Groundhog Day Activity

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Each year, Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2. Many people don’t know anything more about the day than what they learned from the 1993 movie with Bill Murray. So here are 2 short activities for your classroom that incorporate parts of speech practice and the history of Groundhog Day. The upper grade version of this activity asks students to color code nouns (common and proper), verbs and adjectives. The lower grade activity (recommended as a whole class activity) only deals with common and proper nouns in the passage. Happy Groundhog Day!

Click here for the free printable PDFs:
Groundhog Day History- lower grades
Groundhog Day History- Upper Grades

Upper grades

Push-Pin Christmas Activities

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Do you remember when you poked holes in a piece of paper to make an image when it’s held up to the light? Well that classic idea just got a make-over. I got these Christmas pages from a lower grade teacher and here’s what she said about it:

“I use these the whole month of December as a QUIET fast finisher. Kids get a pattern page and a piece of construction paper. They put the pattern on top and poke holes through both pages where the pattern directs. I have them sit on the floor and do it, because it’s way easier to poke holes through paper on carpet than at a wooden desk. Then the kids get to take home only the construction paper. We use the patterns a few times until they’re shot. It usually takes my 2nd graders a while to get through 1 page, so it’s great for those kids who finish everything fast. And who doesn’t want a little holiday cheer in their classroom?!”

Click here to download the Push Pin Christmas activities.

*Thanks to those who have submitted comments/ideas. If you have something to share, I’m all ears! 🙂

History of Valentine’s Day (grammar practice book for lower grades)

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I’ve gotten positive feedback from a few teachers on these grammar practice books, so I’ve decided to make a Valentine’s Day one for lower grades. It’s 5 days long, and the passages are fairly short. Look through the pages first to know whether this activity will be best for your class as an independent work activity or as a whole class activity. Happy Heart Day!

Click here for the PDF to download/print.

Parts of Speech Valentine’s Wreath (Paper Craft Idea)

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

You’ve probably seen Valentine’s Day paper crafts that look like this…

(image source)

But have your ever thought of adding a parts of speech twist to the wreath project?

1. As a class brainstorm nouns, verbs, and adjectives that fit with Valentine’s Day.

2. Assign each color of hears a part of speech (yellow and green are nouns, pink and white are verbs, etc.)

3. Have students select words from the class brainstorm to write on the color of heart you’ve assigned.

The product is a cute, Valentine’s Day wreath, that looks like conversation hearts, but it really part of speech practice!

Snowman Adjectives Project

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Younger grade classes (like the 2nd grade I was recently working with) need to constantly review the basic parts of speech. Here’s one activity the teacher and I drummed up to combine adjectives and winter themes.

Print out these PDFs and make copies for your class: page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4

1. Cut out the snowman and glue it to a large piece of constriction paper (12″ x 18″).
2. Glue on the adjectives graphic organizer
3. Write on the organizer any adjectives that describe the different parts of the snowman

For extended use with this project, write a story starring the snowman and analyse the story elements, write a character description, etc.

Informative Paragraph Planner (Santa)

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

Younger grades spend a lot of their writing time focusing on writing good paragraphs. Here’s one idea for teaching informative paragraph writing using a well known topic, Santa. The students can use the planner page to organize their thoughts and then write the final page on the Santa (and color, cut out, display as desired). Happy holiday writing!

Right click on the page above, choose “save image as” so you can save it to your computer for future printing.

Christmas/Winter Story Starter Pages (free!)

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

Sometimes, I need a self-explanatory writing page (especially for the kids who finish a project faster than others). Here are some winter/Christmas themed story starters that students can continue with all the way to final drafts if you’d like. I figure there’s never a down side to having lots of writing projects available! To save the page to your computer, right click the page and choose “save image as.” Happy holidays!

A few teachers have requested a final draft page with the same picture. Here they are. If your students can’t write this small, have them use 2 lines, giving then a “half way line” for forming letters.

Holiday Multiplication Facts Bingo (free!)

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

Use this math practice activity to review multiplication facts (up to 9 x 9). There are 5 different boards, so there will be some variety among the players. Teachers call out a simple math problem (“4 x 3″) and students can mark a space if it contains the total. Students should also record the entire number sentence at the bottom of the page (“4 x 3 = 12″). Click the following links for the PDF boards:

Multiplication Bingo- board 1