Harvest Party

OK, life has been crazy busy lately. I don't think I've had a free weekend in 2 months! Then the marking period ended and we had parent conferences.  Even though it's been a couple weeks, I wanted to share something we did in my 5th grade classroom this fall.

We do a Harvest Party every year at our school (no Halloween activities, Fall and Harvest only, usually in mid November).  This year, I decided to do a simple craft I had found on Pinterest.

Thanks to Homeschool Creations for this easy project!

I had my fifth graders cut the vine using 1/4 of a piece of construction paper.  We talked about how to make it long by cutting a spiral and compared width to length as students finished.

Then we played Autumn Bingo using customized cards from DLTK.  The students got to use candy as their bingo markers.  When we had enough winners to start a new round, everyone got to eat a piece (or two pieces real quick while the teacher isn't looking!).

Snacks were kept simple.  Pumpkin, Apple, or Corn flavored items only.  We had popcorn, pumpkin muffins, apple cider, and some pumpkin spice cookies.  It was such an easy party to manage!  Almost no clean up.  Kids had fun.  Parents were happy that they weren't completely full of sugar.  Hmmm... maybe I can do this again for our Winter Party?

It's probably too late for you to use these specific ideas for a Harvest Party this year, but DLTK has lots of themed bingo cards (including Winter and Christmas) and those orange pumpkins could just as easily be turned into colorful ornaments or paper lanterns.  

Does your class have a party before your Winter Break?  Got any great ideas for me?

TPT Sale and 2 NEW products

I am so THANKFUL for a few days off!  It allows me to get caught up on projects I've been trying to finish.  I actually used my two new products in my class this month, but needed a little extra time to get them ready for sharing with all of you.

Did you hear about the Teachers Pay Teachers Sale???  Monday AND Tuesday!  Please take a moment to check your wishlists and consider supporting a fellow teacher during this holiday season.

Explorers Brochures

Early American Settlement Flip Books

Two methods of assembling!

If you celebrated Thanksgiving this week, I hope you had a fabulous holiday!  As we move toward a season of other holidays, I wish you all peace, joy, and several days off!

Sunday Scoop

Linking up with the Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop this week!  What a cute graphic they've used!!!  

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Native American Regions Flip Book - DONE!

Do you study Native American Regions?  Maybe these will help!  I wanted an interactive notebook activity for the regions that focused on one region at a time, since that is how the information is presented in our textbook.  Here's the final version of what we used:

Native American Regions Flip Book

Interactive Notebook or Lapbook Waterfall style book

Mini book style:

 

You choose the regions.  2 different covers are included -- one with a map, one with a blank space for adding your own image.   Enjoy!

The Sunday Scoop (Linking up!)

Linking up with the Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop this week!  What a cute graphic they've used!!!  

Thanks for stopping by! :)

New Poke Card set is up on TPT

I created a new Poke Card set for nouns that includes 2 specific noun topics.  The first topic is concrete/abstract nouns. The second is singular, plural, and collective nouns.  Answers are included (make sure you mark them on the back before you hole punch) as well as extra blank cards at the end.



Check them out at my TPT store when you get a chance.

Any requests for Poke Card topics?  Feel free to post in the comments or email me at MyCleverEndeavors2@gmail.com.

Have a great week!

Welcome Friends, New and Old!

This past weekend, I presented some ideas at the annual conference for the Michigan Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MITESOL).

Dave from Learning is the Game and I presented a workshop titled "Hands On with the Common Core."  Participants got a chance to create their own Poke Cards, Foldables, Matching Games, and Flyswatter/Egg Flipping Games.

Here's my latest Poke Card Set.  I'm almost done with the next one, too!  The next one will cover concrete/abstract nouns and singular/plural/collective nouns.  Follow me on TPT to know when it gets posted. 

These are some of Dave's awesome products.  He's been working with ESL students from Kindergarten to 8th Grade, so he's got a variety of materials in his store. I use his Government foldable and his equivalent fractions flies in my 5th grade classroom.  My students love his stuff!  (And that means I love using it to teach, too!)

The start of this school year has been busy, and preparing for this conference has set me a bit behind in some of my plans for my projects.  Lots of new things coming your way, plus several new Fun Friday ideas!  If you haven't "followed me" yet, please take a moment to choose a method (Facebook, Pinterest, Blog Lovin, Blogger, etc) so you don't miss any great stuff! 

Favorite Videos for 5th: Noun Song from Grammaropolis - "Noun Town"

This video is so fun and catchy, I woke up singing it in the middle of the night!  I know my students are going to remember this one.

I really liked how this song explains collective nouns, compound nouns, and concrete vs. abstract nouns.  By 5th grade, my students are beyond the proper vs common, but they struggle with abstract and collective nouns.  This video was so engaging and made the learning so much fun!

Enjoy!

