Desert Southwest Pueblo

        Desert Southwest Pueblo
Cooperative project

     While working on the unit on Native Americans, I always have my students build their own pueblo in class.  This is a cooperative project for my students. The native people had to work together in order to survive in the hot dry desert region.  So we work together to construct ours. 

      The students decide if they want to make a ladder, a room, or a kiva.  All the parts are made at home and then brought to school. You can see the variety of student work. I try to emphasize that this  is a student, not a parent, project.

     

    The pieces are  hot glued to the base and background. We try to alternate the size, shape and orientation of the boxes to achieve a more realistic appearance.

    These pictures were take in Arizona of an ancient Native American ruin.  

 

 

 

We are trying to represent the different levels of the pueblo.

 Ladders were added after all the boxes were glued together.  Pebbles were also glued on to add detail.

 Then my students attached very small people to the pueblo.

       You can even see some dried grass "plants" growing on the top.

     My 5th graders were very proud of the pueblo diorama they had built cooperatively in school.

       Three classes worked together, during their own class period.  They realized that no one person in a desert southwest Indian tribe could have constructed the massive structure by themselves. 

    I know I could have assigned this as a at home project.  The children would have brought in magnificent, elaborate projects, many of which were made by well meaning parents.  I like to have my kids realize that they, 5th graders,  can do wonderful things by themselves. 

    I hope this project gives  other teachers an incentive to try a pueblo project.

 Check all the ideas at 4th Grade Frolics link up-
              Monday Made It.

www.4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com 

Please leave a comment or suggestion if you have the time.  I really enjoy hearing from other teachers.

Enjoy your day! 

Beti 

Felt Flower Headband

        

           After my granddaughter was born, my daughter saw a headband with a felt flower.  She said, "Mom, I think we can made that."  Of course we took the challenge and made a trip to JoAnn's for felt and an elastic trim.
  
              It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. I started with paper and pencil to make a pattern for the flower.  I cut a circle about the size of a CD.   As I stated to cut the spiral, a scalloped edge was included.

      The rectangular piece is used for the middle of the flower.  This felt piece was fringed along one side.  Then the rectangular piece is rolled to form the stamen, middle part, of the flower.  I stitched the felt as I rolled it, but you could use hot glue to hold it together.

Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

       To made the petals of the flower,  you begin wrapping from the outside of the felt circle. As you wrap, sew or glue the felt around the stamen. The flower will begin to "build" itself.

       We made leaves to add another color.  

        As it turned out, the leaves were a little too big for a newborn's head.  The leaves were removed for the finished product.  
        I do believe that my 5th grade girls should be able to make these flowers.  Maybe for Mother's Day.
        
Please leave a comment if have time. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts.

Have a wonder day.
Beti


            

Minion Costumes

          This summer I was crocheting baby hats for my two new granddaughters.  I made several yellow ones.  "They could be made into minion hats", was a thought that crossed my mind.  My daughter asked if I could made one for a Halloween costume for her daughter.  Of course I can't resist a crafting challenge.
    Here is the minion hat I made.

   
        My little granddaughter has blue denim overalls to go with the hat.  

      A costume for the dog, Barkley, a Yorkie was also requested.   When they came to Michigan last Christmas, I made Barkley a little green felt coat to wear outside.  So I knew I could made him a minion costume.  It has velcro so it can be secured around his neck.

  

    
           This is not Barkley.  I don't know if he could stand still long enough to have this picture taken. I used an old  stuffed animal for fitting of the minion costume for size.
         

Wishing everyone best wishes for your  Happy Halloween shopping.
  Beti

    Please leave a short note if you have a minute.  I'd love to read your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.
 

A Lizzy Blankie

     

 LIZZY BLANKIE

 

                          4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com

  My son and  daughter-in-law have a dachshund named Lizzy.

I saw a Doxie Blankie pattern by Jenna Wingate on Pinterest. The name was Dog in A Sweater.  It can be found on ravelry.com.

     I thought it was so cute and looked just like Lizzy.  This was my inspiration piece.   I knit and crochet for fun.  

      So... when my son and daughter-in-law said they were having a baby the wheels in my head started turning.   A Lizzy Blankie would be a fun gift for our granddaughter. 

"Tummy Time" for Lizzy!

                     

Please leave a comment if you like Doxies.  I'd love to hear from you.

Come back and visit my blog again some time.

 Beti

Frame of Hearts

              My sisters-in-law gave my daughter a baby shower.  My daughter decided to do something with the cards. A heart die cut was a great idea.  I think this is so cute.

 www.4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com

Please leave a comment and come again soon! 

Enjoy your day!

Beti

Mary Foldable

               In my Religion class, we are talking about the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  My students do really well making foldables to learn information on different topics.  The topic of "Mary the Mother of God" would be fantastic in this form!  Finding clip art was no problem. Here is what I came up with.  I copied the clip art on the front and the Title of the foldable on the back.

       

     The next step was to add the important information to the inside flaps.

  

        I gave a quick lesson on how to draw a vine with simple flowers.
These turned out very cute in their own special way.

      

    The foldable was glued to a piece of loose leaf to safe storage in their duo-tang folders with the rest of their notes.

      My students were very pleased about how nice their foldable turned out.
I have wonderful students who want to learn.  I am so very blessed.

Please leave a comment if you have a little time. I'd love to hear from you.

Hop on over to 45th Grade Frolics Monday Made It.

www.4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com

Personal Offices

     When my students are taking a test, I have them use personal offices.  If you know me, I did not purchase these.  Several years ago, I found 30 of the perfect size boxes in the cardboard recycle bin at school.  So, I decided to use this great find for my personal offices.  The outside has a label showing frozen fish.  The inside was perfect for all sorts of useful test taking information.

                       This is the inside of one of my personal offices.

Here is a Personal Mini Thesaurus which can make an essay on a test better.

                               

            
               Irregular verb ca be tricky, so here is a useful list for my kiddos.



 
       In order to write a well organized paragraph, transition words are very helpful.

         A few helpful hints to write the "Perfect Paragraph" improve student work.

           I found these test taking strategies at a TPT store.  I shrunk them to fit on one sheet.

     These personal offices are not too tall, so the kids can see me giving instructions.  I keep on adding to the information sheets, that are glued on to the personal offices, each year. 
    I have the children keep the offices up until everyone has finished taking and checking the answers on their tests. This way the children that finish last do not feel rushed or stressed because they are not "Done".  You know those kids that finish is a flash.  They have to stay in their seat, check their work, and then read a book.

Do  you use some kind of personal office for your students? 

 Check out Freebie Friday on Teaching Blog Addict...
www.teachingblogaddict.com

Also check  out Five for Friday at Doodle Bugs Teaching... http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com











Please leave a comment if you have an extra minute. I'd like to hear from you.

It is IOWA test week, so these offices are getting a workout. 
Have a great week!

Beti