Now that's a lot of adjectives for one little cookie! I was recently introduced to this cookie by way of one of those "cookie mixes in a canning jar" gifts. It was the favor at my sister-in-law's baby shower. Not only did it look very pretty layered in a jar, they tasted really yummy! Since it's a girl **YEAH** the M&Ms were shades of pink. My brain got thinking about how using different colored ones could make it seasonal. So, I got busy picking out the brown, yellow, orange, and red M&Ms and decided to turn them into Thanksgiving/fall cookies :) (You could always use Reese's Pieces and throw in the peanut butter flavor, but I needed these to be peanut free).
The original recipe comes from Bakerella and is shows you how to make it in the canning jars-- super cute which I may just someday try. Enjoy these yummy, super yummy cookies! And here's the thing, I know they look like they'd be a "dry" cookie, but they really aren't, which really surprised me. I mean, of course they'd go great with a glass of milk, but they're not a cookie that you have to choke down. Give 'em a try!
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup M&Ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (slightly melted in the microwave)
1 tsp vanilla
Making them:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
- Add egg, melted butter & vanilla. Mix until it's "dough like" and all dry ingredients are no longer dry.
4. Roll the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch balls; place on cookie sheet.
5. Baked for about 10 minutes. This cookie doesn't seem to 'brown' very well, so you can't really go by that.
6. Enjoy!
In the day and age of testing and the endless roll out of new standards, some times we forget the simpliest things...
Yesterday I read a picture book to my 5th graders. They so enjoyed it, and today they asked if I could read to them again.
Fear not, Standard Sticklers, I made sure to pick a good mentor text which led to a lot of rich discussion and the practice of some essential CC skills.
Wednesday's pick...
- Grace is a wonderful character to analyze for traits based on her thoughts, actions, and feelings.
- Good text clues in which to make inferences
- A great story for determining theme
- Has a very positive message about self-confidence and perseverance
Thursday's pick...
- This book is great for inferring Grace's feelings and thoughts; not just what they are, but why she has them
- There is opportunity for self-to-text and text-to-text connection as concepts of family and divorce are discussed
- A few opportunities for predicting
- A great story for determining theme
- Seeing a "known" character on another adventure allowed for deeper character analysis
- It would be easy to look at story events from another character's perspective (ie. her dad's or stepmother's)
This year as been a bit hectic and has not been as enjoyable as some. But I must say, while trying to jazz up today's lesson for a central office visit (don't judge.. you know you do it too :)), I decided to try out Padlet.
We've been working on analogies for a little while now, and it was time to take it to the next level-- using it in a brief statement, comparing two dissimilar items (one abstract and one concrete). I found an example with a picture online, posted it on Padlet with brief instruction and directions and let the kids have at it. I was amazed by the finished product! (click to check it out).
This was the first time they ever used Padlet, but they had absolutely no trouble. It was so easy, and they really enjoyed it. Students don't need to sign-up, no usernames or passwords, no e-mail addresses needed. Only the teacher needs to sign-up (or log-in using a google account). It took literally 5 minutes to set-up/create. I highly recommend trying it in the classroom.
Feel free to share links to Padlets you've created and used :)
I just finished my report cards *huge sigh of relief* and was rewarding myself with a few minutes on Facebook before bed when I saw a picture (posted by Kids Weather App) and instantly had a writing prompt idea.
Here it is: a descriptive writing prompt
Have students write a description (including sensory details) about spending a night in this "camping bubble". For those that need extra support, you can provide them with a sensory chart to complete prior to writing. For those up for an extension, you can give them other requirements like including a simile, metaphor, etc.
