President's Day

Penny - Heads or Tails?

When the students flipped the penny, they had to say Abraham Lincoln or the Lincoln Memorial before they made their tally mark.

Nickel - Heads or Tails

When the students flipped the nickel, they had to say Thomas Jefferson or Monticello before making a tally mark.

 Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes

The students pulled a penny, nickel, or dime from the Abraham Lincoln hat.  They had to name the coin, its value, name what was on the front of the coin, and name what was on the back before we could add it to our graph.

Lincoln Log Cabins

Bb and Dd Letter Sort

(got this great idea from The First Grade Sweet Life)

If I were President Predictable Chart Sentences

Each student dictated a sentence for our chart.  They read their sentence using the Abraham Lincoln mask.  Wonder what Abraham Lincoln's voice sounded like?  At the end of the week, we created a classroom book.

The Lincoln and Washington Teams Site Word Game

I wrote high frequency words and site words on the back of a presidential seal pattern from Mailbox.

Each student got a turn to read a word.  If they read the word correctly, they got to connect 2 dots on their Lincoln or Washington pattern.  Play continues until the first team connects all the dots.

The Washington team won!

Coin Chants and Songs

Bazooka Bubblegum

We have a Bazooka bubblegum party when all the students can name the coins and their amounts.  Find the activity here.

The Coin Chant

A chant to help learn the coins.  Find it here.

National Symbols

Check out this PowerPoint to help students learn about our National Symbols.

President Facts

One side was Washington and the other side was Lincoln.  I would name a fact about President Washington or about President Lincoln and the students would have to show me which president the fact was about.

"He was the only president that did not live in the White House."

Snow & Hearts

Erase a Snowman

(similar to hangman)

Puffy Paint Snowman

(equal parts school glue and shaving cream-apply it thick for a cool texture!)

Snowman Patterning

reading, copying, & extending patterns

Snowman Blends

I Love You to Pieces Valentine

(magnet gift for family)

Ten Frames-Hearts

(learning about numbers 20-25 using conversation hearts and ten frames)

Valentine Monkey Boxes

Delivering Valentines

Graphing Conversation Hearts

More Groundhog Day

Groundhog Math

Feed The Groundhog Game

The students read the number or number word on the clover card

and fed it to the groundhog if read correctly.

Groundhog Measurement

The students used unifix cubes to see how 'how many cubes long' are the groundhogs.

Groundhog Day Dirt Pie

We made groundhog day dirt pie from chocolate pudding and crushed graham crackers.  We ate our treat with a special groundhog spoon.

Groundhog Day Card Game

Each students takes turns reading site words and decodable words on the groundhog cards.  They keep the cards they read correctly. However, if a student selects the sunshine card, the students say, "Six more weeks of winter- oh no!"  The student who selects the sunshine card has to place all word cards earned on the bottom of the deck.  When all cards are played, the person with the most cards wins the game.

Groundhog Phonics

We reinforced the k & c spelling rules by completing this Groundhog Groups sheet .

Groundhog Art

A "Heart-y" Groundhog idea from Mailbox Magazine.

Groundhog Pop-Up Craft



Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day Measurement

We used yarn that was 2 feet long (groundhogs can be up to 2 feet long) to see what a groundhog is shorter than and longer than.  We measured, completed sentence on pocket chart, and completed a cut and paste sheet.

A groundhog is longer than my shoe.

Completing sentence on pocket chart.

A groundhog is longer than a ruler.

A groundhog is longer than a book.

A groundhog is shorter than a jumprope.

Let's Compare cut and paste sheet


Groundhog Day Measurement
We used a dumbbell that was almost 10 pounds (groundhogs can weigh up to 10 pounds) to see what is lighter than or heavier than a groundhog.

 

 A groundhog is heavier than a paint can.

 A groundhog is lighter than a train set.

 Let's Compare cut and paste sheet

 
 A groundhog can weigh as much as this dumbbell!

 
 Groundhog Weather
We predicted the weather for the week, dicated sentences for our predictable chart about the weather,

 We read our predictable chart sentences while using a flashlight to track the print.

We predicted the weather for the rest of the week.


Groundhog Blends
We sorted words that began with the blend gr like groundog. Then we wrote gr blend words on stationary.

Completed sorting activity on pocket chart.

Students chose words from the pocket chart to write on this gr blend sheet.


Groundhog Day Predictions
Will the groundhog see his shadow?  The students created this graph and then completed a Groundhog Prediction sheet.  Thanks to OvertheMoonBow for the graphics.

Completed graph - 3 students said the groundhog would see his shadow and 8students said he would not see his shadow.

According to Puxatawney Phil, his shadow was seen so we will have six more weeks of winter.

Shadows
We read the book, "What Makes a Shadow" by Clyde Robert Bulla. We danced groundhog stick puppets to create shadows.

We used flashlights and the projector for a light source.


Groundhog Day Poems
We do 2 or 3 poems a week.  During Groundhog Day week we did the poems, "Here's a Little Groundhog" and "My Shadow." The poems are copied and placed in Poetry Notebook.  The students illustrate their poems and the notebook goes home weekly for extra reading practice.