1-2-3 Come Do A "Dog Gone Great" Writing Craftivity With Me

No matter what grade I taught, all I had to do to grab my students’ attention and get them excited about writing, was to add a bit of craftiness to an interesting and fun writing prompt.

With that in mind, I designed this (flip the flap) “Dog Gone Great!” activity, which is another one of my “double duty” writing prompts.

I call them double duty because they have patterns that serve a dual purpose.

You can use them for either the beginning of the year, for a super-fun back to school activity, or plug them in at the end of the year, for pre-summer writing.

There are 5 different dog designs to choose from, as well as 3 writing prompts:

“I had a dog gone great summer!”

“I had a dog gone great school year!” and...

"________________________ is dog gone great!” where students fill in the blank with something they think is awesome: a sport, activity, subject, book, person, vacation, etc.

There are also 3 writing page options as well: 2 with different sized lines, plus a blank pattern.

Pick which is most appropriate for your students, or give them a choice.
There’s plenty of room to write, as the patterns take up almost a full page.

I’ve included black & white patterns for students, as well as 5 colorful patterns, so that you can quickly and easily make an example to share.

When everyone is done, have students pick a partner and take turns sharing, or make some time for children to share with the entire class.

Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board.

I’ve included 2, “Dog Gone Great Writing!” posters to add some extra pizzazz to your display.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a super-fun "Shape Matching Game For Fall". 

Print, laminate and trim.  Students place the colored shape tile on to the matching shape on the leaf, spider, bat, owl, or turkey card.  

I've included a blank template for each theme, so you can program with more shapes or whatever. I hope you find it useful.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Since the heat index is 110 I'm going to continue to craft away in my blessedly cool office today. 

Wishing you a stress-free & happy-go-lucky day.

"It's summer! If you're not barefoot, you're overdressed." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make a SPLASH With Me!

“Making a Splash!” is a super-fun writing prompt that your students will really enjoy.

The craftivity is very versatile, as you can use it for the end of the year, or for back to school.

It's a fun icebreaker & interesting way to get to know your students too.

Simply choose the appropriate writing prompt “cover” for the flip-up booklet:
*  “Diving Into Summer and Looking Forward to…”
*  “Diving Into a New School Year and Looking Forward to…”
Or

Use the “Diving Into ____________ and Looking Forward to…” option, so that students can fill in their new grade, or something else that they are looking forward to. (Diving into sports & looking forward to playing soccer & baseball.) 

As you can see by the photo on your right, the writing prompt is the "title" on the "cover" of a mini booklet that flips up to reveal what students have written.

The writing prompts are also easily diversified for various ability levels & grades; as you can keep things simple for younger students, who can write one or two sentences, or a list; while having preschool children dictate a few one-word answers.

Older students will be expected to write one or two pages of more in-depth explanations.
There’s a blank page pattern for this.

There’s also several “brainstorming” worksheets for the various prompts, which can be used for prewriting.

As with all of my products, I’ve included completed samples to give you some ideas, as well as enable you to quickly & easily zip off an example to share with your students.

Adding a sprinkle of glitter and a school photo, along with a few 3D options,  gives extra pizzazz to the project.

Completed projects make a terrific bulletin board, or wall display in the hall.
Because students trace & trim their own foot, each project looks a bit different.

I’ve included several "Big Splash!" posters you can use for that as well.

For additional writing options, there’s also an “I’m Ready to Make a Big Splash!” writing prompt cover, which works for both summer & back to school, allowing you a chance to touch on idioms if you want.

To help you grab that extra teachable moment, I’ve included some background information, samples & links about idioms, as well as a definition poster.

Introducing this terminology is not just for “big kids”, as my 1st graders easily understood the concept & excitedly shared all sorts of examples! 

Since the end of the year is fast-approaching for many of us, you may be thinking about an end-of-the year slideshow, or perhaps you're getting ready for preschool or <strong>kindergarten graduation</strong>.

If so, you'll find today's featured FREEBIE especially helpful.  It's an alphabetical list of 150, (teacher tested) songs suitable for your end of the year programs. 

I hope you find it a helpful stress-buster, and one less thing you have to look for. 

Well that's it for today.  I marathon-shopped for flowers and plants all day yesterday, so I'm super-excited to play in the mud this afternoon.

Wishing you a sunshine & love-filled day.

"A garden requires patient labor and attention.  Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfull good intentions.  They thrive because someone expended loving effort on them." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Get Your Groove On With Me!

Since the end of the year activities have been so popular, and since some of us have a lot of snow days to make up, I continue to design some interesting things to keep your energetic kiddos occupied, and your sanity in place.

Friday was hippos; today it's all about cows.  Have you heard the "moos?"   "We're Moo-vin' To A New Grade!"  I know that's a bit corny, but I really like diddling around with word play.  Once my older students caught on to my craziness, they enjoyed it too.

