Earth Day Projects

Our Spring Break starts Monday.  This week we have discussed Earth Day.  Students were asked to re-use items which they would normally throw away, to make something creative or useful.  A detailed letter was sent home with examples.  I also showed them some things that we have used all year long, that were made from recycled items.

I was impressed with the projects that the students and their families made.  One student had so much doing this project, that he did two projects.  The "wiener dog" is my favorite.  The telephone and rocket were fun for the whole class.  One student combined our plant unit and Earth Day with his flowerpot, fashioned from a formula can. Ink pens became the stems for some silk flowers.  The flowers were planted in some sand, in an altered water bottle.  A KFC box made perfect storage for post cards or index cards.
Cardboard tubes, a take-out box, water bottle, formula canister, soup cans, rope, and ink pens were re-used to make some creative and useful items.

What's the Scoop?

My first grade students love this creative writing activity. They pick a flower from each pot. The pots are labeled Who? When? Where? Problem/Goal, and Extra Details. I made the flowers in the individual pots the same color, so the students would know they need one of each color. The stem of the flower has information for the student to use in his or her writing. The students put the information on a graphic organizer, so they can work on it at their own pace. The stories turn out to be too cute and funny. One story was about me laying duck eggs at the beach.

Revamped for a Colleague

My Original "Flower Pots"

The idea was adapted from The Best of the Mailbox Writing for Grades 1-3. It was submitted by M.A. Murphy of Chicago, IL for grades 3-4. I couldn't think of a flower themed title for it, so I left it at What's the Scoop?

Student Treasures Book

Some of you may remember my post a few months ago about our class book; Who Stole the Cookies?. Well we published the book through Student Treasures. We had to change a few things because one student moved away, and a new student joined us. We were still able to combine, math, writing, and art to create a fun book. This is the second Student Treasures book that I've been involved with. This book was much easier to put together, since we just rewrote our favorite class book.