Comparing Jellybeans With A Venn Diagram

If you’re looking for another jellybean activity, try this quick and easy candy Venn diagram.

I got the paper plate Venn diagram idea from Deanna Johnston at her cute “Primary Punch” blog and liked it so much I pinned it months ago.

Click on the link to zip on over to see her cute things.

I thought I’d try it out for a jellybean and conversational heart comparison - contrast, as I use candy a lot in the classroom, for all sorts of activities and math centers.

Candy is pretty unforgettable for children, so you’ll have no problem having them remember your past activities.

After I got it done, I was so pleased with the results, that I whipped a Venn diagram off for comparing the other candy, that I doled out during the other holidays: candy corn from October and peppermint candy canes in December.

This turned into a 15-page packet entitled Venn Candy!  You can either use paper plates and have students cut and glue the clipart and headers, or use the normal Venn diagram templates.

I’ve made some for comparing each type of candy with each other as well as provided a blankVenn diagram template for you to dream up whatever else inspires you!

Click on the link to view/download Venn Candy.  Enjoy.  I hope your comparisons are simply delicious and your students oh so sweet!

What's Your Favorite App?

The Apple Education App store states: “1,000’s of apps.  Endless potential.” While that may be gloriously true, it’s also overwhelming!

One has all this wonderful knowledge, “at our fingertips” but like the Internet, not a whole lot of time to sort through it all to find “the best”.

We also don’t have the time in our classrooms to use all of it either.

We need a few great resources that click on the light bulb quickly, hold our students' interest, so that we can move right along through the inordinate amount of standards we have to teach.

When one needs to find a new doctor or a dentist I feel the best resource is to ask someone for a reference.  I think the same is true of all of these apps.

What do you use that’s successful with your students?  What are your favorites?

Thankfully, there are websites who have done just that and taken surveys that list everything from the top ten all the way up to the top 100 picks by teachers themselves.  I even found a contest for best apps in the educational category!

I always say go to the source.  Teachers know what they want.  We’re in the trenches.

We’ve test marketed your baby with our babies, and if there’s a glitch we’ll find it, because children are apt to do most anything.

FREE of course is always wonderful, but we’re willing to pay for something if it’s one of those “must haves” that gets all the rest of the train running.

I’ve spent a lot of time amassing this list of everyone else’s list so that you don’t have to.  I hope it helps save you some time in the proverbial quest for the best apps.

Like everything else, this list is already outdated as I’m typing, because there are apps. being created for more wonderful things that will help light bulbs shine even brighter--that’s just one of the reasons I LOVE LOVE LOVE technology!

Click on the links for the following “Best” to check out their interesting lists. Relax and enjoy.

2011 Best Teacher App Ever Awards Page.  Lists the Winners and the ability to download them.  Also has past winner archives to 2008

10 Best Apps for Education

There's An App For That: A Wiki with 86 favorite Apps.

Top 10 teacher picks for the IPod Touch

Top 10 From the people at Emerging EdTech

10 terrific web apps for teachers for back-to-school

Top 15 Favorites from Emerging Tech: Selected by teachers.

Top 20 Must Haves: A list of favorites of real teachers.

I Love Ed Tech: 37 Teacher Favorites.

Live Binders:  Earl Wilderson filled a binder with his favorites. Check out my binder while you’re there: FREEBIES for elementary school teachers.

100 best free I phone apps for educators

6 Top Smartphone Apps: Improve Teaching, Research, and Your Life.

Top 20 Apps for teachers and librarians

Top 10 Apps for the classroom with Common Core Content: From A Teacher’s Perspective.

Teacher's With Apps. A great blog that lists favorite apps. and explains them.

Top 50 iphone apps for teachers

100 apps for tech savvy teachers

Best Free IPad Apps. Just-for Fun "Must Haves" from a good tech blog.

30 Awesome Apps. With 25,000 followers this tech blog must know something.

Some of Apple’s top Pix

Apple's list of all the educational apps by aligned by subject. You go shopping. 

So now you've got the apps.  How about some tips and tricks of how to use your IPad...

22 Useful IPad Tips

50 Useful IPad Tips & Tricks!

Do you have an app that you’re ape about?  PLEASE take a moment to share it here and save someone some time!

