If You Take A Mouse To School You'll Have A Lot Of FUN!!!

The Common Core packets using kiddy lit continue to be one of our most popular downloads. I started with The Kissing Hand added Chrysanthemum, then If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, and today I bring you If You Take A Mouse To School, which was one of the most requested books that I do a packet for.  I also just finished First Day Jitters.

Like all of the others, Taking A Mouse To School, follows the same format. it nails the Common Core State Standards: RI.K5,RI.K6,RI.K9,RI.K10,RL.K2, RL.K3,RL.K6, L.K1d, RI.1.9, RL.1.2, RL.1.3

I feel following a specific format when you do things, empowers students and builds their self-esteem. 

They feel smarter, because they know right from the start, what is expected of them and they can get "down to business"right away.

Less time is wasted because you are not reinventing the wheel preparing, nor are you having to continuously explain the directions and then having to repeat them to children who aren't listening or still don't "get it."

The packet includes:

• A beginning-middle-end story map that will help students retell If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
• A "favorite part" retelling "writing prompt" bookmark
• A compare and contrast Venn diagram with If You Take A Mouse To The Movies book
• Character, Setting and Event cards. (Laminate, put magnets on the back and put them up on your white board. Write down students' answers under the cards.)
• Question Words activity sheet, reinforcing the who, what, why, when, where, how words.
• Cover of book to label book parts + review author and illustrator
• Mouse "craftivity" writing prompt. My sample says: "I brought a baby elephant to school and he used the water fountain to take a bath and squirted water everywhere!"

The mouse "craftivity" makes a cute back to school 3-D bulletin board as the doors are slit open to reveal what "thing" each student has brought to school.

Make the schoolhouse extra special by having students write the name of your school over the door and gluing their picture in one of the windows.

This is also  great for a September writing prompt or Daily 5 activity. Click on the link to view/download If You Take A Mouse To School Common Core Packet.

This is truly a quick, easy and fun way to review a lot of common core state standards, so if there are other books that you’d like me to make packets for, just shoot me an e-mail.  diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment below.

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you can help them become what they are capable of becoming." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

1-2-3 Come Make A Name Map With Me!

I teach “mapping” as a writing strategy to my college comp students.  It’s a fun visual way for them to get their thoughts organized on paper, before they begin to write their essay.

A name map is a terrific way to introduce "mapping" to elementary students.  This is also an interesting icebreaker for the first week of school and a great way to get to know your new students.

Children think of a symbol that represents them and draw that in the middle.  I chose an apple as it’s sort of universal for school or teaching.

Branching out from the center symbol is a variety of things about the person such as hobbies, their favorite season, birthday, what they want to be when they grow up etc.

By having students use their two favorite colors to write their first and last names in the center of their object, everyone gets to know another “tidbit” about that person.

The completed activities make a wonderful back to school bulletin board too!  Make sure you do a personal one of yourself, so that you have a sample to show your students as a way to explain things, as well as a means for them to get to know their new teacher. Includes an explanatory note home to families.

Sharing name maps is a nice activity to do after reading the story Chrysanthemum, a wonderful back to school tale, whose main character is a little mouse named Chrysanthemum.  She loved her unusual name until she started school and everyone began making fun of her.  It's one of my all-time favorite back-to-school books and especially great if you need some stories to go with "bucket-filling."

My inspiration to do name maps, came from an art teacher’s “heart maps” that he did with his 4^th graders at Riverside Elementary.  Click on the link to check out their awesome endeavors.  I hope you and yours have as much fun making these as I did.

Click on the link to view/download Name Maps.  This packet is a special FREEBIE in my TpT shop. Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away!  For your convenience, my "Pin it" button is at the top on the menu bar.

“There’s few things as uncommon as common sense.” –Frank McKinney Hubbard

"They may not be easy to see, but these are 5 things I want you to know about me!"

That's what the sentence says at the top of the paper.

It's a quick and easy icebreaker for the first day or first week of school, that’s also a terrific writing prompt for September, and fun way to get to know your students.

When completed, they make a cute back to school bulletin board too!  Make sure you do one yourself, so you have an example to share with your students, so they know how to do the assignment, as well as get to know their new teacher a little better too.

Older students can draw their own self-portraits in the blank oval.  So that they don't feel overwhelmed drawing themselves, remind them that this is just a section of their face from the nose up, or even just their eyes.  You can also give students a choice of the other 17 facial tops to fill in and color.

