Language Arts

Scaredy Squirrel Freebie

Scaredy Squirrel, we love you! We’ve spent the last week looking at a variety of Scaredy books. Well, not Halloween or Christmas, but all the others! Like most 6-year-olds, my class adores these books. Before we read the birthday party book I had my kids predict what they thought Scaredy was afraid of this time! He’s such a silly squirrel. … Read more

What Do Pumpkins Need?

Part of our Grade 1 science curriculum is the needs of plants. I was trying to think of a way to jazz it up a bit this year and I came up with this. I enlarged the image above (you can click it to grab) on our school photocopier to 11 by 14. Below each of the three pumpkins I … Read more

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Last week was mostly about turkeys. Here are a few activities we completed. These tie-dyed turkeys were super easy to make. I gave the children a coffee filter which they covered in felt pen (no black or brown allowed). I asked them to cover most of the filter; it’s okay if some of it is left white. Also, it doesn’t … Read more

Rosie the Hen Meets Pete the Cat

If you’ve been teaching as long as I have then you’re probably familiar with this great book by Pat Hutchins: Rosie’s Walk. Rosie goes for a walk, never noticing the fox following her. The text is very simple yet engaging. The illustrations are quite comical — the fox always makes you laugh. What’s really cool about this book though, is … Read more

Small Pod Sharing

Years ago I went to a district workshop where a teacher, who had just finished her masters, was sharing her writing idea called “Small Pod Sharing”. This is how it works: I give groups of two or three children half a piece of chart paper. My only instructions are to draw and write on the paper. Sometimes I give them … Read more

Play and Write

Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold. — Joseph Chilton Pearce With only a few more days of school left, I’ve been looking for some fun, relaxing writing ideas. My latest brain wave is called “Play ‘n Write”.  It’s so simple that it makes me wonder why I never thought of it before. We’ve been … Read more

Writing In Grade One

Teaching writing to my first graders is one of my favourite parts of the day. Most of my ideas about effective writing instruction are gleaned from years of reading Regie Routman, Lucy Calkins and Katie Wood Ray. These women don’t know it, but they are my cherished, personal mentors. I strongly believe (as do the authors above) that the single … Read more

Easter Egg Writing Freebie and Easter Bunny Art

Inside: Directions and printable for Easter writing, plus some Easter bunny art. If you’re looking for a last minute easy Easter writing activity, you might want to try this: Stories using Easter stickers as writing prompts. Be sure to read to the bottom because there’s also a super cute rabbit art project. All I did was let the kids choose … Read more