It is back to school time again. Wow! Where does the time go? I know that the first few weeks can be jam packed with ALL THE THINGS. The best part though is building the classroom community. I could chat about this for years, but I won't- this post is about Friendship read alouds!
Especially after the weird, crazy year we had during the pandemic we have a lot of kids coming back to school for the first time in a long while and might need a refresher on how to be collaborative and cultivate friendships.
So I gathered up a couple of my favorite books that have the theme of friendship and would be super to integrate and weave into your B2S reading. I mean these can always even be used at other points in the year when we might need to revisit how to be a friend you know?
Now this is no way an exhaustive list of amazing books on the topic of friendship, so if you don't see one here that you just love feel free to drop it in the comments! That is the great things about books- there is ALWAYS just one more you can LOVE. #takeallmymoney
-Strictly No Elephants
-You Will Be My Friend
-Carrot & Pea
-Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark
-Friends
-Porcupine Named Fluffy
-Disappearing Desmond
-Horsefly and Honeybee
-Copy Cat
Don't forget that read aloud time can be done just for fun and enjoyment, but also there are many wonderful ways to utilize it in a super intentional way. Make sure to weave both intentions in throughout the year.
Well hello there! It seems to have been awhile. I have been really good about posting over on my Instagram and FB blog pages and sometimes neglect this area, mainly because this takes a tad more time to get together. So if you have not followed me over yonder go for it! You will see more frequent posts and such! FB: The Blessed OCDiva Instagram: @theblessedocdiva
Preposition Power!
So 1st grade started teaching all about prepositions!
You may have your own way of introducing and teaching prepositions, so I am just going to share a few things I have done in the past as well as the little project to wrap it up.
This book is ADORABLE!
I had a copy gifted to me from the book fair and I never got around to being able to read it to my kiddos since I moved out of the classroom, but the first grade teachers here borrowed it and said the kids LOVED it! yay!
This book is also a great read aloud for prepositions integrating Science as well!
My kids loved this little preposition song/video as well:
We would also act out prepositions using teddy bear manipulatives and plastic cups/bowls:
"Put your bear under..."
"Put your bear on top of..."
Kids can also use their bodies:
"Stand next to your chair."
"Stand between..."
Here is the little project I whipped up for them to do as a little wrap up of their learning, as a quick check to see if they truly understood how to use a preposition besides just identifying it, and for them to use as an interactive word wall (the kids do all the work and can go back and reference it later. It holds more meaning since they are the ones applying it and creating it!) This also integrates writing as well!
Supplies needed:
Animal Crackers
Crayons,Pencil,Markers (if preferred)
Glue
Construction paper or plain cardstock (personal preference)
Students will get their blank piece of paper and an animal cracker. They will create a setting for their animal and then glue their cracker wherever they are choosing to use the preposition. They follow up with a sentence using the preposition and circling or highlighting the preposition they used! You could also elect for them not to highlight or circle and they can present theirs whole group or with a partner and the other kids have to find the preposition they used.
Look at these amazing products their kids created!! I loved being able to go into their classrooms and see it come to life!
Here is a little video showing it as the full process!
Thank you Mrs. Tibbetts for letting me hover over your little friend ;)
I also created some fun packets to teach prepositions! There are 3 different themes! And one is a farm theme which goes perfectly with the above mentioned book and the animal cracker activity!
Here is what is included in each pack:
It incorporates hands on activities as well as independent learning. Can be printed in B&W or Color!
-interactive poster (background and character cut outs)
