This year, students at my school had the opportunity to participate in Read to Achieve. Read to Achieve is a program sponsored by the NBA to promote reading for kids. The goal was for each student to read 500 pages by the deadline. If they did, they had the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Timberwolves game for an after-school field trip!
I had six students participate and reach the goal from my class. There were over 90 students total from our school! So Friday after school, we fed the kids dinner, loaded the buses, and headed to the Timberwolves game. It was a crazy fun time!
The kids could bring some of their own money, so you bet they bought every sugary thing they could get their hands on. Cotton candy, slushies, candy, pop… you name it.
They were full of Timberwolves spirit! My students were really good at watching the ball and knowing when teams scored. Even though we were in the LAST row of the whole stadium. :)
After the game, the kids got to go down onto the court and shoot a free-throw!
Even though we didn't get back to the school until almost 11:00 pm (where parents were waiting for pick-up), it was a good time had by all! Go Timberwolves!
Most teams in the NBA support Read to Achieve, so check out the website to see if your local team has a program that your students can participate in!
Spring has sprung! (When I started writing this post it was snowing, but thankfully, almost all of that snow has melted, and it's been like 60 degrees this week!)
In honor of the lovely spring weather, I bought a little bouquet for my classroom. It definitely brightened things up for a couple days! :)
For spring break, Mr. Wolf and I took a week-long trip to Boston, Mass. Any New England bloggers out there? We had such a blast, and I am so excited to share our experience with you!
Our first stop was the Boston Tea Party Museum. It was the perfect attraction for kids, because it was very interactive. First, we held a mock town meeting to discuss what we should do with the thousands of crates of tea sitting in the harbor. After the decision was made to throw it overboard, we went out onto the good ship Eleanor and threw some crates of tea over. Huzzah!
We went inside the museum to learn about what happened after the Boston Tea Party, and the events to take place prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord (the shot heard 'round the world).
(Is your elementary school history lesson starting to come back to you….?)
If you live elsewhere in the US, and still want to learn about the Boston Tea Party or the Battle of Lexington and Concord, check out Liberty's Kids.
Liberty's Kids is a show that does a really nice job of illustrating these events. There are tons of episodes about the American Revolution. I wish I could post them all!
Episode 1: Boston Tea Party
Episode 6: The Shot Heard Round the World
We also went inside the Old North Church (you know, the lanterns… "one if by land, two if by sea")
The pews in the church were almost shoulder-high. Back in the day, it could get so cold in the church that they needed "room-like" pews to huddle up and keep warm. I think it's so neat that this church still holds services every Sunday!
Just a short walk down the Freedom Trail was Paul Revere's house. No photos were allowed inside, but it was really interesting to see what a typical house was like for that time period.
And a WHALE skeleton! With the teeth (baleen) and all!
This exhibit was of GLASS flowers. All anatomically correct, from seed to flower to fruit. Very cool!
My favorite room, though, was filled with hundreds of rocks and minerals. The sizes and colors were brilliant! There was a field trip at the museum when we were there, and the kids in this room were going nuts with all of the rocks to see.
We stopped at Boston Public Garden to visit Mrs. Mallard and her little ducklings: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack, and Quack. They were all bundled up in their little scarves! :)
If you do not have Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey in your classroom library, you must! It's a classic!
Another awesome attraction we visited was the New England Aquarium. The design of this aquarium is so unique! The center of the aquarium is a huge 4-story tank, with a spiraling ramp leading to the top. You could view the tank from every angle!
Along the way, there were smaller tanks showing different water habitats.
This is the view from the top of the center aquarium.
And the view straight down, into the penguin exhibit!
The New England Aquarium was a great place to learn about freshwater and saltwater habitats. If you are going on an aquarium field trip, head over to my TpT store and download my Aquarium Field Trip Recording Sheet for FREE!
I know I've mentioned this one before, but I'm just so excited about it! Say hello to PAIRS of PEARS!
It's full of activities to help teach your kiddos about homophones! It has three different sets of word cards, tons of worksheets, and a "Pairs of Pears" writing activity. Just head on over to my TpT store, or click the image to snatch it up! :)
Can't wait to see what you all linked up for your Made It!
Here's what happened in Miss Woodward's Class this week:
1. TpT Conference
Last night, I told you about some exciting news! I will be going to Las Vegas this summer to attend the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference! Read all about it here. I am SOOOO excited! Anyone else out there going, too?
Click the image to learn more about the conference.
2. SNOW.
It's snowing right now. Last night we got like 6 inches, maybe more. That's all I'm going to say about that.
3. Awards Assembly
Does your school do any type of Awards assemblies? Each quarter we all gather in the gym, and teachers give out awards to students who showed exemplary behavior and hard work that quarter. The awards we give are Perfect Attendance, Principal's List (all A's), Achievement (all A's and B's), Most Improved, and the RHINO award.
Our school mascot is the Rhino, so the Rhino Award is for students who show any of our five core behaviors:
R- Respect
I will be kind.
H- Help
I will help.
I- Inspire
I will encourage others.
N- Never give up
I will keep trying.
O- Overcome
I CAN do it!
4. Fact and Opinion Game
Every day for 30 minutes, 3rd grade does SHINE time. SHINE time is a time for students to work on reading and math skills. We have all of the 3rd graders divided into five different groups, based on their needs.
My group has been working on fact and opinion, and thanks to my lack of planning, I was scrambling to find something for yesterday's SHINE time during my prep. Oops! I went down to our Title I room and found this game to play.
We divided into teams, and it worked perfectly! The kids were engaged the whole time, and it really helped them practice their fact and opinion skills!
The game is from Lakeshore Learning. There are TONS of other games like this to practice other reading skills. If this seems like something you could use in your classroom, check it out here!
5. Macy's Flower Show
Last weekend, I went to the Macy's Flower Show at the Macy's Store in downtown Minneapolis. Every year, Bachman's puts on this lovely show of beautiful flowers. It always puts me in a spring-y mood. :) The theme this year was "The Secret Garden". Check out some of the photos I snapped.
How was your week? Link up so we can hear all about it! :)
Being a Teachers Pay Teachers seller, I have been invited to attend a conference in Vegas in July. I pondered it for a while…. I thought it was crazy to go, since my sales aren't super impressive. After talking with a few colleagues, I decided that that is the exact reason why I should go... to improve my sales!
My step-mom, Teresa, and I booked our flights, reserved our hotel reservation at the Venetian, and I registered for the conference. I am officially going to Vegas this summer, and attending the TpT Seller's Conference! WAHOOOO!
If you're a premium seller on TpT, you should register for the conference! Today was the last day for "early bird" registration, but paying a little extra for LOADS of awesome workshops will be totally worth it!
If you aren't a premium seller, why not upgrade today? The immediate selling benefits on TpT are awesome, AND you'll be able to register for the conference!
I am SO pumped! I will get to see Deanna Jump from Mrs. Jump's Class, Deedee Wills from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten, and Rachel Lynette, and... oh my! I can't wait to meet all of the top sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers. I'm a little star struck. :)
Anyone else out there in blogger-land going to the conference? Let's exchange information so we can meet up! :)
