Storyline Online

I was just going through some of my old favorite websites and came across the Storyline Online link. It is a great website for young readers. Well, actually I love it too, so I guess it is a great website for just about anyone. There are lots of popular books and they are read by various actors. Check it out, I know you will love it too. It looks like the stories are linked to YouTube, so if you can't get YouTube in the classroom then you might want to check out the question and answer page. They explain what to do to access this website in the classroom.

Storyline Online

http://www.storylineonline.net/

Anna Navarre's TpT Store 

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Math Puzzles

I was going through some of my center activities and came across my math puzzles. I haven't used them yet this year and had kind of forgot about them, so I was glad to find them. These are supper easy and inexpensive to make. I made a set several years ago and they have passed the test of time.

The foam figures were purchased at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. I made a group set with a couple extra and then wrote addition and subtraction problems on them. I should have taken a picture of them at that point. The puzzles are more challenging then they look. I can attest to that, since I just assembled 4 of them for the picture. After I wrote the problems on the figures I cut them apart into about 6-8 pieces. Once each puzzle was cut apart I stored them in a zip-loc bag.

It is fun to watch students work together to assemble the puzzles. They practice the math problems as they are doing this, because of how the puzzle is cut. They need to make sure that the math equations are correct. They can't just put pieces together because they think they fit.

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Halloween Reading Chain

Remember those chains you used to make during Christmas time each year? Well, I decided to use that idea, but with a bit of a Halloween twist. I decided to create an orange and black chain that I could use to provide my students with some phonics practice. Here is what I did.

First, I had a classroom volunteer cut a bunch of orange and black strips of paper. Then I gave each student two strips. I had them use a black crayon to write words on the orange strips and a white crayon to write on the black strips. The words I had them use were the words from the "ll" word families that we were working on in class. After each student finished writing their two words I stapled the chain together.

Once the chain was done I placed it in our reading area. This allowed students to easily access the chain and practice on their own. I also tried snaking it through tables having students read part of the chain and then keep moving it on. This was fun, but the chain kept getting pulled apart, so probably not such a good idea.

I hope that you like this idea. It was really pretty easy and didn't take much time. The best part about this is that it continues to provide my students with practice time long after completing our phonics lesson.

Another way to use this reading chain is to have students add a link to the chain every time they read a book. It is amazing to see how much students want to read just so that they can add to the chain. 

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Marshmallow Cubes

I'm sure you have done this activity before, but I thought I would post it for anyone who hasn't, or just as a reminder. Usually I use white marshmallows, and sometimes the big ones, but this time I decided to try these fruity flavored marshmallows. It was a good decision. It added fruity fun to this activity.

We have been working on plane and solid shapes, so my class was already familiar with them before doing this activity. While the 3D solid shapes that can actually be made is very limited, it is still a good activity for students to discover this fact. It is also a good way for them to look at and think  about the attributes of the shapes they could make.

I bought 4 bags of marshmallows and 4 boxes of toothpicks for a class size of 26. This was plenty, and I even had some left over. I pre-baggied the marshmallows for students to use. This was helpful, but not necessary. This activity was actually one of my math inquiry activities, so I only had one group doing this at a time. Students anticipated the day it would be their turn. One thing I did to help with this was on the first day I gave all students a few marshmallows to eat.

At the end of the activity I had students bag up their toothpicks, marshmallows and paper towel piece. I had them take everything home, so that they could discuss this activity with their parents. They really enjoyed this activity and I enjoyed watching them being creative.

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Spider Web Art Project

This Spider web art project was quick and easy. My students really enjoyed it. The spider webs were done on black paper. We used white paint and a few marbles. Students each had a chance to roll the marbles around in a small tub to make their web. I wrote their name on the back of their paper with a white crayon.

Making the spiders for the webs was done as a whole group project. I had pre-cut two pieces of paper for each student. One piece was a 5"x 6" piece of paper, which was for the head/chest and the abdomen. The other piece was a 2 1/2"x 4" piece of paper, which was for the legs. 

