Five For Friday 11/14

Doodle Bugs Teaching

I look forward to this link up when I remember early enough in the week to actually take pictures!  I think about it on Thursday and I haven't planned well enough and it's a bummer!  I'm on it this week!!! 

I am revisiting a topic I shared at the beginning of this school year and that is helping my kids work on kindness.  We are still enjoying our "kind words" station.  When they finish morning work, they can go get a card from a classmate's pocket on the chart.  They write one kind sentence, a compliment or encouragement to someone and put the card back. When their card is full, they get to start a new one and take the old one home.  Today, there was a line!  I love it when they are willing to stand in line to say something nice to each other. 

What's more traditional at Thanksgiving time than coffee filter turkeys?  We use markers (water based) and have them choose fall colors.  They color all over the coffee filter (doesn't have to be perfect) and then we spray them down with a water bottle.  The color spreads out and blends together, then they dry overnight.  Then we cut the shoe shaped turkey body, add a beak, eyes, and a waddle.  They also add some little turkey feet.  They grace our halls until we're ready to decorate for Christmas.  I think they're really cute even if they are cliche'. 

Color the filter with water based markers (like Crayola), and spray the filter with water.  It spreads and dries. 

Veterans Day is so important.  I wish I could impart to my kids how important our veterans are to our nation.  We read a mini-book about veterans with a buddy. They each made a "poster" with facts and pictures about Veteran's Day. Hopefully, they know a little more than they did before.  Their posters really turned out great! 

Buddy-reading our Veteran's Day book

They turned out really nice.  I love the illustrations which they came up with themselves. 

We are in the middle of our poetry unit.  We are basically just working on the elements of poetry and learning what poetry is.  I have a great book with so many poetry ideas that are scaffolded and mentor some fantastic poems.  I haven't taught a poem from this book that hasn't turned out fantastic.  They are perfect for open house and a poetry book.  For the Love of Language by Nancy Lee Cecil is perfect for ELL's and the whole group.  

My next activity includes finding some foamy stickers at Target Dollar Spot, JoAnn Fabric, or anywhere they might have them.  I bought a variety (the JoAnn stickers were 90% off end of season, so look for them this year and use them next year!)  I sorted them by type and put them in baggies for each kiddo.  It's something the early finishers could do for you.   We have already studied arrays, but this "brings it on home."  I told them they could not have more than 1 sticker left when they made their array. This made them try different configurations and make the most of the stickers.  They had to write the multiplication problem on a sticky and glue it on.  Voila! Colorful arrays!  They had a blast.