Throwback Thursday - Highlights of My Break

I've shared this before on this blog, but now we have a lot more followers so it's worth sharing again. This is something very easy to prep this week before you take off for break. Think of how nice it will be to have something ready for those first few crazy minutes back!

I'm sharing a freebie that I use right away when we come back to school from break. It allows students to quietly share as they fill out the organizer and then "get it out of their system" so we can return to our regular lessons. Students draw or write about something fun, something new, something surprising, something special, something crazy, and something else. I give them about five to ten minutes to do this or longer if needed. Then I draw a stick and have the student share one thing from their paper. Click on the picture to go to my TpT store for the download.

Winter Break Freebie Fun!

Happy Thanksgiving! Nichole here, from The Craft of Teaching. I am in shock to think that Thanksgiving has already come and gone. This year is flying by!

Teaching for the past 12 years, I have learned a lot about being prepared. Namely, I have learned that I'm not usually very prepared at all. I am not that kind of thinker...unfortunately for me. It means I spend a lot of time thinking and not much time actually DOING the work that needs to be done to be ready for lessons the next day. Now don't get me wrong, I aspire to be organized and a thoughtful planner. I try to make it work for me, but usually I end up reverting back to my mega-procrastinator ways!

Luckily for me, I have worked with some amazing and talented teachers who have helped get me to think a little bit ahead! Even though it's not part of my every day routine (YET) I at least try to think about what's coming up in the classroom. You know...I have a calendar for school events and I even try to write out a yearly plan for what units I will teach. Baby steps, folks.

In the spirit of thinking ahead, I thought maybe some of you awesome way-ahead-planners would be thinking about what to do after Winter Break comes and goes. Here is a fun freebie that you might use after we all return from a restful and fun holiday season.

This is a freebie I created last year to help my students practice writing complete sentences in answer to a question. We call it CSIQ - Complete Sentence Including Question. Some people who have downloaded this product have also used it for discussion starters and interview questions! There are 9 question cards, a recording sheet, answer idea sheet and a Winter Break writing paper included in this product.

I used this with 3rd graders last year, but I think 5th graders and other upper grades would be able to use it as well!

Enjoy and have a great few weeks until Winter Break!

Nichole