Anyone still out there?? Contractions and Interesting Words

First of all.. is anyone still reading my blog? I know I fell off the earth and went M.I.A a bit ago, but I am really attempting to get back into regular posts! I hope y'all haven't forgotten about me! A simple comment will let me know you are still out there! :) I'm hoping y'all are! :-/


So onto my post!...One of my very first posts was about a ladybug activity I used for contractions. This week our "spelling" list was the contractions with am, is, and will. I really liked my ladybug activity but OBviously it doesn't fit the season. So, I thought of a way to make it go with our Gingerbread Baby story that we read this week. 

I created a gingerbread man with a coat. :)

The two words that go together to make the contraction are written on each side of the jacket and the contraction is written on the tummy of the gingerbread man. I use a brad to connect the middle top of the jacket so that it can swing open. 

After choosing their contraction and finishing the gingerbread man, the students think of a sentence to use with their contraction. They write their sentence on large manilla paper with the gingerbread man as part of their sentence.

Here is the download!

Interesting Words!

I LOVE finding and discussing interesting words with my students...especially during read alouds. My favorite books to read with a great selection of interesting words are Jan Brett books. Her stories are FILLED with interesting words..Most with TOO many to keep track of throughout the story! Sometimes I can't get a good flow and read the story without students freaking out about interesting words on each page!

With that said, each year I have an interesting word wall in my room. We use this to post interesting words we find in read alouds and from their books during independent reading. I use this as a great reference for students to use them in their own writing. Students really get into searching for interesting words AND using them! :)

I usually print a picture of the cover of the read-aloud we are using for the week. After the read aloud a few students write the words and definitions on strips of white paper. Then we post them on the wall.

I think posting them with the picture of the book really helps with them connecting to the word and remembering where it was found and how it was used.
And literally, we constantly reference our interesting word wall every day! If you don't have one, I most definitely recommend it!

Lastly, here is a picture of my classroom door! I was going to do the cute reindeer stable buuut my neighbor had her's saved from last year and was reusing it this year after I had already completed my background...so I changed to wrapping my door as a gift at the last minute...Nothing TOO fantabulous..but it's cute and simple. (although the bow was definitely not simple)

It was really funny when my students came in the next day.. They all read the tag and started touching and feeling the door... trying to look behind it... like there was actually something there! Mind you- the door was open as they were doing this...Oh goodness.. I got a good chuckle out of that. 

Captain Apostrophe to the Rescue!

So last week we had been talking about contractions in writing. We had discussed and read the Captian Apostrophe short story and how he is a super hero and super strong. He is so strong that he can punch out letters AND fly high above.

So I drew Captain Apostrophe to post on my wall. My kids LOVE finding their "Captain Apostrophes" in their books during independent reading! They have a "write your words" recording sheet available to them so that they can record words that they find in their books. My kids have filled up many of these recording sheets with contractions! It really engages them and it makes this usually boring topic into a fun and exciting one! They Love Love Love it!

Super Cute Ladybug Contraction Activity

For an activity towards the end of the week I wanted the students to applying the idea of contractions. One of my teammates found this super cute ladybug blackline. On each of the two wings the student writes the two words that come together to form the contraction.

On the inside of the wings, the student writes the contraction made from the two words.

You simply connect the wings to the body with a brad so that the wings can open and shut.
I decided that after they completed the lady bug contraction that they would glue it onto a white construction paper and use it in a sentence. Then they could decorate the background.

When they were finished, they could read their sentence with the wings closed and the two words separate OR they could open the wings and read the sentence with the contraction! They loved it and thought it was very cool! Here are a couple of my students' examples.

Here is the ladybug blackline if you'd like to use it!

Ladybug Contraction Blackline