5 for Friday

What a week! It's hard to come back after a break! We were very productive though. Only one week until our standardized testing! (My least favorite week of the whole year.)

I love linking up with Doodlebugs for 5 for Friday. I gives me a chance to reflect on the week in my classroom!

#1: We started our study of traditional literature. This opening lesson I did for my formal observation, which went very nicely. I was surprised to see that my kids really didn't know what a fairy tale was. First. I asked them to name fairy tales they knew. Some kids named myths, some named folktales. None of them named any of the princess fairy tales, which surprised me. After I gave some hints they were rolling them out! Next I asked them to think about these stories have in common. I listed those next. I used Strega Nona by Tomie DePaolo as a read aloud. I asked if they thought it was a fairy tale from the cover. I then started reading stopping at strategic points to ask if they heard any elements from the chart. I placed a check mark next to those that they named. At the end, the students determined that Strega Nona is, indeed, a fairy tale.

#2: For the application part of the lesson, students worked in pairs. I gave each pair a fairy tale book and one of my "All About" Posters for fairy tales. They read together and then completed the poster, showing elements from their book. I was very pleased with this lesson and the results. I will do the same type of activity with the other forms of traditional literature.

#3: I love April because it starts our study of reading and writing poetry. To start the week back from break, my kids created their own poetry book covers. I showed them titles and covers from many different poetry books. (I don't want books titled "My Book of Poems"! YUCK!) They discovered that titles can be silly, serious, or based on a specific topic. We looked at the art work and at the "about the author" sections, too, which they had to be write in 3rd person. They worked a rough copy first, I edited them, and then gave them white paper for the final copy. I will laminate and staple in unlined paper. We will include a dedication page and table of contents. One of their poems will be based on the title of their book. They came up with some pretty clever titles and pictures. Here are a few:

Here are some of the author pages:

#4: Symmetrical butterflies was a little project we worked on Monday after break. It's nice to "ease" the kids back to school with something fun like the poetry book covers and other artsy type projects. I know they like to talk to their friends that they haven't seen, so this little art/math/social project gave them time to do that.  In this simple project, the kids folded a black sheet of construction paper in half. You can use 9x13 or cut that in half depending on how big you want them. I showed them how to draw a butterfly shape the fold of the paper. They then cut out the shape and then any design they wished. They used tissue paper to glue to the back to create this stained glass look. I love the way these look in the window for spring!

#5 I was so excited this week to create some custom clip art with Sarah at the Hazel Owl. I love her style and colors. I asked Sarah if she would design some beachy frames and borders for me. We emailed some ideas back and forth and  a few days later I had some adorable beach themed clip art, frames, and borders.  She even created these Florida frames which are a free download in her store. I plan on using them in creating a beach themed classroom for next year. (I KNOW....with my blog name and love of the beach how could it not be already??) I'm so excited to incorporate my special clip art into my classroom and products. You must check out her TpT store and blog. She is a talented sweet teacher and artist!! THANKS SARAH!!!


Here are a few more "announcements" for this weekend.
*Check back tomorrow for the Pass the Torch Linky.
*Head over the Teaching Blog Addict for their party! Link up some freebies, too!

*Kathy at Third Grade Doodles is celebrating, too. Get over there and enter her giveaway!