Aquarium Filler

I had an empty fish aquarium but didn’t want the hassle of keeping fish, so each week I’d pick a different animal to feature in the aquarium. And by animal I mean a stuffed animal or some other kind of toy. For example, I might put a plastic hermit crab inside. Then I’d add things you’d find in a hermit crab’s habitat: a sandy background (printed and taped to the back of the tank), empty shells, a water supply and maybe even some small pebbles. Outside of the aquarium I’d set up a basket full of books all about hermit crabs. With the exception of some great literature, I try to stick with nonfiction but it depends on my class and their unique interests. No matter what, they consistently love books that tell about wild animals or how to take care of pets (like hermit crabs). If changing your animal each week feels too overwhelming then change once or twice a month. You can turn your aquarium into a center and incorporate themed writing, math or science ideas too.

Rectangle Riddles

During a unit on animals, we asked our students to write riddles. We thought this would be a unique and fun way to test their comprehension and application of the subject matter.

We wanted the students to be able to ask their riddles, but needed a way to hide the answers from students next to the reader, so we created Rectangle Riddles.

Take a piece of 8 1/2 by 11 paper and fold it in half. Voila! There’s your rectangle.

Students write their riddles on the front of the rectangle. The riddle should give three hints about the subject matter or content. Sometimes we give students criteria for their hints, other times we let them come up with whatever clues they like. For the picture above the criteria for the hints was to include the animal’s body covering, how the animal moves and a body part that is important for the animal. Students always end with a question such as, “Who/What/Where am I?”

The answer goes on the inside of the folded rectangle. Ask the riddle, and then lift the flap for the answer. It’s that easy. We required one riddle per student but the class loved the activity so much that most went on to write three or four.

Rectangle Riddles are appropriate for all core subjects and are a great interactive hallway display. Try them out and see how creative your students can get!

Everything Journal

Our school used to order planners for each of our students. But what we discovered was that they weren’t really being used like they should have been. So we turned them into “Everything Journals”. By the end of the year each journal was filled with colorful and imaginative responses.

We no longer order planners, so we’ve turned our planner prompts into journal prompts! The prompts can be used in pre-K through third grade classes. Emergent writers can use a mix of illustrations and words or short phrases to respond to the prompts. More fluent writers can respond using sentences or paragraphs. This makes differentiation a snap.

The prompts can be used weekly, or cut apart ahead of time and placed at a writing or literacy center. We have made both color and black and white options that you can choose from depending on your printers and copiers.

The prompts are so varied that our students never tire of doing them.

Tell me Tuesday

We are always looking for a new way to start our mornings, (our first graders get tired of worksheets!) so we came up with “Tell me Tuesday.”

Every Tuesday morning, we project (on the SMARTBoard) a picture of an unusual creature that we think will be unfamiliar to our students. Some examples they’ve enjoyed include: a hydra, coati, sea cucumber, narwhal, naked mole rat, slipper lobster and an agouti.

We pose the same questions each week with a different picture. The students respond in their journals and share their guesses later. We always reveal the accurate information on our chosen creature after everyone has responded. They really enjoy being introduced to new animals. Have fun and let us know if you think of any good ones to add to our list!

Graphing All Year

Student surveys are one of my favorite things to do. It’s really fun to see the similarities and differences among my students. Often you’ll even see new bridges built and friendships formed after students make their choices. 

The format of conducting surveys in my room has changed from year to year. I’ve had students place clothespins with their names onto a sign to display their choice. I’ve done TONS of graphs on my SMARTBoard. I’ve even had students fill in over-sized graphs that you can wipe off and reuse.

However, my favorite kinds of graphs are the ones that you can keep all year. Sometimes I even have my students write their names to make the bars on the graph to create a permanent record of their choices. They are great conversation starters and it’s entertaining for the students to look back at surveys from the beginning of the year to see how their opinions have changed.

This year we combined all of our favorite surveys into one unit on Teachers pay Teachers. Graphing All Year is a student-centered collection of 40 printable graphs that pose thought-provoking questions, 4 per month, to last the school year. (No more trying to think of surveys last minute! Hallelujah!)

The graph topics have students discussing their opinions and debating their feelings on food, animals and more! After completing each survey, you can use the blank graph at the end of the product with the matching number of categories to allow students to transfer the data into another form (e.g. tally marks or picture graphs).

I love to combine my completed graphs into a class graph book or display each graph on my math board. These graphs are a perfect teaching tool for tallies, totals and comparisons. To crank up a higher level of thinking, students can also use the surveys in a supported forum to discuss their choices and construct arguments to persuade others.

Whole Class Scrapbook Calendar

As part of our morning routine, my first graders and I always reflect on the previous day and what made it special. Sometimes we remember a fun craft or a visitor. Other days it might be a cool science experiment. Then 1 or 2 students volunteer to make a picture (draw or cut out of scraps) or we find a sticker to represent our special memory. Then we put the picture or sticker onto the proper square of a large desk calendar. Finally we add a quick comment or short phrase. When the month is over the page is full of exciting memories. We tear off and laminate each month so we can guarantee they will last for the year! My students love reminiscing on each month as it passes.

 

Traveling Library

Each week, my students create class books. They are usually about a subject we are studying or a response to a book we have read. Here are some of the books that we make. Every student contributes a page, we add a front cover and then we staple or bind the book together. Each book is put into the bucket we call our “Traveling Library.” 

Each day as we leave for lunch, we grab the library to take to the cafeteria with us.  When the students finish eating, they entertain themselves with a good book. The rules of the Traveling Library are taped to the outside of the bucket. We use these:
    1.  Choose only one book at a time.
    2. Read quietly.
    3. Take good care of the books.
    4. Have fun!

We add books to the library all year. The students are always proud to publish and enjoy having the chance to read their books every day.