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...
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Illustration Techniques: In Pictures and In Words
Welcome back to the second week of our book study which covers the 50 illustration techniques that demonstrate "Good Writing" I have to give a shout out to Deedee Wills for working so hard to get this book study up and running! Katie Wood Ray does suggest book titles, but merely as a way to introduce these illustration techniques. She recommends searching your current book collection and reading these books with a new eye... the eye of an illustrator/writer. Each illustration ... continue reading...
Ideas for a Kindergarten Earth Day Lesson Plan
We know how much kindergarteners love holidays! We can almost feel the excitement in the room as the calendar inches closer to holidays like Halloween or Christmas. However, there are other holidays that our young kindergarten students likely haven’t heard of before. Earth Day is one of these important holidays! I’ve put together a list of ideas for a kindergarten Earth Day lesson plan to help you introduce this holiday to your class. What is Earth Day? Earth Day is celebrated every ... continue reading...
Chapter 10 Tone: In Pictures and In Words
Chapter 10 Tone. You know the expression, "It's not what you say, it is how you say it." Tone is an important part of composing. Katie Wood Ray says, "...tone refers to the overall blend and intensity of color, light, and shade in a picture, all of which evolve an emotional response." She goes on to say, "When speaking, people use the tools of volume, pitch, gesture, and intonation to set the tone." Illustrators and writers must be able to set the tone visually. Carl's Nose is a funny ... continue reading...
Helpful Hints and Classroom Storage
Today's Theme on Blog Hoppin' is Helpful Hints! Most classrooms are small and lack proper storage space and let's face it. Teachers have A LOT of stuff! Classroom storage are very helpful in times like this. I use fabric runners to hide all of my stuff under tables and counter tops. Simply use strong velcro to hold the fabric in place. I also love these little ottoman's from Walmart. They are perfect for the Littles to sit on during Guided Reading and they hold all of the ... continue reading...
Alphapalooza 2 Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Fun!
“The two best predictors of early reading success are alphabet recognition and phonemic awareness.” -Marilyn Jager Adams We spend a lot of time working on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics skills in kindergarten and first-grade, so we want to make sure that we create games and activities that will hold the interest of our students. My goal is to create activities that the students will want to come back to over and over again. Here are a few of the activities that are included ... continue reading...
Math Games for Addition
When some students think about math, they get upset bellies and headaches. However, this type of math anxiety did not start overnight. More than likely, it is often the result of challenging material and multiple steps to remember for solving. Honestly, no teacher wants to create math anxiety in students! Thus, teachers work so hard to create hands-on, engaging lessons to help students see how fun math is! Using Games Generally, one of the best ways to do this involves turning material ... continue reading...
Alphabet Bundle Word Wall Sets & More
As children get older, they often wonder how some of the content they learn in school will apply to their life. So, teachers have to show students how the material relates to various aspects outside of school. However, one part that students never question involves the alphabet. Students begin to learn their letters even before they enter school. Then, they focus heavily on learning letters in preschool and kindergarten. This progresses to sounds and blending everything together to form words. ... 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...