March Monday Made It- American Revolution Lesson Ideas, Clipart, St. Patrick's Day Centers for Big Kids, and a Whimsical Tutu...OH MY!

You may be asking what on earth these four things have to do with each other...well...we are linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!!

Here is Made It for HOME from Amanda:

Sorry for the blurry smartphone photos!  grrrr.

Yes, technically I helped make this child, but that's not my Monday Made It!  ;O)

Our school celebrates Read Across America Day and the unmentionable birthday.  So, we celebrate, whimsical style!!  This year, I decided to make my daughter a "whimsical" tutu to celebrate the day!!  She loved it!  My word, was it poofy!  But, it was sooooo cute!  I also added the blue tutu material (I'm sure it has a name but I can't recall it right now) to the bow.  Of course, the blue boa just makes it!  ;O)

Here's how it went:

I cut the material into 3 inch strips.  (Why 3 inches, I have no idea, I guess it just looked good at the time!)  ;O)

Then I started tying it to the elastic that I had already measured and sewn together for her.  To tie it, I made a loop and then pulled it through.  

I alternated the colors.  And that's it!  The easiest, whimsical costume EVER!
*Amanda

Here is Made It for SCHOOL from Stacia:

#1:
We have been studying the American Revolution, and the students are loving it! Okay, I am loving it too!  I never even realized how excited I was about U.S. history until I started teaching social studies last year (I was always the science teacher and now I get to do both!).  :O)   

I have been trying to integrate my social studies content into language arts, and I finally found the PERFECT book to accompany our study of the Revolutionary War. My students LOOOOOOVED it!!!  They asked for me to REREAD it every day for 2 weeks!!! Well, I didn't reread it every day but we read it many times, and the students were just as engaged as they were the first time. The book touches so many emotions that the kids really just fell in love with it and I did too.  :)  So what is this book you ask???  

It's The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble. 

The Scarlet Stockings Spy

This fabulous book tells the story of a young patriot girl who is a spy for the Continental Army. And a warning- you might cry! I did...but it's soooo good!  And wait until you see the illustrations!!!  Soooo beautiful!

I created a literacy unit to accompany our study of this book. Since we are diving in to the Common Core Curriculum this year I am trying to create more lessons with critical thinking skills. I want my students to defend their thinking with evidence from the text. Here are some activities included in this unit. 

Here are the response pages where students have to defend their thinking with text evidence. I tell them to pretend they are detectives searching for the evidence.  :O)  What I love about these is that there isn't one "right" answer. There are many possible answers as long as the students back up their thinking with text evidence.

I always try to include inferencing in my lessons. It is such a hard skill to grasp for many of my students.

Please check out our Teachers Pay Teachers store for more information about this product. 

And you know that we love to have little giveaways so.....................you can win this unit for free by just doing these 2 steps:

1) Pin this unit on Pinterest 

2) Comment on this post and leave your email and the Pinterest ID (all you have to do is copy the url after you pin it on your board and then paste it in the comment section)

We will pick 3 winners on Tuesday evening! Good Luck!!

#2:

Leaping Leprechauns:  St. Patrick's Day games for big kids!!
These games are perfect for centers, small groups, or early finishers. Click to see more information in our Teachers Pay Teachers Store. 

#3:

I  finally made MY OWN clipart!!!!!! This is something I have been messing around with for a loooooooong time and I finally have done it!  Yay!!!! So of course I have to share it with you! 

It's called "Shamrock Cuties." Check this post to see how you could win these little cuties!!!  Hurry, you only have today to enter to win!  :O)

shamrock cuties at our TPT store

Another set I made was for the American Revolution!  

You can check them out at our TpT store by clicking the picture.  
*Stacia

Made It for SCHOOL From Amanda:

Well, sweet Stacia made the American Revolution clipart so I could make a literature/American Revolution unit to go with this book:

Can you tell that we love integrating social studies into language arts?  Well, not only that, but there's just not enough TIME to do all we need to during our short SS time period, so we pretty much have to integrate!

