Tops and Bottoms Envelope Books

I’m linking up with Amanda from The Teaching Thief to share a project that I really intended to post about months ago.

One of my favorite projects from this last year was our envelope books we made after we read Tops and Bottoms.  We were able to cover a boatload of skills and we had fun doing it!



These are the same basic book as the map skills books I posted about here.  This time we added reading skills. They turned out really cute.



One of the things I love about this project is the ability to get multiple grades from it.  I graded each skill separately so ended up with 5 grades from this project.



I adore the kids’ illustrations!  They do such a great job.



And…there’s a pocket to put junk really important stuff, like vocabulary cards, in.

If you haven’t made envelope books with your class yet, you should.  Really.  It’s not hard and you can find step-by-step directions here.

UPDATE: I have now added the Tops and Bottom Envelope Book templates to my TpT store. You can check them out here.

2 comments foldables, Reading Skills

CSI: Inferences cont.

I recently posted about some of the activities I used to teach my class about inferences.  I’m continuing the post today with one more activity from my inferencing bag of tricks.



Evidence Bags Our final “fun” activity was to look at some evidence bags I had collected. Once again this was some trash I found around my house but I didn’t tell them that. The trash was stored in resealable bags so that it looked like real evidence.



In this case, we didn’t have much evidence to look at but we ended up spending a lot of time analyzing it! I wanted the kids to tell me whose trash this was and what was wrong with them. There isn’t enough evidence here for them to figure out an exact person but I wanted them to be able to tell me whether it was a child or an adult. It’s obvious that this person was sick but I wanted a more specific description. What kind of illness did this person have? I started with the cough drops and then moved on to the cough syrup.  At this point they had a good idea about the illness but were stumped on whether it was a child or an adult.  They really got stumped with the Sudafed but one of my bright kids suggested we look at the dosing instructions to find out what age this medicine is intended for.  Each kid had their own chart to fill in as we went.





This is my second evidence bag.  I told the class that I found this trash at the ball park in town.  Once again, I wanted them to figure out who (child or adult; male or female) and what might have happened. 



My class was uber involved in these inference activities.  They even wanted to help make more evidence bags so that we could do the activity again.  I’m hoping that next year I’ll have some more bags put together so that the kids can work on them in small groups.  I’m going to be on the look-out for some interesting trash and may even go dumpster diving to get it!  It’s for a good cause, right?

Before I go, I want to share this picture I found on Pinterest.  We recently studied our solar system and this is the reaction some of our lovelies had.  I love the look on that cat’s face!!

Source: Uploaded by user via Deirdre on Pinterest

2 comments Making Inferences, Reading Skills

CSI: Inferences

I had a lot of fun in reading this week (and so did my kiddos!).  Making inferences is one of our weaknesses so I’ve been thinking about what I can do to help my kids.


To help set the stage for my lessons, I dug out some hats and magnifying glasses I had left over from the year I had a detective class theme.  The kids really got into character and were excited to participate in the lessons.


After I reviewed how we use evidence + what we know to make inferences and draw conclusions, I jumped right into my 1st activity.

Mystery Bag 
I brought in a tote bag with “evidence” (a.k.a junk from my house).  I told my class that I had found this bag while I was running errands and I wanted them to figure out where I had found it.


I pulled out the evidence one at a time starting with a bag of quarters.  We discussed each item and wrote about the purpose of the item and where you would use it on chart paper.  I then moved on to the towel, chamois, wrapper, and finished with the Turtle Wax.  I found out that my class didn’t have the proper schema for this particular bag of evidence but we ended up having a really good discussion about making inferences anyway.

Guess What I Did Last Weekend 
Another activity I did was bring in a bag of evidence from my weekend adventure.  My oldest daughter participated in an out-of-town 4H Food Show so I gathered up receipts, maps, her study notes, and her place setting items.  Once again, I pulled items out of the bag one at a time and we discussed the significance of each one.  We listed each of our inferences on the board and discussed how all the clues fit together.  This activity was so much fun that forgot to take pictures!  I could kick myself!  I plan to repeat this one as often as I can.  The kids had a blast trying to figure out what I had been up to. 


I have more making inferences activities to share but I’m going to save them for another post.  I would love to hear about what you do to help your kids master this difficult skill.

Enjoy your weekend!

1 comment Making Inferences, Reading Skills

Lapbook Templates

Hey everyone!  I’m keeping this post short and sweet today.  I wanted to let you know that I took my How the Grouch Stole Christmas Lapbook Templates and made them generic so that you can use them with any fictional picture book. 


The templates are available as an editable PowerPoint file.  All you have to do is highlight the included text and add your own text.

This file is available at TpT for free for a limited time.  Click on any of the pics above to go grab your copy. 

Thanks for dropping by!

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Idioms

Does teaching idioms make you want to pull your hair out?!  Boy, do I have a solution for you! Mandy at Mandy’s Tips for Teachers has created an awesome idiom bundle that makes teaching idioms as sweet as pie.


This unit is busting at the seams with activities to supplement your idiom unit.  Mandy put a lot of thought into this one and it is easy to follow.  Check out what all is included…
PowerPoints
There are two PowerPoints covering 20 commonly used idioms.  The PowerPoints are broken down into small manageable sections.  Each section introduces 4 idioms and then provides a quick check for understanding.  Each idiom has a brief description with a bright colorful illustration.


Concentration Game
The concentration game includes 20 idioms plus their definitions for a whopping set of 40 cards.  These are the same idioms covered in the PowerPoints.  Students take turns matching each idiom to its definition.  Students can play the typical matching game by placing all the cards face down and turning over two at a time.  ELLs and struggling students can leave the cards face up to simplify the game play.  The idiom cards have an apple graphic and the definition cards have a pencil graphic to help students distinguish between the two.  I had my guinea pigs beta testers play a round using only a partial set of cards.  My youngest, who didn’t know what idioms were until just before playing, whipped up on her older sister who has studied idioms in school.


Bingo Game
There are 5 different bingo cards with idioms and printable definition calling cards.

If technology is your thing then you can use the included PowerPoint instead of the printable calling cards.  I love this idea!  If you use the PowerPoint during bingo, then the kids will be able to see the idiom definitions being called.

To play another round, go to the sorting pane in PowerPoint, click on a slide, and drag it to a new location.

Class Book Template Mandy has included a blackline master to help you create a class idiom book.  There is also a cute, colorful cover to go with it.



That sure is a lot. But, wait…there’s more!!
Extras
Mandy has also included an idiom book list, a teacher notes page, and 4 days of suggested lesson plans.  Whew!
If you need a supplemental resource for teaching idioms, then THIS IS IT! Hop on over to Mandy’s TPT store to check it out.

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If you would like to read more reviews for some awesome products, go visit the linky party at Mrs. Stanford’s Class by clicking on the pic below.

Leave a Comment Idioms, Reading Skills