Teacher Memes/Cartoons- 20

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Funky Monkey Painting Project

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently wrote about painting with Q-tips instead of brushes. The following is one of the many Q-tip painting projects I’ve done with lower grade kids. This one we called “funky monkey” because the kids were encouraged to create all aspects of a very unusual monkey. Each kid first got a funky monkey printable (click here: Funky Monkey – printable).

On the back of the page, they wrote their name and the date. Then they wrote key words describing their funky monkey. These key words would be helpful when starting to write about the monkey. Here are some of the questions I asked to help them start thinking about their new character.

What’s the monkey’s name?
What’s the monkey’s favorite food?
What does the monkey do during the day?
What does the monkey want to be when it’s all grown up?
What’s the silliest thing about the monkey?

funky monkey... Q-Tip painting

After describing the character, the kids got to paint their monkey using Q-tips. In the white space, the kids could paint anything they wanted about the monkey (paint its favorite food, etc.).

We set the project aside for a few days to let the paint dry. Then chose a writing project from the following options:

Write a character sketch for the monkey.
Write a story about the monkey (from the monkey’s childhood, the monkey as a superhero, etc.).
Write what you and your monkey would do if you could spend a day together.

For the kids who finished painting quickly or wanted a friend for their funky monkey (in their story), they repeated the above steps again with this tiger printable (click here: Tiger – printable).

Finally, the kids got to share their painting along with their writing. We wanted to mount both onto an 11″ x 17″ sheet of construction paper to display them, but we ran out.

Overall, it was a fun and the kids liked using their imagination. You could add variety to this project by giving students more animal options to choose from. To find other printables like these, search “animal coloring pages for kids” (or something similar) on an internet search engine. Choose a coloring page that doesn’t have too much detail (since it’s hard for the kids to paint in).

“Get To Know You” Games

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Games are always a fun way to get to know other people and help break the ice. Here are 3 suggestions for your first day of school:

Ooga Booga: Have all company members stand in a circle with their arms around each other’s shoulders. All participants will look down at the ground and say, “Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga, look!” and look up at another person in the circle on the word “look”. If two participants look each other in the eye, they will leave the group and talk to each other. Repeat the game until two to three people are remaining. Make it fun by giving the participants a fun topic to talk about. For example: “Talk about your favorite music/ice cream flavor/vacation.”

Do I Know You? Begin by numbering the company off by ones and twos. Have all ones create a circle, and have all twos stand in the middle of the circle. Have all twos find out a fact about another number two. Then each two will find a number one and tell each other the fact about the other number two. Ones will then go around the circle and try to find the person whom the fact is about by saying, “Do I know you? You like to read/are a twin,” etc. When all ones have found the person they are looking for, play another round. Remind them to ask and remember names.

Two Truths and a Lie: In groups of three to eight (depending on how much time you want to devote to this exercise), have individuals take turns making three statements about themselves—two that are true and one that is not. After an individual makes three statements, the other youth in the group discuss among themselves which statements seem most plausible and which one is most likely to be the “lie.” After giving the group time to talk about their decisions, the individual who made the statements not only tells which one is not true but also provides a bit more background about the truths.

Solving the Paintbrush Problem

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Kids love to paint. But adults hate cleaning paintbrushes.

I recently worked with a school that didn’t have lots of funding for art supplies. But they also didn’t have good facilities with sinks for cleaning brushes. Our solution was Q-tips! At some we were skeptical about the quality of work that could be produced with a Q-tip as opposed to a paintbrush. We were working mostly with kindergartners, so we didn’t really have to worry. They were way better for making dots than paintbrushes. And it was the easiest clean-up ever! So if you’re looking for a low-budget option for paintbrushes, consider Q-tips.

First, Next, Then, Last Graphic Organizer

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

First Next Then Last graphic organizer

Here’s a free graphic organizer for your students to practice sequencing, summarizing or story writing. Great for literacy centers. Enjoy!

