Gobble, Gobble, Gobble...It's Turkey Time!!!

Each month my class does one big writing project, that is accompanied with an art project.  This year we wrote Turkey on Strike!  It was adapted allowing my lower level students to have a fill in the blank form.  While my stronger writing students created a paragraph with a writing organizer.  All products ended up with a giant turkey holding a "Turkey on Strike" sign.

The students had a great time persuading their readers to eat other options for Thanksgiving this year.  Visit our TPT store to purchase the writing templates for this project.  Other turkey writing options, are also included in this writing packet.   

Happy Writing!

Meet Elfie!!!

Two years ago I introduced my class to "Elfie", our classroom Elf on the Shelf.  I introduced him to help with behavior management during the holiday time.  Year one, Elfie came each day and brought lots of mischief to our classroom.  Along with his visit, he would also bring a letter to any students who needed a reminder on how to behave, or positive recognition for their great behavior. 

As you can see from the pictures Elfie created a lot of mischief in our classroom.  I also told my kids that I understood Elf language and Elfie and I could communicate throughout the school day.  When I would see one of my kids misbehaving I would say "You're right Elfie, Johnny needs to raise his hand" or whatever the misbehavior was.  The students would immediately straighten up.

Year two, I had Elfie bring "Elf Secret Spy Journals" for the kids.  I wanted to get the students excited about writing.  After students wrote in the journal, they would have to hand them into Elfie, so he could take them to Santa.  My goal was to do this everyday, but in reality we did this about every two days.  Santa would then write a note back to the students, whether it be a couple of words or a warning about their behavior. 

Elfie comes to visit our classroom for two weeks prior to Christmas, any longer than that and I run out of ideas.  This school year the students will learn that Elfie has retired and has sent a new elf to replace him.  I thought it would be fun if the class got to name him.  Our new elf will arrive in the original packaging, and the package will be very cold (kept in the freezer until delivery).  After all, he is being sent from the North Pole and it is extremely cold there! 

My class is already talking about the return of Elfie, so I know they will be excited to meet our new friend.  Please visit the TPT store to checkout my Elf journal. 

Check back for more Elf on the Shelf ideas for your classroom. 

Frankenstein!

This week we started Halloween off with a fun project.  We read the book Frank E. Stein, and then decided what school would be like if Frankenstein came with us.  Each student created their own Frankenstein.  This was their own creation, I did not use a tracer, I simply showed them my example and told them to make it their way.  I think they did a really great job!

Each month my class creates a class book.  I then bind and laminate these books for the students to read over and over.  Plus, my future students also get to enjoy them.  We will be using these Frankenstein writings as our October class book.  They are currently on display for the whole school to see.  When I take them down I will laminate the writing and bind it.

This was a fun project that got my students excited for the month of October and got them motivated to write. 

Have a great day!

Fall Writing- Adaptable

Good by summer and hello fall!  Although it is not officially fall, the weather sure does act like it.  This week my kids will be writing on why they feel "Fall is a great season.".  This is a writing that is adapted for a variety of writing levels.  Included in this packet are organizers for "art to start", "brainstorming (question & answer)", and a "rough draft".

Please head over to our TPT store to download a preview of this writing packet....or buy this packet for your classroom. 

Happy Fall Everyone!

Summer Writing Freebie!

Hello all! 

I hope you are having a great start to your school year.  I am loving my new (and returning) kiddos.  I wanted to share with you my first writing project of the school year.  My goal was going to get these projects up before Open House.  Well I am sad to report, we didn't get them up (they were done a day late).  Never the less, the kids did an amazing job and I am proudly showcasing their work today. 

Since I am an instructional special education we had to provide many modifications and accommodations.  This organizer is a similiar to Four Square writing. 

Brainstorming is a difficult concept for my students, so we begin with discussing and then drawing our ideas.  We use this art to start page.  It has the main idea sentence already written for my students.  (As my students get more independent they will come up with their own main idea sentence).  After we discuss the main idea and what our paper is about, we follow each box and read the drawing prompt.  Then I give each student a few minutes to draw a picture in response to the writing prompt.  This process can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes for my students. 

Some of my students have fine motor difficulty, so after they draw their pictures I will add labels to their pictures so they remember what they drew when we get to the "art to draft" copy.

The next day we will complete the "art to draft" copy.  This is where the students take their pictures and turn them into sentences.  (Sorry I didn't get a picture of this).  After students have created sentences, I will help them to correct their mistakes.  For my students who are not ready to construct sentences on their own, they dictate what they want to a teacher.  The teacher writes their ideas down in a clear sentence. 

