Winter Writing

When we got back to school this past Monday after FOUR (!) snow days in a row, I wanted to do something super special with my kids. Being in NE Texas, snow days are few and far between. I completed a great winter day graphing activity that I got from Cara over at The First Grade Parade and the kids LOVED it! They thought it was so much fun getting to talk to their friends about everything they did.

To incorporate our snow days into Language Arts, I had the kids write down three sentences about what they did over the break. The next day, we went back and edited our writing to make sure all of the necessities were there (capital letters, finger spaces, punctuation, etc). Then, we traded papers with our neighbors to do peer editing. On Thursday, after another snow day Wednesday, I had each student draw a picture to match their writing. I glued and laminated each piece and put it together to make a book. It is wonderful! I can't wait for them to see the finished product tomorrow!

Last week I also read the book "The Snowman Storybook". I didn't read the last page (which shows the snowman melted) and I had my class each write what they thought the little boy saw when he went outside the day after he built his snowman. So much fun! :)

A few weeks ago we learned about the different seasons of the year. Here is just a cute art activity that they did with tissue paper to show what a tree would look like at each time of the year.

How do you display your student's papers? Well, after lots of staple removing in my wall, I decided to put up these great work framers. Just staple a piece of large construction paper up and put a clothespin on to hold the work. I have each clothespin labeled with a name so that the kids know exactly where their work will be hung. I love it and it looks so neat and clean!

So, all you other Texas teachers out there, have you heard about the budget crisis? There is a rally in Austin to show your support on Saturday, March 12. I hope to see you there!