If You Take A Mouse To School and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie: Fun Back To School Books
Whenever I can, I like to make up lessons that go with favorite books. It’s a plus to have an activity that reinforces standards, for students to transition to, after reading a story.
If You Take A Mouse To School, and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff are 2 wonderful stories to read in September. I do a take off of these books with my easy reader: If You Give A Mouse A Letter He'll Want The Whole Alphabet.
Students read the sentence, then trace and write the letters. When everyone is done, read the booklet as a whole group to review concepts of print as well as upper and lowercase letters.
Run off a set of the 52 upper and lowercase mouse letter cards, laminate and cut them apart. Pass them out to your students. As you read the story, whomever has those letter cards drops them into the mouse pail.
To make a mouse to "feed", run off my template, cut him out, glue him to brown construction paper and slit the line above the letter box. Staple a Quaker oat box or Baggie behind the slit.
Besides the easy reader, this 32-page packet includes:
- A feed the mouse template
- Upper and lowercase matching skill sheet
- Upper and lowercase trace and write skills sheets
- 4 "What's Missing?" upper and lowercase skill sheets
- Circle the letters of your name skill sheet
- An upper and lowercase letter assessment
- 26 upper and lowercase letter cards + covers to make Itty Bitty Booklets
- 2 assessments +
- 3 certificates of praise
The packet will help with Common Core State Standards: RF.K1d & L.1.1a. Click on the link to view/download If You Give A Mouse A Letter Packet
Shapes are another standard that my Y5's have to master, so I also did an If You Give A Mouse A Shape packet.
Here you'll find two easy readers, two graphing extensions + several worksheets.
One easy reader is entitled: If You Give A Mouse A Shape (These are 2D shapes.)
The other is: If You Give A Mouse a 3D Shape.
Along these same lines, is the If You Take A _________ To School class-made book, where students think up another animal they'd like to take to school and then write and illustrate their page.
I've also included the Mary Had A Little Lamb nursery rhyme in this packet.
Thanks for visiting today. I'm onto yet another project. So many fun things to do, so little time... I bet you can relate.
“Little by little does the trick!” –Abraham Lincoln
- Back To School Ideas
- back to school books
- first week of school lessons
- back to school activities
- back to school lessons
- first week of school activities
- teaching with kiddy lit
- activities to go with if you give a mouse a cookie
- activities to go with if you take a mouse to school
- lessons to go with if you take a mouse to school
- lessons to go with if you give a mouse a cookie
- first week of school ideas
- teaching with popular children's books
- laura numeroff books
- laura numerfoff activities
- september books
1-2-3 Come Make Some Posters With Me
I've learned that when it comes to young children, keeping things simple is a recipe for success. With that in mind, I designed this simple rules poster. Use it to review, reinforce and remind.
This is the latest addition to a lot of other posters and anchor charts that I have on TeachWithMe.com Over 50 are just a click away.
I LOVED using posters as a quick way to decorate my room and our hallway, for the various seasons and themes that we studied throughout the year. Having taught PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 12th and college, you can imagine the collection I accumulated over the years! They were not easy to part with, but I'm glad to say they have been happily recycled.
Since I wanted to post the newest addition and blog about it, I needed a bit more of an article, so here are a few of my favorite classroom-management type posters. I've also used posters as a writing prompt, asking my students what they thought and if they agreed or disagreed with the poster. Click on the various hot links below to grab your copies.
"Please ZIP your lips!" was something that I taught my students on the first day of school.
Since sewing is one of my hobbies, I had a few zippers on hand, so I took them to school, laying one on my chalk sill, another on my desk, and a 3rd by my reading chair.
To signal silence, I'd hold up the real zipper and zip it shut. My students would then pretend to zip their lips.
It was a simple and effective way to start story time, and my students really enjoyed the monkey-see monkey-do zipping.
Sometimes, we'd sing the "Zip Your Lips" song, when we prepared to get ready to transition or go somewhere. Click on the link to view/download the "Zippy" posters and song.
