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Writing Thank You Notes

When we left before our holiday vacation, we had just had our holiday party, and lots of gifts were given to the class. (Instead of giving gifts to each other, everyone brought in a gift for the whole class! We got recess games, craft materials, gluesticks, whiteboard markers, books, crayons, erasers, and more!)

Writing Thank You Notes is a lost art, but a valuable skill! This post shares the parts of a thank you note. It has resources to make your own thank you cards!


My college-aged daughter came in to help out at the party, and one of her tasks was to keep a list of who gave what present to the class.  (Just like a wedding shower!)

It's time for the thank you cards! 


I think Thank You Notes are becoming a lost art. But they are worthwhile and valued.

The parts of a Thank You note:

The Heading:  since this is a note, not a letter, all that's needed is the date, not an entire return address.

The Greeting:  Dear ______,  that's it! (Don't forget the comma!)

The Body:  I was always taught that the body of a thank you note has two basic sentences. 
The first sentence is very specific:  Thank you for the _______.  The only time you're not very specific is when it's money or a gift card.  Then you just say thank you for the money. 
The second sentence tells what you are going to do with the item. 
It's ok to add another sentence or two, just friendly stuff, but those two sentences are essential to a thank you note.

The Closing:  Your friend,  Your classmate, Sincerely, or if you're writing to family... Love, (Don't forget the comma!)

The Signature:  Your name.

That's it!

Writing Thank You Notes is a lost art, but a valuable skill! This post shares the parts of a thank you note. It has resources to make your own thank you cards!


I made a few Thank You Note Cards for you to copy. Just fold the pages to make them into card form.  You can download this a sampler HERE.

For a more comprehensive set of Thank You Note Cards, see HERE:

Writing Thank You Notes is a lost art, but a valuable skill! This post shares the parts of a thank you note. It has resources to make your own thank you cards!


Enjoy writing your Thank You notes!


Writing Thank You Notes is a lost art, but a valuable skill! This post shares the parts of a thank you note. It has resources to make your own thank you cards!

How NOT to Read Fluently

Today, my students spent some of our reading time practicing fluency. Especially at this time of year, I go out of my way to make it fun. (Brain research shows us that "fun" is a big motivator, but I think teachers knew that before the research was done!)

How NOT To Read Fluently: This blog post tells about an activity that can be repeated numerous times, that the kids love, and that gets them thinking about fluency. (Plus a freebie!)


There are 4 important parts to fluency:

  1. automaticity in word recognition 
  2. accurate word recognition
  3. rate (speed) of reading
  4. prosody, or expression
We started today with a demonstration of what NOT to do when reading. I demonstrated reading too fast, not stopping for punctuation, mispronouncing words without going back to fix it, and using a monotone- no expression at all. 

There were lots of giggles.

Then I modeled the proper way to read. I read smoothly and accurately. I kept an appropriate pace, and I gave it meaning as I read it. This time, instead of giggles, I got applause! (I admit, I have my class well trained!)

I thought this activity would be perfect to put into my emergency sub plans. It's got limited materials (just books for kids, which I'm sure you have!) and is a skill that needs to be practiced frequently. This is the type of activity that can be repeated several times during the year. I've typed up the directions for you to download and put into your own emergency plans. Just see here or the image below. How NOT to Read Fluently

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-NOT-to-Read-Fluently-4840789?utm_source=70b&utm_campaign=how%20NOT%20to%20read%20fluently

For more ideas for substitute activities, see THIS POST

For more information about fluency, see THIS POST.


 Enjoy!
This blog post tells about an activity that can be repeated numerous times, that the kids love, and that gets them thinking about fluency.



Hanukkah Game Board

Looking for a little something to help your kids celebrate Hanukkah?

 
This game can be used in many ways in the classroom!

Hanukkah Game Board: Want to bring a bit of Hanukkah into your classroom? Download this freebie, which can be used to practice any skill!

Brain research tells us that frequent repetition helps transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory. (I prefer "Practice Makes Permanent" to "Practice Makes Perfect"!)  

Hanukkah Game Board: Want to bring a bit of Hanukkah into your classroom? Download this freebie, which can be used to practice any skill!

I use board games like this to practice sight words, math facts, sentence fluency, task cards, or any skill that needs practice! The children just roll one die, but before they can move their place marker that many spaces, they have to perform a task. I sometimes have a selection of cards the children can choose from, and sometimes, I have a specific skill for them to practice. Here are some ideas for practice cards: Practice Card Bundle, Word Work Bundle, or Reading Celebration Game.

Just click this link to download your Hanukkah Game Board


You might want to try this related resource: Hanukkah Two Syllable Nonsense Word Game to practice the important skill of reading nonsense words.

