Reusable Write and Wipe Pockets

Those who know me, know that I am not a big fan of worksheets. I would much rather have students have hands on experience, but when I do use worksheets I like to be able to use them over and over again. I guess you could say that I like my worksheets to become activities vs just filling in some answers and turning it in.

I have always used sheet protectors as a way of reusing worksheets, but for the last couple of years I have used the Reusable Write and Wipe Pockets from Lakeshore Teaching Supply. I LOVE them! Everyone in my class has one. I put the pockets on my classroom supply list at the beginning of the year. Most of my students brought one in and some even brought in extras, so I had enough for everyone. The year before I had to buy a set. It was the beginning of the year, so they were half price, which wasn't too bad, plus they are worth it.

The purchased pocket comes with some practice sheets, such as handwriting, math, a clock, and probably a couple of others. I took a picture of some of the pages my students have in their pockets right now. We have a number line. Students put this in their pocket and use a dry-eraser to show their work. Then they erase it when they are done. We have a fact family page. Students use fact family triangles to create their fact families. We have the place value page in which student either draw cubes and rods (sticks and dots) or they use manipulative to show their work. We have a clock, which is part of our spiral review right now, especially since I have a couple of new students. We also have a game board. We have been playing this game whole group. As I read a question students are able to write their answer somewhere on their board before I give the answer.

As you can see I have lots of uses for this pocket. There are also three other pages that my students have in their pockets right now. They have a the scales in which I have students write numbers/equations to determine if the sides are equal. They have a roll three page in which students practice adding three numbers. They also have a basic math page in which students practice their math facts.

These pockets are really handy and save me lots of time. The draw back is, of course, the dry-erase markers. I ask parents for these at the beginning of the year and at Open House, which gives me a pretty good supply. Other than that I try to purchase extras at the Back to School sales and from the Dollar Store. It works out and again it is worth it.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Anna-Navarre

Spring Egg Art

I needed a project that didn't require a lot of prep, but that would get my students thinking about spring. This worked out perfectly. I made a large oval and then copied it onto cardstock. Before my students went to work we had a discussion about spring. I modeled a couple different ideas for making their design and then I let them get to work.

Students cut out their ovals and wrote their names on the back. Then they got markers and began designing their egg. There was some basic criteria that I had them follow. It was that they couldn't use pencil; they could't leave any white; and the colors needed to be vibrant.

Everyone worked hard on their egg. They all wanted to take their egg home when they were done. I explained that I was going to hang them up in the classroom and then I was going to put them in their special memory books. They were okay with that, especially after I told them that this was a project that they could easily do at home.

Please feel free to visit my TpT Store to view my products. You can also follow my store to get notifications of my new postings. 

Anna Navarrre's TpT Store 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Anna-Navarre

Here is a FREEBIE for you if you are interested!

Easter Basket Adjective Egg Hunt

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easter-Basket-Adjective-Egg-Hunt-607953

Orbiting Planet Art Project

I found this orbiting planet art project online and thought it would be a good addition to my unit on Earth's Place in the Universe. You can see the link below for complete directions.

Since I did this whole class, I found it easier to cut some templates ahead of time. I used cardstock and cut some large circles for space and some small circles for the sun. Students shared the templates as they traced and cut them out. As students started finishing I had them sprinkle some glitter on their project. I love this extra touch.

One problem I did run into was that some of my students glued the sun on, which of course meant that it wouldn't spin. This wasn't really a big deal, I was able to unstick most of them. Once my students finished their project I attached some yarn and then hung them from the ceiling. It is kind of neat to see them kind of moving around when the air is on.

Busy Bee Kids Crafts 

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Orbiting-Planets.html

I am using my Space comprehension pages to help my students learn about Earth's Place in the Universe. The text is pretty complex, but since we read this together as a close read students are able to grasp what they have learned. They are then able to use this information to explain why the Earth, moon, sun, and stars are important. Here is the link if you are interested in checking it out.

