Insects, and Spiders, and Bugs OH MY!!!

Nothing grabs a kid's attention like a bug! 

If you are ready to start your insect and spiders unit I have some fun ideas below, plus websites and games that will add just a little bit of creepy crawly fun into your unit. Oh! Don't miss the Freebies!

Integrate, Integrate, Integrate!

Bugs and insects are more than just a science subject! The thing I love the most about the insect and spiders unit is how easy it is to integrate it into all of the other subjects. 

1. Math: 

It's really easy to make math story problems into bug problems. Any grade, and any strand of math can be made into great (and fun) story problems. Your kids don't like story problems you say...just wait until those story problems are about bugs! 

2. Social Studies: 

If you are studying a country, research insects and spiders that live there. How are insects used in that country? Are they eaten? Is there folklore about insects there? If you are studying economics, how do insects impact that countries economy in either good or bad ways. A google search will help you here. 

3. Language Arts: 

Stories (both fiction and nonfiction) are all over the place! A look in your school or local library will give you access to bunches!

 a.  Do a "Bug Book Tasting"  Get at least as many bug books as you have students. Scatter them around the room on desks, tables etc. Ask students to start at any book. They have two minutes to look through the book, read a couple of pages, then when the bell rings they move on to the next book. Do this about ten times. It will spur their interest in some of the books enough to make them want to read the whole book. This is fun to do with any topic. 

b.  Use insect/spider articles that are free online for guided reading. Copy and print enough copies of the article for all members of the group. Check readability by copy and printing text into:  http://www.lefthandlogic.com/htmdocs/tools/okapi/okapi.php  Make sure you click either spache for grades 1-3 or Dale-Chail for grades 4 and up. There are LOTS of sites online. Here are couple of good ones. 

This site is great for upper elementary. It's full of amazing fact articles kids will love.   http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/

This is a great video about the history of eating bugs!

That gives you a "taste" of what's online. There's articles for any reading level.

If you are studying any skill in grammar, add bug pictures to it and watch you kids eyes light up! Here are two freebies to stick in your bug unit! Click on the link below the pictures to pick it up for free in my store. 

4. Science:

Just reading the text book can be pretty dry, and suck the fun out of any unit. (sorry, is my bias showing??)  Adding kids' magazine articles, interesting facts and videos certainly help get the information through (even to those reluctant learners), but you need reinforcement too. Have you tried task cards? If not, think of them as a small "bit" of information at a time. For example, it could be a question with multiple choice answers. Some have an essay answer. The point is that the skill is broken down into tiny parts. That makes task cards much less intimidating than worksheets. They can be done alone, with a partner, in groups, or with a game. Try using a simple game like pick-up-sticks with your task cards. Students can only take their turn when they answer a question correctly. Making your own task cards works well when you want to tailor your cards to your curriculum needs. Use the free task card form below to make your own. Really, they are not hard!! Download the google.doc below and copy it as many times as you need to make 20, 30 or as many task cards as you like. Use a sharpie to write your questions, cut apart and laminate. They will last a l-o-n-g time! If you would like a set of task cards on insects and spiders that is already done (that includes a teaching unit) click Here

Click Here for the Freebie

Another fun way to reinforce information is through PowerPoints. If you haven't used PowerPoint before, don't let it intimidate you. It takes about 15 minutes to get the basics by just playing with it. A Powerpoint is fun to use as a class project. Show the slide and ask students to write the answer, then check the answer. They are a great way to test students too. It doesn't feel like a test. If you would like a PowerPoint on insects and spiders already done click Here

Adding activities and videos to your insect/spider unit really hikes up the interest level. Here are a few great sites.

And more (and more) great activities to add to your unit!

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson192.shtml

This site from National Geographic is FULL of great insect videos!

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/hubs/insects/

If you have any other ideas/sites for insects and spiders, be sure to list them below!!

Do you need a great resource for teaching about insects and spiders? Check out:

To get TONS of great ideas and freebies follow my Pinterest board at:

Dragons Den Curriculum on Pinterest

Cause and Effect: 5 Ways to Make Sure Your Students "Get" it!

Learning how to identify cause and effect relationships isn't only a reading skill for students, it's important in their lives every day! Without the ability to distinguish why things happen, students are at risk not only socially, but academically as well. They need to know that actions have consequences that can be either beneficial or very negative. Teaching students how to identify cause and effect in literature is the perfect way to link this understanding to their everyday lives. Without this ability, many students are oblivious as to why consequences come back to bite them.

