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/schedule
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...
Peek at my Week {a look at my day}
My sweet friend, Deedee Wills has been doing her Peek at my Week for three years and asking others to link up as well. I love how helpful this is for teachers. It gives us the ability to peer inside each other's classrooms and borrow little nuggets of inspiration here or there to help make our classroom instruction the best that it can be. I've made it a goal this year to link up every Sunday and share as well. Before I start sharing my weekly plans I wanted to first start with my daily ... continue reading...
CHIT-CHAT! This n that!
This is another poem that I use at the beginning of our Mental Images unit. I read the poem the first time for enjoyment and then I read it slowly a few times while the kids drew their Mental Image. Our dragonflies... these turned out beautiful. I forgot to take a picture of their writing. Our story elements chart. Going Buggy Glyph. I've had a lot of emails asking me about my schedule and how I ... 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...
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...
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...
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...
Book study: In Pictures and In Words
Hey Friends! Nothing says summer like, book study! Woo-Hoo...I love diving into a great book that will help me learn and grow as a teacher. So put down your copy of Fifty Shades of Gray ;) and grab this book! This year we will be diving into Katie Wood Ray's Book, In Pictures and in Words. I'm so excited to participate in this book study with all of my bloggy friends. Who better to help me think more deeply about this text than you guys? When does it start? On June 22nd, ... 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...
Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: Chapters 1 & 2 LOTS OF PICTURES & EXAMPLES
I'm linking up with Elizabeth from Kickin' It in Kindergarten for this book study post. As I'm reading this book I constantly find myself nodding, Yes! and writing in the margins of the book. So far this book is really solidifying my Teaching Philosophy. I've always been a HUGE believer in giving students the opportunities to turn and talk. When students are given the opportunities to put what they've learned into their own words it solidifies their thinking and learning and they stand a ... continue reading...