W is for Watermelon!!!

Watermelon Day finally arrived!!  As many of you know, this is one of my favorite days of the school year.  Watermelon Day is a day that is spent doing all things watermelon related.  It's perfect for the end of the year because it's fun, the kids are engaged in meaningful learning, and it's memorable.  Everything we did can be found in my Let's Have a Watermelon Fun Day unit.

To get things started, the students made these silly crowns.  The kids loved them (we make lots of crowns and they never tire of them).

Next, we had a fruit tasting.  I usually serve fresh watermelon and then follow that up with a variety of watermelon flavored treats (licorice, Jolly Ranchers, etc), but this year I opted for a healthier alternative: fresh fruit.  The students sampled fresh watermelon, strawberries, bananas, and apple.  Snack time doesn't happen very often, so this was a treat, indeed.

After enjoying their fruit platters, the students conducted their own polls to find out which fruit their classmates liked best. They used their data to create a bar graph.  Finally, they answered some questions about their graph.

Once we finished up with our graph, we played a few rounds of I Have/Who Has.  My kiddos L.O.V.E this game and it is a great way to review so many different skills.  This version covers place value and expanded form.

After math, the students wrote an acrostic poem about watermelon. To help prepare them for this activity, we brainstormed some adjectives about watermelon.

For science, the students read about watermelons (I forgot to take a picture of the reading page) and their life cycle.  They used that information to sequence the stages of the watermelon life cycle and then illustrated each stage.

They also reviewed their parts of speech (this never gets old, surprisingly).  I tried to make it challenging by including some words that could fall into two different categories.  I su

And, for fun, the students used the letters in the words "watermelon seeds" to make new words.  They were told to make words that contained three or more letters.  Their words were really impressive!  My favorites were "monster," "wonder," "dental," and "lemonade."

I usually do a seed spitting contest at the end of the day, but the wind has been CUH-RAZY here, so I really just did not want to deal with spit and seeds flying everywhere.  Instead, the students were given some free choice time.

All of these activities came from my Let's Have a Watermelon Fun Day unit on TpT.  Click the image below to check it out! If you already own this unit, be sure to redownload via TpT as it was updated a few weeks ago.

Only 6 1/2 days to go!  Toodles!

Detectives On Scene

You know I love to try and hook you with my post titles...did it work?  Hehe.

This week we practiced our inferencing skills using my dear friend Jaime's Beachside Mysteries unit.  In a nutshell, the students solved a series of case files in which a Beachside Bandit has stolen items from several different people. 

On Monday, I brought out this envelope marked confidential.

Inside was a note to the students and some object cards.  I read the note aloud and explained that we would be solving different cases involving a Beachside Bandit. I further explained that they would use their inferencing skills to solve each case (I read the case files to the students).

I told the kids that a good detective always takes notes when conducting an investigation and in order to do that, he/she needs a notebook.  So, we made these:

Next, I placed each picture on the board and then I made sure they knew what was shown in each picture. 

(Some are turned over because as we solved a case, we flipped over the picture for that case)

Finally, I started in with the case files.  With each case, the students had to use the clues, plus what they know, to determine the object that was stolen from the mentioned victim in that case.

Of course, a student blurted out the answer to the first case.  I nipped that in the bud by telling the students that detectives never share what they know, or what they are thinking because they don't want the bad guy to use that information to try and trick the detective.  I told them that I know this because I used to work with detectives.  They seemed content with that explanation...although, one boy didn't seem think that I was being truthful.

We solved the first few case files whole group, then, I had the students use these sentence frames to solve the remaining case files as I read them. 

 (Ugh, I hate my handwriting!!)

The students loved this, and I liked how they had to justify their conclusions. 

It took us two days to get through all the case files, but it helped prepare them for writing their own set of clues today.  This was a bit challenging for them.  It's one thing to read clues and then use one's inferencing skills and quite another to write a set of clues.

Some of the students were more successful with this activity than others, but they all enjoyed writing their clues and then sharing them with the class.

This mini unit was the perfect activity as the year winds down to an end.  It was a great review, provided some challenge, and kept the kids engaged and on task.  Be sure to check out Jaime's Beachside Mysteries!

The Best Homework Ever!

I just had to share this with you.  It is a quick post, but I hope you find it enjoyable.

