Figurative Language Turkeys

We made figurative language turkeys today.  

My class has been using the bookmarks that Addie Williams created (it was a free download) to review similes, onomatopoeia, personification, alliteration, metaphors, rhyme, etc.  I printed off 2 pages (8 bookmarks) from her packet of stuff that was perfect to cover for the 4 days this week.  We did 2 per day.   

Click the picture to take you to TPT.

When I first started this week I was only going to make a little fan booklet from the bookmarks, but then decided that I really needed to create some type of turkey art as well - especially after seeing all the cute primary art that people have been posting on the blogs.  The colors on the turkey above are on the back of 5 of the bookmarks.  When the turkey is turned over, the bookmarks with the figurative language can be read.  I ended up cutting off the clipart from the bottom of the bookmarks before I glued it on so there is a bit of extra clip art that can be added to our Thankful books.  

The students did the same steps.  

Here they are in a bit more detail:

Prep work:  I cut my 12 x 18 brown construction paper into 6 x 12 pieces (3 per sheet).  Those brown pieces I then cut into 2 sizes (7 x 6 ) and (5 x 6).  The 5 x 6 I cut in half to make 2.5 in x 6 in. size.

I also took the bat eyes and the triangle nose from A Cupcake for the Teacher and used them for the beak and eyes of the the turkey.  Those are cut, ready for the kids.  

Click the picture to take you to TPT.

Students will:

1.  Cut out an oval shape with the 7 x 6 paper.  

2.  Take 2 pieces of the 2.5 x 6 inch paper and accordion fold them, then glue onto the bottom of their oval (to create the legs).

3.  Cut out their bookmarks and choose 5 of them for the turkey.  The other ones are theirs to use as bookmarks.

4.  Cut the clipart off the bottom of the 5 bookmarks.

5.  Color the back of the bookmarks, glue onto the back of the oval shape so the writing faces the back and you can see the colors.

6.  Decorate the face using the eyes and beak.  

All done!  The kids saw mine yesterday and are so excited to create theirs today!  

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Beyond Question (Clickers)

Do you use this system too?

At our school, each classroom has a set of these "clickers".  A couple of years ago we were able to get a grant to help fund them, then we covered the rest of the cost asking for parent donations.

So, what is it?

It's a way to easily see student responses.

This is the student remote, my teacher remote is similar.

It has a disk that I put into my computer, a receiver that accepts student responses that is plugged into my computer, a remote for each student, and a teacher remote.  By the kids clicking in their answers of any assessment, I can automatically see what areas we need to focus on whole class.  I can either have it broadcasted through my in focus machine so the students can also see the graphs, or I have it on my laptop when I'm using my ladibug and projector (showing the test).

Here you can see that I have strapped the receiver on top of the ladibug.

There are 3 main ways I use it in the classroom:

*When we take a multiple choice assessment the kids usually take the test and record their answers on binder paper/scantron.  After I've already scanned/graded their assessments (like Curriculum Associates or Reading Lions), I hand them back and we review it together (they click their remote on the answer they chose) and then we see as a class what areas we need to work on.  It's an easy way to review a test without having to rework all the problems.

This is what we see when we are inputing responses.
I didn't do a full on powerpoint thing, just accepted answers.

*I also use it as a way to do informal quizzes.  I can program the disk to set up a short little quiz (you can input like a powerpoint).  As the question is shown on the projector/system, the kids click in their answer, and then it shows a class graph.  We can see what specific questions we need to work on.  It also allows me to save the specific file so I can see how each child answered and if I click my teacher remote with the correct answer it will grade their assessment for me.  

This is the bar graph that depicts the kids answers after we did the short review.

*Another way I use it is in the early spring to help with review for the state assessments.  We go over the released test questions - the kids solve, click in, and then we solve together.  It really is a fun way to review.

The options are really endless with this product. 

Can you tell that I love it?

