super. simple. snowmen.

Last week we compared fiction & non-fiction with snowmen.

The first day we read Snowmen at Night & made an anchor chart about the elements of fiction stories.  {they have illustrations, make-believe elements, a problem/solution, a beginning middle & end, characters and you read it just for fun}

The next day we read How To Make a Snowperson on Reading A-Z and made an anchor chart about the elements of non-fiction stories.  {they have photographs, teach you something, don't have to be read in order, may have a table of contents, labels, etc}

Then we wrote on snowballs to show what we learned!  On the top snowball, they wrote to tell how they know that Snowmen at Night is fiction.  On the bottom snowball, they wrote to tell how they know that How to Make a Snowperson is non-fiction.  The middle snowball was optional and used as differentiation for students who finished quickly or I knew could be challenged with thinking on the next level.  They wrote about whether they like to read fiction or non-fiction books in general, while providing a reason, of course.

Then I got out the scrap bucket of construction paper and let them go to town with hats, gloves, boots, arms, bows or whatever they wanted to create!

They're super cute hanging in the hallway and I figured you'd think so, too. Click the picture below for your free snowball template download!

teaching adjectives.

My kids were having a hard time grasping how to add detail.  {I'm learning that it's a common ESL mistake to invert the sentences and write them out of order.  Never had to deal with this before!}  So we spent an entire week breaking down adjectives based on our five senses.  Each day we focused on one type of adjective and created an anchor chart where we brainstormed descriptive words and gave examples.

We practiced saying a sentence in the proper order to our elbow buddies then I let them choose words from the anchor chart to write their own sentences for practice.  I collected the pages and put them together so they could practice reading and saying detailed sentences at home.

Ours were practical but not super cute because they were just made on lined paper.  {And you know it was a busy busy week if I didn't remember to take any pictures!}

But I made this booklet for you so yours will be fab.  :)  Your kids can write detail words in the box as you brainstorm then practice writing sentences on the lines.  The point is to practice, they don't have to all be connected like in a story.  {ie. Socks smell stinky.  A cake smells delicious.  Lemonade smells fruity.  My mom smells fancy.}

OR if your students grasp the concept a little quicker, they can draw a picture in the box and write about it using lots of different descriptive words - like how a pizza party smells, tastes, sounds, etc.

However you choose to use it, enjoy your freebie, friends!

phonetic spelling

Every class is different.  I know this.  All kids learn differently.  I know and fully believe this as well.  But I can't help but feel like I am doing something wrong when the activities I've always done are just over the heads of my students this year.  My drive tells me it's time to start writing small moment stories with beginning, middle and ending events...but instead we're still trying to sound out words with a focus on beginning, middle and ending sounds.  {sigh}

Blame it on the new school?  Blame it on my teaching?  Blame it on the rain?  {you're welcome children of the 80's}  Nope.  Just brush it off, move on, and create something we can actually use.

If your kids are working on writing down the letters they hear {phonetic spelling} this should switch it up just enough to give them a break from writing letters.  The first page works with words with 3 sounds and the second page uses words with 4 sounds for a bit of differentiation.

I hope you find it to be helpful!

Who is hiding this Halloween?

Another Halloween freebie.  Because it's just fun.  :)  {click on either picture for the free download}

Whatever you call adjectives in your classroom {descriptive words, sparkle words, detail words, adjectives...} your kids will love this activity.  Have your kids draw a picture of themselves in the middle of the bubbles.  {or for a super fun extension use a photo of them in a scary position!}  Then have them write six descriptive words {sparkle words, details, yadda yadda} to fill in the bubble map around them.

Once the writing is complete, give each student one ghost to cut out and glue over their picture.  Be sure they only glue the top part so it pops off the page like a lift the flap book...you want people coming to read your writing to be able to check their predictions!  ;)

You could also challenge your smarties by having them describe a classmate, book character or a classic Halloween spook instead!  Words from the graphic organizer can always be used to then write a sentence {or more} as well.

Super cute, right?!  This idea was totally inspired by Ms. Smith and the craftivity she created for her 3rd graders.  Since my kinds aren't quite ready to write yet, I needed something with a little more structure to support their current level of independence.  But if you want a bigger {cuter!} craft to hang, be sure to go get her unit, complete with templates for the project.

Halloween labeling fun.

Labeling is a fundamental building block for kids who are learning to write.  It is also one of those things that either you get right away, or you don't.  Am I right?

