Life Between Summers

Elementary Teaching Blog

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It seems like everything is always changing year after year in the classroom. New instructional strategies, new curriculum, and obviously…
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Life Between Summers

4 weeks ago

Life Between Summers
SURPRISE!!! 🎉 Sandie Sonke Illustration & I just finished up the cover for our 4th book together, coming in 2023! 📙🥳In the past, I haven’t shared new book titles/covers until closer to the release date, but this time around I’d like to try and share more with you throughout the actual book-creating journey (sketches, sneak peeks, etc.) so here ya have it! 💞As you probably guessed by the title, this new one will be a follow up to Our Class is a Family! 🥰The premise:Kids have their immediate family that they live with, but extended relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) make up a special part of a family too! You can see where this is going- it’s similar at school! Students have their teacher & each other within their classroom walls, but they also have an extended family there to support them ❤️Specifically, all of the amazing people who are a big piece of the heart of a school:Librarians, speech pathologists, school counselors, administrators, custodians, school secretaries, reading specialists, cafeteria workers, and parent volunteers, just to name a few 🏫 And you’ll find them all represented in this new book! 🙌🏼 My hope for “Our School is a Family” is that it will help students feel extra safe, loved, & supported, and encourage kids to form positive relationships with (and show appreciation toward) the helpers at their school!I am so excited to share more about this book with you in the months to come!! 📖 P.S. Speaking of “months,” my very warmest congrats to Sandie, who is Society of Children's Book Writers & IllustratorsIllustrator of the Month! So very well-deserved!!! 🥂💗#ourschoolisafamily #ourclassisafamily #aletterfromyourteacher #shannonolsen #shannonolsenauthor #backtoschoolbooks #teacherreadaloud #schoollibrarian #schoolcounselor #speechpathologist #schoolcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

5 months ago

Life Between Summers
New book companion to go with Our Class is a Family! Class Family Memory Books for the end of the school year 📖💕This is a nice & simple writing activity for students to work on during those final weeks/days leading up to summer break 👌🏼 It’s a meaningful way to reflect on all their memories from the year, and they can take it home as a special keepsake on the last day of school! If you’re thinking you might want these memory books for your students, the timing couldn’t be better because they’re 25% off today & tomorrow (along with all other resources in my TPT store!) with the code THANKYOU22 💛 This comes available on its own, or in a discounted bundle with more extension activities for all 3 of my books 📚 I will share the link in the comments! 💕 ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers with Lakeshore Learning.

1 years ago

Life Between Summers
Check out these top 5 favorites from Lakeshore Learning! They are having their biggest sale of the year for back to school. Use the coupon code 6392 for 20% off any non-sale item! bit.ly/2Usm24T Coupon valid ‪through 8/31/2021 for one-time use in stores or online. Limit one coupon per customer. Not valid on items with shipping restrictions. Other exclusions may apply. Visit bit.ly/3bbUXIj for details. #LearnwithLakeshore #ad #sponsored ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

1 years ago

Life Between Summers
Standard Form, Expanded Form, Word Form. Maybe not the most exciting math concept to teach, but definitely an important one…so why not make it fun and engaging?? 😄Guess Who math games encourage higher level thinking/reasoning and using math vocabulary verbally. They’re an instant favorite for math centers and early finishers!Find this game and others at bit.ly/guesswhomathgames ... See MoreSee Less

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  • Are you looking for a classroom activity that your elementary students can use to learn about their family history? This blog is all about a fun family history project that I call “family treasures”. This social studies project has students put items into a box that represent different pieces of their families culture and traditions. Your students can have fun learning about their family origins, while practicing vocabulary, writing, and even speaking skills to present in front of the class.
  • Math groups are a great way for students to work on math problems collaboratively. Have your students work as a team in collaborative groups to solve math word problems. Each member of the team has a specific role to encourage responsibility and active participation. Use this math activity during math workshop, guided math, or math centers. This allows students to problem solve with peer support. This math activity meets several Common Core standards. Hang the math poster for student reference.
  • Looking for winter math and literacy centers? Today, I am sharing my favorite literacy center activities and math center activities for winter. You will find grammar activities including compound sentence activities as well as math activities including making arrays & adding and subtracting. You will also find adjective activities and grammar Jenga. Use these hands-on winter activities for morning work or for early finishers as well.
  • Teaching students about compound sentences can often times be an overlooked Common Core Standard. That’s why I have created a ton of fun and engaging compound sentences activities. I share compound sentence anchor charts, a winter craft, and winter task cards that will all help your students learn more about compound sentences. Use these grammar activities during your language arts block, literacy centers, or for morning work.
  • Are you looking for ways to celebrate holidays around the world in your classroom? In this post, I am sharing holidays around the world activities that focus on reading comprehension and opinion writing skills that are aligned with Common Core. This fun holiday craft involves close reading passages and a writing activity. Students create a holidays around the world passport and stamps sheet. There is a planning page, editing checklist, and final draft sheet. Perfect for a holiday bulletin board.
  • During the beginning of the school year, it’s important to set foundations. A great place to start with your elementary students is with sentence structures. Read this blog for a fun puzzle activity to work on subject and predicate. In your literacy centers, your 2nd graders can match together puzzle pieces to complete a sentence, or complete a sentence by starting with a subject and finishing the predicate. See how you can use this ELA activity in your classroom to teach sentence structure.
  • Math groups are a great way for students to work on math problems collaboratively. Have your students work as a team in collaborative groups to solve math word problems. Each member of the team has a specific role to encourage responsibility and active participation. Use this math activity during math workshop, guided math, or math centers. This allows students to problem solve with peer support. This math activity meets several Common Core standards. Hang the math poster for student reference.
  • Are you looking for a classroom activity that your elementary students can use to learn about their family history? This blog is all about a fun family history project that I call “family treasures”. This social studies project has students put items into a box that represent different pieces of their families culture and traditions. Your students can have fun learning about their family origins, while practicing vocabulary, writing, and even speaking skills to present in front of the class.
  • Are you looking for new ways to teach your students about building arrays? Today, I am sharing a bunch of holiday games you can play during math workshop, math centers and morning work that help students practice repeated addition. These building arrays mats help students learn the foundation skills for multiplication. You will find tons of multiplication games and building array work mats here!