Monday, December 15, 2014

How Santa Got His Job

Buy on Amazon

Last week I read one of my favorite Christmas books, How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky.



Of course, I paired it with the story elements worksheet I made last year.  You can snag a copy of it for free by clicking HERE.

Buy on Amazon

I was so excited that our recent book order came in because I order a copy of the companion book How Santa Lost His Job by Stephen Krensky.  I am thinking about maybe creating a STEM lesson to go with that book, but it's a bit difficult to do something like that in a 30 minute time period (including check out), so I may have to think that one through for next year.

What are some of your favorite books to read this time of year?



Monday, December 8, 2014

Christmas Signs

Just a quick freebie for you.  I created some festive signs for the bookshelves.


You can snag 'em HERE.

Hope you enjoy!




Wednesday, December 3, 2014

One More Day


Just a quick post to let you know that I am extended my TpT sale one more day.  You can still get 20% off all paid products in my TpT store through midnight tonight...no code needed! And don't forget to leave feedback so that you can earn TpT credits for future purchases.  You can get some good deals with those TpT credits.  =)

Happy Shopping!


Monday, December 1, 2014

December Free Author Poster

This month's spotlight author is Lois Lowry.


To download your free author poster, click on the picture above or click here.

Enjoy!



Saturday, November 29, 2014

Cyber Sale!

Just a quick post to let you know about the Cyber Sale on TpT.  

(Like the cute sign?  I got it from the 3AM teacher on TpT.)

It will take place December 1 and 2 (2014).  Use the code TPTCYBER at check out and you can get 28% off all paid products in my TpT store.  

Many other stores are also participating in the sale, so go ahead and fill up your shopping cart, but don't forget to use the code before you check out.  ;)

Happy shopping!



Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Gone for Awhile

I will be away from Bloggyland for awhile.  My littlest is having his tonsils and adenoids out on Friday of this week and will be getting tubes and allergy testing as well.  My time and energy are going to be focused on him for the next few weeks as he recuperates.  Just wanted to let all my readers know that I haven't disappeared and that I will be back.  Good thoughts for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery are appreciated.  =)

See you again soon.


Monday, November 17, 2014

Thanksgiving Fun

Are you studying Thanksgiving this week?  I have several freebies available that might be helpful.

Have your young students practice writing their ABC's with this fun sheet.

Use this story starter to help your students create a story about Thanksgiving.


Need an idea for persuasive writing?  Use this fun paper to let students write about why turkeys should not be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.

I always read 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey to my kindergarten and first grade classes the week before our Thanksgiving break.  It's a hilarious book and they love the ending.



There are even several YouTube videos of someone reading the book.


Last year I made this story elements freebie worksheet to go with the book.


I also came across a few new Thanksgiving books I hadn't heard of before.  Tammy from the Live. Love. Laugh.  Everyday in Kindergarten blog has posted a couple of freebies to go with these books.  The Great Turkey Race freebie can be found HERE. And The Silly Turkey Party freebie can be found HERE.



If you need some more fun fall activities, games, or online resources, check out Shannon's Fall Fun website she made.  Shannon's blog is technology rocks. seriously. She shares tons of great websites and other technologies on her blog.  Go check it out!  You won't be disappointed.

And because you know I love to make bookmarks, here is a Thanksgiving sampler of 4 free bookmarks.


I also have a larger pack of Thanksgiving bookmarks available for only $2.00 in my TpT store.


And this cute Thanksgiving bunting is also available in my TpT store.

There are oodles of other free Thanksgiving items on TpT right now.  When I did a search of free Thanksgiving items, it came up with over 3,000 listings.  You might just find something to use this week.  

Happy Turkey Week!


Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Veterans Day Resources

I have come across several Veterans Day resources this year,so I thought I post them for you to enjoy.

First up, the answer to the very important question...Veterans Day or Veteran's Day?

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it's Veterans Day (no apostrophe).  You can read about the reason HERE.

