Found this great looking tech resource. I can't wait to find the time to read it. I am posting it so I will read it!

Looks awesome! Hope you get a chance to read it as well.
If you click on it below it should open full screen.

Open publication - Free publishing - More macintosh

   LOVE this book...

This book is awesome! It has activities for 7 folktales/fairy tales. Each story has its own mini reproducible book for each child, sequencing activity, art and writing connections, etc. You make a pocket for each out of construction paper and the kids keep all the activities for each story in a different pocket. My kids are loving this! They will have a whole collection to take home and read and retell. Fun stuff! Here is the pocket we are working on this week...

Cause & Effect

Sometimes simple is best...

After a cause & effect unit where we learned about cause & effect in fiction and nonfiction texts, partners chose an "effect sentence starter" and worked together to come up with 3 or more causes. So simple, but powerful. The students thought of some really awesome "out of the box" causes. This is higher level thinking at its best!

Wow- I had a wonderful spring break in the mountains of North Carolina.  The weather was PERFECT! We cooked s'mores over a fire, relaxed in a hot tub every night, hiked 10 miles on the Appalachian Trail, played ball, lunched by a mountain stream, skipped rocks, read, watched t.v.- just plain good relaxin' family fun! I felt so refreshed today and had a wonderful day back with my kiddos. Will share what's happening in our classroom soon. 

Yippee! Spring break is finally here! I can't  believe it's almost the end of the year. Be back in a week refreshed and renewed. Meanwhile, I'm leaving you with a TpT sale April  19th April - 23rd on the old and the new!10 % off everything- cha-ching! See you soon friends.

  Nothing is off limits...even the ceiling. A cloud hovers over each group of student. This helps with classroom management. I call "Monday table, Tuesday table, etc."

The shape on each one correlates to a basket that holds math supplies for each table.

I LOVE step books- some call them flip books. They were the perfect follow-up after our field trip to practice writing using the words first, then, next and last.

Have you modeled today?

  

Click to see my post about "Being a Model" at...

Teaching Blog Addict 

I really excited to be a part of this new BLOG...

The host, Tamara, has done a fantastic thing...she is bringing BLOGGERS together in one place! Her BLOG will point you back to this BLOG and many, many more. So, it's kind of like a one-stop shop. Check it out!

Here is my introduction at "Teaching BLOG Addict."

 

My students made posters about "saving the trees" to protect forest animals after reading Fox, Beware from our reading series. I asked my parent volunteer to make a tree out of them and here it is... I thought it turned out so cute!

29 page SMARTboard unit to teach letter formation from A-Z. Includes a practice page after most teaching pages and virtual modeling at the click of a button. I used the recordable feature of the SMARTboard and when you press play, students will see the letters written "magically" on the SMARTboard. This feature could not be used with the curved letters, however. I use this every year to teach handwriting in a fun way. Also includes the words of a song to teach proper handwriting skills. Everything you need to teach handwriting in a fun and engaging way.

I would like a 'tester' for this unit so I would like to give one away so you can test it out and give any thoughts/suggestions and rate it on TeachersPayTeachers. Winner will need to email an email address in order for me to send the file via email.

To enter:

1. Follow this BLOG.

2. Follow on

3. Tell your best handwriting teaching tip.

Winner selected and announced on Saturday, April 9 at 10 a.m.

Here is another example of using "audacity" to record the students. I then combined the audacity audio file with Windows Movie Maker to create this "comedian's stage." I hope you enjoy our jokes from Joke Day, my way of celebrating April Fool's Day in a fun and meaningful way.