Five For Friday - Draft Style! - HAPPINESS IS WATERMELON SHAPED!

Hello! It's time to link-up with Doodle Bugs for:

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This week I decided to go back and check all my drafts. I picked some of the highlights that could be helpful now that it's Back to School.

Here's a post about teaching plants:

Check out these anchor charts that cover the information studied so far. I love anchor charts! To review for the quiz that the kids have this Wednesday, I use a web site called Quizlet that allows you to generate review questions for any material, and it's FREE! Check out this link to learn more: http://quizlet.com/

On the rug, the kids are sharing stories about a memorable time when they lost a tooth. A few weeks ago, we read the book: Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Traditions from Around the World by Selby B. Beeler.

This book is very informative - I know that I learned quite a lot about different tooth traditions. In some countries, people bury their teeth, use their teeth to make jewelry, and yes, some people actually do throw their teeth on their roof. Here are some student work samples:

I have to give credit for this idea to a third grade teacher in Whitman, MA who posted the idea on Teachers Pay Teachers. Here is the link so you can download her lesson:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-Throw-Your-Tooth-on-the-Roof-Reading-Organizer-287099. Also, I have added a link to Third Grade Cupcakes so you can visit this talented teacher's blog to get more of her creative ideas.

I started reading a new chapter book - The New Kid by Mavis Jukes - while the kids eat snack. One of the extra projects the teacher in the book assigns is to make a list of 75 onomatopoeia words and put the words in alphabetical order. As a reward, the student can earn a homework pass. Consequently, I offered to do the same because I honestly thought that the assignment would be much too challenging. Well, I stand corrected - several of my students are compiling a list of these words, and I will very gladly award them a homework pass for their hard work.

Original Post Date = September 14, 2013

Last week I read a terrific, new book - Clark the Shark - by Bruce Hale. I did try to get the book from my local library, but since it's so new, I had to buy it. I will say, however, that this book is worth the price because it's funny, and most importantly, it teaches a worthwhile lesson.

As you can tell from the cover, Clark is a big shark. He causes problems at school due to his large size and appetite. The other students in class try to give him advice so he'll stop eating their lunches or pushing them too high in the swings, but Clark can't help himself. Additionally, Clark has a very kind teacher who tries to advise him on how to change his behavior. Eventually, the students in the class meet up with a group of bullies, and Clark comes to the rescue and becomes a hero.

My students LOVED this book!

As a follow-up activity, we made a class book called - We Follow The Rules. I found this activity on TPT, and you can check it out here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lets-Learn-the-Rules-with-Clark-the-Shark-A-Class-Book-841887

I highly recommend this book as a read-aloud for any time when kids need a reminder/review of rules. Enjoy!

I just got my flu shot from my son, Andrew, who is a pharmacy intern at CVS. He says it takes two to three weeks to kick in, and I go back to school in two weeks. Perfect!

Enjoy this beautiful summer weekend!