1-2-3 Come Make A Keepsake With Me!

I’m Surviving In School is a quick, easy and fun way to get students to practice their writing skills.
Graphic organizers are extremely beneficial for visual learners and help students organize their thoughts and think succinctly.  These mini-writing prompts are more do-able and less intimidating. Doing a page at the end of each month, is a terrific Daily 5 activity, or independent writing center. Alphabetize the booklets and number them, so students can quickly and easily find theirs to work on. These are a great addition to a portfolio or file, to share with parents, during conferences, as they should show marked improvements along the way.  Completed books make an outstanding keepsake.

Encourage students to use proper capitalization, punctuation, spaces, adjectives etc. and you have covered a lot of Common Core State Standards as well.  There’s a generic cover as well as covers for preschool through 6th grade.  Define what an adjective is and why using describing words are important.  Pass out markers and have students write adjectives that describe themselves, in each bubble box on their cover.  Explain that they can add more words as the year progresses.  To make this extra special, have students glue their school picture inside the bus.  You may want to make a booklet yourself, to use as an example to help explain things each month.  Students really enjoy learning about their teacher.

The pages are geared from easy to more difficult as students advance.  Later, explain to them that instead of just a list, you want them to write sentences.  You can also have them start with the header, so that they are working on a complete sentence with proper capitalization, instead of just answering the topic.  i.e. Favorite food:  My favorite food is pizza. Later, have them expand their thoughts even more, by explaining why and adding adjectives: i.e. My favorite junk food is pizza, because I like spicy pepperoni.

To get in more fine motor practice and add some pizzazz to the pages, have students use colored markers, pencils and crayons.  In the Me... section, students practice writing their name and drawing a self-portrait.  This is especially important for preschool and kindergarten students.  In the beginning, younger kiddo’s can draw a picture of how they feel, with a happy or sad (etc.) face.  They will be limited to 1-word answers in the boxes.  You can also opt to have students do these 1-on-1 with a helper, who writes down their answers, or send a page home as homework to be returned in a week.

Click on the link to view/download the I'm Surviving School, monthly-writing prompt booklet. If you're looking for another fun keepsake book, that students can write in monthly, check out The Very Hungry Student.  Children write what they learned each month.  Of course they are still hungry for more, so they move on to the next month... The rhyming text makes it a fun read-aloud. There's a page in the back for students' autographs. It's also a nice way to review the names of the months and a super way to show progress/improvement to parents. Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Student.

I also have an entire year's worth of writing prompts.  Each month's writing prompts are based on popular stuff that's going on during that time frame. Click on the link to view/download the Monthly Writing Prompts packet.

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"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why!" -Bernard Baruch

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. 

Learning With Owies!

It’s that time of year to haul out the Band-Aide box as children are coming in from the playground with scraped knees and elbows and a variety of other boo-boo’s.

It’s also a nice time to review all of the letters of the alphabet to make sure your students are retaining what you’ve taught them.

What better way to do that than with Band-Aides!

I made a boo-boo alphabet, using that “must-have” first aid equipment that a teacher simply can’t be without, and decided to turn the letters into an alphabet booklet that would reinforce parts of the body, which is a Y5 report card standard.

I had to get a little creative with some of the letters, but I think you’ll find this unique ABC book interesting and fun.

Simply make one for yourself as a teacher’s copy, and read it to your students or use them as flashcards, or print off copies for your entire class and use as a whole group writing/reading center.

It’s also a fun activity to send home for the summer.

Click on the link to view/download Band-Aide Alphabet booklet

A great companion to this is My Owie booklet.

Students cut and glue the matching numbered pictures to the correct boxes in their booklet.

This is a nice way to review parts of the body.

It's also a cute booklet to send home with a child who has gotten hurt on the playground.

Also includes:

• A graphing extension
• 3 skill sheets
• Dr. Simon Says Game
• 2 songs to review body parts
• 9 word-wall word flashcards with 7 picture cards and a cover-card to make an Itty Bitty booklet
• An Accident Report-form letter to send home to parents +
• An art Band-Aide activity to make, to use as a manipulative to use with the songs and game to learn/review parts of the body.

Click on the link to view/download My Owie booklet packet

Thanks for visiting.  Do try and pop in tomorrow for more ideas and tips.  How do you handle boo-boo's when they happen in your class?  I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to post a comment here. Thanks in advance for making the time to do that.

PIN away if there's anything you feel might excite parents or teachers as well.  I think sharing is so important!

Until next time may all of your boo-boo's truly be healed with a kiss and hug!

I'm Going To Have A Whate Of A Good Time...

This is along the same lines as the "Bucket List" and "Having A Ball" writing prompts above.  

WRITE on!

Happy Father's Day Venn Diagram Comparison:

Brainstorm with your students how they are the same and different from their dads.  A fun way to do this is with a Venn Diagram. 

I like to use 2 brightly colored hula hoops to do this, and then write words on index cards. 

I then transfer this information to the white board so that students are seeing it again, and can copy what applies to them on their own Venn diagram. 

As an added writing extension students could also compare their grandpa's with their dads.  After they make their Venn Diagrams have them draw a picture of their dad and themselves/grandpa inside the diagram. 

You could also add their school photo.

This makes a cute card to give to their dad's on Father's Day by adding "We may be different, but we are also the same, and this you know is true: I LOVE you!" 

The Sweet Taste of Summer:

Brainstorm with your students of all the fun things they like to eat during the summer that are a bit different than the foods they eat during other months, such as Popsicles, ice cream, things cooked on the grill, stuff they take on a picnic, watermelon, strawberries, etc. 

Run off my master of a Popsicle.  Students cut them out and write their favorite things to eat during the summer.

When they are done, tape a large Popsicle stick to the back of their work. Buy a checkered tablecloth at The Dollar Store, cut it into a small rectangle to look like a picnic table and staple it to your b. board.

Arrange the Popsicle sticks around the table as a border in a crisscross fashion.  The caption: The Sweet Taste Of Summer  

Or... cover your b. board with blue paper.  Cut out two Peach lips. (One top and one bottom) Make these so that the mouth looks open. Cut out a long pink tongue. Place the Popsicles in and around the mouth.  

Wishing On A Summer Star:

Brainstorm with your students some of the places they'd like to go during the summer, if they could go anywhere in the world.  Write them on the white board. 

Run off my masters of the starfish on two different shades of light brown construction paper.  Each student will need one of each color. 

Children cut out their starfish.  On the larger, front view one, they complete the writing prompt: "If I could go any where in the world this summer I'd like to go to... and list all the places they'd like to visit. 

On the other smaller back of the starfish, they glue Cheerio's on the lines, for a nice 3-D touch.  Glue the two stars together in a kitty wampus way. 

Put light blue paper on your bulletin board. Buy a fish net from The Dollar store and staple it diagonally in the middle of the board. 

Sprinkle the starfish on the net.  Caption: Wishing On A Summer Star

Click on the link to view/download Summer Fun Writing Packet

I hope these ideas will excite your students and get them to WANT to write.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you can pop back tomorrow for more fun in the sun activities.

As always if you have a creative idea that your students enjoy doing, I'd love hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com

or feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.

PIN away if you find something you think would be helpful or interesting to another teacher or parent that home schools!

Wishing you a super summer that simply sizzles with fun!