Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The first time I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, I kept thinking... I wonder how many students know what happened during World War II? 

How many even know where Germany is or Europe for that matter? 

Before I even introduced the book to my students, I asked them to locate Germany and Europe on our world map. My expert map student was raising his hand, almost leaping out of his chair and making those familiar "Ooo, ooooo" sounds, we teachers know well. He pointed to Germany and the surrounding countries as well as the Atlantic Ocean. Isn't it great to have an expert in class to help introduce lessons? :)

Then, I asked them to raise their hands if they knew one fact about WWII. One boy said his great grandfather fought during WWII. A girl raised her hand and said that WWII was a big war. Those were the only students who volunteered answers. I was shocked, to say the least. 

It was then I decided to write up a packet of student worksheets for Number the Stars that would include an informational piece about World War II. It was a good way to introduce WWII and even though it wouldn't be a detailed history of the War, it would give my students a "taste" of events and the causes of the War. 

I always try to integrate social studies with my ELA classes so this was perfect!

Lois Lowry's book, Number the Stars, has students walk in Annmarie's and Ellen's shoes as the story unfolds. The setting is Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943, the third year of the Nazi occupation of Denmark. Annmarie and Ellen, who is Jewish, are best friends. The story is how Annmarie's family take Ellen into their home to protect her from the Nazis. The story is filled with facts presented in a way students will relate to themes like friendship, trust, honesty, conflict, and hope. 

It's no wonder this historical fiction book won the Newbery Award, in 1990, as the most distinguished contribution to children's literature and remains popular to this day. 

This is my 69 page packet to accompany the book. It has detailed instructions for pre-readinng, reading and post reading activities. Also included is the nonfiction, informational article to provide students with a better understanding of World War II. 

To read the full description of the book, click on the map. There is also a free preview of the packet of my ready to print student worksheets that can be downloaded.

Ruth

After speaking with many of my former students' parents, over time, it's apparent that students aren't receiving a good base of American history throughout their school years. I noticed the changes in textbooks when I was on the social studies curriculum committee for a number of years. The information in textbooks seemed watered down and lacking in good solid information about our history. I began wondering who was writing the text for the publishers and who makes the decisions about what's included in their textbooks.  That remains a mystery, but one we educators should be asking. I hope you are. 

Back to School "What are YOUR Favorites"?

I can remember one of my elementary teachers asking us what our favorite ice cream was the first week of fifth grade. Hands went up! Most yelled Chocolate! Many said Vanilla! Two who said strawberry were almost run out of the classroom.  "Ewwwww, how can you like strawberry ice cream?" one classmate whispered.

When I was growing up we didn't have fancy dancy ice cream. No Ben and Jerry's. Only chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, oh! and chocolate mint and chocolate fudge.

When I walk into ice cream stores today, the choices are mind boggling and I really WANT to try a new flavor, but always end up with a chocolate ice cream cone, dipped in chocolate piled to the ceiling on a sugary wafer cone. YUM!!

This is why I created my "What's Your Favorite" activity. I guess I really created it to see if kids still love plain ol' chocolate or vanilla ice cream. But honestly, I really like to get to know what other things my students really like.

Another sheet asks them to list adjectives to describe some of their favorite things. It's a great way to introduce adjectives the first week of school.

Click on my free Favorites pages but before you do, tell me... what's YOUR favorite ice cream??

Have fun!

Ruth

TEACHERS ARE HEROES

It's that time of year again. 

TeachersPayTeachers is having a sale, today

February 25, 2015

I love the name of the sale

TEACHERS ARE HEROES

Just think about it. Teachers really ARE heroes 

We devote our lives to our students 

We motivate them to reach for the stars  

We inspire them to be the best they can be 

We encourage them to make a difference 

We help them when they don't understand 

We praise them and applaud their accomplishments 

We're sad, when they're sad 

We cry inside when they're hurting 

We encourage them to think creatively 

We applaud their talents 

We listen to them 

We smile and laugh with them 

We cheer when "they get it" 

We set the bar high and are consistent with our expectations 

Our profession is admirable but 

we don't often stop to think about the impact 

we have on our students 

Everything in my store is on sale for you 

THE HEROES

who make a difference 

in students' 

lives.

