Help I'm overwhelmed by TPT!

Do you ever feel this way? I do! In fact sometimes when I go back through my purchases to find something I find 20 other things I forgot I had purchased. So I thought I'd share my favorite purchases from TPT- the purchases I use the most and of course the books I'd pair with them.

New book buys

Here are a few books I picked up this week, that I am excited about for next year:


" With the help of his imaginary friend, Weasel, Ellison finds his very own voice - a jazzy sound that charms all the other animals!" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/563061.Ellison_the_Elephant?from_search=true).


How I want to use:  This comes with a CD so it would be a great read aloud for students (I can save my voice) to talk about friendship and finding your talent. I also think this would be a great book to lend teachers to continue the lesson in the classroom. They can use it as a Daily 5 station and the students can listen to the cd.



"This endearing friendship story about a boy and his dog from a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer gently explores a timeless question: who’s really in charge?
Meet Sid. He’s an ordinary kid. He’s far from perfect. But to Murphy, Sid’s faithful dog, Sid is the whole world. Murphy thinks Sid is the absolute best—and that he’s in charge of everything.
Sid loves Murphy right back, but he can’t help but wonder what Murphy would think if he realized the truth: Sid’s just a kid, and Murphy’s just a dog, and neither one can control the world." (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18122696-me-dog)

Topics to cover with this book: self control, friendship, respecting adults/teachers, rules, perfectionism, self acceptance and self esteem, etc.

"A boy rides a bicycle down a dusty road. But in his mind, he envisions himself traveling at a speed beyond imagining, on a beam of light. This brilliant mind will one day offer up some of the most revolutionary ideas ever conceived. From a boy endlessly fascinated by the wonders around him, Albert Einstein ultimately grows into a man of genius recognized the world over for profoundly illuminating our understanding of the universe. "  (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14955390-on-a-beam-of-light?from_search=true)

Lessons for April

K and 1st- Fairness

We are talking about our character education word "fairness" this month.
We started by reading one of my favorite books It's Not Fair.

As a follow up we used this super cool activity from www.teach-a-roo.blogspot.com 

The kids had to cut a pizza in a "fair" way for 5 people. It was awesome to see them problem solve. 
When we were done we did a fairness coloring sheet.

2nd Grade- Choices and Consequences

We started by reading If You Give A Dog A Donut or If You Give A Cat A Cupcake.

 

We talked about cause and effect. Then we did a venn diagram about consequences and punishments. We had a great discussion. To finish up we played a Plicker or Kahoot game based on Win Or Lose It's How You Choose.

 3rd grade- Test Taking

We started by watching a Brain Pop Test Taking Skills video and taking the quiz.

Visit TPT for the test taking version.

Then we completed "teat taking" gold pot activity by the amazing Savvy School Counselor. Get yours here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/School-Counselors-March-Activity-Pack-Savvy-School-Counselor-1110842

As a final follow up we drew comic strips about testing perseverance.

Lesson Highlights and Ideas

I really like doing lessons where students tap into themselves and make personal connections, but I love it when I can extend that to help them make connections with other classmates.

Here are a few ideas for lessons you may enjoy.

Here is what I did with 5th Grade. We watched this amazing Ted Talks about a boy becoming an artist. *heads up: make sure you watch this video before you play it to make sure it's good for your students. Mine love it and I've never had a problem.

After the video, we discussed the struggles he faced in reaching his goals and I asked the students to reflect on their own struggles by telling filing in the blanks: "I struggle with___, but I won't let that stop me from___." Here is the exit ticket.

I had a student tell me he loved this lesson because he really got to open up and share his feelings. Music to a counselors ears.

Other ideas:
*Read " This Is Moose" as a lead in and talk about reaching your goals even when others might doubt you. My students LOVE this book.

 This book is going to be so much fun for our career unit and talking about not giving up on your dreams. Read the story behind the story here.

*Tie this into a bravery by reading "My Brave Year of Firsts" with younger students.
*Talk about perseverance with older students by reading "3 Ninja Pigs" and/or watching this adorable video about not giving up.