We started by drawing & labeling our families after learning the "How to draw a person" song.  Then we drew pictures of farms and labeled the animals.  I noticed that giving the kids a little push in the right direction made a difference.  I mean, the ones that can already write fill their papers with so many labels you can hardly see the background.  The confident ones label hed 15 times so their words orbit their picture like a halo.  But the ones who need a push seem to do much better with just a little help...like being given the initial sound.

I created this labeling packet for all of your writers.  The first 8 posters have blank lines with a word bank at the bottom.  They can identify the correct word and write it {once!} on the line.  For even more of a challenge, chop off the bottom and let them sound it all out on their own.  For additional support, go through it together {on the SmartBoard or in a small group} and allow them to help you find the matching word.  "Hmmm...I wonder which of these could say cape?  What does cape start with...?"

The next 8 posters don't have a word bank but the initial sound is already written.  Yes, there are a few that might trip them up {shirt, shoes} but that's where the different levels of thinking come in!  An answer key is included for that set.  Whichever you choose {hopefully a combination of the two} there's a space in the title to write the type of costume {or character} to finish it up.

The best part about this is that while it's perfect for Halloween time, it doesn't say the words Halloween, costume or trick-or-treating anywhere on the paper.  So your non-celebrators can still complete the activity.  Or if your kids aren't quite ready for labeling yet, use it when they are and just pretend the characters were over in dramatic play putting on a show.  ;)

I'm even going to laminate a few and put them in my writing center to use year after year for my friends who could use even more practice!

You can get all 16 printables at my TeachersPayTeachers store but those of you who follow me on Facebook already got a bonus freebie last night!  :)  Don't miss out...I love surprising my Facebook fans!

how to draw a person. kindergarten style.

As cute as they are, we don't need amoeba people in kindergarten. You know the ones: circle faces with legs shooting out of the chin and arms sticking out where the ears should be. They're typically blue, purple, green or any other color that skin isn't.

I always start teaching how to draw a person with choosing the appropriate colors. Crayola has multicultural crayons that are fabulous for drawing people. There was some {unnecessary} talk of political correctness when they hit the market, but a product that allows every child the option to represent themselves accurately is nothing but greatness in my eyes.

As I was teaching it this year, I started singing a little song.  I made it up as I went so don't be too critical.  Although, I have to admit, I quite like it.  :)

Yes, your kids will laugh hysterically the first few days you sing this but after a few practices they'll learn to control themselves and use it as a way to check their work. I randomly hear my class singing it now throughout the day and it makes me chuckle, but we don't have naked people hanging in the hall! ;)

like it. love it. {want some more of it?}

Do you like my new blog header?!

Now you can also like my new Facebook page!!

I have 3 days until Open House.  In a brand new classroom. This is clearly the perfect time to be working on my blog, right?!  ;)  I mean, come on.  How much more clean & organized can I get?!

Complete pictures of my room won't be up until Friday {or Saturday morning depending on how exhausted I am after Open House!} but here are few fun centers I put up today.  Woot woot!

My graffiti wall is perfect for the beginning of the year.  Especially for kindergarten when you're not sure whether they'll be coming in writing stories or not yet recognizing their own name.

The crayons are from my friend {and old art teacher} and they are made by Crayola.  They're called Construction Paper crayons and I use them almost solely on black paper.  Look how the colors pop!  This will be a writing or you-need-something-to-be-occupied center for the first couple of weeks.  The beauty of graffiti is...the messier, the better!  No need to switch this one out for a while.

I'm also super pumped to have 2 filing cabinets.  Even if they don't match.  And even if one was accidentally locked before I had the chance to add files.  {thank you to mr. custodian for picking the lock...and my personal MacGyver skills for removing it completely!}

Add some paper & border and voila!  Beautiful magnet center.  All set and ready for sight words, number lines, shape patterns...you name it.  Even I couldn't wait to play with it.  :)

Open House is Thursday night so the rest is coming soon!!  In the meantime, please go and like Little Miss Glamour's Facebook page.  I'll post secret sales, funny kid stories & other teachery things I think you'll like.  And if there's anything in particular you want to see, just ask!!  :)

it be pirate day matey! {ar}

Shiver me timbers it was pirate day!  We usually save pirates for one of our year end themes but this year me teammates were scurvy dogs and decided to choose something else.  I had no choice but to make them walk the plank!!  {or just decide to do pirates on my own}  Lucky for them, Abby has a pirate unit sure to make yas party.

Because the story of Pirate Mark would take a lot of colored ink would only allow one child at a time to read it, I pulled it up on the SmartBoard instead.  I read the story while the kids wrote down /ar/ words they heard {in the packet} then we read the story together and identified all of them.