In reading, understanding cause and effect relationships helps students not only remember what they have read, but helps them make connections between characters and events. That's all about comprehension!

What to do:

1. Make a habit of asking why things happen, not only as students read, but in the classroom as well.  Why wasn't there enough time to play the game? Why was there enough time to play the game? The day is full of opportunities.

2. Ask students to justify their answers to "why" questions. Find evidence in the text, list reasons things happened at school the way they did.

3. Play the "Why Did It Happen?" game. Download the freebie at the bottom of this page. Pull out one or two of the cards during the day, and list on the board events that could have caused it to happen. Most are very open ended. They are a perfect filler for that extra five minutes you get every now and then. You can make your own "Why Did It Happen?" game with any book your students are reading (or you are reading to them). List things that happened in the story and ask students to remember what caused the event to happen. These cards can also be used as a story starter in writing.

4.  Make sure students understand the vocabulary involved with cause and effect. Words like "influence", "as a result", and "consequence" are words that need to show up in every student's vocabulary. Signal words like "first", "second", "next" and "finally" also need special attention, as well as the words "because", "since", "therefore", "consequently" and  "therefore". Students need to know that these words signal a cause/effect connection.

5. Show students how to use graphic organizers and flowcharts  to help guide students into understanding the cause and effect of a particular event. To help students understand that a cause can have multiple effects, use 4th cause/effect page below.

Thanks to Graphics From the Pond http://frompond.blogspot.com for the frame used on two of the worksheets, and Ron Leishman http://www.toonclipart.com for the graphics!

The first two pages in this free download are "Why Did It Happen?" cards. Choose one or two a day and brainstorm with students the causes of each event. Discuss with students which cause is the most likely. These cards can also be used as story starters. Write a story that shows the causes of the event. The second two pages are cause/effect sheets that can be used when students are reading to find specific cause and effect relationships. Note that the last page allows students to list multiple outcomes from one cause. They are perfect for guided reading.  Click on the link below the pictures to download your freebie from Google.doc

Click Here

Do you need a great resource to help with your guided reading groups? Check out:

 

12 Ways to Keep the STRESS Out of Testing

It's about that time! The big end-of-the-year tests are about to hit your favorite classrooms all over the country. Many kids just roll right through them, but for many it is a very stressful time. We all know stress impacts how kids do on these tests, so it's really important for all of us to find ways to help keep kids stay relaxed. The truth is, some kids will always freak out with tests, but a few simple strategies may just help keep the "heebie jeebies" at bay!



1. Teach the art of taking an exam. Your students will take LOTS of tests in their student lives, it's important that they know how. Tips such as:  how to fill in the circle completely, how to eliminate answers that don't make sense, and just concentrate on the top two possibilities. Reading the questions at least twice  and every now and again check to see if the number of the question and the number on the answer sheet match. I ALWAYS had at least one student get "off" and need to take important time to fix their error. Talk about stress!!

2. Stay calm yourself. Kids pick up the anxiety and stress of the teacher, fear is infectious.. Yes, I know the implications of testing can be huge. (That's a blog post in and of itself....not a very nice one.) But stay calm and carry on.

3. When students come into school during testing week, have relaxing music playing and the lights a little lower than normal. For morning work do games, or other relaxing activities. Even pictures to color are a relaxing activity for most kids.

4. Try to find some way to make testing days special. My grade level team wrote a request to the PTA  to buy Chick-Fil-A sandwiches for all of the kids each morning of the test. I can tell you, every kid came to school all week thrilled that it was testing week. A hungry kid doesn't do well on any test. It doesn't have to be anything that big. One year I gave each student a mint at the beginning of the test. There was research at the time that the smell of mind helped clear the mind. That may, or may not, be true, but the kids looked forward to it, and it made the beginning of the testing session a little more fun. I also gave my students two recesses during testing week. They love that, and anything that relieves stress is good!

5. Before handing out the tests, do some deep breathing exercises and stretching. Your students have probably been sitting since they came into school, and even if that is only 20 minutes before the test begins, kids need some movement before they get to work.

6.  Start each testing session off with a joke. It can be dumb, that's ok. If you need some ideas go to: http://jokes4us.com/miscellaneousjokes/schooljokes/kidjokes.html  There's LOTS of sites to get kid's jokes on the Internet. You might even want to post one joke a day on the door for kids to read as they come in the door. Nothing relieves stress like a good laugh.