Let's get a nice list of our own going! Thanks in advance. 

Scroll down for article #2 a jellybean activity.

Spring Into Writing!

Do you need a quick and easy spring center?

This Easter bookmark reinforces counting skills for little ones and doubles as a cute keepsake card for someone special.

Run off the template. Students fold it in half and glue it.

They trace the numbers on the front and write 10 reasons why they love the person that they’ll be giving the bookmark to.

Make it an extra-special keepsake by running off your class composite.  Cut students’ pictures into ovals and have them glue their photo to the bottom back of their bookmark.

Click on the link to view/download the Easter-Writing Prompt bookmark.

Be sure and pop back tomorrow for some more springtime activities.

Do you have one you’d like to share? I’d enjoy hearing from you.  diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.  Thanks in advance.

Groovy Glyph Graphics: An Easter Egg Glyph!

I love glyphs.  Even though they are extremely popular with teachers, glyphs are hard to find anywhere, so I dream up my own.

I wanted to make a glyph for April and thought a really pretty patterned egg glyph would be a great way to whole-group assess listening and following direction skills, as well as help teachers learn a little bit more about their students.

My Y5’s really enjoyed doing glyphs.  Glyphs are “instant” artwork for a bulletin board or hallway and provide a great “hard copy” of something I can actually show a parent to prove that their child is listening and following directions or not.

Click on the link to view/download Easter Egg Glyph

If you have time for two glyphs then you'll want to make this honey of a bunny too.  Add a cotton ball for a tail to give it more pizzazz.

Click on the link to view/download Bunny Glyph

Scroll down for another cute Easter idea: An egg-counting bookmark that doubles as a wrting prompt and Easter greeting card for someone special.

We Are “Some-bunny” Special

I LOVE using Venn diagrams with kids.  They are so easy to make and are the perfect way to introduce the compare and contrast concept.

A Venn diagram is so simple that even my Y5’s easily understood them, plus they really enjoyed making them. 

Even my college students like the concept.  One of their personal favorites: Comparing the classes' two favorite soft drinks. 

As they share which is their favorite, we narrow it down to two and then I bring the drinks in for the next class. Almost every semester Coke and Mountain Dew wins out.

They worked in small groups and made a Venn diagram comparing the soda, sipping as they worked.  Using their laptops they also found out differences via the Internet.  It’s my fun way to introduce them to writing a compare and contrast essay.

For little ones, I introduced the concept of a Venn diagram using 2 Hula-Hoops and index cards.  We brainstormed the differences and similarities of whatever we were working on.

Write these things on the board and give each student an index card to write one of the similarities or differences on.  Using clip art, you can also have two pictures to put inside the appropriate hoops along with header cards: similar and different.

Lay the Hula-Hoops on the floor and intersect them to look like a Venn diagram. Put your picture and header cards in the appropriate sections, and then have students lay their index cards where they belong.

For spring, I wanted to make this into a “craftivity” so I chose bunnies.  Their bellies are the Venn diagram.  I call them Venn Friends because half the students choose a friend’s name out of the Easter basket who they then team up with. 

To make it a special keepsake, include their school photo.  There's a checklist of 40 ideas that students can find out about each other, discuss which are similarities and which are differences and then choose which ones they want to put on their Venn diagram.

These make an adorable spring or April bulletin board.   Later, each student can take their own bunny head home and the teacher can keep the Venn portions as examples.   Click on the link to view/download Bunny Venn Friends

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything on my site.  I'm all about sharing!  If you'd like to see another spring Venn friend, scroll down for a tulip one. 

"Happy Spring!  Happy everything."

Let's Pattern And Graph Today!

Do you need a pattern or a graph for some tabletop activities for morning work?

Looking for a pattern or a graph that fits a season or monthly theme that you are doing?

Are you in need of a center activity that relates to your report card standards?

Do you need to assess patterning and graphing skills and can’t find an assessment?

No worries!  You’ve landed in the right place.

I have 2 wonderful books for you that are chock full of activities!

The 52-page Pattern Book has  “complete the pattern” skill sheets that fit a variety of themes. There's one for every month of the year.

They also reinforce fine motor skills, as they are a cut and glue activity, which I feel is especially important at the early elementary level.

Click on the link to view/download Patterning.

