Time for some real talk… Writing is always (I mean ALWAYS!) an area of “opportunity” for my fresh-faced second graders. I’ve decided that writing must be the “summer slip” for first graders. They are out of practice! But, what could I do as their teacher to help rebuild and expand on their writing? I found that my students have tremendous… Read More
Thanksgiving Writing: No Turkey for Thanksgiving Persuasive Writing Activity
Hey Guys! WOW! It’s been WAY TOO BUSY over here in Applicious Teacher land! I just wanted to pop in and share with you how our “No Turkey for Thanksgiving?!” writings turned out. Setting the Stage with a Book At the beginning of the week, we read one of my fave Thanksgiving books, “Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving”. (affiliate link) … Read More
Space- The Final Frontier…
I love teaching about space! Maybe it’s growing up in Florida, but there’s just something about learning about what’s beyond that gets me super excited! Space is not in our curriculum (BOO!) but I was able to work it in by using our weekly story, “The Moon”, as a launching point. (Hehe- see what I did there ;)) Here are… Read More
Gettin’ Cranky with Crankenstein
Have you ever read a book and just thought…“You are perfect! You will be my favorite.” I knew you would understand that feeling! #bookloversunite! Well… I had that exact moment with the book, Crankenstein by Samantha Berger. Here are a few Crankenstein activities we completed this past week! You can check out this book on Amazon by clicking here or on… Read More
Writing Folder FREEBIE
Something amazing happened this year… somewhere between learning how to do multiplication and our weekly close reading sessions… My class became writers. You heard me right… WRITERS! For realsies, folks. Every time I turn around, my kiddos have notebook paper on their desks and they are writing. They’re writing stories, poems, chapter books, information booklets. I can barely contain my… Read More
Cynthia Rylant- Author Study
Can you believe it is November already?! Where has the time gone? I thought I’d pop in today and share our little author study with you this week. I fell in love with Cynthia Rylant’s work about 5 years ago when I was introduced to her “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books through my reading series. I had heard of her… Read More