7. As you go from one section of the test to the other, make sure to do some form of movement. Tensing and relaxing different muscle groups is a great way to relax. I like to start with the face, and move down to the toes. This is a sure stress reliever!

8. Make sure everyone has at least two pencils. If you pass out pencils to students, make it more fun by telling them that you were very lucky to have found lucky pencils for them. They were created especially to help kids do well on tests. Say it with a quirky smile, and they'll enjoy the joke too-plus you never know.....

9. Make sure everyone has gone to the bathroom and has had a drink before test time. I forgot this ONCE....it never happened again.

10. Make a big deal about not giving homework during test week. Make it special in any way possible.

11.  When blood flow is low, concentration goes with it. Tell students to "shake a leg" if they are feeling tired during the test. Just bounce one of their legs for a minute or so.  This might be something you could practice on the days leading up to the test, so it's not a new idea and doesn't get "overdone".

12.  If there is time, review answers. Kids often get finished before time is up. Impress upon them how important it is to go over questions and reread the directions. It is amazing how many careless errors can be caught.

Follow me on Pinterest for LOTS of great ideas and freebies at:
https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/

If you want resources to use all year that help students prepare for that dreaded testing date, check out my store on Teachers Way Teachers. Click on the picture below!

Meet Children's Book Author, Jennifer Maschari

Image courtesy of Open Image Studio

The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari  

Ever since twelve-year-old Charlie Price’s mom died, he feels like his world had been split into two parts. Before included stargazing and Mathletes and Saturday scavenger hunts with his family. After means a dad who’s completely checked out, comically bad dinners, and a grief group that’s anything but helpful. It seems like losing Mom meant losing everything else he loved, too.

Maschari's first book, "The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price" is a suspenseful, amazing journey about finding the balance between remembering and moving on. It is a combination of fantasy and realistic fiction that pulls in all readers, but rings especially true for those children who find themselves in the same situation. 


If you have been looking for an author to Skype with, you can't do better than Jennifer Maschari! She offers a FREE 20 minute Skype session to classrooms, after school clubs, Girl and Boy scout troops, and book groups. If you are interested, click on this link to reach her blog and get all of the information you need: http://jenmaschari.com


The idea for the book came from her own experience. When she was in fourth grade her father became ill and passed away when she was 16. Her experience working through grief gives the book its authentic feel.

Students will be very interested in the editing and revising process authors go through. Her book went through many drafts. Maschari says that she found the job of the copy editor very interesting. It is the copy editor's job to sort through all of the little details, and make sure everything makes sense. She reports that the copy editor pointed out that Charlie had on three different outfits during one short period of time, so that had to be corrected. The copy editor also checks details like the time it takes to go from one place to another, and grammar.  Maschari is currently working on her second book, and has already rewritten all of it expect 12 pages. Revising is not easy! That book will be out sometime in 2017.

Jennifer Maschari started writing when she was four years old. The first book she remembers writing was based on the book "Corduroy" She remembers that her mother put plastic wrap around the first and last pages, so it looked like a book. She continued writing in elementary school. She wrote poems in the style of Shel Silverstein, and lots of stories. She has one book that she wrote, but has not been published that I personally have read. It's hilarious, and one I hope will be published at some point.

For those teachers who have their own book they would like to publish, Jen reports that the most important factor in getting published for her was joining an on-line writer's class through Media Bistro. It helped her become a better writer, and helped her make important connections. She also suggests reading lots of current children's books to see what is going on in publishing. She says that it is important to focus on improvig your craft.

If you have read "The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price" be sure to leave a comment below! It is remarkable indeed!

Rounding Freebies, plus Links and Games!!

Here I am in Ohio in April looking at snow.  Sigh.  I decided to cheer myself up by making a couple of buggy rounding printables that kids will really enjoy. The first one is for tenths and hundredths, the second is for hundredths and thousandths. Both include a grading key...it saves valuable time when grading! Students can color the pictures once they have finished answering the questions. Thanks to Ron Leishman for the terrific clip art! Now, if we can only get a few real bugs here in Ohio, I will not complain!! Just click on the link below the printables.

Click Here for Freebies

Games are always a fun way to reinforce rounding skills. Here are a few of my favorites!

