STATE-LICENSE PLATE

http://www.15q.net/usindex.html
http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/world/NA_USAX.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_license_plate_designs_and_serial_formats
This project can be done in two different ways: draw/trace and color the state license or have the students design their own state license.

STATE-REQUIREMENTS and ASSESSMENT

STATE-FOLKLORE

http://theshadowlands.net/places/
http://www.americanfolklore.net/ss.html

Give time for the students to choose a ghost/folklore story to write about.  Talk about summarization.

http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html
http://okscribbler.blogspot.com/2009/02/teaching-summarizing-story.html

Create a formatted writing sheet to help your students with their paragraph about their state folklore.  Some ideas are to answer the questions what happened, where it happened, when it happened, how it happened....

STATE-FLAG

http://www.50states.com/flag/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_U.S._states
http://www.netstate.com/state_flags.htm

Make sure you give your students plenty of time to get material to draw or trace their flag on the State Flag Page.  You may need to resize some of the flags they bring in or give them the dimensions that are needed to fit in your flag.
Have your students bring in a page telling about the symbols on their state's flag.  They should have chosen three or more symbols they want to write about.  Create a formatted paragraph that helps your students write a nice paragraph about the flag.
Format paragraph could include the date the flag was adopted, interesting facts, and three symbols to write about.

STITCH A HELLO

MOTHER'S DAY AUDIO TAPE

I used parent volunteers to help me with this project.  It is liked by Kindergarten and First Grade parents.

QUICK SPELLING-WRITING ASSESSMENT

THANKSGIVING PINE CONE FAMILY

Easy craft for younger students.

THANKSGIVING WALLS - BULLETIN BOARDS

COME HOLY SPIRIT PRAYER-BULLETIN BOARD

I added the 'gifts' of the Holy Spirit to the bulletin board.  Every day we said the Holy Spirit Prayer and then chanted the gifts.

• Wisdom: We see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of life take on deeper meaning. We see God as our Father, appreciate the dignity of others, and find God in all things.

• Understanding: In understanding, we comprehend how we need to live as followers of Christ. A person with understanding is not confused by the conflicting messages in our culture about the right way to live. The gift of understanding perfects a person's speculative reason in the apprehension of truth. It is the gift whereby self-evident principles are known, Aquinas writes.^[4]

• Counsel (Right Judgment): With the gift of counsel/right judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we choose to do what is right. A person with right judgment avoids sin and lives out the values taught by Jesus.

• Fortitude (Courage): With the gift of fortitude/courage, we overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with courage is willing to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or physical harm. The gift of courage allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing good and in enduring evil.

• Knowledge: With the gift of knowledge, we understand the meaning of God. The gift of knowledge is more than an accumulation of facts.

• Piety (Reverence): With the gift of reverence, sometimes called piety, we have a deep sense of respect for God and the church. A person with reverence recognizes our total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love. Piety is the gift whereby, at the Holy Spirit's instigation, we pay worship and duty to God as our Father, Aquinas writes.

• Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe): With the gift of fear of the Lord we are aware of the glory and majesty of God. A person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love. This gift is described by Aquinas as a fear of separating oneself from God. He describes the gift as a "filial fear," like a child's fear of offending his father, rather than a "servile fear," that is, a fear of punishment. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) because it puts our mindset in correct location with respect to God: we are the finite, dependent creatures, and He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator.

DAILY READ ALOUDS

DAILY READ ALOUDS

READING CHAIN

One year we took the Scholastic Reading Challenge and kept track of our books by building a chain across the top of our walls.  Each strip listed the title of the book and the author.  At the end of the time given for the reading challenge, we proudly took the chain down to get a photo with it.

PATRIOTIC BULLETIN BOARD

  This board is great for a school hallway near the office.  Be on the lookout for something in the newspaper that is significant to our country.  Post it next to the pledge.  Very striking.

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

   Catholics in England during the period 1558-1829 were prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private.  It was illegal to be Catholic until Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in 1829.
   "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the 'catechism songs' to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith.  In short, it was a coded-message, a memory aid.  Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment.  The authorities would not know that it was a religious song.
   "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is in a sense an allegory.  Each of the items in the song represents something significant to the teachings of the Catholic faith.  The hidden meaning of each gift was designed to help Catholic children learn their faith.  The better acquainted one is with the Bible, the more these interpretations have significance.

HALLOWEEN WALLS

Interesting ways you can decorate your room.  The reading nook is in the center of the room with the desks forming a large square around it.

FALL BULLETIN BOARD

One of my favorites bulletin boards.  You get fall leaves from a hobby store to format the bulletin board.  Then you add whatever you wish.  Very easy.  My fall leaves lasted years!

CHARLOTTE'S WEB EXTENDED ACTIVITY

When I taught 2nd grade, our first read-aloud was Charlotte's Web.  We studied spiders for our Science Lessons as well as Vocabulary, Comprehension...  After the story, the classes watched the movie.  While the teachers were in the classroom monitoring the movie, our parents were outside setting up a 'pig-nic' for us to enjoy.  We had pictures taken with either cardboard pigs or, if we could get one, a real piglet.  The parents created a webbed backdrop to our 'pig-nic' with a large spider gracing it.  I remember our meal included pigs in the blanket.  We had a lot of fun.  Our last activity was to write a 'yarn' about the event.

HALLOWEEN BULLETIN BOARDS

 Some of the boards had Halloween Lights on them.  We would turn out the lights and plug them in if everyone was behaving and completing work in a timely manner.  Great Incentive.