Oh my what a week! It was busy, it was exhausting, but it was also so much fun! I’m linking up again with Doodle Bugs Teaching for some Five for Friday action!
This week in reading we focused on cause and effect. One of my favorite things since beginning this blog has been the opportunity to connect and learn from so many other educators. My interactive activities this week were inspired by Miss DeCarbo at Second Grade Sugar and Spice. We began our discussion of cause and effect with the help of Teacher Idea Factory’s anchor charts from her packet of awesome activities found here. We talked about some cause and effect relationships that I had already written on our chart.
Then, the excitement began. I had an egg and balloons lined up on the back table and the kids kept asking what was going on. Is it a birthday party?! One little one asked. Why yes _________, I go to tons of birthday parties with balloons and eggs?! Out of the mouths of babes I tell you! I asked them what they thought would happen if I put the pencil point up to the balloon. Their reactions were priceless! There was a lot of no wayyyyy you won’t do it, no no no no no!!!! Oh, but I did! We popped two balloons to cheers and giggles. After the excitement we talked about the effect that the pencil had on the balloons and what caused the balloons to pop.
After the balloon pop, we moved right onto the egg! Their little brains were turning a mile a minute! We made predictions for what would happen once I dropped the egg. Would it crack? Would it splatter? Would it roll? Then the magic happened! The kids were so exited to see that I dropped the egg SO the egg cracked and splattered.
This visual and hands-on activity was the perfect way to set the stage for our week of learning!
We used a lot of Kelley Dolling’s packet throughout the week and worked it into our story of the week. This is an activity from her packet, where the kids have to create cause and effect art. Isn’t this little girl an amazing artist?! I’m always so impressed by her talent!
One of my sweet students came in on Tuesday with a cause and effect game that she had created at home for the class to play! I was floored, this is a little one that was new to our school this year who did not have a very positive attitude towards learning. Now she’s making games and activities at home on her free time! When she asked if we could play it there was no way I was saying no! I just love how she made her own game board, sentence strips, and a sentence bank! It really made me so unbelievably proud and happy!
Here we are gathered on the carpet playing her cause and effect matching game!
We continued to work through my Compound Words packet that I introduced to my students on Monday. We had so much fun playing Find Someone Who, Compound Connection, and then compound word scoot. This was our first scoot game of the year and after LOTS of modeling the kids did a great job! Even my most reluctant participants loved being able to get out of their seat, sit in SOMEONE ELSE’S desk, and practice writing their words. If you want to check out more of these activities head on over to my TpT store here!
Every year around this time, my district sends parents a student placement parental form where they can describe their child as a learner and their expectations and goals for them in the next school year. Parents can basically use this as an opportunity to request what they want in a teacher and what they don’t want. Sometimes, these responses can get upsetting and even though it’s supposed to be a “general” idea it’s hard to not take it personally when you see comments like “Joe Shmo would benefit from a caring environment where a teacher engages students and values participation.” Soooo that’s not happening this year?! I find myself thinking things like this once I read them and I know I shouldn’t! Not a good look for me, I know! But I’m only human and insecurities are bound to rear their ugly heads!
Anyway, this form came in and I was so appreciative of this parent’s comment in the additional information section!
I believe my child’s success was due to the dynamic duo of Mrs. Yannuzzi/Desai.
It was a very heartwarming moment for us!
A little love brought this in today! Thought it was a nice way to end a Friday! I hope you have a great weekend and get lots of rest before St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday! I can’t wait for our leprechaun, Lucky Louie to come visit us this year and cause some serious mayhem! We have tons of ideas swirling around in our heads with Louie for Tuesday. If you want a way to tie a leprechaun visit into a reading lesson in your class check out my newest packet!
Enjoy!
3 Comments
Hi Jayme! I loved your post. Your students must have been so excited that you were standing on a chair to break an egg. What fun! I also adore the cause and effect game your student made. That is adorable. Do you job share? I see the parent commented on two teachers. Last, and the is random, when you comment on a post (like I am now) how do you get an active link to your bog?
Hope you are having a great weekend!
Suzanne @KIndergarten Planet
Thank you so much Suzanne! My kids could not believe their teacher was on the chair, but I do think they realize I'm a little bit crazy at this point in the year haha. I don't job share, I teach an inclusion class so I'm the general education teacher and my co-teacher is special ed certified. We share responsibilities but she is mostly responsible for our special needs students. However, we work as a team and team teach most of the time. Not a random question at all! I feel like I have so much more to learn about html and blogging! I actually googled how to add a link to a blogger comment and found this really easy site to help you. If you visit, techtrickhome.com/2013/02/insert-hyperlink-on-blogger-comments.html
it will give you a code to paste in the comments and enter your own information. If put in correctly, your link will appear instead of the full website. I hope this helps! I'm still trying to teach myself how to add a link to an image in blogger! One step at a time!
Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks so much Jayme! How interesting. I also teach in a full inclusion district, but we don't have two teachers in the room. Most years I have had a one:one IA though depending on the students needs. I am going to check out that link now. I appreciate it!