Starbooks

This has got to be the BEST transformation ever! I was inspired by Vanessa on instagram and knew I had to make this work for my first graders. This could be used for ANY grade- trust me. You can use whatever skills you want. I will explain what materials I used and what content I used for my first graders, but I hope you are inspired to do this no matter what grade you teach!

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• Green Tablecloths
• Mini Chalkboards
• Chalk, Chalk Markers
• Avery Labels to mark their drink order
• Basic Teacher Sweatshirt (Optional but Fun)
• Hot Chocolate- Donated by parents
• Crockpot from your kitchen (:
• Starbucks Materials- Donated by local Starbucks (Details below)
• Green butcher paper for the sign- our school keeps this on hand.

Getting Supplies Donated

I simply asked one of my local Starbucks (inside of Target actually) if I could have some supplies donated to do a Starbooks transformation in my classroom. I had taken my teacher badge just in case they needed to see it but they said they didn’t even need it! They even gave me the cute little drink stoppers! I made sure they gave me a few extra cups for the tip jar and sign. They also offered the sleeves but I opted out because I knew I wanted to make sure the Avery labels were showing.

The Content

I used this as a review component so we focused on fact and opinion from nonfiction texts, and character/setting/retell from fiction! We also had spot a sight word on the back, so if students found one of the sight words from our last unit, they put a dot next to the word. I have all of this in my TPT store, along with an editable version because I want you to make this work for your classroom, your standards, your needs, etc! I also included some chalkboard print outs if you don’t want to buy chalkboard stands. I offered two flavors, but let’s say you’re in kinder and want to try this.. you could just have the one flavor and have lots of book choices for that flavor! You can still do the sight word search and you can choose what you want the kids to be looking for as they read. If you are an upper grade, you can incorporate more vocabulary since sight words may not be your focus, or discussing the theme of the book, etc. So. Many. Options. (I’m even sitting here thinking if you’re studying fables you could have a Fable Frappe.. or how about a Fantasy Frappe? The list goes on..) And I will also add with older kids this could last all day if you want as you read longer texts! This took about an hour and a half total, but a good 20-25 min was me modeling what I wanted them to write down on those tasks! (:

I literally made this sign on the floor during indoor recess the day before.. so don’t think you have to stay forever after school getting this ready! The chalkboard markers worked great even on this thin butcher paper! I hot glued the cups on for an extra touch.

I also wanted to incorporate contractions, so we had a tip jar where students wrote down a contraction if they came across it while reading. I also had them write their name down under the contraction so I would know who tipped me & they liked that! We ended up having two tips jars because so many were found and the kids were thrilled that I was ‘rich’ from so many tips! I only had to stay about 20 min after school to get all this ready. (Making the poster during indoor recess did help- that took 20 min.) I already had my books chosen- I grabbed here & there for a couple weeks leading up to this. The morning of, I plugged up the crockpot as soon as I got to school because I knew from experience it takes a little time for mine to heat up for this.

Logistics..

Okay, so what do you do once you have everything set up & it’s time to begin!? I completed an example of each choice with the kids. I told them they could choose from the two flavors, so be thinking what you would like to taste today. Once examples had been shown explicitly (this is first grade lol) they returned to their seats & I called one table at a time to take their order. I wrote their name on their cup and checked either Fiction Frappe or Dark Roast Nonfiction. They chose their book from the table, the task sheet that matched their drink choice, and then they went to their table to begin reading. Once I had taken all of the drink orders, I made my rounds facilitating and helping students as needed. (They were allowed to help neighbors with a word if needed, things like that, etc.) Once I saw a student was about halfway through their tasks, working hard, etc. their order was served. This kept everyone on track and focused!! First grade can be really challenging to keep everyone focused and I promise you that they knew they would not get that hot chocolate unless they were working hard and it WORKED. Again- if they also saw contractions, those went in the tip jar mentioned above. If students finished early (because we all know that happens!) they were allowed to return their book and grab another. For the second book I didn’t require them to grab a new task sheet but instead they could keep searching for sight words as they read this second choice. It worked very well! I had about 5 students who actually really wrote detailed answers and finished their tasks later in the day with their books.

Samples

First and foremost YES these have permission to be posted! (: This is a student sample of the Dark Roast Nonfiction and Sight Word Search to give you an idea of what they were working on as their orders were served!

Unforgettable Transformation!

This was so memorable for my students because they were able to read and have FUN. “Miss McCarley we feel like real teachers because we are drinking coffee.” (It’s hot chocolate guys LOL) “Miss McCarley can we take these cups home?” We all know reading is hard for many students, and in first grade it’s hard for almost everyone because this is when we are all learning how this works. This transformation served a purpose- yes it looks cool and has some hype, but at the root of this were skills we practiced all week reviewing.. and we topped it off by incorporating them into this little Starbooks experience on Friday. Their faces say it all! I encourage you to think about skills your students need- they may be similar or different than mine- and you can create this for your students! Again, my product can be found here and is editable. If you do this transformation please tag me on instagram because I want to see it!