When Aloo-ki's huskies float out to sea, she goes looking for them. While looking for them, she stumbles upon an igloo that she decides to visit. The story takes off from there, reminiscent of a familiar tale.
Vocabulary:
huskies - dogs that have thick fur and are often bred to pull sleds in arctic areas
ice floe - a large piece of floating ice
stroll - to walk slowly
mound - a raised pile
fringe - an edge of hanging threads
adrift - moving or floating without being steered
sloshed - to move with a splashing sound through water, mud, etc.
wail - to make a long, loud cry
bellow - a loud, deep shout or cry
Questions:
Where do you think Aloo-ki lives? Why do you think that?
Why does Aloo-ki have a team of dogs instead of just one dog?
What kind of a girl is Aloo-ki? Wha makes you think that?
Why are Aloo-ki's actions unexpected?
How would you feel if someone entered your house and used your belongings in the way that Aloo-ki did? Would you have reacted the same way?
Why were the huskies bouncing around and smiling at Aloo-ki when she left the bears' house?
What story is this similar to? Explain your thinking.
Don't have the book? No problem! You can watch it here:
In need of an activity? No worries! Check out our FREEBIE here!
With the upcoming election, I've spent the last week heavily focusing on the election process. We've implemented it in our language arts class with an emphasis on vocabulary, comparing/contrasting, and writing as well as in our math class. On Tuesday, the students will get to participate in a school-wide voting process complete with ballots and booths. I'm so excited for them to have this experience!
This week's book of the week is a bit different. There is a two-part FREEBIE in our TPT store for you! The first part is a vocabulary activity that targets 12 vocabulary words in the form of the game "I have-who has..."
The second part is a writing activity with the prompt, "If I Were President..." (I'm sure you wouldn't have guessed that!) Included is a graphic organizer and paper for a final copy.
Some of the students needed a bit more scaffolding, so I provided a simple introductory sentence for them. They really enjoyed this activity, and I equally enjoyed reading their ideas! As long as they were able to give a (somewhat) reasonable reason, I went with it!
If you don't own the book, you can watch the video here!
This week, I had no difficulty picking out a book for this post! It's definitely summer time, and by that, I mean more quality time with my kids. I absolutely treasure this time: going to the zoo, the park, and on walks, but on some days, I am ready for a full day back in the classroom, especially when they do not accept "no" for an answer!
I love this book, and so does my daughter, who seems to challenge me the most. In fact, she knows when she has had a day full of "RJ challenges" and will often ask my husband or I to read this book to her before bed. It's amazing how well she relates to RJ and how this book has helped her say "OK" instead of "NO!"
Summary: RJ does not like the sound of "no!" Instead, he asks for a "maybe" or a "later" at home, at school, and in the community. It's not until he becomes a member of the "Say YES to NO Club" that he begins to learn how to accept "no" for an answer and add his name to the Star Board.
Vocabulary:
schedule - a list of times when things will happen
disagree - to have a different opinion
appropriately - to be right for a certain time or place
"running the show" - to be in charge
official member - to be part of a group or club
"thumbs up" - to show approval or support
to knock someone over with a feather - to surprise someone
to spoil your appetite - to make you eat less at the next meal
Questions:
What does the word "no" mean to you?
When was a time you were told "no?" How did it make you feel? What did you do about it?
What steps did RJ use to accept "no?"
How do you feel when you accepted "no" in an expected way?
Share a time when you accepted "no" in an expected way.
What steps did RJ use to disagree with someone?
How do you feel when you disagree in an expected way?
Share a time when you disagreed with someone in an expected way.
How did these skills help RJ become more successful at school?
How can these skills help you become more successful?
Summary: Jennie's favorite aunt is sending her a hat, and when it arrives, it is not exactly what she expected. Instead of a fancy, flowery, frilly hat, she receives a plain hat. She tries to find a new hat: a basket from her house, a lampshade, and even a flowerpot, but they just don't work. Feeling frustrated and disappointed, Jennie is surprised by some of her friends, and her dream hat comes true!
