6 pages.

Students have a choice of 5 different MLK Day stationery pages to write on.  For a wonderful January bulletin board, mount completed work on a variety of colors of construction paper.

6 pages.

Here's a list of 60 interesting writing prompts to jumpstart your students' creative minds.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Martin Luther King Activities With Me

Are you doing anything special for Martin Luther King Day?  I’ve been thinking about this man and the era I grew up in.  I’m in awe of the bravery it took for him to overcome injustice, while forgiving the people that were grossly unjust.

This year, we are celebrating his inspiring  accomplishments on Monday, January 20th, in the year of Nelson Mandela’s death, whose trial in 1963 was 50 years ago, as well as the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.   It's also the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision by the US Supreme Court, which desegregated public schools.

Although these are national headlines, I think it is sad that today’s generations are relatively clueless, as to what life was like before these individuals and historic events changed the world we live in.

Because of this, I think it’s extremely important to teach a bit of history and take students on a “Back to the Future” ride in time. To help you do this, I compiled a list of 95-Interesting Fast Facts About Martin Luther King.

I enjoyed wading through more than 40 websites and reading over 20 children's books + a few biographies and then fact-checked discrepancies.  I thought I knew quite a bit, but learned so many more amazing things!

Did you know that Martin's birth certificate has his name down as Michael, or that he skipped 9th and 12th grade and went to college at the age of 15?  Read through the pages, highlight what you feel is relevant and appropriate for your kiddo's, and then share:  95-Interesting Fast Facts About Martin Luther King.

Another way to make the 60's real for your students is to have them watch some brief videos about MLK’s life and listen to a portion of his infamous  “I Have A Dream” speech.  Click on the link for a list of short Martin Luther King Jr. videos on YouTube.   Click on this link for footage of his peaceful march on Washington.

Start the day off by leaving a Happy Martin Luther King Day bookmark on your students' desks.  I designed 7 for you to choose from. 

You can also use them as incentives and pass them out as children complete tasks.  Challenge them to collect all seven to share with their friends. Martin Luther King Day Bookmarks.

Have your students complete their own personal MLK KWL, then gather children together to fill in the larger KWL for MLK.

After your studies, have students complete their KWL by writing in what they learned.

Now it's time for a story.  Simply and easily introduce the concept of discrimination and diversity by reading several books. 

Click on the link for my 24 all-time favorite books for Martin Luther King Day.

These are tried and true resources, to help little ones wrap their heads around complex concepts, and really helped my Y5's comprehend the hard-to-understand stuff.  Martin Luther King Day bibliography. 

While researching, I also found a short animated clip over at BrainPop, that even early elementary students will understand. This is a wonderful site for children. 

The National Georgraphic site for kids has an excellent photographic time line of MLK.

After reading some stories and watching a few videos your students can take a short online MLK quiz.

Diversity is a relatively new word for a lot of students. Helping them understand that we are all different, yet we are all also the same, is a great way to explain things. 

The people over at Kids Activites Blog,  suggest comparing a brown chicken egg to a white one.  They look different on the outside, but what happens when you crack them open? Students discuss how they are exactly the same on the inside. 

You could also do this with M&M's. Have students suck the colored candy coating off, then stick out their tongue to check things out, or simply cut one in half.

An excellent book to read about diversity is Sesame Street's We Are Different,  We Are The Same by Bobbi Jane Kates.  The rhyming format makes it a wonderful read aloud:  "We're different.  Our noses are different. We are the same.  Our noses are the same.  They breathe and sniff and sneeze and whiff."

Finally, making a Venn diagram will also help students "see" similarities and differences, and is a great way to help them organize their thoughts, before they write a comparison-contrast piece.

Children can compare Barrack Obama, the first black President, with MLK or choose the Venn diagram comparing him with Mahatma Ghandi.

It was while at college that MLK started to study Ghandi's passive resistance ideas.  Martin thought this peaceful means of protest, could be successful in changing unfair laws in the United States.

 To futher understand similarities and differences, students can also choose a friend to compare themselves with, and work together to fill in their Venn diagram.  Click on the link to view/download the Martin Luther King Venn digrams.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can stop by tomorrow for some more really interesting and fun FREEBIES for Martin Luther King Day.  Feel free to PIN away.

