January 2014

Hey Everyone,

It's good to be back soooo soon! I really need to make it a resolution (is it too late for that?) to blog more frequently. I have so much to share and now that my blog is soooooooo pretty, I just love spending time here! I wanted to tell you all about how our Great Big Sneeze Unit has unfolded. It is honestly, one of my favorite units this school year!

Although, Students in Disguise was pretty darn fun too!

I have to say, there was enough in this pack to keep us learning for a whole two weeks! As mentioned in my previous post, The Great Big Sneeze (Part 1 - Organizing it ALL), we began by reading the story on the Smartboard. Then, we moved on to the shared reading portion of the pack and re-read the story several times. I like to emphasize good fluency and intonation during this time and we also highlight new theme words.

After we read the shared reading story, the students illustrated the pages. They usually do not have time to finish this activity in the two periods provided, so they keep the booklet with them during centers, and continue to illustrate when they are done a station.

After we went over the story several times, I gave the students some fun activities about the story and and about being sick. I wanted them to familiarize themselves with the theme.

First we talked about the characters and the order in which we met them in the story.

Then, we discussed which characters were looking for specific items to help them feel better AND which characters had these items to share.

Finally, we talked about what items help us feel better when we are sick!

I have to say that my kiddies are quite smart! They had various reasoning as to why the soda can and candy could be possible remedies when sick. They stated that the soda can be used when we have an upset stomach and the candy can be viewed as a throat lozenge! Nothing gets passed these smarties! I have to admit, I hadn't expected the soda and the candy to be correct answers but accepted them based on their wonderful reasoning!

As mentioned in in the previous post, The Great Big Sneeze (Part 1 - Organizing it ALL), I made a copy of the read aloud for our class library. It came in handy when the students were trying to figure out "Who WANTED What" in the story and "Who HAD What" too!

PLUS, it looks pretty darn cute in print, and well I kinda feel like an author when it's one of the books they place in their book box! TeHeHe!

Next came my very favorite, Writer's Workshop! Oh, how I love to read their stories! So creative and funny! They "WOW" me E-V-E-R-Y T-I-M-E!!!!!

I printed up some spelling helpers for them. I usually print two to three copies of each page, so they can have a few to share.

We wrote a class story together, where I modelled correct printing, sentence structure, and structures and features. Then, they wrote their own stories and we edited!

Here are the finished products! I can't wait to put them up!!!!! They are so darling!!!!

We are now in the process of finishing up the literacy centers. I included a writing center, acrostic poem, BINGO, word search, word detective, reading comprehension, story review, ABC order, and Germs VS No Germs center! This happens to be the kiddies favorite part. They love to work together and they love to learn and "play" at the same time! I made sure to place one writing or reading center and then a fun one in between. This always keeps them motivated with the harder stations, that may demand more attention and work.

The printed copy of the story also came in handy again, during the reading comprehension station, while the spelling helpers made a reappearance during the writing center and acrostic poem!

We have had a blast with this pack! Be sure to stop by my TpT store to check it out!

You can click on the picture below for a direct link to the product description.

Stay tuned for some Olympic Fun and a great freebie later this week!!!!

Until next time...

Good Morning Everyone,

I just wanted to pop by and say Hello! I also wanted to let you know how our Great Big Sneeze unit was going! This post is all about how I organized it all and the order in which it is unfolding!

First off, I started by displaying the story on the Smartboard. We read it together and circled important words (usually theme words). I also downloaded the unit to the class ipads and made a print copy. This way, the students can refer back to it at any time.

Here is a little sneak peek at the first page of the story.

Not to worry, my blog name is not included on the actual page!

After we read the story we completed the shared reading activity for this pack.

The students loved this part! Here is a little tip on making this part easier to organize. I always place two copies of each page of the read aloud on one page. Then I photocopy the entire pack as a booklet, asking the machine to staple the top of the page. Then, I staple the bottom part of the page and cut the line. Voila! Two booklets ready to go!

We reread the story together and, this time, the students HIGHLIGHTED theme words. They loooooove using highlighters. Finally, they illustrated the pages. My reluctant readers really shine in this portion of the pack, as we reread the story several times and they become familiar with it. They start to volunteer to read it aloud to the class and feel so proud.

I devote two periods to the read aloud portion. The students often do not finish the illustrating, however, they are able to go back to it when they finish their writing or the centers. It becomes a great little "I'm Finished!" activity.

As there are many crafts in this pack, I like to give the students a choice. You can also choose one craft for the whole class, or, if you are feeling exceptionally brave, even complete them all!

This is how I organized the craft portion of the activity.

I displayed all four crafts and asked students to tell me which they prefer. Then we tallied it up. This helped me decide how many copies I needed to make of each template.

I organized the templates in a bag and included some key construction paper colors. This helps avoid all the walking around and asking questions. The students have all that they need in their bag. They also get to keep all the pieces in that bag, if they do not finish on time. Everything is organized and in one place! No need to get up or ask for papers.

I like to copy the templates on white paper, because the students often wish to choose their own colors.

Once the read aloud, writing, and craft portions of the pack are completed, I like to move on to the literacy centers. As with the crafts, I place all of the necessary items for each center in a reusable bag. I include the recording sheets as well. This way, all I need to do is plop the bag at the designated center and we are ready to go!