They should color their hair and eyes to represent themselves.  I find that younger students are less overwhelmed if they have this sort of template to follow and have a bit more fun with the activity, if they don’t have to start from scratch.  You also won’t have to listen to whining: “I can’t draw a face; or “I don’t know how to draw.” 

Little ones also tend to draw a tiny circle instead of a big one, or they draw an entire stick body.   You can include the template in your “Welcome to school summer letter” or Open House packet, and have students return them on the first day of school, so they can share with their new classmates right away.

Another plus of doing it this way, is that parents can help little ones write down the 5 things.  Some teachers like to have an Open House activity that students can do with their families.  This would be perfect.

Another option, if you don’t do a summer letter or Open House,  is to hand them out the first day of class and have students put them in their backpack or "Take Home" folder, for a home-school connection, to be returned in the next few days.

Make sure you provide time to share their completed projects, so everyone gets to know each other.  No matter what my students’ ages, I always had them applaud each child’s sharing. This is a big deal for many “shy” kiddos.  Writing in different colored markers also jazzes things up.

If you have the time, turn this into even more of a keepsake, by having a room helper or students trace eachother's handprint on flesh-colored construction paper.  Fold it over and cut once for 2 handprints.

Have students glue their paper hands  “holding” their writing prompt, in such a way that they can fold the wrist portion over and have them "flop" open to reveal their writing.  

You can punch a hole in the top and hang them back-to-back and suspend from the ceiling or line them up as a cute border, just below the ceiling in the hallway.

Click on the link to view/download  5 Things Icebreaker Portraits   Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away!

"By learning, you will teach; by teaching, you will learn." -Latin Proverb

An Apple (Activity) A Day Keeps Boredom Away!

One of my favorite units that I did with my Y5’s was APPLES.

I think they really enjoyed it too, as visiting an apple orchard and picking 3 different kinds of apples was our first fieldtrip.

I feel it’s important to have lots of hands-on centers for little ones, to help them increase fine motor skills through cutting and gluing.

Doing centers helps with a variety of life skills and forces them to listen in order to follow directions.

As they become independent, they are empowered and their self-esteem soars.

Seeing their creations hung on our “Wall of Fame” in the hallway, also helped give them a sense of pride.

Knowing I was going to display their work, was a good incentive, to give their best effort.

Through art, I could also incorporate reading, writing, math, and science; sometimes all of them in one quick project, which covered a variety of report card standards.

The 92 – page Apple Art Projects Book has a large variety of activities in it and includes directions, patterns and pictures.

These make terrific center activities, something for students to do when they have completed other work, a nice home-school connection project to be given as homework, or something to tuck in your substitute folder.

The results are wonderful back to school bulletin boards, or hallway and door displays.  Some can be suspended from the ceiling.

The crayon-melt apple poem was one of my favorites.

The poem introduced my students to rhyme; the rhyme taught them the science fact they needed to learn about apples; twisting the 3 color crayons through a sharpener was a terrific fine motor skill, and the result after I put a sheet of wax paper over their shavings and applied a warm iron was awesome!

I also reinforced the 3 colors with this rip and tear apple, which strengthened finger muscles as well.

Students enjoyed making the Life Cycle of an Apple on a paper plate, which was a quick and easy way to get some science in.

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Art Projects Packet.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can stop by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.

Do you have an apple activity that you could share with us?  I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or take a moment and post a comment here.

Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find worthwhile.

“We should say to each [child]: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel.  You are unique -- you may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. 

You have the capacity for anything!” –Pablo Casals

Be True To The Red White And Blue

A big part of going back to school is teaching a variety of routines.

One of the things that my Y5’s were learning for the first time was The Pledge Of Allegiance.

Like many schools through out the US, we started our day with announcements.

Our principal’s voice would boom over the PA system and lead us in the Pledge.

My Y5’s were doing a wonderful job with memorization, but when I asked my little ones what they were saying, they were clueless, or had a very different interpretation of what some of the words meant.

For example, many of them thought indivisible meant being invisible.

I told them that it was important to understand what they were pledging, and asked them if they wanted to know what the words really meant?

Their curiosity was peaked and most of them raised their hands in agreement.

I designed My Pledge Definition Dictionary with kid-friendly synonyms they could understand.

As long as teachers are required to increase students’ vocabularies, why not start with these very important words!

This packet also includes a certificate of praise as well as a copy of The Pledge of Allegiance for students to practice tracing, as a means of memorization, so that they become familiar with the words.