Hanukkah Game Board: Want to bring a bit of Hanukkah into your classroom? Download this freebie, which can be used to practice any skill!


Want a little more on Hanukkah and other seasonal holidays? Try this collection of informational texts and Winter Holidays Reader's Theater

Hanukkah Game Board: Want to bring a bit of Hanukkah into your classroom? Download this freebie, which can be used to practice any skill!

or looking for something digital?
Try this Boom Learning 

Hanukkah Game Board: Want to bring a bit of Hanukkah into your classroom? Download this freebie, which can be used to practice any skill!

 How do you bring Hanukkah into your classroom?

Hanukkah Game Board: Want to bring a bit of Hanukkah into your classroom? Download this freebie, which can be used to practice any skill!

Illustrating to Build Reading Skills

Illustrating is a great way to build reading skills!


Illustrating to Build Reading Skills: Visualization is an important skill for reading and illustrating is one of the best ways I know to encourage visualization. This post has several suggestions for connecting reading skills with illustrating.

I often have my students do some illustrating when I want to make sure they really "get" a concept.  

It forces them to visualize what they're learning.  
Brain research tells us that visualizing helps the memory and deepens understanding.

Brain research also tells us that adding an element of fun helps them remember as well... and don't kids love to draw? 

Add some classical music in the background, and the brain is more activated! 
 
Want to add a little more assurance that the kids are learning?  
Let them talk about what they're drawing and why!


I have several resources I use with my students that get the kiddos illustrating.

Figurative Language can be very tricky for little ones to learn! It takes a lot of conversation before they are ready to illustrate, but it's important that they "get" these confusing phrases. Once the instruction happens, the illustration really helps them to GET it!

Illustrating to Build Reading Skills: Visualization is an important skill for reading and illustrating is one of the best ways I know to encourage visualization. This post has several suggestions for connecting reading skills with illustrating.
 
There's this Mini-book about Healthy Habits.  
This resource is the result of much research on health and children. It has 10 pages written in child friendly language.

My own students have been working on this one this week, and have come up with some incredible ideas!
Illustrating to Build Reading Skills: Visualization is an important skill for reading and illustrating is one of the best ways I know to encourage visualization. This post has several suggestions for connecting reading skills with illustrating.

I also have a set of homophones for the children to illustrate.  These can be tricky for most kids, but in order to draw the different meanings, they have to deeply understand the different meanings.  

That involves a lot of conversation as well as thinking, but once they've got it, they've GOT it!  

As children are "social animals", they tend to remember not only their own pair of homophones, but the homophones their friends did as well!
 
Visualization is an important skill for reading and illustrating is one of the best ways I know to encourage visualization. This post has several suggestions for connecting reading skills with illustrating.

I've got another set of word pairs for illustrating as well... these are homographs!  Just like the homophones, these are tricky, but once they've got them, they've GOT them!
Visualization is an important skill for reading and illustrating is one of the best ways I know to encourage visualization. This post has several suggestions for connecting reading skills with illustrating.

Another advantage to these individual sheets that the children illustrate... they make great visual displays for bulletin boards!  I've had many compliments on the work of my students on these!

They also make awesome class books!


Another advantage? These are great for the sub tub! Just run off the set and leave it in the emergency sub folder!  Plus, they work for a variety of ages and levels. (Fifth graders are NOT too old to draw, they love it!)


Of course, any illustrating is enhanced by music. May I suggest this one?  (Click image for a link to Amazon!)


 

Illustrating to Build Reading Skills: Visualization is an important skill for reading and illustrating is one of the best ways I know to encourage visualization. This post has several suggestions for connecting reading skills with illustrating.

Acts of Kindness Holiday Countdown

Ever notice that wonderful feeling that comes from doing something for others? 

I suspect you know it well, 
since that's what teaching is all about!

Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays!

I decided to do a more special countdown to Christmas instead of just a "countdown to Christmas."


Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays!


I made this Acts of Kindness Holiday Countdown Set, a paper chain countdown with a twist—each link of the chain is an act of kindness to be done by the child each day between now and Christmas!


Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays!
First, the children will choose a "topper". There's a star, a tree, and a Christmas Bear. The topper is mounted on a piece of construction paper or tagboard, and a slit is cut near the bottom to hold the first link. I think this guy will need some glitter and a big red bow at the top to tie him to a special countdown spot! (You could also design your own toppers!)



Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays!
The "How Many Days" poem goes on the back. I think this needs glitter, too!


Next, the children can put the individual strips into a chain, putting just the right amount so that one can be removed daily until Christmas. These can be printed on colored paper or simply on white paper, and the children can decorate each link on the chain. (With glitter?) (Again, you or your students can make up their own acts of kindness as well!)


