Spookley!

The Legend of Spookley The Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano is definitely a favorite read in the fall!  It is a great book to use when teaching about tolerance and kindness!

This year I decided to have the kiddos create their own little Spookleys!

The students began by gluing the orange squares onto the big white square of construction paper.  First time using white glue this year, and they did GREAT!!!

I had them draw their own eyes and mouth (I cut them out), and then they glued them onto the pumpkin.  Then they finished Spookley with a rectangle of brown paper and a green leaf.

I absolutely love them!  Each one is unique!

Tops and Bottoms

We are reading one of my favorite books this week - Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens.  We just love how Hare tricked the lazy Bear!

After reading the book, we charted out the different vegetables that Hare got - the bottoms (beets, carrots, and radishes), the tops (broccoli, lettuce, and celery), and the middles (corn).

We recalled the events of the story and my students helped to glue the pictures on the chart.

Then everyone got to complete their own cut and glue worksheet.

Give this book a read.  I'm sure that everyone will love it!

You can find this in my TpT store.

Thinking Map Roundup

We just finished up our 22nd day of school and for many of those 22 days I have used Thinking Maps to help the students share their thinking.

I was trained in Thinking Maps years ago and I truly enjoy creating them with my kindergarten students! 

I tend to start TM instruction in kindergarten with circle maps.  They are great to use with any topic.  Students are encouraged to tell me what they know about the topic.  Here are some of the maps we have made.

We brainstormed the things we do in Kindergarten.

Another brainstorming session, this one is about signs we see.

This circle map was about musical instruments.

We use circle map cut and paste printables when learning our letter sounds.  You can find this in my Letter Sound packet.

Bridge maps help students see relationships and analogies.  

We made this map when reading the book Whose Baby Am I?  (I had to photograph it in three sections since it was so long.)

I made this map interactive, enlisting my students to help with the initial sounds/letters.  The goal is that students will create these maps on their own as they get older.

Give Thinking Maps a try in your classroom.

Teaching History with Picture Books

Using books is a great way to teach children about history.  Important people and events come to life in the pages of books.  All of my choices illustrate the powerful difference that just one person can make in our world!

Read along through the blogs to discover history and social studies books for your classroom!

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Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli

Wangari Muta Maathai was an environmental activist, known as "Mama Miti".  She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, which empowered the people of Kenya to combat deforestation by planting trees.  In 2004, she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter

Luis Soriano is a Columbian school teacher who loves to read.  He has a house full of books and decides that he want to spread his passion for reading to the children who live far away in the hills.  He uses his two burros, Alfa and Beto, to help carry himself (and the books) to kids in the remote areas of Columbia.

Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
This is a wonderful book to use when teaching about Martin Luther King, Jr.

I used this book as a springboard for my door decorations during Black History Month.  You can see all the details {HERE}.

The Watcher by Jeanette Winter

This book tells the story of Dr. Jane Goodall, who spent years in the Tanzanian forests observing and studying chimpanzees.  It also discusses the important work she continues to do protecting the land and animals of Africa.

Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers by Karen B. Winnick

It was 1860, and Abraham Lincoln was a presidential candidate.  He received a letter from 11-year-old Grace Bedell suggesting that he would look better if he grew a beard.  He does just that and during a train stop in Grace's hometown, she gets to meet him!  This book includes copies of the actual letters that Grace and Mr. Lincoln wrote to each other.

Check out Abe's Whiskers (class graph and craftivity).  

Now it's time to hop over to Minute Mommy and see Katie's choices.

An InLinkz Link-up

Picture Books with Favorite Characters

Reading a book series is a wonderful way to get to know more about a recurring character, and to encourage a love of reading.  This week we are exploring books with favorite characters in a series.

Hop along through the blogs and put together a useful list of book series with favorite characters!

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PETER
Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

Peter has a new baby sister and things around his house are changing.  He becomes upset because his parents are painting his furniture pink!  He packs up his favorite possessions and runs away (to the front sidewalk). He soon realizes that he is now a BIG brother, and he doesn't even fit in his old furniture, so he finally decides to help his dad paint his favorite chair pink.
This book is perfect for your Families unit.

You can also find Peter in:

LLAMA LLAMA
Llama Llama and the Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney
We love ALL of the llama llama books in my classroom, but I especially like this one since we spend a lot of time talking about bullying.
Llama Llama is getting teased at school by Gilroy Goat.  He walks away and tells his teacher, who gives Gilroy a time-out.  After taking time to think about his behavior, Gilroy is ready to be a friend to Llama Llama, and they play together the rest of the day.

Here are just a few of the many books that Llama Llama can be found in:

BEAR
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
This book is an absolute favorite in my class!
Bear is hibernating in his den when all of his friends begin to come in to take shelter from the cold stormy weather.  They build a fire, pop some corn, and have a party, all while Bear continues to sleep.  Finally some black pepper causes Bear to wake up and he joins the party with his friends.

You can pick up this sequencing freebie {HERE}.

There are a lot of other books with Bear including:

MISS BINDERGARTEN
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
This book is very popular at the beginning of Kindergarten.
As Miss Bindergarten transforms her room for the first day of Kindergarten, her students are getting ready in their own way.  The students are all different animals, whose names begin with sequential letters of the alphabet.  And it is written in a fun rhyming format.

Here are just a few of the books with Miss Bindergarten:

FROG and TOAD
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
This book contains 5 stories of friendship.  Frog and Toad greet the spring, tell stories, look for a lost button, take a swim in the stream, and wait for the mail.
My student enjoy listening to the silly adventures of Frog and Toad.

Some more books with Frog and Toad:

Now continue on the hop, by heading over to see what books Marypat of Just Add Students has for you!

An InLinkz Link-up