EEEEEK! Bats and Spiders.. OH MY!

Hi Friends..Anna here with Simply Skilled in Second.  I hope this post finds you well.  Now that we are deep into October, I wanted to let you know what I have my students do during our Daily 5 rotations in my Work on Writing station.

Introducing..... BATS!!!!

So... I LOVE having the students do different types of research projects in class during the month of October.  This month lends itself well with so many opportunities for having some fun learning and researching about creepy crawlies and things that fly in the night with Halloween coming up.

So in order to fit EVERYTHING in... I like to add research projects to my work on writing station.

During the month of October, my students will complete 3 - 4 different research projects at my Work on Writing Station.  My students always have a MUST DO and a CAN DO activity when they get to our Work on Writing Station.   This month they will focus on BATS, using EITHER.. my 

All About Bats  Bat-Shaped Interactive Notebook OR they can complete my Bats Flip Flap Book™

I add a variety of different non-fiction books, texts, and passages at the Work on Writing Station for them to read and complete their research.  Giving them a choice on which activity to complete is exciting for them!

The next project they will work on during their rotation to Work on Writing is Spider research using my Spiders Flip Flap Book™

I also leave one of my ipads at the Work on Writing Center set up so they can watch this video as well.

During Halloween week I also have my students complete my  Halloween Writing Fun Interactive Notebook activity and when they are finished, they glue them in their Interactive Writing Notebooks.  My Haunted House Halloween Shaped Booklet is what I use to differentiate my  Work on Writing station. A few of my students will not be able to handle 3-4 different projects in the month, so in order to differentiate, I will give those students my Haunted House Halloween Shaped Booklet.  This booklet has a page for spider research, bat research, writing an expository paragraph, a making words activity, and a few other activities.  So this booklet is a PERFECT way to differentiate my Work on Writing Station for my kiddos :)

So... I just wanted to share a few of my Research-Based Projects that are at my Work on Writing Center for the month of October.  If you are interested in any of these resources, click the images below to check them out in my TPT Shop!

 

Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Hugs,

Anna

 

More BATS!

Hey everyone, Alyssha here from Teaching and Tapas. I am one of those people who LOVE everything October. Aside from it being a way-too-busy teaching obligation month (progress reports AND open house for some of us), it is so fun to get into the fall spirit!

One thing I love to do in October is a class vote/graph - Are Bats Cute or Creepy? Hang it up at the beginning of the month. Make sure the kids are able to change their votes because by the end of the month, you can convince the most squeamish students that bats are definitely cute. Like, the cutest of all animals.

On Monday, Matt from Digital Divide & Conquer wrote up a post about Bat resources using Symbaloo. I may be the last teacher alive who hasn't heard of Symbaloo. It looks AWESOME!
There was one video in particular that you MUST show your students. Lil' Drac is the epitome of every cute animal video on the internet. Seriously, so sweet.

Here is another one that you have to play with the sound on -

Okay, here is one more can't miss. This one goes beyond just cuteness - it's a great learning video.

I love surprising my students with little videos every once in a while. They're short and awesome!

Along with the bat theme, I have a great close reading freebie on bats that you may find useful. It a passage that is written at two levels (yay for differentiation!). It's perfect for 2nd and 3rd grade but could be used 1st-4th. Snag it up here!

 

Remember, it's free and super awesome! Enjoy!
Link - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Differentiated-Close-Reading-Bats-1502633

Nocturnal Animals

Hello! It's Cyndie again from Chalk One Up for the Teacher and now that we've finally made it to October, I'm here to talk to you about one of my students' favorite all-time topics...nocturnal animals.

Who doesn't love things that go bump (and "hoo", and "caaa", and "eek") in the night?

As a teacher, I love this unit, too, because you can work so much into it!

Plus, if you do Genius Hour or PBLs this fits in so nicely.

Here is a list of nocturnal animals from Buzzle that you could study.

Here are some great ways that you could integrate nocturnal animals into your curriculum. 

• Informational - Have your students research a nocturnal animal and create an informative piece.
• Narrative - Have any or maybe several of your students had an encounter with a nocturnal animal?
• Opinion - I'll bet your students have plenty of opinions about at least one nocturnal animal!

• Compare the weight and size of various nocturnal animals.
• Graph various nocturnal animals found in different regions.
• Graph the class' favorite nocturnal animal.
• Compare the various species of nocturnal animals with others using <, >, and =.
• Measure how far nocturnal animals travel in a night.
• Create pie charts that show how much time each animal spends doing various activities.

