Last Minute Columbus Day Ideas

Happy Saturday.
We've been on fall break, but that fun is just about over.  It's time to start getting ready for next week, which happens to be the week of Columbus Day.  I was a history major in college.  Anytime we have a chance to learn about important people from the past, I love it.
In math we'll use my Sail Away on Columbus Day math mini book.  This booklet features Columbus themed word problems.  It is a great review of the math concepts we've covered so far this year.

You can have a copy by clicking on the picture.

Another Columbus themed activity we will be using is Ship Shape Digraphs.  This literacy center is from my Tiny Tricksters {10 October Themed Literacy Centers} packet.  With this center, students will practice matching initial digraphs with corresponding picture cards and then complete a recording sheet.  

You can have a FREE copy of this center by clicking on one of the pictures.

Of course we'll be doing Columbus themed read alouds.  We will also make a Christopher Columbus craftivity for our hallway.  I'm all about connecting our art projects to our studies.  I really think these little projects help students better retain what they have learned.

After learning some important facts about Columbus, we'll be completing a Christopher Columbus bubble map.  The bubble map will be a graphic organizer to help us with one of our writing pieces later in the week.

You can have a FREE copy of this bubble map by clicking on the picture.

I want to leave you with one final quick and easy Columbus Day idea.  Be sure to check out Brain Pop Jr.'s Columbus Day movie.  It is another great way to explain explorers and Columbus's accomplishments to your young learners.  I especially like the animated maps.

I hope some of these ideas will help you next week.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Enjoy your weekend!

Sail Away On Columbus Day: A FREE Math Mini Book

It's wonderful Wednesday!  I hope you are having a great week so far.  We are on fall break and when we return, my class will learning about Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day.  I love using math mini books for these special days during the year.  I can stay thematic with my instruction and spend some time with word problems.

I usually work along with my students on mini books using my document camera.  We discuss the clue words in the problems and all the different ways to solve them.  I like to have students bring their books up to share and explain how they arrive at their answers.  Later in the year, students will need less support.  But, we continue discussing strategies even when they become more independent.  

Pictured below is the math mini book my students will complete during our studies of Christopher Columbus.  Click on the picture if you would like a FREE copy of it.

I think it's really important to work on word problems throughout the entire year.  Math mini books are a really great way to fit them in.
I hope you can get some use out of this activity.  If you have any questions about it, please email me.

Best.

Christopher Columbus Mentor Texts and a Free Literacy Center

Hi all.  It's Sunday and time for Collaboration Cutie's Mentor Text Linkup.  I love this linkup because it has introduced me to some great new books and authors.  This week's topic is Social Studies Texts.  My picks to share are selections about Christopher Columbus.
Young Christopher Columbus by Eric Carpenter is one book I go to every year.  It is an easy to understand nonfiction account of Columbus' life.  Some Columbus biographies are a bit too wordy for my students.  Young Christopher Columbus is concise, yet provides enough information.

Another book I like to use is My First Biography: Christopher Columbus by Marion Dane Baurer.  This text is favorite because of the simplicity.  The illustrations are nice the information helps reinforce the important facts about Columbus' achievement.
On a side note, this book is part of a series of My First Biography books.

Columbus Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by Christina Mia Gardeski is another great read aloud to use during your study of Columbus.  There are facts about Columbus and information about why and how we honor him with his own special day.  In contrast to the other books, this one uses photographs.  Like the other books, it is brief but gets the point across.

Finally, is Junie B. First Grader, Shipwrecked by Barbara Park.  Junie B. Jones, oh how I love you, let me count the ways . . .
This book follows Junie B. and her class mates as they put on a play about Christopher Columbus.  There are a few facts about Christopher Columbus in this story, but mainly it is just fun.  I recommend starting this book with your class during your study of Columbus.

There you have it, a Christopher Columbus reading list for your young learners.  If you are interested in more social studies text recommendations, head over to Collaboration Cuties.

Almost forgot, if you would like a free Columbus themed literacy center (working with initial digraphs) click on the picture below.  Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Five for FREEBIES Friday: September 20, 2013

It's Friday and time for Doodlebugs Teaching's Five for Friday.  I get to share five random things from my week.  I have about one more hour before Friday becomes Saturday so, let's get started . . .

Number 1

I just recently wrapped up work on my math centers for October (Tiny Tricksters 10 October Themed Math Centers).  These activities include work with addition, subtraction, number order, skip counting, fact families, and more.  Below is one FREE center from this packet.  Click on the picture for your copy.

Number 2

This week I also completed my literacy centers for October (Tiny Tricksters 10 October Themed Literacy Centers).  These centers focus on digraphs, blends, vowel discrimination, sentence word order, contractions, and more.  If you would like one of the centers from this packet for FREE, you can click on the picture below.

Number 3

I am a huge Modern Family fan.  Season 4 comes out this week on DVD.  I have it pre-ordered through Amazon.  I can't wait.  I have an elliptical at home and I really need some new viewing material.  

Number 4

This week was the fall carnival at my daughter's school.  She's in kindergarten and this was her first one.  She had a blast.  It's so fun to see her in her new element.

rarely seen level of patience waiting on a balloon animal

Number 5

Does your school give these crazy prizes away during fundraising?  I'm sure you can imagine what happened in my classroom when this guy came in.  The winner was thrilled.  My guess is that her mom was not.

Thanks for reading and be sure to visit Doodlebugs Teaching for more Five for Friday fun.