Hip! Hip! Hooray! It is the 100th Day!

Do your students love the 100th Day as much as my students?   I like to veer off of the  normal curriculum for the day and truly celebrate everything they have learned in a really fun way!  Here are some of the activities I use from my 100th Activity Day Pack.  Find the link below.

100th Day of School Math and Literacy Activities!

Everyday we count how many days we have been in school using a Place Value chart.  When we change to the amount of days in school we say "83 days of school means 83 days smarter! Kiss your brain!"  The students love to wear crowns that say "100 days Smarter" on them!  Allow the students to decorate the crowns, cut them out, and then you can staple them to a sentence strip.

We also count to 100 every day during calendar to ensure that the students know how to by the end of the year. On the 100th day, I like to have students act things out and exercise to make it more fun.  For example as we count from 1-10 we will stretch, as we count from 10-20 we will reach, as we count from 20-30 we will do knee raises, etc.  Find some examples of ideas below!

Next, have a fun bulletin board idea that I love because it also aligns with Valentine's Day!  You can put this up at the 100th day and leave it up until after the Valentine's Day holiday!!!  Here we will make 100th fish in the fish tank.  I put my example below, however, students have smaller fingers than I do, so they fill out the page better than me!  I pick 10 colors for the students to use.  They will make 10 fish of every color to reinforce counting by 10s to 100.  I have them use their thumb (or a smaller finger if you choose to do so) as the body of the fish and the sides of their pinky finger to make the fin.  I hang them up outside of my classroom with the phrase "Of all the fish in the sea, I love to have you in class with me!"  The students LOVE the painting and have so much fun!

They can use this 100s chart to reinforce counting by 1s to 100 and coloring in any type of pattern you choose to have them do!

Many people love to have 100 day snacks to practice counting by 10s!  Here is a board full of ten frames to use while sorting your snacks!

I've also included a 100th Day of School File folder game.  Students will sort the "sweets" by if they include 100 sweets or if they do not.  As you can see below the sweets are grouped by 5s or 10s (as noted in the bottom corner).  The students can count by 5s or 10s to see if it has 100 or not.  Following the activity, I included counting by 5s and 10s paper so teacher can assess their knowledege.

Find ONLY the 100th Day File Folder Game here.

100th Day Handwriting practice can be used as morning work or a time filler!

Here is my "100 Days of Cool" student book.  Students can search for sight words/popcorn words.  I have my students "butter" the popcorn words by coloring all the words they know yellow.  They can then color the pictures, put the book together and draw themselves on the last page!

 One of my favorite books to read on the 100th day is "100th Day Worries" by Margery Cuyler.  The students think this book is so silly.  Here are some extension activities to use in the book including main character descriptions, text-to-self connections, problem and solution graphic organizer and sequencing of the story graphic organizer.

Find only the 100th Day Worries extension activities here.

Next, if you choose to create a journal for students with various writing prompts about the 100th day, here is one you can use!  There are some prompts already included and a blank one where you can have students write about whatever they want (that relates to 100 of course).

Finally, last but not least, 100th Day Certificates for kids to take home!  100 days of school means 100 days Smarter!  Kiss your Brain!

Enjoy!!! Happy 100th Day of School!!!

January Themed Story Extension Activities

Hello All! It is about that time to head Back to School tomorrow! I am not sure why, but I am really struggling with the fact that Winter Break is over this year!! If you are feeling the same way as me, here are some Story Extension activities to get you through some of January.

Penguin Pete Extension Activities are perfect for the month of January to contribute to the infamous primary grade level units for Penguins!

 Begin by reviewing the Character of Penguin Pete and how he changes throughout the story.

 Tie in some Science facts by completing a "Penguins: Can-Have-Are" activity

Every kid goes through thoughts in life when they wish they were older.  Use this to your advantage of reviewing the reading strategy: Making Connections!

 

Practice the skill of Main Idea and Details by cutting on gluing only the details that happened in the story!

Finally finish with a Penguin Setting craftivity: provided are icicles, igloos and various penguins. Students can use these to build Penguins in the Arctic!

MLK Day "We March" Extension Activities are a wonderful story to use while celebrating MLK Day!

 Describe the inspiring families throughout the book and their dedication to equality.

  Make connections: MLK's Dream for equality and the students dream for the world.

Recall the details in the story that the families did to unite themselves as a whole!

  

 Equality Crafitvity: Make the Earth with different shades of skin toned hands around the perimeter.  Also, attach a writing prompt below!

 Use There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow Extension Activities to celebrate the winter months! 

Describe the Cold Lady in the story.

 Review Fiction and Nonfiction.

While you read the story to your students, pause before reaching the ending to allow students to make predictions.  This will be fun if they are aware of other stories in the "There Was an Old Lady" series to predict what will happen.

 Sequencing "There Was a Cold Lady who Swallowed Some Snow!"

Finally, have some fun with the students building their own snowmen!

Hope this makes January stories fun for you and your students!  Happy New Year!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!

One of the best parts of teaching in the Primary Grades during the Holiday season is definitely the awesome books that correlate with the time of year!  I use many different books in my classroom and with my after school Reading club for Kindergarten students.  Some of my favorite books are The Hat and The Mitten by Jan Brett and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.  I've created some activities to extend higher level thinking and comprehension strategies with the three stories.  Take a look below!

The Hat vs. The Mitten Extension Activities

First, discuss if each story is Fiction or Nonfiction.  Review what characterizes a story as either of the things and then have the students prove it to you!

Then, your students can sort photographs between "The Hat" and "The Mitten".  Students may find these stories very similar because of the text patterns and illustrations, so together you can discuss the differences.

Make retelling "The Mitten" fun by having your students create their own mittens and putting the order of the characters into the mitten they created!

Finally, review character and setting with your students by creating a specific scene from the story "The Hat!"

Here is all about one of my ALL time favorite stories "The Polar Express" and how I extend learning in my classroom!

The Polar Express Extension Activities

First, discuss main character and traits that go along with the boy in the story.

Then, the problem the boy faces in the story and what happens to him to fix that problem!

 My favorite part is the strategy we used to retell the story!

If you are able to watch the movie in your classroom, then compare and contrast the movie to the story.  It can be differentiated to students in your classroom using pictures or words!

 Finally, have some fun with a setting focused craftivity!!!

 Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you and your students are enjoying the holiday season as much as we are!!!

Happy Holidays!