Festive Freebies

Just a quick post about a new freebie I created for December.  This freebie includes activity sheets for the books How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky, Turkey Claus by Wendi Silvano, and Santa Retires by David Biedrycki.  Use them to teach story elements to your littles.

Grab this freebie HERE from my TpT store.

Hippity Hoppity Easter Freebie

It's almost Easter time so it's the perfect time to read a fun story about the Easter Bunny.  

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One of my favorite books to read this time of year is The Night Before Easter by Natasha Wing.

Because we read The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing a few weeks ago, the students were familiar with the author and illustrator.  We compared the story and the drawings in both books and also talked about the characters and plot of the story.

I made this quick little freebie to go with the book.  You can download it for free HERE in my TpT store.  I'd love to know what you think of it if you use it.

Do you have any special books you like to read this time of year?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.

Lion Lessons Freebie

Yesterday was the first day of spring, so I thought I would read a fun new-to-me book to my kindergarten and firsties about lions.

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We read Lion Lessons by Jon Agee.  I received this book (and a few other books) free a couple of weeks ago from my Perma-Bound rep when he came to meet with me.  Have I mentioned how much I love Perma-Bound?

After reading the book, we discussed how spring comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. We talked about what a lion does, how it acts.  I showed them  a video I found on THIS link from National Geographic Kids.  We compared the lion in the video to the lion in the story.  They also enjoyed looking at the gallery of lion pictures on this page.

We also reviewed the story, mentioning how the story is make believe because real lions don't talk or wear clothes.  We talked about the different settings the lion and boy go to throughout the story and we reviewed the steps for becoming a lion.  

Students then went to their tables to complete THIS review sheet.  You can download your own copy to use from my Google Drive.  Just click HERE and then click the download button in the top right hand corner of your screen and save the file.

Do you have any books you love to read for spring?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.

Christmas Freebies and Center Ideas

Ho! Ho! Ho!  It's been awhile, but I am back with a few quick freebies for you.

I love reading How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky with my littles. It's fun to make the voices of Santa and the elves in the story.  After reading the story, we talk about the story elements of character and plot.

I have posted this freebie before on my blog, but I have recently updated some of the clipart on this freebie and you can now find it in my TpT store.  Just click HERE to snag it now.

While your looking for Christmas books, you might want to set up some Christmas book displays.  Here are some free signs to help you with your displays.  Just click HERE to download them from my Teacher's Dojo store.  If you download them, I'd love to have your feedback on them.  =)

And what Christmas would be complete without some fun Christmas bookmarks?

You can download this set of 4 free bookmarks from my Teacher's Dojo store by clicking HERE.

And if you like those and want more, you can purchase a larger pack of 24 Christmas bookmarks HERE.  This set includes 16 colored book marks and 8 black and white bookmarks for your kiddos to color.

Red and White Shelf Order Center

And if you are looking for some center ideas, these red and white call number sorting center and shelf order center might be just what you are looking for. With the red and white decor, they could also work for Read Across America.  You can find them in my TpT store.  Just click on the pictures to go straight to that product.

Red and White Call Number Sorting Center

If you prefer, there is also a snowman/winter version of each of these:

Winter Shelf Order Center

Winter Call Number Sorting Center

Hope you enjoy!

Story Elements with a Spooky Twist

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

$13.80 on Amazon

One of my favorite stories to read leading up to Halloween is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams.

I use the book to teach about the story element of character, setting and plot.  A couple of years ago I made a worksheet to go with the story.  You can snag this freebie HERE.

This year I came across a video that has a song that goes with the book. I played it for my PreK, K, and 1 classes. They loved patting their legs to the beat of the song and doing motions for all of the clothing items.  It's such a fun song!

What books do you like to use this time of year?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.

How Santa Got His Job Freebie

This week I read a fun Christmas story to my kindergarten and first grade classes.

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After reading the story, we discussed the characters in the story and talked about all the jobs that Santa had, before he became "Santa."  

Then we completed this activity sheet.  You can get a copy HERE or by clicking on the picture above.

What are some of your favorite Christmas stories to share this time of year?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.

Story Elements Lesson for Halloween

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One of my favorite books to read this time of year is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams.  This year, I decided to read this story with my kindergarten and first grade classes and tie in the story elements of characters, setting, and plot.

I found this fun pack on TpT from Tangled Up in Teaching that went perfectly with my lesson.

Then I made this fun worksheet as a wrap up to the lesson.  You can grab a copy of it for free HERE or click on the picture above.

What are some of your favorite Halloween stories and lessons?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.