Give yourself a pat on the back, every morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ruth

Click on the image to see my sale. 
Use the promo code HEROES at check out, to receive
another discount!

An Early December TeachersPayTeachers SALE!!

An early December sale! 

Need resources for after the holidays? 

Everything in my store is discounted! 

This is a site wide sale! TeachersPayTeachers wants you to have the best resources at very low prices. 

December 1st and December 2nd!

 

Be sure to use promo code TPTCYBER when you check out, to receive even more discounts! 

I just modified my Nonfiction Bingo packet! If you've already purchased it, you may download it  again free of charge. The packet is now 45 pages, 20 are student Bingo cards. Also included is a student nonfiction text feature guide with terms and definitions. 

Happy Holidays to All!!! 

Ruth

BACK TO SCHOOL TEACHERSPAYTEACHERS 2014 SALE!

I'm really excited to announce 

the TeachersPayTeachers 

2014

 Back to School Sale! 

Be sure to use the PROMO CODE 

BTS14

when you check out to get a larger discount!

Have a great year!

Ruth

Check out my FREEEEEEEEE 260 Journal Prompts

that will get your reluctant writers' pencils flying across their papers as they respond to my "kid friendly" prompts. 

They're great as discussion starters too. 

Grades 4 and up but third grade teachers tell me they're using them too!

Be sure to read teachers' comments 

below the description about this special resource!

As of today there have been 61,377 downloads! WOW! 

Check back in a few days. I've been adding more to my popular 

Novel Response Task Cards. If you already have that packet, you'll be able to download the update, free of charge. 

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS...REALLY?

How many times have you heard friends and family members say they're going to make New Year's resolutions, but never follow through? Many times it's something they've talked about, like losing weight or other personal goals, but honestly, it's not always easy to stick to what we vow to do.

For many years, I've had my students write their resolutions, a typical lesson they've done in previous years, so I decided to change my approach and make it a little more challenging and interesting.

I thought about the year 2013, with all that's happened. Has there ever been a year of more distressing news with natural disasters, world events, war, famine, politicking? 

Those thoughts, then, became the basis of my new New Year's Day Resolution lesson. Keep in mind I'm a Socratic type of teacher. Raising questions to challenge my students has always been one of my main methods of teaching.  
Sooooooo... 

I started off by asking my students if they've ever set goals for themselves. 

I asked ... "Are goals basically the same thing as resolutions?" 

I hear some "hmmm's", one fiddled with his shoelace, and others stared at me, quizzically.

One of my deep thinkers speaks up... "Mrs. S, isn't a resolution the same thing as a revolution?" 

I explain that a revolution is when you rise up against something you're determined to resolve, change or fix, like a problem. A revolution can be positive or negative. 

I then ask if they all think a resolution, is a revolution. 

I see some nodding their heads, others tapping their pencils on their desks and one who's passing a note to a friend. 

I whisper..... "I sure hope that note is about your New Year's resolution, which is not to pass notes in class during a lesson, Joe." 

He slides down in his chair so quickly, I think he's sinking in a swirling pool of quicksand. His friend, sitting next to him, begins to giggle, then covers his mouth when I slowly turn my gaze to him and wink. 

Dan sheepishly raises his hand. "Doesn't a revolution cause a resolution, something like cause and effect?" He lowers his hand slowly. 

I'm speechless. This boy is connecting all the dots and it's wonderful, incredible, AWESOME (as the kids would say)!! 

I praise him for his answer, have everyone applaud and then continue.

I point to the goal poster on the wall and ask volunteers to describe some of their goals and whether they've attained them. The majority of them admit they never follow through. 

I ask ... "Why is it difficult to reach your goals? Is it you or something else that causes you not to reach them?"