Here is a list of fabulous books about nocturnal animals.

Where Are the Night Animals by Mary Ann Fraser
Nocturnal Animals by Kelli L. Hicks
Raccoons by J. Angelique Jackson (There are several nocturnal animals in this series.)
Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies
Owls by Valerie Bodden
The Pebble First Guide to Nocturnal Animals by Joanne Mattern
Night Creatures by Wade Cooper

Science is my favorite part of the day!

• You can order and dissect owl pellets.
• Sort nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular animals.
• Conduct echolocation experiments.
• Include a phases of the moon study.
• Create a can, have, are anchor chart for the various nocturnal animals based on research.

As  you can see, nocturnal animals can lend themselves to a great deal of learning and loads of engagement!

If you are looking for products based on nocturnal animals, here are a few of my favorites.
(Just click on the picture to take you to the product.)

 

So that's it! I hope you'll try it out and watch your kids light up as they learn about this super cool topic!

Batty Art and Verbs- Freebie From Teacher to the Core

Well hello there! Are you a planner like me? I love looking forward! So even as I am making applesauce, I am planning for some October fun! 

This is a quick and easy art project that helps kids focus in on verbs and bats! Grab it now and put it in your “To Be Copied” pile. This is fast and easy to copy and make! No tracing.

This can be done as individual art or you can make a big bulletin board of the bats. This is how I did it in 2012….. Sorry about the fuzzy picture, this was back in the day.

And 2014….. Super Fun! Click {here} to see how easy it was to make the haunted house.

Want to grab the Freebie?

Get it

HERE

What We're Chalking About September: A Visual Calendar

Hi all, Happy September!  What the what? September, oh my... How did that happen? 

It's Emma from Clever Classroom bringing you another, ''What We're Chalking About" post that covers what our multi-talented, cyber writers are posting about this month, via a visual calendar.

As you can see, our visual calendar aims to help you preview who and what is being posted.  

We have content for both primary and intermediate students, and topics that cover science, social studies, literacy, math, routines, planning and themes. 

This month, we are also featuring a few flash back posts, which we have aptly named, "Way Back Wednesday".

If you would like to receive notifications from us this month, click here to follow our blog. 

Here's what we have planned for you this month. 

1  Jessica from Second Grade Nest - Labor Day

2  Way Back Wednesday

3  Haley from My Silly Firsties - Morning Messages

4  Vicky from Teaching and Munch Moore - Poems in Primary Classrooms

5  Matt from Digital Divide and Conquer - MVP Partner Management

6  Autumn from The Primary Techie - Remembering 9/11

7  Karen from Mrs. Jone's Class - Interactive Notebooks

8  Nicole from Mrs. Rios Teaches - Back to School Night

9  Way Back Wednesday

10  Valerie from All Students can Shine - Primary Ideas

11  Naomi from Read Like a Rockstar - Class Newsletters

12  Sarah from Sarah's First Grade Snippets - Parent Involvement 

13  Anna from Simply Skilled in 2nd - Constitution Day

14  Emma from Clever Classroom - Social Skills and Classroom Expectations

15  Terry from Terry's Teaching Tidbits - Senses

16   Way Back Wednesday   

17  Katie from Teacher to the Core - Bats on the Brain

18  Laura from Peace Love and First Grade - Easy Ideas for Fundraising

19  Jennifer from Teaching to Inspire - 3-5 Ideas

20  Meg from The Teacher Studio - Accountable Talk

21  Ariane from The Science Penguin - The 5E Model Engage

22  Alyssha from Teaching and Tapas - Primary Ideas

23  Way Back Wednesday

24  Latoya from Flying into First Grade - Math Talks

25  Lisa from Growing Firsties - Student Goal Setting

26  Corinna from Surfin' Through Second - Math Games

27  Cyndie from Chalk One up for the Teacher - What's for Lunch?

28  Heather from 2 Brainy Apples - Social Studies

29  John from An Educators Life - Positive Culture

30 October's What We're Chalking About: October - Visual Calendar

To remember this post, you might like to pin it.  That way, you can come back to see the posts throughout the month. 

On the last day of each month, we will post this visual calendar for you to see what we have planned. 

If you have any suggestions that you would like us to write about, please comment below. 

Click here to see our posts from July. 

Click here to see our posts from August. 

Thanks so much for dropping by.