Book of the Month - May Edition - A Bad Case of Stripes!

This is something new I'm starting, a Book of the Month.  This month I chose A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.  I wanted to come up with easy activities that will help in the classroom.

There are 2 pre reading activities.
* The first one has the students making predictions based on the title.  This is great because the cover lends its way to so many questions about the story!
* The second activity has the students using cause and effect skills to make a prediction as to why the girl is covered in stripes!

There are 2 during reading activities.
* The first activity has the students making visualizations.  This is one of my favorite activities because the students get to interpret the text and draw pictures to go with it based on what they think the character looks like.

* The second activity is to ask the students guided questions as you are reading.  Try to use higher order common core questions as these type of questions usually lead to great discussions!

There are 2 post reading activities.
* Have the students complete a plot diagram to identify the different parts of the story.
* Students can go on a cause and effect scavenger hunt based different cause and effect relationships within the text

You can download this activity FREE by clicking HERE!!

Enjoy!
Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Earth Day Literacy Activities - FREEBIE!!!

What a beautiful day out today!! So happy the weather is finally changing! Today I have a great Earth Day pack! There are a few activities in this pack and its so super easy to use in your classroom!  Here are some of my suggestions:

Main Idea/Supporting Details - This is a graphic organizer.  It can be used with any story but works great with the story Just A Dream by Chris Van Allsburg since it fits with the Earth Day theme!

Check out Just A Dream by Chris Van Allsburg and my TpT store for activities to go with it!
* Comprehension Game
* Sequencing Activity
* Vocabulary Matching

ABC order - This page is a great independent center. Students have to cut out the words and glue them in alphabetical order.  I find that my students like to complete activities that are hands on rather than just completing a worksheet.

Sentence Scramble - There are 4 pages of sentence scrambles that relate to Earth Day. Students cut out the words and put them into complete sentences. 
Check out my April Sentence Scramble activity for more April related sentences!

Get this FREE Activity by clicking HERE!!!

Have a great day!!!

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Spring Into Writing **RAFFLE**

I am having a raffle for one of my new writing projects!  This is a great file to use for a writing center or writing workshop! It has many graphic organizers, spring writing prompts, and silly story prompts.

How to use this file: 
Graphic organizers - Sequencing (2), Main Idea/Details & Central Idea/Details (Earth Day, Weather, Baseball, Easter), Narrative Elements, Problem/Solution

The main idea/central idea are the same organizer but labeled with the different name based on different grades levels aligned to the Common Core Standards! They have graphics that go with them for Earth Day, weather, baseball, and Easter!)

Writing Prompts- These are great to cut out and laminate. They can be used in a writing center for when the teacher is working with a reading group. They also work well for writing workshop ideas.

Silly Story Starters- This is a fun activity. Students pick a character, setting, and problem card. They can use one of the graphic organizers to help plan out their story! The best part of this activity is the students get to really use their imagination and the stories should be silly!

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Its beginning to look a lot like.....

CHRISTMAS!! The holiday season has begun! I really hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!! Now that it is over I need to start working on all my Christmas and holiday activities.  I'm starting with a vocabulary activity pack on The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg!  I love all of his books but this is one of my favorites since I love everything about Christmas!

This activity pack includes a vocabulary matching, an I Have... Who Has... Game, a context clue graphic organizer (this is great to use while you're reading the story), and context clue task cards.

I know the students in my class really love playing I Have Who Has games.  I usually use them before we read a story to review the vocabulary words.  

The next activities in this activity pack involve context clues.  The first one is a graphic organizer that you can use while your reading the book The Polar Express.

I have also created context clue task cards.  I use task cards for my literacy centers while I'm doing reading groups.  This gives my students engaging activities to complete while I work with a small group.  My students enjoy them more than just completing a packet or worksheet!

Check back soon for more great The Polar Express activities!!

Get this vocabulary pack by clicking HERE!!