The Hallo-Wiener Week!!

One of my all time favorite books to study with my students is The Hallo-Wiener, by Dav Pilkey!  This time last year, I was unable to be with my class while I was beginning chemotherapy and radiation for ovarian cancer.  I was so upset since I love fall in the classroom.  SOOOO-- I got right to my favorite book this week and my students have LOVED it.  

On Tuesday, we read the story and discussed the author's purpose.  We feel that Dav Pilkey wants us to learn about being good friends and not bully others.  

Here is one of our activities-- Text to Self Connections with the story!

On Wednesday, we re-read the book and made story maps whole group.  While I did Reading Circles, the kiddos got to choose a word chunking center using Oscar the dog puzzles and a pattern building center with some of Oscar's Halloween treats!  

This morning, we painted Oscar dogs to be ready for our "Story Elements" craftivity.  We used our story maps to fill in the story element cards.  

The finished bulletin board!

Tomorrow, we will make our class book! Since Oscar did not want to be a hot dog for Halloween, the kids get to choose and draw a costume that will make him happy!

 This is last year's class book.  My students this year love to read what costumes last year's class chose for Oscar.

Here is a link to my unit if you are at all interested in reading and using The Hallo-Wiener with your class.  I would LOVE to hear any other ideas that you may have or have used with this story.

The Hallo-Wiener Unit

LINKY!!!

I'm so excited to be linking up with Doodle Bugs for my 1st ever Linky Party!  I hope everyone is having a great Saturday--- it's always my favorite day- especially in the fall.

1.

I went running this morning in my favorite hat!  Big Blue Madness and UK/LSU football game tonight!  GO Big Blue!!

2.

Getting my "Living Things" Science words going on my "Words of the Days" Wall!  

Woot Woot!!

3.

My freebie this week on my first blog using my AWESOME-- "A Bird in the Hand Designs!"

Thank you, Megan Favre!!!

FREEBIE

Complete Spider Unit!

4.

Crabby Patties for snack on Wednesday.  Not healthy!!!  BUT-- oh, so cute!!

5.

Making Pizza Pasta bake for my family (since I rarely have time for this!)-- easy Pinterest recipe AND catching my cutie pie kitty-- Ellie Mae on my car hood getting warm after driving home from school on Thursday night!!

Don't blink--- it will be Monday morning!!

                         Crawling With FUN!

My classroom has been "crawling" with fun the past two weeks as we have been learning about spiders!  Unfortunately, I have a few first grade girls who have arachnophobia! :)

However, after getting to know more about spiders and how they are helpful, we all have a better understanding and less of a fear of them!

We even trapped a common house spider in my classroom to observe him for a day.  Of course, we let him go.

 

                                                                    Cool Website for Spider Facts!

Our spider study began with a KWL and looking at the fiction and non fiction books we would be reading whole group.

We read Itsy Bitsy Spider, by Keith Chapman.  It's a cute rhyming story about a silly spider who floats on his silk visiting barnyard animals until he returns home to his mother.  After reading the book, we brainstormed things we would do if we had a pet spider for a little creative writing and a cute spider craftivity!!

 The kids had fun choosing what they would do, writing it onto the writing prompt, and making their pet spider to hold their writing!

If I had a pet spider, we would catch ladybugs together.

Since I am so new to blogging, I am feeling the freebies!  Here is this Spider Writing/Craftivity for you if you'd like it!!

FREEBIE!!

We read lots of our non fiction books and make a booklet with spider characteristics and types of spiders.  We discussed features of non fiction texts.

 

The kids made a "Web of Learning" Folder to put all of the work we would be doing with our spider theme!

Here is some of the spider themed work we did!

                 

The class LOVED the Spider Headbands game the best!  They each made a spider headband and got to draw a fact card to put on their heads.  They did this one at a time and classmates gave them clues to what the word was on their heads.

All of these activities came from my FUN with Spiders Unit on TPT if you are at all interested.

Fun with SPIDERS unit!