Category : Classroom Resources
Posted in Classroom Resources, Common Core, Common Core Literacy, Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Language Arts, Poetry, Posters, Second Grade, Sixth Grade, Third Grade on April 26, 2013
Spring is here… it’s a great time to learn about poetry and other creative pursuits.
What is a haiku?
A haiku (俳句) is a type of Japanese short poem. Traditionally, haikus have consisted of 17 syllables, with:
- Five syllables in the first line
- Seven syllables in the second line, and
- Five syllables in the third line
However, haikus do not have to follow this format… many famous Japanese haikus are simply short poems with a “cutting” (or juxtaposing) rhythm, often about nature or everyday objects or occurrences. It’s also fun to tell stories using poetry as a medium.
It’s a lot of fun to create your own haiku poems… it takes a bit of work to follow the rules for lines and syllables in haikus and write something that does not sound choppy. It’s not enough to simply write 17 syllables worth of prose from beginning to end… the syllables per line rule means that the haiku should flow a certain way, in a manner that is moving and rhythmic. Getting kids to compose their own haikus is a great way to help them practice following other English grammar rules.
A poster about haikus
Here is a poster that will help you to explain haikus to your children or students in your classroom. The best part about this poem is that it is a poem about haikus, written using haikus! As such, your students can learn about the nature of haikus by reading a short series of haikus.
Common Core poetry lessons
If you’re teaching your students English language arts and literacy lessons according to the Common Core State Standards, here is a packet that you can use to teach poetry. In this packet can be found lessons where students can learn about and compose a variety of different types of poems, including:
- Haikus
- Shape poems
- Alphabet poems
- Autobiographical poems
- Alliteration poems
- Color poems
… and more. If you have been teaching poetry in your classroom, and have been writing other types of poems that are not found in this packet, please let me know! I’d be interested in learning about other, different styles of poetry, and how to create new, unique types of poems.
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Grades
Common Core standards: 1.RL.4, 1.RL.10, 2.RL.4, 2.RL.10, 3.RF.4b, 3.RL.10, 4.RL.2, 4.RL.10
My post is finished.
I hope you have a great day
Writing poetry!
Yvonne writes: I have to admit… I love crafts! I enjoy crocheting, knitting, and teddy bear making, just to name a few of my favorite activities. My daughter is a bit young to teach how to do those crafts, so I like to try to find other fun challenges for her to complete. Putting together crafts uses a child’s hands and mind, and stimulates his or her imagination in fun and creative ways.
Yesterday, my daughter and I made a fun helicopter out of a used soda pop bottle… it was a lot of fun to make, and now that it is finished, there is a great deal of interesting, imaginative play that she can participate in with her new toy.
Here’s how you and your students or children can create your own soda pop bottle helicopter:
What you will need
Here are the “ingredients” that you will need to make your helicopter:
- A clean soda pop bottle with the bottom cut off
- A cork, from a wine bottle or similar
- An empty paper towel roll or two empty toilet paper rolls
- Several pieces of colored construction paper
- Paint
- Glue or paste
Instructions
Here is how to put together your craft:
- Cut the bottom off of the soda pop bottle; see the image to figure out approximately how much of the bottom of the bottle you should cut off. Parents and teachers should do this step because it’s kind of difficult to achieve without the right kind of scissors. This will serve as the body of the helicopter.
- If you’re using an empty paper towel roll, cut it into two equal-sized pieces. If you’re using two toilet paper rolls, do not cut them. These pieces will serve as the landing “feet” of your vehicle.
- Have your child paint the soda pop bottle and the paper towel roll pieces or toilet paper rolls any colors they would like.
- After the paint on the craft dries, your child can then glue the paper towel roll pieces or toilet paper rolls to the bottom of the soda pop bottle.
- Cut out windows for the helicopter out of construction paper and glue them onto the soda pop bottle.
- Glue the cork onto the top of the soda water bottle. This will serve as the focal point for the helicopter’s blades.
- Cut out propellers from construction paper and glue them on top of the cork. Popsicle sticks will also work as helicopter propellers.
- Fly your helicopter around the room like a crazy person!
And there you have it, a fun and easy craft to do on a cold or rainy afternoon. If you need help visualizing how your helicopter should look, check out the images of my daughter and her own finished craft – just click to enlarge. Happy flying!