There are several ways to do this "craftivity."  You can simply have your students color the cow, cut him out and mount him to the writing prompt, or for a little more hands-on, run off the patterns on construction paper. 

Students trim, glue their cow together, and add details with crayons.  For extra pizzazz, I glued my sample to a sheet of checkered scrapbook paper.

Since students are moving on to a new grade, I thought it would be a good idea for them to reflect on that for awhile, before they complete their writing prompt page. 

Later, have them share their cows, so they get a chance to air their feelings, and you have an opportunity to reassure them. 

If you didn't catch the hippo article, I suggested that a great way to share, would be to ask a teacher in that grade, if your kiddos could come visit and read their work to their students.  

This gives them a chance to meet a new teacher, see that room, (perhaps even a different section of your school) and hear from the students in that grade, what they enjoyed the most about it.  Your students could also ask the older kids some questions.  I think it would be a wonderful experience for all.

Afterwards, give your students a bookmark celebrating their accomplishment.  I've included templates in color as well as black and white.  There's a set for kindergarten through 3rd grade, plus a blank one to fill in with whatever. 

Completed projects look great hanging on a hallway wall, or on students' lockers. 

I've included a poster to hang by their work or print two and glue them back to back and suspend from the ceiling.

Click on the link to view/download the Moovin' and a Groovin to a New Grade packet. 

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.

 "Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best." -Bob Talbert

10 pages.

This is a versatile "craftivity."  Students can choose the "ANTicipating summer fun" writing prompt, the "ANTicipating their new grade", or they can use the blank template for something else. 

1-2-3 Come Make A T-Shirt With Me

Because it's very versatile, I'm especially excited to post this latest FREEBIE for some end-of-the-year fun.

As I was designing the "T"-'rrific Memory Book packet, I thought, with a few tweaks this can also be used as a self-esteem builder, for your "fill a bucket" activites too. 

Students choose a T-shirt and matching cover, sign their name at the top and glue their photo to the pocket. 

Children pass their booklet to another child, who writes a compliment (why that person is terrific) and continue passing, 'til everyone has signed everybody's booklet. 

If you're looking for a Father's Day activity, or you have grandparent's come visit at the end or beginning of the year, you can fill the blank in with My Dad is "T"-'rrific or use the other blank template for My Grandparents are "T"-'rrific.  Students write why they think so on the blank pages.

If you like to have lots of interesting writing practice for back-to-school week, as icebreakers to get to know your new students, use the My Summer was "T"-'rrific template.   These would be cute displayed on a clothesline, along a wall and hung up with clothespins!

Any option you choose is pretty easy-breezy. Run the T-shirt pattern and covers off on a variety of colors of construction paper. (Make sure the cover matches the T-shirt so they blend.)

For even more pizzazz, use scrapbook paper! You can also buy a 50-sheet pack of printed paper (they have lots of options like tie dye, rainbow and animal prints, which would also be cool).

Students choose one, trim their pages, collate and staple their booklet to the front of their T-shirt so that it flips open.  Adding a school photo gives it that finishing touch.  

I'd take a few days to make the memory book.  To ensure quality, students can work on 1 or 2 pages each day.  (Great for Daily 5)

I've included color templates as well as black and white to save ink, but also because I think it's even more of a keepsake if kiddos do the coloring.

There's a blank template for you to write a note to your students.  You can print the templates and write a personal note to each one, or if you're pressed for time, write a generic note to everyone, sign and run off.  To make it more personal, write the student's name at the top. 

To help you out, I searched for some sweet teacher comments and found a variety of poems by unknown authors.  I revamped them a bit and included two options for you to include if you want. 

Click on the link to view/download the versatile "T"-'rrific Writing Prompt Craftivity Packet.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. 

If you're a frequent visitor to the TeachWithMe blog, you know I like to end with some sort of quote that pertains to the topic. 

While surfing I found this sweet one from Winnie The Pooh.  Hope you enjoy it too!

1-2-3 Come Write About Summer With Me

I'm not sure about you, but I was always looking for some fun things to do the last few weeks of school.  Lessons had been learned, assessments were done, and things were winding down, as my students' energy was reaching an all-time high. 

If you find yourself in similar circumstances, I think your students will have fun making a pair of sunglasses and thinking about their summer plans, so they can write about them. The title of this FREEBIE is Shades Of Summer.

Brainstorm with them about the things they'd like to see and do over vacation and write their ideas on the board. 

Run off the sunglasses template on a variety of colors of construction paper, or for real pizzazz, use scrapbook paper.  Give children a choice and then have them cut them out.