*Have students research other famous people that have struggled and over come.
My next favorite lesson is....

Book Fair Books

The problem with your best friend being a librarian is you always have to buy books...I mean how could I not. Seriously she inspires me to add to my collection- I can't wait to share with the kids!

I got some great books at book fair this year check them out:

You know I can't get enough of the "3 Ninja Pigs" and this book has been on my wish list for a while. I can't wait to use this book along with Corey Rosen Schwartz other books to compare and contrast, talk about point of view, etc. Need ideas - no worries- here is the teachers guide.

Here is the book trailer:

I love this book by one of my all time favorite authors Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

This is a great way to add non fiction into your lessons. This book talks about bug manners and it's GROSS, which means the kids will love it. It would be super fun to have the kids vote on which but they think has the best and worst manners and why. Get the teacher's guide here.

I also grabbed a Tom Litchfield book. This book is going to be so much fun for our career unit and talking about not giving up on your dreams. Read the story behind the story here.

If you have "When Sophie Gets Angry" then you have to  check out this sequel.

This is a great book to talk about conflict resolution and problem solving skills. It would be fun to read it and then follow up with a socratic seminar on dogs vs. cats.

Cosmo Career Canine

I've seen this idea around, but I am finally trying it. This year I have a stuffed pup "Cosmo" who will be the 2nd grade "career canine." I picked up 4 Cosmo's at Walgreens last year for like $2 total. They were on clearance after Valentines maybe. Anyway I figured it would be a good way to test it out and I wouldn't be too heart broken if Cosmo never made it back to school.

How it works:

Each month I'll pick 1-4 students that have been nominated for outstanding character and let them take Cosmo home. While he visits with them for 2 weeks the students should journal about what he learns about their guardian(s) job(s). He can go to work with the parent/guardian and in each Cosmo bag will be sample interview questions for the parents about their career and  if applicable college education. 

Then when the student's return Cosmo I"ll copy a journal page and display it in the hallway and do a quick blurb on our morning announcements about the career he learned about. To get us started Cosmo spent the day with several of our staff members. 

Here is a quick intro to Cosmo along with interview questions for students. 

Are you ready for the real world?

What to do you to help your students with college and career readiness to #reachhigher?
One of my favorite ways is with a reality fair! Our event was even highlighted on this amazing Scholastic Blog: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/05/host-reality-fair


Reality Day/Reality Fair is a ton of fun. Trust me, your students will be talking. I love tying it into my career research units and college prep talks. Here's the basics on how it works:

1) The students research future careers/college plans.

2) The day of the fair you give them a register for a career (ideally the career they choose during their career exploration) and the average salary after taxes (include lots of CCSS by having them figure it out themselves). Need help with the math? There are lots of paycheck calculators online such as this one.

3) On the day of the event booths are set up with real world bills/businesses. From real estate to child care I try to give them a sample of life as an adult. They visit the booths and start budgeting their future. Do they really need that mustang?

4) Sit back and try not to cry tears from laughing to hard. Seriously I've heard some great lines over the years such as these: "The real world is really mean, and I probably shouldn't, own a farm and have 2 kids." 

Ready to create your own fair? Well lucky you, I created an event packet that has everything you need to recreate your own reality fair. Get it at my TPT store and enjoy. Be sure to tell us how it went!

Read more details about Reality Day here.

Reality Day- The New Career Day

Career day is by far one of my favorite days at my school. When I started at my school Career Day was the same for all students- a day full of speakers. I decided to mix it up based on a program I attended through the County's BEP program. I loved their "Reality Day" and decided I wanted to make our own event at our school. So now students in K-4th get to hear speakers and students in 5-6th get their own "Reality Day."



I could write lots and lots about this day (I am very proud that we started it from scratch), but my friend Mrs. Bunyi did a better job than I could ever do on her blog. Read more about my Reality Day at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/05/host-reality-fair.

