Valentine Thematic Unit

Check out our new thematic unit:
Valentines Red, Valentines Blue: Sweet Thematic Curriculum Essentials




Table of Contents:
Scripted Literacy Lessons With Independent Options:
Speedy Heart: Naming Alphabet Letter Sounds Fluently
Valentine YOYO: Reading Sight Words
Postal Race: Reading and Alphabetizing Names
Valentine Sounds: Blending Sounds Together
Capital Clash: Building Alphabet Letter and Sound Fluency
Independent Activities: 
Vanishing Hearts: Reading Alphabet Letter Sounds Fluently
Conversation Hearts: Reading and Writing High-Frequency Words
Sorting Mail: Reading and Writing Various Fonts
Scripted Math Lessons With Independent Options:
Find a Heart: Identifying Numbers
Valentine Count: Making Numbers Equal to 10
Cupcake Wars: Adding and Subtracting on a Number Line Using the Signs + and -.
Independent Activities: 
Draw a Shape: Drawing Shapes
Symmetry: Making a Heart
Candy Heart Graph: Gathering and Interpreting Data
Art Projects
Valentine Animals
Valentine Mouse
Valentine Puzzle
Kitchen Science
Sweetheart Pudding
Decorate a Valentine Cookie
Songs
My Friend
Love Dust
Writing Prompts/Word Wall
Valentine Word Wall Words
My Friends
Things I Love
Guided Reading Books
My Valentine


Wind and Water Science Center


Here is my latest science center. It took some work and some brainstorming to figure out what to put in it, but the kids are having a great time with it. Here is some of what is available at our science shelf:

A wind vane to show wind direction. To make a wind vane, poke a thumbtack through a straw and into a pencil. Push the pencil through a paper cup to make the wind vane stand up. Glue arrows to the straw to show wind direction. Children can blow on the wind vane to watch how air creates movement. What direction is the wind blowing. For more information on how to make a wind vane, go here.

An anemometer to show wind speed. To make an anemometer cut out two equal strips of cardboard. Glue a paper cup to the bottom of each end of the cardboard strips. Push a thumbtack through the cardboard strips and into a pencil eraser. Push the other end of the pencil into a lump of modeling clay to make it stand up. Who can make the cups turn the fastest? The slowest? For more information on how to make an anemometer, go here or here.

Create lightning. Rub balloons on a woolen mitten. This will create static electricity. Can you make the balloons stick to anything? Now charge two balloons with static and bring them together in the dark. You will see a spark. This is lightning!

Watch air currents. Set out a lamp and turn it on. Be careful! It will get hot! Sprinkle a little bit of baby powder over the lamp and watch the air currents. Baby powder above the bulb will float because warm air rises.

There are tons of ideas for weather experiments out there so happy discovering!

Chinese New Year Thematic Unit

Teaching thematically certainly makes practicing the same early math and reading skills over and over and over and over again more enjoyable. And, it provides opportunity to cross the reading, math, science, and social studies curricula's into one enjoyable learning experience.
Yesterday we learned where China is and enjoyed some of their customs.

Today was all about dragons. And the excitement of turning into one!


Snowmen Come to School

I sent home 3 sheets of construction paper with each student and a challenge to use creativity and things around the home to bring a snowman to school. You can see the results are great and the artists are proud!





Chinese New Year: Gung Hay Fat Choy



Get ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year with our
"Chinese New Year" thematic unit. 
As with all of our units, the  math and reading lessons are scripted
 and linked to the 
common core math and reading standards.

Enjoy
Gung Hay Fat Choy!



Let It Snow!

Who would think that I would be opening all of the classroom windows because it is so hot in January! Here in Idaho it has been very warm and dry. So, it is time to bring winter into the classroom and what better way to begin? Making Snowflakes!

Out of my 45 students, only 1 had ever before made a snowflake! So after careful modeling (even with snowflakes that end up as duds), we went to the tables with our scissors and began to cut.


It was so much fun to watch the kids open their very first snowflake! They smiled a wide (sometimes toothless) smile and quickly said, "Can I make another one?" So the next 15 minutes was spent with scissors furiously cutting.

At center time some of our activities included painting a snowman and constructing a snow kid!


So, let winter begin, snow or not!
Check back for some more winter fun!

Winter Unit: Pre-K, K, and 1

Reach common core standards the fun and active way by using this complete cross curricular thematic unit “White Wonderful Winter.”

Available at both of our on-line stores: 

This 165 page unit contains scripted lessons with clearly stated objectives, common core standards, rationales, and materials. These activities are clearly written, easy to use, and need limited amounts of preparation. This professional style curriculum is just what you need to teach important concepts. The lessons can also be readily handed off to a parent volunteer or a classroom aide with complete confidence that objectives of the lesson will be reached.