I ask for a volunteer to describe a goal and if it was achieved. 

Beth raises her hand and describes her goal. She wants to read for an hour at home, but she describes the many distractions like younger siblings running around the house, usual home distractions like television, texting and other things, that keep her from reading for an hour.

A couple of students eagerly chimed in. They offered suggestions about how she could make her life more manageable and lessen the number of distractions. They told her they had the same thing happening at home and how they "fixed" it.

I always love these types of brainstorming sessions. Kids reaching out to help their peers, offering many great alternatives and solutions! 

After a few minutes, they concluded that if Beth found just fifteen minutes of quiet time when she could read, it would be a great accomplishment.

I ask... "Did Beth reach her goal? Her goal was to read for an hour a night. Everyone just said that reading for fifteen minutes was really good. But did she actually reach her goal?" 

Robert raises his hand slowly, so slowly, I figure his response might not be 'on the mark'. 

"It's the effort that counts," he whispers. 

 What?  Did he REALLY say THAT?

I ask him to repeat his statement in a BIGGER voice.

I then call for applause from everyone. 

I ask... "Okay, effort is needed to achieve a goal. What's another word that means great effort to follow through to complete or attain a goal?"

After a few minutes of mulling it over, Rosie, leaps out of her seat and blurts out, "I know. I know what the word is ! It's determination. It's on the goal poster." She points to it. The room is so still you can hear a pin drop. I ask both Robert and Rosie to come to the front of the room and take a bow.  Everyone applauds again. :)

Next, I explain their assignment will be to write resolutions for themselves, the school, the town, the country and the world. They looked at me as if I was an alien from Planet X. 

Joey raises his hand and says, "I'm not sure how to write a resolution for our school, the town, country or world. They're not people." 

Love this kid! 

I told them to think of the school as if it was a person. 

I ask .. "What are some problems our school would like to fix or improve if it was a person?" 

Hands shot up! It was one of those "gotcha" moments.. :) I let them take the ball and run with it and as they discussed their ideas, I wrote them all over the board. 

I  stop the conversation for a minute and say, "Well it's really obvious I have a class of problem solvers and geniuses."

They look up and grin! I grin back!

It's amazing how the quiet kids, who usually never contribute to class discussions, are actually voicing their opinions and coming up with excellent ideas. I'm mesmerized as I listen ...

I ask ... "What kind of goal might you write for our town?" Again, ideas covered the board as they brainstormed. 

Fill the pot holes in the roads, build a skateboard park, provide more lighting at the town baseball field. The list went on and on and on.. I pictured them as adults at town meetings, voicing their opinions and collaborating to fix problems around town. 

The very same thing happened when I mentioned the country and world. It absolutely amazes me how fifth graders can solve problems so smoothly and logically, by brainstorming, drawing conclusions, and compromising. I tell them they should all run for office and work with others to solve our country's problems. 

They grin! I grin! We all grin!

I began handing out the New Year's Day worksheets and tell them, they're problem solvers who have collaborated,  brainstormed and brought all their ideas together in a thoughtful, peaceful and brilliant way. 

They grin. I grin. In fact, I grinned the rest of the day and night. Life is good when you have a grinning day!

Here is the packet I created for New Year's resolutions. Enjoy!

Halloween Task Cards and Writing Activities

I have so much fun creating autumn and Halloween activities! 

This packet of task cards and writing activities are great for small and large groups to encourage creative thinking, brainstorming and collaboration.  Not only do students have fun working on the cards, but the story starters and other cards reinforce important skills and concepts. 

38 pages - Click on the cover to learn much more about this packet. 

There's a free preview!

DIALOGUE CARDS!

MANY STORY STARTERS!

INFERENCING, AUTHOR'S PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND PAPERS!

ART ACTIVITIES! 

TIC TAC TOE, PLAN A HALLOWEEN PARTY

Have fun!

Coming Soon! 

A Surprise!

I've been working on a project with an award winning author and incredibly talented artist for the last four months and the project is almost finished!  It's been hard keeping this project a secret! 

