A Classroom For All Seasons: seasonal

Showing posts with label seasonal. Show all posts

Celebrating September (Plus Some Free Writing Activities)

Thursday, August 27, 2015

September is full of fun days to celebrate in the classroom. Whether you need some interesting writing prompts or a quick activity, here are some ideas:

Labor Day: the first Monday in September. This day celebrates American workers and how their contributions have made the U.S. a better country... and the unofficial end to summer.
Writing Prompt Ideas:

Have kids write about what they want to be when they grow up. (See below)
Tell how you spent your day off.
For older kids, you can discuss the dangerous working conditions of long ago (around the time of the first Labor Day in 1882) and today.

September 12: National Video Games Day

Writing Prompt Ideas:

Tell about your favorite video game
Do you think parents should limit the amount of time that children play video games? Explain.
Explain how to win one of your favorite video games. (Review of sequencing words)
Do you enjoy playing video games? Why or why not?

September 13: Grandparents Day

Writing Prompt Ideas:

Tell something special about each of your grandparents.
How do you think life was different when your grandparents were your age.
What do you enjoy doing with your grandparents?
What are some things you would like to know about your grandparents when they were younger?

September 16: Mexican Independence Day Great time for a quick geography lesson. If you have Mexican students, have them share a bit about their culture or how they celebrate this day. Compare with your Independence Day holiday.

September 17: Constitution Day

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

See if your students can guess the meanings of the following pirate words:

"Ahoy!" --- Hello
"Aye" --- Yes
"Booty"--- Treasure
"Hearties" --- Friends
"Land lubber" --- someone who prefers to stay on land
"Maties" --- Friends
"Me" --- My
"Savvy?" --- Do you understand?
"Shiver me timbers!" --- OMG
"Ye" --- You

September 23: The Autumnal Equinox or The First Day of Fall

September 26: Johnny Appleseed Day

There are so many activities that you can do with apples! Here is one below to practice the five senses and/or parts of speech.

And finally, an acrostic poem! For students needing assistance, have them work in groups to brainstorm "fall words." As a group, they then choose their favorite word or phrase for each letter. Finally, they can read their work to the class and display. More advanced students can work individually.

Download these free activities here!

Thank you for looking! I hope you enjoy one or all of these activities!

Christina

Summer Writing Prompts

Friday, June 5, 2015

I have been trying to come up with creative (yet sneaky) ways to get my own third grader writing this summer. Spending an entire school year preparing for testing seems to have left little time for creative writing.

I came up with some fun prompts to use with him and wanted to share.

Opinion/Persuasive

Which is a better place to spend your summer vacation, at the beach or in the mountains? Explain your answer.

Do you think it is important for children your age to know how to swim? Explain why or why not.

Do you think children should be allowed to stay up later in the summertime? Explain why or why not.

Imagine that your principal has decided that you only get a two week summer vacation. Write a letter to him/her explaining why this is not a good idea.

Informative and Explanatory

Explain how to build a sandcastle.

Write about your favorite sea animal. Tell what it looks like, what it eats and any other interesting facts that you know.

Sometimes students say that they get bored in the summer. Explain how students can keep busy and have fun in the summer.

Imagine you have been asked to plan a camping trip for your family. Tell what you need to bring. Don’t forget to include special equipment for activities such as fishing or roasting marshmallows.

Narratives

Tell about a trip you have taken. Tell where you went, who went with you and other interesting details.

Imagine that for one day, you have been turned into one of the following: a mermaid or a pirate. Tell about how you spend your day.

Tell about one of your favorite summer memories. It could be a day spent at an amusement park, a visit to a favorite relative, or even a day spent at home doing something fun.

Imagine you and your friends are digging a hole in the sand at the beach. Your shovel suddenly hits something hard. When you look closer, you see a golden treasure chest. Will you open it? What do you find inside?

How To

Tell how to make a s'more

Tell how to set up a tent

Tell how to set up and run a lemonade stand

Tell how to build a sand castle