Integrating Writing with a Free Winter Journal Activity

Winter is right around the corner or for many of you it feels like it has already begun. It's a great time to get outside with your students and see all the changes that happen when winter comes. Although not everyone experiences the cold and snow we all experience the shorter days and longer nights as well as cooler temperatures. As part of my new Winter Unit called "What Happens in Winter?" I've included this "My Winter Journal" Activity so that your students can go outside and draw and write about what they see and feel during the winter. There are 3 different journal pages included depending on your students' writing levels. You can do this for a few weeks or throughout the winter. What a great way to incorporate ELA CCSS into a Science activity. When your journals are complete you can have students compare and contrast the changes from the time they began their journals until they finished.You can talk about how these changes can affect animals and plants. Just click on the picture at the top of the post to download your free Winter Journal.You can also check out my Winter Unit which includes a Shared Reading Book called "What Happens in Winter?" and 3 Mini Make and Take Books about winter at the K, 1st and 2nd Grade levels . There are also 3 different levels of Comprehension Questions and Writing Activities. This unit is designed for K-2 and is perfect for  the Differentiated Classroom, Multi-level Classrooms and ESL students. You can check it out by clicking on the picture below.

You may also like my winter words edition of Don't Get Skunked  which includes the winter vocabulary words from my Winter unit. You can see more my clicking on the picture below.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

What winter activities do you enjoy doing with your students?

Great Free Pumpkin Activities and Resources You Don't Want to Miss!

Please click here to see this post: HERE 

Several years ago I found this book at a book store and fell in love with it. I was an ESL Resource teacher/specialist and in the mornings I had groups of 1st -3rd graders who had very limited English. It was a book about opposites so each page had two pumpkins that had opposite faces such as Happy Pumpkin-Sad Pumpkin. My students loved it and wanted me to read it over and over again. Here is a picture of the whole pumpkin patch. you can click on the picture above to read more about it.

There was Hot Pumpkin and Cold Pumpkin, Party Pumpkin but my favorite was Out of this World Pumpkin  in the upper right hand corner. Although I couldn't find these kinds of graphics I asked my friend Michelle over at the 3am teacher if she could make some special pumpkins for me so I could make my own product called "The Very Special Pumpkin Patch". It includes a Shared Reading Book, 3 Mini Make and Take Books at the K, 1st, and 2nd Grade Reading Levels, Picture/Word Cards for a Word Wall and Center Activities, My Very Own Pumpkin Patch Book for students to make, Pumpkin Word Webs for all 3 levels and My Favorite Pumpkin Writing Activity for 1st and 2nd grades. Here is a preview:

You can click on either picture above to find out more about the packet.
I also have a freebie for all of you which you can download by clicking on the picture below. How much fun would it be to have your students make their very own Pumpkin Patch Book and Write about the pumpkins they draw.

My students loved doing this and then sharing their books with the rest of the class. I wonder what unusual pumpkins your students will come up with? You can also find 40 Fun Activities to use with Pumpkins by clicking on the picture below.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

What kind of Pumpkin Activities do you do with your students?