I'll be posting more information soon so please check back.  You can also sign up to get email notifications of when I do post more information about it. 

Okay.. Here is a little information about the book, but I'm not going to tell you the name of it YET :)

 The book has already won the Connecticut Press Award for Children's Literature and is in Barnes and Noble stores. 

The author and I discussed putting activities on a CD that would be made available for  classroom teachers, school Media Center teachers, librarians, homeschool parents and basically EVERYONE! 

WHAT'S ON THE CD??

~ A copy of the book in PDF format  for grades 3 and up. (ALL AGES love this book!)

~ An audio recording (MP3) of the book, Read by an NPR classical music radio show host from Chicago, who is also a well known opera star and who sings with symphonies around the world.

~ My packet that includes activities for all learners. I created a packet of 87 activities for the book. The genre of the book is included in the Common Core Standards. All student worksheets are ready to print and in PDF format. 

There are fun hands on activities, art activities, a game and much more.  The majority of all the activities align with the Common Core ELA Standards, Informational Standards and Common Core Math standards! Also included are map skills activities that align with states' social studies curriculums. It's a great way to integrate math and social studies into an ELA project! 

Why the MP3 recording of the book?  We're providing the recording of the book so children can read along with the audio recording. It's a great way for them to associate words with oral language.  

The audio recording also provides way for visually handicapped people to "visualize" the story as it's being read. And don't forget our reluctant and non-readers. They can hold the hard copy of the book in their hands and turn the pages to look at the pictures, as they listen to the story. 

The PDF of the entire book, on the CD,  is perfect for small groups of children who can view the book at centers and work on the fun activity sheets together.  

If you're wondering if the hard cover book will also be available, the answer is YES!

I'm predicting everything will be done in a few days, so please STAY TUNED!! 

Because Boards of Education have slashed their budgets, they aren't giving the money to teachers so they can purchase things for their classrooms. 
Because of this, there will be an incredible offer for the CD and book. 

STAY TUNED! 

Ruth

Spring Time Poetry Fun!

Testing, testing, testing!! Is it over? If so, have some spring time fun with your students! These 27 poetry activity cards are a relaxing way to encourage them to put their thinking caps on and to write great poetry!  Each card has an example of a type of poem and explanation of how to write it.

Not only are traditional forms of poems included, but you'll also motivate your athletes to write sports' poems, your scientifically minded kids to write invention poems and your grammar gurus, parts of speech poems! Fun!

Click on the cover of my packet for more details. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's one example...

TALL TALES

Kids love TALL tales! They marvel at characters with super human abilities and will have fun completing these 13 pages that help them understand the elements of tall tales. These pages can be used with any tall tales. Click on the title page to see more.

260 Journal Prompts

I'm so excited to let everyone know that this packet of free journal prompts has been modified. I've added MANY more prompts! 
~~~~~~

Ever pass out a writing prompt and hear a student say "I don't like that topic!" or "I don't like to write!" or "I'm not going to write!"??? I remember feeling the same way in school because I sometimes couldn't relate to the topic; it just didn't interest me. 

You talk with those students, plead, beg and practically stand on your head to get them to write at least one or two sentences. Sound familiar? 

When I was in school, the "back to school" prompt was always..... ready? I'm sure you know what it is.. 

WrIte an essay on what you did over the summer vacation. 

Should I really write about the time I told my mother I was bored one hot summer day. She told me to go fry and egg. And I did! On the driveway! The white of the lovely fried egg left a permanent mark on our driveway. Needless to say, my father wasn't particularly happy about it. It was a new driveway! Uh oh

At the time, I doubted it would go over big with my teacher, so I wrote about going to Girl Scout camp. Whoop dee doo. She probably had to read 20 essays about Girl Scout camp. 

Over the years I've collected many prompts and I asked the kids what types of prompts they'd like. 


 These prompt really get the pencils moving! They're also good for lively discussion topics! 

Best part is, they're free :)