Mother’s Day Gifts- Last Minute and EASY!

Whew- exhausted! I’ve been sick since last week. I’m on antibiotics, but this sinus infection is just not done with me yet. I’m getting better, though!

Are you like me, and just now working on a last minute Mother’s Day gift with your class?

These flower pens are easy to make in a day, especially if you work with a small group at a time, and they’re pretty cheap.

What else have we been up to?

Well, long-term followers might remember that my class ran a lemonade stand for charity in May last year. You can read all about it here.

We’re preparing to run the second annual lemonade stand this Friday!

Today we analyzed some advertisements with a simple freebie from last year. (You can pick it up here- it’s great for author’s purpose in depth in the upper grades, and really engaging in those last couple weeks of school!)

Oh, and this week we’ve also had state testing, chicks hatching in our room, an author visit, and lots of time finishing up our books for Young Author’s week.

We’ve been so busy that one of my kids told me today, “Are we going to have our reading rounds in the afternoon? I actually kind of miss reading.” For some kids, that would be normal… but for this guy, it made my heart sing to think that he is finally loving reading!

Weeks like this are why I love teaching- SO much fantastic learning (state testing aside)- but they wear. me. out! I’ll be ready for the weekend for sure :)

Lemonade Stand Re-cap!

To do a quick re-cap of what happened for us a few weeks ago...

 We spent our morning learning about capacity while we made ten gallons of lemonade (2 5-gallon jugs).

 

We learned about concentration and that we had to make sure the lemonade mix dissolved. We also taste-tested to see if we thought the concentration of our solution was too low, too high, or just right.

We made the final copy of our menu (we had made a rough draft the day before on chart paper, but they really liked the idea of using a chalkboard "like a real restaurant"). I wrote the small parts, but otherwise... all kid-done!

 We decided who would work what jobs, what shifts. As it turned out, most of the students really wished they had more time to work.

 We originally had made signs for the lemonade stand (after examining persuasive advertisements- freebie here!), but the principal asked that we only sell to adults, so we didn't put many of our signs up around the school. (It didn't seem fair to advertise it to the kids who couldn't have any!) So instead, we used our signs to go around the table.

 We were BUSY. We had a line before we could even get set-up. Next year, I think we'll be doing most of the set-up before lunchtime, just so that we don't have as much to do to get selling!

 My husband was amazing. We were in between the time he was in classes, and the time he left for his internship- and he spent the entire morning running around town to pick things up for us, and then helping mix up the lemonade and helping run the stand the rest of the day. Not sure how we would've done it without him- and the students all voted that he should get a free cookie for his troubles.

You can see how busy we were. We had our lemonade stand during a mile run-walk for the whole school that many parents attend. We are a big school (7-8 classes per grade level, K-3), so this meant a lot of customers!

 

We even had some special customers, like the principal, superintendent, and the MAYOR- thanks to my students writing friendly letters to invite them. They were disappointed that Barack Obama didn't make it, though. We sold just about all of our ten gallons of lemonade.

We had also written business letters to local places- and our local Subway donated 250 cookies and 200 cups, our local BP donated plenty of large bags of ice, and our local Walgreens donated all of the lemonade mix AND a volunteer while the lemonade stand was running. She's in this picture on the right, and really pitched in and got involved helping to watch over our cashiers.

All in all, with the help of parents, local businesses, and our two guest speakers (a local entrepreneur and a publicist who helped us write a news release), we ended the lemonade stand making almost $350 for Henryville Schools to rebuild after being hit by a tornado.

We were even featured in the newspaper with a color picture of 2 students, and 3 other students quoted. It's no wonder, though, with advertising like this...

 

 
Haha- just kidding. We didn't put this one up, but one of the girls in my class made it at home from a Diet Pepsi ad. Didn't you know, Sofia Vergara loves our lemonade?

It was a huge success. HUGE. Not only did we make a LOT of money, but the amount of academic learning packed into the project was amazing. Plus, I had the kids write about it and got to read things like, "I learned that just 'cause I'm small doesn't mean I can't do big things."

I am so proud of the kids for being so passionate and convincing me to give it a try. I am proud of myself, to be honest, for taking it on even though it's the end of the year, my first year teaching my own class, and my first year at this school.

Yes, it was a lot of work... but if you ever get a chance to dive into a big project like this, DO IT! So worth it!

Analyzing Persuasive Advertisements

Thank you all so much for your comments about our lemonade stand. Sometimes I think I bit off more than I could chew, but all things considered... I think it will go fine on Friday.

Last week we analyzed advertisements. First, we defined the word advertisement by looking it up in the dictionary. (Always using those reference skills!)

Next step: Model analyzing advertisements by playing two advertisements on the SmartBoard. I tried to find one "boy" and one "girl" toy- but, of course, you could do a food ad, or something else, too.



I may or may not have totally wanted a similar Barbie Dream House when I was little.



Together, we identified what they were trying to convince us to do, the persuasive words they used, the persuasive images they used, and any other ways they tried to persuade us (music, showing movement, reminding us about a holiday, etc.)

It is amazing to see the things they notice once you start pointing them out. I make a point of telling them something like, "Wow! If only I had that Barbie dream house, I would be SO happy and have a ton of friends and it would work JUST like a real house!" They always immediately correct me, but we point out how ads want you to think buying their product will make you so beautiful or popular or cool or good at sports- but that's not always true.

Once we did the TV column together, I set the kids loose in groups with some print ads from the newspaper to look for the same things.

Even if you're not doing a lemonade stand, this is a great way to incorporate author's purpose and economics together. Such a great way to explore persuasive writing! If you're interested in having your class analyze advertisements (which, trust me, they will find SO fun- grab the freebie here!)

Then, the next day, we recapped what made the advertisements persuasive and discussed information was vital on our posters and signs.

 

 I also made sure to discuss how we should space our letters, and how to make our posters easy to read. It was tricky for some of them to realize that a poster doesn't have to have complete sentences, and that too much text giving detail can actually make it hard to read (see below).

 

 I made a sample... 

I wanted them to start with pencil, because spacing the letters of a word like "lemonade" and not running out of space is quite a tricky concept for 2nd graders.

 

Then, they got to trace them over with marker- caaaarefully.

A few things to notice...

lemon letters,

  bubbles/ clouds,

lots of color,

 adjectives...

So many details that made me proud!!

My favorite one:

Hahaha- fantastic, isn't it?

Please let me know if you try out the freebie in your classroom! My kids LOVED analyzing the ads!

Great News!

I posted this a couple of days ago, and then apparently un-posted it somehow. Sorry if you're reading this again! I did add an update at the end, though!

WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I posted a little while ago about the idea to do a lemonade stand.

I fully realize that as a new teacher at the end of the year, I have probably bitten off way more than I can chew, but I am so excited about it. The kids are crazy about the idea, my principal LOVES it, and there is so much learning packed into this project!

We are diving right in!

We brainstormed what we would need for the lemonade stand.

We brainstormed places that might help us by sending donations.

We wrote persuasive business letters, learned how to fold them into thirds, and addressed the envelopes.

I added a little note from me with more details.

The school sent them out, and

WE
JUST
GOT
A
DONATION.

I am so excited!!!

Updated: We now have THREE places donating to us, including one place that is donating time as well as product, and another place that is offering to donate some cookies, too!

I can't wait to post this weekend about one of the activities we did today. Terrific!

P.S.- Don't forget to join my linky party with your teacher invention! Also you would just plain make me happy!

Brainstorm... and a winner!

I talked to my principal today, basically just to tell her up front that I was open to considering 3rd grade. (I know, open to considering- I'm so committed.) I told her my reservations.

She said she might also consider having me do one more year in 2nd, and then move to 3rd the year after that, since there would be openings. (If, of course, I don't move away.) She said she definitely thinks I could do third, and I get the feeling that she might like to try me there- but, just like me, she thinks having another year in the same grade level to really "lock it down" might be good for me as a new teacher, too.

Things are still very up in the air, but I'm glad I talked to her and it's nice to hear that she believes I could do it. It's just hard to know if I want to, though!

Thanks for the advice, too! A couple of you left such thoughtful responses. Chrissy- the testing is part of what I'm worried about. That's a lot more pressure! But looping and starting right from the get go could be fantastic. Tammy- if I do end up in 3rd, you and I will dive in together! I completely know what you mean about making resources that match the reading stories, though! I would be in the same boat- recreating homework, newsletters, and some activities.

Anyway. I'm sure all 11 of you have probably been dying for me to stop jabbering on and tell you who the WINNER is already!

Since there were so few entries, I counted the number of people who entered to randomize, and the last one who commented is Liz Langhoff, who hates horizontal plan books as much as I do!


Yay Liz! I'll be emailing you soon (even though I know you may not need your template just yet!).

In other news, my school has been raising money this week to donate books to those affected by the tornadoes in Henryville, Indiana. I showed them a slideshow of pictures not long after it happened, and ever since, my kids have been all about wanting to help. The third grade has raised money through their popcorn sales, and the book fair committee started a "One for Books" change drive, but my class still wants to do something more.

Two of the kids got together over a weekend and went door-to-door selling Dum-Dums for donations. They made almost $30. How sweet is that!

One of them mentioned a lemonade stand as something our class could do together to raise money, and I think we are actually going to do it. There's even a day where our whole school walks or runs a mile, and the principal suggested we do it that day. I have a great group of parents who would happy to help me set it up and supervise it, but otherwise I want to get the kids involved as much as possible.

This will be in the last few weeks of school, when the kids are a little stir-crazy and it's hard to feel like a lot of learning is really happening, so I'm excited to use this as an opportunity to sneak in lots of learning. Plus, we're helping others and having a great time. Win-win-win!

My brainstormed ideas for learning so far:
- List and estimate the cost needed for our supplies.
- Talk about capital, and decide where we will get our capital. (Most likely, it will be the classroom fund that I haven't dipped into yet just because I always forget to turn in receipts. Could also ask the PTA to be an "investor.")
- Write a business letter to local businesses asking them to donate necessary supplies.
- Write a friendly letter to parents, asking them to help.
- Set up a Google Doc form or online sign-up (together) that parents will use to volunteer.
- Create a schedule for the volunteers and assign jobs to them.
- Create advertisements for throughout the school- including video (that I can send through email), written (to send parents in an email), posters, and audio for over the announcements.
- Write a press release to send to the local TV, radio, and newspapers. (How amazing would it be to get this covered?)
- Follow recipe directions to make lemonade (practicing measurement!)
- Do a science experiment concerning the basics of concentration - and "taste test" our lemonade!
- Multiply the recipe to see how much we will need by way of supplies.
- Make change.
- Count the money we make.
- Subtract the cost of our capital to find our profit.
- Write thank you notes to anyone who helps.
- Write letters to Henryville students and teachers to send along with our donations!

Any other ideas for ways to maximize our learning with a lemonade stand? I'm checking out a program called Lemonade Day to see how that works...

Also, if I end up doing this from my own materials, is this something other people would be interested in me sharing? I could actually see this being a really useful unit...