Favorite Videos for 5th: Pronouns

We will be working on Pronouns soon in my 5th grade classroom.  I stumbled upon this video last year and my class would BEG to sing along with it!  It's very catchy.  :)

Got any great videos you use in your classroom?  Share in the comments below!  :)

Favorite videos for 5th: nouns

We start the year off with nouns in our grammar lessons.  This has always been one of my favorite videos.  I love the old School House Rock!  They've got a ton of videos for grammar, math, and history.

Favorite Videos for 5th: Study Jams

As I get ready to go back to school next week, I thought I'd start sharing some of my favorite video resources for my 5th graders.  Have you heard about Study Jams by Scholastic?  They have lots of videos and interactive activities for math and science.  Click the image above or use this link: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm

Monday Made It: Craftivities and Freebies!

It's Monday Made It time already?  How can that possibly be?

Thanks again to Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for hosting this linky party!  It's such motivation to get things done!  I catch myself trying to beat the clock to finish projects before midnight on Monday night.  :

If you haven't been there yet, her linky party is FULL of great ideas!!

This week, I had extra motivation to complete a few projects.  In addition to the Monday linky party, TPT is throwing a sale!  Everything in my store is marked down and if you use the code BTS14 you get an extra discount at checkout.  Lots of sellers are participating.  Go check your wishlist as well as all the new posts that went up this week!

I also had a deadline from my school to turn in a stack of postcards to send to my new 5th graders.  Just your luck, I put these in my TPT store for FREE!  They say 5th grade on them, but if you want a different saying, add it in the comments below.  I may be able to add a few other versions for my blog readers. :)  Yes, I REALLY want some blog comments!

I made 30 of these and delivered them to my school to be stamped and sent out this week!

The other project I finished today has been MONTHS in the making.  I have been working on this for a loooonnnnnggggggg time!  I even got my niece (6) and nephew (3) involved in helping me test them out. Check it out:

 Incentive chart Craftivities!!  No more boring incentive charts! These will have your students or children eager to show off their efforts!

1. Start with a background page. 

2. Choose what activities your students or children need to do in order earn a piece of the picture. (Read for 20 minutes, turn in their homework, do their chores, etc) 

3. When they complete the activity, they get to attach a piece to the picture. 

Pictures have no limit to the number of pieces you can attach! Put sprinkles on cupcakes, feathers on a turkey, or flowers in a vase. 

15 different incentive charts included! 
Color and blackline versions -- kids can color their own! 
All pieces included -- just print, cut, and glue!
Get extra crafty and use items like sequins, stickers, or feathers!



My niece (6) and nephew (3) had a great time making some of these craft projects with Auntie Heather!  Check out their versions!  (And the kids both wanted me to print them more!  My sister is getting a copy of the whole document so she can print as many as they want.)

I want to put one of the charts on TPT as a free sample.  Do you have a favorite?
Vote in the comments below.  The one with the most votes by next Monday will become a freebie!  :)

Vote for your favorite:  
Tree with leaves
Monster with eyeballs
Turkey with feathers
Pine tree with ornaments/lights
Snowy village with snowflakes
Cupcake with sprinkles
Cloud with rainbow stripes
Umbrella with raindrops
Vase with flowers
Picnic with ants
Dog with bones
Box with popcorn
Gumball machine with gum
Watermelon with seeds
Fishbowl with pebbles

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Made It: Library Labels and a BONUS!!

Joining up again with 4th Grade Frolics for a "Monday Made It."

I've been busy this week getting ready for some visitors to my house.  My sister and her family are FINALLY coming to see me!!!  They haven't ever been to this house or Michigan, so I'm thrilled.  But of course that means I also have to have the whole house tidy enough to let her look in every room.  Uh oh!!

Anyway, I've been slogging through my classroom library collection this week, trying to finish labeling each book with the three levels I want to include.  I thought I'd show you how simple it is to make these.

I can't decide if I use this tool more for my crafting or my classroom.  I LOVE my Xyron machine.  It takes paper and turns it into stickers.  Or in my case, labels.  It's so simple to use!

Just stick the paper in on one side and turn the crank. 

Once it's past the edge on the other side, slide the little blade to cut it off. 

Peel the top plastic sheet away. 

(it takes away the extra adhesive from around the edges of your items) 

Easy peasy, ready to use! 

Once my books have stickers, I look up all their levels and write them on the label by hand.  

I've only got about 20 more stacks like this one left to go!  (This is a really long, tedious project!)

In case you're wondering, I just make my labels in MS Word using a table with no borders. Print, cut, roll through the Xyron, and label!

Now for my bonus feature!  :)

My friend, Dave, from Learning is the Game made this AWESOME activity for me!

It's easy set up -- print, cut, and add velcro to fly swatters.

The kids slap a fly, state the simplified fraction (in the example above, 2/18 would be 1/9) and then flip it over to check.  If they're right, they keep the fly for a point.  

Check out Dave's blog post or his TPT store for more details.

Hope you're having a great Monday!