"Owl" Be Watching is an effective, yet gentle reminder, to make wise choices. Making students take responsibility for their actions and holding them responsible with consequences, is a must for successful classroom management.
I got the idea for my "Dear Students" poster from Caroline’s 6 point-note to her 3rd grade English students in SC. Check out her cute Tupelo Honey blog by clicking on the link.
To make your new students feel extra special, run off copies and tuck them in their take home folders or Open House packets, then display one on your classroom wall.
Likewise, the "In This Classroom..." poster (another tweaked idea) is a nice addition to your classroom booklet.
Studies have shown that good readers are risk takers.
It's important to foster the idea that it's OK to make mistakes, so students feel at ease making a "guess-timate" and taking the risk of being wrong. It's simply how we learn.
With that in mind, I designed this pencil poster.
Remembering to put their name on all of their work, was something that I reminded my students of daily.
To help with that in a fun way, I taught my students this simple rhyme and then made it into a poster that hung above our "turned in work" basket.
"You get what you get, so don't get upset!" was another rhyme that I taught my Y5's. This is especially handy if you have young ones who pout and/or pitch a fit when they don't get their 1st choice or color preference.
My little ones were quick to pick up on this, so whenever a child carried on, at least one, if not more students would kindly chant the rhyme to them.
The other Don't Get Upset poster in this pack, is for when students cop an attitude when they don't get to participate, or do a special craftivity, because they did not complete their work. This "Don't Get Upset" poster is a gentle reminder of the choices they made.
If you're like me, you hate it when children continue to whine and give excuses for not following through, staying on task, or completing an activity. This little "Make an Effort Not an Excuse" poster is one of my favorites.
If you practice the "bucket filling" philosophy or simply want your students to consider their words and actions, you may find the "Trading Places" poster helpful.
Have you used the technique of "Put your thinking caps on?" I actually had my Y5's pretend to put one on, and then make a goofy noise to show me that theirs was working.
We'd zip our lips and be ready to get down to business. Click on the link for a cute picture of a "real" thinking cap that I made into a poster.
Finally, I had to throw in a silly little teacher poster to make an even dozen FREEBIE posters today. I hung all sorts of paper "stuff" (poems, posters, quotes, pictures and notes) inside my cupboard doors that would make me smile, or give me a much-needed lift.
We all need this boost to our spirits, especially if it's been a challenging day -- and the reason we became a teacher in the first place is clouded by craziness. Thus, I give you my "Whew!" poster, for when you've had one of those days. I'm sure you can relate, as we've all been there; done that!
Thanks for visiting today. Hopefully you found at least one goodie that you can use in your classroom, as you prepare for a "clean slate" and exciting brand new year.
A zillion more ideas are floating through my head, so I'm off to jot them down before they disappear like my summer seems to be doing!
"There's no tired, like teacher tired at the end of the first, last, or party day!"
1-2-3 Come Make A First Day Activity With Me
I know a lot of teachers have a Dr. Seuss theme for their classrooms, so I thought I'd make an activity you can do with your students on the first day of school.
Simply run off the template. On each stripe of the cat's hat, students write the things that they enjoyed doing the most and then color the stripes. Add a first day photo for that finishing touch.
Encourage older students to use complete sentences. Younger students can simply write a word or two.
You may want to start by brainstorming with your kiddos. To help them with spelling, jot their answers on the board.
There's a hat without the 1st day sentence as well, so you can also use this activity during March's celebration of Seuss or a Cat in the Hat Day.
I've included a poster with another similar Seuss quote. Use it to introduce the above activity, or for a discussion at the end of the day of what your students enjoyed the most, and how everyone contributed to making that first day special.
Click on the link to view/download the Seuss Hat First Day Writing Craftivity.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope your days are as filled with fun as mine are.
I'm off to watch my grandson (22 months) play in his kiddie pool. So loving summer...
1-2-3 Come Review A Great Back To School Book With Me
Since the Miss Nelson Is Missing packet has been such a popular download, I decided to whip together a few more activities to accompany one of my favorite back to school books.
