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December Means Laughter

December is always a busy and sometimes stressful time of year. So I always try to remember to do things to de-stress. 
Laughter is a great way.

In the classroom, one way we get lots of laughs is through reading stories.

Here are a few of my December favorites:





My students have always LOVED these stories and they alway giggle when I read them. 

Even though December always seems to fly by, it is still a great time to learn and practice what we have already learned. 

One of my favorite activities is Punctuation Practice. I have found that my students can always use more punctuation practice. 

This packet is what I use to provide that practice opportunity:


Here are the ways I use it in my classroom:

Whole Class Sorting - we use the colored sentence strips and sort the sentences together as a class. We put statements under the period heading, questions under the question mark heading and exclamations under the exclamation point heading.

Centers - after we have had practice whole class, I move these sentence strips to a center and students can practice reading and sorting the sentences again.

Guided Reading - I use the sentence strips as a quick practice right before we start the guided reading lesson. I give each student a laminated sentence strip and they have to read the sentence, then write or tell me what punctuation mark goes at the end of the sentence. I like that each student has their own sentence so I can really assess whether they understand or not. 

Independent Practice - the punctuation practice pages are a tool I use for independent practice and assessment.

If you would like to try this punctuation practice in your classroom, you can get it here for just $1. 

Good luck with your December activities and stay tuned for more ideas coming soon!


Font Credits: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Courtney-Keimer 

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