Saturday, April 12, 2014

Mother's Day Unit and Superpower Tumblers Giveaway!

Hello everyone!

I expect that everyone is feeling a bit more chipper now that the days are getting longer and the snow is gone (I hope!!)

This time of year always feels like stepping in a rocket about to fly at warp speed.  No sooner do we slumber out of the snow pants and indoor recess, than we head full throttle into end-of-year assessments, activities, placements, celebrations report cards, packing....
Does anyone else feel this way?
How does it sneak up on me year after year?

In all the craziness, we always make time to stop and celebrate mom. <3

Last year, I was part of Teachers Notebook Video Expo.  I had such a great time presenting my Luau-Themed Mother's Day Unit, and I loved working with TN creators Debbie and Steve!  

Part of this process was to create a video tutorial for each part of the unit.  I had never done that before (eek!) but it was a great learning process for me. 

I'd love to give you a peek of what's inside, but FIRST I have some giveaway news...take a look at these goodies I have for you today...the complete packet, plus TWO super cute drink tumblers to give (or keep!!).

Let's take a look at what's inside of this packet.  This packet can be used as a complete unit OR pieces can be pulled out to create really sweet gifts for mom (or that special lady in a child's life). 

I like to decorate my room Luau style (thank you dollar store in spring time!).  The kids present their moms with a flower lei (that they can create) and then they take turns reading their biographies aloud.  

Oh!! For even more sweetness, I have two special chairs placed in front of the room. Mom (or special lady) sits right up front as her kiddie is reading about her.


First up, we have "The Interview."  Moms will wonder what the kiddies are up to when you send home this interview.  I like to send this home on a Monday.  I give the kids a week to work on it.  It becomes part of their ELA homework. If you plan on having your students write a Mother's Day Biography (also included in this unit), this interview is perfect!

I like to review or teach similes to my students at this time as well.  Their biographies really come to life when they include similes about mom in their writing.  Teacher guides tell you how to present the activities and there are several practice sheets for your kids to use.  To brighten up your pocket chart, there is also some cute clip art for practicing similes!

Do you love using mentor texts as much as I do?  This packet has 4 great ones to incorporate in to your ELA block.  These texts are just fantastic for modeling adjectives and descriptive language. I've included some plans and ideas for how to use them in your classroom, too!  You will be thrilled at all of the sweet adjectives that your students will be using to describe their mommies (think of how the mommies will feel!).


The kids love this part of the project.  After using a mentor text to teach personality and physical traits, they have the chance to create a diagram of their mom...complete with traits! I like to use this as the cover of the biography, but it makes a really cute stand-alone project. 

One of my favorite all time movie lines comes from "Forrest Gump."  When Forrest says, "Me and Jenny go together like peas and carrots..." C'mon! Just the sweetest!
Your kids will love learning how to write these metaphors and mom will just swoon when she is told that she is loved more than peanut butter loves jelly! I like to use these at the end of the writing piece.
BRING ON THE TISSUES!

I've also included some writing templates as well as Luau craft activities to pull this special celebration together. 

My videos have some craft tutorials in order to help you out...well, at least they may be good for a giggle! 


      
Would you like to win a copy of this unit? How about two tumblers to go with it? Perhaps one to raffle off at your celebration and one to keep for yourself?  

The giveaway will run during my spring break! When I return, I will announce the winner!  Good luck everyone and happy SPRING!



                   
a Rafflecopter giveaway