Friday, August 30, 2013

Opening night is coming soon for Princess K.I.M. the Musical

With an impressive display of perseverance, an author-illustrator colleague of mine, Maryann Cocca-Leffler, has transformed two of her books into a musical play! Princess K.I.M. the Musical tells the story of a little girl who is new in school…in order to impress her classmates, she claims to be a princess. Once the lie is revealed, Kim starts being overly honest even if it hurts people's feelings. For example, she tells the teacher that her baby is "ugly." Oh dear! Eventually Kim discovers that being authentic and kind is the best way to make friends.

The books are available in your local library or can be requested. To see them on Amazon, click here: Princess K.I.M. and the Lie That Grew
or here: Princess Kim and Too Much Truth

If you'll be anywhere near Milford, New Hampshire on October 3-6, 2013, the production will be at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets and more information, visit the Princess K.I.M. blog. The most recent post shows photos of the sets, which are in the charming style of the book illustrations.

New Hampshire is a little far away for me to go, but I am happy to participate in a teensy way by being a sponsor of this lovely ad for the playbill:
My new book is right under the word "mind." For more about my book see this post, or see it on Amazon: Jack and the Hungry Giant Eat Right With MyPlate

I can only imagine how much work it was for Maryann and her team to turn her books into a play...next stop, Broadway? Let's hope so!

Loreen
My web site

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Label a Sea Turtle, Woolly Mammoth, or Allosaurus!

An example of one of the Common Core State Standards that pertains to learning vocabulary is CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text... Labeling a diagram requires linking the word with an image, which activates multiple pathways in the brain—always a good thing!

Another relevant standard is CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7: Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.

I've created three printable labeling activities so far. As shown below, the artwork for these activities is realistic which I think is important for this kind of nonfiction material. Cute images are fun but can be misleading in a science education context.

Sea turtles are one of my favorite animals—it's truly amazing that these reptiles have been around for millions of years. The Label a Sea Turtle! diagram includes the vocabulary words head, eye, nose, beak, neck, flipper, shell, scute, tail, and scale. A second diagram of the sea turtle life cycle is also included with the words eggs, hatchling, beach, nest, female, tracks, adult, ocean, juvenile.
Click cover to download the preview in my TPT shop

Answer keys are included, naturally. It's perfect for Ocean, Marine Animal, and Reptile units. The species of sea turtle is the loggerhead, by the way.

The Woolly Mammoth is another wonderful creature that is included in Ice Age and Prehistoric units as well as ancient North American history. Label a Woolly Mammoth! has the words hair, eye, foot, leg, tail, tusk, trunk, ear, back, and head.
Diagram to label a woolly mammoth, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7
Click to find in my TPT shop

Last, but definitely not least is a fearsome meat-eating dinosaur diagram. Label an Allosaurus! can be used with Dinosaur, Prehistoric, or Predator units, and includes the words arm, back, claw, eye, head, leg, neck, tail, teeth, and toe.
Diagram of an allosaurus dinosaur to label. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7
Click to go to my TpT shop
I hope these activities will be useful to help kids learn about animals past and present.

If you're interested in an entertaining book about prehistoric life, please take a look at My Teacher Is a Dinosaur and Other Prehistoric Poems, Jokes, Riddles, & Amazing Facts. The School Library Journal review says: ...the tantalizing facts and pictures in this book will stimulate readers' curiosity.

These FREE activities to go with the book are in my TpT shop at this link.
Thanks for stopping by!

Loreen
My Web Site

Friday, August 16, 2013

New Classroom Resources + Freebies!

While on a trip recently, I doodled this idea for a poster activity:
The purpose is to help kids focus on descriptive sensory language in what they are reading. When they find an example of a sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch-related detail, they will record it in the corresponding area of their poster.

The poster can be used with any text of reasonable length such as a magazine article as well as fiction or informational books. Here is a sample of the poster already filled in:
As they read, students will record words or phrases that relate to the 5 senses— rough fence; everyone stares; flavor of grass; sniffs the air; listens for the cow bell— or write a short summary as shown above to give more context.

There's also a vertical version included which you can see in the lower right of the cover:
Click to see 5 Senses Read & Write in my TpT shop.

Another new item is this Owl Combo Pack of Whooo's In Our Class? get-to-know-you foldable plus Owls Are All Write! Graphic Organizers and Writing Papers.
Though this is discounted already, it will be included in the sale. The same goes for the Similes Classroom Books Combo Pack:
Similes & Meanings has 30 familiar similes for kids to illustrate, while Simile Starters has 30 prompts for students to write new, original similes.

We're Nuts About Goals! is a fun craftivity for kiddos to learn about setting goals as early as Kindergarten. They don't even have to be able to write, they can just draw pictures on the acorns. Learning how to set and achieve goals can make all the difference in life so it's an important concept for all students.
Age-appropriate goals could include:
Learning a specific new skill
Meeting a particular Common Core State Standard
Following a class rule
Improving a certain behavior
Trying new things
Reading X number of books
Practicing something a certain length of time per/day or week

As always, my classroom resources including the graphics are original creations by me. Speaking of graphics, this Apple Frames FREEBIE has gotten a ton of downloads and great feedback already:
To make it easier for teachers to find my freebies, there is now a Freebie Category in my shop. To find the newest resources, click on the Most Recent link on the main store page or the NEW! category.

These are most of the "newbie" resources in my shop. I love making classroom resources so more are on the way!

Loreen
My web site

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