Posted in Classroom Resources, Eighth Grade, Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Posters, Science, Second Grade, Seventh Grade, Sixth Grade, Third Grade on November 12, 2012
Using the class computer
If you’ve got computers in your classroom, when you’re teaching your students how to use them, you’re also going to want to teach your students how to respect them. Computers are sturdy machines, but the right sort of abuse – soda spilled on the keyboard, or too much banging on the keyboard or mouse – can destroy the hardware. You’re also going to want to teach the kids in your class when they can use the computers and what they’re allowed to do while using them.
Stay SHARP!
Here is a free, colorful poster that you can display on your classroom wall or bulletin board behind your computer corner or center. The poster shares five important classroom rules using the slogan, “stay SHARP!”
The acronym SHARP stands for:
- Share the computer (let everyone have a turn)
- Help other classmates (not everyone is computer savvy)
- Stay Alert when surfing the net (only go to permitted web sites)
- Respect the computer (no eating or drinking allowed)
- Get Permission to use the machine (don’t use it without asking first)
I hope that you find that this poster comes in handy when it comes to teaching your students the dos and don’ts of proper computer usage! If you have any other rules or guidelines that you instruct your students to follow when they’re using your school’s computers, please let me know!
A poem about science!
A teacher friend on Facebook was looking for a poem about scientists, particularly with the theme of “I Am a Scientist”. As I’m always happy to whip up a little bit of educational poetry, I put together the poem you will find below. Another teacher friend suggested I throw together a colorful poster and share it in a blog post for other teachers to find and use… and so that’s exactly what I did! You’ll find a PDF download for a poster featuring the poem at the bottom of this page.
I hope that this poster may come in handy in your classrooms, and that the students in your classes will learn to appreciate the fascinating world of science.
I Am a Scientist
I am a scientist. What do I do?
I study the nature of things, old and new.
I take a close look at the things that I see
And make guesses about all the ways they might be.
When I find something neat, sometimes I will ponder,
“Why does that thing behave like that, I wonder?”
I’ll come up with ideas – I’ll take a good guess,
And I’ll call my guess a “hypothesis”.
The next thing I’ll do is conduct a short test
To see what answers my question best.
When I find a result that explains the confusion
I’ll call that answer my “conclusion”.
Next I’ll write down all the things I’ve uncovered
Then share with the world those neat things I’ve discovered.
And I’ll say to myself when my hard work is done,
“Science is interesting, useful, and fun!”
The month of June has arrived, and students are leaving the classrooms and getting ready to have fun in the sun during the hot summer months. Most of your children are graduating from your classroom to move on to the next… some kids are even graduating from primary or elementary school and are moving on to new schools, new classrooms, and new teachers. It’s an exciting time!
Your students have worked hard this year… why not show them some appreciation for the work they’ve done with these free downloadable bookmarks. Your students might appreciate the gesture, and it couldn’t hurt to help to promote reading during the summer months, so that they’ll be fresh and ready for their new adventures during the next school year.
I hope you and your kids have a wonderful June, and a terrific summer!
Instructions
- Print out the attached PDF on card stock (for stability). If your computer doesn’t display PDF colors correctly (some don’t), here’s an image version.
- Write personal notes to your students on each bookmark, if desired (note that some of the bookmarks may require it).
- Cut out each bookmark individually.
- Laminate each bookmark.
- Present them to your students, either publicly or privately – it’s up to you how to turn the presentation of a classroom reward into a special occasion.
Posted in Rewards on April 29, 2012
The month of May is a fun and colorful month. In the United States, Mother’s Day takes place on the second Sunday in May, and Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday of the month. In Canada, Victoria Day takes place the weekend before May 25th, to celebrate the birthdate of Queen Victoria on May 24th. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the May Day holiday is observed on the first Monday of the month. Meanwhile, graduation is just around the corner… time to start wrapping up classroom lessons and get ready for summer. In the fall a new adventure will start for your students in a new school year and, for many, a new teacher and classroom, too.
Your students have likely been working hard all year… it’s always nice to recognize their efforts. Here are some May-themed bookmarks that you can hand out to your students for particular efforts they have made, or simply for having been a good class throughout the semester. They’re fun and colorful, and can help to promote reading among children.
I hope you and your kids have a wonderful month of May!
Instructions
- Print out the attached PDF on card stock (for stability). If your computer doesn’t display PDF colors correctly (some don’t), here’s an image version.