Space Comprehension Pages - Earth's Place in the Universe

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Space-Comprehension-Sheets-1360650

Owl Art Project

Every year our school participates in a fundraiser called Original Art Work. Teachers have to think of a quick and easy project, because this of course never happens at a good time. This time it was report card time. Anyways, I decided to do these owls. My students enjoyed the project and I loved that even though it was a directed drawing, everyone's owl came out different.



Directions for this project:

Materials: sharpies, crayons, watercolors, water cups, white cardstock or construction paper, black construction paper, and a work mat (I just use a larger sheet of construction paper).

Before we started this project I cut the white paper down, so that there would be a border around the edges once it was mounted on the black paper. I then provided students with a work mat, a sharpie, and a sheet of white cardstock. Students followed along as I showed them how to draw the owl. I've included a picture to show the steps.

Once students were done drawing the owl I had them color the picture. If students color too dark then the paint will not take as well. On the other hand, sometimes the dark coloring makes the picture more vibrant and the paint isn't really necessary. Either way, I make sure that the students have colored everything in (no white). I encouraged them to use the colors of the basic watercolor set. 

After students finished coloring their pictures I had them go over them with watercolors. I reminded them not to use too much water; to make sure everything was painted; and to keep their brush strokes going back and forth in the same direction. 

The paint dried pretty quickly and I was able to mount them onto the black paper that same afternoon. My students had written their names on the back of their papers, so I had to make sure that I wrote their names again on the back of the black paper. I put the papers under a stack of books for the evening to make sure they were flattened and secure (be careful that they don't stick together). 

Our classroom owls are now finished and ready to go home. I wish I could keep them and hang them up in the classroom, but oh well! I hope their families will enjoy them even if they don't purchase any of the products from the fundraiser. 

Classroom Poem

This is a poem that I like to use for Open House. I don't remember where I got it from, but I have used it for years. I usually share it with my students a couple days before Open House. We practice it so that everyone knows it. On the night of Open House I hang it on the classroom door. As students enter the classroom they read the poem to their family. It is a nice way to have them start off.

Anna Navarre's TpT Store 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Anna-Navarre

I Spy Fruity Addition Game

My class has been having so much fun with this I Spy Fruity Addition game that I decided to write a post about it. While I have, of course, been teaching addition and subtraction all year long, we have just officially come to this unit in our district timeline. It is nice, because my students already have a good foundation and are ready to move on. I used this game as a way of getting my students warmed up for this unit and they are really enjoying it.

I like activities that are interactive and that I can use as a whole class activity without too much prep. This Fruity I Spy game fits the bill. I printed our four sets of cards, which corresponded to my four classroom groups. Each group went to different parts of the classroom, spread out the cards, and played. Once they got the hang of it they were calling out fruity numbers (i.e., I spy a fruity 12, etc.). It does start to get a little loud when they play this game, so I'm good for about 15 minutes. My students are disappointed when the time is up, because they want to continue playing.

One problem that I did run into initially, is that since my groups were not leveled, some students started getting a little frustrated. This was because the same person was always the first to answer. I changed the groups to leveled groups, and they weren't any more thrilled about that, because it became too competitive for some. I ended up going back to the original groups and allowed for the caller to call any player that had their hand up, giving everyone a fair chance to answer. I also allowed them to call on more than one player if someone else thought they could find another combination to equal the sum that was called out.

When I created this game it was intended to be an addition game, but I think this week I am going to try it as a subtraction game. My students know that subtraction problems need to start with the larger number, so I think that it will work. I think this would also work for multiplication if your class is working on that. It doesn't seem to matter how you play the game. The kids seem to have a fruity fun time.

Here is the link to this I Spy Fruity Addition Game.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/I-Spy-Fruity-Addition-Game-1720981

Please feel free to visit my TpT Store to view my other products. You can also follow my store to get notifications of new free/paid products. 

Anna Navarre's TpT Store

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Anna-Navarre