Batty for Contractions & Halloween Week

What happens when you go two weeks without getting a blog post up? You end up sharing a whole lot in one post. But the upside to that is there a lots of pictures & even a freebie along the way! So. Let's catch up!!

 {Red bandana for red ribbon week. I look like a pirate.}

We started learning about contractions this week. Like many of you, Halloween week for us is also Red Ribbon week. I knew we were going to be having lots of conversations about how we DON'T do drugs and why we WON'T do drugs! So it seemed like a great time to start focusing on apostrophes and contractions. 

 {Worst picture in the history of blog pictures....grr! I need a real camera. #sorryiphone}

After we learned what a contraction is, my students shared their answer to this prompt using post its.

"I won't do drugs BECAUSE....___________"

This segwayed nicely into a class book we created. You can download a copy HERE.

 

We also worked some crafty action in and went batty for contractions!!

I printed the words on different colored paper strips then each kiddo pulled a strip without seeing the words. Once they got their words they had to create the contraction and use it in a sentence.

          {Seriously - worst lighting E.V.E.R. Always. No windows by my board. Sadface!}

I finally got this bulletin board up the LAST week of October. Does anyone else feel like they deserve an Olympic medal of honor every time they change a bulletin board!? Like it's this big huge accomplishment. Even if it's only seasonably relevant for oh, I don't know, a week. 

Then before I knew it...BOOM! Halloween was here and I got to dress like this!!

Which also means that we got to do my favorite activities five years running....

I do this activity every year for Halloween and each year I do it a little differently. Sometimes I do most of the activities in my Witches Brew Mini Unit before Halloween day. Other times I save most of it for the day of Halloween and after. This year was on of those years. Our principal wanted us to have some educational activities during the Halloween parties, not all games. So I actually saved the witches brew mini readers to read DURING the party.

Reading...during a party. Say what?!

I was unsure about it too to be honest. But they were so excited that we were going to actually get to MAKE the brew that they were actually incredibly engaged. So one of our four party stations was indeed a small reading group! If you think this must mean we had one of the lamest parties on earth, I can assure you the kids were still plenty excited to make things like slimy goo & play pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern during party stations too. ;)

After they rotated through all their stations, I had them come sit on the carpet with their books. I lay out the cauldron and bags of "ingredients" - like the bat brains (popcorn) and witch warts (chocolate chips) on a table in front of the carpet. Then I put on my fingers & my hat, and break out in my best russian-witch accent. Don't ask me how I came up with that one.  The first time I did this I just opened my mouth and it's what came out so I've stuck to it ever since! I point to different kids on the carpet and ask them to go into their books and tell me what comes FIRST, THEN, NEXT...oh yeah, transitional words in action!! As they eagerly look up what comes next in their stories, I mix the ingredients into the cauldron. 

And then we feast!! Lots of fun had by all - not least of all the teacher. :)

Now, it's on to all things Turkey!! Be back soon with new November goodies!!!