Valentine's Day Card and Puzzle

     If you are looking for something fun to give to your students for Valentine's Day. I have something that you may be interested in downloading, for free! I have made a fun Valentine's Day card, and turned it into a puzzle. I have provided puzzles for both girls and boys, into one easy printable. They are ready to be printed, signed and cut out for your kiddos to enjoy.

Before saving yourself a copy:

1) Please understand that these freebies are for personal and single classroom use only. 

2) Please do not alter, resell, redistribute, or claim any of these printables as your own. 

How to save yourself a copy:

1) Left click on the image, to see it's original size.
2) Right click, and click on "Save Image As".

3) Click "Save".

     I would like to thank Nikki Casassa from Melonheadz Illustrating, and Kimberly Geswein for providing their sweet artwork to help make this printable possible.

     P.S. If you love freebies, I do have an exclusive Teacher Appreciation subway art printable available until Jan. 23rd. After the 23rd, this freebie will no longer be offered. If you are interested in grabbing this freebie, you can do so by clicking here! I hope you enjoy both of these terrific freebies!! Thanks again!

How to Catch a Snowflake! FREEBIE!

We had a crazy week last week......two snow days, a 2 hour delay, and one full day....CraZy!

You can guess what was on everyone's mind........

SNOW!!

So we decided to harness that excitement into an art activity and some writing. 

First, we talked about catching a snowflake....what it feels like....what you have to do to catch one.

Next, we did the art activity and the planner.

Then we worked on turning the planner into polished writing. We're still polishing them, so I don't have pictures of the writing for you....but they are a.DOR.able!

To grab a copy of the planner & writing papers, just click on the image below!

Happy Winter!

It's About TIME I remembered to add this post!

Time Flies 

Head on over to see what I have been doing lately! 

I can not believe it is half way through the school year. I have been such a busy girl. What have you been busy doing?

Telling Time in Second Grade is a concept we worked on during our 3rd math unit this year. Common Core Standard: 2.MD.7: Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes.

 We were able to practice, practice, practice telling time, setting clocks, drawing clocks, making clocks, and we even explored elapsed time!  (I wish I had taken pictures during this unit, but I did not.) 

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 Time to Head on Over

 Here is a  Sneak Peak of what you will see and there is a special surprise too!

Reading A-Z Differentiated Close Reading Packs!

Hi everyone! My name is Jenny and I am so thrilled to be a new contributor for A Class*y Collaboration! 



I am a reading specialist for grades 2-6 near Cincinnati, Ohio, and I blog at Luckeyfrog's Lilypad. My blog focuses on tips for new teachers, organizational strategies, and integrating science and social studies content into literacy learning.

One of my favorite literacy resources is a subscription to Reading A-Z.



Reading A-Z is best known for their multitude of printable mini-books at nearly every reading level. (Note: they are not the same as guided reading levels, but there is an easy chart to convert between them and some other common reading level systems.)

I do love the mini-books- particularly because they come completely ready, with lesson plans, and often pages for word work and comprehension practice. They are wonderful for both a typical guided reading lesson, or for quick sub plans that are still high quality- and I can print as many as I need!

My new favorite resources on the site, though? Close reading packs! Each pack centers around a broad question, often integrating science and social studies themes. For instance, the pack I taught first asked, “What do all baby mammals need to live?”



The pack comes with four differentiated passages that all help to answer this question. As I told my class, we were researching. We were investigating!



And by using differentiated packs, I was able to give each group an interesting passage that they could read well and be the “expert” on for the rest of the class!



After our introduction, I sent each group around the room to read and highlight the information they found that might help answer the central question.



The passages are one page, front and back, with photographs for non-fiction. The close reading packs even have one connecting mid-level passage that can be projected and read together for modeling.



After reading, we got together to recap what each group learned about their animal’s needs- and then we practiced drawing conclusions to answer the central question. (We did this in their reading journals, which you can find out more about here. )



ALL of my students got a chance to do higher-level thinking and be accountable for their reading, but I was still able to differentiate their learning.  (And they LOVED the passages!)

(And no, Reading A-Z has not given me anything or asked me to review these—I’ve just been so impressed and I think they add so much rigor while still differentiating!)

If you’ve never tried out Reading A-Z, they do have a short-term free trial :) I think the subscription is worth every penny, though- and I can’t wait to try more of these passages!

Thanks for reading- I’m so excited to be joining the talented bloggers here at A Class*y Collaboration!

BUMPing Along...

Tomorrow, I'm beginning to work with a couple of new groups of 4th graders that have not mastered multiplication fact fluency. Games are my favorite way to get that mission accomplished!

Here's a doubles BUMP game to get us started.

Click the picture above to grab your own copy. ENJOY!

If you'd like the addition version click over to my blog, First Grade a la Carte, to grab it!

Friday Freebie: Get Well Soon Printable Cards

     When I was young, I spent a lot of time in the hospital. I had many surgeries throughout my childhood. On a few occasions,  my teachers sent me sweet little cards and some goodies from my friends in school. As a kid, being in the hospital is really scary. I never knew what to expect. When my teachers sent in things like this, it made me feel a little bit better about my being in the hospital and dealing with what I had to.
     Now that I've grown, I have tried to show my love and support to those who have had to stay in the hospital (for whatever reason). I have made small quilts for kids, and donated them to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. This hospital is one of the many that I stayed in. It holds a special place in my heart! This is also the hospital that one of my elementary school teachers brought in cards from my friends in school. It meant so much to me to see, how much others cared about me and wished me well. 
     Service is the best way to show support to those who are suffering. If you are looking to provide service to your students that  are sick, or have had  to stay in the hospital, I have made a cute little "Get Well Printable Card" set. They are free. To get a copy, just click on the image below. I hope you like them!

New Year's Fun and a Free Font For You!

Isn't this week so weird? It seems like the whole world missed at least two days, due to weather. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Well, we had fun with a New Year's Craft and journaling today. Check it out.


JOURNAL CREDIT - January February Common Core

 

Free New Year's Craft - Cupcake!

Although, I'm back in the swing of things in my chilly school, my sleep schedule is behaving like it's still Winter Break. Yikes! Then I drink a 5 hour energy because I'm so exhausted during the day and here I am, right back into the vicious cycle.
Do not fear. Tomorrow is Friday. 

Friday means freebies, but why wait? 

Would you like a free font?
Here ya go!

 

 

 

 

I just added 8 new fonts and I have 5 Valentine's fonts available, too! Check some of them out in THIS POST.

Oh, and THAT POST also tells you an easy way to grab another new font for free and enter to win some $50 gift cards! Why wouldn't you?