1-2-3 Come Do Some Dual Purpose Activities With Me   

After I've designed a writing prompt craftivity,  I take a look and see if it can serve double duty.  Can I tweak the prompt so that it not only works for a back-to-school activity, but something teachers could plug in at the end of the year as well? 

Such is the case with the 4 craftivities I'm featuring in this blog article.  The featured FREEBIE today, also serves a dual purpose too.  

First up, is a super-cute "play on words" bicycle craftivity. "I had a 'wheel' great year/summer"

I chose a bike theme because no matter what grade I taught, riding a bicycle was something most of my students really enjoyed doing.  

Use the bicycle template for a cute end of the year writing prompt, where students choose two wheel options and complete the prompts inside the spokes.

You can also use it as a super-fun icebreaker for back-to-school, as an interesting way to get to know your new students.

Completed projects make a wonderful bulletin board.
I’ve included 2 posters to use for the center of your display.

There’s also an additional writing prompt worksheet where students describe their bike, or an experience riding their bike, or some other bike-themed idea you come up with. 

Next up is the double duty "I Had A Blast in ___________ grade." or "I Had A Blast This Summer!" firecracker writing prompt craftivity.

There are several options for you to choose from in this versatile packet, which includes patterns for preschool - 8th grade.

Completed projects make a terrific bulletin board and nice keepsake.  You could also keep this bulletin board up for back to school.

Use the poster: “We had a blast this year and hope you will too!” for the center of your display, and have all of your students sign the matching blank poster.

Besides the above prompts, I also thought it would be fun for this year's students to make a TP tube firecracker and tuck a note inside: "You're going to have a blast in ______________ grade because..."       

Or... skip the note and have children jot a greeting on the bookmark writing prompt.  What a nice surprise for your kiddos to find on/in their desk on the first day of school. I’ve also included bookmarks for you to give your current students, wishing them a blast of a summer. 

Likewise, new kiddos can complete the "I had a blast this summer!" for a back to school writing prompt. I’ve included posters for the center of that display as well.  

Another versatile writing prompt, is a super-cool looking T-shirt craftivity.     I think the key to the “way cool” result, is that I used tie dye, plaid and watercolor splattered copy paper, which came in a ream of 50 sheets per pattern.

I ran the T-shirt template off on this paper, as well as the cover pattern; so when the booklet is stapled to the front of the T-shirt the cover matches and blends in.   “Awesome!” is what my students tell me.

This "craftivity" is very versatile, as it includes templates for an end-of-the year memory book, with covers for preschool through 6th grade, plus a blank template.

If you already have a memory book, have students write why they think this grade was terrific, or have this year’s students write a note to next year’s class: “You’re going to have a T-‘rrific Year” because…

You can also use this as a self-esteem building (fill a bucket) activity.  Use the “______ is “T"-'rrific!" template and have each classmate write a compliment in everyone's booklet.

The prompt also works for Father's Day.  Simply fill the blank in with: “My Dad is “T-‘rrific”  or... for back-to-school have students write about why their summer was terrific.

For a “fun-tastic” display, hang completed projects on a rope suspended against a wall and use real clothespins to clip them on.  

Finally, another double-duty writing prompt craftivity that's a bit on the wacky side, also features a T-shirt plus a pair of shorts. 

You can use the patterns separately, or combine them to make a dorky dude & dudette by adding funky sunglasses, and gluing on a student's traced hands and feet.    

Besides using this for a beginning or end of the year activity, it's also perfect for "Wacky Wednesday" fun, as part of a week-long Dr. Seuss celebration.    

Explain to your students that the term “In short” means to explain briefly or summarize, which is one of 5 options for the writing prompts on the pair of shorts.   

Likewise, the T-shirts also have a variety of options as well.  Pick and choose what's best suited for your kiddos.  As with the above T-shirts, these also look cute hung with clothespins from a clothesline. 

As promised, the featured FREEBIE today is also versatile.  I did countless hours of work looking for songs appropriate for an end of the year slide show, as well as a preschool or kindergarten graduation. 

As long as I had done the research, I decided to make an alphabetical list, in hopes that it would save somebody else a ton of time.  Click on the link for the 150 Songs For The End Of The Year..

Well that's it for today.  I hope you found something useful.

Whether your're reading this at the end of the year (woo hoo) and looking forward to a much-deserved summer hiatus, or checking things out in the fall, excited for a brand new year, I hope you have an absolute blast!

"So often you find that the students you are trying to inspire, end up inspiring you." -Sean Junkins

8 pages.

These are a few FREEBIES from my Student-Made End of the Year Awards packet.

1-2-3 Come Make An Ice Cream Cone With Me!

The end of the year is super-charged with energy.  You can literally feel it in the air and it's obvious in your students' excited behavior.  Many kiddos are already sharing about vacations that their family is going to take and what they want to do for the summer, so I thought it would be fun to have them write about that, and make a craft as well. 