This site has a number of fun rounding games for third and fourth grade, correlated to the Common Core!

Click Here

This fun games is correlated to the Common Core for third, fourth and fifth!

Click Here

LOVE this one because you can choose to use decimals or not!

Click Here

Hope these resources are helpful! Rounding takes a lot of practice, might as well make it fun!

Need a great rounding resource that your kids will love? Check out: 

Follow me on Pinterest to get LOTS of great ideas and freebies! https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/

25 Way to Use Newspapers to Teach Informational Text!

Newspapers can be a HUGE asset to teachers as an informational text teaching tool.

Why are they helpful?

1. Students who regularly read the newspaper show greater interest in local, state and national affairs.

2. Students who read the newspaper in school have less trouble reading it on their own, and have a more positive attitude towards the newspaper.

3. People who read newspapers regularly are more likely to become regular voters.

4. Reading the newspaper helps to raise reading scores according to research done by Dr. Dan Sullivan of the University of Minnesota.

5. Newspapers are more timely than text books

6. Newspapers are models for clear and concise writing.

7. There's something for everyone in a newspaper

Here are just a few of the ways to use newspaper to teach informational text!

1. Choose one main article and copy it for the class. Discuss the lead sentence. That is the "Hook" to get readers to continue reading the article. How does the lead sentence in this article grab the reader's attention? How would students make it better?

2, Discuss the 5 w's used in newspaper writing. (who, what, when where, why).  Go through one article and point out how each of these questions is answered. Ask students to write their own article following the 5 w's about something going on in school.

3. Get into groups of three. Ask them to skim a newspaper section within a specific period of time, then do a short report about what is in the news today.

4. Writer a letter to the editor on an item of interest.

5. Cut out pictures from a newspaper and ask students to write a story to go with the picture in the form of a newspaper article. What happened just before the picture was taken?

6. Ask students to write a new headline for an article of interest.

7. Look for articles that show the different types of writing (narrative, persuasive, expository). Write each heading on the board. Cut out articles and put on the board under each heading. 

8. Group students into groups of two or three. Ask students to take 10 to 15 minutes to make up a ten question quiz on a newspaper article. Ask them to focus on who, what, when, where, why. Swap quiz with another group to answer. Discuss what makes a good question.

9. Ask students to take a particular article and make a list of key vocabulary words used in the section. Ask them to then write a defition for each of these words, and draw a small picture to illustrate it. 

10. Ask students to cirlce all of the store ads in a section of the newspaper. Ask students to discuss what makes an appealing advertisement, and what does not. Ask students to explain what text features in the add were especially appealing, and made them take interest in the add. Ask students to create their own that will be appealing to readers.

11. Ask students to read the pets section of the classified ads. Which add makes them want to see the pet, and maybe adopt or buy it? Ask students to pretend they work at the local pet store. Their job is to write an add of their own selling a pet at the local pet shop. 

12. Assign students a particular article from the newspaper. Asks them to do a mind map of the article on a piece of paper. Draw a rectange in the middle of the paper, then write the main idea in that rectangle. In circles around the rectangel, write supporting details that support the main idea. 

13.  Use the site: AllYouCanRead.com to choose and print an article from any country in the world on any subject! Compare how the article compares with the local newspaper.

14. Keep an eye out for articles in your local newspaper that may be of interest to your students. Bring them in and read to students, then discuss, or write a short paragraph to summarize the article.

15. Ask students to skim articles in the main section of the paper. Newspaper editors must decide which article is worthy of being their lead front page article. Ask students if they agree with the editor's choice. Why? What other article might deserve to be the headline article instead?

16. Use the newspaper to compare your own weather to that in other parts of the country. Discuss the map features used that help in understanding the information. 

17.  Choose an article that students may not be too familiar with. Do a K-W-L chart with students. First show the article, discuss the headline. Then ask students to write under the "K" what they already know about this subject. Then under the "W" what they want to know, then read the article and under the "L" write what they learned.

18. Teacher chooses an interesting article for students, reads it to them as they draw a picture of what the article causes them to visualize. After sharing pictures, discuss the word choice in the article that prompted pictures to be drawn in such a way. Add a caption to the picture to explain what it is about.

19.  Ask students to find one word for which they do not know the meaning in a newspaper article. Ask students to figure out the meaning by using context. Share definitions.