I love this book because the author uses a play on words that get readers thinking about what he is really trying to say.  Enter, making inferences!

For example, he says, "Tom was an independent lad," and then goes on to tell how Tom was "independent" as a child.  Students can INFER that the author chose this word to describe Thomas Jefferson because he was the author of the Declaration of INDEPENDENCE.  Isn't that fun???

Anywho, this is what I made to go along with the book:

If you teach the American Revolution, this would be a great addition to your collection and a great way to integrate!!  :O)  You can check it out by clicking on any of the pictures and visiting our TpT Store.  I'm going to do a giveaway for this unit later in the week so we don't get all confused in the comment section!  :O)  

Phew!  If you made it through all of THAT then you are the BEST!

We hope you are having a wonderful week so far!

Amanda and Stacia

And if you haven't entered our 300+ Followers Giveaway, please be sure to!  TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!  IT ENDS AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, EST TIME!

There are TONS of fabulous prizes!!! It includes prizes from over 40 bloggers and is split into a K-2 giveaway, a 3-5 giveaway, AND we are giving away a pencil sharpener!!  Just click the button below to go to the giveaway!

Win Shamrock Cuties Clipart!

Hi friends!

Okay, I am sooooooo excited! I have finally made MY OWN clipart!!!!!! This is something I have been messing around with for a loooooooong time and I finally have done it!  Yay!!!! So of course I have to share it with you! It's not too fancy but I am really proud of it, and Amanda said I had to share it. Hehe  :O)

It's called "Shamrock Cuties." Read below to see how you could win these little cuties!!!

shamrock cuties at our TPT store

I was really excited when I made the girl shamrock with the eyelashes and the bow. Isn't she cute?  :O)

So, I know St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, but I thought this clipart could be used for some St. Patty's products, worksheets, games...you are making. The shamrocks are in color and blackline so you could even have your kids color them in different colors and then create fractions of the colors, or make up math word problems, or even create a story about a tiny little town of shamrock people. :O)  I dunno...I'm sure you have lots of ideas!

Would you like to win this these little shamrock cuties??? Just comment, pin, and you could win! 

To win your free download of this clipart, please do the following steps:

1) Pin the shamrock cuties clipart on Pinterest
2) Leave a comment with your email and the Pinterest ID in the comment (all you have to do is copy the URL after you pin it to your board and then paste it into the comment section).

That's it!  I will use a random number generator to find the winners tomorrow night (Monday). I will give this away to 3 lucky winners on Monday night!!! Thanks for entering!  :O)


And if you haven't entered our 300+ Followers Giveaway, please be sure to! There are TONS of fabulous prizes!!! It includes prizes from over 40 bloggers and is split into a K-2 giveaway, a 3-5 giveaway, AND we are giving away a pencil sharpener!!  Just click the button below to go to the giveaway!

Happy Sunday! Thanks for visiting us!
*Stacia

Five for Friday- March 8th

Woooo, it's Friday!!  We actually get a three day weekend because we have built in snow days and we've had no snow this year.  Sooooo, we get Monday off.  Sometimes, it just feels good to be able to sleep a little longer on a Monday, right? (I promise I'm not trying to rub it in!)  :O)

We are linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday.

1.  We had cultural arts on Monday.  A guy came to share different instruments from around the world.  You know how when a speaker comes and he or she asks for volunteers, and all those hands go up, and then they pick a student to come up to the front to help them out and you are kind of wondering who is going to be picked?  Then you see THAT KID get picked and you find yourself going, oooooooooooooooooooooooooooh nooooooooooooooooooo!!  Yeah.  That happened to me twice during this one presentation.  (I have several of those kids in my class, so I guess it was inevitable.)  The first one got to sit on an African drum and bang the beat.  She handled it pretty well.  Then, the other one was chosen to hit a huge bell thing.  He did pretty well, too.  Phew!!  I wish I'd had pictures!  It was absolute chaos when he said, "Now, everyone pick an instrument to play..." and 180 kids go in all directions to find an instrument.  Yikes.  But it's ok.  (I can say that now since it's over.  I don't handle chaos well.)  ;O)

