Back to School Goodies

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a site-wide sale for back to school from August 1 through August 6.  Everything is discounted 10%. Use this promo code: B1T1S.
I am having a sale as well!  All of my teaching materials on Teachers Pay Teachers are 15% off from August 1st through the 5th.  So, you can save a total of 25% at my TPT store!!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jan-Lindley-20

Also, watch for the launch of the new Teachers Pay Teachers site.  It is fantastic--very attractive and use-friendly!

One of my fellow bloggers is having a back-to-school blog party with lots of giveaways.  Check in each day for the next week at this site: 
http://effectiveteachingarticles.blogspot.com/2011/07/back-to-school-blog-party-invitation.html

Best wishes for a great back to school and a fantastic year!

Starting the Year with Chrysanthemum

I love to start the school year with the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  I read it to my class, then we read it together--I have a class set of the books.  We do several activities with character, setting, plot, and sequencing.   We also do some vocabulary and comprehension activities.  My students' first weekly vocabulary assessment will be with vocabulary words from this story.  We also do several activities focused on our own names.  Students have a homework assignment to talk about their own names with their parents.  They write a paragraph about their names after having this chat with their parents.  We make a bar graph based on the number of letters in our names.  Students make a colorful poster of their names.  Kids love to learn about their names and talk about their names.  This short little unit is a great vehicle for getting to know your kids!  These activities are available on Teachers Pay Teachers.  For a limited time, the unit is being offered free.  You can find it here: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chrysanthemum-Reading-Guide
Have a great start to a great school year!