First Thanksgiving Story Retelling Packet

This week we finish up our Pumpkins and Halloween theme activities and Friday starts our November Thanksgiving theme.  This has to be one of my FAVORITE themes to teach about and I LOVE making new things to use with my first graders.  Maybe because a lot of the things I've made use my very first clip art set I ever put together.

This packet I just put together includes three different options for writing to retell the Thanksgiving story:

• Students write their own sentences to match the picture clues.
• Students write the missing vocabulary words in the shape boxes to match the picture.
• Students trace the vocabulary word in the picture.

It also includes a First Thanksgiving Cut Apart Story, where students read the simple text and use the picture clues to put the story back in the correct order.

And finally a set of pocket chart cards that can be printed, laminated and cut apart to use in a pocket chart to display the story  or you could staple together to have a color mini book for students to read.

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa Mini Books

Still plugging along and getting some things made for the new upcoming unit in December.  Finished my Hanukkah and Kwanzaa mini books this week.  Can't wait to use them...as I even learned a lot making them!  We've always done the Scholastic News each year that BRIEFLY tells about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but I've never done any reading up on it until now.

These mini book are by NO MEANS an independent read for first graders.  They are more of a shared reading whole group or in a guided reading group for students to learn about the two holiday traditions. Older or more advanced first grade children will be able to read them.

You can find them HERE at my TPT store.

New Hanukkah and Kwanzaa Sets

So excited!  We are planning two new mini-units to replace some "fluffy" stuff in our Holiday theme in December to beef things up a bit:  one week on Hanukkah and one week on Kwanzaa.  These are two customs that I never really knew much about, so its been fun learning some of the vocabulary and what not. Yea, I know, here were are only in October and I'm already thinking about and planning ahead for December.  Only a teacher plans that far in advance, right?  If it eliminates the stress level, its the way to go for me.

My plan was to draw my own Hanukkah and Kwanzaa clip art and use that but I decided that I didn't feel like it and Melonheadz Illustrating already had it done, so why reinvent the wheel right now when I need it fast and don't want to stress myself out?!?  So I went to my favorite place to buy "school" stuff and purchased both the color and black-line bundles.  You'll have to check her sets out.  They are SUPER cute! 

Here are a couple things I whipped up last night that we plan to use during this unit.

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa Word Wall Card Set

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa Cut Apart Sentences:



Thanksgiving Story: What I Learned

This writing response journal can be used to assess students knowlege of the Thanksgiving story or as a "what I learned" after a a mini lesson you teach about the story.  Students use the picture clues to write their sentences and can color the sentences when they are finished writing.  My students just LOVE these books.  For first graders it is helpful to have a picture prompt to help them remember important details they can include in their writing.

You can purchae this HERE at my TPT store.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Story-What-I-Learned-923900

Pumpkin Unit Mega Bundle

You can purchase this MEGABUNDLE  at my TPT store HERE.

Or you can buy each item separately at my TPT store.  Click on the hyperlink to take you to each item at my store.

How a Pumpkin Grows (Life Cyle of a Pumpkin) Packet:

1. How a Pumpkin Grows Cut Apart Story: Students cut apart the story and piece it back together using the picture clues and what they know about how a pumpkin grows. Can be used as an assessment piece after reading the mini-book.
2. How a Pumpkin Grows Mini-Book: Easy reader with picture labels. Similar clip art pictures as the cut-apart story. Simply copy double-sided and have your copy machine staple on the left hand side. Cut in half with a paper cutter and add additional staples for reinforcement.
3. How a Pumpkin Grows Writing: Picture clues included in the picture box to the left. Handwriting lines included to keep your early learners organized as they write the sentence to match the picture.
4. Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Sequence Cards: Display in your pocket chart or on your bulletin board. Use at a center to have your students put back in order.

