Frog Fun Friday

Frog Fun Friday! 

We used foam insect stickers, which my son called "phone stickers" - hence the prop he carried! Mine are quite old, so you can use these foam insect stickers to make your own art or game.

As always, we did Do a Dot F with the paint markers and fuzzy pom poms since he loves them so much!

We read frog books like The Very Funny Frog 

(Here's a video if you don't want to purchase it.)

and Frog Gets Lost, 

and played Alphabet Bug Splat with our Eric Carle friends from his Busy Book. 

Grab some fly swatters at your local dollar store and print out some bug alphabet cards.

We also took a rainy day stroll to the lake we live at to look for frogs. Then we hopped to Five Little Speckled Frogs 

and participated in Frank the Frog Cosmic Yoga.

Here are some frog facts we learned.

We also took a virtual field trip to meet frogs and other amphibians.

This Mr. Mouth Feed the Frog game looks like so much fun! You can practice counting, colors, and eye-hand contact.

I personally loved these jumping frogs as a kid.

Like this post? Check other others about ducks and gardening, too!

New Jersey and Federal Legislature

Is your class learning about the New Jersey or federal legislative branches? Check out these free Google Docs! The legislators are accurate for NJ as of April 2020.

Click here to download. Just click "File" ---> "Make a Copy" and then edit the document as needed. 

If you're doing remote learning like my class, consider removing the answer key before sharing! I have given differentiated options in the directions for you to print and have students write the answers in the chart, print and have the kids cut and paste their answers into the chart, or for students to copy and paste the words from the word box into the chart.

Click here to download. Just click "File" ---> "Make a Copy" 

Click here to download. Just click "File" ---> "Make a Copy" 

Here is a fun video field trip to the NJ State House. It's very similar to the tour given on field trips.

St. Patrick's Day fun activities

Here are some things we've been doing this March to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Click the links or images to go to my TPT store.

St. Patrick's Day Lucky Opinion Writing

St. Patrick's Day Math coloring pages

St. Patrick's Day Rich Opinion Writing

Dolch Rainbow Sight Words Pack

                          
                        

Check out my old post for some more fun St. Patrick's Day ideas!

Growth Mindset

Early on in the school year, we learn about Growth Mindset. It's based on a concept / book by Carol Dweck, and it has been adapted to apply to classrooms. Students are taught that effort and hard work are more important than thinking some people are naturally born "smart". The focus is on the journey of learning and growth vs the end product and a number grade.

Click on the image or grab this freebie over in my TPT store! Please leave a rating. :)

We read My Fantastic Elastic Brain as well as some of the following books, some of which were part of a funded Donors Choose project on Social Stories:

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It

 

Thanks for the Feedback, I Think (Best Me I Can Be!) by Julia Cook

I Can Do Hard Things: Mindful Affirmations for Kids by Gabi Garcia

I Won't Give Up (Persistence Project) (Volume 2) by Daniel Kenney

There are so many cool resources out there on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Click here to find other Class Dojo videos on Growth Mindset!

What challenges or successes have you had with your students?

Can you recommend any other resources?

Reading-Rewards reading log

Do you struggle with getting your students to read? Or do they read, but not log their reading? Do their reading logs never get signed or mysteriously vanish? Do your students magically need to run to the bathroom when you try to check their reading logs? I have the solution for you-Reading-Rewards!

Here is a video I created to teach students how to log their reading.

Students are really motivated for a few reasons. 

1. They can choose and change their avatar.

2. They earn badges and RR miles.

3. It is a social thing. Others can see what they are logging, or not logging.

4. Because they can see what other classmates are reading, they often want to read those books, too.

5. They know they are going to be held accountable. Believe it or not, they like this in fourth grade.

Check out some of my (free) rewards they can choose from. This year, they are all about sitting with a friend and reading to another teacher's class. Previous classes really loved to sit at the teacher's desk, have lunch with the teacher, and to be teacher for a day.

Here is a rubric I created. Students get a monthly reading homework grade. I actually give students a copy of the school calendar and have them color in the days they logged. Then they look at their online log to give themselves a grade. They also keep a copy of the rubric stapled into their homework folder.

What do you think? Are you willing to try it out with your class? 

Do you already use Reading-Rewards or do you have another system?