I also had pattern pieces made up for students to use to trace the spider parts. I had 15 head pattern pieces and 15 abdomen pattern pieces for my class of 26. I also had them labeled, so students could make sure they were tracing the correct parts. The students shared the pieces as they traced the parts they needed. 

After students cut apart the body pieces, they glued them together. Then they cut 8 strips for the spider's legs. We glued the spider legs onto the abdomen, which isn't where they go, but we went with it anyways. One student did try to make his more anatomically correct, which was cute too, but a little squished. Students also drew eyes on the spider and some students even used scrap paper or drew the spinneret.

I love that each spider was unique. My students were all very proud of their work, which I of course displayed in the classroom. 

If you haven't read my Spider Diagram blog post, you might want to check it out. I have a huge spider diagram that I use to help students learn about spiders. 

Spider Diagram Blog Post

Spider Diagram

We are learning about spiders this week. One thing I like to do is bring out my big classroom spider diagram. Students go crazy when they walk into the classroom and see it. They immediately know what we are going to be learning about.

I made this spider years ago. I'm glad that it has lasted so long. It was pretty easy to make and worth the time. I thought I'd share the idea with you in case you were looking for a fun idea for your spider unit.

As I mentioned, the spider is super easy to make. You start with a large piece of paper the size you want your spider to be. Then you use black paper to cut out the body pieces. I used two large oval shapes for the abdomen and the head and chest area. I used eight long strips of paper for the legs. I also used two thinner strips of paper for the fangs and two small pieces for the spinnerets.

Once you assemble the spider and glue it onto the paper. You can add some eyes, which are just small circles of red paper. Along with the spider, you can make word cards for each part of the body.

This spider is such a good visual. Students definitely learn the parts of the spider. They really enjoy using the spider to show what they have learned.

While teaching your spider unit, here are a couple of resources that you may be interested in. Feel free to visit my TPT Store to learn more. 

Spider Reader

STEM Spider Activity

Apple Art Project

It's apple time! My class is having fun learning about apples. We of course are learning lots of apple facts. We also did our apple tasting and used our five senses to come up with descriptive words for our writing. One other thing we did was this apple art project. I thought I would share it with you. I have actually been doing this project for years. I'm sure I got the idea from my kinder friends when I first started teaching, but it has been so long that I'm not quite sure who gave it to me. Anyways, I like it enough to keep using it year after year.

Here is what I did. I had all of the pieces of paper ready in advance and then passed them out while the students were at recess. This worked really well. When the students came I read a book about apples before we started the activity. Then I had them go to their seat and get out scissors, crayons, and a glue stick.

As we did this art project together we discussed each piece of the apple. I first had students take a tan piece of paper and tear the edges, rather than cut them, to make the apple core. Students glued that piece on. Then we did the apple skin. I had students trim all 4 corners off of both pieces and glue them on. The next thing we did was tear a small piece of brown paper for the stem. I had students lift the top part of the apple to glue the stem under the skin. Then I had students draw the seeds.

Our final step was the labeling of the apple parts. I had students take one piece of yellow paper, fold it in half, and then fold it in half again. They were able to open it up and see the lines to cut the paper into equal parts. We then labeled the apple together, again discussing the parts as we went.

It is a pretty simple project, but it provides students with a hands-on approach to learning apple parts. I hope that this motivates you to try it. Here is a list of pieces of paper with an approximate size that each student will need for this project.
- 1 sheet of green paper (6"x9")
- 1 piece of tan paper (3"x4")
- 1 small brown paper (2"x2")
- 1 piece of yellow paper (2"x4")
- 2 pieces of red paper (2"x3")

You might be interested in this Apples, Apples, Apples product that I have available at my TPT Store. It includes a poem, an activity page with the stages of an apple, and a reader. 

Apples, Apples, Apples

You might also be interested in the apple story video that I have made available on YouTube. It is an adapted version of the Little Red House with No Doors and No Windows and a Star Inside. Click the link to view it!

The Little Red House

Have fun teaching about apples. This is such a wonderful way to encourage student learning.