Throw Back Thursday Update

I can't believe i originally posted this on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015! wow how time flies. 

I recently got to visit some of my favorite 4th grade teachers who also used this book for their back to school lessons. Here is how I used it and here's how they used it:

"What If Everybody.."

I love this story for so many reasons:

1) The illustrations really engage the students.
2) You can introduce so many topics with it:
           - Character Education Traits like responsibility, respect, and citizenship.
           - The importance of classroom, school, and community rules/laws.
           - Rules and consequences
           - Cause and effect
3) It works for a variety of ages. It's always hard to find a book that appeals the masses, but I've used this book for grades 2-5th and they all love it.

In fact I love it so much I made some discussion cards for students and FREEBIE activities here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_6T4rR2pFj5MEVnUjNCQWE1cE0/view?usp=sharing. You can use the cards to help facilitate discussion as you read or as a game (Quiz Quiz Trade) at the end of the story. You could also use the cards as writing prompts!  Get them at my TPT store.

These discussion cards are a companion for the book "What If Everybody Did That" by Ellen Javernick. You can use the cards as you read the story or as a discussion/review game at the end. This 20 page packet includes: 80 question cards, directions to play Quiz Quiz Trade, and connections to Common Core and ASCA Mindsets. Some of the cards ask similar questions, but they are differentiated for your grade and reading level of your students. There is also a blank card for you to create your own question.

I also like partnering the book with A Perfectly Messed Up Story to talk about how you can take care of school supplies? What if everybody ate snack while reading library books? 

Here is how my 4th grade teachers used it:

Agenda: 
Listen as I read.
Model expectations for materials.
Discuss in small groups.
Create a class chart.
Independent Work.



You can get all the worksheets here on TPT.
Check out more back to school activities from Jillian Starr here.

Don't Be A Bossy Bear

Today we did a lesson in being bossy!

First we read this book, which I love because my dog is Boss and I often call him Bossy Bear.


When reading this story we stopped at the "oh" page. I used to always fear not reading an entire book, but through a lot of encouragement through my librarian friends I have embraced the idea of not reading the entire book.

So after stopping on this page we discussed what he might be thinking. If the author had added a thought bubble, what would it say? You could give students a page or paper with a thought bubble and have them write it down if you want.

Here are some other books you might like to use:



Follow up videos:

Here is a very bossy frog that the students can follow along to:

This is a very cute video with a very bossy sister bear:

Practical practice:

Follow it up with giving a direction for example- passing the crayons, and have students act it out in a bossy or non bossy way!

What would you do to address bossiness?

September Lesson Plans

Finally getting around to sharing what I've been up to. What a school year!!

Here's what we are doing in our class in September. I'll upload my lesson plans to Google Drive and keep updating them there so check it out here.

gonoodle.com

K and 1st: Let's Listen

We started by reading Interrupting Chicken.  Then we practiced our skills by learning the chicken dance on Go Noodle.

gonoodle.com

Then we talked about all the body parts it takes to listen (eyes, ears, body, brain, etc).  We then met Howard B Wigglebottom who is also learning how to listen. After watching our story,
we practiced again by playing Freeze It on Go Noodle.

http://speech-specialed.blogspot.com/p/whole-body-listening.html

Follow up: We did a cut and paste activity about whole body listening.

Last Minute Lessons K-2

It's happened to all of us we need a last minute lesson. My practicum student and I are working on a few last minute lessons for K-2 and I must admit I like them.

K- Honesty

We are starting out with another good book: "The Dog Who Cried 'Woof!'"





You could also watch this cute story, The Dog Who Cried Wolf:

(I asked the students to guess what they thought our topic today was going to be before hand, but you could have them read the book and guess at the end).

I used these cool FREE self assessment fans as a great informal assessment along the way.

As they read I asked them to hold up a red face when they heard a lie, a green when they heard the truth, or yellow if they weren't sure. You could also have them do things like raise their hands when they hear a lie, give snaps when they hear the truth, stand up or sit down- anything to get them active.

Next we had a short discussion about honesty and what it meant to be honest and dishonest.

Next we watched the video/ story "Tell the Truth B B Wolf" on Vimeo- https://vimeo.com/117880122

At the end I used these adorable and FREE partner cards by Speckled Moose Counseling to have the students pair up and share a time they had been honest or told a lie.

To end our lesson I created this cut/paste honesty sort. It was a great way for them to create a definition of honesty and decide if the two scenarios were honest or dishonest.


1st- Caring

We started by watching  Brave Irene on http://www.storylineonline.net/

At the end I used these adorable and FREE partner cards by Speckled Moose Counseling to have the students pair up and share a time they had been brave or shown courage.

We ended with this cute courage color sheet by Savvy School Counselor.

2nd - Caring

We started by watching Someone Loves You Mr. Hatch on http://www.storylineonline.net/

Next we used a beach ball to pass around the class and share different ideas how we show people we care about them at school, then at home, and then in the community.

We ended with this cute caring color sheet by Savvy School Counselor.

What are your favorite last minute lessons on courage, caring, and honesty?

Class lessons for October- a highlight

Here's a look at what I'm doing in the classroom for October.

Oct.

Listening Skills “Howard B Wigglebottom Learns To Listen”

Problem Solving/ Conflict Resolution/ Point of view “Duck!Rabbit!” “Howard B Wigglebottom”

Tattle vs. Tell “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal”

Tattle vs. Tell “A Bad Case of the Tattle Tongue” “I Didn’t Do It”

Fairness Self Confidence “It’s Not Fair” “Exclamation Mark” Trustworthiness “Mr. Peabody’s Apples”

Decision Making/ Peer Pressure “Peer Pressure Gauge” Trustworthiness “Mr. Peabody’s Apples”

Click read more below for a more detailed look at the lessons, links to lesson plans and resources, and free activities!