Finally, students will take their "art to draft" papers and copy them onto a piece of writing paper.  This is the students final copy.  After they have completed their writing, if they used neat handwriting, correct spacing (well the best they can), and punctuation they get to copy of their writing with a sharpie marker. 

For my students who are not ready to transfer their writing from the "art to draft" organizer to their paper, and adult will do it for them.  They will then trace over the adults writing with a sharpie marker.  This makes the writing legible, but still in the students handwriting. 

The final writing gets mounted onto paper and clipart added to it.  Then we display them in the classroom or on student lockers. 

The kids were very excited about their first writing of 2nd/3rd grade. You can get this writing pack for free in our TPT store.  Please leave me some feedback and let me know if you find it helpful.  I have lots more writing organizers for special education students (or regular education K or 1st) that I can share. 

Happy Writing!

Reavel Room #3...Special Education Instructional Classroom

Welcome to Miss Kenney's Instructional Special Education classroom for 2nd and 3rd grade!

As I've stated in several posts we moved into a brand new elementary building this summer.  It has taken lots of time and effort to get it ready for kids.  The kids have been back for four days...and they are loving everything about the new building. 

The biggest adjustment for me is that I am in a smaller classroom than I was in our previous building.  I moved 144 boxes into my new classroom.  The day we moved all those boxes and my furniture into my room you could only walk two feet into the classroom...then it was boxes floor to ceiling. 

This was before I unpacked and decorated....













I got rid of lots of furniture, but not one single box....I made it all fit into my new classroom.  Every cabinet, nook, and cranny is full to the max, but I did it!

I will be putting my CAFE board on this wall, but I haven't had a minute to put it up yet.  All student materials are on my book shelves.  Anything that is for teacher use only has been put away into cabinets.  This allows students easy access to the materials they need. 

This is my "cool down "zone.  I found my peacemaker and peacebreaker posters on pinterest.  The bungee chair is a new addition.  The kids love this chair, it is super comfortable.  I highly recommend it!  I bought it on sale at Target. 

This door leads to our huge bathroom.  I am using the outside of the door to display some of my reading posters.  I will also be adding my Daily 5 posters to this door.  I used wrapping paper on the outside of the door. I highly recommend using wrapping paper as your background to any boards you make for you room.  It is super easy to put up and lays nicely. 

My bathroom is very large and it is doubling as an "office".  It is well organized.  It is being treated more as a 'walk-in closet' or 'office' than a bathroom.  Pictures coming soon...I forgot to take pictures for this post.

Believe it or not, everything hung on the walls is stapled in.  It's amazing we can just staple into the wall, its like a wrap-around bulletin board.

 More reading posters, my calendar, and whiteboard space for me to write. 

 I used wrapping paper for this board...wrapping paper is amazing!  So easy to hang and get flat!

 Saw this idea on pinterest a few years ago...love it!  

Math and writing wall.  The posters about the touchpoints are the digit form and word form for numbers 1-19, and then skip counting by 10's to 100.  These posters are extremely useful.  I refer students to them all the time!

Sorry for the glare....

 My amazing storage!  The purple cabinet on the left I painted with aluminum siding paint.  I won't open any of those cabinets and show you how much stuff is in them...they are packed.  Extremely organized, but packed :)

The bears on my cabinet are going to be my helper board.  The kids get to pick what jobs we will have this year.  The blue baskets on top are more books from my student libraries that I didn't have room for on my book shelves.  I will switch them out throughout the year.

 Each table has a caddy.  I got the round blue ones from Really Good Stuff, they spin!  I am loving that.  The pink caddies came from dollar tree!  I've had them awhile and love them. 

Our PBIS building theme is trains...so I stole this idea from Rebecca...these are the school wide rules and my classroom rules. 

Last, but not least my classroom door! 

I love my new classroom and I am so happy with the way it turned out.  I have many more things to do (what teacher doesn't), but it is a good start to the new school year!  Great classroom, school, and kiddos...I am so blessed :)

Room Reveal #2....A Camping We Will Go!

Today is the dedication of our new building!  What better way to celebrate the opening of our new building than to reveal Rebecca's 3rd grade classroom.  Rebecca has created a 'camping' themed classroom. She has done this theme the last couple years, and each year the kids love it!  Several of her camping items can be found in our TPT store.  Please head over there and check out her stuff! 

Here we go....Welcome to Camp Howell...

Check out our TPT store for this Woodland Create Writing Process Clip Chart

This is her Daily 5 Choice Board, behavior clip chart, and new behavior management system. 

She added a pop of color to her cabinets by tying ribbon on the drawer handles

Marshmallow special class schedule.

This is the entrance to our new hallway!

I hope everyone has a great week and check back soon for our last classroom reveal...special education instructional classroom.  Polka dots galore!!!