2.  We started geometry with some pretzels and marshmallows!  Math is always fun with food!!  :O)

3.  We created a bulletin board that will hopefully build community and self-confidence.  It's my pot of gold.  To learn more about it, check this post here.  The kids absolutely love it, and so does everyone else that walks by it in the hall!  Here is the finished product:

4.  Our grade level had an all day planning today and we got a TON accomplished.  That always feels good.  We mapped out everything we had to get done before THE BIG TEST in April.  That was a little overwhelming because I'm so far behind.  I'm trying not to panic, but I was pretty close to tears today.  My team was super supportive and helped Stacia and I make a plan of attack.  I just LOVE them!!

5.  If you missed our freebie, check it out below.  :O)

If you download it, please let us know what you think!

Happy Friday to you!  We hope you have a great weekend!!  How do you handle the stress of "getting it all in"?  Stacia and I eat lots of chocolate and jelly beans.  The scale doesn't appreciate it, but my psyche does!!

*Amanda*

Also, don't forget to enter our 300 Followers giveaway!!  It includes prizes from over 40 bloggers and is split into a K-2 giveaway, a 3-5 giveaway, AND we are giving away a pencil sharpener!!  You may just have the "Luck o' the Irish" with you and YOU could be the winner of 1, 2, or all 3 of the giveaways!!  ;O)

Just click the button below to go to the giveaway!

Shamrocks Freebie- Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homophones Practice

St. Patrick's Day is almost here! (hard to believe) We've created some leprechaun themed games and printables to use with your "big kids". This 77 page download includes 3 games in color and black and white as well as 5 printable sheets for assessment or review. The skills targeted are the "dreaded parts of speech" and "complete sentences." (can't you hear the kids groaning?) But, they will LOVE these because they won't even realize they are doing grammar. The games are perfect for centers, small groups, or early finishers. Click to see more information in our Teachers Pay Teachers Store. 

Click Here

Here is our Friday Freebie!! 

If you download it, please let us know what you think!

Also, don't forget to enter our 300 Followers giveaway!!  It includes prizes from over 40 bloggers and is split into a K-2 giveaway, a 3-5 giveaway, AND we are giving away a pencil sharpener!!  You may just have the "Luck o' the Irish" with you and YOU could be the winner of 1, 2, or all 3 of the giveaways!!  ;O)

Just click the button below to go to the giveaway!

Show and Tell Tuesday- Spring Bulletin Boards and Activities

Hey there!

Has spring fever hit at your school?  It has at ours!!  Right in the middle of March Madness (and we aren't talking about basketball!  The madness of prepping for THE TEST!)!

We both decided to make a bulletin board to encourage our students as we head into spring, and everything spring brings with it!

Stacia:

For me, Spring means baseball season is about to start up! I LOVE watching and listening to my ATLANTA BRAVES!!! :) Maybe this will finally be our year...I can wish! :)

So, a few weeks ago I found adorable baseball clip art from melonheadz and I couldn't resist buying it. I knew I wanted to do something special with it but I couldn't decide what. Then, it hit me- a motivational bulletin board showcasing my students' hard work and positive behaviors...just in time for testing. I put the bulletin board up today, and the kids were so excited! I'm glad they like baseball too! :) 

Also, I use sticker charts as a positive behavior management tool. Students can earn stickers throughout the day for following directions, being good citizens, etc. I created some special sticker charts to compliment my baseball theme. 

Finally, I'm going to feature some of my students who are displaying true "All Star" behavior. Some "All Star" behaviors include helping out a friend in need, using excellent work habits or study skills, showing a positive attitude...I want to recognize my students and boost self-esteem.  :)  So, if they are displaying "All Star" behavior, they will get their name on a baseball that will go up on the board (they'll also earn extra stickers too).   :) 

Amanda:

We just had parent conferences and of course with the big test looming, it's all about getting all the information in that we can.  I had noticed that some of the students weren't feeling very confident academically and this is also the time when they start nit-picking at one another and getting on each other's nerves a bit.  I decided we needed to do a little bit of community building along with self-confidence building.