An interesting way to review the story, as well as reinforce rules for appropriate grammar, is with the Miss Nelson Is Missing punctuation cards. Hang the cards on your board and read them together as a whole group.
Choose a student to come up and circle letters that should be capitalized explaining why and then have another child add end punctuation.
You can also do this with a pointer and pocket chart or pass one card out to each child to correct with a dry erase marker.
After eveyone has shared their card, have students choose 3-6 cards and rewrite the sentences correctly. This is a great Daily 5 word work activity too.
Another idea is to run off copies of all of the cards, have students trim and collate into a mini booklet, where they make corrections.
Encourage children to read their Miss Nelson booklet to their family, explaining what they did, as they retell the story.
Click on the link to view/download the Miss Nelson Is Missing Punctuation Cards. Thanks for visiting today.
I hope you are getting excited to start another school year, but still making time to relax and enjoy the rest of your summer too. Wishing you all the best...
Staying Organized and Saving Time With Absent Work File Folders
When I taught 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, keeping track of who was missing what, when students were absent, then finding and collecting those papers for them to do, was time consuming.
I learned early on that I needed a system to expedite things. You will LOVE this idea as it's sooooo easy to implement and such a hassle-free time saver. I designed cute “We missed you!” “Glad you’re back!” ABSENT file folders.
Yesterday, I updated this FREEBIE, as students are absent for more reasons than just being ill. (If you have older students, simply adjust the clip art for something more appropriate.)
After I took attendance, if a child was absent, I put a sticky note with their name and the date written on it and stuck it to the front of the Absent File Folder and laid it on the top of their desk.
When I taught 1st grade, I handed out work to the first student in each row. They passed it back to the others, so the child who sat in front of the absent student, would make sure that they put a copy in the Absent Folder, taking this time consuming responsibility off of me.
Since my students also worked from workbooks each day and then ripped out their assignment to take home, the helper student would open that child’s desk, rip out the workbook page and also include those in the folder, or I would do it while my kiddos were working.
That saved me from having to write out things like: Do workbook pages in such and such etc. Likewise, if I gave a spelling test or other quiz, I’d include a blank copy with a make-up date on it, that they’d use on that day. If notes were put in folders, or cubbies, to go home in backpacks that day, I made sure they were put in the Absent Folder.
The folder would remain on their desk until the student came back. If they were gone the next day, another date would be put on the sticky note and the papers from the day before would be stapled with a due date, and that day’s papers would then go on top.
This also made it a breeze for me when a sibling unexpectedly popped in at the end of the day (things are already hectic) to collect work for their brother or sister, or if the office called down that a parent stopped in to pick up work.
No more rushing around looking for "stuff" or trying to remember what I did or passed out, all while trying to get my students ready to go home!
I’d simply take out the contents, add a Xeroxed “Get Well note”, which I kept in a file, and hand it to their family member. Because children are gone all the time, I absolutely LOVED this time saver; using it no matter what grade I taught. It's my favorite classroom management tip, because it's such a stress-buster.
Even tho' my Y5's and K's did not have to make up work, as did my upper el students, most families still wanted work that they missed, so I kept these types of folders for them too.
Not only didn't parents want their child to "get behind" but I didn't want them to miss out on special projects and activities that we did.; especially if we made a keepsake art project. I simply tucked in all of the materials needed for them to make one at home. Parents were very appreciative, especially if their child was not really "sick" but quarantined and bored.
Simply print off copies of my master (I made 7 folders so that I had plenty) glue to the front of a file folder, and then laminate. Remember the folder does NOT go home, just the contents.
Keep the folders on your counter or desk, with your attendance roster and lesson plans. Make sure you have a note about them in your sub folder and explain the process to your students, so they can take charge when you're gone.
Click on the link to view download my newest creation for absent work file folders with clip art from Laura Strickland. Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away.
I hope this idea helps you save time and alleviate last-minute stress. It's a beautiful sunny day, and time to go water my garden. All the best to you!
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
