Two Local Authors Came By for a Visit!

The authors of Imagine That!, Stephanie Potter and Arlis Ander came to our school and did an interactive (and super creative!) book reading with 125 second graders! The kids went bonkers!! They began by asking them what their favorite toy was. Of course, the kids rattled off a bunch of computer and tech-related games! The authors then turned thier focused to a favorite toy they have with them at all times…their imagination!! This is when the fun began. Stephanie and Arlis did a GREAT job getting each child up and involved putting their imagination to work! The kiddos especially liked being the snoring babies and the paparazzi!! 
 
Then (lucky us!!), Stephanie and Arlis came back to do a writer’s workshop with my class! They talked about using adjectives and verbs to spice up their writing pieces, showed them the outline for writing a page in a class-made poetry book, provided non-fiction books for student inspiration, took them through the entire writing process, and allowed students to wear costumes and act out different characters when they finished their piece.
    
                    
              

  Thanks, Stephanie and Arlis!

Click here to buy their book, Imagine That! or to schedule a school visit in the Chicago area!

End of the Year Field Trip…

To the next grade! What better way to ease the worries about going to the next grade….than to go on a field trip to that classroom??

For our field trip, Nicole’s class (second grade) took a field trip to Melissa’s class (third grade). The next day, Melissa’s class took a field trip to fourth grade!

Before visiting the next grade, however, students had to PERSUADE their teacher to allow them to go to the next grade! Students wrote a persuasive paper to the following question: Why do you deserve to go to the next grade? Students had to use lots of DETAILS and EXAMPLES of their growth in their writing, in order to persuade the judge.

To put an even more fun and cute twist on the persuasive writing assignment, the teachers dressed up as a judge! The judge listened to each student’s case and decided that all students “PASSED” to the next grade because they gave a lot of details and examples of how much they improved throughout the school year.

((This file can be found HERE.))

We found the gavel at Party City and used a old black coat for our gown. Another good idea is to borrow someone’s graduation gown!

Students pleaded their case to the jury and after the verdict of “pass” was in, they were awarded with their congratulatory letter!


We then were ready to begin planning our field trip to the next grade!

Students wrote some thick, burning questions that they had about next year’s curriculum, classroom, homework, behavior….they thought of everything! We also filled out the Operation: Next Year worksheet as well, prior to our trip.
 
Click on the images above to download and print these worksheets from Google Documents.

Below are some pictures of the second graders on their field trip to third grade!
Here, the third grade experts are showing the math book to the visitors.
 
One of the most popular questions that the second graders asked the third graders was: “What do you do for math?” The third graders were happy to show them!

Here, the third grade experts are making their teacher proud and showing the second graders the guided reading group and guided reading schedule.
 

Oh, and by the way, this is also a REALLY good way to really get a feel for how you sound and how you act to the students on a daily basis!! I “heard myself” when the experts were explaining third grade, especially when I heard one of my students say, “You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit," when there was a question about birthday treats. :)

 
Another burning question? BEHAVIOR? The future third graders asked lots of great, thick questions about the economy books, the credits and debits, and of course….the rewards!

Good job, girls! I love that they are actually taking time to point out the thinking stems! So they are actually listening when I teach about what good readers do…


If you are interested in the persuasive writing unit that is mentioned at the beginning of this post, it is on TpT: I Deserve to go to the Next Grade!.

Have a great day!

Chicken Fest

We said good-bye to our chicks by having Chicken Fest! We played games such as “Hot Chicken” – AKA Hot Potato where we played the “Chicken Dance”, of course, and the winners got to keep the rubber chicken we used as the “potato”:

The hens and roosters also tried “hatching eggs” by sitting on a balloon:

They also participated in the “This looks easy but it’s actually super-duper hard” Egg Roll by rolling a balloon with their nose:

Some kids thought a big “egg” would be easier, others thought a small one would work better:

And, the #1 kid-favorite…Chicken Feed (eating cereal with their hands behind their backs and pecking it like a chicken): 

But soon the fun had to end and it was time to say good-bye to our newest little classmates. It was off to the farm for them! If you are the one bringing the chicks to the farm, be sure to take pictures of their new home! It definitely helped my students feel better seeing photos of their new friends and where they would be living!

Fashion Chick

I must confess…I’ve got a little bit of Ms. Frizzle in me! Not the whole custom-embroidered-solar-system-jumper sort of way, but I’m definitely not afraid to add dashes of her gaudy fashion sense to my wardrobe! Hey, it’s all in the name of fun for the kiddos, right?!

