Monday, January 13, 2014

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Tabbed Book

I don't know why, but I love teaching this concept!  Maybe it's because it's so hands-on and fun!  I like to let my students explore WED using hands-on activities with sand.  I put sand in shallow containers (like 9 X 13 baking pans) and then they can explore weathering, erosion, and deposition with a straw (wind), water in a spray bottle (precipitation), and ice cubes (ice).  I also put sand in a paint tray with water in the bottom to represent waves.  After they explore these ideas we put together a tabbed book I made.

This is what the book looks like. It's available on TeachersPayTeachers if you are interested in using this in your classroom! There are two versions of the text (one more simple than the other) and there are options to include or omit the clipart.  My students like it, and I like having something simple for them to refer back to at home!  We read more complex text, but this is to the point, which I think is important, too!

 
 
 

Perimeter and Area Activity

Here's my attempt at making perimeter and area just a little more exciting!  We haven't gotten to area, yet...but I'll be introducing perimeter today.  My students love working in small groups, and they love the dice in dice, so I figure this should be a winner!  Plus, with very little adaptation, they can play it at home and for whatever reason (and I'm not complaining one bit!), this class seems to like to do things at home with their families more than previous classes I've had.  Click HERE to download the activity for free.  Click HERE to download the graph paper to go with the activity.


Saturday, January 4, 2014

Winter Treat Bags - Bag Topper

YAY!  I finally finished my winter treat bags and they came out super cute if I do say so myself!


 
I have different versions of these toppers for sale, and even some for FREE!!  Keep reading to find the freebie!  The Winter Treats, some are shown above, can be found on Etsy or TPT
 
Clean Desk Snowman
 
 
 
 

For the most part my students keep their desks neat and tidy, but there's always a little room for improvement. During each month I like to have a clean desk "friend" stop by to help us keep our desks clean.  I had a Clean Desk Turkey in November and Clean Desk Reindeer in December.  During the different times my students are out of the room, our Clean Desk friends stop by and find a desk or two to leave a little note on. Once they get a note, they leave it on their desks. At the end of the week our Clean Desk friend leaves a little treat bag for anyone who has a note on their desk. I don't do these every week, just about once a month. However, since implementing this students have gotten into the habit of keeping their desks clean the majority of the time. Their desks typically look nice and neat and they tend to put things away when they are done using them. I used to take time each month to have everyone pull their things out of their desks, organize, and discard, etc. but now I don't have to! It's win-win! I don't always give food treats. I often give coupons, little erasers, whatever I think will keep them interested :D My goal is that EVERY student gets a treat every time we do it, and so when we get to the end of the week if there is someone who I don't think is going to earn one I might say something like, "The Clean Desk Snowman mentioned earlier that he notice a couple of desks that had random paper in them instead of paper being in folders." This helps those students pinpoint what they need to do to earn their note.  FREEBIE ALERT!!! The Clean Desk Snowman can also be found on TPT, but it's FREE!! 
 
Snowman Soup
 
 
Oh, no!  Mr. Snowman has melted!!  I also did some bag toppers for snowman soup!   You can fill with just marshmallows, white jelly beans, etc. or fill with marshmallows, pretzels (snowman's arms), Junior Mint (snowman's hat), candy corn (snowman's nose), M&M's (snowman's buttons), chocolate chips (eyes and mouth), etc.  You can find this one on Etsy.
 
I hope you enjoy your freebie :D  Happy teaching!