Informational Writing

This week my students have shifted their writing from narrative to informational/Explanatory writing. They have been LOVING this change. We have been learning about polar bears and they were so excited to show off their knowledge in their writing. To get them started I made an informative writing anchor chart and used the image of a hand to help them with the structure of an informational writing piece. We hold up our hands and review the structure during our writers workshop time before we begin writing.

After my students understood the informational structure, we used our knowledge gained from our polar bear unit to create a Have, Can, Are anchor chart. This chart assisted the class in creating their polar bear informational writing piece. 

After the students finished their writing pieces, we shared them in partnerships and gave compliments and suggestions. Right now we are working on giving helpful feedback and avoiding the "I like your writing" comments. Some students grasped this idea very well and gave wonderful suggestions to others about word choice, punctuation, and addition of sentences.  After editing, we will publish the writing and present it on our bulletin board accompanied by our polar bear art! Here is the art project we are working on right now.

We have really enjoyed our polar bear unit and our informational writing has started out very well! More to come! If you are interested in the polar bear unit, check it out here. The art project is a part of the unit, but if you are interested in just the art project, you can get it separately here.

Happy teaching!

Penguin Freebie!

With mixed emotions my winter break is coming to an end. I enjoyed the much needed rest and feel rejuvenated and ready to return to my students. I will miss the rest and relaxation though! I know I be as busy as ever once school starts back up again.

Today I have decided to provide you with a fun winter freebie! I have created fun "How to Draw" activities for penguins and polar bears and I would like to offer you my "How to Draw a Penguin" free! Head over to my TpT store to grab the download! I actually have two versions there for you. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave me a comment and tell me if you liked the product!

Happy Teaching!

Polar Bear Fun!

Well there is one more week of break for me and I've been busy with preparation! I am going to introduce Arctic Animals when we return to help celebrate the cold weather. I have created an engaging Polar Bears Unit to help my students learn about polar bears. The first component of the unit is a mini book to teach my students about polar bears, their special bodies, and the stages of a cub's life. It contains comprehension questions and is black line for coloring.

Also included in the unit are a bunch of comprehension activities! I have cut & paste diagrams, life cycles, and true & false statements. I created a cute and engaging board game to excite students and review their polar bear facts. I also created two  "How to Draw"activities and foldable graphic organizers for the unit. But wait… there is more!

The unit also includes polar bear writing pages and a fun polar bear art project! I am so excited to get our unit started!

The art templates can also be found here separately.

Check out the pack here!

I can't wait to see my students' faces as they learn about polar bears through this engaging unit!

Happy teaching!

Currently January

I am linking up with Farley again this month for Currently!

Listening- You HAVE to check out this duet. It is beautiful! Even if you are not a Swifty fan… Trust me.

Loving- My Wacom Tablet… It has enabled me to bypass the drawing onto paper and scanning my files  into photoshop… I can't wait to create, create, create! I am guilty of spending more than one day in my pjs drawing, but I AM on winter break.

Thinking- So I am a Downton Abbey lover… and I can hardly contain my excitement for the new season. I just am concerned about one thing… why does the cover for season 5 only include a small handful of characters??? Please tell me they will not kill off anymore of my favorites!

Wanting- I am going to the movies today! My husband and I will be going to see Unbroken. It was such an inspiring book and we can't wait to see how it is portrayed on film.

Needing- I really need to finish putting Christmas decorations away. I know I am so late with this, but I have trouble letting go of the sparkle! It WILL happen today.

Yes- This year I will make an effort to exercise more. I need to make it a habit and I should never be to busy for a little workout.
Maybe- I would love to get out more and be more adventurous…
Wish- A wish would be to write a children's book… it's on the bucket list!