We have been learning about spiders this week. I love this unit! I think spiders are so interesting and the kids love learning about them. I start my unit by finding out what the kids already know about spiders. The idea for this chart came from the book, Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller. I asked the kids what schema they have for spiders and I wrote it on a pink post it note and attached it to our chart under Our Schema (what we think we know). As we learned about spiders ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/Spiders
15 Fall Videos for Kids | Great for a Primary Classroom
Fall videos for kids! Use these fall videos to teach about leaves, pumpkins, bats, owls, and spiders during your fall-themed lessons. Fall Videos for Kids It's Fall Y'all! Autumn is such a fun time of the year in the classroom and even out of the classroom. With the weather getting cooler and the leaves changing colors, it gives you a special kind of feeling! During the Fall season, we oftentimes teach about the falling leaves, pumpkins, bats, spiders, and owls as we lead into Halloween. I ... continue reading...
Spider Informational Text Activities
Spider informational text activities for kindergarten and first grade? You got it! Done and done! Deedee and I were asked for more informational texts in our Guiding Readers units, so we added a stand-alone edition. As you know, these units are week-long close reading lessons that really allow students to dive in deeper. The teacher does the decoding work, but the thinking work sits on the shoulders of the students. Spiders Informational Text We started this unit of study with Spiders ... 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...
ENGAGING READERS:READING COMPREHENSION 2nd Grade BUNDLE
Read Aloud Lesson Plans and Activities for 2nd grade. No Prep Print and Go Lesson Planning made easy! Engaging Readers Read Aloud Lessons Aligned to CCS and TEKS. Reading, Comprehension, Sentence Study, Grammar, and Crafts. NOTE: This isn't a packet of worksheets. These are actual Lessons that guide you through the process of using Read Alouds to teach the standards for Reading and Phonics. ***************************************************************************** This resource will ... continue reading...
Pumpkin Patch Palooza and a FREEBIE
Fall is one of my favorite times of year to teach! I love all things Fall: pumpkins, apples, scarecrows, bats, spiders, owls.... Did I mention it is my favorite time of the year to teach? The littles get so excited about learning and isn't that what it's all about? Sometimes teachers get so bogged down with teaching what's in the basal (no basal for me, thank you very much!) that we forget that true learning takes place when the teacher and students are EXCITED about what they are ... continue reading...
The Gruffalo Lesson Plans | Reading Comprehension for K-2
The Gruffalo lesson plans for K-2. Engaging 5-day lesson plans with differentiated reading response, vocabulary, sentence study, and a craft for this fun story! The Gruffalo A clever mouse outsmarts some woodland animals who want to eat him with the story of a Gruffalo. Little does he know, a Gruffalo is real and loves to eat mice. Your students will love this award-winning story! Through our engaging lesson plans students will strengthen their reading comprehension skills and have fun ... 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...
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...
Common Core Standards Organization and Wishy Washy!
I've had a lot of questions about how I organize my Common Core Standards and Essential Questions. I display them on posters which are hot glued to ribbon. The standards are attached with velcro so that they are easy to change in and out. (Please excuse the bad picture above. The standards shown are from the 1st grade set. Notice that the clipart images match the standard and that the essential question clipart also matches. This helps the little ones who can't read understand the ... continue reading...
Engaging Readers: Getting it ORGANIZED!
Hey There! Happy Hump day! We've had a few questions about how we organize our new Engaging Readers units so I thought I'd do a quick blog post to show you! These are the supplies I used to organize mine. I used a 1" binder sheet protectors Binder pocket (one pocket holds all four books) ziploc baggies Clear packing tape Printables for the spine and fronts of sheet protectors click HERE to get yours. First, I put our cutie patootie cover (thanks to ... 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...
Leonardo the Terrible Monster Reading Lesson Plans for K-1
Leonardo the Terrible Monster reading comprehension lesson plans with student response activities. Print and teach lessons to engage your students in reading! Leonardo the Terrible Monster This story by Mo Willems is one of my favorite stories to read, especially in October around Halloween. If you are not familiar with this book, it is about a monster named Leonardo. Leonardo is not a scary monster, no matter how hard he tries! He does some research and thinks he finds the perfect little ... continue reading...