The Gift of Reading


Welcome to Sweet Integrations! I've joined 15 fabulous bloggers to share our Gifts of Reading. I'm sharing a wonderful Christmas book by Jan Brett called The Wild Christmas Reindeer. Jan Brett writes beautifully illustrated Christmas books that students love. I purchase one each year for my granddaughter to enjoy. 

In The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Teeka is given the task of rounding up Santa's reindeer for Christmas Eve. Teeka is new to this job and a bit nervous so she handles the reindeer in the wrong way. Then, she learns how kindness and patience works with the out-of-control reindeer.

Click on the image below for your FREE product. 

Enter my raffle to receive a great addition to The Wild Christmas Reindeer. After reading the book, students can learn more facts about reindeer or caribou and enjoy fun holiday activities.




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Thematic Thursday - Thanksgiving


It's Thematic Thursday. Today I'm linking with Comprehension Connection  to share books, activities and links about Thanksgiving.


BEST BOOKS:
There are several Thanksgiving books that caught my eye.
- 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey - Dav adapts the Christmas poem as children visit a turkey farm. The children learn that a turkey is going to be killed for Thanksgiving dinner so they decide to save the turkeys. 
- Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano and Lee Harper - This turkey fears he's going to be the main dish at Thanksgiving so he decides to disguise himself as other animals. This book is a great read aloud. The students can follow-up with a cute activity in disguising a turkey.
- Thanksgiving by Gail Gibbons - All of her informational text books are beautifully written and informative.

ACTIVITIES AND IDEAS:

This Thanksgiving Harvest Blessing Mix is so easy to put together. Each ingredient in the snack mix symbolizes something associated with the Harvest Season.

Click here for free labels for your Thanksgiving snacks.
- Bugles Corn Snacks - represents the Cornucopia, the horn of plenty
- Twisted Pretzels - arms folded in thanks and prayer
- Corn Nuts or Candy Corn - the sacrifice of the Pilgrims during the first winter. They were allotted 5 kernels of corn each day.
- Dried fruit or Candy Fruit (Craisins) - Harvest gifts, Thanksgiving
- Sunflower Seeds or Peanuts - Promise of the future harvest
- M&M's - Memories of those who came before us; forefathers

Activities:


There are so many activities you can do with your students during the Thanksgiving season. Students can conduct surveys for their favorite foods, use spreadsheets to purchase food within a budget. Another activity I really like to do with my students is reading labels on cans of food. This is a great math activity in reading nutritional labels. It includes addition and subtraction and comparing numbers. This helps students become more aware of calories, fat content and more. 


I want you to enjoy my Thanksgiving Freebie. This editable Thanksgiving (Mayflower) PowerPoint can be used during November. All you do is add your own questions and answers. Just click on the Mayflower to download your free Thanksgiving Product.

Click on the Mayflower for your free product.

LINKS:
Make sure to visit Scholastic's site The First Thanksgiving. Students can learn about the Wampanoag Indians and Pilgrims. Take a virtual field trip of Plimouth, and learn about the Mayflower. This is the best website for teaching about the First Thanksgiving.

Link back to Comprehension Connection for more posts on Thematic Thursday.

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Teaching With Interactive Lapbooks

I started creating interactive notebooks and lapbooks last spring and I never knew I would have such  an overwhelming response by teachers.

Interactive lapbooks are similar to interactive notebooks but are used for specific units. They are so easy to create and the students love them. The unit can last one or two weeks. And, this is a great way to teach the research process to share what students have learned about the subject. It's also a perfect way to differentiate in the classroom. Students take pride in their work and truly extend their learning. They are proud of their products and love sharing their work.

Students love hands-on activities. They can use their creative skills with interactive lapbooks. I'm sharing tips in using lapbooks in the classroom.

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Thematic Thursday - Animal Habitats


Today is Thematic Thursday and I'm happy to link up with Carla from Comprehension Connection. Because many of my units are informational text, I provide many animal units which include information about their habitats.

In teaching about animal habitats, it's important for students to know what they can do as conservationists. So many natural habits are being destroyed by climate change, pollution, deforestation and human habitation.

I have several animals I would like to share with you. With Austin as one of the largest colonies of Mexican Free-tailed bats, I've included information about nocturnal animals. This unit also includes activities about reading informational text and information about several nocturnal animals.


Books:


I love the book The Moonflower by Peter Loewer.  "When the sun sets, the night comes alive.
When the sun sets and the moon shimmers down, the night comes alive. Bats swoop, hawkmoths flit, owls hunt, and the moonflower unfurls for its one night in the moonlight. In this lyrical yet accurate account of nature at night, you'll learn how moths drink, how bats "see," how bumblebees sleep, how vines climb, and even how to plant your own moonflower." - Amazon

Activities and Ideas:
In my unit about Nocturnal Animals, I've included a PowerPoint about nocturnal animals, a flip book posters with different nocturnal animals and activities in reading informational text. 




I also have units on bats and owls at my store.

Take a look at this free activity I found at TPT.
Links:
I've created a Google Site which focuses on nocturnal animals.

To visit Comprehension Connection's Thematic Thursday:

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