School and the City

I was shocked to find out that most of my students had never read A Bad Case of Stripes ! It’s usually a back to school book for me, but pulling it out in February to help us talk about empathy and compassion was perfect!  I tied it in to our reading skill - comparing perspectives - and then we had a class meeting to reflect on what makes each of us unique and why that’s so important.  To take it a step further, students wrote about something that makes them unique. I snapped some quick pics and printed them on computer paper for students to color over. It looks great in the hallway!  Want this writing template? Simply join my email list (no spam - I promise!) and I'll send the freebie your way immediately!  Send it please! Powered By ConvertKit Pin me!

We recently finished one of my favorite units: pollution and conservation. Over the years I've gathered ideas and resources that I thought you may be able to use to freshen up your own science unit! 1. READ Integrate your new topics into your literacy block. There are SO MANY wonderful options out there - both fiction and nonfiction - that you can use to teach reading skills while also building background knowledge for your students. I used some Scholastic Reading Club points and my public library to stock up on texts related to our unit. Favorite fiction: The Wump World Favorite nonfiction(ish): The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle Based on a true story: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind You can find all of the above and the rest of my favorites linked on my Amazon list   under "Conservation Books." 2. EXPERIMENT A coworker suggested this idea and I am going to use it EVERY YEAR from now on. For one day only, I hid the trash cans in my room. Eac...