Vocabulary:
plain - simple; not fancy
expect - to hope or look forward to something
scatter - to toss everywhere
peep - to look secretly through a small opening
appear - to become visible
flutter - to fly with quick and light wing movements
swan - a large white bird with a very long neck that usually swims in the water
swoop - to suddenly come down from above
twitter - to make a series of short, light sounds
coo - to make low sounds like a dove or pigeon
Questions:
Who sent Jennie the hat?
What did does the author mean when he wrote, "Jennie blinked back her tears..." after she opened her a hat?
Why did Jennie try on the basket?
What else did Jennie try to wear as a hat?
How do you think Jennie felt when she fed the birds? Is it the same way she felt when she opened the hat?
Why did Jennie peek out of the window?
What kind of hat did Jennie's mom have?
Where did Jennie wear her plain hat?
Why do you think the birds decorated Jennie's hat?
When the birds decorated Jennie's hat, the author wrote, "...she felt like she was walking on air." What did he mean?
This is the first year I've taught math after 12 years of speech--language, and I have to admit, it's been kind of fun (when I know what I'm doing)!
The students just came back from spring break on Tuesday and only have three days of school this week. What new math concept can I possibly introduce in three days that they are going to be motivated enough to do and retain? Seriously, I cannot compete with a short week AND a three-day weekend that includes oodles of candy and treats. AHA! A video! Of course! This video was a great introduction:
In fact, they enjoyed the video so much, that we watched a second video the following day:
During the first two days, we used a fabulous activity from Mr. Mault's Marketplace: A Fraction Flip Book: An interactive Math Manipulative for Grades 3-5. This activity was great for helping the students to understands fractions as a shaded circle and on number lines. It also serves as a great visual resource for them.
Tomorrow, we will be using a Jellybean Fraction activity, that you can check out here for free.
I know they are going to love using jellybeans them. I'm just hoping they'll make it through the activity without asking a thousand times if they can "eat them when they are finished." Of course they can; I don't want them back!
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Chick by Lucille Colander
As I was finishing up with progress reports, grades, and end of trimester "fun" this week, I nearly forgot to find a book to post about this week. (I was also getting ready to pack up my things for the week to get ready for spring break! Maybe that was the real reason I nearly forgot!) My colleague asked if I would make another sequencing activity this week for the book There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Chick, and I jumped at the opportunity. Thanks for saving me, Denise!
Summary:
Like all of the books, absurdities happen in the life of the old lady with an end result that always seems to turn out on the upside.
Vocabulary:
awe - amazement
beg - to ask for something
jazz up - to make something more interesting
handy - useful
Questions:
What time of year is it? How do you know?
How do you think the chick felt before the old lady swallowed it?
What would happen if you ate as much as candy as the old lady?
What happened at the beginning of the story?
What happened in the middle of the story?
What happened at the end of the story?
What holiday is being celebrated?
Ready for your free sequencing activity? Check it out here!
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover by Lucille Colander
Yay! I'm so excited it's finally March. I'm ready to exit winter and step into spring with a little green! I decided to try another "Old Lady" book to welcome in the month.
Questions:
Who is the main character in the book?
What time of year is it?
What holiday is being celebrated?
What happened at the beginning of the story?
What happened in the middle of the story?
What happened at the end of the story?
What might happen if you find a four-leaf clover?
What is said to be found at the end of a rainbow?
We have a free sequencing activity/story retell for this book at our TPT store that you can find here.
It has been weeks of overcast and gloom both inside and outside, and it's starting to take a toll on the attitudes in our classroom. We recently started working on kindness, which I initially thought would be an easier skill to work on, but it's so general and abstract that is has proved to be somewhat challenging. I started by introducing and reviewing the concept for several days.
Intermixed with a few introductory activities, I decided to use Kindness Cash. Sounds silly, I know, but it's working!
Students can earn Kindness Cash by following through with being friendly, considerate, and being generous. They are working to earn as much cash as they can until the day before spring break when they can use it to buy a breakfast provided by myself and the paras. (We won't tell them that making breakfast isn't our forte. I think the mention of just eating is enough to hook them!) The amount of cash they earn will determine what they can choose for breakfast. Wish us luck!
You can find Kindness Cash here at our TPT store. Please let us know how you plan to use it!