20. As a homework assignment, ask students to read an article in the paper or online at home. Draw a picture to summarize the article, and write a two sentence summary.

21. Do a short research paper on one person discussed in the news.

22. Look at the opinion section of the newspaper. Underline facts, and circle opinions.

23. For a center, cut out about 10 headlines, and the ten articles that go with them. Students must match the headlines to the article.

24. Make a list of ten questions and pass out to groups of students. Post the different articles the questions come from around the room. It is best to put them on construction paper so they are obvious. Students go around the room reading the articles, then answer the questions on their paper. 

25. This is easiest as a center: Give students a number of old newspapers. Then give them a page with the following things to look for: some good news, some news about a different country, some bad news, something about a famous person in politics, news about a Hollywood star, news about a sport. Students write a short sentence about what they found, and give the date of the newspaper it was found in. 

Tips for using the newspaper in your classroom:

Before starting explain how each section of the paper works, and what the focus is for the section.

Look for vocabualry words that could cause difficulty, and go over 3-5 of them that students will see.

Give kids time to do the reading.

Use one section at a time. Too much is well, too much!

Newspapers can be cut-up, marked on, whatever is needed...kids love that!

Hope you enjoy using those newspapers! If you have any other suggestions that you have used in your classroom, please add it below!

Follow me on Pinterest at: Dragon's Den on Pinterest

How Do You Create Decimal Super Heroes?

Decimals can often be one skill that makes a lot of  kids cringe. Teaching it sometimes made me cringe too. It seems like they just "get" fractions, then I would need to throw decimals at them. I'm not gonna lie! When it was time to teach decimals, I heaved a heavy sigh.  So, the hunt was on to make it more understandable to all the kids, and more fun for me to teach. What I was looking for was "Pizazz" to give life to my lessons.

It starts with a "Hook".  

I think some of the lessons on-line are pretty darn awesome. They need to be well under ten minutes and to the point to use them as the "hook" for the lesson. What I've found, it a good hook makes all the difference. It wakes everyone up and makes them ready to learn. Check out the ones below:

This is a great one!  It's a freebie from Brainpop!

Reading decimals can get a little tricky. This video is clear, and easy to understand. It is almost seven minutes, but it's worth it. 

To include with your lesson on putting decimals on a number line, don't miss this one! It's fun, and to the point.

          

Some Interesting Lesson plans...We don't always have to reinvent the wheel!

One of my favorite lessons for when it is time to teach how to write a decimal from a fraction, is called "Decimals, Fractions, and Percentages" by Math is Fun. The pictures are very good, and it breaks everything down in easy-to-understand pieces.

Click Here

Be sure to check out the lesson "Rockin' Fractions" if you teach 4th or 5th grade. It is a song plus lesson plan for teaching decimals. Includes worksheets and more.

Education World's "Rockin' Fractions"

When you want a great, easy and fun game to reinforce the concepts, try Decimal War! It can be adapted for any grade teaching decimals. It's a fun activity to either add at the end of a lesson, or even use for game-day. 

Decimal War

I found a few pre-made worksheets that might be helpful.

This site has amazing worksheets for all areas of decimals. Each download includes the grading key.

This site is a treasure!

Click here

This site has a lot of short little practice sheets. Nice and short. Great for a quick check. They start easy and get harder. Great for differentiation.

Click here

One last one that is pretty nice.

Click here

The next step is LOTS of fun practice. Worksheets have their place, but fun learning is learning that lasts!

Fruit splat is like Fruit Ninja and is sure to be a kid-favorite!
LOVE that it has five levels of difficulty. Good for 3rd through 5th grade!

Click Here

This game site has great games for review, plus this game on converting fractions to decimals, don't miss this fun site!

Click here

Now for the great review game! This is a Jeopardy game on decimals, fractions and percents that the whole class can play in teams.

Click here

Kids will love this one! They can play on their own, but are playing against other online players. It's called "Puppy Race".

Click Here

Don't miss this book for teaching fraction, decimals and percents! Get it at your local library, or ask your librarian to order it. 

I hope the lessons, ideas, worksheets and games are just what you need to round out your decimal lessons. After all, decimal Super Heroes don't just happen, sometimes it takes a little "Pizazz"!  If you have more ideas for other teachers, please add them below!

Do you need a fun game to help your students practice those tricky decimals?  Check out: 

For more ideas and freebies, follow me on Pinterest at: https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/