Book Theme: Back to School

Book Theme: Back to School

Sunday, August 2, 2015

5 comments

August Theme of the Month: Back to School

With school starting up again soon (how fast did the summer fly by?) I thought it would be a great time to focus on back to school books. Students and teachers are always nervous starting a new school year, but we need to embrace the new beginning and start fresh!

One of my favorite back to school books to read is Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. This little mouse reminds me SO much of myself as a child (and sometimes as an adult). I worry about EVERYTHING. It’s a great read aloud to remind students that everyone has worries, especially on the first day of school.

Wemberly Worried Book Trailer:

Activities and Resources for Wemberly Worried:

Kevin Henkes’Activity Guide

Live Oak MediaActivity Guide

CPALMS Lesson Plan

Other books for the first day of school:

Read More

Favorite Back to School Book

Favorite Back to School Book

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

8 comments

My favorite book to read to students on the first day of school is A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. I love it so much that I featured it as my book of the month in May, and felt like I needed to revisit it for my favorite back to school book!

A Bad Case of Stripes is about a girl, Camilla Cream, who loves lima beans. She is afraid to admit it because no one else in her class likes them and she wants so badly to fit in. She is sent home from school when she begins to suffer some strange transformations, like turning red, white, and blue, and breaking out in stars during the Pledge of Allegiance. Being true to herself is the only cure.

I've used this book successfully with students in grades 2-5. The first day of school is a perfect time to read A Bad Case of Stripes because students are often feeling nervous about fitting in with their new classmates. This book shows students that being true to themselves is important.

If you plan on using this book, use my free bulletin board activity to accompany the read aloud! It includes 4 sets of mini posters (2 boy versions and 2 girl versions). After listening to the read aloud, students create their own "Bad Case of..." mini poster by decorating it with their favorite foods, activities, sports, books, etc. Students can share their mini-posters as a way to introduce themselves to the class. Collect each student's poster to make a quick and easy bulletin board for the beginning of the year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Read More

TPT Seller Challenge - Week 1: Makeover Madness!

TPT Seller Challenge - Week 1: Makeover Madness!

Monday, June 15, 2015

2 comments

I've joined up with Third in Hollywood, Sparkling in Second, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Teach Create Motivate, along with about a zillion other amazing TPT sellers for the TPT Seller Challenge! 

I may be in a little over my head since I STILL have three weeks until I'm on Summer vacation, but I'll do my best to keep up!

This week, the challenge is to makeover a resource from my store. Luckily for me, I am in the midst of completely overhauling everything in my store!

All of the products featured below sell in my TPT store for $5. In celebration of their new makeovers, each of the items will be on sale for $3 through June 18th! If you already own them, be sure to check your purchases tab on TPT and download the new and improved versions! 

Back to School Postcards

The original product contained 30 themed postcards. I have created an additional 10 postcards, updated all of the fonts, and added beautiful new clip art! I LOVE the new look for these postcards and so will your students! They will be perfect to get your students excited for the new school year. 

The set below is not grade specific. If you're looking for a specific grade level, check out my other postcard sets:  
Kindergarten Postcards 
1st Grade Postcards 
2nd Grade Postcards 
3rd Grade Postcards 
4th Grade Postcards 
5th Grade Postcards 

Bloom's Taxonomy

I loved the content and layout of everything within the product, but was not impressed with the cover, so I gave it a facelift! This is one of my very favorite products and can be used with ANY text! It includes 7 posters, 24 task cards, 24 question stems, and a graphic organizer to help students develop critical thinking skills! 

Don't forget to check out #TPTsellerchallenge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to find hundreds of other teacher authors who are participating!

Read More