Reward Coupons for Big Kids - Adapted for Younger Kids

Although I currently work with younger kids, I can't give up all of the fun, free incentives Reward Coupons for Big Kids offer. With a couple of tweaks I've been able to make many of the Reward Coupons for Big Kids work with my current younger group. 
One coupon is in really big demand right now. It is Read to a Kindie. Students select a book and at a mutually agreed upon time with the kindergarten teacher, my students go and read to them. Can a teacher get any happier than watching a young student clamor  to read to someone? Frankly, I smile just a little bit wider when my student is a struggling reader! "Retro fitting" this free reward for younger kids isn't hard. Here are some tips.
1. We have a mini economy going in my room and I open my 'store' every two weeks. I post the Read to a Kindie coupon on the whiteboard, write a price next to it, interested kids sign up and then pay.
2. I can say to a fifth grader, "Go to the library choose a book you think a kindergartener will like and will take you n less than 8 minutes." That doesn't work with the younger crowd. I help out by selecting several books for them to choose from, keeping in mind my students' reading level.
3. I make the kids practice in class. A lot. Younger kids need coaching on voice volume, how to hold the book and fluency. We talk about what to expect when reading with kindies and how to handle it when they aren't perfect angels. An older child can roll with it when a kindie calls out or gets up to get a drink in the middle of a book. A younger kid does best when actively told what to expect.
4. Most Big Kids can take on reading to a whole class right away, but for younger kids audience size matters. At the beginning of the year I make sure my students are reading one on one with a kindie. If they make a mistake, a kindie won't notice and my students feel safe. By the end of the year they can handle small groups.
5. I require my students to share their experience with the class when they return. Without exception, they are enthusiastic and tell some funny stories about what a kindie did or said. This in turn inspires others to choose this Reward Coupon in the future.

Why does this Reward Coupon works so well with a younger crowd?  There is built in success. A kindie is excited for an older student to come read to them. My younger students are instant celebrities in the hallway! They are confident going in. They know the book. They've been prepped on what kindie might do. Rather than be thrown off by a kids behavior or comment they enjoy the process a lot.

Many of the other Reward Coupons for Big Kids are easily adaptable for younger kids too! Give them a try!

Drawing the Taj Mahal when Learning about India

Integrating elements of world cultures across the curriculum is fun, natural and fairly easy. Teaching an appreciation for different cultures early on will, I believe, have a positive impact in the future. We just finished a unit on India. You can find a list of books I use HERE and a great FREE mini poster to promote cultural appreciation HERE.
A favorite lesson is learning about, then drawing the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal Reading Passage and How to Drawing is engaging for middle elementary students. It has two pieces. First is a reading passage sharing the history of this world treasure presented in two formats. One is ideal for small group instruction and the other is for fluency practice. Some kids read into a whisper phone and others will do it with a partner. Either way this fluency piece promotes smooth, natural reading of a text.
Second, kids get to draw the Taj Mahal with step-by-step instructions. They love the process. I project a photo of the Taj Mahal and post the steps on the whiteboard near by. I model the process using our document camera then let them get started.
The end results show a lot of variety. Some kids add in lots of details, others.... not so much. A couple of kids insisted on using a ruler, which was fine.
I like to do this lesson after we're comfortable with text features. Using vocabulary lifted from the reading passage, kids labeled some of the architectural features - minaret, dome, arch - and eventually added a caption at the bottom. These looked great in the hall.

Drawing the Taj Mahal allows for a different sort of learning experience. It helps us notice and interpret details. It helps us remember stories. Everyone can produce a different end result - and everyone is correct.
If you like the idea of incorporating a literature piece with an art project check out these units as well.
Native American Buffalo "Hide" Craft Project and How To Reading
Famous Immigrant Biographies
Greek God/Goddess Bundle: Mini Biographies, How to Drawings and Crown

Popcorn Fun!

Due to a miscommunication I found myself with 40 minutes of unscheduled time the other day. Opps! I pulled out one of my favorite cross-curricular activities, Popcorn Fun: A Hands-on, Integrated Learning Activity, and saved the day! I've used this resource for years and it's always a hit with the elementary crowd. I make copies to have on hand at the beginning of the year for occasions such as this.

In order to be prepared I keep a 99 cent bag of popcorn in my cupboard. I'd be scared to tally up how many times the popcorn in that bag has been handled, drawn and counted by my students.
There are several reasons why this unit is a hit with kids. First, everyone has an opinion about popcorn - and most kids like it. Second, there are no wrong answers. Third, kids get excited to learn new facts about something they are really familiar with from both book and video resources. Teachers like this unit too! Kids are actively engaged and and there is a lot of sneaky learning that goes on -- how to take notes, generating parts of speech, non-fiction text features and math. Popcorn Fun can be completed in an afternoon (fine for older kids) or divided into smaller chunks (better for younger kids). Each year is a little different but this is how the lesson went this year...

