Language Ideas for the holidays and seasonsThe holiday season is here and kids are getting excited and restless. The weather is changing and winter is almost upon us. We need to find activities that capture the attention of our students while continuing to provide content and skill development. What better way to excite kids than to focus on the holidays with these activities. There are many different subject areas that can be considered here. For now, I would like to focus on language arts. Being able to read, write, and speak well are goals that we would like to see achieved. This is a great time to focus on new activities that expand vocabulary and help with creating more detailed and descriptive oral and written experiences. Using games and other hands on activities will help to engage kids and motivate them to learn. For students learning a second language this is especially important. For the purpose of this blog post, I will be focusing on French, but the concepts and ideas are appropriate for any second language. Why vocabulary development is so important for second language learnersSecond language learners often feel tongue-tied when they start to learn a new language. They know what they want to say, but they don't have the words yet to say it. They struggle to make themselves understood as they attempt to use the limited vocabulary they have been given. They are self conscious and often afraid to speak out loud. Doing activities that help to broaden their vocabulary will help them with communication. Holiday vocabulary activities will work well for engaging them in the excitement of the season. There are many different types of vocabulary activities, but I would suggest that they focus on fun and interactive games and activities. As they continue to develop their vocabulary skills, they will gain more confidence and begin to speak out more often. The more they speak, the more they get practice, and the more confident they become. The same goes for reading and writing. The more comfortable they become with the language and the vocabulary, the more they will use it. Win-win. French/English resources for the holidays and seasonsI have been creating French resources for younger kids and for those going into late immersion. I created many of them in both French and English so that they could be used for those who might be learning English as well. They are also great for primary English classrooms. Here are some resources that may help you through the next few months as your students continue to learn new vocabulary and develop their language skills. le vocabulaire thématique/J'ai, qui a? combos (les prépositions, les vêtements, les légumes et les fruits, les émotions, la météo, l'hygiène et la santé, les adjectifs opposés, les parties du corps, la cuisine rapide et la collation, la cuisine, le temps, le calendrier) Themed vocabulary/I have, who has?? combos (prepositions, clothing, vegetables and fruits, emotions, weather, hygiene and health, opposite adjectives, body parts, fast food and snacks, the kitchen, weather, calendar) Here are some holiday vocabulary activities that will make learning fun. le Noël des mots de vocabulaire - French Christmas Vocabulary Task Cards Activities and Games le Noël des mots de vocabulaire - French Christmas Vocabulary Game I Have, Who Has? J'ai, Qui a? le Noël Parts Of Speech Silly Sentences French Version Christmas Vocabulary Task Cards Activities Christmas Vocabulary Game - I Have, Who Has? Christmas Parts of Speech Silly Sentences l'hiver - le vocabulaire l'hiver Parts Of Speech Silly Sentences French version Winter Parts of Speech Silly Sentences Winter Vocabulary Activities And Games Winter Vocabulary Activity - I Have, Who Has? For more French holiday resources, check out this blog post from another teacher with links to more resources that will help you make it through the Christmas season. Preparing for a new yearIf you are looking ahead for the new year, check out some of these resources and ideas. Click on the images to find out more. Well, I hope you have found some helpful ideas and resources here. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with as you continue to work with kids. Related Posts
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The holiday season is hereIt is hard to believe that 2021 is almost over. It has been a crazy time for most people, but hopefully there will be an end in sight to the craziness soon and we will be able to look back and find some positive moments to build on in the future. Thanksgiving is almost here in the United States. This will be a time for families to get together again after a long absence. I remember doing Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family over Zoom last year. It was very hard. I wish all of those who are able to gather a wonderful time with family and friends. Of course, this means that Christmas is not far away. One of my favorite things to do was come up with new and creative ways to make gifts with my students. If you want to see some of the different ideas that work well with kids, check out this blog post that I wrote last year. I love walking into the dollar stores and