"I have decided to stick with love; hate is too great a burden to bear." -Martin Luther King Jr.

12 pages.

Students reflect on the past and jot down memorable moments inside that year, as well as activities, goals, hopes for the New Year.  Includes pages through 2024.  Mount completed reflections on construction paper for an interesting January bulletin board.

1 2 3 Come Do Some New Year Writing With Me

I realize people have been wishing each other a Happy New Year for a week now, but I thought a few more New Year-themed writing prompts would still be appropriate, since quite a few schools in the midwest have not gone back yet, because of all of the cancellations due to snow and below zero weather conditions. 

My home state of Michigan included, as we are enjoying another snow day with a -25 windchill as I blog.

This photo is of the St. Joseph Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. with the caption: "Today, it is encased in ice as the Midwest is hit with a "polar vortex", causing wind chills to reach -50 degrees! "  The waves froze as they crashed over the pier.

Inez, from equally cold Canada, requested some New Year puzzles that counted down from 10 to 0.  Great idea Inez!  I so enjoy hearing from other countries.  On any given day we have visitors from over 150. 

I'm always amazed at how the Internet makes everything so much cozier.  Click on the link to view/download 5 New Year counting puzzles.

When I'm designing within a theme, the ideas just keep coming, so I also made a pair of New Year spectacles. 

I enjoyed seeing these goofy glasses being worn by a lot of New Yorkers as they watched the ball drop.  I thought it would make a cute writing prompt "craftivity." 

Students can write what they "see" in their future for the New Year, or write things they are hoping and wishing for. i.e. health, happiness, success etc.  

After I finished my sample, the only "person" I could find to model them, was our poodle Chloe.  She'll do just about anything for a treat, and kept the glasses on long enough for me to take a picture. 

I've included a set of numbers so that you can make future years.  Click on the link to view/download the New Year Writing Prompt Glasses.

I really liked that chunky number font and thought it would make a nice writing prompt as well, so I designed a New Year craftivity entitled "Past and Present."

Students reflect on the prior year, jotting down memorable moments from that year, as well as their activities, goals and hopes for the New Year.  My sample is from a high school student's perspective. 

I've also included templates through 2024 so you can reuse this idea for awhile. Who knows where we'll all be in 10 years.  Completed reflections make a sweet January bulletin board. Mount them on a variety of colors of construction paper, scatter on a few snowflakes and you're set.  Click on the link for the New Year Past & Future writing prompt.

While doing research I came across a cute poster over at Dimple Prints.  Show the poster to jumpstart your students' creative minds, and have them design their own word poster.

Finally, my personal favorite, is a January writing prompt that I call "More or Less."  It's a nice way to toss in a little math as well. 

Have students brainstorm a list of things that they think they should do less of (watching TV, playing computer games, fighting with siblings ...) as well as a list of things that they think they should do more of (studying, reading, exercising etc.). 

Write these on the board to help with spelling.  Students return to their desk and write their own list on the pre-writing paper. 

When they are happy with their lists, they write complete sentences on the greater than and less than symbol pages.  Have students color the symbols their favorite colors. 

When they are done, students trim their papers.  To turn this into a really interesting January bulletin board, have students trace their foot (with their shoe on).  Offer a variety of colors for students to choose from. 

They cut out their foot, glue on the "More or less I will try to put my best foot forward in the New Year" square, add a photo, name and the year.  Click on the link to view/download the More or Less New Year Writing Prompt packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  I try to design and blog daily, so I hope you can stop by tomorrow to check out the newest FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.

"While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best." -Tom Allen       

4 pages.

6 parade-themed writing prompts for the New Year.  Also includes a Venn diagram so students can compare and contrast the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with the Tournament of Roses New Year's Parade.

1-2-3 Come Do Some New Year "Craftivities" With Me!

One of my favorite childhood memories  was going over to my Grandma Lydia's house for a sleepover with my twin sister Kathie.  "Grama" was one of the most influential people in my life and a big reason I enjoy art and reading so much. 

She was a teacher too, back in the day when "rules for teachers" included not wearing a dress that showed your ankles and lighting the pot-bellied stove in the classroom, so she ragaled us with all sorts of wonderful stories, and always had and endless supply of craft ideas to amuse us.  

On one particular Saturday morning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was pouring the proverbial cats and dogs.  Grama decided it was a great day to make something, so she hauled out a roll of "butcher block" paper. 

