BOOKS that ANY STUDENT will read.

Let's talk toilets, toilet paper, restrooms...and well, I'll stop there. But wait, don't your students appreciate a little potty humor? YES. OH, YES, they DO.

Don't let me fool you or think this post isn't legitimate potty talk...because it is. It's all about Bathroom Readers--only your students read them in the classroom.One of my favoritefavoritefavorite books that instantly transformed by reluctant readers!!!

Here it is!!!

Run and get these books I was so skeptical but once we read a few excerpts and saw the magic of this book--I literally ran to Sam's Club (I am a total Costco fan but Sam's had me on this one) and picked up this book to test it out!

I have to tell you "Uncle John's Bathroom Readers" make my skittish readers read. And since it's not Guinness Book of World Records (#insertteachereyeroll...there I said it...well, I have the hardest time with my perpetual Guinness Book kiddos and it drives me batty. Am I alone? Yay? Nay?)...
 I am so so happy that they love this. It's history/science/everything you want that is---so so funny and engaging!

My students that love reading love these just as much because of the real life/historical/scientific stories that are told and the funny (and yet still accurate) way the information is presented.

PLUS text features out the wa-zoo! Some information is presented in charts and lists which is so cool for students to see used in real life!

I love the page number--toilet paper rolls--your kids will love it too!

I have the "kid version" of the bathroom readers on my shelves--well, they are never on my shelves because my kids pass them around--and they have a 1.5 week time limit check out. So my students can use them for their personal reading but I use the original versions for reading groups throughout the year. The regular bathroom readers contain some """interesting history""" ;) so I keep those in my book cabinet ;) for selected reading articles

I mix up my groups with just about every book so sometimes there are books that require more meetings than others but I don't want to lose instruction time with those that are finished with their books...

So I copy less than 10% of the book and make packets for our lit groups. It's is hilarious and fun. Sometimes I pair my students up and they present us with information for one article, we read it all together and do some extra exploring during genius hour, and sometimes we just sit and giggle and read these articles that are totally true! It's also a great addition to their reading logs!

I love the "A Hair Piece" and usually show the Frozen clip when the Prince of WEASELTON's hair piece flips off and we all get a good laugh. And most of the time the funny titles just get me!

So grab your bathroom reader and get started! You have the entire summer to check it out!

Over and Out!

All NETS on DECK!

That's right! ALL about NETS! I don't know about you but for some reason SURFACE AREA totally throws my kiddos for a loop. Like they have to find all the area of that whole big shape thing and it's just a lot sometimes.

So FOUNDATIONS become really important. Especially laying a foundation for learning all about 3d shapes such as rectangular prisms, cylinders, triangular prisms, pyramids, and all that jazz.

It's time to bring in boxes and rip them apart to see their net, pringles canisters, toilet paper tubes, masking tape (making nets of of floor tiles), and taking a closer look at pyramids. It's all about opening their minds to everything nets.

We focus a lot on identifying nets and really getting our heads around how these 3d shapes are made. When you take time to do this surface area and all things nets just becomes easier.

One of my favorite activities to do with my kids is IMPOSTER! I have a series of nets that actually fold into an object and some nets that are well, IMPOSTERS! They have to sort through the cards and really analyze how these shapes come together.

Students will have those light bulb moments and really familiarize themselves with 3d shapes!

And then it is smooth sailing into surface area...really...no bumps in the road because your kids are so familiar with nets that it isn't confusing or this crazy math cloud of confusion looming over their heads.

You can find all things nets (posters and activities) in my tpt store right here!

Over and out friends!

Blast off to the MOON

I wanted to do a compilation including the best of the best engaging activities about THE MOON!

 I feel like it's an area that is revisited over and over again and students have high interest in it. BUT keeping them engaged can be so tricky!

.....So here are a few of my favorite {elementary} resources for learning all about the moon.

OREO MOON PHASE MATCH

Isn't it funny how food makes everything more engaging at school? Well, bust out the oreos and do a moon phase match. I've seen a lot of Oreo activities and found one that I loved from letstotschool (all the heart eyes). BUT then I made a few tweaks and made my own (shown above) for some kiddos with food allergies. If you are in need of that just shoot me an email and I'm happy to help you out!

What I love most is that it is already done for me. Hop on over to letstotschool.com (or click the link) to grab your ready-to-go moon phase match!

MR. PARR'S SCIENCE CHANNEL

Do you love parodies? I do! And your students will EAT THESE up. No joke. Mr. Parr creates science songs to well known songs that your students won't be able to resist. The Moon Phase song is to CeeLo's "Forget You" (insert JustDance moves here). 

What I SUPER love about these is if you click on the "show more" the typed up lyrics are there. I print them up on the back of my students science notes so we can revisit the song over and over--and they know all of the words.

Before I found Mr. Parr I used this song and my students each year LOVE LOVE LOVE it as well. You can watch it for free on youtube but I purchased it on iTunes so we could listen to it anywhere! Just choose which one you want to hear over and over again! 

GOOGLE MOON Tours

This takes some downloading of GoogleEarth but your students will love this.

They take a tour of the moon with astronauts {virtually, of course}. It's pretty quick and your kids will love to be able to take a closer look at earth's satellite.

Google has a great video to get you started here. We always do the Buzz Aldrin tour :) Here's a student sample.

At the end of this post, I've included a pdf of the questions that my students answer. PLUS I had them take notes on the back about cool things they found to present to the class afterward.

MOON BANDS.

Y'all I am so excited about these!!! Simply print these out, but and have students tape or staple them around their wrists and learn about the moon phases all day. It's such an easy way to study and they are rather cool. These baby's are ready to print-cut-go so your students will be moon experts in no time!

 They are included in my new moon bundle that is literally JAM PACKED with everything to make your students a moon expert in no time! From a moon crown, matching cards, posters, phases of the moon fill-in's and more! Check it out y'all!

And here's your quick and easy download for a GOOGLE MOON tour! Your kiddos will LOVE it!

What do you love most about teaching moon phases? Let me know in the comments!

Over and out!