So during the week we welcome our newest little classmates, I simply must wear my “chick shoes”. Want a pair of your own? Just attach a felt chick sticker to each shoe (the ones below are from Michaels).

Ahhhh…The Friz would be so proud!

The fashion fun doesn’t stop here, though! When the chicks come, we go all out! One day during the week of their arrival, we set up visiting hours. We have a hospital sign-in sheet, nametags for visitors, and the kids are decked in their doctor gear! To make their doctor coats simply cut a white t-shirt up the front, add a nametag, a headband, and toss in a stethoscope and they're all set!

        

Even the teachers get involved in the theme by dressing up in scrubs!

Look at this banner I ordered from Vista Print!! It was the perfect addition to the nursery entrance and sign in!

   

And, to top off my big ‘ole Vista Print purchase…
birth announcements with their first “family” photo, hatching details, and chick characteristics!!

Oh…one more purchase…“Proud Parent” stickers:

Too cute!!

End of the Year Learning Celebration: Hollywood Style!

Lights, Camera, Action!
Welcome to the premiere of: Our End of the Year Learning Celebration!

You are cordially invited to see our class and how we put on a world premiere show for our fans.
Enjoy the show!

First, the director had the student celebrities fill out a job application for which committee they would like to be a member of.
Comfort Committee?? Communications Committee?? Welcoming Committee???
Too many choices!

No matter what committee we were on…we were busy the day of the premiere!

The decorations committee was in charge of setting the stage and laying out the red carpet for our our fans to make their grand entrance on.


Then, they helped the director put the finishing touches on the bulletin board!
  
The celebrities wrote autobiographies about their life as a celebrity during the past year. The adoring fans really enjoyed reading these!

 

This group of celebrities helped the director put the finishing touches on our photo booth…you know, the place where paparazzi comes to take pictures of the celebrities!?!?
 

Our director said that it all started with the unused frame collecting dust in her mom’s garage.
 
Before picture:
Old, ugly, hideous-looking picture frame that was in her mom’s garage for 5 years:

After picture:
A little bit of sparkly spray paint=much more glamorous!

How did the celebrities use this pretty frame????
Let the directors of the presentation demonstrate first!
 
That’s right! We poked our pretty and handsome faces right through that frame!
(Our director got the idea from an arts and craft website…she said she didn’t come up with that idea!)

Don’t have an old frame or don’t want to spend money buying one to spray paint?
We don’t blame you!  In that case, just decorate a background!

Gold garland was on sale after Christmas…so cheap! The background was from Party City...or from Oriental Trading...our director can't remember at the moment!

The decorations committee helped our director tape the background to our large bookshelf on the set. We had an instant photo booth for the paparazzi to click away once they arrived!
 

Here is the director of the show with some local celebrities, narrators, and members of the concessions committee.

A hot pink boa and sunglasses for the director??? Of course! Would you expect anything less?

 

Oh, and another extra special touch from the decorations committee??

All the female celebrities got some extra *BLING* to decorate their fingers for the premiere!

(The director found those rings in the closet while cleaning over the weekend…leftover from a friend’s bachelorette party!)

The concessions committee members were also pretty busy during the preparation of the big show.

 


Lots of local fans were so kind to bring in the celebrities favorite treats. Shout out to our fans!
We love you! XOXO!
 
The committee members came up with some very creative signs!

The next committee, the communications committee, got out the comment cards. These were for the fans to fill our after the show. And, by the way, thanks so much for the sweet comments, fans!


The equipment committee posted the VIP reserved seating signs on all of the chairs!

Boy, oh, boy did our fans feel like VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE!

Look what an awesome job they did with the seating on the set:


The welcoming committee greeted the fans as they arrived. They had everything all organized and looking all special! They greeted their fans with big smiles and “Welcome to our celebration!”

 
Sign in sheets and “admit one” tickets?? Our director thought of everything!
(Party City has everything you need!!)

What were those celebrities doing when their job was complete?? Well, practice their lines of course!

All student celebrities were very well prepared!

What was the best part about the committees???
 

There were celebrities who were ESTATIC to CLEAN UP after the set was clear and the fans left!
Shout out to the Clean Up Committee!

***In all seriousness, this is one of the most memorable activities that I do all year with my students. The parents love to see their child having fun while learning at school, the students LOVE getting all dressed up for their parents to visit, the administration is always very impressed…and of course, I LOVE it!

My teacher guarantee: The stress and preparation that you put into this production is WORTH IT!

 

Are you ready to be a super star teacher turned director? Are your students ready for a little stardom?

Click on the image to go to our TpT store and view what's in the 55 page file!