Winter Sentences

Christmas break if half way over, and somehow I have been sick 2x already!  (I hear my roommate yelling at the Christmas tree as she is taking down the lights, lol).  But with laying in bed, I had extra time to make a little Winter Sentence Printables! ;)  

It follows the same format as my Reading and Writing Simple Sentences pack, but this one is themed for winter holidays/events.  Take a look...


This pack pack is designed to teach students to read and

write simple sentences. Each sheet contains a sentence to

read, trace, write, draw, and cut and paste. This pack
contains 25 sentences using predictable sentence stems.
For example: You can teach the sentence “I see the___,”
and place different words at the end of the sentence. This
would be great to teach in a whole group setting, using a
pocket chart to frontload the students for reading and
writing the sentences.


Ways you could use these sentences:
-You could use each page for homework practice
-When you introduce a new sight word, you could have them complete the worksheet at their desk
-Morning work: you could have this sheet waiting at their desk in the morning while you take roll
-Literacy Center Work: for your Daily 5 or center time, you could use this as one of your stations.


Common Core Standards: 
ELA.Literacy.RF.K.1 
ELA.Literacy.RF.K.2c 
ELA.Literacy.RF.K.3



I included these winter events/holidays:
Winter
Snow
Hot cocoa
Christmas
Gingerbread
The Mitten
Rain
Valentine's Day
MLK
Groundhog's Day
Lincoln
Washington
St. Patrick's Day
Football
New Year's
Dental Health








Head over to my TpT Store to pick one up!

If you want a modified version, for just writing winter words, check out my Winter Words: Learn to Write!  If you have low students that are still learning the concept of writing words, this would be perfect to use to differentiate for them!



7

Parent Gifts for Christmas

Our class went and saw the Nutcracker Ballet, so I thought it would be adorable to paint ceramic Nutcrackers for the parents!  I got them from Oriental Trading Company and the paints from Michael's.


I showed the sample from the website on the board as inspiration, and the students patiently painted their little Nutcracker.


We talked about painting with the lightest colors first, that way they could layer if they messed up.  It worked out pretty well just giving those instructions!  Each table group shared a set of paints, and I gave each student a little water cup to rinse their brush.  After they dried, I sprayed them with a clear gloss to set the paint.  The students wrapped them with tissue paper and a ribbon, and were able to give them to their family as a Christmas present. :)





Normally, I have the students make an ornament, but since I'm in 4th, we tried a more advanced craft.  Did you make gifts for your parents this year?

The items used to create this feature were sent to me free of charge from Oriental Trading Company for review.  All ideas and opinions are 100% my own.
7

Word Problem Christmas Tree Craftivity

We were learning two step word problems in math, and all of us wanted to rip our hair out!  Until...we decided to make our OWN word problems.  For some reason, this was way easier than solving them!  


The students wrote three word problems having to do with Christmas on their Christmas tree.  First they wrote them in their math journals and then had a friend try to solve them.  Once they were solved, they could transfer the word problem onto their tree.


Of course, we had to add a little glitter!!!!!




Once we finished our trees, the kids were much more comfortable at solving the problems in their math book!  I will definitely do this again, and if you are teaching primary, you can do with with simple addition our counting ornaments!  


Last but not least, maybe I was wearing a Christmas tree headband in honor of our Christmas tree craft!  Every teacher has a stash of hats and headbands, right?


9

Elf Linky: Week 2

Welcome to week 2 (out of 3) of our elf on the shelf linky party!  Link up with your elf on the shelf ideas for the classroom.  I know my students come in each morning excited to see where our elf is, so I would love to see your photos, too!  



I think this is my favorite elf on the shelf idea (totally pinterest inspired)!  Jolly took "selfies" while we were gone and change the desktop on all of our computers to his picture!  



Jolly wanted to tease us with how many more days until Christmas Break!  You can grab the Countdown to Christmas for FREE!


We made some snowflakes, and Jolly brought us the snow to decorate them one morning!


Our elf loves hiding in the class Christmas tree!


This jumbo stocking was a cozy place for our elf to hide!

Here is my Santa's Littler Helper unit to get your students in the Christmas spirit!


If you are on Instagram, be sure to check the hashtag: #elfintheclassroom to find some Elf on the Shelf ideas for the classroom!  You can search that hashtag, or use it on your photos!  I am OBSESSED with instagram, so come find me- @applesandabcs




Join the fun and link up with Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations or myself to share you elf photos!



5

Ornament Craft and Writing

  It is officially Christmas in my classroom!  Last year, I made this adorable ornament craft with my Kinders and I just HAD to use it with my big kids this year!  The students wrote about their favorite Christmas ornament and then they got to make the ornament craft for our little trees. :)



I decided I could make these with my 4th graders, we just had to beef up the writing part.  They made their ornament craft, and they wrote a descriptive paragraph of their favorite Christmas decoration. 





To make the lined paper to glue on the back of the ornament, I just printed off an extra copy of the ornament and added lines to it.  


I hung the ornaments from the ceiling.  I attached them with binder clips and clear fishing line (that is connected to the ceiling with a push-pin).  I leave these up all year, and just change out the hanging writing craftivity. :)





It makes me happy that I can still squeeze in crafts for 4th grade.  I have a couple more to share in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!


5

Christmas Tree Decorating...learning colors and numbers

 
I was honored to write a blog post for What to Expect, it's a website mostly for mommies!  I shared a little counting and color matching game for toddlers (or little ones).  If you want to check it out, view the post HERE.  There is a freebie waiting for you over there!
 
 
 
 

4

Elf Classroom Linky Party

Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations and I are so excited to host an Elf in the Classroom Linky party for the next 3 Sundays!  We are having a blast in our classrooms "elfing around" and we would love for you to link up and share your Elf on the Shelf photos!  


Here are some Elf on the Shelf classroom ideas for you to try in your classroom!  My elf comes to the classroom  every couple of days, and the kids (yep, my 4th graders) get to excited to see what antics he is into for that day!

Elf is looking at some classic Disney Photos.

This is how our Elf first came and surprised us, he hung candy canes from the ceiling for all of the students!

Elf is hanging out with the class hermit crab. 

Elf got into my washi tape during the night!

Elf is just practicing some sight words.

Elf loves to play Dr.

Elf made his own spot on our class job bulletin board.

I am using my Santa's Little Helper unit to keep the kids engaged all December long!


Directions to the elf linky:
If you want to link up with us, share the image below, and link back to one of our blogs! We will also be having an elf linky:
December 15
December 22




8