I hope that somehow in my excitement that I made sense trying to explain it.  The grants are still available and it really is worth it.  Between the grant, and using some EIA money, our classrooms just had to come up with a little money.

Just something to think about.  

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There's an App for that!

Last weekend my phone went a little crazy with the data plan (like my carrier decided to have it jump from 65-90 percent in 2 days when I wasn't using it) and I used it as an excuse to upgrade to a new phone. I know I didn't really need an excuse but to help justify the cost it helped to say this is either my half birthday gift or it's 6 months late...

Anyhow, a new phone made me take a moment (or two) to go through my apps and see what I love, what I tolerate, and what I never use - to which I deleted a bunch.

I now have a little app folder on my front screen that contains all my teaching phone technology stuff and I found even more things that I've added to the mix.

Maybe you already know it but Class Dojo has a free app? I love using it but it wasn't working well on the laptop. At least not when I have so many screens open for all my lessons that I have to have open with the different powerpoints and brainpop and school email and district websites and grade book and and and... You get the point?

So - it's now on my phone and it is a click away from awarding a point.

Other apps that I use on a daily basis...

Super grader - I have the free version

(So simple to figure out percentages)

Brain pop and Brain pop jr.

(Easy to check on something)

Mad libs

(Mainly with my own son to work on parts of speech- sometimes with the school kids)

Timer

(Fluency reads)

Edmodo

(Still don't know what to do with the class I set up)

Animoto

(I know it's to make videos, but I'm still learning...)

Classroom Organizer

(Helps keep my class library organized and what books I own- has a scanner - but it doesn't work normally on Scholastic books)

Common Core standards

(Easy reference)

There are other ones that I also use (like Instagram, notes, etc) 
but those are the basic ones.

Hope this helps someone!

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Thanksgiving Spoon Puppets

This past weekend I found this activity on Teachers Pay Teachers.  My class needs to work on dialogue and editing sentences with quotation marks.  So I decided to have them create skits using spoon puppets for their writing this week.  Yes, I know... I'm drifting from the typical Turkey Persuasion Essay that I would normally do.    

I printed off just the sheet from this free activity that contained 2 Native American children, 2 Pilgrim children, and a turkey.  My own son colored my sample and we attached it to white plastic spoons.
I put 5 spoons into each bag for my students - I thought that by sticking them inside a sandwich bag we will be able to keep their individual characters together.  The plan is to have them decorate their puppets today, and as they are creating they are going to brainstorm how these 5 characters are going to interact.  
They will then get a chance to create a skit that must include all 5 characters and each character must somehow speak at least 3-5 times (even the turkey).  These will be short skits, not more than a couple of minutes long, and I will want them to present to the class by Thursday afternoon/Friday morning.
I have a trifold board that will be perfect for them to sit behind and show off their skit, and then I will be able to have a quick grade to see if they were able to use quotation marks correctly by looking at their dialogue.
Click the link above to head over to TPT to pick up this free activity.  There are other outfits available as well, I just chose the Thanksgiving page to use for this week.           

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3, 2, 1 - Weekly Plan #1

Every Friday I have my students complete a 3, 2, 1 as a reflection piece in their journal.  Their 3, 2, 1 is 3 things they learned that week, 2 things they enjoyed, and 1 new goal for the next week.  I was thinking that I should start doing something similar for myself, but at the beginning of the week.  I keep organized by to do lists, so thought that perhaps I could share my list with you.  Yes, I know it's Monday and it's technically not the start of the week - BUT with having today as a vacation day, I feel like the week is still about to begin.  

Here is my list:

3 goals for the week

*School goal - I need to get the paperwork off my desk at school.  I need to scan answer sheets - which means an extended trip to the library, and I need to input grades into my computer.  My school computer has been acting up lately, and it doesn't always allow me to accomplish these tasks when I want to accomplish them.

*Home goal - I would like to plan out the weekly meals this week.  I used to do this all the time, and somehow I got out of the habit.