To make this activity even more special, take a photo of each student wearing goofy sunglasses.  I got mine at a party store.  I was looking for the jumbo-sized ones, but couldn't find them.  I thought that would be extra silly and add fun to my photo shoot. 

Print the pix and cut them into oval shapes, so students can glue theirs to the right lens of their pair of sunglasses.

Print the lens pattern and trim.  Make a template out of an old file folder.  Trace once and then cut 3 to 6 lenses at a time. 

Each student needs a dark right lens, as well as however many white lens pages they need to complete the writing prompt: "what I'd like to see and do this summer..." 

So that the words "Shades Of Summer" would show up, I chose a light black, but gray, silver, and brown also looked sharp. 

Run off this template, rough cut, and give each student one of these "title lenses" to trim and glue on the left hand side of their sunglasses.

When they have completed their writing, students collate and staple into a booklet, so that the dark lens cover, flips over to reveal their writing. Children glue on their photo, and using a white crayon, write on their name, and glue the booklet to the right side of their sunglasses. 

After everyone has had a chance to read and share their completed project, scatter the sunglasses on a bulletin board.  For something different, and that finishing touch, use a beach towel for the background.  Just above the board, suspend a few bottles of suntan lotion from the ceiling.  Caption: "We're Looking Forward To Summer!"

Click on the link to view/download the Shades Of Summer packet.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. 

"In winter I get up at night, and dress by yellow candle-light.  In summer quite the other way;  I have to go to bed by day." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

1-2-3 Come Make A Memory Booklet With Me!

Since I truly enjoy designing stuff, I like to give all sorts of options to my visitors.  Because the Memory Books I've created have been such popular downloads, I thought I'd putz with some more memory-making activities. 

I wanted to come up with something a little less involved for teachers who are in a time-crunch, so I used my "flip for facts file folder" idea and designed something that would be perfect for a mini memory booklet. 

I call it "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things..." and even included the first musical bar from the sheet music, for that finishing touch on the template.

I've included templates for preschool through fifth grade, plus a blank one to fill in with whatever.  Make a sample to share with your students to help explain what you want them to do. 

To save you time, I've included the inside page that I dreamed up, if you want to use it.  To expedite things, especially for little ones, pre-cut the folders, so that the templates fit nicely on the page.

A room helper can assist little ones, or send the page home for parents to work one-on-one with their child to fill in and then send back to assemble.

Students glue the "These are a few of my favorite things..." page to the front and then cut on the lines so that each of the 9 sections flip open to reveal their answers. 

To add a bit more pizzazz, have students choose a different colored marker/pencil to write each answer.   Adding a school photo at the top adds the finishing touch. 

I've included an autograph template that students can glue on the back.  If you're really pressed for time, have everyone sign one paper and then run off a copy for everybody.  (This way you can easily get signatures from the principal, secretaries, librarian etc.)

Click on the link to view/download the Memories Flip Folder.  

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  My "Pin it" button is at the top. I hope that the last few weeks with your kiddos are especially memorable, and that in some small way I helped make things less hectic for you.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -Henry Miller

I’m A Te-rrific Student T-shirt Writing Prompt.

This is a really fun end-of-the-year activity, but could also be a wonderful way to get to know your students at the beginning of the year too!  Use as an icebreaker for the first week.

The hands in the photo are neon orange.  The feet are much larger, but I took the shot with Elliot upside down, so they look smaller, they are actually much bigger than the hands.  Because this artwork is so big, when I took the photo feet fist, the head looked shrunken. Oh my!

Anyway, you get the idea.  I know yours will turn out really cute and be a great keepsake that your students will enjoy making.

I've included 2 different headings on the shorts so you have that option to use at the end or beginning of the year.

The end of the year shorts say: My short shorts of what I want to do this summer, The one for the beginning of the school year says: My short shorts of what I did this summer.

Here’s how to make a “Creative Writing Craftivity Kid”:

Run off copies of the t-shirt and shorts on a variety of brightly colored construction paper. Students will fill in the writing prompts and cut the clothing shapes out.  Buy a few pair of wacky sunglasses at The Dollar Store in bright colors.  Have your students put a pair on and take a head shot of them.

Print the photo off in black and white and enlarge them on the copier. Students color the sunglasses in with a magic marker to compliment the color of their T-shirt or shorts.  Students trace their hand and foot on a folded sheet of bright or neon-colored construction paper.  By cutting on a folded piece of paper they will get a pair of hands and feet.

Children glue their hands to the cuffs of the T-shirt and their feet to the bottom of the shorts. These paper kids make an adorable wall display.  Run them under the ceiling, as a border in your hallway. 

For another writing extension, I’ve also included a T-shirt where students can list all the Te-riffic things they’ve learned during the year, jotting down the thing they feel they are the most terrific at.

