Buzzing with Bees! Free Resources and Activities

Now that it's spring it won't be long for those busy bees to be buzzing around. Without honeybees we wouldn't be able to enjoy many of the wonderful fruits we love to eat. Did you know that the wax that bees make is used to make lipsticks, candles, and even medicine? I have put together some great resources about honeybees for you to check out starting with some great Read Aloud books about bees. You can check them out by clicking on the picture below.

Your students may want to read more about Honeybees at National Geographic for Kids. Just click on the picture below to learn interesting facts and photos about Honeybees.

Here is a great website called "Everything about" where you can access lots of information about Honeybees. Just click on the picture below.

Here is another great website where you can find lots of interesting facts and links to several websites. You can check it out by clicking on the picture below.

Last year I uploaded my unit called "Busy Bees" and have finally revised and updated it to include lots more reading and writing activities. Students will not only learn about honeybees and the jobs they do but also about Beekeepers, read fact cards, sort the different jobs that the Queen, drones, and worker bees do and write an insect report. You can check it out by clicking on the picture below and read the complete description and see sample pages of all the materials and activities by downloading the Preview file. 

Hope you will check out my Pinterest Boards and follow. Just click HERE. If you home school your children I have added this one below. I also have one just for Spring.

Hope spring is around the corner and watch out for those Busy Bees! Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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Hopping with Free Easter Resources and Activities

Easter time is upon us and those cute little bunnies will be hopping all over the place. In case you are looking for some fun activities, crafts, books, and free activities then this is the post for you!

I found so many wonderful books, free games, puzzles, poems and songs, and crafts at Apples for Teachers. How about these cute clothespin book marks!  Just click on the picture to check out all the free activities to do with your students.

How about a fun Anagram. I found this and tons of great stuff at DLTK. You can download your free copy by clicking on the picture below. If you go back to the home page you will find lots of other free activities, so hop on over!

I  also found online games, and printables at the Kids Page which you can check out by clicking on the picture below.

Are you looking for some fun Easter party ideas? You can find ideas for pre-school - elementary school ideas by clicking on the image below.

A few years ago I created an Easter Packet called "Easter is a Time for......" for Grades 1-2 which includes a Shared Reading Book, 3 Guided Reading Books at 1st and 2nd grade reading levels, 2 fun Poems and a fun mini book called: "Easter Egg, Easter Egg, What do you see? Students will get to design their own egg and write about it as well as 2 opinion pieces with the help of graphic organizers. There are 2 Literacy Centers: Picture/Word Match and Writing and Roll the Die and Read. You can check it out by clicking on the picture below. If you download the preview file you will get a free poem: "Bunny Hop Chant"

Don't forget to check out all my Pinterest Boards by Clicking HERE.  I just added one for Homeschooling that some of you might be interested in as well as my most popular one.

 Have a Hopping Good Easter time with your students! Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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Spring Reading Resources and Free Emergent Reader

I just got back from a wonderful spring vacation with my family and can't believe how green everything is. Some of you who have had a very long, cold, and snowy winter are ready for spring! Time to start getting out spring books for read alouds and reading activities. Think of all the things that happen in spring: baby animals are born, birds building nests, grass turns green, buds on the trees, farmers getting ready to plant, baseball season starts, and so much more.

Here is a great list of Spring books and summaries you may want to check out by clicking on the image below.

You can also find this Eric Carle book and lots of other spring books at Amazon by clicking on the image below.

For the Pre-K and K teachers you can get lots of free printable spring books and activities by clicking on the image below. You can't beat that!

Since April is National Poetry month it's a great time to read spring poems with your students. There are so many different literacy activities you can do with poetry. Look at the spring poem below.

There are so many ways to use this for teaching the 5 components of a balance literacy program. When students read aloud they develop expression, phrasing, and most of all fluency. Have you ever tried Echo reading? This a great way to get all your students to participate. First you read a line or stanza and then they read it. You can start by having students echo a line and then a stanza. Repeated reading helps develop fluency. Next you can talk about the meaning of the poem and unfamiliar words. Many of the unfamiliar words can be acted out such as blooming and waddling. The poem is all about the signs of spring and a great way to integrate science. Take each stanza and compare and contrast each with what happens in winter to what is happening in the poem. There are compound words to find, adjectives, long and short vowel sounds, ou and ow sounds, and so much more. You can find this poem and many more poems and literacy activities by clicking on the image below.

If you are looking for a Spring Reading and Writing Unit for K-2 you may want to check out my packet by clicking on the image below. There is a Shared Reading book and 3 differentiated guiding reading books, comprehension activities, and lots of other literacy and writing activities. You can see sample pages of all the differentiated reading activities, writing, and literacy activities when you download the Preview file.

Hope you find some great spring reading resources to use with your students.

Don't forget to check out all my Pinterest Boards by clicking HERE. Hope you will follow.

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

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Ireland and St. Patrick's Day: Free Resources, Crafts, Books, and Free Activities

March is not only the month when we celebrate St. Patrick's Day but it's also Irish-American Heritage Month. Since 1991 Presidents have recognized March as the month to recognize the contributions of Irish Americans and their descendants who have played key roles in the foundation of our history. Did you know that there were 9 Irish Americans that signed the Declaration of Independence. I hope you will take some time to celebrate their contributions, too. To see some famous Irish Americans just click HERE.

