Catch Up Time! Plus a NEW Gooney Bird Greene Unit!

SIX. That is how many more school days we have until summer! This year went by crazy fast when I really sit down and think about it.  We've been trying to make the end of the year as fun and memorable as we can, and I just wanted to show you a few things we've been up to since I last posted. This post is going to be kind of random, based on photos I have on my phone :)

We learned all about weather, clouds, and the water cycle! You can click here or here for more detailed posts from the past :)

 

We used shaving cream and food coloring in a vase of water to demonstrate what happens when the clouds get heavy and precipitation happens.

 

The kiddos wrote and illustrated the steps of the water cycle. 

 



We read some books, including The Cloud Book, to learn about different kinds of clouds. Then the kids made their own little cloud people and wrote about the characteristics of each cloud.

 

Our students, their families, and our PTA spoiled us during Teacher Appreciation Week! We definitely felt the love with all the sweet cards, flowers, gift cards, gifts, colored copy paper {11 packs!!!} and TONS of snacks!!

 



 

We are currently learning alllll about animals, and the kids are super interested! We have so many awesome nonfiction books that we are reading to them and they are loving them! We've learned about different habitats, so the kids made a little foldable/flip book thingie to compare four of the land habitats {woodland forest, rainforest, desert, and arctic habitats}.

 

 

 

We've also started our final countdown! We got started late, so our countdown started this past Tuesday. Each day we pop a balloon and there is a special activity or treat for the class. The first day was to chew bubblegum {which we can't do normally!} Yesterday was sit by anyone at lunch, and today was sidewalk chalk day!

 

 

 

We are using this as an incentive for behavior and getting work done. We all know that the end of the school year can be hard, and we had to do something to save our sanity :) If they get a negative on Class Dojo or have any incomplete work, they cannot participate in that day's activities. And let me tell you, it has helped tremendously!!! We are thinking we should've started our countdown earlier, haha. But the kids don't want to miss out, so they are really trying.

 

Do you have my Amber Brown is Not a Crayon Novel Study? Well, I made a Gooney Bird Greene Novel Unit that goes along perfectly with it! There are a lot of the same skills in both units, so it makes it perfect to have both books going on at the same time during your literature circles. It would also be super easy to implement the activities if you are doing it as your chapter book read aloud. You can check out this novel unit by clicking the picture below!

 

Click on the pictures below for a preview of some of the pages in this 39 page unit. Some of the skills that it hits are comprehension, cause/effect, visualizing, character traits, problem/solution fact/opinion, nouns/verbs/adjectives, common/proper nouns, and lots more!

 

Have a wonderful Friday, and hopefully summer isn't too far away for you!!