Halloween Writing Activities

I really love Halloween. Each year I do things a little differently depending upon what my students enjoy or how much they "move along." Some of my students are prepared for  bigger and more elaborate things. Last year I had a class of 32 second graders, and my motto was literally, "Just Keep Swimming!" (Thanks Dori for the tip!) Our art and craftivity projects were kept to a minimum, which was sad because my own son was in my class and I really wanted to give it all, but some things are more time intensive, and with that many little bodies and needs, it was much harder! This year I pulled out my bat lesson that I haven't talk for a couple of years and I forgot how much fun we have with it.

I first teach lots of Bat Vocabulary. We read some nonfiction bat books (in my unit I have a list of great books) The students first took the vocabulary words and definitions and found their partners with the matching vocabulary card.

After that, we talk about a lot of bat facts. TONS OF FACTS! They each get a fact card and have to walk about the class and learn a fact from everyone, and teach everyone their fact. From these fact cards they learn how to create a question for their answer for their bat craftivity. I'm always amazed at what these kids are learning!

We ended the week by watching Magic School Bus Goes Batty, because who can resist Ms. Frizzle?! If you want to check this unit out, click on the picture below to be taken to my TpT store. 

Something else that I absolutely love doing is my unit on "There's a Nightmare in My Closet" by Mercer Mayer. It's an old book, but the kids absolutely love it. We talk about what we fear, and then how we can overcome these fears. 

We then turn that fear into a story. We talk about story structure and then write our "scary" stories. They always turn out so amazing! I have other activities in my packet also on TpT.

Halloween Glyph Freebie

My students are very creative this year. Not that every year they are not, but this year I can tell they absolutely love doing any kind of craft. I created this fun pumpkin glyph for them to craft away, and to learn their shapes. It's a little simple, but at the same time, we love glyphs!!! Enjoy the freebie (Click on the picture below) and make sure to leave me a comment to let me know how you like it!

Understanding the Difference of There, Their, They're

I think the most frustrating thing for me is seeing adults using these words wrong! Social media has really made me realize how important learning the skills of homophones early on benefits us all! I created this scavenger hunt to help my students see the difference of these words. The resource includes the definitions, posters to hang, and a great activity to help reinforce the ideas.

I also decided to bundle some of my other scavenger hunt games for you to buy at a discount. My students love these activities, and they really help reinforce what we are teaching. Click on the pic below to find these bundled resources that include: There, Their, They're; The Many sounds of -ED, and Plural Endings -s,-es,-ies.

Tips for a Successful Conference Week and a Freebie

Call it what you want it, conferences are exciting, fun, informative, and most of all- EXHAUSTING! Our week of conferences are beginning and I am excited. It is a time to get to meet parents and talk about the students. Conferences should be a positive experience for both the teacher, the parents, and the students. I had a wise principal that said that if there is a problem, the parents should know about that before conference, and conference is not the time for them to hear about it. Communication with parents is hard. Parents are busy- I'm a parent! However, it's up to us to let these parents know what is going on.

I like to gather some work the kids have been working on for the term and put them in a folder- a simple long piece of construction paper, folded in half, with a picture that students have colored on the front. (I'll post pics when we get them done.) I like to have a test for literacy and math in there, for parents to see what we are doing. I also like to have a goal sheet to show the child is setting goals.

I also like to send home a cute invitation for their conference.

I have some tips for you as a teacher and you as a parent to be ready!

 Teachers:
1. Prepare parents early for when they can sign up. Send home an email, a REMIND 101 (an app you can use to communicate with parents) or put it in your newsletter.
2. If you conferences are after a term, make sure report cards have been sent home and there were no surprises on the report card. In other words, make sure you have kept communication open and parents are aware when their child is struggling before they see it on a report card.
3. Clean your room! Make a good impression to your parents! Plug in a Scentsy to get out the "kid sweat" smell!
4. Have a list in the hallway showing conference times. Have something for parents to look at while they wait. (If they have to wait.) I always have classroom collaborative books we have made. The parents enjoy finding their child's work.
5. Share something positive with the parents to begin conference. This starts it out on a nice note. As mentioned earlier, this is a time that should be focused on the child's strengths. Save the negative concerns for previous meetings. This is not always possible, but don't let it be a surprise to the parents, either.
6. Enjoy! Even though conferences are long, they really are rewarding, and help you as the teacher to see where your children come from!

Parents
1. Make sure sign up for a conference time so you don't get assigned a time. This doesn't always work for you and it's important for your child that you attend conferences.
2. Make sure to be on time to conference.
3. Make a list of questions you want to ask the teacher. When you are there, you may feel rushed, and forget the questions you were going to ask!
4. Realize your child's teacher has a lot of students, so be patient with the teacher! But make sure you voice concerns with your child. The teacher needs to be aware of your child's needs to better teach them.
5. Celebrate your child! School is their job! Show them you are pleased with their hard work and help them feel valued!

I've made a freebie with some conference files for you to enjoy, including the invitation. Click on the apple invitation above! I will be revisiting this freebie for next conference to add another invitation. Enjoy! Leave me a comment and let me know what your advice is for conferences!

Gravity

Our second grade team does rotations for social studies and science. I was not thrilled when I drew out gravity in the summer when we were figuring out our schedule. My mind has been going crazy trying to figure out how to teach it. I decided that the first place to go was Magic School Bus- I love them! I found this on Youtube, and although movies are BORING all of the time, clips are not. I introduced gravity with a little bit of the episode. We only have thirty minutes for three weeks to teach each topic.

I really wanted to try my heart at STEM teaching. I've been researching it, and it should always start with a real life problem. I decided I would put together a mini unit so I could teach it. This one is about Aiden and his problem with different balls. I can't wait to use this unit. I will start using it next week!

I am starting to put my products up for FREE for the first 24 hours so I hope you catch it in time!!! Tell me what you do to make teaching gravity fun for your kids! I'd love to hear!

Our Successful Johnny Appleseed Week!

I posted earlier about how much we have on Johnny Appleseed week. We start out the week by just looking at different apple poems, short passages about apples and Johnny Appleseed, and introducing who he is. I then introduce them to this book:

We then talk about tall tales, and decide whether or not the tale of Johnny Appleseed is true, or some of it is a tall tale. It depends year to year how much writing they do individually and how much we do together. In my Johnny Appleseed packet, there opinion, informational, and narrative writing options. This year we decided to do informational. We brainstormed sentences of supporting details together after reading the book.

We then decided on a main idea sentence together. We haven't had a lot of exposure to writing informational since we have been focused on personal narratives, so it was good to have a lot of structure for them. We worked at a supporting sentence together, and then I gave them the option of using the supporting sentences we wrote together, or use their own from the knowledge they read in the book.

They turned out so cute!!

Later on that week we also did apple tasting, learned about how apples grow from the apple tree (using the book below which is amazing!)

and made the fantastic trees also. What a great week. We did make caramel apples, too. The kids wore pots on their heads, cut off jeans, and flannel plaid shirts. What a fun celebration!

Click on any of the pics to get the packets on TpT. I've bundled them together to get them both, or you can scroll below on the bundle to see them individually.

Giveaway Time!

I'm hosting a giveaway here because my collaborative blog of Utah Bloggers opens today and we are thrilled! So enter at my facebook page Head over to www.busybeesactivities.com to enter to win a $50 giftcard to Amazon and Teachers Pay Teachers!