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Core Inspiration The Great Kapok Tree Lesson Plans

Books Teachers Love – April Read Alouds For Your Classroom

This month’s Books Teachers Love collection is filled with books about loving our planet, enjoying the weather, and celebrating spring holidays. Take a moment to hop through each of the posts below to gather the lessons and activities that work best for your class, pin them for your lesson planning pleasure, complete your giveaway entries, and cross your fingers for the big win! My Favorite April Read Aloud My favorite spring holiday is Earth Day. As I’m sure you’ve gathered from the pictures of my classroom, I have a special place in my heart for nature’s beauty (and colors). I love sharing my passion for protecting nature with my second graders and seeing their young hearts and minds light up with inspiration to save the planet. One of the perfect ways to launch conversations about showing your love for Mother Earth is The Great Kapok Tree: The Tale of the Amazon Rainforest by Lynne Cherry. This is a beautifully powerful story about

March Read Aloud Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato

Books Teachers Love – March Read Alouds For Your Classroom

This month’s Books Teachers Love giveaway features the book I’m about to share with you. For those of you who have been following this blog series over the past few months, you know the routine…read about one of my favorite books below, enter the giveaway, and hop around to gather ideas about other fabulous read alouds for the upcoming month. New to Books Teachers Love? Click the link below to take a peek at the other books and lessons from past months. Every year, my students joke that my room is ready for St. Patrick’s Day all year round (maybe I’m a bit obsessed with shades of green). On the other hand, my read aloud shelf always looks a bit bleak during the month of March. In fact, the only three St. Patty’s Day books I own are Tomie DePaola’s Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato, Mary Pope Osborne’s LeprechaunIn

One Cool Friend read aloud about penguins

Books Teachers Love – February Read Alouds For Your Classroom

Thank you for stopping by for the January edition of Books Teachers Love. Each month, the BTL crew shares favorite read alouds for the upcoming month and give away four of the ten featured books to one lucky winner. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for links to the other books in this month’s hop and enter our giveaway. I hope you enjoy reading about a few of our read aloud faves and pick up some new lesson plan ideas in time for February prep. Book Overview One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo features a very proper young man named Elliot who decides to take a penguin home as a pet during his visit to the local aquarium. Elliot researches everything he needs to know to make his home a perfect new habitat for his penguin Magellan. His father, who is almost always consumed with

How To Teach Nonfiction Text Skills With A Perfect Winter Read Aloud

Time is officially going by way too fast, and I can’t believe I am already blogging about my January read aloud. Regardless, I am so grateful that our Books Teachers Love collaborative introduces our favorite read alouds the month before we actually use them in our classrooms. That gives us all plenty of time brainstorm how to incorporate these creative read aloud ideas into our own lesson plans. Shout out to Stephanie from Mrs. D’s Corner for that brilliant idea! This post contains affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase. MY FAVORITE JANUARY READ ALOUD After December break, we launch our nonfiction reading and writing unit in second grade. The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino is a perfect read aloud to guide lessons about nonfiction elements, and main idea & detail

Snowmen At Christmas Books Teachers Love Post

Books Teachers Love – December Books For Your Classroom

Making a decision about which book to share in this month’s edition of Books Teachers Love was no easy task. I am one of those holiday fanatics who proudly listens to Christmas songs in August and experiences burst of jittering excitement at the thought of hanging stockings. Needless to say, I have more than one favorite read aloud for the month of December. When it came down to it, I decided to share the modern-day classic, Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner. My students are in need of some extra practice with identifying cause and effect and expanding detail in their descriptive writing. This fictional favorite turns out to be the perfect launching pad for practicing both skills. In this beautifully-illustrated, playfully-rhythmic read aloud, snowmen come to life after humans fall asleep. They glide through town, trim the Christmas tree, enjoy games and iced sweets, sashay to their favorite songs, and

Holidays Around The World Blog Hop: Christmas In Portugal

You have discovered a teaching treasure if you are reading this post. Twelve of my blogging buddies are coming together to bring you the ultimate classroom resource for the holidays. After you hop to each of our blogs, you will have a collection of freebies and a wealth of information that will allow you to take your students on a holiday journey around the world. This stop on the hop is all about Christmas in Portugal. Modern day Portuguese Christmas celebrations are similar to celebrations in the UK and USA with a few notable differences linked to the religiously-rooted origins of the holiday. Here are a few of the most celebrated traditions: Presepios Elaborate nativity scenes (called Presépios) are displayed in churches, households, shops and restaurants during the months of December and early January. Life sized scenes are not uncommon in larger towns where people travel from miles around to