FAQS

1. Reality Day allows students to research careers they are interested in beforehand and live out their dreams on career day. We research careers and the education and experience necessary to attain these jobs, median salary, similar careers, etc. beforehand during classroom guidance lessons. Students in 5th grade get to pick their career or job and I assign 6th grade students their careers. Last year I assigned 6th grade their jobs out of sheer time necessity, but I discovered that I enjoyed doing this because it allowed me to assign them jobs they had never heard of or considered. For example, I assigned several students the job of actuary. When those students got their actuary jobs they pouted, but when they saw how much money they made they wanted to know as much as they could about how to become one.

2. Students get a yearly salary based on the median salary of their selected career. They then get to spend their money at the various stations I have set up: housing, car, child care, education, hair care, crystal ball, etc.

3. Students are assigned a different number of children. I assign the students the children, which can range from 0-3 and we assume all children are young enough that they require day care.

4. Reality Day lasts for half a day. You need at least an hour and a half minimum for the students to complete the event. This is an event you can do in elementary through high school age.

5. Parent and local volunteers really help make this day a success. I really love using Volunteer Spot to help me keep my volunteers organized. Volunteer Spot sends out reminders for you and allows parents to sign up for whatever they are interested in- from helping set up to bringing in snacks and water I can tell parents what I need help with and they choose how they want to help. This event is another great day to develop PR. We have about twenty local businesses attend this day and what a great way to include your community and spread the word about your program.

UPDATES

Here are a few updates that I have made since Mrs. Bunyi blogged about the event.

1. I added pet care. Students are always begging for pets so I let them choose a pet. Although a pet is not necessary, if students choose to get one they can't get rid of it.

2. I allowed some students to get roommates. The students that showed they could make good financial decisions and yet still went bankrupt were allowed to pair up as roommates and cut their bills in half.

3. Next year I will am considering adding in spouses. In the years past I have told students they need to imagine they are the head of the household, thus have to pay for everything. However, I have many many many students beg for an imaginary spouse so I am considering adding on a spouse. To do this I would simply add their spouse to the total income at the top of their log sheet. I would assign their spouses job and salary- my kids love to debate so I have to set firm limits with them.

4. We also added a household goods station- for the students who wanted to spend extra cash buying a big screen tv.

WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE SAYING

"I liked when i was talking to the people behind the booths there because they were very kind and helpful and i like how i got to see all the things i would be doing in reality... I also like how we got all the goodies :)"

"My favorite part was how I could see that my parents worked hard and I would realize I should thank them more."

"(I liked) Learning how to use money wisely."

"I liked learning what life would be like when I grew up, it was really fun and a good learning experience.

"I learned to never gamble because i was doing good and about finished with the activities (in my $3,000) until i reached the crystal ball."

"That the real world is really mean, and I probably shouldn't, own a farm and have 2 kids."

"I learned how to budget myself, how easy it is to go bankrupt, and in the future, to make my husband pay for himself and the kids."

"I learned that the cheapest things aren't always the worst."

"I learned that when I ask my mom for something everyday, she might run out of money. I know now to be more cautious with my money."

"That life is hard!!! Money can be scarce!"

"That being an adult IS NOT EASY AT ALL!!! Its a lot of money to be spending!"

"THAT BEING AN ADULT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS!"

What they loved, hated and learned: 

My favorite part about Reality Fair? 

-"Buying things"

-"choosing how to play out my life"

Least favorite part?

-"The part where I went bankrupt"

-"loosing money"

What did you learn?

-"Couponing is the best"

-"That life is expensive"

-"Budgets are hard to keep up with"

- "I learned parents do lots of hard work"

-'that you need to know the plan you have and make it good"

-" I don't want to be a grown up"

- "money goes a lot farther if you spend it wisely"

- "go for the cheap stuff "

 I am sure I will blog about this lots more as I hope to present this day at next years ASCA Counseling Conference. So keep checking for more information as I keep tweeking all of my forms, etc. For now read more at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/05/host-reality-fair


So...what do you do for Career Day??