Jasper loved carrots, especially carrots from Crackenhopper Field. He couldn't get enough of the fat, crisp carrots. He loved that they were free for the taking, eating them as a snack on the way to school, on the way to Little League practice, and on the way home at night. He absolutely loved them, until they started following him. The tucnktunktunk of creeping carrots sends Jasper into a paranoia, leading him to build a fence around Crackenhopper Field. Unknown to Casper, the carrots have their own plan!
Vocabulary:
passion - a strong feeling of excitement for something or about doing something
crisp - hard; and makes a sharp sound when broken or chewed
yank - a strong, fast pull
victory - success in defeating an an enemy or opponent
sinister - looking like something bad, harmful, or dangerous may happen
ridiculous - very silly or unreasonable
hatch - to create or make something in a secretive way
patch - a small area that is different from the area around it
Literal Comprehension:
Who liked to eat carrots?
Where did Jasper eat the carrots?
What was following Jasper?
Where did they follow him?
What did Jasper do at the end of the story?
Inferential Comprehension:
How did Jasper feel when he ate the carrots?
Why did Jasper think that the idea of creepy carrots was ridiculous?
What did Jasper's parents think about his fear of the carrots?
Who was sneakier: Jasper or the carrots? Why do you think that?
How did Jasper's feelings change throughout the story?
Could this be a true story? Why or why not?
If you're looking for a fun video that talks a bit more about the illustrations of the book, check out this video!
We also have a FREEBIE at our TPT store that you can find here. It compliments the video fairly well.
In our school, like so many others, the 4th and 5th grade students are great talkers and at times enthusiastic yellers when walking down the hall. What started out as a voice-saving strategy for one student has turned into a helpful reminder for others: those who talk too loudly across a room or who have social language challenges and forget that joining a group is done before talking. We created this visual to help our students. We've posted it here for you to download incase you want to give it a try. It has definitely worked as gentle reminder for our students.
I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro
It's officially fall, so why not get started with this popular book? Yes, the old lady is at it again, swallowing leaves, rope, clothing, pumpkins and more. The kids love when she sneezes and creates a scarecrow!
Questions:
Who is this story about?
Where did the story happen?
When did the story take place?
What did the old lady do at the beginning of the story?
What happened at the end?
Is this book fact or fiction? How do you know?
Why do you think the author wrote this book?
We have a sequencing activity/story retell for this book at our TPT store that you can find here.
There are a LOT of activities for this book! Here are just a few freebies for you to check out.
Summary:
Chester Raccoon is not ready for school to start. He has many fears and worries as he begins his learning in the forest without his mom. Mrs. Raccoon eases Chester's worries with a special family secret, the Kissing Hand. This story is perfect for the first day of school, preschool, daycare, and any other situation in which a child may be separated from a parent.
Vocabulary:
nuzzle - to push your nose against something, especially when cuddling
palm - the inside part of your hand
cozy - warm and comfortable
toasty - warm and comfortable
tingle - a prickly feeling
worry - thinking about something that you are scared of or do not know much about
Questions:
Where does Chester live?
When does Chester go to school (morning or night)?
Why doesn't Chester want to go to school? What did his mother tell him?
What was Mrs. Raccoon's secret? Did it work? How do you know?
What did Chester do for his mother at the end of the story?
How does Chester feel at the beginning of the story? How does he feel at the end of the story? Did his feelings change? How do you know that?
There are countless activities for this book. We have a free minibook that you can grab here. It's a perfect activity for story retell.
Looking for other freebies and ideas? Check these out!
Our students are very motivated with holiday-realted activities. It's hard not to get excited for St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and all of the other spring-related holidays. To curb our spring "itch" and capture the student's excitement, we planned a few Easter-themed activities. We will be decorating eggs WITHOUT paint or dye but with crayons. Whew!
This easy Easter egg glyph incorporates two and three-step directions with embedded concepts. We will need to modify the directions given the varying needs of students, but we know they're going to love it!
We also will be using simple clues to for inferencing for this Easter Egg Hunt. Assembly is minimal, but will be so worth it! Simply print out the cards, cut and fold. Put each task cad in a plastic egg. Place the eggs throughout the school in places like the principal's office (surprise!) and library using the cards as your guide. Whoever guesses the correct place gets to keep the egg. We plan to add candy for some Easter fun!
