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...
Search Results for: label/management
Writing Writers Workshop: Writing Through the Year Bundle
Writers Workshop Curriculum K-1 | Writing Through the Year™ BUNDLE Writers Workshop is a wonderful way to incorporate all of the ELA standards while introducing your students to the love of writing. Writing Through the Year™ was created by two kindergarten teachers with over 20 years of classroom experience and it will save you hours each month in writing lesson plans. Each writing lesson has been classroom tested and student approved. Students will be encouraged and guided as ... continue reading...
Walruses, Literacy Centers and Guided Reading, oh, my!
We made these adorable walruses from my Arctic Animals unit today. I love how they all turned out so unique. Our penguins are still fishing on our bulletin board so the herd of walruses won't be hung up until next week when we use them to decorate our polar bears and walruses venn diagram. I will post a pic next week when they are all hanging. So, I've had some questions about how I do Literacy Centers.This is a picture of my Literacy Center board. The pirates on ... 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...
Writers Workshop: 2nd Grade Yearlong BUNDLE
Writers Workshop is a wonderful way to incorporate all of the ELA standards while introducing your students to the love of writing. Our best selling K/1 Writing Units are used in classrooms all over the country. Due to popular request, we now have a 2nd-grade version! These best practice units were created by two teachers with over 20 years of classroom experience. Classroom-tested and student approved. There are eight units in the series of monthly units that will walk you through ... continue reading...
Writer’s Workshop for Kindergarten: 5 Easy Steps
During my travels and presenting at conferences around the country there is one question that I'm most often asked, "HOW can I teach my kids to write ?" Many teachers are intimidated by the thought of teaching writing, and they often ask, "Where do I begin?" The answers to these questions are really quite simple. Model what writing looks and sounds like and provide your students with opportunities to write each and every day. Each ... continue reading...
Back to School Activities and Crafts for the Primary Classroom
Back to School activities for kindergarten, 1st, 2nd grade. Open house resources, schedule cards, songs and chants, crafts, and so much more! Back to School Activities It's that time of year again! New students will be walking through your classroom door soon or maybe they have already! These back to school activities are great to help students become comfortable in their new classroom with a new teacher and possibly new friends. Plus, there are some great resources to help you feel ... continue reading...
The Benefits of Teaching with Centers
The expectations for early elementary students have continued to increase over the years. This often leaves teachers looking for ways to fit additional academic skill practice into the daily routine. Teaching with centers is a great way to add engaging and meaningful review to your classroom all year long! 7 Benefits of Teaching with Centers There are many reasons why teachers decide to use centers in their classrooms. No matter their inspiration for teaching with centers, they all ... 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...