Cyber Monday Sale!

Being a new TpT Seller, this is my very first Cyber Monday (& Tuesday) Sale! Everything in my store is 20% off and you even get an extra 10% savings at checkout when you type in promo code CYBER. That's almost a 28% savings! 

I have learned so much from reading the blogs of the best and top TpT Sellers. I am thankful that I have this opportunity as well to share what I absolutely love to do with my colleagues. 

Wishing everyone the very best during this season of thanksgiving.

Here's a look at some of my products for sale:

Please be sure to leave any feedback you might have after purchasing products from my store. You earn TpT points towards future TpT purchases!

Thankfully,
Lori

 

I Have Who Has Solids Vocab Practice

I hope you got a chance to visit my store to check out my sale. If not, there are a couple more hours until it ends. Thanks to all who have gotten a product or two.

I've been teaching my students vocabulary words for solids. We will have a test soon, so I made this I Have Who Has game to use as review. All of the pictures on the cards are of the equipment that we have used so far in our investigations, or will use throughout the year. I teach first graders so the pictures are very helpful at this point of the year.

These cards would also go perfectly with the FOSS Solids and Liquids kit.

The cards have cut lines on them, so they should be very easy to cut apart neatly after laminating.

I plan to use the cards in a center. I use each of my five tables in my science room as stations, each having from three to five students at a table. This is a perfect number for this I Have Who Has game. Students at this  center will pass out the cards evenly among the students at the table. The student who holds the "I WILL START, I have a solid...Who has a triangle?" card will begin the game by reading his/her card aloud and then puts it down on the table. 

The student who has the card that begins with "I have a triangle..." will read their card next and put it down on the table. The game continues until all cards are read and put down on the table, ending with the one that reads, "I have a solid, The End".

So Excited! I'm Having My Very First TpT Sale!

I'm so excited to be having my very first TpT Store sale, starting today, November 7 through Sunday, November 11, 2013. Everything in my store is 10% off!

My goal is to have a bunch of sales by Sunday night, so head on over to my store and take a look at my products. I'm sure there will be something you could use in your classroom. Thanks for your support friends! 

FOSS Solids Task Cards

Currently, I am teaching my students about Solids and Properties of Solids. We use the FOSS Solids and Liquids Kit but this product can be used with any lesson on solids and properties. Recently I've been learning about Task Cards so I thought I'd give them a try with my students this year. 

After cutting and laminating multiple copies, I plan to use the task cards as a small group activity at first. After all groups have completed the cards and recorded their answers, I will project them from my Smart Board and discuss the answers as a whole group activity. 

My science tables can hold up to five students, which I have divided into smaller pairs or triads which are perfect for doing our science investigations. These pairs or triads of students within the small table group will divide one deck of task cards in half. They will then complete half of the cards together with their partners on their answer sheets, then exchange their half deck with the other pair/triad at their table group.  Students can then check their answers against the answer key which is provided. Since there are two groups within a group, I will provide two answer keys.

I'm excited about using these task cards! I will be sure to post pictures to share.
You can get your set of SolidsTask Cards and more of my products at my TpT store. Please be sure to leave your feedback. 

Thanks,
Lori

 

Fall Writing Anchor Chart

Fall is a great time of the year to discuss with children. This anchor chart is a nice way to build schema and vocabulary with students as they prepare for writing about the subject of FALL. You can simply post this anchor chart on your white board or you can post it in your writer's workshop area or on your writing focus wall. 

You can pick up this product as well as other useful products in my store. Please leave your feedback and be sure to check out my freebies as well. You can earn TpT credits towards other TpT products as well.

Enjoy!
Lori

Oak Tree Life Cycle and Craftivity

We study "Trees" in my Kindergarten science classes. To help them understand how an oak tree grows I use this Oak Tree Life Cycle PowerPoint. This file is a converted SMART Notebook file, which is why some files are a little smaller than the slide on the presentation.

