Science: Classifying Leaves

We are studying plants in Science, and to look closer at leaves we did a great hands on activity. First I showed the stufents there are two types of leaves, simple and compound. Then, we went outside and picked different types of leaves to being back to the classroom. The students made charts and then sorted the leaves. We drew diagrams to record each type of leaf. They loved it!

Classroom Puzzle

This is a fun art project we did recently. Each child designed their own puzzle piece and cut it out. When hung together they look pretty cool!

Book Report Cards

My students have DEAR Time aka silent reading everyday after lunch. It's a quiet thing for them to do to wind down, and during this time I also pull students to read with me, or work on other things. This year I've started something new for the kids to show understanding of what they've read - Book Report Cards! It's a simple idea I got from a college, students fill out a mini book report on an index card for each book they read. They keep the cards on a ring (I got mine at Lakeshore) and at the end of the year they can see how many books they've read!

 We made an anchor chart together so the students can have a reference of what goes on their book report cards. 

The cards are kept right next to their book bins for easy access.

Need a Hand?

Another crayola.com inspiration! We did this activity the first week of school to get to know each other. The kids chose their favorite color construction paper then traced their hand. We went outside with our hand tracings and crayons and colored on top of bricks, the wall, and the ground to create texture. Next we wrote our names and things we're good at on each finger. The point of this activity is when a student needs help with something, they can look at their classmates fingers to find someone good at art, or reading or someone who is strong to help carry something, etc. I displayed them in a circle on one of our doors. Cute!

What's in a Name?

At the beginning of the year, I like to do a lot of fun art projects that tie into stories. One of my favorite books to read to the kids is called, "The Name Jar" by Yangsook Choi. With a very diverse class, this book shows the kids that having a "unusual" name is special, not weird or embarrassing. This story is about a young Korean girl who moves to America and is feels so embarrassed by her name she wants to change it. Eventually, the kids in her new class convince her to keep her Korean name and she embraces it. It is such a sweet story and I've used it in my 2nd grade class, and also in my 4th grade class during student teaching.
The activity we did following a discussion of this story was to create a hanging name mobile. I cute 4x4 squares of construction paper in all colors. The kids chose enough squares for each letter of their name in whichever colors they wanted. Then, they created each letter of their name and we joined the letters together using yarn.

 I hung the names from the ceiling and ta-da! Super colorful and cute addition to our classroom. If I do this activity again next year, I may have the students create two of each letter so they are double sided and can be seen when the yard twists.

Another story in the "name" category is "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes. I'd say this is more appropriate and easier for younger students to understand.

Alphabet Around the Room

Hello Teachers!
I've found a lot of cool art lessons on crayola.com that tie into core subjects, this one can be used for ELA. For the "Alphabet Around the Room" activity, I changed it a bit and made block letters on white paper, then the students were able to design them. That is the art part.
I also had the students help me glue them onto a construction paper background to add more color. I laminated them for the next step.
For ELA, the students added their name to the correct letter card, and other words. Sometimes if someone finishes early or we have free time, I give the students a white board marker and they add a word. It's fun and easy! This activity could be varied in so many ways, and I love the visual aspect of it too!
Here is a link to the original lesson: http://www.crayola.com/for-educators/lesson-plans/lesson-plan/alphabet-around-the-room.aspx