Grab a copy of the glyph freebie here and inferencing freebie here!
When Grace Campbell's teacher, Mrs. Barrington, takes out a poster with presidential pictures on it, Grace becomes very aware that there are no girl presidents! Thinking about the absurdity of it, Grace decides to run for school president. Her excitement is short-lived when she finds out a student from Mr. Waller's class, Thomas Cobb, is also running for president. Thomas's legacy of success has Grace worried but her worry turns into hard work and campaigning while Thomas continues to think about himself. Down by one electoral vote and only one student left to vote, will Grace win the election?
Vocabulary:
stew - to be worried or annoyed
election - the process of choosing someone to be a part of the government by voting
snicker - to laugh in a sneaky or sly way
announcement - a public statement
democracy - a government in which people get to for for their lawmakers
nominate - to choose someone for a position
assign - to choose someone to do something
electoral vote- votes given by each state in the United States Presidential election
candidate - the person who wants to be elected or chosen for something
campaign - a plan that someone makes and does to make something happen
constituents - someone who allows someone else to represent him or her
rally - a gathering to make people feel good about something
beautification - the process of making something beautiful
assembly - to join together as a group for a reason
podium - a raised platform for a speaker
slogan - a short phrase or motto used during an election
There is a lot of great vocabulary in this lesson. I found that it was difficult for students with language needs, more specifically with vocabulary weaknesses, to comprehend the text, so I decided to make these simple "I have…who has…" cards to practice the vocabulary. What a difference it made! You can find them here at our TPT store.
Questions:
Why did Grace decide to run for president?
Why did Grace think it would be easy to run for president at first?
What did the author mean when she said, "Grace's heart sank"?
What kind of a student do you think Thomas was?
Why did Thomas campaign differently than Grace?
What qualities do you think Sam saw in Grace that he did not see in Thomas?
Who would you vote for? Why?
I also used this awesome freebie from Megan Mitchell. It was the perfect addition to this book!
Roses Are Pink Your Feet Really Stink by Diane deGroat
Summary: It's almost Valentine's Day, and Gilbert is starting to write his Valentine's Day poems. He remembers some not-so-nice things his classmates Margaret and Lewis have done to him, so he decides to write them mean Valentine's and then sign each other's names on them. When Margaret and Lewis read their Valentine's, they are not happy. It doesn't take long until they realize that they were missing a Valentine from Gilbert. Gilbert needs to figure out a way to fix his problem before the Valentine's Day party is over!
Vocabulary:
smiley eyes - nice and friendly eyes
tweak - to pull or pinch
tin - a metal container with a lid used to keep food in, especially cookies
mitt - baseball glove
nasty - rude
to have rocks in your head - to not be very smart
This book lends itself well to practicing cause and effect. You can access our cause and effect freebie here. Our students were very successful with this activities.
Are you interest in other extension activities/ Check these out!
Shawna Devoe has a free activity that looks at how characters change throughout the story. YOu can find the activity on TPT or click here.
This activity pack includes math, writing, and comprehension activities!
It's almost Valentine's Day, and there are always mixed reviews among students at our school. They have this idea that it's all about love, so we try to reinforce that it's more about liking each other and showing others that we care about them. This week, I plan to ask students to brainstorm ways that they can show their parents/caregivers they love them and then ways they can show their friends they care about them. The students will use that information to complete a Valentine's Venn Diagram which you can find here at our TPT store.
Over the last two years, the students in my my "Significantly Challenged Social Communicator" social skills group have shown that they learn best through videos. (Check out Michelle Garcia Winner, Pamela Crooke, and Stephanie Madrigal's 2011 Social Communication Profile found here which further explains categories of social functioning.) With that in mind, I found two Peanuts videos that show how quickly feelings can change, and how our feelings can change the feelings of others around us. I love using the Peanuts videos because the characters' emotions are exaggerated and somewhat over-the-top, but it's exactly what this group of students need.
This video is perfect for showing how quickly feelings can change. (Sometimes in moments of complete stress, I find myself having the same range of emotions!) I plan to ask the group the following questions:
How do Charlie Brown's emotions change throughout the video? What are some of the emotions that he felt?
