YAY for Dr. King Day!

We've been learning lots and lots about Martin Luther King, Jr. and BOY oh BOY do my students just eat this up.  I mean, they really cannot even BELIEVE that segregation was a real thing.  They are loving learning about Dr. King's fight for peace and equality.  I love when they use these *big* words in our class discussions {boycott, segregation, etc}.


They enjoyed the book that I made for them, but instead of printing it off, we used it on my computer and put it up on the projector.

and then they fill out this booklet...

We also made these cute hand-print hearts as we talked about equality and peace...

Next up {tomorrow}, the peace dove made with our foot and hands...

And I copied these for a fast finisher project...

All of these {PLUS TONS MORE} can be found in my Martin Luther King, Jr. Mini-Unit! 

Click the picture to check it out!

Click {here} to check it out!

Common Core {Kid-Friendly}

The sweet Monica over at Schroeder Page  gave me the inspiration for my next Common Core freebie! Head over to Monica's blog and check it out because it's fabulous!


With the words "Common Core" being such buzz words around education right now, I thought I'd give my students a little insight on what it means....in kid-friendly terms {and it helps the parents, too}!

After I taught them about it, it was time that they did their own craftivity, so they'd REMEMBER it! :)

I have my students free-hand the apple on construction paper! :)

The Mitten

It's that time of year again! THE MITTEN! I do this activity with my students every year and they love it so much!  I found Jan Brett's website and I just loooooooove it.  I printed, cut, laminated and attached a popsicle stick to the animal masks from "The Mitten" and my class and I are going to retell the story by using the masks and acting out each of the part.  I am going to use a white sheet as the mitten and my students will have to crawl in it as we retell.

 Then, we have a little creative writing activity where the students have to think of a different animal to crawl into the mitten and tell why.  The mitten is made with scrapbook paper and cotton balls.  Underneath there is a surprise!!!!

I only had my students glue the bottom of the mitten.

I just made a bunch of mittens from cardstock and the kids used them to trace their mitten.

Clipart and/or fonts copyright DJ Inkers and used with permission: www.djinkers.com
Click HERE for the writing activity.  Click HERE for the mask downloads from Jan Brett's website.

MLK and Civil Rights {Upper Grades}

Hey everyone!! Guess what... it's me... Natalie. Do you even remember who I am? 

If not, here's a refresher:

I am Rachelle's blog partner

I've been writing for What the Teacher Wants for over two years now.

I teach 5th grade.

I love American History.

I have an 8 month old baby. 

And a two year old. 

You may have noticed that I've been missing around here lately. Those two little kiddos keep.me.busy. 

all.the.time. 

I am pretty pleased to announce that I have finished a new unit just in time for the upcoming holiday, Martin Luther King Day!! 

Want to read about what this pack includes??

And here's a pretty snapshot of some of the awesome printables and graphic organizers you will receive. 30 pages total.

This unit is perfect for any upper grades classroom {designed for grades 3-6} and will be a fun way to do some great learning about an important time in American History.

Want to win this pack??

Leave me a comment telling me why you'd like to use this in your class. I'll randomly select two winners to receive a copy!!

Winners have been notified. Thanks for all the comments - I appreciate every single one of them. 

If you did not win, you can purchase this unit by clicking: HERE