- Write personal notes to your students on each bookmark, if desired (note that some of the bookmarks may require it).
- Cut out the bookmarks individually.
- Laminate each bookmark.
- Present them to your students, either publicly or privately – it’s up to you how to turn the presentation of a classroom reward into a special occasion.
Open your students’ minds
If you want your students to grow to be accepting and understanding of others, it’s a good idea to teach them about different people, places, languages and cultures. Do it early in their educational careers, before they’ve started to form stereotypes or negative impressions about people of different races or religions.
If you’re completing a history unit, or even a math unit or a language unit, why not give it an international theme? It’s not hard to teach mathematics or science with an international twist – you can do so in conjunction with teaching your children how others live their lives in this huge world we share.
Explore the countries of the world
Here is a free student passport that you can give to your students at the beginning of the school year or semester when you are planning on studying different countries and cultures.
Instructions
- Download and print out, then photocopy and distribute a copy of the passport to all of the children in your class. Show your students how to assemble the passport to resemble a booklet.
- Have your students fill out the personal information on the first inside page of the passport – their names, genders, birthplaces and nationalities. They can glue or tape a picture of themselves into the passport or, if there are no photos of your students available, have them draw a picture of themselves in the photo box with crayons or colored pencils.
- Whenever you start to study a particular country or region, have your students choose a Visas page and draw an arrival stamp under the Entries column. Alternatively, if you have country-themed ink stamps, you can use those.
- Study the country of your choice. Have fun! Teach your students to respect the cultures of others, even if they are wildly different from their own.
- When you’ve finished studying your country, have your students create a departure stamp under the Departures column on the same page of the passport as they added their initial arrival stamp.
Language and culture activities
For third and fourth grade students, you can use this passport in conjuction with the free Mathbooking – France Journal math problems booklet, that features individual factoids about life in France with each question. For older students you can use this passport when playing the free Flags of the World matching game.
Bon voyage!
Posted in Rewards on March 31, 2012
April is upon us! Spring has finally arrived, and Easter is coming! The Easter Bunny is putting on his paint-covered overalls and cramming his Easter basket full of eggs, ready for delivery to kids all over the world (I don’t know why, but I always imagine he wears bright blue overalls slathered with paint whenever he goes out delivering eggs).
Easter is a holiday to get excited about, but it isn’t the only special day celebrated during the month of April… Arbor Day and Earth Day both take place this month. April is a great month to teach students about the environment, about saving the planet, and about what it takes to “go green”. Reduce, reuse, recycle… help to teach kids to respect the environment at an early age and it will carry on into their teenage and adult years. Plus, it’s fun!
If your students have been working hard in the classroom, why not reward their efforts with some April-themed reward bookmarks? They’ll appreciate the recognition for their work and classroom participation, and these reward bookmarks might come in handy after those late nights spent under the covers with a flashlight, reading a favorite book. Let your students know you appreciate their hard work while promoting reading and literacy at the same time.
Instructions
- Print out the attached PDF on card stock (for stability). If your computer doesn’t display PDF colors correctly (some don’t), here’s an image version.
- Write personal notes to your students on each bookmark, if desired (note that some of the bookmarks require it).
- Cut out the bookmarks individually.
- Laminate each bookmark.
- Present them to your students, either publicly or privately – it’s up to you how to turn the presentation of a classroom reward into a special thing.
It’s the first day of March, and although spring isn’t quite here yet (I keep saying that spring is in the air, and Yvonne keeps correcting me) it certainly is getting greener outside, and St. Patrick’s Day is on the way – a very green holiday indeed.
If some (or all!) of your students have been working hard at school, why not reward their efforts? They’ll appreciate the recognition for their work and classroom participation, and it might even come in handy after those late nights spent under the covers with a flashlight, reading a favorite tale. It can’t hurt to make your students feel good about their hard work while promoting reading and literacy at the same time.
Instructions
- Print out the attached PDF on card stock (for stability). If your computer doesn’t display PDF colors correctly (some don’t), here’s an image version.
- Write personal notes on the bookmark, if desired (note that some of the bookmarks require it).
- Cut out the bookmarks individually.
- Laminate each bookmark.
- Present them to your students, either publicly or privately – it’s up to you how to turn the presentation of a classroom reward into a special thing.
