Polar Bear Power Point

I love teaching about polar bears and other polar animals. Recently I had a customer purchase a Penguin PowerPoint that I have in my TPT Store. She left a message saying that she liked it and wished that I had a Polar Bear PowerPoint as well. Her message prompted me to send her a reply as well as to write this blog. 

I haven’t created a Polar Bear PowerPoint, because I use one that I got several years ago from Polar Bears International. It is a great PowerPoint and is done so well that I didn't feel I could create anything better. It is still available. If you are teaching polar bears to primary students I highly recommend it. The Polar Bear International website is a good website and has many other resources as well.

There are a lot of resources to check out on the Polar Bear International website, but the PowerPoint that I like is under the (K-4) All About the Bears. It is a free downloadable PowerPoint file. Here is the link.

https://polarbearsinternational.org/education-center/presentations-materials/

Polar Bears International sometimes changes there website, but hopefully, you will be able to find this resource. 

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

Here are a couple of other resources that you may be interested in.

STEM Activity - Build a Polar Bear

Polar Bear Facts Game

Polar Themed Activities

You might also be interested in the penguin PowerPoint that I mentioned earlier. 

Penguin PowerPoint

Holiday Gift Ideas for Parent Helpers and Co-Workers

Christmas is the time of the year for giving and I love doing it, but it can get costly. I usually start off with wanting to get something for all of my parent helpers. Then of course I want something for all of my 1^st grade team. I can’t forget the office staff or our two wonderful custodians. And then there is the something special I need for my aide. Wow! That is a lot of people, but they all matter to me, so I want to give them a little something. Well, I did. Maybe you don’t want to go to quite the extreme that I did, but coming up with inexpensive ideas can still be a little difficult, so I thought I would share some of my favorites.

My usual favorite is what I call the cozy bundle. I used to have to catch the Black Friday sales in order to get a good deal on the throws, but now I can find them at Walmart for as low as $2.50. I take these little blanket throws and put them in a gift bag along with a word search book and a small bag of candy, which I usually get from the Dollar Store. I can do this gift for under $5.00. These cozy bundle gift bags also work as a great "get better" and "thinking of you" bags. 

This year I went a different route. I went with scarf and glove sets. It was actually pretty fun shopping for all of the different scarves. The prices of the scarves varied, but were as low as $3.00, again at Walmart. The gloves came in a set of two for $1.50, which I split up. While I went above $5.00 for most, it is a gift idea that could easily be purchased for less. Oh, and I purchased the gift boxes at the 99 Cent Store for a set of 3. I've already given out these sets to the staff and they really seemed to love them.

Please feel free to visit my TPT Teacher's Store

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

Poinsettia Calendar Gift Idea

I love the holiday season. I also love to have projects that my students can work on and give to theri families. My go-to art project is a Poinsettia vase but sometimes I have a student with a sibling that has been in my class a previous year, Of course, this means their families already have a vase. 

mThis takes me to option two. I stick with the poinsettia theme, but I do a calendar instead. It does take a little more work, but it is still a great project. This Poinsettia Calendar is an easy-to-make and inexpensive gift idea. You simply create the cover, laminate, add calendar pages, and bind it together. 

I've included step-by-step instructions as a Freebie in my TPT Store. You can check it out if you are interested. 

Pointsettia Calendar Gift Idea

Just in case you are interested, the Poinsettia vase idea is also a Freebie. I've included the link to that resource as well. 

Poinsettia Vase Gift Idea 

I hope that you enjoy these Christmas gift ideas. I also hope that you have a wonderful holiday season. 

Phonics Reading Phones

These Phonics Reading Phones are a great addition to your classroom. I like to use them during choice reading time or at my library center. The kids have fun using them. Mine were made years ago, so they are a little warn. It just goes to show that they definitely last the test of time.

The phones are pretty easy to make and way more affordable then the commercially sold products. Here is what you do:

- Purchase a long tube of 1" PVC tubing and cut it into  3 1/4" length  

  pieces.

- Purchase 1" PVC elbows (2 for each phone).

- Push the elbows on to each end of the PVC tubing piece.

- Decorate with colorful tape and stickers.

To use these phones students just hold the phone up to their ear and mouth and talk. They definitely need to be trained to speak in a regular voice or even a whisper, because at first they think they need to speak loudly.

                                                     

TPT Store 

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

Teacher's Notebook

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/shop/anavarre

Common Core Unknown Number with Flower Petal

One of the Common Core math standards for first grade is determining the unknown number. It is a standard that is somewhat tricky for my first graders. Obviously those students with strong number sense get it, but it has been more difficult for the others.

Determining the Unknown Number with Flower Petals is a set of worksheets that I created to help students begin to understand what they are looking for; what it means when there is a missing number; and how to figure out what number goes in the missing number spot. It has been very helpful to my students. The set includes three addition and three subtraction sheets, which isn’t a lot, but the student are able to carry this strategy over to other similar worksheets or problems I assign for their math journals.

The way the Unknown Number with Flower Petals worksheets work is that students draw flower petals (circles) around the unknown number box as they are counting up for addition or back for subtraction. Once they have the flower petals drawn they count the petals and then write that number in the missing number box. Students do need to be encouraged to draw neatly or they have difficulty being able to see/count the petals. I also like having them put a mark on each petal while they are counting in order to help them count more accurately.

As I’ve mentioned already, this strategy could be used with any unknown number worksheet, but I have made my Determining the Unknown Number with Flower Petals set available at my teacher’s store. Please feel free to check it out, or to view my other products if you are interested.

 Determining the Unknown Numbers with Flower Petals

Pie Pan Phonics

Pie Pan Phonics is a good center activity that provides students with decoding practice and helps to build fluency. Students use a 9" pie pan, a small ball, and the phonics wheels to read words as the ball goes around the pan. Pie Pan Phonics are available at both my TPT and Teacher's Notebook Stores. Please feel free to check them out if you are interested.
 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Pie-Pan-Phonics-912152
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVCe-Pie-Pan-Phonics-912186
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ll-and-ck-Pie-Pan-Phonics-912206

Brain Break YouTube Videos

There are times in my classroom where it is plain to see that my students need a break. They really like it when I call a "Brain Break" and we put on one of our favorite videos. I have a YouTube account, which allows me to save a playlist for these videos. If you don't have one, I highly recommend it. Anyways, here are some links to the ones I use. There are a lot more to choose from, but I really try to watch and listen for what is appropriate for first grades.

                         Click on the links to view:                                                                

                                                          Mario
                                                   The Sid Shuffle
                                                Boom Chicka Boom
                                              Just Dance 2014 - Happy
                                                Happy - Music Video
                                              Just Dance - Dynamite
                              Just Dance Kids 2 - I am a Gummy Bear
                                   Halloween Song - Monster Shuffle


I know that some schools block YouTube. Ours does too, but it has been set up where staff can sign in and be allowed to access it that way. If this isn't an option for you then you could always try recording it.

Note; I have recently had to update this post, because previous videos are no longer available on YouTube. I am sorry if you run into this problem.