Every day, my students come into the classroom and copy that night's homework in their agenda.  I have a write on/wipe off version of the agenda that I put on the whiteboard.  They simply find the date in their book and copy down their assignments (and reminders, etc).

With the year coming to an end (9 1/2 days!!), I am pretty much done with homework. I'm sure they are too-hehe.  So, I decided that for the next two weeks their homework would be to read and "be a kid."  Here is tonight's homework assignment:

One student ran over to me with the biggest smile on her face and declared, "I love this homework! It's the best ever!"  

Another boy sat at his desk and told his teaching buddy, "Yes, I love this day!"

Another came over to my desk to ask the following, "Um, how long do I need to play?"  I simply smiled and told her that she should play for as long as her parents allowed her to.  She seemed satisfied with that response and I thought it was funny that she asked me that.  

Do you ease up on homework as the year dwindles to an end?

I {Heart} Lemonade Day!

Today was Lemonade Tasting Day in my class!  I typically do one fun themed day at the end of each week during the last 3 weeks of school.  Today was the first of the three fun days.  And, it's one of my favorites!

As the students walked in to the room today, they were greeted with pink and yellow streamers.  This got them excited because they knew that today would be a fun day (but, I wouldn't tell them what the theme was); they were trying to guess how they were related to the day. 

We started the day by reviewing parts of speech.  The words they sorted were all lemonade related.

This got them ready for the next thing: the lemonade tasting!

We headed outside to the courtyard along with another class and served the students small portions of pink and yellow lemonade.  Oh happy day!!

After the tasting, we came inside and conducted a whole group poll to find out which flavor of lemonade was most popular.  The students graphed the results and then answered some questions about their graph.

I gave each student a wristband (scrapbook paper cut into strips and labeled "Team Pink" and "Team Yellow") to represent their favorite drink. 

Then, the students compared pink lemonade to yellow lemonade and completed a Venn Diagram.

We played I Spy and reviewed our money counting skills.  They answered a variety of money word problems.  My kids L.O.V.E I Spy.  I've used it for a few years now but have always called it "Around the Room."  I Spy is so much cooler sounding. Plus, this time around I told them they had to actually act like spies, which meant they had to be silent and move around carefully so as not to be detected.  I had students crawling on the floor and covering their faces with their papers so as not to blow their cover.  They loved it!  Thank you L.A. for the great idea!

Finally, the kids wrote an opinion piece about their favorite lemonade from today.  We made a list of things that the students liked about each lemonade and they were told that they could use these ideas as their details.  This is the final opinion piece I will grade for the year, so I made a pretty big deal about taking things slow as they wrote.

I even let them chew lemon gum as they wrote.  Whoa!!!  That's seriously big deal, especially since I've been passing out a few pieces of other flavors each day.  So, when everyone got one, they were all very, very happy!  Many of them kept saying over and over that they loved this day.  Yay!!

Our Lemonade Tasting was lots of fun!  The kids absolutely loved it!  Best of all, they were engaged in all of the activities and didn't even realize that they were still learning!

Next week is Watermelon Day, but I'm keeping it a secret until the day of.  I think it's more fun that way!

All of these activities (minus the wristbands and gum- thought bombs I had while washing the dishes one night) can be found in my Let's Have a Lemonade Tasting! pack.  I recently updated the file, so if you've already purchased it, please go back to TpT to redownload the updated version.  Click the image below to check it out on TpT!

What kinds of things do you do as the year draws to an end? 

Measure and Plot

This week we covered our last CCSS standard: measuring and recording measurements on a line plot.  The kids L.O.V.E.D this mini unit! All of the activities are from my Measure and Plot unit.

On Monday, I introduced the line plot and wrote the term and its definition on the board (I made a mini poster but TOTALLY spaced over the weekend and forgot to print it in time-I hate it when that happens).  I then gave each student a slip of paper with a line printed on it; they were tasked with measuring their line to the nearest inch and recording their answer on the bottom portion of the slip. 

Then, I gave each student a pink X (because it complimented my brown number line-hehe) which they used to plot the measurement of their line.  As always, they loved coming up to the front of the room to stick something on the board.

Once the line plot was complete, we talked about how the numbers represented inches and the X's represented the lines they measured.  I pointed out how some numbers on the number line had stacked X's, which meant there was more than one line with the same measurement.  From there, we practiced reading the data that was represented on the graph.