checking out all the different materials that they have for doing crafts. This always give me inspiration. Sometimes it might be a special ornament, a centerpiece idea, or something that can be framed for a keepsake. Of course, the cost has to be considered as most of us end up buying materials with our own money. I do try to see if I can couple my ideas with materials that we already have at the school, but usually that doesn't work too well as the school always seems to be short of supplies. Here is my latest inspiration. It is similar to the stained glass pictures I did, but easier to do. There are 3 different versions available so that everyone can do it, even those who don't celebrate Christmas. If I find a craft that works well, I will sometimes repeat it a couple of years later. I didn't do the same thing each year because I often had split classes and I would have some students for two years in a row. Also, some crafts require saving up materials. For instance, I saved up light bulbs for a few years to get enough for a whole class. Of course, you can always ask parents to save up materials for you. They don't need to know what you will be doing with them, just that you are looking for them. You can get a free copy of the coloring sheets by clicking the image below. I hope you enjoy the next few weeks as the holidays are approaching. Until next time, take care. Related PostsHelping kids expand their vocabularyAre you looking for ways to help kids with writing and sharing their ideas? This seems to be a common issue with younger children as they begin to share their ideas, but they don't have the words yet to describe things in detail. Instead, they tend to use the same few words over and over. We sometimes refer to these as "worn out words". How to develop a rich vocabulary baseDeveloping a rich vocabulary base helps with writing and expressing ideas and it also allows kids to create more detailed and creative stories. There are many different ways to expand the vocabulary. Here are a few. Brainstorm as a classChoose some of the worn out words, such as nice, good, happy, fun and come up with a list of words that can be used instead. Try a thesaurusYounger children might find this a bit challenging, but they can still give it a try. A thesaurus will provide many synonyms for words. Do a vocabulary challengeTake a simple sentence and challenge the class to come up with different variations that make the sentence more interesting but still maintain the meaning. Then share the sentences with others. Create a themed word wallSometimes kids just need words that fit the various themes. They can help them to get their stories started or provide some extra ideas to expand their stories. A themed word wall can be changed as different themes are explored. If you don't want to devote space to an actual word wall, you can store the words on rings and allow the students to take them as needed to use. Use word games and activities to review vocabularyIt is important to make sure that the kids get lots of exposure to the words they need for various writing tasks. This ensures that the words become part of their working vocabulary. Then they will be able to access them more readily in future literacy situations. I find that word games and activities work well for working with vocabulary words as they are engaging and fun. Kids learn without realizing they are actually studying the words and phrases. The more they play, the faster they begin to recognize the words. Sight word games, silly sentences, I Have, Who Has? games, and task cards for matching games are a few examples that have worked well for me over the years. I created many of these games for literacy centers and they were always very popular. Using the same types of formats helps the children to focus on the content rather than how to play the games. Just change up the themes and let them play. Here are some vocabulary word sets I created for the seasons and special days. I hope to be able to add to the special days in the future. There are sets of I Have, Who Has? cards for each of the seasons and special days as well. If you are teaching French, check out the French versions. My students loved making silly sentences, so I created several themed sets for them. They enjoyed making the sentences and practiced parts of speech at the same time. As an extension activity, we would sometimes take the words and illustrate them and then put them into a flip book of silly sentences. You can check out my special days parts of speech silly sentences here. If you would like to try out a free vocabulary activity, sign up for my newsletter. I am offering my I Have, Who Has? Christmas set to my followers for free. There you have some ideas for expanding and developing a broader vocabulary base for your students. I hope they work well for you. I would love to hear what other ways you use themed vocabulary in your classroom. Let me know in the comments. Related PostsA Time To RememberThis is one of my favorite times of the year at school. It is a time to remember, focus on kindness and gratitude, and prepare for giving and sharing. With the arrival of fall, Thanksgiving is on