Egg-cellent Addition

At this point in the school year, my students are pretty comfortable with addition.  First, we practice some addition problems whole group.  Then, I give each student a dry erase board and some unifix cubes.  The students practice writing an addition sentence and finding the answer for problems I give them.  Once they have had some practice, I have them create their own addition sentence and solve.  After I check their board (for accuracy), I give the students an egg page and a chick page and allow them to use their own addition problem to make an addition egg.  Use a brad fastener at the bottom (push it through both egg pieces and the chick).  This idea can be altered to fit your skill or theme (subtraction, multiplication, Who Am I, and whatever else you can think of).

It's Easter! Oh wait, I mean let's talk about animals that hatch...

I love Easter!  Since it is a religious holiday, it can be a touchy subject and sometimes Easter activities are skipped at school.  My way around that is to teach my "Animals that Hatch" Unit the week before Easter; that way, I still get to use Easter egg activities.  We spend the week talking about different animals that hatch. 

I begin the week's theme time by showing the students the cover of the "Where Do They Come From?" book. The students look at the different animals and eggs and try to predict which egg comes from which animal. Even though this is our cover, we complete this page last so the students have the chance to learn what each animal's eggs look like.

Each day, I choose one animal to focus on.  I read nonfiction books about that day's animal.  We complete KWL charts.  I have a special craft or activity for each animal.  The students also complete the page for the "Where Do They Come From?" book.  At the end of the week, we go back and finish the cover and I assemble the books so the students can take them home.