Life-Size Famous American Projects

This past Friday morning, I was in a panic trying to think of a project for my students to create on the famous Americans that we've been studying. We had parent-teacher conferences the night before so I didn't have much time to prepare anyting. (That's my excuse at least!) An idea hit me at the last moment and I knew my students would love it! I decided to have my kiddos make life-size famous Americans using butcher paper and construction paper. I wanted them to do some writing as well so I thought that each member of the group could be in charge of a box or bubble showing what that person said (Wise Words), did (Amazing Action), thought (Thoughtful Thoughts), and a trait to describe him/her (Terrific Trait). To be honest, I was a little nervous about this project at first because I'd never done it with my students before and it was going to be a little crazy, but it went so smoothly! Their creations turned out absolutely adorable and it was such a meaningful and fun project.

I first put the kids into groups of 4 and assigned them a famous American. Our six people were Abraham Lincoln, Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr., and George Washington. One person from each group laid down on a large, white piece of butcher paper while another student traced them. They cut the person out and then began using contruction paper to turn it into their famous American. My teammate, Kristin, has this great skin-color construction paper so we used that for the head and hands. I let them use books that we've been reading so they could look at the pictures for ideas of what they looked like. After they finished creating their person, they worked on the boxes/bubbles. Here are some pics of our finished famous Americans:

I love Abe's beard and bow tie!

It's hard to tell in the picture but Susan B. has ruffles around her neck and wrists!

Doesn't this look just like MLK?!

Sojourner was given patches on her dress and glasses... so cute!

Harriett has patches and some fringe on her dress =)

I LOVE George's curled hair and hat!

 Here are some close-ups of faces and the boxes/bubbles:



This project was amazing for me to watch. The kids worked really well together and were so creative! I love how these look in the hallway and best of all- it was SO easy! If you'd like to make these famous Americans, you can download the boxes/bubbles {here}.

Another resource that you can use when teaching about famous Americans is the new product I just posted called My Book of Famous Americans. This product allows your students to create their own non-fiction book complete with a table of contents! They will love being a real author of a non-fiction book. Plus, it's a great way for you to assess what they've learned.

To create the books for your students just print double-sided, fold down the middle, and staple. My students absolutely LOVE making books like this. To see more views of the book or to snag your copy, click on the picture below!

Ready...Set...Vote! {My Classroom Election}

It's been a while since I posted and it feels good to be back! Today, we had our classroom election and it turned out to be TONS of fun. Last week, my kids decided that they wanted a class pet for our room so I told them that we could get a fish. We decided to make our two "candidates" a goldfish and a beta fish. (I had my fingers crossed for a beta fish because they are easier to take care of!) Over the past few days, my students have been working hard researching their two choices, making campaign posters, and registering to vote. Here's a few pictures of my students getting ready....

Registering to vote

Working on campaign posters

Campaign poster
 

Completed posters hanging in our classroom
 

Yesterday evening, my teammate Kristin and I decorated the 2nd grade hallway to get the kids excited when they arrived in the morning.

 



During the day today, the kids went out in the hallway one at a time and cast their vote for our class fish. They took this very seriously (it was SO cute!) and then got an "I Voted" sticker when they came in. Here's a few pics of the kids voting at the polling booth:

Casting her vote in the ballot box

This little guy wore a tie today for the election... so sweet!

 

After everyone voted, we tallied the results to learn our winner.... the beta fish! It won 21-3 =) We made a bar graph from the data, wrote about what we learned from the graph, and then read a book called My Teacher for President. Our last activity of the day was a fun one. The kids made their own page called "If I Were President..." These pages will be compiled into a class book for the kids to read and enjoy. Here are some of their creative ideas for how they would make the world a better place if they were president...

"Kids would only have to go to school on Mondays and Tuesdays." =)

"Finding jobs for people and signing good laws."

"Making a public garden for other people."
 

"Planting more trees."

"Giving people more jobs."
 

Our class book

What a fun day we had! I'm exhausted but really want to stay up and watch the election coverage. It should be an interesting night! Even though the election is {almost} over, I wanted to let you know that if you are interested in any of these activities, my election unit is on sale through tomorrow for 50% off. Just click the picture below to see what all is included.

Well that's it! I'm off to watch the election coverage and cross my fingers for our school levy that is on the ballot. Have a great night!

 

Election Connection Linky Party!

Is it just me or are you tired of all the election campaign ads, phone calls, and mail? I guess it's that time of year, though, and the election is just around the corner. I'm so excited to be hosting my very first linky party and I hope you can join in! The Election Connection linky party helps hook you up with products and ideas for teaching about elections and our great country in your classroom.

If you would like to join in, link up a product or idea for teaching about elections/presidents/USA. If you write a blog post, be sure to use the image above. That's it! Have fun =)

The unit that I created and am using for teaching elections this year is called "Customize Your Own Classroom Election!" This unit allows you to create your own classroom election about a topic of your choosing. Editable documents included are ballots, tally charts, and graphs. Also included are voter registration cards, campaign posters, ballot box ideas, and much more. To check it out, just click on the image below!

Compound Word Day!

Yesterday, we had Compound Word Day in our classroom to celebrate compound words! I saw this idea online last year and tried it out with my class. It was such a hit and sooo much fun! For Compound Word Day, I encourage my students to try to wear as many compound words as they can think of. Last year I had a student who wore over 20 compound words and I thought that was unbelievable. This year, though, I had a student come in wearing over 30 compound words. Her parents even made a list of all of the compound words she was wearing! =) It was adorable. She had on a bathrobe, sweatshirt, earrings, necktie, butterfly keychain, and so much more. I also had one of my boys wear his swimsuit (trunks) to school- it was hysterical! At the end of the day, we also enjoyed snacks consisting of goldfish and popcorn... yum!

If you'd like to have a Compound Word Day in your classroom, below is a letter that you can send home to your students' families explaining what to do. It's a FREEBIE so snatch it up!

Happy Saturday everyone!