Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Recipes - Tried It Tuesday and SALE!!

Have you ever gotten free recipe cards in the mail, and not know what to do them?
Well take them to school, and use them to teach sequencing, reading directions, and a whole bowlful of other yummy things!
 
I got these recipe in the mail multiple times years ago, and they always came with an opportunity to purchase a cookbook or monthly cards - you know, kind of like a birchbox for the chef of the family.
 
I decide to take them to school to use them for a literacy center.
 
As you can see in the picture below, the students choose a recipe, write about the steps, and illustrate it.
They love it!
The pictures on the recipe cards just make your mouth water!

I also let them choose one recipe that they want copied to take home.
It often makes me laugh at the ones they choose - some are quite complicated but sure look delicious.

I got a nice surprise this year when one of my families sent me a picture on a Sunday of dad and daughter making the pie from our recipe collection.

She even brought in a piece for me to try on the Monday after.
Just one of the perks of the job!
 
Is that not the cutest picture?  It made my day.

Be sure to stop by Holly's blog to get some other great ideas from her Tried It Tuesday linky.
 
And check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store this Thursday and Friday for the big sale!
This is my newest product!
 
 
 
 

Monday, February 10, 2014

O-Lot of Olympics - Monday Made It

My class has caught Olympic Fever!
About two weeks ago I introduced my students to the Team USA website (www.teamusa.org), and the students researched an athlete to create pages for a class guidebook.
My third graders were familiar with some of the athletes already because of the ads that have been on T.V.  It was funny that they knew Ted Ligety more for his cold medicine commerical than for his achievements in skiing!
This is the fact sheet students completed while researching an athlete.
Now that the Olympics has started we are tracking the number of  male and female athletes that have won medals.  My students are especially interested in the athletes that they had researched.  Some are even familiar with the athletes that their classmates researched. 
I hear comments like, "Sarah's guy won a medal!"

We also printed pictures of selected of athletes along with their names and events, and posted them in the hallway to spread excitement for the games.
The hallway banner and guidebook are part of the Olympic product I created.
My students are also doing independent study projects about an athlete of their choice.
Four years ago I had my students do independent projects about a current or former athlete, and they turned out great.
Most students mentioned how hard these athletes had worked and trained to qualify for the Olympics.
These are some examples of projects:

You can find this product in my TpT or TN store through the highlighted links.

My teaching partner and I discovered that the Reading A-Z site has some great resources for reading about the Olympics.
Sorry - it's a bit blurry but hopefully you can see there are many options to choose from.
They have leveled passages about the same athlete for three different reading levels.
We have a school membership to Reading A-Z.
Here's another sample page from this site about the Olympic mascots.
Check out Reading A-Z here.

 This is not a new idea - I saw it on Pinterest over a year ago (and please tell me if this your original awesome idea), and I'm sure many of you do the same thing but still thought I'd share.
It's so much better for my students to have a bookmark in their Reading Response Journals.  We certainly find our current spot much more quickly at this time of year.
I used some chevron ribbon I had left over from another project to make these.
Simply tape the ribbon to the inside of the back cover (I used heavy duty packing tape), and wrap tape around the edge of the ribbon to avoid fraying.


I am certainly inspired by all the great ideas on Tara's Monday Made It.
Check them out on her blog!
 
 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Currently February and a Giveaway!

It's February, and hopefully that means Spring can't be long off. 
That groundhog better show us some love tomorrow.
 
It's time for Farley's Currently.  I love the design this month.
Listening to Covino & Rich on Sirius XM is my guilty pleasure. They are so funny!
 
I am so excited!!! I've been looking at houses for the last few months and found one I love!
I made an offer yesterday and am waiting to hear back.  Fingers crossed!
 
Yes - my report cards are due Monday.  Of course my house will be spotless this weekend as I try out  all my best cleaning avoidance techniques.
 
I've made a deal with myself.  If I get a good chunk of the report cards done today I can head out to the mall and get those earrings.
 
Uh -yeah - another day, another driveway to shovel. That's life here in the Midwest this winter.
 
Number 1 is my fib - I hate running.  I would much rather walk or ride a bike.
I have sung on Good Morning America! I was on vacation in NYC with some family members and we were attending a taping of the show. Diane (Sawyer) asked someone to sing, so I did.  My 15 seconds of fame are up.
 
My niece and her husband had a baby boy at the end of December.  He's adorable!

I am part of a big giveaway this week. 
Carol from Carol's Garden and a slew of awesome bloggers have donated items for this giveaway. 
Check it out and enter below.
Here is a pic of the bundle for grades 3-5.
My best selling Olympic Athlete Research Product if part of the package.
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway