Snow Globe Adventure

Hi Everyone,

My class just finished something up that you can do this winter.  We read a story I created called, Snow Globe Adventure.  It is about two kids who aren’t used to winter but get to have a winter day anyway. I was inspired to write this story because I couldn't find a snow globe story I liked or even related to in a small way. I just wanted something with a simple plot and a purpose.  This story helps kids look at things from a different perspective.

As some of you know, I am a native to Arizona and did not grow up with snow, except the occasional trip to the mountains. So the story stems from a different point of view, than many others who enjoy (or not) a very long winter with heavy snow. I think it is shocking to those students living in states that have real seasons, that not everywhere does. 

One of the activities that I have that goes with the story is to write a story using the prompt, where would the snow globe take you?  This prompt allows students to dream up any magical place they are thinking of.  I have also done other prompts where students are trapped inside the snow globe and they have to figure out a way to get out. However, the great thing about this unit, it is up to you as the teacher to come up with whatever prompt that fits what you are doing in class. Here is the front cover of the prompt we used. 

What I did to help make these snow globe stories was to copy the front page template on card stock.  I also made many copies of the middle writing template (these are also adjustable to fit you classroom writing needs), and used the last page template as a place for students to write about the author.  Students got a chance to write about themselves and draw a picture.  I would also recommend if you had a student picture handy to add that on the last page (I just didn’t).

Here are some pictures of the final product.

If interested in the unit, just follow the link.

Snow Globe Adventure

Enjoy!

Erin

Polar Express

Merry Christmas!

Countdown to winter break, 6 more work days! There are lots of things going on this week and next. This week we are working on a snow globe project that I will write about in my next post.

I did want to tell you about next week and my class reading The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.  This is actually the start of a month long author study I am doing in January (more to come about this as well). As I am sure you know, Polar Express is a cute book and great a movie you can squeak in just before break.  I have made a lit unit is great that goes along with it but I wanted to share the craftivity that goes along with the unit.

I am going to have the students put together a train that is travelling to the North Pole. On the train cars the students have to summarize the beginning, middle, and end of the book. The train goes onto a long piece of construction paper that can be either black or white. For my example, I chose black to represent the night sky. However, I think white can work well too, if students wanted to draw the setting as the train was travelling up the mountain.

Below is an example of the project.

Here is the link to the Polar Express Lit Unit w/craftivity and link to the Chris Van Allsburg Author Bundle.

Polar Express

Van Allsburg Bundle

Have a great break!

Erin

Turkey for Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for this post so close to Thanksgiving but as you know, school life can be crazy.  We are working this week on A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting for Thanksgiving week.  This is one of my favorite reads this time of year because many students have one perspective throughout the whole book and realize they were wrong at the end.

If you have not read the book, I’ll give a quick synopsis.  Mr. and Mrs. Moose are hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Mrs. Moose really wants a turkey for Thanksgiving, so Mr. Moose promises to get her one.  Mr. Moose goes looking for a turkey and runs into other Thanksgiving dinner attendees on the way that join the search (the Goats, the Rabbits, etc.). They finally find a turkey hiding by the riverbank.  They capture him and bring him back to Mr. Moose’s house.  They then all sit down to dinner only for Turkey to realize they got him a chair and he is NOT dinner but rather a guest.

One writing activity that I did with my students was to have them each disguise a turkey to hide from Thanksgiving.  Then write a story about how the turkey avoided being eaten.  My students came up with some great ideas such as a piano, peacock, rapper, ninja turtle, and more.  To give something a little extra, I had a bag of googly eyes that if students wanted, they could glue them on the turkey for eyes.

The students had a lot of fun and even asked if they could do this next week J. I always find that good news!

Click here if interested in the literature unit - Turkey for Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Erin

10 Ways Parents Can Help Their Child With Math

Hi Everyone!

     Next week I have parent teacher conferences coming up and wanted to be able to hand out something for parents to help their child at home with math.  There are so many ways parents can integrate math with their children and have fun while doing it. I built a chart/poster for parents to use at home to help with math ideas. There is a color poster and a black and white version available.

    I plan on handing this out to parents as I go through conferences. I have posted them for free in my TPT store. If interested please follow the link and download them for yourself. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/10-Ways-Parents-Can-Help-with-Math-2195914

    Also, please consider following my blog and store for future updates, freebies, and products.

Thanks,

Erin Hansen

Mrs. Hansen’s Helpfuls

Clip art credit belongs to 

Creative Clips and Educlips

Sarah, Plain and Tall: Reading strategy for those reading strugglers.

Hi Everyone!

I just finished reading the small chapter book, Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan last week. I read this every year with my third graders but have also read it with my fourth grade class. I have taught this lesson with just me reading the book to the class and also in groups where everyone has their own book. 

This year, each student had their own book and I was able to integrate the reading strategy of breaking down each chapter of the book.  This is great for grades 2- 4 because when they are just starting chapter books, it helps them understand how to chunk information. We all have natural readers in our classes but this strategy really helps the struggling readers.

After each chapter students needed to think about the main idea/event in that chapter and then draw a picture + write two sentences about it. I was really happy with the results. Everyone passed the final assessments for the book and characters.

Here are some examples of what my students accomplished. 

This reading strategy really helped make my struggling readers more confident in participating and with overall understanding about the book’s development.

If interested in this particular unit just follow the link.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

I hope this strategy works well in your classroom too!

Thanks,

Erin

Multi-Step Word Problems

Hi Everyone,

Last week I wanted to have my students practice addition and subtraction multi-step word problems.  I really wanted them to dissect a problem and analyze it.  So I created some word problems to help them do just that!

The results turned out great. The students learned a lot and kept asking to do more.

Word Problem Example

Word Problem Example Answer

This is how I used the word problems in my classroom:

1.     I placed students into different math groups about 4-5 students.

2.    Each student had to have a different color marker from a person in their group (and no yellow allowed).

3.    I placed a butcher paper down for each group and gave them one word problem per group to solve.

4.    Each member had to work on the problem and had to be able to explain how to do it.

5.    For the final part: I did it two separate ways. One way, I had each group present one of the word problems to the class. The second way we went over each problem using the SMART board. (I used the answer cards given in this unit.

(I used these word problems for three separate math lessons but easily could have made an entire week out of it.)

Students working on one of the word problems.

It was great to be able to walk around the room and be able to observe the students working together and know what each had contributed.  It was really easy to see whose colored marker was not being used to help solve the problem.

Let me know how your word problem lessons turn out!

If you are interested in this one just follow link below.

Multi-Step Word Problems

Thanks,

Erin

Johnny Appleseed Graphic Organizer Extensions FREE

Hi!

Next week we will be working on our Johnny Appleseed unit. I have some freebies that I would like to share that can go along with most Johnny Appleseed units you already have or can get free on the Internet.

I have collected so many different stories and articles on John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed. I wanted to have something that could really implement some common core strategies of comparing similar texts.  I created a graphic organizer you can use to compare different articles (for example on Johnny Appleseed).

The other freebies I have included is to use with a nonfiction piece or legend article on Johnny Appleseed.  Students can fill out a profile sheet on John Chapman, his motivations, and track his movement across America.

The final sheet can be used as a mini writing assessment of what they have learned about John Chapman. To get this freebie, follow the hyperlink below. It will take to you to the download.  You may consider following for more freebies to come!

Link to Johnny Appleseed Freebie 

Enjoy!

Erin

Dear Mrs. LaRue Craftivity

Hi,

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post! I have been busy doing many new literature units.  My class is currently studying the author Mark Teague. He has written stories such as The Lost and Found, the “Dear Mrs. LaRue” series, The Secret Shortcut, and much more.

Last week’s focus was on the book Dear Mrs. LaRue. This is about a dog that gets put into obedience school because his owner thinks he behaves badly. Throughout the story, the dog Ike writes his owner Mrs. Larue about his side of the story.  This book is a great way to teach a character’s point of view.

I also did a little activity that to help teach the point of view of both Mrs. LaRue and Ike.  The students create a Brotweiler Academy (this is the obedience school that Ike gets sent to).  The outside of the craft is a drawing of the Academy and on the inside; students write the two different points of view and draw an accompanying picture.  The following are pictures of the final craft that my students completed and my teacher example.

If you are interested for the templates and a literature study that goes with this book, follow the link below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dear-Mrs-LaRue-Book-Study-with-Activities-Vocab-Spelling-and-Craft-1396895

Enjoy!

Erin Hansen

Fun craft for summer vacation stories.

Hi Everyone!

So this week we have been working on summer vacation stories.  To go with this theme, I read the story How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Chris Van Allsburg.  This is a great story about a kid with a wild imagination.  I then had students write about their favorite summer vacation story. Once they wrote this we practiced editing skills which no one thought they needed! WRONG, lol.

Afterwards, I was inspired by a fellow teacher, who I like to call Amazing Amy (yes, she wears a cape) to do a similar activity craft she was doing with her student’s summer vacation stories. So I created a half sheet final draft sheet for their stories. I posted this below in a PDF link - Free.

Final Draft Link

I used a sunglasses pic from the website http://www.clker.com/clipart-black-and-white-sunglass-frames.html which is a free clipart site. Students colored the glasses and put mini-scene pics in the glass part of the glasses.

After students finished writing their final drafts and cut-out their completed sunglasses, I took them to attach to a long piece of construction paper. I pasted the story at the bottom and sun glasses above for students to draw their face and neck.

I think their final story and craft turned out great!

Thanks,

Erin

Butterfly Activity

Hi Everyone!

I am back in full swing at school and just completed my first week!  It was a full week and I have a crazy new schedule that I have to get used to.  However, I have a lot of great new students and have been doing many activities to help create a nice positive learning environment.  One of the activities that I did last week was this butterfly activity. I have done this several times in the past and other teachers have been asking me about it this year.  

This butterfly activity is a getting to know you, where students are paired up and have to complete this butterfly with is actually a Venn Diagram about similarities and differences of each student.

Here is how I put it together.

1.Pair students into partners of 2. Each partner gets a wing (one gets the right, and one gets the left).

2.Together they fill out things they have in common on the body of the butterfly.

3.Then they discuss their differences. This talk may sound like, what’s your favorite movie? or How many pets do you own? They put their differences on their wing.

4.Then students each color their own wing and decide how to color the body.

5.Students cut out each wing (do NOT cut off the black tabs) and cut out the butterfly body.

6.Then (up to you) but as the teacher I taped the butterfly wings on the back of the body.

7.Then as the teacher I took one pipe cleaner and bent it in the middle to have to equal halves. I taped the middle to the back of the body and curled the ends to make it look like antennae. 

This is the end result:

So now I have a great new bulletin board for parents to see when they come next week for parent night!

 See the Butterfly Activity on TPT.

Have Fun,

Erin

Place Value Mats

I can't wait to use these this year. I have done these in the past and wanted to update them to bring them back into my math curriculum. These are Place Value Mats that can be used all year for different math activities.

There are many different types of math lessons that you can do with the place value mats. The top reasons are to help students understand what place value is, writing numbers, help students say numbers, and to help students write numbers.


Other ideas I have come up with include.

Lesson Ideas for

the Place Value Mat

1.For beginning lessons go over vocabulary with students. Give tips on how to read and say a number.

2.As a whole class, everyone has their boards out. The teacher tells the students a number out loud to the whole class (repeat several times). This is great for informal assessing because it is easy to see which students get it and which don’t. After everyone has their boards complete, the teacher writes the number on the board.

3.In partners or small groups, one student builds the number (use privacy folder) and then has to say the number aloud. The other students have to build their number.

4.To emphasize the place in place value, have students build the number by only giving bedroom name and number. Example: There is a 2 in the tens place and a 4 in the ten thousands place.

5.To show adding and subtracting by 1,000, 100, 10’s.  Example: Build a number such as 23,789. Then ask students to add a 1,000 but take away 100. The new number is 24,689.

6.Use the mat to demonstrate rounding for different number values.

7.Students can practice differing money amounts.

8.Students write the standard form and the written form for each number. 

**Click here for a word form/standard form blog only freebie.**

If you are interested in the whole set to create the place value mats, you can find them here. 

Place Value Mats

I typically laminate these mats so students can use these all throughout the year.

Erin

All About Me

Okay, well not all about me really but rather my All About Me stuff that I will be using at the beginning of the year. I created some different posters for students to do that first week back  in school. I wanted to share this blog only freebie with you. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Erin

Click here to download this freebie.



If you are interested in the full product, you can find it here:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Me-Posters-for-Back-to-School-Activities-1976905

Fresh Start to the School Year? Well Maybe Not.

Hola!

If I  haven't already told you, I have been moving into a new classroom at the same school I have been at for 14 years. School for me starts in a few weeks and it is HOT here in Arizona!  I went to my classroom yesterday (with NO air conditioning) to look at my new room and organize a little bit. OH MY, what did I get myself into?  At the end of the year, I had enough time to physically move my stuff into my new room.  With that said, my new classroom looks like a cyclone hit it. Well I have to start somewhere, so I started with putting student books on the shelves.  This is a good place to start but was quickly ruined when I was emptying my library bin full of books when something CRAWLED over my hand and landed back in the bin.  I screamed needless to say. It is something I can't stand, I don't do spiders, lizards, snakes, etc. but I especially do NOT do scorpions!