Feel free to PIN anything from my website or blog.  I believe in sharing and helping others; that's precisely why I have this website.

The 140-page Graphing Book has a variety of different graphs for lots of different monthly themes as well.

Click on the link to view/download the Graphing Book.

If you’re still in need of a graph or pattern for something special you’re doing, feel free to shoot me an e-mail and I’ll see what I can whip together.

I design every day and enjoy hearing from teachers. diane@teachwithme.com.  You can also leave a comment here.

I’m working on a second edition for both patterns and graphs and will add to these until they are “full” enough to put on the cart.

Have fun and happy spring!

Up Up & Away With This Springtime Review "Craftivity"!

The windy days are here to stay for a while, so making a kite seems to continue to be an appropriate and fun way to review report card standards.

Review the basic shapes by using them as “tail ties” and have students glue them to a piece of yarn that’s attached to their kite.

Reinforce colors and a pattern as well, by making them in bright rainbow colors and have students glue them in that order.

To add a bit more pizzazz, I typed my students’ names in the WordArt program on my computer. This is super easy, so it would also make a nice computer activity for your kiddo's to do themselves.

They cut their name in a cloud shape while we reviewed some wind facts as they snipped away.

You could have students journal a writing prompt on the back or list some springtime - weather word-wall words,

This kite “craftivity” can be found in the 133-page Spring Art & Activity Book.  Click on the link to view/download it for lots more fun ideas.

Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more teaching tips.  Do you have one you'd like to share?  I'd enjoy hearing from you diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to comment here especially if you use one of my ideas.

Feel free to PIN too.  I truly believe in sharing.  Thanks for visiting.

Will March Go Out Like A Lion Or A Lamb?

The end of March is drawing near and I have some SHEEP and LION activities to help you end the month in a fun way.

-eep and –eap word endings can be confusing for students.  Help clear things up by making this “hands-on” sheep slider.

Run off the sheep template on white construction paper and have students jazz them up with wiggle eyes and 2 cotton balls.

If you have students pull apart the cotton balls into a nice fluffy pile, the sheep fleece will look more realistic, be a great fine motor skill and avoid the problem of having students simply glue whole cotton balls to their work.

I’ve included a Trace & Write – Sheep Rhyming ABC Order Worksheet as well as the traceable word cards.

Click on the link to view/download the Sheep Slider Activities.

I never have enough time to cover nursery rhymes as a separate unit, so I plug them in with whatever theme I’m doing, whenever they fit, as an added genre during story time.

Click on the link to view/download 4 sheep nursery rhymes including a nursery rhyme bookmark.  I’ve also included YouTube videos that are perfect for Smart Boards.

If you’re looking for some easy readers your students will enjoy:

The Shape Of My Sheep, which reviews the 6 basic shapes.

Where Have All The Sheep Gone? and Where’s The Lion? which reinforce simple subtraction skills.  Click on the links to view/download them.

A fun writing extension  asks your students “Are you more like a lion or more like a lamb? Why? This March writing prompt is turned into a class book and can be found in March Class Books. Click on the link to view/download it.

Make another class book by having your students guess whether they think that March will go out like a lion or a lamb and complete a page for the book by finishing the prompt, illustrating it and gluing their school picture to the page.  

If you'd like to include a "craftivity" with writing, have students make a lion or lamb paper holder and display their work on a bulletin board, before you collate their work into a book.

Keep things simple and merely use construction paper, or make students' work pop and have them add spiral noodles for the lion's mane and pulled cotton for the sheep's fleece.

Adding a pair of funky glasses and wiggle eyes also adds a cute 3D effect.  I printed the ones in the picture from Lee Hansen's graphic website where you can download free clip art, paper crafts, and scrapbooking items.  Click on the link to check out this interesting site.

There’s a graphing extension included to record the results.

Besides this writing prompt, there is also one that's a great activity after you read the above Mary Had A Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme.  Ask students what animal they'd like to bring to school if they could bring any animal.  Encourage them to think outside the box and not just think of the usual "show & tell" pet like a puppy or cat.  Students complete the sentence with their animal and illustrate the page.

Click on the link to view/download this March Lion or Lamb activity packet.