Table of Contents:
Literacy
Scripted Literacy Lessons With Independent Options:
Abominable Snow Monster: Fluent Reading Alphabet Letters or Sight Words
Snowball Sounds: Naming Alphabet Letter Sounds Fluently
Sound Blizzard: Connecting Sounds to Letters
Snowflake ABC: Putting Letters in Alphabetical Order
Snowflake Hunt: Writing Alphabet Letters
Cocoa Words: Writing CVC Words
Independent Activities: 
Letter Whirl: Matching and Writing Alphabet Letters 
Hat Colors: Tracing Color Words
Math
Scripted Math Lessons With Independent Options:
Bundle Up: Using a 10 Frame to Make Number Combinations
Blizzard: Identifying before, after, and between using a number line
Skating Lessons: Counting Objects for Two Numbers in Succession
Snowball Fights at School: Counting by 10’s
Independent Activities: 
Snowflake Numbers: Composing 10 + a Given Number.
Snowballs: Representing Quantity using a 10 Frame
Snowstorm 10-Frame Write the Room: Writing Numerals Representing a Set
Science
Scripted Science Lessons
Snow Dough:Combining Ingredients to Make a New Substance
Crystal Creations: Growing Crystals
Writing Prompts/Word Wall
Winter Word Wall
Prompts: 
Winter Sports 
What I like About Winter
Guided Reading Books
Winter (Level C)
Winter (Level E)
Kitchen Cafe
Make a Snowflake, Then Eat!
Art Projects
Snowflake: Following Directions to Make a Snowflake
Snowy Day Kid: Constructing a Snow Kid Using Geometric Shapes
Songs
Snowflakes Falling Down
Bundle Me Up
Winter Time



BURRR: A Game to Build Sight Word or Letter Naming (or sound) Automaticy

Download FREE at our TPT store!



Reach Common Core Early Reading Objectives (grades Pre-K through 2nd grade, special education, and/or ELL) the fun way by playing the game BURRRRR. As found in all of our available thematic units, this lesson is presented as a scripted lesson for easy delivery and confidence that objectives will be met. Ideas to use this game for independent practice are also included. Enjoy our new free product, we know your students will!

Please follow us here at our blog or at our TPT store and check out our available products.
 Enjoy!

Crazy For Snowmen: Curriculum Essentials for Math, Literacy and More!

This 125 page Snowman unit is divided into areas of literature, music, art, literacy, math, science, independent practice, creative writing, word wall, and guided reading. The activities are clearly written, easy to use, and need limited amounts of preparation. The lessons (games or activities) included are scripted. They are written in a format that can be easily taught by the teacher or readily handed off to a parent volunteer or a classroom aide with complete confidence that common core teaching objectives will be reached. Also included are many independent activities and  independent adaptions to the scripted activities to extend learning.




Table of Contents
Scripted Literacy Activities:
Snowman Spill: Automaticy of Lowercase Letter Sounds
Snowman Match-up: Matching Letters and Sounds
Build a Snowman: Blending and Segmenting Words
Snowman Melt: Reading High Frequency Words
Draw a Snowman: Reviewing Early Phonics and Phonological Skills
Independent Practice
 My Favorite Things: Identifying Medial Sounds
Beginning Sounds: Identifying and Writing Beginning Sounds
A-Z: Fluently Connecting Dots From a-z.
Writing the Alphabet A-Z and a-z: Practicing Alphabet Letter Formation
Scripted Math Activities:
Snowball Fight: Comparing Numbers
The Snowman’s Buttons: Decomposing Numbers
Snowman Sets: Joining Sets Using a 10 Frame Strategy
Snowman Sums: Making a Sum of 10 Using an Unknown and a KnowN Addend With Visual Representation.
Independent Practice
Symmetry Snowman: Symmetry Activity
Snowman Puzzles: Using Geometric Shapes to Construct a Snowman
The Tallest Snowman: Measurement
Snowman Number Hunt: Matching Quantity and Numerals
Math Journal Prompt: Joining Sets
Guided Reading Books
The Snowmen (Level B)
The Snowmen (Level C)
Writing Prompts/Word Wall
My Snowman
How To Build a Snowman
Snowman Word Wall
Science
The Melting Snowman: Observing States of Matter
Science Journal Page: Why does the sun melt the snowman?
Art Projects
Snowman Gallery Art Show
Marshmallow Snowman
Shape Snowman
Painted Snowman Portfolio Sample
Songs
Five Little Snowmen
I’m a Little Snowman
Drawing a Snowman


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