New Year's News

 

Hope 2014 is off to a great start for everyone! The closest I come to making New Year's resolutions is...

 

I believe I can make a positive change any time of the year and don't want to set myself up for unrealistic expectations. So, when the kiddos returned from winter vacation instead of asking them what their New Year resolutions are, I shared some wishes I have for this year and then asked them to write what their wishes are. The students then colored self-portraits and drew hats on their heads that they decorated and glued pom pom tops on. The results are hanging on our classroom clothesline...

 

 

                       The printable is for sale at my TPT store...

                              http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Glashow

 

 

Other writing activities we've done since winter vacation are writing narratives for our "Snowglobe Stories" bulletin board and "SNOW" acoustic poems. For the 1st activity, students started their snowy narratives using the prompt "One morning I woke up and...", then used paper plates, markers, foam and sticker snowflakes, and translucent glitter glue to create snowglobes.

 

 

The "SNOW" acoustic poems were glued on to paper plates cut into the shape of snowflakes and we made them sparkle using glitter glue.

 

The new year also contained an introduction to division. We met "Division Man", who taught us what a dividend, divisor, and quotient are, as well as the steps of division. We practiced dividing into equal groups using M&M's and work mats. Then, teams participated in a "Division Drag Race" using toy cars, dice, and a racetrack poster.

 

If you teach you know how you can ask a question such as "What is the capital of the United States?" and receive the answer, "I had pizza for dinner last night." So, I chuckled from this cartoon...