Wrapping Up The Quarter and A Freebie

Aloha friends!  It is the final week of first quarter and I am wrapping up some items in my classroom.  The last few weeks we finished up with life cycles and ended  with frogs.  On Friday for art I wanted to do a frog craft, but time got away from me and I just didn't have time to prep it.  So I thought it would be fun to do a directed drawing.  Kristen from Doodle Bugs Teaching was my inspiration.  She always has such cute pictures of her kids drawings.

Well I found a great step by step frog drawing from Heidi Songs. This is what the kids came up with...

They were all so similar, but each had their own style.  They drew them will all kinds of expressions and had tons of fun with it.  

This week is a little more hectic.  I have to finish all of my assessments and I have had tons of kids out sick.  Today I had 4 out!  On top of that I am out at a workshop Tuesday and Wednesday.  One person from each of our grade levels had to attend this workshop on creating writing rubrics.  I think this is a great topic, but not the last week of the quarter!

So I prepped for a sub for the next few days.  Instead of our usual Daily 5 rotations the kids will be reading The Enormous Turnip from our basal reader.

Our school uses the Harcourt Trophies series which is not at all aligned to Common Core.  I take bits and pieces that I can use and when there is a sub I always go right to it.

When I read a new story I like to go over the vocabulary and make a flip book with the class.  

We fold a piece of 8x11 piece of paper and write the 6 vocabulary words on the front.

On the inside the students have to write the meaning of the word and then use it in a sentence.  I allow them to draw pictures to help with their definitions.  Then they cut the top page to open up their book. It's a nice alternative to a regular worksheet. 

I don't usually xerox it, but I did for the sub.  If you would like a copy of the template click on the picture to take you to Google Docs. 

I also left this book for the sub to read:

They will compare the two stories and discuss the similarities between the two.  The students are then going to brainstorm synonyms for "enormous" and choose a different vegetable to write their own version of the story.

I am hoping the easy format of the Enormous Turnip will help motivate them to create some fun stories.

If you would like a copy of the template click on the picture.

Hopefully when I get back on Thursday my students who have been sick will be back and I can finish up assessments.  I am really looking forward to having a week off to recoup for my upcoming conferences.

I look forward to learning more about writing rubrics tomorrow and sharing out with you soon!