I was thinking about St. Patrick's Day and the good ole pot of gold.  So I talked to them about how THEY are my pot of gold.  Each one is a gold coin and I'm so thankful to get to work with them (yes, I know it's a little sappy, but go with me on the metaphor).  They are my treasure- they need to believe that they are special and a necessary part of our class.

I typed their names on each of the gold coin clipart from Krista Walden's St. Patrick's Days Clipart Set.  (It's on sale right now in case you are interested!)  :O)

Then, I laminated the coins and cut them out.  I gave each student a class list and had them write at least one adjective to describe each of their classmates.  (I had explained that we want to build each other up.  There were to be only positive character traits written.)  I put up a list of character traits they could use to help them think of words, and then they got writing.

After they were finished writing words for each student, I got the gold coins and put one coin up at a time (one student's coin), under the document camera, and all of the students raised their hands with the words they had come up with to describe that particular student.  I wrote them on the coin.  (The students did not give a word for themselves, they were overwhelmed with happiness from listening to their peers giving sweet words that described them!)  

This took a chunk of instructional time that I should have probably been using to teach since I'm so behind in so many subjects right now, but I don't care.  If you could have seen the looks on their faces when the words that described them were called out and written...it was priceless.  We only got through 7 and we'll keep adding more and more each day.  They are so excited to hear the words that describe them!!

Here is what the "bulletin board" looks like so far:

It's actually in the hall, since the bulletin boards in my room are full of content related material right now (please excuse the stuff on the wall around it that I haven't scraped off from what was there before!)  I told them that we'd keep it up for the next few weeks, and then I was going to take the coins down and I'd put them on their desks so they could always see those words that described them (I was hoping it would boost them up when that dreaded test comes around in a few weeks!)

It's not the prettiest board ever, but it's in the eye of the beholder.  When my students saw I had put it up, they were totally thrilled.  That's all that matters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the finished product:

Sometimes it's the little things that mean so much...(look at all those sweet words!) 

St. Patrick's Day is almost here! (hard to believe) We've created some leprechaun themed games and printables to use with your students. This 77 page download includes 3 games in color and black and white as well as 5 printable sheets for assessment or review. The skills targeted are the "dreaded parts of speech" and "complete sentences." (can't you hear the kids groaning?) But, they will LOVE these because they won't even realize they are doing grammar. The games are perfect for centers, small groups, or early finishers. Click to see more information in our Teachers Pay Teachers Store. 

Click Here

We linked up with Denise from Sunny Days in Second Grade for her Spring Bulletin Board Linky. If you want more ideas on how to spruce up your bulletin boards, head over and check out more ideas.

We are also linking up with Mary at Sharing Kindergarten for her St. Patrick's Day product Linky!  Head over there for more St. Patrick's Day ideas!

AND, we linked up with Diane at Teaching with Moxie for her March Photo Challenge!

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to enter our HUGE giveaway!!  Over 40 blogger donations!!  You can't win if you don't enter!!  :O)  Just click HERE or on the picture below.

  

A few more giveaways going on:

Only one more day for this one!!

How do you like our bulletin boards?  :O)  How do you motivate your students when March Madness hits?

Monday Freebie!!! So Cute!

Hi, Friends!!!


Happy Monday! It was hard getting up this morning...I needed just a couple more hours...I'm sure y'all felt like that too though :)

I wanted to make a freebie to share with everybody, and at first I was racking my brain to think of something. We are always reviewing our Grammar and Word Study so I wanted something  to use in one of those subjects. Then, I saw Krista Wallden's new clip art  "Happy Pea Pods" and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. It is soooooooooooo adorable! So, I bought it and created a synonyms freebie because synonyms are two peas in a pod!  


Click below to download the freebie from our Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

Click here to download this freebie

I hope you and your students enjoy this cute little printable! 

If you haven't already, please don't forget to enter our giveaway!!!  Just click the button below and it will take you straight to the giveaway post!

Have a great evening! 

*Stacia*