Click here for the free printable PDF:

First, Next, Then, Last graphic organizer

Teacher Memes/ Cartoons- 19

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

When I saw this one, I laughed so hard I almost cried:

Read to Lead and Succeed! (UPDATED)

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

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

reading kitten poster
Click here to get the free mini-poster pictured above: Kitten Reading Poster

Today's Readers poster

Click here to get the mini-poster pictured above: Puppy Reading Poster 2

62 Persuasive Writing Prompts for Kids

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Welcome to Squarehead Teachers, where I post my original teaching materials for FREE! Thanks for stopping by. Catch me on Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter!

You can never really have enough writing prompts, right? Enjoy!

Imagine you had a hundred dollars, but you couldn’t keep it. You had to give it away to a person or charity. Who would you give it to? Why?
Imagine you woke up and saw a dinosaur in your backyard. Should you keep it or give it to a zoo? Why?
Which is better: to be an only child or to have siblings? Why?
Most parents don’t let their kids paint anything they want on their bedroom walls. Write a convincing argument to your parents explaining why you should be able to paint your bedroom however you want.
Do you think a monkey would make a good pet? Explain why or why not.
Imagine you worked at a football stadium. (examples: quarterback, cheerleader, coach, referee, ticket seller) Describe what you think is the best job and why.
Describe your favorite season (fall, spring, summer, or winter). Convince the reader that your favorite season is the best.
Imagine a company is choosing one kids to visit the moon. Explain why you should be chosen for the trip.
What is the best superpower to have? Why?
Imagine a scientist has developed a special potion to make people invisible, but he’s not sure he wants to let people use it. Write an argument convincing the scientist why he should or should not let people use the potion.

Imagine you want to run for school or class president. Why should your classmates they should vote for you?
What is your favorite room in your home and why?
What is the best thing parents can do to their children?
What three things are most important in your life?
Which quality best describes your life–exciting, organized, dull–and why?
Which quality do you dislike most about yourself–laziness, selfishness, childishness–and why?
Which place would you most like to visit–Africa, China, Alaska–why?
Which holiday has the most meaning for you-Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day–and why?
Which is least important to you–money, power, fame–and why?
Which is most important to you–being popular, accomplishing things, being organized–and why?
Which is your favorite Star Wars character (or other movie/book/t.v. show, etc.)? Why?
Is it important to be honest? Why or why not?
Is it important to have good manners? Why or why not?
Is exercise important? Why or why not?
Why is it wise to save your money?
Think of the best teacher you ever had. Why were they a good teacher?
Do you think there is too much fighting on t.v. Why or why not?
Do you think it is necessary to spend money to have a good time? Why or why not?
Does it bother you to be around someone who has bad manners?
Should there be a dress code in places such as school, restaurants, and places of business? Why or why not?
Families are important because…
Would you like to be famous? Why (What would you like to be famous for?) or why not?
What 3 things have a strong influence on your life?
Where would you prefer to be right now–mountains, desert, beach–and why?
Should you have to do chores around the house? Why or why not?
Should you be required to wear a bike helmet? Why or why not?
Should skateboards be allowed on sidewalks?
Where do you think we should go on our class fieldtrip this year? Why?
Should you have to take tests in school?
Should cell phones be allowed in school?
Can television (or videogames) influence your behavior? How?
Should schools be year-round? Why or why not?
Should junk food be banned from schools? Why or why not?
Should students be required to learn a second language? Why or why not?
What is the best time of day?
If you could have been someone in history, who would you have been?
If you could only take 3 people with you on a trip around the world, who would you take and why?
If you could give any gift in the world, what would you give and to whom?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
If you received any sum of money as a gift, what would you do with it?
If you could do whatever you wanted to right now, what would you do?
If you were principal of this school, what would you do?
If you were a mouse in your house in the evening, what would you see your family doing?
If you were five years older you would…
If you were lost in the woods and it got dark, what would you do?
If it were your job to decide what shows can be on t.v., how would you choose?
If there were no rules, what do you think would happen?
If you owned a store, what would you do to discourage people from stealing from you?
If you could participate in an Olympic event, which one would you choose and why?
If you could break the Guiness Book of Records it would be for?
If you had to describe yourself as a color, which would you choose?
If your friend told you of a secret plan to run away from home, what would you do and why?

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