I gave each student their own line plot and they copied the class line plot on their own piece of paper.  Then, we wrote some statements about the graph, together.  Finally, the students wrote their own question about the graph.  My favorite was, "How would the graph change if there were 3 lines that measured 10 inches?"  That provided for a great class discussion!

On Tuesday, I gave each table group a bag of random items to measure.  They measured a marker, a brand new crayon, an unsharpened pencil, a piece of ribbon, a clothespin, a bookmark, a fake one dollar bill, large glue stick, a cork, and a brand new pink eraser. 

They estimated the length of each item, measured it, and then plotted the each measurement on their own line plot.  Finally, they answered a set of questions about their line plot (oops, no picture again...where was my brain on Tuesday?). I did manage to snap this pic of the activity:

Today, they kids made a picture of a flower garden.  They estimated the height of each flower and then measured each one using a ruler.  They plotted the measurement of each flower and then answered some questions about their line plot.

The kids loved line plotting-yippee!  What they don't know is that next week we will make another one based on a watermelon seed spitting contest.  I can't wait!

All of these activities are from my Measure and Plot unit available for purchase on TpT.  Click on the image below to check it out!

Want to Win Some Stuff?

I hope that title reeled you in!  My sweet bloggy friend, Jaime from Bright Concepts 4 Teachers is celebrating her blog's 1 year anniversary.  She is going all out with this celebration and offering up lots of goodies!

Jaime is one of the sweetest gals I know and if you haven't checked out her blog, you must!  I insist!!

Up for grabs are many wonderful teaching resources from a group of very talented bloggers/teacher authors.  You can also win my End of the Year Activities for 2nd Grade pack!  I am so happy to be a part of Jaime's celebration!! 

Be sure to head over to Bright Concepts for Teachers for your chance to win some amazing resources! Click the image to head on over to this great blog to enter the giveaway!

Good luck!!

Five for Friday!!!

Yippee!! It's Five for Friday time!  I love this linky from Doodle Bugs Teaching.  Be sure to check out all the great links!

Here are 5 random moments from my week:

1. This week was one of the most wonderful Teacher Appreciation weeks ever!  I didn't take photos, but our PTA spoiled up rotten, as did our administration.  The whole school was decked out with pirate decor galore!  It was amazing not having to pack my lunch most days; come next week, I will be groaning as I pack the dreaded (boring) lunch.  Beyond the PTA and our administrators, my students were also very generous.  It was a great week!

2.  With that being said, it is also the time of year when the students start getting restless, argumentative, and seem to forget any and all classroom procedures/rules that have been in place for the past 160+ days. Solution: a trip to Target to load up on goodies.

I have been extremely good about NOT serving any sort of candy all. year. long.  But, desperate times call for desperate measures.  The Dum Dums are for my table point winners.  Instead of tallying up points at the end of the week, it's now a daily thing.  And, the winners get TWO Dum Dums!  (My student who can't have sugar is good with a prize from the prize box if her table wins).  The gum is for students who are working on task during independent work times.  If they get a piece of gum, they get to chew it during class.  Oh my, they were really excited about this one! I'm going to stock up on more flavors this weekend.

2.  We did lots of review this week!  We reviewed mental math using my Rockin' Mental Math pack. 

We also reviewed three digit addition and subtraction using my my Three Digit Addition and Subtraction Fun Pack.

We also reviewed possessive nouns using my Sort it Out! Possessive Noun Sort. 

4. I finished updating two of my end of the year activities.

 Click the image to see this unit on TpT.

Click the image to see this unit on TpT.

They have been uploaded to TpT, so if you've purchased them in the past, please go and redownload them!  They have new fonts and images (Lemonade Tasting), and I've added to each file.  Next Friday we will be having our Lemonade Tasting!! (The following week will be Watermelon Day and the 31st will be Bubble Fun Day....yay!!)

5. Mother's Day is this weekend and I am really looking forward to taking Little Peanut to Color Me Mine to do a bit of pottery painting.  We'll be making something for Grandma who lives out of state. Yes, she will get her present late, but that's how I roll.  Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!  I hope you have the best day ever!!

Don't forget to link up with Doodle Bugs!