I don’t really think I need to justify making these cute reading mini-posters, do I?
Click here to get the free mini-poster pictured above: Puppy Reading Poster 1
Click here to get the free mini-poster pictured above: Kitten Reading Poster
Click here to get the mini-poster pictured above: Puppy Reading Poster 2
If you’ve never read the kids book Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo (by Rosetta Stone), you’re missing out! It’s adorable! Click here for a short animated video of the book. There are tons of activity possibilities to go along with this book, but here’s my favorite…
Have kids write their own silly story just like it! This third grade teacher had her students write each event in the story on a different color and glue it to black paper. The projects look great and the kids absolutely LOVED reading their silly story to their peers! For younger kids, I’d recommend creating a shared writing (whole class story) in the style of this book. You might also consider having kids illustrate their story in boxes on a page (like comics). Fun, fun, fun… all because a little bug went ka-choo!
Here’s one teacher’s genius idea for literacy centers:
She keeps the signs in a file so she can reuse them if she wants. I love her idea to stamp spelling words in your journal. And she uses the roll-a-word from this post. Overall, this is a great option if you’re looking for a quick, easy way to do centers.
Wow. I’m bummed I just now found this (since it only goes through May): Teacher Appreciation week at Zaner-Bloser! Here’s their free download of 42 graphic organizers! Thanks for all you do, teachers!
Summer! The time everyone dreams about all year long. It’s the time for swimming, ice cream cones and forgetting everything you learned in school the year before. Wait!? What!? That’s not how summer should be! Summer should be a time when kids (and adults) continue to learn and explore the world around them. If that’s too tall an order, at least read. That’s bare minimum.
Every summer there are a number of programs with rewards systems set up to help keep kids reading and learning. Two notable summer reading programs are the Scholastic Summer Challenge and Barnes and Noble Summer Reading. Many local libraries have something every summer too.
Here’s my printable summer reading chart to help kids set and track summer reading goals. I chose to track Monday through Saturday. Older kids should read for longer periods of time than younger kids. Ask your child’s teacher what a reasonable daily goal is for your child.
To motivate your child, have them choose an activity to do the following week if they meet their reading goal. The top line is for your child’s name. Use stickers, smiley faces or anything else to mark down each day they accomplish their reading. Happy summer!
Thank you to Diane for submitting this fun book report poster. It’s legal size (paper) worksheet and is great for lower grades (or as an easy project for upper grades). Great end of the year project (present on your favorite book from the year) or as an end of the quarter/semester project.
Click here for the Word Doc: Book Report Poster- legal size
I recently made a similar page that’s formatted to fit regular 8.5″ x 11″ paper. Here’s the PDF: My Book Report – Squarehead Teachers
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Teaching is much easier when you know where you can look for help. So this summer, spend a few minutes each day browsing teacher resource sites. Anything you see that you like should be bookmarked on your browser (make a folder called “teaching resources”), or written down in an organized way so you can find it later. Here are some websites to start with:
1. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/– Tons of stuff (including videos) for teachers
2. http://free.ed.gov/– Free teaching & learning resources from federal agencies
3. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/– Smithsonian… need I say more?
There. Those 3 links should lead you to enough discovery to last you a looong time! 😉 But if you’ve still got “extra” time, here’s a huge list to browse (collection of links posted by a fabulous home school mom): Huge list of links
Here’s a free worksheet for kids that discusses the history and significance of Mother’s Day. Reading comprehension questions at the bottom. A huge thank you to all those loving moms out there!
Click here for the free printable PDF: Mother’s Day
Squarehead Teachers 