When I think of summer, I think of ice cream cones.  It seemed the perfect "craftivity" for an end of the year writing prompt, and led to the "Here's The Scoop" packet.

Run off the cone pattern on brown construction paper, run the ice cream scoop template on a variety of pastel colors of construction paper that would be the shades of real ice cream flavors.  Scrapbook paper really looks awesome; I used it for several of my samples.  

Students cut out their cone and scoop.  They also trim and glue a plain scoop of "vanilla" to the top of their cone.  This is where they will complete the writing prompt.  Remind students not to write beyond the indentations, as you can see by the photo, the white scalloped section will peek out to give the illusion of another scoop.

Using a tiny piece of Scotch tape, students "hinge" the top scoop to the right hand side of the bottom scoop, so that it flips open to reveal the writing portion.   For that finishing touch, add a cherry with a school photo to the top.

There's a template for "Here's the scoop ! These are some of the cool things I'd like to do this summer..."  as well as one you can use at the beginning of the year: "Here's the scoop! These are some of the cool things that I did this summer..."

After students have shared their creation, give them a "Wishing you a sweet summer" bookmark.  Write students' names at the top, and sign yours under the greeting.

Completed cones make a cute bulletin board too.  Make the background out of a plastic picnic table cloth and scatter the cones on it.   Your caption could be "Cool writing by some sweet 1st graders." or "Looking foward to a sweet summer!"  

For another writing prompt, have students color the "I hope you have a cool year!" bookmark and write a note to a new student, who will be in your class in the fall.  What a fun surprise for them to find this on/in their desk on the first day of school. 

Also included in the packet is the "Secret Sweetie" game.  Have students fill out the cone portion, write a clue on the scoop and then glue their photo on the inside. 

Collect them and read several a day.  Call on students to guess who they think the "secret sweetie" might be, then flip open the top scoop to reveal the photo.  

This can be used at the beginning of the school year to help children get to know their new classmates, or at the end of the year to see how well they know their friends. 

Click on the link to view/download the Here's The Scoop packet.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent

1-2-3 Come Review Upper and Lowercase Letters With Me!

I liked to make up a summer fun packet for my students to take home at the end of the year.  It was a nice review of everything we had learned.

This packet was also handy for parents to have their child work on, if they complained of being bored, or an easy thing to give children when they wanted to play "school," while on vacation.

I designed this KnOWLedge Owl "craftivity" with that in mind. You could also make it at the beginning of the year, so that students can practice their letters, with their families at home.

Here's How To Make Them:

 Run off masters on a variety of construction paper. I chose funky color combinations, but you could also do more realistic owls in various shades of brown.

 Rough cut so that students can get their pieces and trim.

 You may want a room helper to cut the beaks and feet, just to expedite things.

 If you’re having someone cut these for you, it’s easier to trace a template on an old file folder. The helper traces once and then cuts 3-6 at a time.

 Pre-cut long envelopes so that students have a pocket to put their extra letter wheels in.

 Set up this “craftivity” as a center. When students are done with other work, they can come up and get the color owl pieces of their choice.

 Students glue the wings to either side of the owl. They can add some crayon details for more pizzazz.

 Student glue the feet to the bottom of their owl so that the tops are glued to the back. I also added crayon details here and then traced the belly of the owl with a white crayon so that the writing “popped.”

 Students cut out their white alphabet wheels. Older students can cut and poke their own holes in the eyes; younger students will need this done for them.

 To expedite things, I used a circle paper punch to make the letter “windows.”

Poke a hole through the owl’s head and attach whatever wheel you want your students to work on; fasten with brass brads.

 Students glue their beak on, after their eyes are in place.

 If you want the beaks to be 3D, simply cut a 4-inch wide strip of yellow construction paper, and fold it in half. Trace the triangle template so that it butts up against the fold, then cut the triangles out

Students glue their envelope half to the back of their owl and write their name on it.

 Close the open side with a piece of Scotch tape.

 This is a safe place where students can keep their extra wheels, so that they don’t lose them.

 There are lots of activities you can do with the KnOWLedge owl.

 Use as a review game. Choose a quiet child to call out a letter from a-j, k-t, or u-z.

 Students spin the top eye wheel ‘til they find those letters. You can also have students partner up and play this game with each other.

 You can play “I’m Thinking Of A Letter.” Give clues about the letter and students spin the wheels ‘til they find it. i.e. “I’m thinking of a letter that is a vowel. It comes after the letter N and before the letter P.”

 Play “Speed.” You call out a letter and see who can find the upper and lowercase letters the quickest.

 Use as an alternative or additional fun way to assess upper and lowercase letters.

 These are terrific sent home at the beginning of the year, so that students can practice with their parents.

 They also make a nice end of the year activity, so that students don’t forget what they learned over the summer, or preschoolers can practice before they come to kindergarten in the fall.

Ollie, the "Owl-phabet Owl" will be FREE for an entire year, after which time, he'll be up-dated and put in Diane's Dollar Deals in my TpT shop.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn." -Unknown