Presidential Pop Up Cards




February is all about Valentines, dental health, and presidents! I created these presidential pop-up cards so that my kiddos could learn about the presidents while reading and writing. These cards are a fun, hands-on way, to learn! 


The kids can decorate their pop-up card and then read about the president.


The kids can decorate their pop up card and then write about the president.


Here is the pop up feature. Each card has a pop up president!



Your kids can listen to you read about the president. I created two different levels of text. I created a simpler text for young readers, and a more advanced text for more advanced readers in older grades.









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Crystal McGinnis
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Dental Health Month



February is dental health month. This healthy teeth pocket chart sort is an easy way to start the conversation about healthy teeth. After my kids sort the pictures into "good for your teeth" and "sad for your teeth" categories, I will place this pocket chart in my pocket chart center. I will keep it in the center for a couple of weeks so that each student gets a chance to use it independently. After the kiddos complete the pocket chart, they will create "healthy teeth" and "not healthy teeth" pockets as independent practice. They can take these home to show their parents what they have learned!








For independent practice, my kids will create these "good for your teeth" and "sad for your teeth" pockets. They will put items that promote dental health and items that do not promote dental health in each pocket.





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Crystal McGinnis
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Groundhog Day Activities



It is hard to believe by looking at all of the snow on the ground that it is almost Groundhog Day! Groundhog day falls on February 2nd of each year. It is so much fun to teach about Groundhogs prior to Groundhog Day. I created this set of math and literacy activities to celebrate the onset (or not) of Spring. I hope you can use one or all of the activities! There are several activities for reading, writing, and math. They can keep your kiddos busy the week of Groundhog Day.




These groundhog nonfiction slides are a perfect way to introduce your students to groundhogs. I have provided fun facts and information about these cute little critters. I have also provided a slide about Groundhog day. If your kids love learning about animals, they will love these slides! You can also print them off like I did to create a classroom display.



We love to sing in Kindergarten! This song, that is sung to the tune of "I'm a little teapot," makes a perfect shared reading lesson.


Surveys are a great way to get your kids up and moving! Your kids can walk around and survey their friends by asking them about Groundhog Day. They then write their friend's names in the yes or no column. Each student in my classroom has a clipboard, which makes survey time a little easier.



Groundhog Labeling- A great way to teach text features!



 This groundhog craft is a perfect way to celebrate Groundhog Day. After creating the groundhog, the song that they learned earlier in the day is attached. This makes an adorable hallway display!



I always try to tie reading into my units. This groundhog day emergent reader can be used during guided reading or whole group reading. It is very predictable, which makes it perfect for young readers. Another great book box filler!




 Groundhog's Day Graph-We will graph our Groundhog predictions. Will he see his shadow?



Add and Color- A simple yet fun activity!


Groundhog Facts Writing-The kiddos read facts about groundhogs and then write their own!


Groundhog-Can/Have/Are Chart-You can display this with your projector and let the kiddos help you fill it out whole group, or they can fill in their own.




If you would like to get my Groundhog Day activities from my TPT store, CLICK HERE!


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Crystal McGinnis
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Candy Hearts Activities for Valentine's Day


Valentine's Day is all about love, and my kids LOVE candy hearts❤️❤️! The week of Valentine's Day I set up candy heart activities to keep my kids engaged in the classroom while still learning.  To make it inexpensive for me, I ask each of my students to bring in one large bag of candy hearts to use with the activities. This is way more than enough ❤️'s to get us through all of the activities! Check out the activities below to see if they will work for your classroom. 




Valentine Estimation-The students estimate how many hearts they think it will take to cover the hearts on the printable. They then count and check!




Valentine Add & Color-Students roll the dice, add the numbers, and then cover the answer with a candy heart. The first person to have all hearts covered is the winner!





Valentine Arrow Measuring-Students measure each arrow with candy hearts. Fun!




Candy Heart Sorting and Graphing-Students sort their candy hearts, and then graph them. Easy!




Valentine Patterns-Students create various patterns using their candy hearts.



Candy Heart Tic-Tac-Toe





Candy Heart Number Sentences-Students are given an addition card with a number sentence on it. Students use their candy hearts to build and solve the problem.


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If you like my candy heart activities, and would like to use them in your classroom, CLICK THIS LINK!






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Crystal McGinnis
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16 Activities To Go With The Mitten by Jan Brett


 
 
Do you love using this book in your classroom as much as I do? The Mitten, by Jan Brett, is a perfect read aloud for those winter months in your classroom! I created this set of 16 Mitten themed activities to go with the story. Your kids will love the activities, and you will love that everything is already planned out! To get my set of Mitten activities, click the link at the bottom of this post.
 

 
After reading the story, we create a story map like the one shown. This is a great way to discuss the title, author, characters, and setting. These words can often be confusing for young learners, so the more that they hear them, the better. I used poster board, but you could also use a pocket chart so that you can re-use the picture cards year after year.

 
The Mitten is a valuable book for teaching sequencing. After reading the book, the kids help me sequence the story in the order that the animals entered the mitten. I created this paper mitten and character cards. The kids help me put the animals in the mitten in order. Their young minds amaze me by how much they can remember.
 
The kids love that the animals can slide into the mitten. I also created a black and white set so that the kids could take a set home and sequence the story for their parents.
This sequencing activity is available here.


 
I try to incorporate both fiction and non-fiction elements into my reading lessons. I created these information slides for each animal from the story. The kids love to learn about animals, especially the uncommon ones such as the badger and the hedgehog. These slides are available in my Mitten set here.


 
After learning about each of the animals from the story, we create our animal writing craft. Students choose which animal that they would like to write about, and then create the animal as shown. They then write facts about the animal. These make a cute hallway display!
(I have provided templates for all of the animals)
 
 
 
My young readers need as many books in their hands as possible as they are becoming confident readers. I created this PREDICTABLE emergent reader for my kinders. It mimics The Mitten, so that the kids can make the connection between text to text. It also gives the kids the chance to check the picture clues to help with unknown words. After reading the book whole group, and partner reading the book, the kids sequence the emergent reader.
 
 
When I introduce a read-aloud in my classroom, I love to use it across curriculum. This graph does just that. My kids choose which animal was their favorite from the story, and then glue it into a mitten. They then place their mitten onto our class graph. After creating our class graph, the kids transfer the data onto their own personal graph.


 
 
This little craft makes a cute winter display for your classroom. Your kids draw an animal from the story onto a mitten template. They then decorate the mitten, and display. Simple!

 
 
 
We love to sing in the classroom. This song is sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot." You can get a printable copy of this song in my The Mitten pack here.
 
 
 
 
 
These additional math and literacy activities can be used during the day while you are reading The Mitten. They would make perfect word work, center work, morning work, and more.
 

 
If you would like to use these resources in your classroom, CLICK THIS LINK! I hope your kids love them!
 
 
 



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Crystal McGinnis
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