Monday, May 28, 2012

All About Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are a way for a student to visually represent information about what they are learning. They can also help to show relationships.  There are a variety of different types of graphic organizers including: timelines, webs, flowcharts, charts, diagrams,  venn diagrams and cycles. 

Here are a few examples of  graphic organizers.  Do you know of anymore?  Let me know and I will add the link!

Here is a fun hamburger shaped graphic organizer that helps your child to write a paragraph.

Character Analysis Graphic Organizer

Ice-cream cone Main Idea and Details Graphic Organizer

Persuasive Research Graphic Organizer


I'm noticing that the author graphic organizer

Vocabulary Graphic Organizer

Bubble Map Graphic Organizer

Somebody Wanted But So Graphic Organizer

Sequence Chart Graphic Organizer


Main Idea Graphic Organizer


Story Elements Graphic Organizer

Notebook Notes Graphic Organizer

Predict Problem and Solutions Graphic Organizer

What are Mammals Graphic Organizer

Research Round Up Graphic Organizer 

Venn Diagram Template



Sunday, May 27, 2012

Rotten Apple Reading Game

If your kiddos are working on their reading skills, you may want to print out this fun reading game.  I would print them out on card stock and laminate them for extra durability. 

Shuffle the deck and place the cards face down in one pile.  Each player takes turns taking a card off the deck.  If the person can read the word on the card, they get to keep it.  If they can't they return it to the deck.  There are also special cards that allow the player to keep the card without reading or that force them to put all of their cards back!  The winner is the person who collects the most cards during the playing time.

Rotten Apples

Saturday, May 26, 2012

New Yummy Flavors of Tostitos - Perfect for Summer Gatherings

Tostitos has developed two new flavors of tortilla chips that are available for a limited time only.  These lighter, thinner tortilla chips are dusted with special salts making them the perfect snack to pair with your favorite margaritas, Mexican beers, and of course, lots of friends and good food. You can pick up both new Tostitios- Thins flavors- Lime & Salt and TexMex - exclusively at Target stores nationwide through mid-July.

To celebrate the limited-time availability of Tostitos Thins chips and help you get your own at-home celebration planning started, today, Frito-Lay launched the “Tostitos Fiesta 411” tab on its Facebook page – the ultimate online destination for planning the perfect fiesta this summer.  Tostitos Fiesta 411 gives you access to exclusive, simple summertime party-planning ideas, tips, recipes and more – great complements to Tostitos Thins chips!

Our boys always love when packages come in the mail - but most especially when they contain food!  They loved both flavors equally and devoured them quickly.  I was not as big on the lime flavor as I thought it was a bit too strong, but I LOVED the Tex-Mex flavor and am really bummed they are only available for a limited time!

Disclaimer- I was not financially compensated in any way for this review. I received tortilla chips  for review purposes only. The opinions in this post are my own honest opinions and were in no way affected by having received these items.



Printable Kindergarten Assessments

The Polka Dot Patch has these great Kindergarten Assessments that can be used at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to see and document how your child is progressing.

Celebrating Memorial Day

Is Memorial Day little more than an extra day off to host a barbeque? Would you like to make it much more for your family?  Here are a few ways to make a Memorial Day memory for your children while honoring our country's fallen heroes.

History

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was a day set aside for decorating the graves of those who gave their lives in war.

1. Host a veteran.  If you have a friend or family member who has or is serving in the military, invite them to speak with your child.  Their experiences are bound to be educational.  Help your child to brainstorm questions in advance.


Writing

 2. Have your child write a letter to a soldier thanking them for their service.

Reading


3. Read The Wall by Eve Bunting. Talk about The Wall. Ask students what they would design if they could create a memorial for our fallen soldiers.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Phineas & Ferb Elapsed Time Game

My boys are huge fans of Phineas and Ferb, so I fell in love with this Phineas and Ferb Elapsed Time Game from Second Grade Style The directions and game pieces are all given, so head over to start playing!

Non-Fiction Writing/Reading Graphic Organizer





Second Grade Style has a great Graphic Organizer for Non-fiction writing available to download FREE at Teachers Pay Teachers here.  Although it is listed as a writing graphic organizer, I think it would make a great graphic organizer for reading non-fiction.  Your child can summarize what they read, pull out the key vocabulary, notice text features and more.  Reading non-fiction is definitely a different skill set than reading fiction, and many children struggle with it.  This might be a great way to help them!