Did you know that National Talk Like a Pirate Day is this Monday, September 19th? I've got you covered with this Set the Stage to Engage unit all about PIRATES!!! This unit is also perfect for kicking off the year with a pirate theme, teaching -ar, or it can be used as an End of the Year celebration. This unit is packed full of literacy, math, and science fun. Here are some pictures that Holly Ehle took of this pirate unit in action: First, we "flip" the classroom so it looks like ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/Pirate binders
Pirate Fun! Ahoy Mateys!
Oh, my word y'all we get out of school in two weeks and the kids are CRAZY ready! I am trying my best to keep them engaged in learning and not pull my hair out. :) We started our pirate unit last week and I was amazed at the change in behavior. They LOVED this unit and their behavior was AWESOME! This has by far been my favorite unit! The kids have been so excited about reading and writing stories about Pirate adventures. There are so many great children's books to read with this ... continue reading...
FREE Spine Labels for Binders: Getting Organized!
This is a throwback post that I did awhile back about getting our Guiding Readers units organized. Since this post, I've had quite a few requests to make matching spine labels for the Writing and Math units. So HERE YOU GO! Sorry, it took me so long! We also have a Free Year-Long Curriculum Map for Kindergarten and First Grade. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to grab the map and spines) If you want to read the throw back post carry on! If not, Happy Organizing. ... continue reading...
National Holidays for August and September
Students always love to celebrate holidays with their friends. Typically, this includes holidays like Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas. However, the fun doesn’t have to stop there! There are countless quirky, and even strange, holidays that most of us don’t even know exist. I love to use these national holidays to create extra excitement and engagement in the classroom. In this post, I’m going to share national holidays for August and September that are perfect for celebrating in the ... continue reading...
Pirate Themed Classroom
Ahoy There Me Hearties! Many of you have told me that you plan to have a pirate themed classroom this year. This is such a fun theme! This week I will be posting some of my ideas and printables to help you get started with this theme. I use P.I.R.A.T.E. binders in my classroom to help keep us organized. Each child gets a 1" notebook. This is the cover. I laminate it with my Scotch laminator (so that I can reuse them for several years) and slide it in the front pocket of the binder. I ... continue reading...
The First Week of School! Pirate sheet added per request!
Shoo-Wee! I always forget how exhausting (but fun) the first week of Kindergarten is! Here are some of the things we did the first week. Mercy! Please excuse the spelling error above (listening)... Hello?! There's a big red line to call my attention to the error but I didn't see it until I had already saved the slide. So my error will just have to live on forever! :) Free Downloads To School Emergent Reader Handprint Puzzle Poem The Rainbow Names and ... continue reading...
How to Start Teaching Writer’s Workshop in Kindergarten & First Grade
Do you struggle with how to get started? Writer's Workshop in kindergarten and first grade classrooms is one of the most powerful components. In Writing Workshop in kindergarten and first grade, students are encoding words that come from their thoughts and feelings, which is a much easier skill than decoding. Successful writers become successful readers! So, how do you get started? The answer is simple. Just jump right in!! I usually start at the beginning of the ... continue reading...
25 Back to School Read Alouds for the Primary Classroom
25 Back to school read alouds to pick up and share with your primary students to calm their nerves and create a few laughs. Back to School Read Alouds Are you getting ready to go back to school? Maybe planning the first week of school? Then this list of back to school read alouds is just what you need! You and your class are sure to enjoy these lesson-learning, diversity-filled, alphabet-listing, and just plain fun, read alouds during the first few weeks of school. #1 The King ... continue reading...
Pirates, Free Literacy Center Downloads and Pete the Cat
This is how I manage my literacy centers. The pirates ship was made using styrofoam sheets and paint. You can buy the sheets at most craft stores. You draw your shape onto the sheet and then cut it out with a hot wand. Super easy! The little pirates are birthday party invitations that I bought at Target. Each child is placed in a group...pirates, anchors, pirates ships, jolly rogers or maps. So you can see that today the pirate ships will complete the activities at the abc center and then ... continue reading...
Ocean Unit of Fun!
We have been learning a lot about ocean animals. We learned all about different types of sharks and we decided that we thought the Great white Shark was the most interesting. We labeled the parts of a shark. This is our schema chart based on an idea from Debbie Miller. We made sharks and orca whales and then sorted the information we learned by using a venn diagram. A close up of some of our shark and whale ... continue reading...
Guided Math Workshop: 10 Questions Answered
Do you have questions about how we plan and structure our guided math workshop? We often get asked about this so I wanted to take a few minutes to see if I can answer the top 10 questions we get about the guided math workshop. 1. How do you organize the curriculum? We like to use binders...ALL the BINDERS! Each unit fits nicely in a small 1" binder. 2. What does a typical lesson look like? Each day: Fluency practice (5 mins) *more on ... continue reading...
Guided Reading Lesson Plans | Be an Expert! (FREE Download too!)
Guided Reading Lesson Plan template and free download. Reading levels in kindergarten and first grade to create guided reading lesson plans with free books! Are you wanting to master guided reading, but feel a wee bit overwhelmed? I get it! Guided Reading is just one more thing you have on your plate.. or do you? Are you currently conducting guided reading lessons in your classroom? I am sometimes surprised to hear that some emergent classrooms do not. Don't ... continue reading...
Oceans and Pirates and Fun, OH, MY!
Good News...... After next Wednesday I only have two more days of school left! Bad News....First, I have to survive until then. :) SERIOUSLY! What makes the last two weeks of school so tough. The kids start acting all kinds of crazy and us teachers are just plain TIRED!!! I think that this is God's way of helping us send those little ones off without it crippling us with sadness. Think about it.... we've spent 180 days with these little people. They've hugged us 1,000 times, told us they ... continue reading...
Oceans of Fun!
I got up bright and early this morning and drove 2 hrs. in search of the perfect wedding dress for my daughter Taylor. SUCCESS! But, I'm one tired mamma so this is going to be a super quick post! We just started our ocean unit. Nothing gets boys excited more than sharks! (okay...maybe dinosaurs...but they still LOVE sharks too). We used interactive writing to label the parts of a shark. Comparing sharks and whales. Schema Chart Writing ... continue reading...
Inferring with Primary Students: The Case of the Missing Toy Sack
Inferring with Primary Students: Christmas Inference Detectives Activities for Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring with Primary Students: Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring is an important comprehension skill for young readers to have and I love giving them lots of practice with this skill. We infer each week with the story we are reading, but I also like to give them opportunities to infer outside of the text. Inferring is just putting clues together and using that voice inside ... continue reading...