It's that time of year- the count down for summer break is on!  It's always one of the craziest times of year for me between squeezing in instructional content, end of year testing, packing up the classroom, organizing the end of year celebration, and enjoying the final days with my students!

I always send students home for the summer with books and a packet of summer themed activities and worksheets to keep their mind sharp over the summer.  I hope that the summer activities will prevent the summer slump!

Check out some of my easy, no-prep End of School Year activities!

• Instagram Writing Activities
• End of Year Activity: Classmate Scavenger Hunt​

I love using literacy activities and centers in the pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classroom.  I think they increase engagement and support social-emotional learning.  I use them to compliment direct instruction and give students more hands-on practice with content.

 I am very excited about the new centers I made to go with First Grade Wit and Wisdom Module 1!  Each center is Common Core aligned and can be completed by students independently.

​Read about each center below.  Click on each picture to see it in my TPT store!

 Narrative Writing Prompts: The different task cards challenge students to think of a time they read a book that meets certain criteria- a book you read outside, a non-fiction book, etc. (Common Core Standard: W.1.3)
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​Adding Details: Students read sentences that match the picture on the card.  They then improve the sentence by adding adjectives, verbs, or other details.  (Common Core Standards: W.1.5)
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Punctuation Sort: I love sort centers!  They are very engaging!  Students read sentences and decide if they need a period, question mark, or exclamation point.  Students then write their own sentences for the punctuation marks (Common Core Standards: L.K.2, L.1.2, and L.2.2).

​Parts of Speech Task Cards: Students mark up the sentences on the task cards using the given code- circle the nouns, underline verbs, and box adjectives.  Students then write the words they found under the correct part of speech on the recording sheet.  (Common Core Standards: L.K.1, L.1.1, L.2.1).

Vocabulary Clip Card Activity: Students use the context to determine what the underlined vocabulary word means.  Students clip or mark the definition for the underlined word.  They then pick a vocabulary word and fill out the recording sheet- writing and illustrating a sentence with the vocabulary word.  You can have this center for FREE!!! Just fill in the form down below!

Center organization can be challenging.  Read about how I try to keep pieces from getting mixed up or lost!

​Read about other ways I supplement Wit and Wisdom in my classroom!

Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest are filled with Easter activities but have very few Passover activities available.  As someone who grew up celebrating Passover and not Easter I feel like there should be more Passover activities.

I made a packet of Passover worksheets for kindergarten, first, and second grade.  There are Passover math worksheets and Passover literacy worksheets.  The worksheets are Common Core aligned but can be used in any classroom.

I hope these worksheets make more students feel included in the cultures celebrated in the classroom!

​Put your email in below to get the Passover Freebie Worksheets!  Check out the full product here.

Writing words, solving math problems, practicing spelling words are just a few of the things students write every day.  It can be boring as a teacher and even more boring as a kid.  Which brings us to this weeks TEACHER TIP!

Dry erase markers are probably my favorite school supply!  I love to use them in math, phonics, writing, you name it. 

​I have found that writing on the table with dry erase markers is the best!  You don't have to pass out white boards and students are engaged and eager to participate!  It is easier to erase with your finger and fix a mistake than to erase with pencil on paper.

I have even given spelling tests this way!  I ask the students to write the words on the table in front of them and go around and mark how many words they got right.  Students are invested and there are no papers to grade!

Clean up is pretty easy- I used clorox wipes or if I didn't have any hand sanitizer and a paper towel.  I've also used it as an incentive by choosing a student at each table who has done a great job to wipe away the dry erase marker.

Have you tried this in your classroom?  How has it worked?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

It is almost time for Mardi Gras!  If you aren't from New Orleans, Mardi Gras means days and days of awesome parades, marching bands, dance troops, and catching all the sparkly and shiny gear you can!  Imagine the best block party or tailgate you've ever been to and then multiply that by 100 and you are getting close to the level of fun.

Teachers are excited.  Students are excited.  Instead of trying to stick to your scope and sequence channel some of that excitement into your academic activities.  Students will be engaged in the Mardi Gras theme and eager to produce some great writing!

These resources are great for students who celebrate Mardi Gras and students who are just learning about the holiday for the first time!

I created the Mardi Gras Writing Packet!  There are 6 different writing prompts included.  Some prompts ask for students to pick their favorite element and explain why.  Others ask for a more creative thinking: designing floats, masks, etc.

These prompts are Common Core aligned and give students great practice at opinion and narrative writing!

​I wanted this resource to be accessible to many grades so I created 3 versions of each prompt.  
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1. 1. Word Bank, Box for a picture, Half a page for writing

2. Box for picture and half a page for writing

3. Full page for writing

Many schools have the whole week of Mardi Gras off.  I think this resource could be sent home and completed over Mardi Gras break or completed once students come back to school to reflect on their experience.

New to Mardi Gras?  No problem!  Learn with your students about Mardi Gras traditions before diving into the writing prompts.  Here are some videos about Mardi Gras: PBS,  National Geographic, Mardi Gras Music Playlist.  Here is a great list of Mardi Gras read alouds.

Check out my other Mardi Gras resources!  Click on the picture to go to the resource!

And as we say....