Day 1 1:00 - Panic!! The art teacher left early. I've got the kids for 40 mins. What am I going to do? Deep breath. Calm. Get out Popcorn Fun papers.

1:05 - Gather in a group and discuss the variety of ways to prepare popcorn. Make a list of background knowledge facts. Students record their own background knowledge on the paper.
1:15 - Pass out popcorn kernels in cups. Draw diagram. What a great time to discuss labels!
1:30 - Make popcorn kernel predictions. Watch kids count the actual number of kernels in the cup is always fun to watch. Since I do not give instructions on how to do it those kids come up with a variety of problem solving solutions.
1:45 - Back to the regularly scheduled program

Day 2
2:00 Read book about popcorn - as a whole group, we remember new facts we learn from the book. I project a word document to record the facts, modeling note taking skills.
Show video about popcorn - as a whole group, add additional facts to the word document
2:30 - Teach kids how to cite their sources
2:35 - Students choose the facts they find most interesting to write on their paper. Differentiate as needed.

Day 3 - In small groups, complete the popcorn parts of speech sections.
Later in the day, eat Kettle Korn - using the included recipe. Yum!
Popcorn Fun: A Hands-on, Integrated Learning Activity puts many skills and strategies into motion with an authentic experience. Fellow teachers have used this a regular back to school activity and is great for observations. Happy popping!

Make the Final Draft FUN - Illuminated Letters

Our final writing project last year was an original fairy tale. Inspired by this Fractured Fairy Tales unit, my students ended our time together with some really fun and creative pieces. Engaged from beginning to end, it allowed for differentiation and flexibility. Even my most reluctant writers were gung ho. We started by watching several Fractured Fairy Tale videos from the 70's and then we picked apart some mentor texts. This process got me buy in and served as an inspiration springboard. Check out the link to my Fractured Fairy Tale Resource Pinterest board below.

I wanted to make the final draft unusual so, inspired by our art teacher's suggestion, I whipped out my lettering sets. These have come in handy so many times over the years! The art teacher had been sharing illuminated manuscripts to go along with our study of the Renaissance in social studies. The kids knew illuminated letters were typically done in gold or silver and they came up with the gold glitter addition. Look at these end results! How fantastic!

Incorporating illuminated letters in the final draft did take some planning. First, kids had to leave enough room on the paper to add in the letter. After that final edit they were ready. Using the lettering sets, kids worked in pencil to create a fun and funky letter with an illustration surrounding it. Next, they went over the illustration in color. These examples are done in marker, perhaps not the best tool because many didn't get the crisp lines they wanted, but it worked. We all agreed that next time it should be done in colored pencil. After the marker, kids used a fine line of glue to trace the letter. Sprinkling the glitter and letting it dry was the final step.
Illuminated letters could be incorporated into many writing projects. You can pick up the lettering sets here. You can follow my Pinterest fractured fairy tale board here.

Indoor Recess Survival - Snowflake FUN!

The last week we switched things up. Our grade level took a break from our regularly scheduled basal series programming. Enter some good, old fashioned fun. Do you remember making these?
Due to recent cold weather we've already had several rounds of indoor recess. I anticipate this winter providing us lots of opportunities to spend more time cooped up together.
These last few days have been fun though. Picture a group of cuties actively engaged and digging in the recycling bin. Now picture those same kids using scissors to create hundreds of paper snowflakes, talking, laughing and genuinely excited about something they just created. Who know introducing the concept of making a paper snowflake (some of them had never done it!) would be a great solution to being trapped inside? They have plastered our windows with snowflakes such as these beauties. I had to get more tape....

Boys and girls alike love to make them. They  don't realize they are honing their fine motor skills and witnessing the concept of symmetry in action! So festive and, like real snowflakes, each one is unique. The best part is kids of all abilities can be creative and successful. There is no right or wrong way. I choose not to get anxious about the daily snowstorm on the floor....it really is a choice.
This coming winter looks like a doozy for us and want to pass along some free and fun indoor recess activities. Looking for some other great indoor recess ideas? Click here.

BTW, I introduced the concept of creating paper snowflakes to support the writing project we just completed. I'll be blogging about it, but in the meantime, check it out here. Based on their own creations, they produced some amazing how to writing.

Christmas Scoot FREEBIE for you!

Just a week and a half left before those kids are loose again.... They're getting antsy, but I'm not letting up. There is still lots of learning to be done prior to that crazy last carpool of 2015. But I promise we'll have fun on that last day. A movie, pajamas, apple cider and a party.
Born from the need to offer active, fun (and slightly educational) games during Christmas parties over the hills and through the woods, I created and just posted a FREEBIE for you. Click here to get the FREE Christmas Scoot game for your room.
Expect singing, call and response, movements and some academic stuff in there too. Plus some laughing. Oh yeah, don't forget some laughing.
Check out my store for a FREE How to Play Scoot download and a host of academic Scoot! games as well.
Immigration Scoot!
Pioneer Oregon Trail Scoot!
Civil War Scoot!
My kids are hooked.