I laid very still on the long sheet of white paper as grama traced the outline of my entire body.  Then she did the same thing for my sister. 

Even though we were barely 6-years-old, I still vividly remember designing a lovely "frock" for my "shadow" to wear, complete with rings on all of my fingers that sported hot-pink nail polish. 

As the rain pelted against the windows and thunder boomed, we happily colored away.  I highly recommend this activity.  I know it's a lot of bulletin board paper, but the memory will be lasting. Just think of the cuteness of your paper "students" lining the hallway walls too! 

For writing practice, have students label the parts of their body picture.  Before hand, have children help you make a list of all the parts of their body that can be seen on their picture.  Write them on the board, to help them with spelling.

If you're not up for a full-body experience, how about just your kiddo's hand.  Have them choose a partner to trace each other's, and then fill in the details. 

I've included a template, so these can become your first writing prompt for January.  Have students include the year as well as their school picture. 

This makes an interesting and fun Daily 5 activity.  Click on the link to view/download the High Five's For A Happy New Year "craftivity."

Be sure and make a sample to show your kiddo's.  My Y5's always enjoyed learning about me.  I added a bit more pizzazz by gluing on flat-backed rhinestones to my "rings."

After students share, mount their work on a variety of colors of construction paper and sprinkle over a wintery-printed bulletin board. 

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

I design and blog daily, so I hope you can stop by again tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES that will hopefully be memory making!

"Wiggle fast; now wiggle slow; let's learn about our body from head to toe." -Unknown

2 pages.

Looking for a quick and easy bulletin board for January, or need an interesting winter writing prompt?  Run off copies of the New Year's resolutions template on white construction paper.  Students complete the writing prompt, then trace their hand, color it, and add some rings decorated with flat-backed rhinestones.  For that extra bit of pizzazz, glue their photo somewhere on their work, and mount on their favorite color of construction paper.

1-2-3 Come Read The Mitten and Do Mitten Craftivities With Me!

I LOVE the story The Mitten by Jan Brett.  It was also a favorite of my Y5's.  Her illustrations are nothing short of spectacular. 

To see her at work in her studio, click on this YouTube video link.  It's only 3 minutes long and very interesting.  Jan Brett video

A huge thank you to Jan for all of the great ideas on her site: janbrett.com  If you haven't browsed through her site, it's a must see. 

She has all sorts of information about her books, along with lots of activities and graphics to go with them. 

Since The Mitten is such a popular story with teachers, I decided to design some things to go along with it. 

The Mitten Activity packet is chock full of all sorts of fun "stuff"  and includes:

• Move Over Please, So I Won't Freeze easy reader booklet, which reinforces lots of Common Core, especially ordinal numbers and verbs. 
  

Students underline the verbs, circle the capital letters, add end punctuation, trace and write the animal character's name, his ordinal position and an action word (verb) associated with him, then cut & glue the matching animal picture in the box.

Also included is a mitten paper plate pocket "craftivity" students make, to keep all of their mitten-related work in.

• + a set of ordinal number pocket cards

and a Mitten Matching card game, where students match the animal character to the animal's name, or the ordinal number position it had in the story, or all three:

i.e. the word bear, picture of the bear, ordinal number-card 7th-seventh

 There's an Ordinal number character assessment strip with answer key.

• + 2 graphing activities
• 2 mitten writing prompts
• and several mitten worksheets, including one that covers rhyming words + more verb-work. (Great for Daily 5 activities.) and finally,
  
• A certificate of praise bookmark that can be used to play another game.

Click on the link to view/download the Activities To Go With Jan Brett's The Mitten packet.

I also designed 3 mitten Venn diagrams, perfect for helping your students practice the concept of comparison and contrast. 

Children can compare a mitten to a glove, or The Mitten story to Jan Brett's companion story The Hat; an equally adorable tale, featuring even more animal characters. 

There's also a Venn diagram to compare 2 animal characters.  Click on the link to view/download The Mitten Venn Diagrams.

Thank you for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can slide on over tomorrow to grab the newest FREEBIES.   Feel free to PIN anything from my site. 

"Winter is not a season, it is an occupation." Sinclair Lewis

14 pages.

This packet is chock full of activities to go along with Jan Brett's story, The Mitten.