FALLing into Autumn

Happy Fall everyone!  I can't believe tomorrow is my two month wedding anniversary!  Time has been flying, which is crazy because I haven't exactly been very busy.  Hopefully subbing will speed up soon, and I think it just might because I have 4 different dates lined up at local elementary schools.  Hooray!

Onto talking about fall / Halloween.  The past two Octobers, Sam and I have visited a corn maze at a nearby farm with some of our best friends, K & J.  Unfortunately, almost all of our weekends are booked in October this year, so we had to visit the maze a little early and went last weekend, this time going with a larger group.  As always, we had the best time, and it was still WARM out. It was gorgeous! I absolutely love visiting this corn maze at night, trying to navigate the paths in the dark underneath a starry sky.  Every now and then someone from the farm pops out from behind a corner, or the boys drift off and reappear in the cornstalks, trying to scare us.  Afterwards, the farm hosts a large bonfire and hands out free apple cider and apple cider donuts.  This may be my very favorite fall activity!

 

Our traditional "Entering the Maze" photo!

 We found an eye...

 and a foot of the salamander shaped maze!

My favorite part of the corn maze is getting lost, of course!  I'm always excited to see this sign, even though I look completely panicked in the photo.  Haha!

On another note, I created another Halloween product for TPT today, Halloween Multiplication "I Have ... Who Has?".  This version of "I Have ... Who Has?" is parfait for the month of October (duhhh), and can be used as multiplication fact and word problem practice or review during Morning Meeting, math time, or a Halloween party. 

(Pictures updated as of October 19, 2014).

As I suggest on TPT and in the Teacher Directions, depending on your students’ level of expertise with multiplication facts, you might stop after every card is read and determine the matching number sentence for each word problem as a whole class.
For example, a child reads, “There are 5 witches and each casts 3 spells. How many spells did they cast together?”, so the class determines the appropriate sentence is “5x3”. At this point, all students may use a strategy or a multiplication chart to find the correct product together. Playing the game this way, is perfect for those kiddos who are just learning the concept of multiplication number sentences, equal groups, and/or are rusty on fact fluency. 

Hop on over to the activity here. 

I've gotta run so I can continue chowing down on more candy pumpkins!  I may or may not have eaten about 2/3 of a bag since yesterday.  Until next time, friends!

XO <3, C

BOO!

By Reading Girl XOXO

Guess what, everyone? Only 6 more weeks until Halloween! Time is flying! The month of October is going to be quite busy for me, (on the weekends that is) so I'm starting my Halloween fun this weekend by going to a corn maze with Sam and some friends of mine.  Can't wait!  Last year, we found our way through the maze pretty easily, but the year before that we were completely LOST, which made it even more fun!  In fact, we were the last group left in the maze that night, and had to be "rescued", which made me angry because it was more fun finishing without the help of the employees!

Speaking of Halloween, I thought I'd take some time now to share the Who Am I? Creative Halloween Writing project I created a few weeks ago.  This should keep me preoccupied while I am waiting to hear from Sam at work about San. Di. E. Go...Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

For this creative Halloween writing assignment, students pretend to be a Halloween creature and write paragraphs of clues about themselves.  This is a great way to incorporate a lesson on inferences!  They must write two paragraphs of clues, the first full of adjectives and clues about their physical appearance, and the second with interesting verbs and clues about what they do/how they act!  This is such a fun way to review or intro adjectives and verbs towards the beginning of the year!
 

The above picture is an example of the finished writing assignment, which I always show to the children as we are working on their writing so they have a "picture" in mind about writing expectations.  This example can be projected on your board for easy review.  There is also a black and white handout version.  I love having students mark them up, circling adjectives, verbs, and interesting clues!

The above picture shows a list of writing ideas students can choose from, although they always think of additional creative creatures every year!

 Here is a graphic organizer for the pre-writing stage, focusing on adjectives and verbs. 

 The Who Am I? Rubric helps students to self-assess, edit, and revise before you score them.
 

 

 You will receive several posters with goals (learning objectives) and important vocabulary words. 

At the end of the assignment, students will decorate a haunted house by using the crayon resist technique and hiding their creature behind a front door that flaps open.  

This project is always such a big hit every year!  Students really get their creative juices flowing, and become so into keeping their creature identity a secret, they often use "offices" or "privacy folders" while writing!  I've even seen some cover clues on their rough drafts with post-it notes.  Haha, too funny!

Check out the Who Am I? Creative Halloween Writing project here.  Make sure to take a look at the preview for more details.

Hopefully I'll be back later today with San Diego updates!  Until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

XO <3, C