Click on the link to view/download My Pledge Of Allegiance Definition Dictionary Packet

I feel that knowing about our flag is very important.

The Easy Reader booklet My Flag is a wonderful way to learn important facts about the flag, as students trace and then write key words, cutting and gluing matching pictures to the appropriate sentences.

The booklet can be used as an introduction to The Pledge of Allegiance or a review and has 3 different endings, which makes it very versatile.

Click on the link to view/download My Flag.

The 49-page Flag Activities Packet, covers the history of our flag, information about the flag, and includes links, articles, art projects, skill sheets and writing activities.

It’s a wonderful resource for something patriotic to do with your students.

One of my students' favorite activities was making their own personal flag.  These are a great way to learn about your new students and make a terrific back to school bulletin board too.

Click on the link to view download the Flag Activities Packet.

Finally, the I’m Proud To Be An American Writing Prompt fits well at the beginning of the year when you’re teaching the Pledge, or looking for an activity for Constitution Day.

Use students’ finished pages as an easy bulletin board, or collate them into a class book.

Click on the link to view/download Proud to be an American Writing Prompt

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you can also stop by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.

Do you have one to share?  I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or take a moment and post a comment here.

Feel free to PIN anything that you think others might find helpful.

“I find that a great part of the information I have acquired was by looking up something and finding something else on the way.” –Franklin P. Adams

A Fun Way To Get To Know Your Students

Stamp of Approval Stamps make a great icebreaker for the first week of school and a terrific way to get to know your students + they are an instant back to school bulletin board showcasing your new students!

Send a copy in your Welcome to School - Summer Letter, or tuck them in your Open House packet, so that they can be completed ahead of time, and then shared on the first day of school.

You can also show your example on the first day, so that your students can learn a little bit about you, and then send the stamps home as an assignment for that first day.

How to fill in a stamp:

Students can write, type (using a fun(ky) font), or cut out letters (like a ransom note), or use stickers to make their name.

This goes on the wavy line portion of the cancelled stamp, in the top left-hand corner.

The PLACE where they were born, goes around the top of the circle.

The YEAR they were born, goes on the bottom-middle of the circle.

The MONTH and DAY they were born, goes in the center of the circle.

Months should be abbreviated, unless they are 4 or less letters long.

Places and dates appear on real cancelled stamps; making it personal, makes this assignment more relevant and fun!

Students draw a self-portrait of themselves. (Just a headshot) This needs to be colored. Hair and eye color etc. need to be appropriate, so students can possibly guess whose picture belongs to whom, if the teacher wants to add that activity before the “real” student comes up to share.

Students need to think of their favorite things to do, their hobbies, or sports or “stuff” they are involved in, or possibly what they want to be when they grow up.  Basically, anything that represents them or will help us get to know them.

After they have thought up their “list” they need to find pictures, clip art, or stickers of those things and glue them around their self-portrait.

Students write or cut out 3-5 words that describe them. These should be scattered around on their stamp.

Challenge older students to include a word that begins with the same letter as their name.  i.e. I chose driven (Diane) for mine.

Students share their stamp with their classmates.  I always had my students clap for each person when they were through.

Hang them in the hallway or on a b. board, along with the “Stamp of approval star student” poster.

To add some 3D effects, suspend some glittery stars of various sizes, from fish line, just above the board, at various lengths.

Click on the link to view/download Stamp of Approval Stamp activity

Do you have a “Getting To Know Your Students” activity you can share with us? I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com

You can also post a comment here.  Thanks in advance for taking the time to do that.

Thanks too for visiting.  I hope you can drop by tomorrow for more back to school ideas and teaching tips.

Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find worthwhile.

“Teaching is a lighting of sparks and setting minds aflame;

it’s a creative mind that knows what kind of gasoline to throw on to get it glowing and burning even brighter the next day and the next…” -Diane Henderson

1-2-3 Come Do An Icebreaker Craft With Me

What’s On Your Mind?  Is an easy and interesting way to get to know your students.  Use it as a fun icebreaker for the first day or first week of school.

You can do these in class, if you’re looking for a filler, or if you're pressed for time, send them home to be done as a home-school connection.

Older students can draw their own self-portrait (head) outline, or use one of mine.  I've included two boy options, as well as two for girls to choose from.

I find young children do much better if they have some sort of pattern, as they tend to draw rather small circles that items would not be able to fit into.

If you’d like to have a ready-to share activity for the first day of school, include the directions and a template in your “Welcome to school” summer letter or tuck it in your Open House packet, if you have one before the start of school. 

