The Toucan Teacher

And just like that, another year is done! That was somehow year 15 for me 😳😂.

The end is always bittersweet ❤️ So grateful for my supportive coworkers and teammates, my amazing students and their families, and my very patient husband who keeps us all from falling apart during the craziness of the school year 🫠😂.

On to summer travel and adventures!

*Comment “SLOTH” for the link!

🦥 are such cute, odd creatures! I loved teaching my new unit about them with my 2nd and 3rd graders this year.

Want to try it yourself? I posted this unit for just $2.50 on my TPT page! Comment “sloth” and I will send you the link!

When I first saw this book, I planned to use it with my biodiversity unit - but it has been a great addition to my classroom library for so much more!

My 2nd and 3rd graders finished a fun unit about compost and decomposers a few weeks ago. It’s one of my favorites and great for building academic language! The thing is, it can be hard for kids to visualize those tiny microorganisms that are doing all that decomposing! This book from has helped so much to explain and show the fungi, bacteria, and more that we are learning about. The book gives colorful and scientific illustrations of specific species (labeled at the end) and is an approachable text for introducing some difficult concepts. Highly recommend!

A favorite mini unit for kinder ELs!

I love doing this halfway through kindergarten, when we’ve already covered several topics but need to solidify some foundational literacy skills. Rhyming is a challenge in a new language! Depending on students’ language levels, we first introduce or review what rhyme is and connect it to a home language - ex. For my Spanish speaking newcomers, I show a short video with rhyming words in Spanish and talk about the sounds of the Spanish rhymes. Then, we read this cute and funny book! Three dust bunnies rhyme, but one does not - giving kids practice with the skill and making them all laugh 😂. It’s so cute that I bought a copy for my own kids, too.

Any other fun ideas for teaching rhyme with ELs? I’d love to hear them!

Update - this one expired 2/26! I’ll post if we do another one!

Alright friends, I’m taking some classes on Teaching Channel - anyone want a group code for a discount with me? The more people sign up, the bigger the discount!

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Group code: GRP-221203-22374

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Finally got this book for my classroom - such a great story! Do you have this one yet?

The Interpreter is the story of a little girl who has a second job that no one ever talks about - acting as the interpreter for her family. Most of the time she loves her important second job, but sometimes it can be overwhelming! I love how this book explores some of the hidden challenges of being in this first generation space, but also honors the pride this main character feels in being able to help. Such a beautiful book!

We ❤️ this chapter book series!

I’ve read this Sadiq book with my first graders as a read aloud/mentor text the last two years. Finally sharing the resources I’ve made to accompany the book!

Check out this new resource on my TPT page - click the link in my profile to find it!

What are we learning in EL class this week?

My 4th and 5th grade intermediate to advanced students are working on all of this! It does usually take us more than one lesson to get through all this, especially if I add in some winter idioms (I get about 30 minutes twice a week with most of these kids). But I love that this is engaging, challenging, and fun, especially in all the craziness of December!

The resources I included on here are simple to make on Diffit AI, but send me a DM if you need a copy of mine. We all need some easy activities this time of year! 😂🫠

My friend .enohio and I got to present at this year! Grateful for the opportunity but also glad to have it done 😊😂.

Anyone else joining us at the conference this week?

😔

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