What does Charlie Brown mean when he says, "I'd be crushed?"
Why did Charlie Brown decide to open the mailbox? How did he feel?
What happened when he opened the mailbox? How did he feel then?
How does Schroeder feel about the girls giving Charlie Brown a used Valentine? How do you know that?
Why do you think Charlie Brown decided to take the Valentine?
The second video is great for inferring.
Again, here are the questions I plan to ask the group:
What does "Valentine's Crush" mean?
Why did Linus wait to draw Lucy's mouth? Why did he draw her mouth so big? What words can you use to describe her? Why do you think his hand was shaking?
How did Charlie Brown feel when the little red-haired girl did not give him a Valentine? What did he really mean when he said, "Happy Valentine's Day?"
What did Lucy mean when she told Charlie Brown that he wasn't not the little red-haired girl's kind?
Was Lucy really patient? What word means the opposite or something very different than patient?
Why do you think Charlie Brown didn't get any Valentines? How would that make you feel?
We hope that you can find these videos as useful as we hope to!
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean
Summary: Pete the Cat has a contagious attitude, and it's no different in this book! Pete's brand new white shoes seem to stay anything but clean, but he doesn't let that bother him. Find out how Pete's shoes change color in this fun and engaging book. Story Questions: Are you allowed to wear new shoes outside to play as soon as you get them? Why or why not? Why did Pete's shoes turn red? Why did Pete's shoes turn blue? Why did Pete's shoes turn brown? Why did Pete's shoes get wet? Have you ever worn wet shoes? If so, how did that feel? Share a time when your shoes got dirty or wet. What happened to make them that way? What did you do? Did you have the same attitude as Pete? Want more Pete? We have a free cause and effect activity at our TpT store! Don't have the book? Check out this great video!
Summary:
Otto's world was perfect until his baby sister came along one week before his sixth birthday. Otto made a birthday wish that his baby sister was never born, and he got more than what he bargained for!
Vocabulary:
scatter - to throw around in different directions
deliver - to send or bring something to a person or place
spoon - to feed with a spoon
stub - a short piece of something that is left over after a larger piece is used
ridiculous - silly or foolish
barber - a person whose job is to cut and style hair
neighborhood - an are in a city or town that is different from other area
Questions:
How did Otto feel when his sister was first born?
How did his feelings change throughout the story?
Did he feel the same way at the end of the story as he did at the beginning of the story. Explain.
How would you talk to people if you couldn't use words?
What is something you have wished for? Did it come true?
How would life change if time really did go backward?
Share a time when you were upset with your brother, sister, or friend. What happened? What did you do to fix the problem?
Next week with my 4th and 5th grade reading intervention groups we will begin to work on cause and effect in texts. To introduce the concept of the Cause being the "Why" and the Effect being the "What" I plan to use video and some freebies from Teacher's pay Teachers before diving into informative texts and cause effect relationships in books. Here are the amazing resources I have found so far, and if you have any please share a link in the comments below. Many of the resources I found can also be tied into social skills lessons as well to talk about what started events and then what were the consequences or effects. Thank you for reading.
1. Video to Introduce Cause and Effect:
2. Pixar Videos: Here is one entitled, "For the Birds" that I plan on using next week for a brief Cause/Effect Review. We have used this one extensively and maybe have blogged about it before, but great resources can be used over and over. It has many causes and many effects that can be talked about with the birds being to close, too heavy, showing mean stares at each other. I plan to use the video pausing at different intervals to talk about a cause or effect that is happening. Here is the video:
3. Ameriquest Commerials/Don't Judge Too Quickly Videos: These commercials from the early 2000's are very funny and our students love watching and thinking about Cause/Effect. I have not used them this year but in previous years they have been a big hit. Let me give a disclaimer though, not all the Ameriquest commercials on Youtube are appropriate for my 9-11 year old students. Here are the three that I use, I cannot vouch for the other videos:
4. Teachers Pay Teachers Freebies: These freebies I am posting are ones that other sellers have been so kind enough to post. I am including quite a few so you can find ones to suit the exact age level you need. I found they have cause and effect activities for kindergarten all the way up to 5th grade or higher. I have labeled them by title.