By doing this, you'll also have an instant bulletin board ready to go up, after students share their creations.  Be sure and make one for yourself to use to explain things and then post as an example.  This is my sample that took about 15-minutes, using clip art + adding a photo of my husband and poodle pup Chloe.

I think you’ll enjoy doing it as will your students.  No matter what the age group, I've always found that everyone seems to like sharing a little bit about themselves.  This is a creative and entertaining way to do that.

You could follow this up with some technology time, and have students type in words to their thoughts and make a word-art picture on the computer using the free tagxedo program as well!  I did a sample for me and one for my husband, so you could see a male sample. I filled in the caricature templates (see pix) so they don't look as much like a silhouette as I would have liked.

If you want to use my boy and girl "head templates" click on the link.  You'll need to change them to jpegs to use them in Tagxedo, otherwise find a sideview of some other clip art to import.

Click on the link to view/download the What’s On Your Mind activity packet.  

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  My "Pin it" button is at the top on the menu bar.

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing so great as real strength.” –St. Francis De Sales

Learning To Count By 5’s And Counting Up To 100-Day

Via a Fun And Interactive Bulletin Board for a Great First Day of School Activity!

I only had to skip count by 10’s to 100 with my Y5’s as a report card standard, but I know this is a standard for K’s and first grade. 

A fun way to do this everyday as well as to count up to 100 for that special day, is to make this quick and easy bulletin board.

Here’s How:

• Choose a background color that you will be happy with all year long, yellow and white look nice, but I’ve also used wallpaper that’s neutral in color and has a textured look and feel.


• This is not that expensive if you only buy one roll and you can usually find discounted rolls that have been discontinued at most paint and hardware stores.
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• This display works great next to your calendar center.
• You can put it up on the wall if you don’t have another bulletin board.

• Choose a plain-colored scalloped border.
• Black will help it pop and looks great all year.


• The caption for this board could be: High Five’s For ______________________’s kindergartners/first graders!
• Cut the letters out with a die-cut machine, or print them out on your computer.

• On the first day of school have a room helper trace and cut out your students’ hands, or send a note home and the paper in your Open House packets to have this already done for you by the parents.


• Make a sample of your own hand and explain to children that they can decorate their hand with fingernails, and rings.
• If you want to give the hands a bit more pizzazz and a 3-D affect you can give them rhinestones for their rings.

• Boys may enjoy wiggle eyes, but don’t be surprised if they want a rhinestone too.

• You could make the rhinestone their birthstone, or simply give them a choice of colors.
• Use glue dots so there’s no dry time involved.


• For the girls’ nails they can color them as if they have nail polish on.
• If you want to add more pizzazz you can go over them with real glitter nail polish or glitter glue.

• If you want to use the board to show a specific pattern, use the construction paper that they are tracing their hand on in two or 3 different colors.
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• Left handed children should have their left hand traced for more opportunities to compare and contrast, count, or graph this board.
• Write the child’s name in small print along the bottom border of the hand.
• Print off a copy of the two posters and mount them on construction paper.

• These can be your school colors or something that you can live with for the entire year, or have the class vote on what colors they want.
• If you have 20 children in your class you have the perfect set of hands.
• If you have less, you will have to make extra hands,; if you have more, sprinkle them on the corners of the posters, heading and bulletin board.

• Put the rest of the hands, 5 in a row, across your bulletin board.
• Do NOT number them.


• On the FIRST day of school, when you are doing the calendar, choose a child to put the number 1 on the thumb of the first hand.
• When all 5 fingers of that hand have been counted (5 days of school) the child whose handprint that is, gets to choose a marker and write the big number 5 on that hand.
• Even tho’ the numbers are not written on the hand, you can still count by 5’s everyday that you are doing this calendar.


• You may want to post an already numbered poster to help them “see” and visualize this.
• I’ve made posters you can print off.
• You can also count by 1’s.

• If you want to make V-arrows connecting 2 of the hands when you get a group of 10 done, you can also use the board to count by 10’s!
• At the end of the year, everyone can take their hand print home.

• Click on the link to view/print the masters for this article. Skip Counting by 5's Bulletin Board.
• For a FREE 85-page 100-Day packet click on the link!

• I have lots of other 100 Day ideas at this link.  Simply click and scroll down to download as many as you want. 100 Day Stuff
  
• Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find useful.
• I hope you can drop in tomorrow for more back-to-school tips.

"A Pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Unknown"