It's HERE....Holidays Around the World Interactive Paper Bag Book!

Happy late Thanksgiving, friends! I hope that you are at home enjoying some lovely Christmas movies and not one of those crazies out there stealing the deals. If you happen to be a crazy, I still love you and am a tad jealous of all of the amazing deals that you find! ;) I just have never *EVER* been a Black Friday shopper. Three things about me...1) I hate crowds! 2) I hate lines! 3) I never find anything on sale! Those three things may be the very reasons why I have never been friends with Black Friday. Instead, I am enjoying the day in my pajamas with some good coffee and movies. It also gives me a little time get some work finished {since the internet on my cruise was something awful}. :) 

I am so excited to share my newest unit(s) that I just posted in my TPT shop. Holidays around the World...need I say more? This is always one of my favorite studies. However, I always had trouble figuring out what to do with all of the crafts and activities. I have been trying to think of a way to consolidate this study into a book that could extend beyond our study in the classroom into the homes of the students. So I give you....


This unit is filled with all of the resources needed to study 16 different countries and cultures. Each page also includes a QR code so that students can continue their research and learning at home. This is a perfect resource to get in some holiday reading practice at night with families. You can snag this unit in my TPT shop by clicking {HERE}







This unit is also included in my Ultimate Holiday Writing Bundle which includes four other writing projects perfect to keep your students engaged up until the holidays arrive. I will be back to share more about this tomorrow, or you can check it out on TPT right {HERE}


Hope y'all are having a safe holiday weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with more from my Ultimate Holiday Writing Bundle! :) 

XOXO! 

Take Me Back Tuesday {A Weekly Linky}

Happy {early} Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for...including the fact that I am currently spending my Thanksgiving Holiday in the Bahamas! :) Since the beach is calling my name, I am going to be short and sweet today. It's time for another Take Me Back Tuesday! Don't forget, if you want to link up, you can join the party below. 




If you are a teacher that will spend some time during Thanksgiving Holiday planning for Christmas, this post is just for you...AND...since we have had a little rain on our cruise, I have been able to put the finishing touches on two new units that will include some of the projects below! They will be loaded to my TPT shop tonight...if my internet service works. ;) So excited to share these with you! 




Now let me take you back to....
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We are almost there! We have never continued this late into the year, and I am so ready for a break! I see lots of hot chocolate and Christmas movies in my near future...like tomorrow night! :)  Here is what has kept our little minds busy for the past two days. 



Yesterday was Polar Express Day. I wondered how that would go over in third grade. I honestly think they were even more thrilled about it this year than in the past. I am pretty sure that they love the holidays as much as their teacher! I have created monsters! :) 



After our trip on the Polar Express, we turned out tickets into Christmas ornaments so that they can always remember this tradition that we started way back when in first grade! We were all a little sad that this will be our last year following this tradition. Oh how I will miss these sweet loves next year! 

After we enjoyed hot chocolate while watching a reading of The Polar Express on Storyline Online, we used one of our favorite treats to help us work on our content. The students began by writing a "tell me" description of hot chocolate. As we read these to our partners, the students really saw how weak their content was without strong adjectives, verbs, and a variety of sentence structures. Next, they turned their "tell me" into a "show me" writing. They were way more pleased with their second writing. Then, we made this way too cute craft thanks to Teri at A Cupcake for the Teacher. Check her craft out {HERE}.



Today, we worked once again on building and strengthening our persuasive writing. Okay...have y'all heard "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"? Probably one of the cutest songs ever. We *may* have listened to it 4 or 5 times today. Seriously...cute! After we listened to the song (which includes great persuasive language), the kiddos wrote an essay to persuade their mom/dad to give them their very own hippo for Christmas. We finished with a little craft! 


These just makes me laugh! 

This week, we have been learning about the Gullah culture in our South Carolina History Unit. A craft that is very unique to this culture is the weaving of sweet grass baskets. This year, rather than creating gingerbread houses, we created gingerbread sweet grass baskets. Then, we filled them with peach rings to represent the peaches from our great state. 


I love how these turned out! 


Now...it's party time! 


Friday, I thought you would never arrive! TGIF!!! 

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I hope y'all have an amazing Thanksgiving Break! Be sure and take us back to one of your favorite posts below. I will *hopefully* be back with some previews of my new units tomorrow...internet willing! :) 


Take Me Back Tuesday: A Weekly Linky

I started my little blogging adventure (A.K.A. Second Grade Shenanigans) over two years ago. TWO YEARS! It's crazy how time flies! They say that with age comes wisdom, so I felt that it was only necessary to bring back some of those ideas that have been simmering for the past year or two. I always love to look back over my teaching and reflect on the many things that I have learned along the way and how it has shaped me into the teacher that I am today. I am so thankful that I started this little teaching "photo album" so that I can constantly revisit it for ideas and strengthen my instruction. This might also have a little something to do with the fact that I am terrible at keeping up with my lesson plans from year to year. Absolutely terrible!

So, I have decided that I would start a little "Take Me Back Tuesday" where I will be featuring an "oldie but goldie" lesson idea. You know...a little something from the past. 

So I bring you...


Since the Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner, I feel it is only fair for me to revisit a little turkey lovin'.

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Originally Posted: 11.27.12


It is going to be short and sweet for me tonight! I *may* have stayed up super late last night to finish up a grad school paper {procrastinate much???} and I am feeling it right...about...now! But I had to share these sweet little guys before November becomes a thing of the past! December...already? 

I know that Thanksgiving has already passed us by, but I just had to share our cute turkeys that we made to go along with our fall writings. We finished these up before the break, but since I had to leave early for Indiana, my student teacher had to complete the project with the kiddos! 

How cute are these little fellas??


We will be having our feast on Friday! Well, it is not really a Thanksgiving feast, more like a South Carolina History feast...but it is all the same! I just couldn't miss out on the fun, so I had to postpone! It is still November...right?!? I am super excited about this feast. We have been trucking along in our South Carolina History unit, so for our feast, we will be making settlers and Native American pizzas based on the foods that each group contributed to our state! My kids are counting down the days! 

Before the break, we also finished up a few projects about early SC and have already started moving our way through the Revolutionary War! If you are a SC teacher...can I get a PTL?!? Here are a few of the activities that we completed during our Settlers/Native American Unit.

 We made these ships to help us understand how the first English settlement began. During this lesson, students were also selected as Lord Proprietors and were able to make the decisions in our room for an entire day. We discussed the trip to Barbados and how slavery made it's way to our state. 


On the inside, we added our notes about the French Huguenots, European Jews, Germans, and Scotch-Irish. 

We also spent time learning about the different Native American tribes living in South Carolina long before the settlers. The students worked on maps to identify their location and the types of homes in which they lived. 


I have really enjoyed learning all of this information right along with my kiddos. Seriously, I have to study...all the time! {I am no history buff...it was never really my thing!}

Well, that is all I have for tonight! I hope you are all having a great week! Should we begin a countdown to Christmas?!? :) 

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Now, if you have any oldies but goldies to share, feel free to link up and let the party begin!