And there were more.... Earth Day Freebies!

Denise at Sunny Days in Second Grade is holding an Earth Day Freebie Linky.  Not only are there some amazing freebies to grab, but her post about her school's theme, Get Into a Green Routine, is absolutely inspiring!! 

To read more about her school's theme and to grab some fantastic freebies, head to Sunny Days in Second Grade!

Parts of Speech Flap Book

To review parts of speech, my students made a flap book.  They are already strongly familiar with nouns, verbs, and adjectives but I wanted them to have a visual and reference in order to find these parts of speech in their own writing.

To begin with, we color coded nouns as red, verbs as blue, and adjectives as green.  Inside each flap, they were to write a short definition of each one.

Using a strategy I call Say-n-Pass (directions are below), students brainstormed examples of nouns, verbs, and adjectives recording them in the flap book as they went.

1.  A prompt/question is given by the teacher.

2.  Teacher chooses a number from each team to start, and they give a quick verbal answer.

3.  Going clockwise, students continue to respond to the prompt/question given by the teacher until everyone has shared or until time is up.

         

When students were finished brainstorming they located and, according to color, circled the parts of speech in their own writing.  What my students discovered on their own was that they had a lot of nouns and verbs, but adjectives were few and far between.  As a result of their own discoveries, they determined that they needed to focus on adding more adjectives to their writing!

Not only was the creation of the flap book good for review, it was a fantastic visual for referencing these particular parts of speech in their own writing.

Laura Candler at Corkboard Connections is having a Fantastic Foldable Freebies Link Up.  To see more fantastic foldables, click the button!

Anchor Chart Linky

Kristen from Ladybug's Teacher Files and Ms. M have collaborated in an Anchor Chart Linky Party.  It is all about the Anchor Charts!  Every year my room is covered with charts.  I love them!  I'm sad to say that the time is coming when I will have to take them down.  It is always sad not only for me but for my students.  They rely on these charts and feel ownership. 


Here are a couple of my favorites.  Until the past couple of years, most of my anchor charts have been centered around Language Arts.  After seeing the power in those, I started incorporating Math also.  This  was an interactive chart.  We copied each figure and tested for rotational symmetry.  It was a great visual for students. 

This chart, which has turned more into a wall, has worked wonders.  It provides students with a visual of the root word and prefix and/or suffix.  Around each word the meaning of the prefix and suffix is given along with spelling changes that may have occurred.  I laminate these words and am able to use them over again each year.  The only thing that I replace is the paper.  We add the words as they are introduced.  By the end of the year, we have approximately 100 words.

 

To find more anchor charts or to link up, stop by Ladybug's Teacher Files or Ms. M's!

3rd-5th Grade Linky Party

Lorraine from Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies is having a linky party to gather upper elementary blogs.  As a 4th grade teacher and former 5th, I heart the upper grades!  I'm excited for the opportunity to link up and explore.  To participate or simply look around, head on over to Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies!

You Know You're a Teacher When...

You have nightmares that you forgot to take down all the anchor charts in your room on the day of state testing and get caught!

Oh the truth in this!  I think this is becoming a recurring dream for me for weeks leading up to our MAP test.

Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle is having a You Know You are a Teacher When.... linky.  What a great idea!!  These are so funny and SO true!

What Do You Love? Linky Party

Funky First Grade Fun is having a What Do You Love? Linky Party.  Here is a little bit of what I love!

Love to Joplin Linky Party

As a fellow Missouri teacher, I want to share in the giving!  May 22, 2011 is still fresh in my mind even though we are 70 miles east of Joplin.  I have pictures of the sky that I took from my front porch  after the tornado, and I didn't even know the true devastation that was left so close to home. 

Even though I wasn't personally impacted, watching Extreme Makeover this evening brought tears to my eyes.  The people of Joplin have endured so much, yet they find the courage and compassion to march on and help each other.  It is absolutely amazing!

Erica, a Joplin kindergarten teacher, is looking for support for their teachers and she wrote this:

I teach in Joplin, which made worldwide news last May when our town was cut in half by an F5 tornado. Many of our elementary schools were destroyed or damaged, and as teachers, we have had a roller coaster year. I came from a meeting yesterday where many are struggling with the weight of all we are dealing with. My request is this: would you be willing to donate a created pack of your choosing to give away at a drawing at our upcoming district Kindergarten grade level meeting? The meeting is Monday and I am sorry for the short notice but I did not realize until the meeting how down everyone is feeling. 

Do you want to help spread the love?  Head on over to Mrs. Wills Kindergarten to help out!