Monthly Archives: April 2015
Frog Foldable
We’ve been learning about tadpoles and how they grow into frogs ever since we got our tadpoles in our classroom. Because I had just attended our state science conference and learned how to make these super cool foldables, I thought I would try them out with my Kinders to organize our thoughts about tadpoles and frogs.
Dinah Zike is the master behind this foldable and I got this foldable from this book.
I used a 9×12 envelope and folded it as instructed in the book. We glued the side under the envelope flap into our Inquiry notebooks. I put a different colored “x” on each of the flaps and parts so I could show the children where to glue each part. On the two inside flaps, we glued a 5 green and speckled frogs song booklet and the life cycle of a frog accordion booklet. On the top back panel, we glued a model of a tadpole that can grow and change with our tadpoles. We hid the extra back and front legs in the secret pocket that you can open from the flap. On top of the secret pocket, we glued a life cycle fold up book.
On top of the envelope (when its all closed up and folded), we glued a frog tree map that we completed together. They turned out really great and I’m working on creating them for sale. We are going to create a new one next week for farms, so I’ll show you those soon!
Doctor Bag
A few weeks ago we studied Community Helpers. As part of that study, we looked at the tools that different community helpers use. This is the Doctor Bag we made to include in our Inquiry Notebooks.
We took these items (cotton balls, band-aids, stickers, tissues, tongue depressors) and glued them inside the Doctor bags we made. We took a 9×12 piece of black construction paper, folded it in half, rounded the corners, and cut some handles out of scraps of black construction paper. We then added a white circle and two red strips of paper for the first aid sign on the outside of the bag. The kiddos labeled each of the items so they could use those words in their writing.
Informational Writing
We’ve been working on writing for a purpose and after reading Zinna’s Flower Garden we wrote in the same style as Monica Wellington and created informational posters about our tadpoles.
In this book, Monica Wellington places the text in the center of the page and then surrounds it with information about tools, seeds, plant parts, weather, etc.
So we created our writing to reflect that. These pages are samples that are about 1/2 way completed. The children put text or an illustration with labels in the middle and then added tools, objects, materials, other animals they would see or need in the context of their text.
This sample is all about catfish and is surrounded by items you would need to keep a catfish in an aquarium.
This sample is about tadpoles living in a pond, so you can see other critters you might see in or around the pond.
The last sample is about keeping tadpoles in our classroom. The image in the middle shows where we keep the tadpoles and around the outside, you can see the beginnings of the tadpole life cycle.
This was a fun way to incorporate what we were reading and what a real author had done into our writing.
Measurement
We started our new math unit about measurement and got out the balance scales to practice measuring weight. We compared different kinds of plastic foods.
What kinds of things do you like to have your students weigh?
Spring has Sprung!
We are getting geared up to start out Ponds and Plants unit and I can’t wait to get out my unit to get my planning started!
This pack has 6 math, 3 Literacy, and 7 Science Notebook pages!
This is a sampling of what’s included!
I’m glad its here! I can’t stand winter (and my arthritis hates it too!), so I’m glad to see 60 degrees again! 🙂
Tuesday Tweet Chat
Join us today for a chat with our very own #teacherfriend Kim Vij! We will be chatting about Pinterest for Education!
Don’t forget!!! There are prizes too, so be sure to come enter to win them! 🙂
Who’s Who and Who’s New Post
I’m thrilled to have a post to share with you about simple science ideas on the Who’s Who and Who’s New blog today! Click here to check it out! You can download some free handouts while you’re there too! 🙂
Stamp a Letter, Word, or Number
I just finished updating one of my very first products! I am so excited to show you the new and improved Stamp a Letter, Word, or Number pack!
I updated the pack so that the letters, number, and sight words are all in one place! Each letter, number, and sight word has a circle around it so that children can focus on daubing right on top of the word as they identify them. On the top of each page, a key tells the children what color each word should be stamped. I use BINGO daubers, but you can also use highlighters or markers/crayons to have your students complete this activity.
The list of sight words comes from our Journeys program, however, most of the words (99% of them) are also on the Dolch or Fry Word lists, so they are great for all learners.
This would be a great morning arrival activity, as part of a Literacy Work Station, or as part of a small reading or intervention group.
Capital and lowercase letter pages are included so you can specifically target the instruction or letter review your students need.
*Please note, I am leaving the older version of this product up, so others can continue to download it in the future*
Kristen's Kindergarten 