These nasty little creatures are something this native Arizona girl will never get used to!  I don't even want to go back to unpack anything else. I envision myself only returning in a bee keeper or hazmat suit to sort through the other boxes full of wonderful surprises! Or perhaps I will just teach outside under a tree and use umbrellas if it rains (haha that was a joke, I live AZ remember). My fellow third grade teacher has told me I am being ridiculous and it was like I found a mouse or something.  I was like ummm bring on the mice - that I can live with. :) .



Anyone else found any nasty creepy crawlies in your classrooms?




Seriously, I am sure I am being ridiculous.

Sincerely,

Erin the Scorpion Hunter


Clipart by EduClips

How to help setup a routine for the school year with journals

Hi Again Everyone!

So as I have been looking into what I want to start the year, I have pulled up and revamped my journals.  These journals are one of my best kept secrets.  I have been doing them for at least 12 years.  When I first started them I was in a district that literally just focused on Reading and Math.  This particular district asked for 2 hours per day of each. If you got in something else, then great.  I combined my annoyance with a lack of a writing program with my need to engage the kids in something when they first walk in the door.

I think most teachers have this issue, morning starts, a million questions that need answering NOW, and the goofing off of students who have no direction when they first get into the classroom.  This is that stale time while we are waiting for announcements and turning in our homework. So I thought to start a daily journal.  My first draft of journals were from books I had purchased and a mix of this and that but it still took MY time.  Then one summer I bit the bullet and decided to create a journal that I could use that doesn't take any extra work from me (because remember the mornings are crazy time).

So what I came up with a full journal of prompts that I created and I copy (36 weeks worth) and put it into a binder for each student at the beginning of the year.  Ok - done with that, morning fixed.  Well almost, it takes a week or two to get the students accustomed to them but once they get into the routine, these journal TIME SAVERS, work like a charm.

Journal Freebie

To set up this journal routine I install for the morning I start the year off with explaining to them that they must fill them out all the way (and yes I teach third graders).  I typically get the big eyes but they get over it quickly. I do want to note however that I know we all have those students that just CAN'T write that much.  It is okay, we are just setting up expectations.  I also tell students that they need to use normal handwriting which brings up another great benefit to journaling.  Students handwriting improves quickly by having to write inside the lines. There are only 4 journal prompts per week which goes well because it gives a little extra room for students who have not finished theirs each day. However, there are days I like to give an extra prompt, just to see what they have learned that week or something else tied to the theme we are working on. I call these Friday Journal Templates. I even take these as a quick assessment on writing or other concept I am asking about.  

As an overview these journals have been my time saver because it gives the students something to do first thing in the morning. Once in the routine my students come in, put their backpacks away, turn in their homework, and get out their journal.  This has kept my classroom rather calm in the morning because students have direction and it allows me to take attendance, answer students questions, take lunch count, or respond to emails without the crazy morning kids. Just click on the student examples pic if you would like a freebie for you to try it out for yourself.  Also, I put a link below to my store if you are interested in the full year bundle.  I would love to hear how it has worked for you!


Thanks,
Erin Hansen

Full year journal link

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Said no teacher ever! Love this video.

For all of us teachers out there! This video is hilarious!

The summer is coming to an end!

Hi Everyone,

I am dreading the end of summer but at the same time excited to start a new year.  I have so many things to do and I know that you are thinking the same thing. This is the chatter that is going on inside my head.

What was it again, that great thing I wanted to accomplish this summer?  Oh well I guess I didn't do  it.

Wait, some sort of new lesson plans?

Ok, well I guess I have to really focus on what I need to start the year.


I know that we all have those grand plans of things we wanted to accomplish over the summer but if you are anything like me, it was time for a break and to spend it with family and friends.  I have a two and a four year old that I have been blessed with and have loved spending this whole summer with them.

However, it is now time to get back to business.  I am switching to a new room this year after being in my previous room for 12 years.  It is just one classroom over but the move is throwing me for a loop.  I strive to be a very organized person and hope putting the new room goes to together quickly and smoothly.

For my next few posts I will be discussing some of the things that I love starting the year with.  I am hoping that everyone's summer went well and I just want to say Welcome Back!

-Erin Hansen

                                                    Blue skies ahead :).