Seashore Week!

Kids love themes, and what is a better theme for the classroom than going to the beach?

No, we're not going to the seashore, I'm just trying to think of fun ways to get them working and learning these last few weeks.  

Here's what we're going to do during Seashore Week:

1. Literature! First of all, there will be plenty of literature!  Here are some books I've found with a seashore or beach theme: (Click the image for a link to Amazon to find more about the book!
                        

I have a feeling I'll find more great books as I go through my classroom library as well as my school library.  I like to read several examples of fiction as well as nonfiction to give the children a real feel for what we're studying. 

2. Music and Sounds! Next, to set the mood:

Here is a Youtube video of ocean waves and sounds: very peaceful! Great background sounds!

Or try this one! I'll be playing this one when they're painting or creating!

2. Writing! After all this seashore learning, We're going to have to do some writing!  I made up some paper with a seashore theme (see image at top of page!)  For this freebie, click HERE.

 

4. Beach Towels! Of course, I really have to get the kids into the feel of the ocean. I'll be inviting them to bring beach towels next week. My plan is to let them take out their towels during Independent Reading time.  I'll play my ocean sound CD, and they can pretend to do my very favorite summer activity... reading at the beach!

5. Beach Themed Centers!  Here's my Seashore Theme Unit Literacy and Math Centers: click the image for the link!

 

 

  Want a little more ocean fun? Here's some Science and Social Studies activities, many of which focus on water! Science and Social Studies Activities for Summer

 

 

What ideas do you have for Seashore Week?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

 

Maple Weekend

It's the end of winter here in New England, and we're enjoying a New England tradition:  Maple sugaring!

Over the last couple of weeks, we've seen many a maple tree with buckets attached!  Yep, when the days get warm but the nights are still cold, that's the right conditions for getting that sap flowing! They collect that sap and boil away!

• Did you know it takes 40 - 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup?

I love to use children's literature to teach science and social studies concepts.  

This topic includes both, a little history of the New England area, plus the science of trees and sap, as well as states of matter and evaporation!

Want to learn more about how maple syrup is made?  Here are a couple of informational books for kids about the process.  

• From Maple Trees to Maple Syrup
• The Maple Syrup Book

Here are a few realistic fiction books that share the experience of maple sugaring:

• Sugaring
• Maple Syrup Season
• Sugar Snow
• At Grandpa's Sugar Bush

It's truly a fascinating process!  There are several "Sugar Houses" in my area, and a true hint that winter is nearing an end.  The State of New Hampshire officially declared this "Maple Weekend" and many Sugar Houses are opened to the public this weekend!

Here's a little video I found on Youtube that demonstrates the process.

Doesn't it make you wonder how people figured out that draining trees of sap and boiling it like crazy would make a yummy liquid?  Did they try oak trees and pine trees?  How did they know to drill a hole in the tree and put a bucket underneath?  

Here's one fiction book that suggests how it might have happened, back in the days when Native Americans lived peacefully with the earth in the New England area:

• Maple Moon

Don't you just love books that put you in a totally different time and place? Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres, how about you?

Do you have maple sugar farms where you live?

Sentences, With a Halloween Twist

My students have been learning the four kinds of sentences. 

They're getting pretty good at naming the 4 kinds (Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation) and can easily identify that they all should begin with a capital and end with punctuation. 

However, when I say a sentence (or when they read one) they're still working at figuring out what kind of sentence it is. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, in a fun way, with a Halloween Twist!

I made this activity with lots of sentences of each kind.  Of course, each of the sentences has something to do with Halloween!  I used mostly Dolch words, but I added some of their favorite Halloween words.  (They always remember those, don't they?)

I made some sorting cards, with reminders of each kind of sentence, along with 28 sentences.  I also added a few other activities to do with the same sentences, based on the Common Core for grades 2 and 3 including realistic or fantasy and complete sentence or sentence fragment. I think they're going to love it!  See HERE or any of the images for a link to this resource.

Here's a little movie to give you an idea how it's used!

The children will be having so much fun, they won't even realize they're practicing important reading and sentence skills!