I found a great photographic life cycle at Pre-Kinders.com, where I could show students actual photos of an acorn's development into a huge oak tree from start to finish. 

I love the idea on this site to use the life cycle pictures for having students create their own life cycle.

I have students use a paper plate. Ahead of time I mark the plates into four quadrants. Next I have students color each section and number them 1-4. I copy the pictures in grayscale and then have students color the pictures as they see them on the PowerPoint. Students then cut out these pictures and arrange and label them onto the paper plate in the correct order of the acorn's life cycle.

Finally, I have students do a fun craftivity that I found at First-School.ws, where I guide students through making a cut/paste activity of an acorn.

Together, students and I identify the parts of the acorn, and then cut and glue the individual shapes onto a piece of green construction paper, using the small picture on the corner as our guide. Once the pieces are all glued students color their acorn the colors of an acorn, i.e. the "hat" dark brown, and the bottom part a lighter color brown.

I hope you enjoy this idea. You can find this product in my TpT store. I would love to get your feedback and find out how you would use it with your kiddos.

Scientists Notebook Anchor Chart and (Editable) Welcome Bunting Freebie

The first week of school was absolutely exhausting yet exciting. My K-2 kiddos are so adorable and excited about school. They were especially eager to visit the science room to see what they would be doing in science class this year. 

I started off the year with a SMART board discussion on the questions, What is Science? and What do Scientists Do?

This week I will extend the discussion with an anchor chart. I use a color anchor chart as a SMART Board to review with the children what they learned previously about scientists; specifically, what scientists do/are/need. As we discuss each section I fill in the chart as a whole group lesson.

I pass out student copies of the anchor chart for students to engage in the lesson as well. I have them complete their chart as I complete the colored anchor chart on the SMART Board.

After their anchor chart is complete I have my students add it to a new page of their science notebook. This way each student will have their own copy of the anchor which they were involved in completing to refer to during writing.

Welcome Bunting Freebie

To welcome my students to the Science Room this year, I made a colorful WELCOME Bunting which I hung atop my SMART Board. I copied the pages onto construction paper and then cut out each flag of the bunting. You could also copy them onto card stock to make them more firm.

 
Visit my TpT Store to get your Scientist Notebook Anchor Chart and a FREEBIE of my (Editable) WELCOME Bunting and leave me your feedback about these or other products in my store.

Have a fantastic week!

**Lori**

Focus Wall and Welcome Bunting

Today marks the official last day of my summer break. We start back with teacher in-services this week and the kids come next week. So long, summer! Great memories.

I've been working hard in my classroom over the past week and I'm proud to share my focus walls. I teach K-2 Science, so I have one for K, and another for 1st and 2nd grade.

It took some time and planning getting them just right, but I'm pleased to share the results. 

I also tried my hand at creating a welcome bunting. I created it in PowerPoint using just a basic triangle shape and the free PeaAngedawn font by Kevinandamanda.com. 

I have it hanging right over my SMART Board for all to see as soon as they come into the classroom the first few weeks of school. I will probably take it down after that and hang it near the door.

Thank you so much TpT sellers for your ideas, graphics, and creative designs for my focus walls. I could not begin to take credit for any of them. 

**Lori**

 

 

FOSS Science Liquids in Bottles Smartboard

Today was definitely dig in and concentrate on school materials day.  It's so hard to concentrate knowing that there are only a couple more weeks of summer left for me. This next product is one of my favorite things to do with my students in Science class.

This Smartboard is the must-have companion to the FOSS Science Solids and Liquids Investigation 2, Part 1: Liquids in Bottles. It's a 14 pager that is perfect for using as a visual tool while teaching the steps of the investigation. Pages in this Smartboard include:

 1. Liquids in Bottles Essential/Focus Question

2. Liquids in Bottles Liquids Center Materials

3. (Guided) Exploration Questions

4. What We Learned Word Bank (Vocabulary)

5. What We Learned Student Page (Discussion/Completion sentences) w/Answer Sheet

6. Liquids (Properties) Four-Square

7. Home/School Connection (Homework) Project

8. Liquids in Bottles Writing Journal Page

My students' absolutely love this very hands-on, active investigation. They get to investigate different liquids to develop their concept of a liquid. They work at a center to tip, swirl, shake, roll, and spin seven liquids in small plastic bottles. The liquids include plain water, colored water, corn syrup, liquid detergent, liquid hand sanitizer, cooking oil, and fabric softener. 

