• Home
  • Meet The Teacher
  • Blog
  • Disclosure
  • Contact
  • Shop
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

A Smiling Teacher

A Teaching Blog by Amber Masters

  • Freebies
  • Math
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Classroom

Winter Resources E-Book!

February 1, 2016 by Amber Masters

Hi Friends! 
It’s hard to believe that it’s the beginning of February already! The month tends to pass by quickly because it’s the shortest month of the year, but also because it’s full of Parent-Teacher Conferences, Valentine’s Day and President’s Day festivities. Since it is such a busy time, I’ve teamed up with some fabulous bloggers to share a FREE book of winter resources! 



Today I am going to share about how I introduce one of my favorite Social Studies units in my classroom…  American Symbols!  


Introducing Symbols
Chances are that for many of your students, this  will be their first introduction to symbols. Most students have probably seen them before but few understand the term. 
I like to start the unit by finding out what my students already know about symbols. 
They usually know very little, so I begin by explaining that a symbol is something that stands for something else. 
Of course, just saying those words is not enough. Students need to see symbols from their environment to understand the connection. 
I created this simple little powerpoint that I open up on my Smartboard. It helps to guide our discussion. You can grab the powerpoint by clicking on the image below. 

Once we understand a little bit more about symbols we go on a Symbol Hunt! 
Each of my students grab a recording sheet, a clipboard and a pencil and we line up.  We head out into the halls of the school to look for symbols within our building. The students draw pictures of the symbols they find on our hunt. 




U.S. Symbols
Once my students have a grasp of what a symbol is, we move on to exploring U.S. Symbols. 
We LOVE watching the symbols video from BrainPOP Jr. I am lucky enough that my school has a subscription to this website, so we are able to enjoy all of their videos. However, if you do not have a subscription, the U.S. Symbols video is available for FREE! Click on the image below to take you to the video! And then make sure you ask your principal to buy it for you! 🙂 
Over the next few weeks, we spend time learning about each of the U.S. Symbols. We like to use Google Maps to locate the monuments on the Smartboard. This allows my students to experience it without actually being there. My kids go crazy for this! You can zoom in and see what it would be like if your were standing next to the monuments. 

The White House also has a interactive tool on their website that allows you to “go inside” the Whitehouse. You are able to move from room to room. It’s always fun to do this with the kids because they think it is the fanciest place on earth! 


I hope that you found something that will be helpful in teaching American Symbols with your kids! Don’t forget to pick up your e-book and enter the $100 TPT giveaway below! 

You will need to keep track of my word “flannel”.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to grab your resource book below!! 🙂 

Have a great week!!

0 Shares

Filed Under: freebies, symbols

« 100th Day of School Celebrations
NWEA Testing in the Primary Grades »

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe the the Newsletter

Popular Posts

  • 100th Day of School Celebrations
    100th Day of School Celebrations
  • Birthday Shenanigans Teacher Style!
    Birthday Shenanigans Teacher Style!
  • Home
    Home
  • Number Path Freebie
    Number Path Freebie
  • Setting Up Your Classroom Writing Station
    Setting Up Your Classroom Writing Station
  • Back to School Lunch Ideas
    Back to School Lunch Ideas

Best Selling Resources

Find Me on Pinterest

Follow @asmilingteacher

Students return to learning tomorrow and while we Students return to learning tomorrow and while we will have some time during our Class Meetings to share about Winter Break, I wanted to make sure students had the opportunity to share more. I put this optional slide after our class meeting as a continuation for students who didn’t share, or students that want to tell more. I love using @flipgrid because it allows students to make connections and respond back to their classmates like they would if they were in the classroom! #kindergarten
BEST DAY of 2021 so far! Proud to be a Buckeye!! 🏈 Go Bucks! 

#ohiostatefootball #ohiostatebuckeyes #buckeyenation #ohiostatealumni #buckeyeforlife
String light patterns! Easy for in class or remote String light patterns! Easy for in class or remote learning! 
✅ draw the string lights 
✅ make the patterns 
✅ keep kids engaged
We’re still “Gingerbread-ing” over here! We We’re still “Gingerbread-ing” over here! We spend a solid two weeks reading different versions of the stories and integrating it into everything! This word problem came from one of my old teammates, and is perfect for this time of year! Students love coming up with different ideas of who could be chasing her! You could change it up with a higher number or have students write the number sentence to match.
At the start of the school year I was concerned ab At the start of the school year I was concerned about being able to build relationships with my students, and their ability to build friendships online. Those first few months are so crucial in building classroom community, and I wasn’t sure we’d be able to do that on a screen. 

Well, here we are in December. It’s pretty amazing what my students have created in the past 5 months. They truly have made the best of this situation (and they’re 5 & 6 ). I am so proud of them, and they are truly the ones that keep me going during this challenging year. 

I’m curious, what has surprised you about online learning this year? Or teaching in general?
Here’s a fun, low prep way to get your students Here’s a fun, low prep way to get your students excited about writing! I sent home a gingerbread journal since my students are remote,  but you could just use blank paper. Students will draw and write about where the gingerbread man is. For example, they might draw a picture and write “The gingerbread is behind my teacher” or “The gingerbread is under the trash can.” In the past, I hid him around the classroom and we did the same type of writing. This year, I’ll share the picture in our daily google slides instead.
I’ve been sharing a lot of online learning tips I’ve been sharing a lot of online learning tips in my stories this week because I know so many of you have recently transitioned to online learning . Check my stories to learn how to make your own digital choice board, and my highlights for other helpful online learning tips!  And hang in there friends! You’ve got this! 💗
🙋🏼‍♀️Still over here changing out my b 🙋🏼‍♀️Still over here changing out my bookshelf for no reason other than it makes me think of a simpler, happier time when my classroom was full of kids! #dreaming

Copyright © 2021 Disclosure // Design by Laugh Eat Learn // Theme by Restored 316