Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Every Day is Earth Day!

 Earth Day 2013!


It's time for one of my favorite units, Earth Day! April 22nd is Earth Day, so I usually start several weeks early so that I can discuss vocabulary and concepts ahead of time.
You can also check my past posts for activities and themes.
Earth Day 2012
Earth Day 2011

My 2013 Theme is: Whooooo Can Help the Earth?  I used various owl clip art.  I created a door display, as well as a wall display.  I try to have my door/display ready at least 1 month ahead of time.  This gives me 4+ weeks to add an 'Earthy' theme to my sessions.



For my wall, each student made an Earth Day pledge about what they can do for the Earth.  We did the pledge early in the unit.  By the end of the unit, as we approach April 22nd, I'll have the student read their pledge and decide if there is 'more' that they can do!  We will compare/contrast how their knowledge of Earth Day has changed. (Note: When I took the picture, only a few students had added their 'pledges'.  They also add their incentive stickers to the pledge...it is what I use for reinforcement. At the end of the unit, they can pick a prize.)


**I'll be adding to this blog post as Earth Day approaches...if I find new sites, materials, or apps, I'll add them to this post!
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Other Materials 
Just a few FREE worksheets that I have found over the years:
Earth Day Crossword  (upper elementary-middle school)
Taking Care of the Earth Crossword (upper elementary-middle school)
Lightbulbs Comprehension worksheet
Recycling Activity Book
Rebuilding Green - true story with comprehension questions
Global Warming or Climate Change - online quiz
Renewable vs Non-renewable worksheet
Earth Day Pledge (I will...  I will not...)
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Apps:  I included favorites from the past that I still plan to use, as well as some new ones!

Oil Spill Clean Up: Still one of my favorites!  The students remember to ask for it as soon as they see the Earth Day materials!


Recycle HD: A very nice, and FREE, app that has lots of conservation/recycling/Earth Day material.  I will be using this app for reading text/answering questions (I'll generate the questions).  It also has nice pictures for conversation and language prompts.
iPad Screenshot 2

GoodWill Donation Match Game: Free, by GoodWill, this is a memory-style game in which players need to find matches.  The matches are either items that can be recycled or donated. I might try this app as a game/incentive after working on another task.  It will provide opportunities for discussion about recycling, donating, and reusing items.










The Lorax App: Lorax Yourself! Free













The Lorax (Book): available on the iPad

iPhone Screenshot 1

Truffula Shuffula: Free



Climate A-Z: 



The 4 Seasons: An Earth Day Interactive Storybook:
iPhone Screenshot 1

Erika Knows Green
iPhone Screenshot 1

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Materials Issues!

3/6/13
Ok, for anyone trying to open the March materials I posted...I see that some aren't opening, I'll fix it tomorrow! Sorry!  I logged on to a different computer and realized that one of the links was not opening.

UPDATE: 3/7/13
I believe I fixed the link issues and all materials that I made for St. Pat's Day are working!  Let me know if they don't work for you.
***Just as a tip...the problem was that I forgot to 'share' or make one of the links accessible to the public.  If you want to post your documents (through google) to your blog or another site, and you want anyone to be able to view them, make sure you 'share' the item and select "anyone with this link can view".  I was making so many other materials, I forgot to enable this option for one of the material packets.  I only post this because it is so easy to forget a step and this was an easy fix.

March Madness Materials!

I have been working on some new materials to use in therapy.  Some day maybe I'll actually get around to uploading my materials to Teachers Pay Teachers. But for now, I thought I'd share some really great resources. Here are just a few that I really like lately.

Graphics/Clip Art/Clip Art Frames
My Cute Graphics
This site is phenominal...I have found tons of cute clipart, backgrounds, page borders, and clip art frames.  It is all FREE!  The designer just asks that you give him/her credit somewhere if you use some of the materials. So far, I have created some fun materials for St. Patrick's Day! I'll try to upload and share once I am finished.Here is a sample of a cute leprechaun graphic! The designer also has a Pinterest Page, I love it!
Saint Patrick's Day Kids

Fonts
1001 Free Fonts



Other Resources Worth a Shout Out!
Speech Room News Blog
My next resource that I wanted to give a shout out to is a fellow SLP blogger, who has a huge array of materials (some free, some pay) on Teachers Pay Teachers as well. The name of the blog is: Speech Room News.  Her Teachers Pay Teachers site is: Jenna Rayburn