Fall Favorites & Freebies: School and the City

Hey, y'all!

I'm Kristin from School and the City. Thanks for joining me at The Primary Peach for another great day of Fall Favorites and Freebies, plus a chance to win $50 to TPT or Amazon!

I have to admit, I must be basic because fall is my absolute favorite season! I love watching the leaves change, I love cozying up with a cup of coffee, I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, and most importantly... it's football season!

I thoroughly enjoy bringing my love for football into the classroom.  It gets me excited, and the kids get SO worked up about their favorite teams - girls included! At my old school, I was far enough away from Alabama to be the only Crimson Tide alumna and fan in my school. Don't worry; I converted many students before I left.

At my current school, I'm not alone but am still a minority. I talk about Alabama ALL THE TIME while I'm teaching, but especially during writing. I write stories about my (ahem, appropriate) college experiences, and the students love to find out more about me and my past. It doesn't take them long to figure out that I bleed crimson. It's my goal to brainwash as many kids as I possibly can. (Just kidding... I think.)

I also just adore all of the kit lit that I read to my students in the fall. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

This fall freebie that I am offering you is super popular in my TPT store. It's a fall-themed even and odd SCOOT game or task card set. It's a rigorous SCOOT because students are not simply given a number to determine whether it is odd or even. They are also give equations, ten frames, and numbers in word form that they must convert mentally before being able to determining if it is odd or even. 

 

I also have to let y'all know about these adorable free fall writing papers by my friend Mrs. 3rd Grade. My students loved writing fall stories on these fun templates!

Thanks for joining me for my fall favorites and freebies! Make sure to come back to the Peach every day this month for more fall freebies. 

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

I'd love for you to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and my blog as well.

Keep scrolling to enter the giveaway. Happy fall, y'all! 

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Behavior Code Cards

Hey Friends It's Erin from The Elementary Darling! Today we are Keepin' it Fresh at the Primary Peach with some behavior code cards.

 In my school we use PBIS, so this is one strategy that we use for behavior and to control the chatter!

It is pretty easy to use. I hold up the number of fingers while describing my activity or instructions. Then I put a magnet next to the code we are currently in, as a reminder to the students. I introduce this on the first day of school and the students pick it up really quickly. This helps keep the classroom chit-chat to a minimum. 

The following codes are included:
Code 0- Working quietly, zero talking
Code 1- Students can speak to the teacher.
Code 2- Students can speak to a partner
Code 3- Students can speak to their group.

I have found that the students love the participation and are always referring to the white board to check. When it gets a little noisy, I raise my hand into a fist, to quiet the students down and remind them which code we are in, and the expectations of that code. It may seem simple, but the visual reminders are great for my students!  These are in my TPT store for purchase, BUT because I am celebrating my last weekend of summer (we start school on Monday) I have changed them to free until Monday when I get up to go to school! Grab them here or click on the picture below!

Keeping Students Motivated Through the End of the Year

Hey everyone!  This is Mandy, from Mandy's Tips for Teachers!

 I am thrilled to be a collaborative blogger at the Primary Peach! 

I know that this is a wild and woolly time of year. The kids are ready to check out and check into summer!  And well, so am I!!! Unfortunately, we still have some learning and assessing to do. And more assessing.  And even more assessing.  Did I mention assessing, yet?  Is that just my school?

So, how can you keep your kids from checking out  during Reading Workshop while you need to check in?  Here are a few ways for Workshop Wednesday!

My kids loved literature circles, but that can be tough to run.  They can use TONS of paper and students can lose interest if the book takes too long.  The years I ran a looser literature circle were the most successful. 

We always discussed the books over snacks- this was a HUGE motivator! Students would ONLY get their snack if they finished the assigned reading for the literature circle ;D. I am sneaky.  

Then, students would discuss what they noticed as they snacked. Some years my kids had a stack of post its and their books.  They marked them in areas they wanted to discuss and made notes on the  post it. Other years, the students needed more guidance so I provided a sheet.

This is a simple half sheet for student to record their thinking. you can run of as many sheets as needed and create a booklet!  A cover is included. Get your free copy here!

Students met and discussed the pages. I will give one hint- you need to carefully balance how often students meet.  If they meet too often, they may lose interest in the book because the book will take forever to read. If they don't meet often enough, then they read SO MUCH it may be hard to keep events and thoughts straight!

Another FAVORITE way to end the year is Reader's Theater.  My students always loved reader's theater and it was perfect for practicing fluency. 