the horizon, and Christmas is not too far behind. The summer has ended and the excitement of back to school is still in the air. Along with all the times of thankfulness, we need to remember what sacrifices were made for some of the things we take for granted. Because of those who fought for our freedom, we are able to live a peaceful existence. Not everyone is that fortunate. As November nears, it is important to think about our veterans and remember. November 11th is a day set aside for remembrance, but we need to remember throughout the year. This is a good time to start talking about gratitude, peace, and being kind to one another. Preparing For November 11In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day or Veterans Day, there are many different activities and discussions that can be part of the school day. There are different points of focus that can be used, but I feel that the more we can help kids to connect with ways they can continue to promote peace and kindness the more likely we are to help them understand that they can make a difference. I have always found music to be a great way to connect with kids. Here are some songs that I used in my classroom that were very meaningful and led to great discussions. They focus on peace, being special, and part of peace in the world. They also help us to remember to take time to remember those who fought for our peace. Writing poems about peace and creating posters and drawings that show ways we can spread peace and kindness to others is something else that can be done as a lead up to November 11. These can be shared in assemblies, on bulletin boards, and in newsletters. Practicing acts of kindness and sharing moments of gratitude are also great ways to demonstrate how kids can help make peace a reality. Resources for RemembranceHere are some different resources that might help with preparing for Remembrance Day and Veterans Day. Related PostsEngaging Kids Up To HalloweenHappy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends. I hope you are enjoying this weekend. This week, we are changing gears and focusing on a day that kids love. It is almost Halloween and kids are already thinking about what costumes they will wear and different parties they might attend. It is a good time to share some activities and resources that are fun and also help to engage the kids in good learning strategies. I have found that kids need a routine and structure even during special days in order to stay regulated when they are excited. That is why I usually take time to focus on different activities that will keep them learning, but engage them due to the theme. Halloween activities can be started earlier in the month, or they can be kept until a day or two before Halloween depending on what you choose. For me, I usually kept more to a fall theme until near the end of the month and then added in the Halloween theme. It helped to keep the excitement level manageable. Also, it didn't stretch out the wait for the kids as much. Literacy Ideas For HalloweenKids often like to hear scary stories and write spooky stories or poems. This is a great time to try a scaffold for those who struggle with getting started. My kids enjoyed writing using this starter: I Was So Scared.... Literacy games and task cards can also be fun to use. They help with stretching the imagination and they can be tied into different elements or concepts that you wish to teach. I found that my silly sentences for working with parts of speech were a hit with the kids in my class and in other classes as well. I created them for English and French and found they worked well in both languages. Math and Science Ideas For HalloweenThere are many different opportunities to incorporate a Halloween theme into math. Data collection and graphing can be done for costumes, treats, characters, and a host of other categories. Practice of math facts and operations can be done with worksheets or task cards that have Halloween themed graphics or clipart. Doing activities with pumpkins can also be fun and can combine math and science. Counting seeds, comparing designs, pumpkin shapes, cooking the pumpkin, and using it to make different recipes are just a few ideas. Pumpkin glyphs are also great to try at this time of year. One of the things that really fascinates kids is potions. Using terms like "eye of newt", "frog toes" or "drops of blood" is sure to engage them. I remember when we would make up potions to drink and give all the ingredients fancy potion names. It was quite entertaining to watch as they saw these drinks being prepared. Really, they were just cola, grenadine, gummy worms, licorice babies, and some other gummy candies. Sometimes we would add orange juice as well. This might be fun to try with your students. You could even create a potion sheet with the "ingredients" listed. Don't Forget Halloween Safety TipsFor younger children, a focus on safety is important too. This is a good time to talk about how to have a safe Halloween experience. They can make posters, and do some role playing or write stories that talk about what a safe Halloween should look like and sound like. Creating activities that help to