Click on the link to view/download Te-riffic Student T-Shirt Writing Prompt

Feel free to PIN away on my site. I think sharing is so important.  

Do you have something that you do as an icebreaker that you could share with us? I'd enjoy hearing from you.  diane@teachwithme.com  You can also leave a comment here. If everyone adds to each other's bag of tricks how easy our lives become! Thanks in advance. 

Even though we were not in school for Father’s Day, I did not want to leave dads out of my Y5’s keepsake things that they did, so the last week of school I always plugged in some sort of “craftivity” that they could easily do in a short amount of time.

I save cans that chicken came in all year long, (tuna cans, or cat food cans) also work well.

I have a Magic Chef tool that you run along the edge of an opened can and it flattens the sharp edge down so that it is smooth. I then don’t have to worry about little fingers getting cut.

My students rip and tear masking tape and slap it on the cans.  When they’re done they don a pair of rubber gloves and rub brown shoe polish over the tape.

The cans have the look of leather and make a wonderful coin/key holder for daddy.

I write their name on the bottom, and they set them in the sun to “dry” for a day.

I’ve also designed some “paper love” as well.  These make great activities for your writing center or Daily 5 time.

There’s nothing like a special coupon to give dad.

My students enjoy using their imaginations to dream up their own, as well as trace and sign the pre-made ones, stapling them into a coupon booklet and then tucking them into the I love you card.

These items can be found in  Fun Stuff To Do For Summer  Click on the link to view/download it.   Also included in this packet is a cute writing prompt about dads that makes a sweet class book.

Comparing themselves to their dad is an interesting and fun activity.  Have students do it with a Venn diagram, which can be found in Summer Fun Writing.

Click on the link to view/download it.

Finally, since the easy reader My Mom booklet, that reinforced adjectives and verbs, was so popular for Mother’s Day, I revamped it for Father’s Day.

Click on the link to view/download the My Dad easy reader booklet.

I hope you find time to remember the daddies in your students’ lives and plug in some of these fun activities.

May the rest of your time with your students be filled with sweet summer sunshine and smiles!  

PIN to your heart's content if you see anything that you feel will be useful to others!

Hope you can breeze on by tomorrow for more fun activities to help you fly through the end of the year.

In The Good Ole Summer Time

When I think of summer I think of sunglasses.

I found this cute clip art and I thought what could I do with this?

As Dr. Seuss would say, A few “thinks” later, and I had several new things for you to do with your students!

My Sunglasses is an easy reader where students trace and write the color and number words, circle the number in the sequence and then color the sunglasses.

Number 10 has a twist. I’ve also included a graphing extension.

Click on the link to view/download My Sunglasses.

Do a few of your little ones still not have a handle on those 3-D shapes, or have you just begun to introduce them for next year’s kindergartners?

Then Seeing 3-D Shapes Through My Sunglasses is perfect for you.

Click on the link to view/download Seeing 3-D Shapes with sunglasses!

Next, there are a variety of ways you can use 20-Summer-Sun Compound Word Sunglasses.

You can run off and laminate the puzzle cards and have students put them together as a center.

I’ve included directions for a variety of games that you can play with them such as Memory Match Concentration or “I Have; Who Has?”

They are great as worksheets.  So that you can program the glasses with other lessons, to reinforce more report card standards and practice other skills, such as skip counting, subtraction or addition equations, shapes etc.  I’ve included a blank set of sunglasses.

Have students cut the sunglass pages apart, put them in alphabetical order, trace the words, collate the pages and make a booklet.

Click on the link to view/download Summer-Sun Compound Word Sunglasses

Finally, ABC Sunglasses are traceable upper and lowercase letter pages that can be made into a booklet or used as separate worksheets.

Again, there’s a blank set of sunglasses so that you can program your own skillsheets. i.e., Write only the uppercase letters in and have students fill in the lowercase letters, or write in the lowercase letters, and have students fill in the uppercase ones.

I’ve also made the sunglass letters into puzzles.  Color the sunglasses, laminate them and cut the pieces apart on the puzzle lines.

Besides a puzzle center activity, I’ve also included a list of game ideas you can use the pieces for as well.

Click on the link to view/download ABC Sunglasses.

Thanks for visiting. Be sure and pop back tomorrow for another teaching tip.

Feel free to PIN anything you think might be interesting to others.

Do you have an end-of the year activity you do with your students?  I’d enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com or leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.  Thanks in advance for taking the time. I hope these activity sunglasses are fun for your students, and your remaining days with them are made in the shade!

For your convenience, I reposted 3 of my visitors "favorite" articles from last year:  

Let's Have A Pet Parade, Sweet Summer Dreamin' Pillowcases,  & Thanking Volunteers.

Scroll down to check out these end-of-the-year fun things to do with your kiddo's.