How to Carve a Pumpkin FREEBIE:

1. Step by step with picture clues on how to carve a pumpkin writing sheet.

Pumpkin Skip Counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s:

1. Pumpkin skip counting cards. Some pumkins are missing the numbers. Students will write the missing number before cutting the cards apart to have for a "put the cards in order" activity.
2. Write the skip counts on the 100 grid sheet.
3. Write the skip counts through the pumpkin patch sheets.

Pumpkin and Halloween Riddles:

1. This is a riddles game that you can play whole group during your fall pumpkins theme and before Halloween. Teacher reads the riddle as students are holding the answer cards (picture cards). They have to listen for the clues for their picture and then come up and answer the riddle by reading the card.

Pumpkins & Halloween Cut Apart Sentences:

1. A pumpkin is orange and round.
2. A pumpkin grows in a pumpkin patch.
3. We will have a pumpkin tasting in first grade.
4. Halloween is for trick-or-treating.

Fall, Pumpkins, and Halloween Word Wall Cards:

1. Fall: acorn, squirrel, apple, leaf, leaves, scarecrow, crow, rake, sunflower, corn, apple pie,
2. Pumpkins: pumpkin, seed, sprout, plant, vine, yellow pumpkin, green pumpkin, leaf, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin patch, jack-o-lantern, blossom, carve, stem, weigh, measure, paint, pumpkin harvest
3. Halloween: witch, pirate, skeleton, vampire, astronaut, frankenstein, ghost, spider, bat, gravestone, haunted house, candy corn, treat bucket, treat bag, kettle, cowgirl, cowboy, trick or treating

How to Carve a Pumpkin Cut-Apart Story:

1. Students put the simple story in order by cutting out the story parts and pasting them back in order.  Picture clues are provided to help young children do this on their own.

Pattern Block Pumpkins:

1. This is a step by step hands-on activity to do for your Pumpkins theme. Students create a Pattern Block Pumpkin using a Pattern Block Template or stencil, construction paper, and Pattern Blocks. A great way to combine an art project with your math activity.
2. Pocket chart direction cards for a visual for your students.
3. 1 page directions that can be posted as a learning target.

How a Pumpkin Grows Packet

Just finished this tonight.  Wanted a mini-book to match my new cut-apart story for "How a Pumpkin Grows" that I made last weekend...then I started adding to it and it bacame this new "How a Pumpkin Grows" packet I just put up for sale on TPT!  I am so excited to use this new stuff!

You can purchase this HERE at my TPT store.

Included: 

1. How a Pumpkin Grows Cut Apart Story:  Students cut apart the story and piece it back together using the picture clues and what they know about how a pumpkin grows.  Can be used as an assessment piece after reading the mini-book.

2. How a Pumpkin Grows Mini-Book:  Easy reader with picture labels.  Similar clip art pictures as the cut-apart story.  Simply copy double-sided and have your copy machine staple on the left hand side.  Cut in half with a paper cutter and add additional staples for reinforcement.

3. How a Pumpkin Grows Writing:  Picture clues included in the picture box to the left.  Handwriting lines included to keep your early learners organized as they write the sentence to match the picture.

4. Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Sequence Cards:  Display in your pocket chart or on your bulletin board.  Use at a center to have your students put back in order.

 

 

 

Sketchy Capital Letter Doodles

Finally had time to sit down at the laptop and get this Sketchy Capital Letter Doodles set up and going.  Loving to draw, but lately I am feeling a bit overwhelmed because I have too many things I want to do and NOT ENOUGH TIME TO GET THEM ALL DONE!  Ahhh!  Yes, I did just put that in all caps!  Picture me pulling my hair out while shouting that out loud!  When I'm at home all I feel like doing is just relaxing and reading a book, but there's always "school work" to do to try and get caught up throughout the week.  Throw RTI stuff in there and data collecting and trying to get ahead with running copies and organizing lesson plans.  MAP testing, DIBELS testing and end of the unit sight words assessments are just about enough right now to send me to the looney bin!  :)  Just kidding.

Sketchy Capital Letters Doodles:

You can find it at my TPT store HERE and at my TN Clip Art Shop HERE.