Here are a few brief video clips all about Veterans Day:








Kristine Nannini from the Young Teacher Love blog has put together a packet of FREE TpT "Veteran's Day", yes, grammatically not correct, but still full of some great, spelled correctly, resources for upper grades.

Click HERE to download this free google doc.



Veterans Day Bookmarks from Kindergarten Lessons.com  Get them HERE.  You know your kiddos will eat them up!

This Veterans Day Grid Game is a free download on Teachers Notebook from Dawn over at the Toadally Tots blog.  You can download it HERE.

This is a a free coloring sheet from 2 Super Teachers on their TpT store.  Click HERE to download.


This freebie is from Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas. 21 free Veterans Day coloring sheets.  Click HERE to download it.


This free Veterans Day craftivity is a free download on TpT from 1st Grade Hip Hip Hooray! Click HERE to download it.


How cute would this free flip book from Rachel Nice of Pencil and Chalk be to create with your littles? Click HERE to download it.

There are tons more free resources for Veterans Day out there. These are just a few I came across.  Hope you enjoy!




Monday, November 10, 2014

All About the Books

You know that song that gets stuck in your head and you sing it everyday for, like, a week?  Yeah, got one of those going on this week.

But it's a fun one, a parody of Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" called "All About the Books."  Someone posted a link to it on Twitter or facebook (can't remember which) over the weekend and it's been stuck in my head ever since.

So being the loving librarian that I am, I am going to share it with you.

Actually, I found SEVERAL versions of it.  Feel free to watch them all or just the one that appeals to you the most.  But be ready to have it playing in your head all week.

You're welcome.  =)


















Sunday, November 2, 2014

Mystery Genre

I'm on a roll!  I got my mystery genre activity packs edited and uploaded.

There are two different versions...







Both come with a PowerPoint introduction to genres 


and an overview of the mystery genre including important terms.

I also include book examples and descriptions that fall into the mystery genre.


To wrap up, students use some simple puzzles to match the definition to the mystery term.


The 4th-6th grade version has a little more to the puzzle.  After matching all the puzzle pieces, they have to spell out the secret word using the grey letters in the middle of each puzzle.

I tested these packs out with my second and fourth grade classes and they loved it!  They were in groups and wanted to race to see who could complete the puzzles first.  With the second grade classes, I called on students randomly to tell me the definition of each term to double check our work. They really enjoyed that.

If you'd like to check out these new mystery packs, you can find them in my TpT store.


Click HERE for the 2nd/3rd grade version.


Click HERE for the 4th-6th grade version.

If you download these items, I'd love to know what you think, so leave me some TpT love.  Hope you enjoy!


Saturday, November 1, 2014

Fantasy and Science Fiction Genres

I've been working on getting some of my genre activities available for you to purchase on TpT.  I have the first couple of genres ready.  I combined fantasy and science fiction because they pair well together.

I have created 2 versions...


NOW AVAILABLE ON TEACHER'S DOJO-CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE


NOW AVAILABLE ON TEACHER'S DOJO-CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE


Both versions contain an introduction PowerPoint that introduces the concept of genres, 


and then it goes on to describe the two genres.

Each download also contains an activity sheet that asks students to tell whether or not the book is a fantasy or science fiction book or another genre.

The exciting part is that the answers can be checked with Aurasma!  There is also the option to check the answers with the answer slide if you don't happen to have access to a mobile device with the Aurasma app.  NOTE: Aurasma is now HP Reveal, but still works the same way.



I have used both these activities with my second and fourth grade classes and they really enjoyed it.  You can check out these packs yourself on Teacher's Dojo.

Click HERE to go to the 2nd/3rd grade version.

Click HERE to go to the 4th-6th grade version.


If you'd like to get an idea of what is included in these packs, you can check out my free realistic fiction pack by clicking HERE.


To download the free realistic fiction pack,  you will need to click on the download button.

If you purchase the fantasy and science fiction packs, I'd love to know what you think.  =)