Generally, we made a big deal of the reader's theater.  We invited parents and younger grade levels.  We even performed it in the library to accompany a larger crowd! One year we painted "backdrops" on butcher paper.  I made copies of illustrations from the picture books on an overhead.  Students traced the picture.  Then, we just used tempera paint and painted the pictures.

These our our "backgrounds" for How I Became a Pirate by Shannon.

You can snag a free copy of the readers theater here!

This goes perfectly with my Pirate unit.  This is a cross curricular unit with ideas for writings, math, and more! My kids LOVED it!  We used the art projects to decorate the walls before the performance.

If you are looking for some other reader's theaters I also have these freebies

  

These go perfectly with my Cowboy End of the Year unit.

Have you ever heard of the nonprofit organization Read to Feed? In concept, it is like the Relay for Life fundraisers, but instead of sponsoring a child by distance run,  a child is sponsored by the amount read.

The website is gorgeous.  I like the philosophy of the organization- it mimics the proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."  Instead of just giving the community food, they provide the community with animals (among other things) so they can learn a trade and sustain themselves.

The site also has FREE lessons AND a beautifully illustrated book that can be projected.

 

I did this with a teammate several years ago.  We didn't do it exactly as the site suggests.  We did a contest between out classes.  

We challenged students to do reading at home.  Parents wrote down the time in the student's agendas and we totaled the time (great life math lesson) daily. We had the large thermometers (like you see in many fundraisers) blown up on butcher paper. We added to the thermometer daily. 

 The class that met (or exceeded ) the goal first got to choose the animal donated.  My friends father' donated the money for the animal and we stayed under $100! I think it was even under $50!  They have animals as cheap as $20! The kids LOVED the competition!

I hope this gave you a few ideas to make your reading workshop more fun and engaging toward the end of the year!

Sharing Sunday: We Appreciate YOU Sale!

Hi Y'all!! May is here,and it's time for all things crazy. The end of the year is so jam-packed with events, field days, awards celebrations, and of course, the madness of the last days of school.  But May is also a time for appreciation - TEACHER appreciation!!!

To celebrate you & all that you do every single day for the kids in classrooms across the country, TpT is throwing a sale. You can save up to 28% off your favorite products, and finally grab some of those things on your wish list.

 

Here at the Primary Peach, we have "hand picked" some amazing resources for you to pick up during the big sale....right when the time is "ripe"! Just click each image to be taken to each seller's TpT store & check them out!

 

Chandra of Teaching with Crayons & Curls has these great end of the year awards. 

They are so stinkin' cute!

Mr. Elementary Math has always got some amazing resources to meet all of your math needs. Check out this great activity packet!

Dana from Prepping for the Primary Gridiron has this awesome packet of Beginning Sounds activities. You're kids will be so engaged!

 

Mandy from Mandy's Tips for Teachers has this incredible resource for starting the school year off right with Interactive Notebooks!

 

Kelly from First Grade Fairytales has a great way to keep those kids learning all summer long! Say "goodbye" to that Summer Slide with this pack!

 

Meghan from Keeping Up with Mrs. Harris always has amazing resources that incorporate technology in the most fun ways! These listening centers are sure to keep all of your learners on task and happy!

Kamp Kindergarten has some awesome ideas for getting the kids up and moving while reinforcing those important skills!

 And Jayne from Smart Kids has this fantastic pack to get those little kiddos researching and reading!

What about the older kids? We've got you covered!

This pack from Lacey of the The Fabulous Life of an Elementary Teacher provides some fun opportunities for differentiation while learning all about fractions!

Amanda & Stacia from Collaboration Cuties have this incredible pack full of close reading articles that will make teaching and learning social studies so much fun!

Looking for more practice with Constructed Response?? Terri from The Creative Apple has just what you need to engage students and get them thinking!

The ever-amazing Jivey from Ideas by Jivey helps you plan for an ENTIRE year with these reading and writing units.

Jennifer is The Extra Energetic Educator & she has this fabulous resource for building character in a kid-friendly way!

The Scrappy Guy's companion to The Homework Machine is sure to be a hit with your students! 

Shannon Bryant's Brain Train has these super engaging science activities that you and your students are sure to love!

Looking for a couple more goodies?  We're here for ya!

Theresa from True Life I'm  a Teacher has these EDITABLE Open House Stations that you will get you organized & ready for a new year!

Don't you just love when everything is so fresh and organized in your classroom? Erin from The Elementary Darling has these super cute binder covers to help you do just that!

 

And.... this pack from April of Grade School Giggles is perfect for getting your classroom ready to Rock and Roll into a new year!

Thanks for stopping by & thanks for ALL that you do!

Now, go fill up those carts and remember the code: THANKYOU for an extra 10% off!