My students have a ball spinning, shaking, turning, rolling their bottles down a ramp, and finally, seeing if they can swirl their liquids to make a tornado inside their bottles. Many actually do make tornadoes!

Your room will surely explode with outbursts of loud shrills, cheers, laughs, and even a few screams at times by what your students discover about their bottles of liquids.

I use the Smartboard pages as visuals to explain the steps of the investigation to my kiddos, from asking the question, to setting up the center, to explaining the materials, to guiding them through the exploration questions.  To record their observations about their liquids, I've included a Liquids Four-Square where they write and draw the properties of their liquids (fast, slow, bubbles, tornado (swirl)).

For recording what kiddos learn about liquids, I do an oral What We Learned student page with my kiddos, where we discuss and write down our findings and complete the sentences together on the student page. This year I plan to have my students add these pages to their Science Notebook or Journal.

As an extension, I've added a reflective writing component, where students are given an opportunity to respond to a prompt and illustrate a picture. I do this investigation in early October so I realize that my students will not be able to write much. To this end, I provide a page with a large space for a picture at the top and a few lines at the bottom with the prompt, "Some liquids..."

Finally, I include a Home/School Connection culminating activity, where I challenge students to find pictures that include both solids and liquids in them. I copy this activity as a double-sided page, and on one side there is an explanation of the project with an example. On the other side of the page I put the student page for mounting their picture/s. There are two sentences with prompts for writing about their pictures. I have my students bring these to their next science class, where they get to share them with their table partners and/or the class. This year I plan to place these projects on my Focus Wall.

As in past years, I'm really looking forward to this investigation this year. I will be sure to post pictures of this year's students doing the investigation. I'm sure they will be just as great.
 

Happy end of summer days,

**Lori**

NGSS Science Focus Wall Labels *Freebie*

Summer is definitely winding down and August is here. It's the official start of my BTS prep. Something happens when August 1st comes around. My brain actually begins thinking towards the school year and will not shut itself down. I begin to make lots of lists and usually start my shopping for supplies and such. Yay! Up until this time I just window shop and make mental lists of what I want to do or get for my classroom. There are about three more weeks left of my summer vacation until the kiddos arrive. I'm looking forward to my new school year. 

This summer I spent a lot of time learning about blogging and positioning myself as a TpT seller. Hip Hip Hooray! I've really enjoyed getting to know so many bloggers and sellers and look more towards sharing ideas even more as I get more exposure as a seller and blogger. And if I can earn some extra cash doing it that would make my world even more peachy.

Today I finished creating some Next Generation Science Standards labels for my Science Focus Wall and wanted to share them as a "Freebie". 

Putting up a focus wall is one of my goals for the coming school year. I believe it will give my students and me a very good glimpse of what they should be able to accomplish this year through the FOSS Science Solids and Liquids Investigations on Matter.

Each label lists a WE CAN statement which is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards for Structure and Properties of Matter for primary grades (K-2) and are just as appropriate to use as general science standards statements as well, as they are virtually the same as the Framework for K-12 Science Education standards. 

These simply designed black and white beaded framed labels are a standard 8 1/2" wide and will coordinate well with almost any color pattern. They can be cut apart to serve as individual labels or posted onto your focus wall as two conjoined sheets or pages grouped together on your wall.

Go to my TpT store and pick up your freebie and don't forget to leave a comment or question as feedback.

Enjoy the rest of your summer if you have more of it to enjoy.

Blessings,

**Lori**