I LOVE this time of year. My little sweeties are becoming independent thinkers and learners who have blossomed into readers and writers AND all of my Favorite units are in the Spring!! Zoo animals, Dinosaurs (my fave), and Insects (my fave), What???!! I can have more than one favorite! :) I spend two weeks on each of these units. There is just something about these topics that get kids super excited about learning! Today we learned all about Giraffes. ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/giraffes
Giraffes and Zebras: Zoo Part 2
These giraffes and zebras turned out adorable... if I do say so myself! :) I've had a lot of questions about my Chit-Chat charts. This is how I do my Morning Message. The idea originated with the Buzz Book from the K-Crew. I needed it to have a little bit more "meat" to it and I wanted it to be a way to not only cover the important skills such as phonics, sentence structure and grammar but also serve as a review for what we had learned the previous day. Another component of my ... 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...
African Animal Activities and Lesson Plans for Kindergarten & First Grade
African animal activities that are perfect for a zoo unit! Your students will love learning about African animals with these nonfiction book activities. Engaging reading lessons about lions, giraffes, elephants, and meerkats. African Animal Activities Are you ready to begin a unit about animals in kindergarten or first grade? Maybe you are focusing on zoo animals, too? These African animal activities are just what you need to keep your students engaged and excited about an animal unit of ... continue reading...
Zoo Unit Zebras
Aren't these zebras the cutest things ever? This is a picture of our venn diagram about giraffes and zebras. Our zebra information chart. Chit-chat Charts from Tuesday and Wednesday.I've received a few questions about how I do these so let me see if I can explain it. When the kids come to school the message skeleton is already written. We complete the message together as a class during our morning meeting.This is almost always a review of what has previously been taught so that ... continue reading...
Digital Learning Reading Lessons for K-2 | Giraffe Problems
Digital learning reading lesson plans that work great for distance learning. This unit features the story, Giraffe Problems by Jory John. Reading response and nonfiction activities, too! Digital Learning Reading Lesson Plans Giraffe Problems by Jory John is a story about a giraffe who doesn't like his long neck. He meets a turtle who is having neck problems, too! The two become friends and learn to appreciate what they have. Students will love this story and will have fun responding to ... 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...
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...
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...
Zoo Animals | Chit Chat Messages & Close Reading
Zoo Animals unit packed full of resources! Engaging and fun activities. Chit Chat messages, close reading passages, crafts, and more! Zoo Animals Teaching about zoo animals is seriously one of the best times EVER! The littles get super excited and stay so engaged in learning. It can be hard to keep their attention at this time of the year, but it sure helps when they are having fun! I just completely updated this whole unit so it's ready to go for your upcoming zoo unit. Find it by ... continue reading...
How to teach phonological awareness
Phonological awareness activities that teach rhyming. Your kindergarten and first-grade students will love these fun lessons ideas to reinforce rhymes. These phonological awareness activities are great to use for reading intervention during your small group RTI time. Teaching Phonological Awareness Activities As teachers, we all understand the importance of creating strong phonological awareness in students. It is the foundation in which we build upon to create independent readers and ... continue reading...