Books Teachers Love – November Books For Your Classroom

Thank you for visiting this month’s Books Teachers Love post. If this is your first time stopping by, get ready for a plethora of engaging seasonal books you can incorporate into your lesson plans. In addition to some fresh read aloud ideas, you will also have the opportunity to win four books for your own classroom library. Since I can never be a winner (sigh) I have aligned the due date for my Scholastic Reading Club order with the 10th of each month because I know my blogging buddies are sure to introduce me to a few new books find that I’ll need to add to my cart. This month, I am excited to introduce you to (or remind you of) an irresistible read aloud that warm your heart as the seasons change from fall to winter. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson is a touching story about

Responding To Requests For More Homework

Today, I am blogging over at The Elementary Entourage about the great homework debate. I am sharing what my students’ nightly assignments are, revealing my hopes and dreams for homework, and letting you in on my tried and true response when parents ask for more homework. You can also read what my fellow Entourage members assign (or don’t assign) for homework in the other posts during this month’s homework series.

Core Inspiration Classroom Library Thumbnail

Tips For Creating A Dream Classroom Library

As promised in my Classroom Reveal post last week, I am here to give you a closer look at my classroom library. This cozy little corner of my classroom is a favorite for all of us because it really feels like a home away from home. My students take great pride in their library. They are thrilled when they receive the job of classroom librarian because they get to spend a few extra minutes in this sanctuary at the end of the day. Interested in creating a classroom library like this one? Here are a few tips for making this reading dream a reality. LABEL YOUR BOOK BINS AND SHELVES Organize books according to genre in brightly-colored book bins (for nonfiction texts and picture books) and on spacious shelves (for chapter books). Attach labels that include images and words so readers at every level and language proficiency can browse successfully. LABEL

Elementary Classroom Tour : Organization and Design Ideas to Promote Student Independence

We are heading into the fourth week of school and I finally had a moment to write my classroom reveal post for this year. If you read my reveal post from last year, you will recognize most of what you are about to see. Last year, I switched schools and put a bundle of time into decorating and had a precious class that cared for everything so carefully, which saved me a ton of time this August. That meant I was able to focus all my classroom decor brain power on details, making my room feel even more like home. Without further ado, here is a peek inside my second grade classroom. TEACHER CABINET This is my go-to storage spot for anything related to our current units of study. I also have bins that store examples of projects for each month. I am not a fan of file cabinets (I only

How To Teach Simple Grammar and Celebrate Halloween

Welcome to the September edition of Books Bloggers Love. I have been eagerly anticipating this month’s post because the book I am sharing is also being featured in our giveaway. I cannot wait to see who our lucky winner will be! THIS MONTH’S BOOK My book this month is Shivery Shades of Halloween by Mary McKenna Siddals (affiliate link). I stumbled upon it one day while perusing our local children’s bookstore and am so grateful the adorable cover caught my eye. I am going to share one of many ways this book can support your writing curriculum and list a few other ideas at the end of my post to help inspire your lesson planning for October. How I Use This Book When October rolls around, I like to take a moment to review the parts of speech students are (hopefully) naturally weaving into their sentences, paragraphs and narratives. A festive

Miss Rumphius interactive read aloud lesson plan

Back To School Bash – Hopes and Dreams Banner Project

I hope you all are enjoying our Elementary Entourage Back To School Bash and stocking up on some fresh back to school ideas. In celebration of our bash, I am sharing a back to school project called Our Hopes and Dreams. My class is currently in the middle of this project and will finish up this week. If you are interested in seeing the final product, be sure to follow me on Instagram @CoreInspiration for photos of our completed Hopes and Dreams Banners. To launch this project, engage your students in an interactive read aloud of the book Miss Rumphius by Barabara Cooney. This beautifully illustrated story features a woman who dreams of traveling the world, living by the sea, and making the world a more beautiful place. The simple, yet powerful message of this book is a perfect way to get your students thinking about how they can make the world a