The Hour is upon us and a Flash Sale

It is FINALLY finished!  My literature study on the Hour of Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne is finally complete.  It goes along with my Olympic themed stations.   I had so much fun with this, and was inspired with many great ideas to use with my third graders as I worked on this unit.

I really worked hard to try and tie in as many of the Common Core standards as I could with this unit.  I can't wait to use it with my students in August.  It will be a fun way to begin the school year.   As I began researching ideas for this book, I couldn't help but tie in information about the ancient Greek culture and the mythology of the Greek gods.   As the students get older, Greek mythology is part of the Common Core standards, and what a great introduction this book could be for the younger students.

As I begin thinking about next school year and implementing the Common Core standards, I thought I would use this book as a springboard into my fairytale unit ( the Greek myths  and Aesop's fables would be a perfect bridge into our fairytale unit).  We also start off the year with maps and our community unit in social studies, so it will be easy to tie in information about ancient Greece while discussing maps and our community unit.  If you Google ancient Greece for kids, there are lots of websites and pictures that could be used with this unit.  I can't wait!!

Before I tell you what is in this literature study of Hour of the Olympics, I have to begin by saying THANK YOU!  I would have never already started thinking about the next school year, and how I can make things better without all of your input and inspiring blog posts.  Thanks!!!  I have gotten plenty of "down" time so far this summer and been able to enjoy it with my family, but I also use an hour or two each day to think about the upcoming school year and work on projects.

Here's what you can find in my  40 page Hour of Olympics literature guide:

1. A student booklet complete with 8 vocabulary words and comprehension questions over each chapter.              

 2. A vocabulary worksheet reviewing the vocabulary words.

3. Vocabulary Memory Game that can be used in literacy stations

4. Making Words Activity using a vocabulary word- this can also be used in literacy stations

 5. Story Map and Character Map of Annie

6. Resource Guide to online resources with Greek poetry that can be used with your students

7. Resource Guide to online resources with Greek Plays that can be used with your students.  I found 3 plays based on Aesop's fables that would be perfect to use with my students.  Each play has a lesson or moral ( these concepts are tied into the Common Core Standards also).  I thought I might do these as a 1 week project in Reading.  Each group of students would be assigned a play.  In addition to practicing the play, the students would have to identify the lesson of the play and etc.  During this week the students would practice the play in their groups, create their Greek puppets according to how ancient Greeks dressed at the time, and create their props.  Then on the last day, my students would perform their plays for the class.  I was going to develop a rubric on grading this project.   The online website also has information about the types of ancient Greek plays during this time period as well.

8. Greek god trading cards-  I created trading cards about the most popular Greek Gods/Goddesses.  There are 12 trading cards in all.

These would be a great addition to learning about the stories of the ancient Greek myths and also to use with the research activity that is listed below. ( This is my favorite part of the literature unit).

9. Research activity which is also aligned to the Common Core Standards- students are to do research projects in third grade.  In this activity there are websites given on stories about ancient Greece.  As a class, you are to do the research by viewing these stories together.  These stories are kid friendly and some even have colored pictures to go with the story. Students are also to familiarize themselves with the Greek God and Goddesses and their stories.  Students are then to create their own "Greek Star" using their ideas taken from the stories about ancient Greece.  Then they are to create their own " Greek Star" trading card.   ( It would be a great introduction into a research project as most of the research will be done together as a whole class.)

10. Lastly besides an answer key, there is a one page guide to how each item is tied to the Common Core Standards.

If you are interested, you can get this unit from TPT or TN.  Currently I'm having a flash sale and this item is only $2.00 on TPT until Tuesday, June 5 at 10 p.m. eastern time.  Click on the picture below to be taken to this unit on TPT.   After Tuesday, June 5 this unit will be $3.50.

On to other things... have you heard about the Daily 5 and Cafe  blogging series that will begin July 1?   I ordered my books from Amazon last week, and can't wait to start reading them.  I am so excited about this blogging series.  Click on the picture below to check out more information on this series.

Lastly, I would love to hear about any suggestions or units I could use to tie in with my fairytale unit or community unit in social studies.  I'm trying to revamp everything for the beginning of the school year.  I would like to take a more whole language approach with reading and social studies and science in order to make sure I meet all of the Common Core Standards.

I know many of you are wrapping things up this week so have a great last week of school.  For those of you already enjoying your time off, I hope you get some things crossed off your Summer bucket list this week.