Prefix & Suffix Pencil - A Pinterest Find

We've recently started talking about prefixes and suffixes in my class. Is it just my kiddos or do all kiddos have a problem remembering WHERE the prefix and/or suffix goes?

I decided that I'd rather have them spend less time trying to remember what to call the word parts either on the beginning or end of a word and more time knowing what various prefixes and suffixes mean so that they can understand word meaning.

This pencil was another Pinterest find...by the way, I've decided I'd be a HORRIBLE teacher without Pinterest...and my kids love it!

I remind them daily, "If you forget what a prefix or suffix is, where can you look?"

Then they all say together, "The pencil!!!"

I traced the Prefix and Suffix Pencil back and owe credit to Brittney from A Day in the Life of a Classroom Teacher. Many thanks for the inspiration, Brittney!!!

Angry Verbs - A Pinterest Find

In our first unit, we review what verbs are and we go in depth talking about past, present, and future tense verbs. As soon as I saw that in our curriculum, I immediately thought of all the Angry Verbs activities I had seen all over Pinterest.

I wasn't able to trace the idea back to an original source. It seems like there are so many people out there who have used the idea now that it's impossible to figure out who first started it -- what a shame!

It's a fantastic ideas and my students' eyes lit up like the Fourth of July when they thought we were just going to have a day of playing Angry Birds!

While they were disappointed to learn that we wouldn't be doing that, they were still excited about making the Angry Verbs writing project, as we called it. Yay!

Here's how I did the Angry Verbs Writing Project my way...

1. I found Angry Birds templates online, downloaded them, printed them, and made copies for my class. When I distributed these, I did them on a "get what you get" basis and allowed my students to swap with someone who was willing to if they wished. 

2. I downloaded this lined paper with illustration space from Super Teacher Worksheets (love that site!), printed, made copies, you know the drill.

3. I let my students color the Angry Birds as they wished then glue them to their writing sheet. We wrote one sentence in the past tense, one sentence in the present tense, and one sentence in the future tense. All of them had to use the same verb, of course conjugated appropriately. 

The best part about this project? Open House was a couple of days later and I was able to pull this bulletin board together really quickly to make sure that we could show it off to all the parents.

And? They loved it! They loved that their kids were so excited to show them, too, as did I!

What Questions Do Readers Ask? - A Pinterest Find

Pinterest...ahhhhh!

I feel so fortunate to be a classroom teacher and have access to Pinterest. It has been the source of so many great ideas for my classroom - my circus theme, my back-to-school gifts, classroom resources, and so many things I have yet to post and share here.

First of all, if you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can: click here to be linked directly to my 'Ideas for Teaching' Board.

Then, don't forget to let me know what your Pinterest link is, too. I love finding new educators to follow.

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My very first Pinterest-inspired poster was this one, which I call What Questions Do Readers Ask?

In third grade, we're talking a lot about good readers asking themselves questions. Good readers should always ask questions before they read, while they read, and after they read to help build their comprehension. 

I'm so proud of my kids because they can correctly answer questions about WHY we ask questions (which sounds a little silly), but I'm constantly engaging in this specific dialogue in my class:

Teacher: As good readers, what should we do?

Students: Ask questions!

Teacher: When should we ask questions as readers?

Students: Before reading, during reading, and after reading!

Teacher: Why is it so important to ask questions as readers?

Students: Asking questions as readers helps us build our understanding and comprehension!

*round of applause for my class, please*

Haha!

When I originally found this poster on Pinterest, I traced it back to The First Grade Parade, where this teacher used it as a What Readers Read poster.

But, I knew that I wanted to change the content, and just borrow the layout that this teacher created because I LOVE IT!

My kids absolutely love it and we reference this anchor chart constantly. For some reason, they found it fascinating when I told them I made this at my house. I got a lot of questions about, "Teachers have homework, too?"  

My answer is, "You bet we do!"