Carol Lyons once said, “The most powerful and effective way for children to begin learning the complex process of learning about letters is by working with their own names." This quote does an incredible job of explaining how important one's name is. When meeting students for the first time, one of the first questions asked is, “What’s your name?” Teachers work so hard to remember all of the names as quickly as possible. This shows teachers care about them for who they are and enjoy getting to ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/names
Fun Name Activities for Early Learners | Crafts and Interactive Charts!
Name activities for early learners. Students will have fun practicing their names with these math and literacy activities that are great for back to school! Name Activities Is it back to school time for you? Well... are you (at least) thinking about back to school? These fun crafts and interactive pocket chart activities are perfect to practice names and have fun doing it! They also make ADORABLE bulletin boards for the first few weeks of school! Here are a few math and literacy ... 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...
Fitness in 2014
Last year I wrote this post about my goal to RUN in a 5K Color Run (click on the pick to read it) I didn't stick with my training schedule (epic fail) and I ended up walking the WHOLE thing. (boo, hiss) Thankfully, I had some friends who walked it with me. Hope and Cheryl put us all to shame. They ran WAY ahead of us! Here we are at the end of the Color Run Walk. It was seriously so much fun!!! This year a bunch of my friends and I have signed up to do the Neon ... 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...
Alphabet Recognition and Fluency Activities for Kindergarten (FREE FILE)
Alphabet recognition and fluency activities. Fun activities and ideas to help your students master letter identification and sound during whole group, small group, and centers! Alphabet Recognition & Sound Alphabet recognition practice starts on day 1 of kindergarten and it consumes a lot of our time during the first several weeks of school. It is our focus because it is essential. With a strong foundation in letter recognition, students have an easier time learning the sounds ... 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...
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...
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...
Pumpkin Read Alouds: Book Talk Tuesday
From Seed to Pumpkin Pumpkins can be baked in a pie, carved into jack-o'-lanterns, and roasted for a healthy snack. But how does a tiny seed turn into a big pumpkin? With clear text and detailed, colorful illustrations, this book explains what a pumpkin seed needs to help it grow! This book also includes delicious pumpkin recipes and easy experiments to do with pumpkin seeds. How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? Here is an adorable picture book for curious kids, which ... continue reading...
Cookie Detectives Engaging Learning Activities
Student engagement will be through the roof, with the Case of the Missing Cookies! September kindergarten and first week of school activities for first grade. Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? This is a fun rhyme to practice as a part of your first week of school activities. Students love hearing their name and hearing the names of their friends. This fun rhyme has been used for generations because it gets kids engaged! They love the repetitive chant as they ... continue reading...