Workshop Wednesday & Never a Dull Moment

Today I'm linking up with Jivey for Workshop Wednesday. Then, I've got a fun little story to tell you about my day...

This week's Workshop Wednesday topic is to write about a favorite chapter book and what you do with it. Chapter books are one of the things I miss having moved from second grade down to first. Don't get me wrong - we still use chapter books (especially those high firsties) - but not as much.

My favorite chapter book to read aloud to my second graders used to be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We would always read it at the end of the year and I would tell the kids to raise their hands if they heard an example of something we'd talked about this year. They found examples of similes, personification, idioms, and so much more as I would read. After we read the book, we would always watch the movie as part of our end of the year celebration.

Last year, we tied the book into our unit on Supply & Demand. We used the book along with several resources to teach the concept of supply and demand. Then, the students got to apply all of their knowledge! They worked through the process of creating a product (using their knowledge of supply and demand) and eventually "sold" their project to students in another classroom. (Play money was used!)  It was amazing seeing what the kids came up with. I will have to root around in my old files and make a more detailed post in the future on this project. It was a great end of the year project where students got to create and share their knowledge through real-world experiences!


And, that concludes my Workshop Wednesday post.

Now, for the interesting story from today. All I can say is there's never a dull moment in our job.

First, let's start by saying this was the coldest day so far this year! The morning started off in the 30's (I still can't believe the high was in the 70's just yesterday!) and only got up to the 50's. 

This morning, one of my kids came waltzing in and proudly announced "I have a gift for you!"  I was picturing a hand-drawn picture (I have too many) or a flower from home. Instead, he pulls out a crinkled water bottle and brings it over to me. (Trash? was my first thought.) I took the water bottle carefully and looked at it. That is when I realized the water bottle wasn't the gift. The gift was what was inside.

Yup, a live lizard! This little boy thought it would make a great class pet for us. (I guess having a fish just isn't enough for them.) I debated what to do with him - keep him inside where I had no cage or food for him or take him back outside to the cold. Either way, I feared for his chances of survival. I eventually chose to take him back outside and hope that his body adjusted quickly to the temperature changes. I could not have handled a lizard getting loose in my classroom.

After I took him outside, I had my students clean up from centers and come to the rug. Then, we proceeded to have a talk about pets and how you should be responsible and prepared before you pick out a pet. I talked about all of the things I had to buy before I got our class fish. Then, I talked about all of the things I had to buy before I got my furbaby, Ella. The students seemed to enjoy contributing to this conversation. Then, we headed outside to the cold to look at the vehicles that came for career day.

What is the most interesting "gift" a student has gotten you?


Don't forget that my Community Helpers Packet is still a *Temporary Freebie.*  I will be changing it to a paid item this weekend so grab it while you can! I have gotten some great feedback on the freebie so far!