Letting the children figure out how many links to put on is a fun challenge. Ensure you know the correct amount, but it's interesting to see their strategies!

As another act of kindness, I always apologize ahead of time to the custodians when I plan to use glitter. Plus, I've trained my students to use the dustpan to make the custodian's job easier!
Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays!
Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays! 
I have to admit, I'm excited about this resource and can't wait to put them together with the kids!







How can you encourage kindness this time of year?

Acts of Kindness Countdown:Here is a freebie and directions on making a different kind of countdown for the holidays!





My Favorite Holiday Activity

Ever have one of those activities that's a win-win?  It's something that works so well, that you keep bringing it back year after year. 


My Favorite Holiday Activity: Ever have one of those activities that are a "win-win"? It's fun, it's easy, and it's also educational? This is my favorite freebie!


That's how I feel about this Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.  I've done this activity with second graders for about 15 years now.

My Favorite Holiday Activity: Ever have one of those activities that are a "win-win"? It's fun, it's easy, and it's also educational? This is my favorite freebie!

I've always loved the music from The Nutcracker. When my daughter was 5, I figured she was old enough to go into Boston to see the Boston Ballet perform the classic. We read a few versions of the story so she'd know what to expect, put on our very best holiday dresses, and drove into the city.


Since I knew the story so well, I brought the CD into school, and shared the story with my students. I wrote this summary of the classic story, and played the music while the children visualized what it must look like, then illustrated the different parts of the story.


Every year, the children loved the activity, and it practiced some valuable skills: visualizing, summarizing, and sequencing. Plus, it gives them some exposure to classic holiday literature and classical music. Of course, you can't miss when the setting is called, The Kingdom of Sweets!


A couple of years after seeing the production in Boston, my daughter had the opportunity to audition for a production of The Nutcracker. She was in the youngest group, and the little ones had a very small part, but it was priceless. She went on to perform in the Nutcracker 3 years in a row before life just got too busy with other performances. However, the story of The Nutcracker will always be near and dear to my heart.

Enjoy this freebie: The Nutcracker story for Visualizing, Summarizing, and Illustration! It's one of my favorites!


My Favorite Holiday Activity: Ever have one of those activities that are a "win-win"? It's fun, it's easy, and it's also educational? This is my favorite freebie


Don't Be a Turkey!

Second graders are expected to add and subtract within 20 fluently. 

This is no easy task, but this game helps them master the 9s trick!

Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!

I find, once the kids catch onto the tens trick, the nines trick is easy! I first use a number grid, like THIS ONE to show them how easy it is to do "ten more". From there, it's pretty easy to figure out "nine more". 

Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!

Once they have a good understanding of the 9 more trick, they're ready to play Turkey Nines!  It works like "Old Maid", so they pair off all the addends and sums with nines, and one of your little turkeys will end up being the "Thanksgiving Turkey".
Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!

This is one of those games where "even the losers are winners" because there's something about cooking a turkey that makes the little ones giggle. Plus, they're getting better at that mental math!

Here's a fun little move about how the game works!

Want to give it a try? There's a smaller, free version here!

Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!


Have fun practicing mental math, and don't be a turkey!  (At least, don't be a cooked turkey!) 


Want more turkey learning fun?
Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!

Or try the whole bundle at a huge discount HERE!
Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!

How are your little turkeys learning and practicing their skills?

Don't be a turkey! My students LOVE this turkey themed game for practicing the +9 trick! There's a freebie so you can try it out!


A Couple of Deals for Veterans Day

Halloween is over; we have Veterans Day in less than a week! 

A Couple of Deals for Veterans Day! You'll find a writing paper freebie as well as a patriotic brain break freebie!

I've rounded up a couple of fun deals to share with you!

Here's a collection of paper for writing thank you letters to veterans!  After a lesson or two on what veterans are and how they help us, letter writing is an excellent way to culminate the activities.


A Couple of Deals for Veterans Day! You'll find a writing paper freebie as well as a patriotic brain break freebie!

We know they all need to move. These brain breaks will allow them to move and think about their country.


A Couple of Deals for Veterans Day! You'll find a writing paper freebie as well as a patriotic brain break freebie!

I've noticed my little second graders often confuse the different patriotic holidays, so I made this resource to help them keep track of President's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, and Veterans Day. It's really helped them keep track of which holiday is which!




A Couple of Deals for Veterans Day! You'll find a writing paper freebie as well as a patriotic brain break freebie!


Hope your students end up with a good understanding of Veterans Day!

 
A Couple of Deals for Veterans Day! You'll find a writing paper freebie as well as a patriotic brain break freebie!
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