Polar Bears and a Sale!

This is just going to be a quick post because I am supposed to be working on progress reports!  They are due on Friday so I better get my butt in gear!

So I just wanted to let you know that I finished my unit on Incredible Polar Bears!!!

I love and adore penguins and they will always be my first love - but - I did penguins last year and too many of my kiddos looped up with me this year so....back to the drawing board.  I am excited about this unit and I know we will all learn a ton! Like "Penguin Perfect" this unit focuses on non-fiction text features.  I have made an interactive booklet where students will record information learned that day and they will also cut and paste a description of the text feature used on that page.  I have included examples of how I use the pages so it is really easy to follow.

Now I wanted to really get the best bang with this unit so I also created 5 literacy centers and 5 word work centers to go with the unit.

You will also get a student fill in the blanks interactive booklet to go with the story "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" by Eric Carle.  And of coarse there is a cute little polar bear craftivity that can be done at the end of the unit and to make it "educational" I included a page where students record what they have learned and this can be displayed on the back of the polar bear.

I won't be diving into this unit for a bit but I wanted to let you know about it since I am having an end of the month sale that is still on tomorrow so you can grab it now and save a bit:)  Click on any of the pictures if you are interested in having a look.

Bye for now,
Natalie

What We've Been Doing In Math and a FREEBIE

This week we've been working on 2D geometry.  The kids love this strand because it really doesn't feel like math.  The tricky part though, is all the language involved.  Most parents have never heard the word "vertices" so I always find that I have to fill the parents in on the language we will be using and that their children will need to use to be successful.

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to during math centers:)

We've been working on labeling in literacy so the kids loved labeling the "Geometric Road Trip."
It was an excellent way to integrating across the curriculum.

Other kiddos worked on sorting attributes and picture examples in "Sort 'Em."  There is so much vocabulary that they need lots of opportunities to read and write it.

We also worked on sorting 2D shapes by their attributes by doing "Shape Sorts."

This can actually be really tricky for some kids.

These pages are all included in my unit "Geometry Is Magical."

I kept forgetting to take pictures of what my grade 1s were doing - I'm bad!

I wanted to show you this picture because you could look at this page and think it's too easy.

The reason I love this activity is that the kids learn that a shape can be different sizes and it is still the same shape.  They get tricked if you simply turn the shape upside-down.

"Colour Like A Mad Man!"

 This page is included in my unit "Monster Madness With 2D Shapes."

Now before you go I promised you a freebie:)

I decided to make some geometry word wall cards to display so my kidlettes could have something to refer to when writing out the shape attributes.  I have added them to "Geometry Is Magical"  but I wanted to make sure that the people who have already purchased this unit would get them so I posted them as a freebie at my TpT store.  You can grab them HERE.

I hope you find it useful!

Bye for now,

Natalie

What We've Been Up To!

Spiders!  That's what we've been up to!  While I appreciate the cool fascination with these creepy little critters - there is NO WAY I would ever let one crawl on me!  I get the willies just looking at pictures!  I'm a case!
So rather than listen to me ramble - I shall thrill you with some pics:)

  I love the look of the blue and silver! 

We talked about where these furry little guys live!  

 When we were working on labeling our spider we found it interesting to learn that a spider's legs attach to the head portion of its body not the abdomen.

Today we started by looking at some photographs on the web so we could see the variety of colours spiders can be.

Did you know there is a Peacock Spider?  No, really! There is!  I had no idea!

The best thing about integrating all your subjects is that you can get a huge chunk of your planning done on the front end and then catch your breath for a couple of weeks.  Okay maybe not but you know what I mean!

I prepped all my literacy center booklets...

and my word work booklets...

and our reading booklets:)

My kiddos are loving this unit so far and nonfiction is always a huge hit!  Everything here is in my Spider unit if you're interested.

I be back tomorrow to show you how our geometry units are going.

Happy hump day!
~Natalie

Spiders! EEK!

Last year I did bats with my kiddos so I knew that I was going to have to make something new for this year - since several of my ones from last year looped up with me to grade 2.  I had avoided it for so long but I knew I could no longer put it off!  Spiders!  My heart actually started to race when I looked at pictures on the internet!  What a goof I am!  So despite feeling like crud, I put my spider unit together.  This baby just kept growing and growing!  It's got EVERYTHING you need to implement a spider unit for at least two weeks.  

We are going to start the week with the 10 page interactive spider booklet so the kiddies get some facts down.  Kids LOVE nonfiction so I know they're going to eat this up!  I have included these pages in colour so they can be displayed on the Smart Board.

I have my literacy centers all set for the week, too:)  

And my word work activities:)

For reading we are going to read "Diary of a Spider" and complete the companion booklet I made. 

I will get some pictures of the work "in action" this week 'cuz I know that's what brings any unit to life!

If you're interested you can click the picture above.

Have a great day tomorrow!

Natalie

I'm Having A Sale!

To celebrate our Canadian Thanksgiving I am having a sale!  I am thankful to each and every one of you for your support here and on TpT!  You are the best!

Everything in my store will be 20% off today, tomorrow, and Monday!

                            

And if you enter the code FB100K - TpT will give you  another 8% off!

So go get your shop on!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Natalie

Five For Friday

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share my "Five For Friday."

After reading "'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving" by Dav Pilkey (I LOVE this book!) we made this adorable bulletin board display from Tangled Up In Teaching.  I changed the recording sheet so if you would like a copy click here.

We just started our 3D geometry unit.  We worked on putting our shape poetry booklet together. They turned out really cute!   They match the posters that I made to display in our classroom. This activity is included in my new unit "Geometry Is Magical."

I was soooo excited when I found this cute little fellow!  The timing is perfect because we are just getting ready to start our "Scaredy Squirrel" unit.

The fall weather is here and what better way to welcome it than with white hot chocolate from Starbucks:)  It is super yummy!

I couldn't resist showing you my little cuties that have been sitting on my lap while I'm writing this blog post.  They look forward to the weekend, too:)

Enjoy your Friday evening!
~Natalie

Geometry Is Magical!

I love teaching geometry!  It's a nice change from 4 weeks of numeration!  Since I have a split class again this year I had to make another 2D Geometry unit because several of my grade ones from last year looped up with me as grade twos.  So back to the drawing board!  This unit covers the: square, rectangle, circle, triangle, oval, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, rhombus, and trapezoid.  My kiddos will be identifying, describing, sorting, labeling, and comparing 'cuz it's all about the thinking!

Today we started with a really cute activity that made an even cuter display:)

Tomorrow we are working on our 2D Geometry poetry booklet.  Hey - this almost doesn't feel like math!

I just posted my newest unit "Geometry Is Magical" and it is on sale until Thursday night.

I will be using this one with my grade twos and my grade ones will work on my other unit "Monster Madness With 2D Shapes."  I have even included an end of unit assessment and rubric with both units so you have everything you need to teach and assess!

Have a great evening!

~Natalie