Getting Ready for Summer

Summer, ahhh that glorious word that is finally starting to be spoken around the school! Although I've still got 9 weeks (!) to go, I know some school districts are a little bit closer to that wonderful break, so I've started thinking about the end of the year already.

In addition to thinking about all the regular end of year things, my mind is also stuck on the job action taking place throughout my the province. We will see if that might mean a full-blown walkout.

But, let's forget about a little old thing like end of the year striking and focus on some more positive things, like prepping the students for next year!

That two month break can be looong for some students, especially struggling ones, so I've created some take-home booklets to send home with students over the break.

I have Daily Math versions for 1st-4th and they each have 40 days of math practice:

Each packet comes with instructions to create the mini-booklet:

I also have Word Problem a Day Booklets for 3rd & 4th. They also contain 40 days of word problems:

And finally, I've got a Daily Language Booklet for 1st grade:

What are you doing to prep for the end of the year? More importantly, how much longer do you have left?

Have a great week!

Reading Comprehension Printables for any Chapter Book

Recently I posted about my Reading Comprehension Printables for any Picture Book . . .

. . . but then I completely fell off the blog train and never mentioned my Reading Comprehension Printables for any Chapter Book (I know, another completely long and unoriginal title!).

My favourite printable from this pack is the double-entry journal page, which comes in two formats. The first comes with two long columns - one column for students to record events & details from the text, and the second column for students to record their thinking voice (thoughts, opinions and questions):

The second version splits the long columns into three distinct sections:

I did this because I found that for some readers, when they worked with the one long column format, their recording of the text details ran on and when they went to record their thinking voice, they couldn't quite match it up. By having three distinct parts, rather than one long column, students can record one event or detail from the text and their thinking voice directly across from it, therefore cementing that correlation in their minds. I think it helps visual learners make that one to one connection between a detail from the text, and a detail from their thinking voice.

What are your thoughts on double-entry journals? I'd love to hear them!

Have a great rest of the week, it's almost Friday!

Easter Read Alouds

I cannot believe it is almost Easter - this year has flown by! And I may, or may not, be counting down the weeks (I know, months, but weeks makes it seem like less time) until it is sweet summertime!

But I'll have to forget about summer for a second because I want to talk about Easter - Easter picture books that is.

**Fonts provided by Kimberly Geswein Fonts**

I love having a ready stack of books for each holiday (however minor) and season and I am always looking for new ones to freshen up my bookshelves.

Besides The Easter Egg by Jan Brett, I don't have a ton of Easter picture books that stick out in my mind, so I had to go searching.

Via Amazon

Lucky for all you Pete the Cat fans, Pete has a new adventure, fittingly called, Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure. Now I love the Pete the Cat stories, but I am a little wary of the newer ones as Eric Litwin is no longer writing them. I'm hoping they're are still great, so I might have to pick this new one up.

Via Amazon

Now I said I don't know of a ton of Easter books, but apparently that was because I was not looking hard enough, because one of my favourite authors, Laura Numeroff, has one to go along with all of her other sweet If You Give a . . . books. Although it doesn't quite follow the pattern of her other books, Happy Easter, Mouse! does feature that good old mouse character, so this one is another one I will have to track down.

Via Amazon

Although I haven't read this book yet, I love the bright illustrations in The Easter Bunny's Assistant by Jan Thomas. Another one that I'll have to track down.

Via Amazon

Finally, Piggy Bunny by Rachel Vail is a sweet story about a pig who wants to be the Easter Bunny. It's fun for Easter, but also has a great message about believing in yourself and going after your dreams.

Via Amazon

What are your favourite Easter picture books? I would love to hear some more suggestions.

If you're searching for some Easter ideas for the classroom, click on any of the pictures below to check out some of my Easter ideas.

 Have a great week!