If you want some spring art activities like a lion and lamb puppet or mask made out of a cereal box, you'll find them in the 133-page Spring Art & Activites book and if you want some quick & easy table top worksheets or centers the 88-page Lion & Lambs unit will certainly have something.

Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more springtime tips.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Sweet Jellybean Things With Me

I LOVE jellybeans.  Like Fishy Crackers and Candy Hearts they are a “must have” manipulative in my classroom, as I’m a firm believer that “hands-on” learning is the best way for little ones to learn.  If you can involve something edible now and then, you'll certainly grab their attention.

Because of that, I just finished designing some interesting activities that will hopefully help turn the light bulb on for your students and reinforce report card standards in a fun way!

The Jellybean Counting Booklet is an easy reader that reviews number words and counting to 10.  Students trace and then write the numbers and number words, circle the number in its sequence and then circle that many jellybeans in the group/set.

I’ve also included a “count to 30” “trace & write” skill sheet and a certificate of praise bookmark.

When everyone is done, read the booklet as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.

Click on the link to view/download the Jellybean Counting Booklet. The Jellybean Color Booklet is also an easy reader that reviews colors and color words.

Students trace and then write the color word and then color the jellybean the appropriate color.

This booklet includes 2 graphing extensions and 10 traceable color word flashcards with jellybean cards to color + a cover so students can turn the cards into an Itty Bitty booklet.

Click on the link to view/download the Jellybean Color Booklet. These booklets make nice plug in’s for your writing/math centers or Daily 5 activities.

The 53-page Jellybean Activities packet includes:

• A letter home asking for jellybean donations
• Templates to make jellybean sorting mats
• 3 graphing extensions
• A tally skill sheet
• A class book writing extension
• A patterning page + 5 other skills sheets
• Traceable upper and lowercase flashcards perfect for Memory Match games as well as Itty Bitty booklets
• Traceable number flashcards, including skip counting cards by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's with covers to make Itty Bitty counting booklets
• An Easter Jellybean poem
• A guest-imation Jar poster and guessing forms
• Honey-Bunny cards to make CVC words
• A jellybean bibliography and
• A certificate of praise bookmark

Click on the link to view/download the Jellybean Activities Packet.  Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN away. 

"Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do in our own?" -Brigham Young

Egg-sactly What Time Is It? It's Time For FUN!

Looking for a seasonal game to reinforce time?  You’ve come to the right place.  What’s the Eggs-act Time packet is filled with some fun activities just in time for spring.

Your students will have fun making the large egg manipulative clock and teachers can easily whole group assess by asking students to show them the “egg-sact” time when they hold up their clock.

I’ve also included an egg spinning game as well.  Children play in groups of 2-4 and take turns spinning.

Whatever number they land on, they trace and then write the time to the hour.  The student who fills up their time card first is the winner.

There are also digital and analog traceable time cards so you can make Memory Match games as well as Itty Bitty booklets, or play the game “I Have Who Has?” i.e.

The child with the analog 2:00 O’clock card, asks for the digital 2:00 time card.  Students can also sequence these cards.

Play “Speed-Flash” where the teacher flashes a time card and students show that time on their egg clock.  The child who shows the correct time the quickest, by holding up their clock, earns a sticker for the back of their egg.

Match Three is yet another game with 3 matching time cards to the hour: an analog clock, a large digital time and a written out time.   Students can play a Memory Match game with these by finding all 3 matches, or play a card game with another partner that works like Go Fish.

This game is called, Do You Have The Time?  Deal out 5 cards and put the rest face down.  Students match their groups of 3 with the cards they have.  When it is their turn they may take a card from the pile or ask their partner “Do you have 2:00 0’clock? “

If their partner has any time card that is 2 O’clock they give it to them etc.  Play continues ‘til all of the cards are matched or when the timer rings.

The student with the most matches of 3 is the winner.  When you are done with the various activities, you can reward your students with a time praise bookmark.

Click on the link to view/download Eggs-actly What Time Is It? packet.  Thanks for visiting today, feel free to PIN anything from my blog or shopping cart.  I'm all about sharing.

Do you have a teaching tip you'd like to share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com  or feel free to leave a comment here especially if you use one of my ideas.  Thanks in advance for your time.

"Spring is Nature's way of saying: "Let's party." -Robin Williams