Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Cinco De Mayo and Salsa Fiesta!!!

Are you feeling HOT! HOT! HOT!
 I LOVE Cinco De Mayo at school! We do so many fun activities! 
One of my favorite activities is making 
HOMEMADE SALSA with the kiddos!

This unit ties in great with our planting unit. We are learning about 
Plants We Use 
and also 
What Part of the Plant Do We Eat?

As a project based learning activity, we planted a garden with fresh tomatoes, basil, cilantro and peppers (some of the ingredients for our salsa).



By the time the vegetables are ripe and ready, it's 
CINCO DE MAYO!!!
Just in time to make our delicious homemade salsa!

It is FULL of a ton of Common Core Aligned Activities.

There are plenty of activities your kiddos can do before and after Cinco De Mayo. 
You can use the Salsa Recipe I use or one you enjoy.

I created a Salsa Sign-Up List to see if parents will donate items.
We also use some of the vegetables from our garden.
You can call your local grocery store and see if they will donate the vegetables too.
I also bring in store bought salsa because the kiddos have a taste test to see what salsa they like better.

We write all about Salsa in a variety of ways: 
Salsa List, How-To, and Recipes
These templates can all be found in my unit.



We make the salsa together as a class.
I set up our homemade salsa and store bought salsa 
(I prefer Pace Picante).
I put on Mexican music from Pandora and the let my little amigos
TASTE AWAY!


After, we take a CLASS SURVEY and create a class graph.
You can choose which one you prefer.



During the week, we play a lot of Common Core aligned activities.
We have two Write The Rooms:
1. Salsa Words
2. Cinco De Mayo Words



We practice creating CVC words, medial vowel sounds, 
syllables, blending and digraphs.
These activities can be used in small guided reading groups or during the Daily 5.


We create a class book called, "Our Salsa Opinions".
This is a great way to focus on opinion writing.




Hope you have a GREAT Cinco De Mayo!!!
Don't forget to get this MUY BIEN PACK HERE!
MUCHOS GRACIAS AMIGOS!!!

























Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Western Visual and Picture Direction Cards!


I made more fun Western stuff for my classroom!

is perfect for all students, especially visual, ELL and early learners!

This is a FANTASTIC classroom management item that really made a positive difference in 
myclassroom!!!




While giving directions, instructions, steps or how to directions, I use these picture and visual direction cards to help kiddos visually see what to do and follow easy to see steps!

The pictures on the posters have a western theme with colorful gingham backgrounds that your kiddos will love! The posters will look adorable in a western themed classroom or be perfect for a western unit!!

Colors include:
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple,
pink, turquoise, lime green and light orange.

Includes Cards for:
Directions, Instructions, Steps, How To

Includes Number Cards for 1-12

62 Picture Cards Include:
write, cut, glue (bottle and glue stick), paste, paint, color (crayons and markers), draw, copy, trace, name, highlight, underline, letter (your paper), number (your paper), read, listen, clipboard, whiteboard, sharpen, staple, file (in folder), file (in binder), hole punch, paper clip, erase, tape, measure, graph, count (numbers and money), add, subtract, multiply, divide, build, tally, thumbs up, cover up, work alone, partner work, unstack chairs, stack chairs, fold (both styles), wash hands, clean up, centers, unfinished work, pick up trash, tidy desks, put in mailbox, turn in, line up, sit at rug, lunch, snack, stop, recess, pack up, bus

You and your kiddos will LOVE this item!
See some of the examples from my pack below: