Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year! I think this is such an interesting holiday, but it was always a holiday that got overlooked. It seemed to pass by because our tight schedule made it difficult to fit in. This year I decided that I was not going to let it pass. Throughout the week I plan on integrating the Chinese New Year theme into the day. I created this product of 6 activities for studying the holiday.  Kids can make a red envelope, learn about the origin of the holiday, write a dragon tale, and learn about their animal sign. Check it out ❉here❉ on TpT.

I also purchased several picture books from Better World Books to use as read alouds. So the  study of the Chinese New Year will be integrated into the content areas throughout the day. I'm super excited! 

Integrating my day is what I love. For the past 5 years, we had to switch and ability group for our reading block. By doing this, it really took away from being able to make connections during the day. Integration was out the window. Finally, this year we were given a choice and after much debate on the team, it was decided that we would keep our own kids all day. I feel like I'm finally "myself" again. Teaching the way I know is best for kids and makes sense to me. Do you ability group and switch classes in your school? What are your thoughts? I love to hear what other teachers are doing!

Link up with Katie at Teacher to the Core and check out her new series, Teach with Me. Today she shared an entire lesson on the Chinese New Year and it's awesome! You can just go to her blog  and have ideas at your fingertips! It's really wonderful!

Enjoy your day and...