Character Education with Books by Helen Lester

Sometimes teaching character education or addressing sensitive issues can be tricky! That's why I love to incorporate literature as often as possible. Reading about a rat who is being bullied because of his speech disorder is a lot less stressful that getting lectured about being kind to others. Helen Lester is my favorite author for character education. I think of her as the Aesop for our generation. She uses animals in bad situations to teach a moral lesson that can be easily understood and applied. See? Modern day fables at their best! 

I have already written about my love for Listen Buddy and A Porcupine Named Fluffy. You can see their videos and grab some freebies by clicking on the titles above.

I also ADORE Wodney Wat. There is so much that you can do with this book! It is wonderful for those critical first days of school. Wodney cannot pronounce his r's correctly, and his classmates tease him day in and day out. Then, Camilla Capybara arrives and they are all bullied. Wodney becomes a hero when he saves everyone through a hilarious game of Simon Says. Here is a fun video read aloud of the story if you'd like to know more. 

Let's face it! In every class, there will be at LEAST one kiddo who has to be first. He or she will cut in line, take the sharpest pencil, or the grab the best seat at the lunch table whenever possible. Doing so will be a BIG source of classroom conflict. When that situation arises, reading Me First would be a great idea! Pinkerton the pig ALWAYS has to be first! So, when he hears a voice calling, "Who would care for a sandwich?" His answer is, of course, ME FIRST! However, he ends up meeting the SandWITCH who demands that he care for her until he learns his lesson. It is a funny but meaningful tale! Check it out below! 

Hurty Feelings is an awesome choice in a very TOUGH situation --- over sensitivity! We all have had sweet ones who wear their feelings on their sleeves or cry at the drop of a hat over something that others don't view as a big deal. A hippo named Fragility had the same problem! Even when the other animals are complimenting her, she misconstrues their meaning and gets offended. They start avoiding her because they are afraid that she will throw another fit. Then, Rudy the elephant shows up and gives Fragility a hard time. She learns to stand strong. Hopefully, the lesson will transfer well. The video below has blurry images, but it was created by a class who narrate the story and that makes it so sweet!


I have added three new Helen Lester comprehension scoots to my store. They are available for $1.50 each, and since TPT lifted their minimum check out requirement, you can grab them whenever you need one. They are also available in this newly added discounted bundle. You can check it out {HERE} or by click the pic below.

I hope these titles will help you navigate through some difficult situations! 

Let's Make a Deal Game Freebie

My sister and I grew up watching Monty Hall on Let's Make a Deal. We loved all of the crazy costumes that the people wore, the fabulous prizes, and we especially loved the ZONKS! We laughed and laughed when we heard the whomp, whomp, whomp and saw the zany gag prize that the contestant had won. We even invented our own version of the game to play with our cousins!

Now, I play it at home with my own kids. It is one of their favorite things for us to do! {We are a little crazy! That's just how we roll!} Here is how we play at home. The Hubs is the emcee/host and I am his lovely assistant. The kids are given a few minutes to scavenge their rooms and create a costume. While they are doing that, we select the prizes/zonks. Some of them are placed in gift wrapped boxes. Some we tape to the window behind the curtains. Some we put in sealed envelopes in the Hubs's pants pockets.

Then, the fun begins! In order to earn a chance to choose a prize, they have to do what we ask. Sometimes we ask them questions related to what they are reading or studying in school. Sometimes we ask them to recite their scripture memory verses or answer catechism questions. Sometimes they have to pass parts of a clean room inspection. If they do, they can choose from the prizes offered by the emcee. He may say, "You can have what is in this box OR you can choose what's behind curtain #2!" We all shout out what we think they should choose. It could be a tangible reward (cash, candy, etc.), an activity/event like inviting a friend over to play, or a ZONK! Here is a sample reward and ZONK page:

I also added in 12 classroom rewards because this would be SO MUCH FUN to play in class! 

So, if you would like to play, you can snag 18 home reward cards, 12 school reward cards, and 12 ZONKS {HERE!} I would love to hear from you if you play! 

Subtraction Fact Fluency Freebie

How do you keep track of your students' fact fluency? In my 2nd grade intervention classroom, progress monitoring fluency for my math students is a major goal. So, I decided to make it fun.. like a journey..or a quest! For our addition facts, we journey through Oz as we learn each set of facts.  You can read more about that adventure and grab the program freebie in this previous post. The kids enjoyed it so much that I decided to add in a Peter Pan/Neverland theme for subtraction!

I hang up a jumbo pocket chart to hold the character cards and student name pieces. The students' names are written on die cut yellow stars. When they have achieved their goal, it gives the effect of a pictograph of names. You can see a glimpse of the set up (without the names) in this photo from an Instagram post last year. 