discern what are safe and unsafe activities might be worth trying as well. Doing some art activities with a safety theme might be fun to do as well. Halloween can be fun for kids, but it needs to be safe. I hope some of the ideas here help to make this Halloween fun and educational as well. Check out my Halloween category in my TeachersPayTeachers store for more resources. Related PostsMarathon Of HopeTerry Fox's Marathon Of Hope has been happening for over 40 years now. I still remember when we were shown a movie of his journey. He wanted to go across Canada to raise money. His goal was to raise $1.00 for every Canadian. He ran the equivalent of one marathon each day. It is hard to imagine running a marathon every day with two good legs, let alone with one good leg and an artificial leg. Most people would train for months to do one marathon. That movie really made an impact on me. Terry Fox was around my age and he had his life cut short because of cancer. He didn't feel sorry for himself, but instead put his effort into making a difference. He started the Marathon Of Hope in 1980 and Canadians have been continuing this marathon every year. I remember when it became a yearly event here in our city and our family participated in either the community run or the run with our schools. It is hard to believe that it has been 41 years since he first dipped his foot in the Atlantic Ocean and started his marathon of hope. Terry Fox: A Canadian HeroTerry Fox is a Canadian hero because he didn't think about himself and feel sorry for himself when he lost his leg. Instead, he decided to help others by raising money for cancer research. He endured pain and suffering for 143 days as he ran across Eastern Canada striving to make a difference. Some days were better than others, but no matter how difficult it got, he didn't give up. He had days when he saw very few people and raised very little money, and he had days where crowds came out to run alongside him and volunteers were needed to help gather up the donations. When Terry had to stop due to cancer in his lungs, he still wanted to make a difference. He said, "Even though I'm not running anymore, we still have to try to find a cure for cancer. Other people should go ahead and try to do their own thing now." His Legacy ContinuesThe Terry Fox Run was established in 1981 to continue Terry's Marathon of Hope. September 13th was designated as Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Day. Every September different communities held a Terry Fox run. Schools would choose a day in late September to do a school run for Terry Fox. Whenever we did a Terry Fox run at the school, time was spent telling Terry's story and sharing stories about how cancer has affected many people that we know. It is frightening to think that almost every family has been affected by cancer in some way. After sharing the stories, we chose people to run on behalf of. Posters were made and feet were posted along the hallways to show how we were in this together, even if it was only for one day a year. I created some activities and posters for my students. They are available here. Hopefully they will inspire kids to do something that makes a difference just as Terry did. I hope that you will be inspired to participate in the Terry Fox Run in your area and that you will help others to continue to share Terry's dream and keep it alive. Let's all work together to help stop cancer. For free resources, tips, and ideas, sign up for my newsletter. Related PostsSpring is here, and it is time to think about Earth Day activities and what we can do to protect our Earth. During the pandemic, there has actually been some positive impact on the environment. Fewer people are driving, so less smog. People are staying home and cooking more meals, so less fast food packaging waste. That doesn't mean that all is well though. We still need to continue to focus on ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. What we do now will make a difference in the future. If each household makes a commitment to do even one thing they weren't doing up until now, imagine the difference it would make. Children shouldn't underestimate their effectiveness in getting the message across to others. I remember our children coming home from school and suggesting changes to what we were doing. Now that they are grown, they continue to do some of the same things and encourage their own children to do the same. Here is an activity that I did with my grade 2/3 students one year. The theme was "WE TAKE CARE OF OUR WORLD" and each child was to choose a way that they could make a difference, draw a picture, and add a title or labels. We used them for a bulletin board display, and later on, we created calendars with them. We called it "Power of R Calendar". Check out the images below. It might be an activity that your students would enjoy doing. Here is a sampler from my Earth Day Math activities resource. Click on the image to get your copy. If you are interested in the full package of math activities with an Earth Day theme, check it out in my TeachersPayTeachers store. Have fun with your kids as you study about ways to protect our earth.
