Reading Games, Play-dough, and Other Activities

                                           

More PARCC Testing, allergy attacks, and a desire to punch a certain someone...thank goodness this week is over.  Happy Five for Friday!

1

Reading Musical Chairs - I am obsessed with books.  This is pretty well known.  I always try to convey my love of reading to my students.  I noticed that lately my students haven't been as into reading as they once were.  I think that a focus on testing can definitely do that.  To combat this, I wanted my students to see a variety of books that they could be reading from our library, so we played reading musical chairs.

Each student picked out a book bin from the library.  (All of my books are in bins based on subject, theme, genre, or author.)  We then played music and the students walked around the room.  When the music stopped, the students had to find a seat.  I then gave them time to read/look at the books.  We did this for a few rounds.  My students found books they never saw before.  It definitely helped increase the book circulation in the library.  I will definitely do this activity throughout the school year.  This way my students get to always see new books.
                                         

My Reading/Language Book Bin

                                                                                        

2

Musical Big Books - We just made our first musical big book this school year.   This one was to the song Happy.  Check my blog next week.  I will have lots of musical freebies for you.

These are some of the pages that are going into our big book.

                                           

3

Peep Play-dough - My co-teacher had the students make play-dough using Peeps.  It was messy, looked gross, but was fun.  To make your own, play one Peep in a Ziploc bag.  Add a teaspoon of of coconut oil.  Squish the combination together.  Add some powdered sugar to reduce some of the greasiness of the coconut oil.  Wait about 15 minutes once all the ingredients have been mixed together.  This should give a play-dough consistency.

Our greasy looking play-dough.

4

Taxes - I got my taxes done, and I did it before the deadline.  Last weekend is still considered early!  I think I deserve a treat!

5

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - This may not be the greatest show.  It's back for season 2 today.  I think I found my mindless weekend plans!

Bonus

Multiplication Math Brain Breaks - In case you missed last week's post, I made a bunch of brain breaks.  Click here to get your own free.  I made a bunch more this week to add to the collection.

Five for Friday April Fool's Day and Other Teacher Resources

          

This week I have been on Spring Break.  I have loved every minute of it!  I accomplished a lot, some school related and some adult related (taxes,catching up on appointments, cleaning, and other fun stuff like that).  Happy Five for Friday!

1

April Fool's Day - I thought of writing something that would be a simple prank, but since being on break, the creative part of me has shut down.  Instead, click here to get your free April Fool's Day Pranks and Activities for the classroom.

                                              

                                                                                        

2

Seat Cushions - I have been using pillows on milk crates for chairs at my guided reading table.  This has worked well for a couple of years.  Lately, I have been really annoyed at how much they have been falling off.  Thanks to a friend giving me fabric and my dad for actually putting them together, I finally have proper seat cushions!

                                             

3

Generic Games - I have made a bunch of generic games in the past.  My goal is to have enough for the entire class.  These games could be used for early finisher work, review for tests, or anything else. Because they are generic, I don't have to have different boards for different subjects.  All I need are questions that can be answered they must answer to move them ahead.  I already have different containers with dice and game pieces to go with the boards.

4

Kaboom - Did you ever play Kaboom?  The students pull a Popsicle stick from a container.  They say the word if it is a sight word game or the amount of money as the game I made is.  If you get the Kaboom stick, you loose.  The sticks work perfectly in a cleaned out Parmesan cheese container.

5

Spring Break - I am going to enjoy the rest of my break and try not to think about school anymore!

April Fool's Day Pranks, Activities, and More

Some teachers despise and dread April Fool's Day.  I decided to embrace the day and amuse myself. This year, I miss the fun as we are on Spring Break. If you have the pleasure of being at school, please try one or more of the activities below.  You will turn a day most teachers try to avoid into one of your favorite days!

Spelling Test

One of the blog's that I follow, Bunting, Books, and Bright Ideas, gave me a great idea to try.  She gives the students a spelling test where the words turn into a sentence when read together.  I slightly modified this to "There really is no spelling test.  I tricked you.  Happy April Fool's Day!"  After giving the last word, have the students read aloud the words to "check" their work.

Brown-e's

Another prank is bringing in a pan with brown letter E's cut out in order to give the kids "brown-e's." I make sure to use a pan from home that is covered with foil and promise to give out the brownies at the end of the day for students with great behavior.  At the end of the day, after passing out the brown-e's, I give real brownies.  While I like to have fun, it would be too cruel not to give them out.

Pop Quiz

I have given out a "Pop Quiz" in the past.  Basically, I give them a sheet that asks about the kind of pop they like the best.  I give the students a mini can of pop afterwards.  My teacher did this for me when I was younger.  I remember how cool it was, so I bring this back from time to time.

Following Directions Quizzes

Following directions quizzes are given to see how well the students actually follow the directions. There are a bunch of questions that the students do not need to answer if they follow the directions at the top of the page.  I made a couple of different ones as well as a Pop Quiz that's free to download on TPT.  Click here for your free copy.

                                             

Enjoy the day!  Just remember, if you can't beat them, join them!