I've put together some great resources for St. Patrick's Day and always like to start with great books. I have to say that my favorite book is "Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato". If you click on the picture below you will see a great list to chose from.

Of course there is always Scholastic that has all your st. Patrick's Day need that you can access by clicking on the picture below. There are lots of materials for all elementary grades to be found.

For those of you looking for some great crafts to make with your students, games and history about St. Patrick's Day and fun facts, you should visit Kid Connect by clicking on the picture below.

For those just looking for fun crafts to make then click on the one below to get complete instructions.

I revised my St. Patrick's Day Unit to include reading and writing activities about Ireland and it's national symbols. I've included my own Shared Reading Book, Picture/Fact Reading Cards about Irish-Americans and Ireland's National Symbols, 2 Reading Texts and Comprehension Questions about Ireland and St. Patrick's Day at the 2nd and 3rd Grade levels and Map Activities and a Subject Poem about Leprechauns. Students will write a Country Report about Ireland, A Persuasive letter to a Leprechaun and a Subject poem about Ireland. There are also 4 writing prompts to include Informative text and Opinion Pieces. If you download the Preview File you will see sample pages of all the reading and writing activities in this unit. Just click on the image below.

Hope you all have the luck of the Irish and find some fun free resources for you to use with your students.

Don't forget to check out all my Pinterest Boards. Just click HERE. Would love to have you follow.

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

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All About Penguins: Free Resources, Free Activities, Books, and Videos

Everyone loves Penguins. Winter is the perfect time to learn about them. Although when we hear the word, "penguin" everyone thinks of Antarctica but not all penguins live in Antarctica or in cold places. Did you know that there are 17 species of penguins? They all live in the southern hemisphere. They live in groups called colonies but there is only one species of penguins that likes to live alone. It is the Yellow-Eyed Penguin that lives in New Zealand. While doing research for my newest product, "All About Penguins" I came across some great free resources to share with all of you.

Let's start with some wonderful books about Penguins. You can find a list and summary of 20 books by clicking on the image below.

I also found 10 penguin videos for your students that you can access by clicking on the image below.

You will find lots of great free resources, activities, crafts, and books for lots of different grade levels at Scholastic. You can access them by clicking on the image below:

You can also find lots of free Penguin facts and fun activities at Kidzone by clicking on the image below.

I just uploaded my "All About Penguins" packet today that is for Grades 2-3. There are a variety of reading activities starting with a general overview about penguins that is differentiated at the 2nd and 3rd grade levels. There are also Penguin Fact cards about 8 different species of penguins for students to read and then write about the one they think is the most interesting.

Student will then match Penguin Pictures and Fact cards about the 8 different species. Students will engage in several writing activities such as Comparing and Contrasting 2 different Penguin Species, Opinion Piece Writing Prompts, and A Penguin Report about one of 8 other penguin species. You can see these activities in each of the two images below.

There are literacy activities such as Writing Adjectives about Penguins and determining Facts and Opinions, and Poetry Activities.

To read the complete description and download the Preview file to see sample pages of all the materials and activities in this packet just click on the image below.

I hope you find some good resources to use with your students this winter.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.
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I'm linking up with Carla over at Comprehension Connection. There are some wonderful Penguin Resources that other great bloggers have shared. Just click on the image below.

Back to School Literacy Activities and A Freebie

Literacy activities help students become better readers and writers. Activities can target specific skills such as building vocabulary, decoding words, improving grammar and writing skill, and activities to  improve fluency. When literacy activities are used with thematic units they give students more opportunities to use the words associated with the theme and become more proficient at reading and feel successful. 

I have been busy with creating new "Back to School" packets for Fluency and Writing and just finished and uploaded my new "Back to School Literacy Activities" Packet. There are 9 Literacy activities included. All can be used as Literacy Center Activities and there are some Whole Class Activities to teach and review the skills to assess students' understanding. There are Picture/Word Card Activities and 2 different Noun Sorts: People, Place, or Thing and Proper Nouns, Compound Nouns, and Common Nouns. Students will also make Compound Words with word cards and write sentences using 3 of their words as well as Sort Schools Words into 1, 2, 3, and 4 Syllable words.

There is an End Punctuation Sentence Sort where students will sort sentences that end with periods, question marks, and exclamation points and then writing them correctly. There is a set of sentences for end punctuation only and one set where students will have to make the 1st letter a Capital letter as well as add the end punctuation. The final 3 activities include, ABC Order, an Initial Blend coloring activity and a Write the Room activity with School words. 

Just click on the image below to check out this packet. When you download the Preview you will see sample pages of all the activities in this packet.

I have put together a great Freebie packet of 2 "I Spy" literacy activities where students will match a clue with picture/word card or word card and then write their answers on their recording card as you can see below. (B/W copy included.) There is one activity with School Things and one with School People and Places.

To download your free packet just click on the image below.

Hope you will check out all my new Pinterest Boards by clicking HERE. You will find specific grade level boards from K-5 as well as preschool, seasonal boards and my most popular:

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for students. Have a great start to the new school year.

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