December What Are You Reading? Linky!

My 5th graders love when I read to them. I think they love picture books even more. I started incorporating more picture books into the curriculum a few years ago when I started using mentor sentences by Ideas by Jivey. Once I started using them, I was hooked. Not to mention my kids love it. I love that she includes holiday/seasonal picture books into her units. This week we will be reading The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. It is such a magical book. Even if the students have read it before, they do not mind hearing it again.

Head on over to Focused on Fifth to see what the other teachers are reading.

Unwrapping the Holidays: Seasonal Stories

There are so many wonderful holiday stories and so little time.  One of my favorite holiday novels is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. 

This is such a great story and my students always find it hysterical. I also love using this freebie from Nicole Shelby.

She has a great form for the students to keep track of the characters. I use it for the students to document character traits of the characters and site evidence to back it up. There is also a great Sticky Note Summary sheet. The students summarize each chapter on a Post-It note. It's a great way to help them keep the summary short.

Just before we head out on vacation, I pass out candy canes and we watch the movie version of the novel.

This version is a super cute made-for-tv movie starring Loretta Swift as the mom. It follows the book pretty closely and is just under an hour long. It's a great way to end the last day before the holiday break. You can get a copy of the movie here. I use the movie every December. It was definitely worth purchasing.

Now hop on over and check out what the other bloggers have to share.

An InLinkz Link-up

Unwrapping the Holidays: Teacher's Little Helper

One of my first holiday products that I created is this cute little elf. I use it every year with my students. It's a great way to review order of operations. 

 I also created a page so your students can show their work.

If you are interested in purchasing this product (It's only $1) you can click any of the pictures above or here and it will bring you to the product.

Now go check out all the other holiday products these other bloggers are sharing.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pick 3: December Pinterest Linky!

Who doesn't need some inspiration to get through those last days before the holiday break? I am once again joining PAWSitively Teaching  and and Inspired Owl's Corner for their Pick 3 Linky.

Check out this adorable way to bring the holidays into your classroom and teach poetry at the same time.

Click the image to see original pin

It's a Poet-Tree! 

How cute are these water bottles? My students would love to find these on their desk just before the holidays.

Click the image to see original pin



I am always looking for holiday crafts that my students can make. These craft stick ornaments are perfect.

Click the image to see original pin

Be sure to check out all the great ideas on all the blogs below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Unwrapping the Holidays - Holiday Themed Math

The holidays are a wonderfully crazy time of year. It's also the time of year when we have finally hit our stride in the classroom. The student know the expectations and are up for a challenge. It is not a time of year when we want to slow down. If anything we need to pick up the pace. At the same time. we want to enjoy this special time of year. 

One of my favorite activities to do with my students in math class is the Holiday Math Tree. It's a simple Christmas tree with eight ornaments on it. You can use it for almost any math topic you teach in December. 

This year I will use it to assess my students understanding of adding and subtracting decimals. The students will pick a decimal from the hat and write it in the star. The example below shows 1.2. The students are then required to fill in the ornaments by creating 4 addition and 4 subtraction problems that equal the amount in their star. The students put their name on the trunk of the tree. 

You could also use it to show off their knowledge of fractions. Have the students put a fraction in the star and then have them fill the ornaments with equivalent fractions or addition/subtraction problems that equal the fraction in the star.

 Then have the students color and cut out their trees. It makes for a festive display.

Would you like a copy of my Holiday Math Tree? You can get it here for free!

If you download it, I would love if you would leave a comment below and let me know how you plan to use the Holiday Math Tree in your classroom.

Now check out all the other amazing ideas from the bloggers below.

An InLinkz Link-up