camp tablecloths on the tables for a little while. Those didn't last long because they aren't really practical for classroom use.. I also bought little camp journals for taking notes on test taking strategies. They loved them.

I put together a huge unit that covers several Common Core standards all with a camping theme. This product has six math, 5 reading, and 6 writing activities. I included several craftivities that would be great for the hallway. All of them aligned to Common Core standards.These activities are perfect for review, too.  There are enough activities to keep you busy for a full week. If you would like to check it out, click HERE

.Testing is next week for me. I'm feeling really positive going into it. My kids have worked so hard! We are having our Testing Pep Rally on Friday,  and they have a song and dance they are going to perform for the whole school. I even got them neon hats and shades. They are so excited. If you can't tell, I adore this group of kids. I'm already starting to get a little teary eyed thinking about sending them to 5th grade.
Have a great week and good luck with your testing!

Saint Patrick's Day Freebies

First, I have a Saint Patrick's Writing Menu for you. The video prompt for this menu is ANY Lucky Charms commercial. Here is the one I'm using:

Next is the Social Studies St. Patrick's activity. This graphic organizer can be used with any nonfiction book about St. Patrick's Day. I'm using Gail Gibbon's book. I really love her nonfiction titles. You could also have students look up facts about St. Patrick's Day on the computer. Just click on either cover for a copy.

If you still need more St. Patrick's Day ideas, just click on the picture below to check out my other St. Patrick's Day products.