*Personal goal - All summer and in the beginning of the school year I took the dog for a walk first thing in the morning, then when it became too dark I used that as an excuse to stop.  I need to remember to take the time for me, since it makes my day go so much better.

2 things I'm looking forward to

*I'm looking forward to all the Thanksgiving activities that I'm ready to do with my class this week.  I'm excited for Turkeys, Pilgrims, Thankfulness, and Autumn colors.  I'm excited that Friday at 2:50 means that Thanksgiving vacation has begun. :)

*I'm excited about the Canned Food Drive Dance this coming Friday afternoon.  My kids are too young to go to any of the other dances that are held at school, but for the Canned Food Drive Dance, they get to be silly and dance their tails off during school hours.  Leadership at my school is providing a DJ and it will be held in the cafeteria.  The overhead lights are turned off and the disco lights start flashing as the music blares.  All they need to do is bring in a canned food item to be able to attend.  Fun times!

1 thing I want to try 

*This week means my class is starting their Mission booklets.  I'll post more about it later on, but basically the premise is that everyday we highlight one mission.  They create a booklet where they write key information and do mini draws.  This year I have my now!board and I get to use it to help make the missions come alive.  I don't know why I'm nervous about it... maybe it's because this is the first year to use technology to walk through the missions?  Anyhow, I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

Okay, so that's my 3, 2, 1 for this week.  I'll let you know how it goes...accountability is a good thing, right?  I don't know how to host a linky party, but if you want to join me and then let me know your blog post in a comment below (or send me an email) I would love to read about what you are planning.  

       

Hope you are having a great day!  

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My Thanksgiving Pins (for the classroom)

Next week is going to be full of Thanksgiving goodness!  Here is what I pinned and have ready to help me celebrate in style.  Click on the pictures to take you to Pinterest, and then from there click again to get to the different websites.  Most things are free.

This is so much fun!  It's building fluency with having a bunch of fun in the process.

I love little notes that I can pass onto my kids.

It's a 4 corners game - Thanksgiving Edition!

Word Searches are fun - I use them as a special reading buddy activity.

I have this copied to create a little Thanksgiving fan booklet from the figurative language bookmarks.  We are going to do 2 types of language per day this next week - all centered around Thanksgiving!

I want the kids to think outside the box - and we are going to do a little compare/contrast activity between these games and their own recess.

I love this little turkey.  I'm trying to figure out if I want to use it to sort our spelling words this Monday, or if I want to save it to use it for a Venn Diagram later on... I guess I could do both.

I'm really considering making up little bags of treats for them.  I saw all the fixings at Winco in their bulk aisle - now I just have to really put it together.  Last year I did something similar using an ice cream sugar cone and a package of fruit snacks.  Instant cornucopia.  The kids loved it.  

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Explorer Book

Explorers!
Our Social Studies text only has one lesson to discuss the explorers, and that just wasn't good enough for me. So, instead my class does a little (big) book for their writing assignment throughout the week. 
We learn about Juan Cabrillo, Francis Drake, and Sabastian Vizcaino.
I gave them a 3 column sheet and we use Wikipedia to gather notes about them. After they write down facts, they are then in charge of writing a paragraph about each explorer. They then have to write an introductory and conclusion paragraph using these questions.
Introductory Paragraph - What challenges did the explorers face?(Information from our S.S. text)
Conclusion Paragraph - How would life be different if the explorers had not discovered CA?(More their own wonderings)
When they aren't writing, we complete guided draws of the explorers' portraits and create a map of the routes they took.  I love guided draws because it works on those important "following directions" skills.  Plus it's fun.
So, when it is all put together the book looks like this.

Cover
Introductory Paragraph
Cabrillo Portrait

Cabrillo Paragraph
Drake Portrait

Drake Paragraph
Vizcaino Portrait

Vizcaino Paragraph
Conclusion Paragraph
Routes map

Notes Page

Yes, a 10 page booklet.  They look great!
I'm linking up with Amanda's Friday Flashback!

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