There are several celebrations in January and February that make great opportunities for engaging children in math and language activities. Here in Canada, we have New Years Day, One Hundred Days at school, Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year, and Valentine's Day. As we are approaching February, this is a great time to shake off the winter blues and have fun. I have created a few activities to help. Each of these products is available separately in my TeachersPayTeachers store, or they can be purchased as a bundle for a discount. Click on the different images to find out more about the individual products. I hope you find these helpful as you work with your students in these trying times. Having some fun activities makes it a little less stressful. For even more winter activities, check out my Holidays/Special Days category or my Winter Math and Literacy Activities category. If there are any resources you are needing that I am able to help you with, let me know. I will do my best to either create something or direct you to someone who has what you need.
As we start a new year, it is always fun to start checking out Groundhog Day activities. Children love to find out if the groundhog is going to predict an early spring or a longer winter. I have to admit, I find it fun to do as well. Here are some math and literacy ideas to try with your students. There are also some fun posters included. If you are looking for a fun writing activity, maybe one of these ideas might work. Take a picture with shadows and one without and use the pictures to write a groundhog story. Or, maybe you could pretend to be a groundhog and write about your day on February 2nd. On the weekend it was a beautiful sunny day, so we went for a walk. While walking, I noticed the long shadows and I decided to take a picture. It immediately made me think of the groundhog coming out of his burrow. I imagine that if I was that groundhog and I saw this shadow I would run back inside and stay put. Strangely enough, the same evening as this picture was taken, we had a big storm. Maybe the groundhog had the right idea. What are some fun Groundhog Day activities you do with your students? Let me know in the comments.
As we are about to begin a new year, it is a great time for a fresh start. This year we have all had many challenges and we need to find some renewed energy and hope. Sometimes that can be a breather just to take time with family, or maybe it could be changing things up from the regular routine. I don't know about others, but I found it difficult to get motivated lately. Even though it is supposed to be a festive season, most days seemed to be the same and it was hard to find moments of anticipation and joy. So many of the things we look forward to at this time of the year were missing due to the pandemic. For many of my teaching friends, the challenges of teaching during a pandemic have been daunting and they are rapidly burning out and feeling overwhelmed. I hope that the holiday break has given them some time to relax and recharge so they will be refreshed for the start of the new year. This next season will probably be a mix of online and in person teaching and learning as we continue to get through the pandemic. Here are some ideas for starting out the new year. Hopefully these will bring some laughter and smiles to your day and give you some joy as you return to teaching. Do a photo booth. If you are teaching in person, you could add some New Year's hats and blowers, fancy glasses, etc. Have your students create fun poses and take photos of them and then have them write about their goals. If you are teaching online, you could create some interesting picture frames and then take screenshots of your students and add them to the frames. If they have some fancy accessories at home, perhaps these could be added to their images. If you are looking for materials to help you through the winter season, here are some that might work for you. Sight word games and activities, word work, parts of speech silly sentences and other literacy games can be fun when they have a winter theme. Here are some literacy items in French in case you need them. Here are some free products that might help. New Year's Goal Setting Templates 3 Stars and a Wish Snowy Days Compound Words Winter Sports Task Card Templates Goal setting for the New Year Goal setting is not only good for children, it is also good for us as teachers. Think of some things that you are proud of and things you would like to work on (3 stars and a wish) Come up with a goal for home, school, and something personal. This is the same format that can be used with your students. If you are looking for some novel studies that are good for the winter season, try these. Creative writing ideas Start a statement and see how many crazy ideas you can come up with. (This could be done orally first, and then developed into a written story.) I was so frozen my fingers were like popsicles but they didn't taste as good. I was so frozen ......... It was so cold ........ When I woke up I couldn't believe my eyes.......... If you are looking for some winter math ideas, you can find them here. I hope you find these suggestions and resources helpful as you return to teaching in January.
Thank you for all you do for your students. |
About Me Charlene Sequeira
I am a wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 9, and a retired primary and music teacher. I love working with kids and continue to volunteer at school and teach ukulele. Categories
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