Welcome to the "Deep in the Heart of Texas" blog hop! Over 40 Texas teacher bloggers have joined together to share what we love about our state as well as ideas and freebies that we love. You will also have the opportunity to enter to win TpT products and/or TpT gift certificates by entering using the rafflecopters included in each post. Down at the bottom, you will see all of the blogs participating in the hop. Just click and you will be taken to their posts. We hope you love what you find. Happy Valentine's Day!
Howdy everyone! I am so really beyond excited to be participating in this very special blog hop because those who know me know I've got Texas in my soul! There's a saying that goes "It's hard to be humble when you're from Texas." We have some of the most humble, generous people here (maybe you've heard of this one gal, Cara Carroll??), but when it comes to the pride we have for The Lone Star State, we can get a tad boastful. And why not? We have the tastiest BBQ, best country music and most beautiful and diverse landscape. Can you tell I love Texas?? :)
I currently live in the fabulous city of Austin. I'd been living in Arlington for the last five years but wanted to be closer to family so I moved back last summer. Austin is one of my top three favorite towns in Texas (Fort Worth and Nacogdoches are the other two). It is such an eclectic town that you're sure to find something here to suit your interests if you ever visit.
My hands down favorite thing about Austin is Lady Bird Lake. During the summer, if you can't find me at home by the pool I'm most likely on a paddle board somewhere between the Congress Avenue and Lamar Street bridges. If you've never tried it before I highly recommend it! I was so scared I wouldn't even be able to stay standing but it is easier than it looks and a great workout too!
Sunshine, warm weather and patios are some of my favorite things in life, period, and Austin has many places where you can take advantage of all three. One of my favorite places to sit and eat and visit with friends is Uncle Billy's Brewery and Smokehouse on Barton Springs Road. This place has great food and a great atmosphere; and for you beer connoisseurs you can take your favorite beer home in a growler (bring it back next time for a refill). For a list of more patio hangouts in Austin click here.
When most people think about Texas one of the things that comes to mind is two-stepping. I love finding a good dancehall that plays authentic country music to dance to. One of the most iconic places in town is the Broken Spoke. This is where I truly learned how to two-step. I recommend every person visit the Broken Spoke at least once in their life, even if you're not necessarily a dancer. The walls are filled with so much history and you'll be walking in the same footsteps as the likes of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.
This IS a Texas blog hop so the lesson I'm sharing has a Texas theme. The great thing about it though, is that ANYONE from any state can use it!
I start off by reading Armadilly Chili by Helen Ketteman (click to order on Amazon).
Then we compare and contrast the story to The Little Red Hen using a graphic organizer like this one from Welcome to Room 36.
After that we make these cute armadillos that are also from Jessica Williamson.
To finish our unit I bring in "armadilly chili" for everyone to taste. We write about how to make the chili (open the can, put it in the crockpot, heat it up and eat- because ya know, THAT'S how to make chili) and graph whether we liked it or not.
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Since you've probably already celebrated Valentine's Day in your classrooms and have most likely prepped for any President's Day activities I thought I'd share some things I love to use (or will use) for St. Patrick's Day.
The first is this adorbs craftivity from A Teachable Teacher. I love this particular craftivity for a couple reasons. One, it's pretty simple to prep. I don't know about y'all but those crafts that require lots of pre-cutting are NOT for me (even if I have parents do it) since they not only take so long to prep but they take longer to make in class (remember I teach Kinder). Lindsey has included different options for you, so you can use construction paper or just the blackline and have the kids color it.
Second, it's all in one piece. I like this because a) I've been scolded by administrators for making crafts that seem to have no "rigorous" value (even though I ALWAYS include a rigorous element, such as writing- and don't get me started on how the cutting promotes fine motor development) and b) it makes it so much easier to display on a bulletin board.
Click the picture if you'd like to use this in your classroom. Make sure to leave Lindsey some feedback!
I recently downloaded this St. Patrick's Day edition of Would You Rather? from Rachel Lynette's TpT store. I thought this would be great to share since it can be used across multiple grade levels. I'm going to use it in two different ways for my Kinders. We all know about the speaking and listening standards (both CC and TEKS) so I will ask a WYR question, have my students discuss their choice and explanation with a partner then share as a whole class. We'll then transfer our choices to a graph and analyze the data, hitting those math standards as well. For the upper grades you can present the WYR question and have them compose a persuasive/opinion writing piece. Click the picture to download.
With Texas Independence Day right around the corner (March 2), this wouldn't be a true Texas blog post if I didn't include something for that very special holiday! Here's a little something from Oh Boy Fourth Grade. Click the picture download.
Like I said earlier, we Texans are a friendly and generous bunch so we've decided to have not one, not two, but four little giveaways! You can enter to win some great grade-level prize packs or one of eight TpT gift certificates! So go head y'all, start filling out those Rafflecopters!
After you've done that, visit some of my other Texas friends' blogs to learn more about the Lone Star State (who knows, you may find your next vacation spot) and find some other great lesson ideas and FREEBIES!
Happy Valentine's Day and God Bless Texas!
Click on the buttons below to visit some other awesome Texas bloggers!
Destiny, this is a great post about Austin. I live here, too!
ReplyDeleteGlad to be part of the blog hop with you! Happy Valentine's Day! Julie
ReplyDeleteGreen Apple Lessons
Such a cute book and I love the things you shared about Austin. We drove down there just one night for a concert so I haven't seen much of it. Thanks for participating in the hop!
ReplyDeleteJessica
Literacy Spark
Thank you for the patio list. Austin is one of my favorite places but there are so many good/new spots it is hard to keep up! I'm loving your Texas Pledge- Printing now!
ReplyDeletePledge you shared- doh- I cannot type this weekend! :-o
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