Then we made ar pirate people to hold our list of /ar/ words.  {one of the many wonders of the world...Monday's Pete craft with ZERO help was a complete success.  today's pirate craft using 100% tracers...nightmare.  note to self: pre-cut next year!!!}  But they did turn out adorable!

Once we left the classroom for lunch we finally began our /ar/ word hunt!  There were 16 /ar/ words hidden around the school {helps to email staff members ahead of time and ask them to be aware!} and when we came upon one they were allowed to break their hallway silence, give a hearty swing of the arm and say arrrr!

They loved that one in the cafeteria line!  :)  I purposely left the last one with our technology teacher and told her not to let them see it until the end of class.

Once we had all 16 {and practiced reading them again} we were off to find an X that held the treasure...candy bars!

And what good is a pirate without a good pirate hat?!  We made these from black construction paper and used the construction paper crayons {a personal favorite} to make jewels.  We've used sequins in the past, I just didn't have time today to wait for them to dry!

This was a great unit from Abby and well worth the money.  And only ONE of my kids was still sounding it out at the end of the day.  {You've been a pirate all day and said arrrr approximately three thousand times...what more do you want from me?!}

I have a special Friday Fashion Find for tomorrow.  Until then...buckle down me hearties, it's almost the weekend!

sheep in a jeep.

What kindergarten teacher doesn't love this book for teaching double e??

I'm using it tomorrow...thanks to some new ideas from Pinterest!

{Saylor's Log}

{a faithful attempt}

{Life in First Grade}

I love that Leslie Ann's sheep are IN a jeep, but I couldn't find a pattern to use.  So...I made one!  :)

Click the picture to download it from Google Docs.  We're going to create small sheep, glue them on a piece of construction paper then cut this out and glue it over top.  Write -ee words in the jeep and display!  {no picture yet...brand new activity!}

Also come back tomorrow for a Linky Party...and BIG news.

{oh man...talk about Eeeeee!!!!}

ed & ing {verb work}

I loosely taught the ing ending at the beginning of the year because it's an easy one to remember.  See ing, say ing! like you're ringing a bell.  Most of them get it just like that...but only in reading recognition, not so much when it comes to writing it themselves.

I figured this was just as good a week as any to teach it during writing, and ed right along with it!  The Teacher Wife made this awesome word ending unit that I bought last year and really used it to teach and practice all week.  {I love how her ed people are old and her ing people are students.  So relevant to past and present!!}

We started by putting ed and ing on the SmartBoard and filling in a 3 column chart with the verb in the middle.  {walked, walk, walking}  To help the kids remember that ing is happening now, I had them get up and act out whatever verb they came up with.

Then they created their own old ed and now ing characters like the ones from the packet.

After that I gave them each an outline with flower pieces.  I wrote either ed or ing in the center of their flower and set them loose to add the ending to whichever verbs they chose!  {Easy differentiation: ed was harder because the students had to know which verbs didn't make sense that way...like rided/rode and which already ended in e so they didn't add it again...like dance.}

They cut grass from the scrap bucket, I added a glitter stem and a sun with their name and voila!  Our verbs are displayed proudly for all to see in a happy spring fashion.  :)

If you'd like to make it yourself, get the packet above from The Teacher Wife or click below for my free flower download!

I'm officially on Spring Break and ready to just relax.  Starting with a trip to see The Hunger Games tonight {finally!}.  Happy Weekend friends!

chick {clue} writing.

You can't go the week before spring break without creating some sort of Easter egg can you?!  I certainly can't!

We dyed eggs this year using Kool-Aid {so much nicer to smell than vinegar!} thanks to Jen Renee.

And we made these cute little chickies with construction paper.  They're similar to the ones we made last year but I added a writing piece.  We've been talking about descriptive language and how it can be like a clue to explain what you're thinking of without really saying it directly so I figured we'd play a little guessing game with people walking by!

Instead of hanging writing and artwork together, I mixed them all up and hug it willy-nilly like.  So if you're looking for a particular child's chick, you'll just have to read their clues to find it!  ;)

 Tip: use a loofah to paint feather-esque prints.

Here's your copy!

P.S. I left with 18 babies today {ah!} but have a feeling there will only be 17 when I go in tomorrow.  Is it bad to pray for a quick release or healing for a chicken?!

{lovie snuggles}

Happy Tuesday Cool Chicks!  {yuk yuk yuk...}