It’s officially Spring, even though it definitely does not feel like it here in Indiana. Even if the weather is not cooperating, these Spring Interactive Folders will help.
I love using these Interactive Fact Folders each month because they allow my students to integrate science and social studies with reading and writing. They are always so proud of them when they are finished. I began making these using file folders, but have since switched to using 12×18 pieces of construction paper with my students. It’s much more cost effective, and they still turn out great.
What is included in an Interactive Fact Folder?
Each set of fact folders includes a cover page, graphic organizers, vocabulary words, four fact sheets, and a writing page. I personally LOVE the fact sheets because the students can highlight vocabulary words and practice reading fluency and comprehension. Then, the fact sheets get stored in the pocket inside of the fact folder. Let me walk you through the Earth Day Interactive Fact Folder and give you an example of how I break these down.
Day 1 – Pass out the folders and the cover page. The students color, cut and glue the cover onto the folder.
Day 2 – Pass out the Earth Day Graphic Organizer and have the students write what they know and what they want to know. Then, have them complete the Vocabulary pocket and Color the Earth section.
Day 3 – Have students make their Earth Day Fact Sheet pockets and glue on the comprehension organizer. Then, I pass out the first fact sheet. We read through it and discuss the passage. Next, the students lift up the flap on the organizer and write something from that passage. We usually do two passages on the 3rd day.
Day 4 – We read through the last two fact sheet passages and write our information under each flap. Then, I pass out the vocabulary words. We discuss each of the words. Then, we go back and find them in our reading passages.
Day 5 – On the last day, we write about our learning. I pass out the writing page. We discuss where we can find words to spell and information to write about in our fact folders. I really emphasize to use our resources. After the students complete their writing, they glue it onto the back of their fact folders.
Doing these all in one day would definitely be A LOT, especially for 1st graders. Older students may be able to handle it, but for my little ones, I like to break it down into manageable sections.
I am really excited about my April set of Interactive Fact Folders, which includes Plants, Insects, and Earth Day.
Each of these folders can be purchased separately, or as a month bundle. You may also be interested in my March set, which included Rainbows, Weather, and the Solar System.
If you love these and want to use them throughout the year, make sure you check out my Entire Year Bundle.
My students love figuring out ways to make the gears move.
I decorated my classroom the night before with some items that I picked up at Dollar Tree and Deans Party Mania, which is basically our version of Party City.
I covered each of the desks and tables with white tablecloths and then spread plastic, from the paint section, on the floor to represent ice floes. I also picked up some snowflake confetti and sparkly plastic confetti to sprinkle on the tables.
I attached snowflake décor to my lanterns that I have hanging from my ceiling.
For my door, I taped on a light blue table cloth and decorated it with snowflakes from the party store. I also found this sparkly door decoration at Dollar Tree.
I hung up a light blue table cloth on our dry erase board and attached this felt icicle decoration along the top.
I gave each student a bottle of “melted snow” to have for the day. You can download the water bottle cover 
I purchased the larger marshmallows for this activity. The students could work together or on their own to create igloos with the marshmallows.
While the students were working at their stations, I had one student at a time come to me to complete the Blubber Experiment. I placed vegetable shortening in a large bag. The student put on a latex glove and placed their hand in the shortening. Then, they placed their hand in ice water to demonstrate how blubber keeps arctic animals warm.
Later on in the day, we had a snowball throwing contest. I gave each students a cotton ball. They each took turns throwing the ball and then measuring how far they threw it.
Since we have been learning about place value and how to use Base-10 blocks, I incorporated that into our day. I gave students straws and marshmallows. These became icicles and snowballs. The students had to make numbers with their icicles and snowballs just like they would with Base-10 blocks.
We practiced spelling words and math facts with shaving cream (snow) on our desks.
We also used passages from my new 
I remembered at the last minute that I had this 
We read the article together and discussed the things we learned. Then, I had the students highlight anything new that they learned from the article. They loved going back into the text to look for new knowledge.
We reread the article and discussed the main idea and key details in the text. This particular article was perfect for this nonfiction skill. I had the students come up and place a Post-It note on each part.
This gave them a perfect visual of this comprehension skill.
I have to admit, I was a little worried about this at first. I explained over and over again that they needed to work together and plan out their charts. I tried to explain to my students that they did not want to just start cutting and gluing. They would have to come up with a plan as to where to place things before they glued everything down.
I eventually just let go of the control of wanting a “pretty” anchor chart and allowed them to plan and learn from their mistakes. I was SO pleasantly surprised!
Their end results were amazing. We only had one group that accidently threw away two of their text feature labels, so they left them off of the chart. One group out of 5…I call that success.
Scholastic believes that students learn when educational topics are meaningful to them. That’s why each Scholastic Classroom Magazine takes a specific subject like math or language arts and uses captivating photos, informative writing, and impressive online features to make it relevant and engaging to every student. Not only do students love Scholastic Magazines, teachers love using them in their classrooms because they provide invaluable instructional materials that meet current academic standards that prepare students for state tests.
I truly like to put the focus on learning new vocabulary during this voyage instead of focusing completely on Columbus. I absolutely understand that Columbus Day is controversial in many ways, so for my first graders, I put the main focus on the idea of being an explorer. We discuss the meaning of the words voyage, explore, discover, explorer, trade, etc.
We start off by passing out our 
Then, we start our voyage. We read about our first trade item, and the students choose a trinket to trade. Then, we travel to the first location on our map. The students trade their trinket for the item from the Natives.
We trade for all types of items that the explorers traded for with the Native Americans (popcorn, spices, feathers, shells, etc.).
After we make each trade, we learn about the item in our booklets, and then write about our learning.
It’s a fun day, and the students love it.
At some point during the day, we also complete these 
