Mrs. P's Reading is Cool Blog

Back to School FREE Resource Roundup! Ideas to Inspire Creativity & Literacy in the Classroom!

 

                                                                                                                  

It’s that time of year when teachers are planning for their students to come back to the classroom. I’ve learned first hand from my many interactions with teachers and librarians that budgets are tight and time is limited, so I thought I would put together a list of FREE resources for inspiring creativity & literacy in the classroom. My website is always free and my Storytime YouTube channel offers the words to help early readers too.  I also know that many schools are still offering remote learning so some of the resources might help out too. 

So enjoy this list of FREEBIES!

ONLINE LEARNING lesson from Mrs. P

I help kids learn how to exercise their imagination while building effective listening and writing skills. The magic comes about by sharing the simple secret – “If you can tell a story, you can write a story.” I share techniques on how to create and share an original story. These simple and entertaining examples inspire students to create their own stories and share them both out loud and on paper. This lesson gives a student’s imagination a serious workout, encourages communication and provides tools to help them build a strong sense of self while helping to generate self-confidence. Proof positive that learning can be fun!

 
 

MUSIC HELPS TEACH LITERACY SKILLS

In this lesson I use the three “R’s”: rhythm, rhyme and repetition. Singing can help children learn to read while having fun and strengthening their comprehension in the process. So how about a little music?

 

AUDIOBOOKS HELP BUILD VOCABULARY

                                                                                                                  
I love research and articles that provide information on what we can do to help promote reading! Here is a great resource from Tales2GO about how audiobooks allow children to build their vocabularies and encourage them to stretch their imaginations!   Check out these classroom and home audiobook activities and make sure you check out the lesson plans they offer. 

LESSON RESOURCES

• My imagination launcher videos help jump start imaginations.
• Try my Imagination launcher worksheet to download for your class to inspire storytelling.
• Check out my poetry fun playlists sharing simple poems to inspire students to write their own.
• Watch vocabulary fun with early readers. This helps young readers build their vocabularies by hearing and seeing the words.

Don’t miss my Teacher Page, created just for you. Filled with story playlists and blogs to accompany them with ideas for your class.

 

Submit a video by April 1 to @cantatalearning & kick off Poetry Month! Enter now! #elemchat

April is National Poetry Month, the largest literacy celebration in the world. I have the perfect warm-up for your class with my new online learning lesson. As a professional storyteller, I have learned firsthand the power that a good story holds for children. Without a boarding pass, a train ticket or even a good pair of walking shoes, I take children on a journey to the most wonderful and interesting places imaginable through this online lesson! And in the process, I help kids learn how to exercise their imaginations.

                                          You can find it on the front page of my website too!

And after your class is warmed up from my online lesson, spring them into action with a fun contest to enter! Learn about Harmony Projects, Global Connections With Cantata Learning. These are wonderful ways to get your students reading, creating, writing, singing, sharing, collaborating, and so much more with others around the world.  

Cantata Learning is holding a Rhythms and Rhymes contest. 5 winners will receive 30 Cantata Learning hardcover books!   
It so easy for your class to enter. Just follow these 3 simple steps!

1. Simply go to the Cantata Music Library where you will find free nursery rhymes and folk songs to stream online or download as an mp3 file. 
2. Then create a video that shows your students’ hand motions or other movements for the song. They can be the traditional hand motions or new motions that you create.
3. The deadline is April 1st, so you’ve got to jump on this fun activity this week. Here is the submit button so you have it handy!

My friend Teacher Librarian Shannon McClintock Miller will be judging!   Here is a post she wrote all about it too.