As soon as we introduce subtraction, I reveal the first character goal and post the character card and goal on the pocket chart. I tell the kiddos that if they meet the goal that they will earn the character and a matching treat. The character cards look like this:

All week long (and longer if needed to achieve their goal), we practice our math facts. I like to use the free subtraction fact sheets found {HERE} at www.math-drills.com. Scroll down to number 8 and select horizontally arranged subtraction questions. Then, print off an entire sheet of individual fact practice. Copy the sheet for your students, and then cut them into 4 days worth of practice strips. Easy Peasy Mac-n-Cheesy!

I set different goals for students. Often my tier 3 students are just working on getting correct differences while my tier 2 students may be more focused on correct differences in a given amount of time. If their goal is achieved, they receive the treat for their character and a little certificate in a Ziploc baggie. They take them home to share their accomplishment with their families. It is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to celebrate their work and communicate their progress to their parents. 

As you can see, I updated the font! :)

You can grab the whole program as a freebie {HERE} in this Dropbox link! 

I hope you will find these helpful! :)

Authors in the Spotlight 3

I had such fun researching the authors in my latest update to "Authors in the Spotlight"!

Did you know that:

• Dr. Seuss was the editor who approved the publishing of Stan and Jan Berenstain's first children's book.
• Norman Bridwell originally wanted to name his dog character Tiny, but his wife disagreed and asked him to name the dog after her childhood imaginary friend, Clifford, instead.
• Beverly Cleary is still alive and living in California. She will be 100 years old next April!
• H.A. and Margret Rey were German Jews living in Paris, France when they heard that the Nazis were about to invade. They fled on makeshift bicycles. They carried only warm coats, a bit of food, and the illustrated manuscript for a book that would be published in 1941. That book was none other than Curious George. They escaped Paris only a few hours before it was overtaken! 

These fun facts and many more are in the newest version of my TPT product "Authors in the Spotlight". This set includes information on Hans Christian Andersen, Stan and Jan Berenstain, Judy Blume, Norman Bridwell, Marc Brown, Beverly Cleary, Steven Kellogg, Arnold Lobel, Robert Munsch, and H.A. & Margret Rey. 

If you have already purchased this set, go to your My Purchases Page on TPT and download the update for FREE! Click the picture above to see the full project description. 

Sit Spots Giveaway!

I LOVE Sit Spots! I am starting my third year with my set, and they still look great! I use them every day to manage my room efficiently! You can read my original post {HERE}. 

The fabulous folks at Sit Spots and I would love for you to experience Sit Spots in your own classroom! So, we are teaming up to offer you a chance to win $50 in FREE Sit Spots! You can earn up to three entries just by liking Sit Spots on Facebook, following them on Instagram, and following my blog! The contest will run through Saturday, July 25, 2015. I wanted to give you plenty of time to order your Sit Spots before school starts! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Addition Fact Fluency Freebie

How do you keep track of your students' fact fluency? In my 2nd grade intervention classroom, progress monitoring fluency for my math students is a major goal. So, I decided to make it fun.. like a journey..or a quest! For our addition facts, we journey through Oz as we learn each set of facts.  

During preplanning I hang up a jumbo pocket chart to hold the character cards and student name pieces. The students' names are written on pieces of the yellow brick road. When they have achieved their goal, it gives the effect of a horizontal bar graph of names. You can see a glimpse of the set up (without the names) in this photo from last year's room reveal. 

Beginning the first week of school, I reveal the first character goal and post the character card and goal on the pocket chart. I tell the kiddos that if they meet the goal that they will earn the character and a matching treat. The character cards look like this:

All week long (and longer if needed to achieve their goal), we practice our math facts. I like to use the free addition fact sheets found {HERE} at www.math-drills.com. Scroll down to number 9 and select single digit addition questions with focus digits. Then, print off an entire sheet of individual fact practice. Copy the sheet for your students, and then cut them into 4 days worth of practice strips. Easy Peasy Mac-n-Cheesy!

I set different goals for students. Often my tier 3 students are just working on getting correct sums while my tier 2 students may be more focused on correct sums in a given amount of time. If their goal is achieved, they receive the treat for their character and a little certificate in a Ziploc baggie. They take them home to share their accomplishment with their families. It is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to celebrate their work and communicate their progress to their parents. 

Here is a quick glimpse at the suggested treat list and little certificates that they can earn. 

You can grab the whole program as a freebie {HERE} in this Dropbox link! If you like this set, stay tuned, or follow my blog. I hope to post my Peter Pan themed subtraction set next. :)