February is Random Act of Kindness month but there is no reason this can't go on all year long. I am one of the teachers in charge of Student Council at our school and we are promoting this throughout our school and home. Kindness is Contagious! Here are some pics from my classroom. The first grade assignment was to write a class book to our principal titled "What Does the Principal Do All Day?" The first grade classes had such a blast writing these. The principal is going to absolutely love reading these books. Out of the mouth of babes! If you look at the above pic take a look at the arrow. I had to leave the room after I saw this pic. He is going #2! I had him leave that part out but I can't wait to show him this pic after all is said and done! I provided 8 different book covers (male and female) with full color and black and white options. Here is a sample of some of the graphic organizers I included. I left some … [Read more...] about RAK PACK
Daily 5
Daily 5 Post-It Lesson Plan-Bright Idea
I'm back!!!!! I know I have disappeared from blogland for several months. I needed a break and was getting way too overwhelmed with my little first grade nuggets. They are my first priority. I wanted to share an idea I came up with to keep me organized. As you know, I am a HUGE Daily 5 fan and still implement in my own classroom. I change things up from year to year and try to make them better. Anything to make my life easier, yes please! I was walking the aisles of Target one day...of course the post it aisle. I have always had a post it obsession and now it's COMPLETELY sort of out of control (according to the hubs). I posted this photo on IG the other day and noticed there are some other post-it fanatics out there. I was making sub plans which we all know are so painful to do. So I decided to show my IG fans how I make them pretty and more organized for my sub. I thought I should share this here too! I always have plenty of … [Read more...] about Daily 5 Post-It Lesson Plan-Bright Idea
Daily 5-2nd Edition Chapter 7 + FREEBIES!
The Sisters recommend launching the next component of Daily 5 after students have built stamina for a certain number of minutes. Intermediate students is 12-14 minutes Primary is 10-12 minutes Kindergarten is 7-8 minutes Just remember EVERY CLASS IS DIFFERENT. This couldn't be a truer statement. Each class is unique. You will definitely KNOW when your students are ready to move on. Please do not rush them. I used to introduce Work on Writing last because my students always struggled in this station. We do start out slow and I do not introduce everything up my sleeve at once. Remember, we are just starting to build our stamina. With students getting daily writing time they will become proficient writers before you know it! They will love the choices they have during writing and the choice of which station they CHOOSE to go into first, second, or third. Since we are at the beginning of the year I … [Read more...] about Daily 5-2nd Edition Chapter 7 + FREEBIES!
Daily 5 Book Study-2nd Edition Chapter 5 + FREEBIES
Each chapter I read I am getting more and more excited about implementing some changes. The Sister's are clearly geniuses. You know how much I LOVE them! Let's jump right in! This chapter scared the bejeezus out of me! The first day!!!!!! Are you kidding me?!?! I usually let them explore the classroom library & observe them picking out their books for their bins. I also let them read just to see how much stamina they have without them knowing I am timing them. I guess it all does make sense. The way the first day or the first week goes basically sets the precedent for your entire year. If you let them yell out & follow you around on the first day, they will think they can do that all the time. Nip it & nip it quick! You need to start training them the second they step foot in the door. Remember....they are little sponges and you don't want to change up a procedure or routine out of nowhere. You want to have the steps … [Read more...] about Daily 5 Book Study-2nd Edition Chapter 5 + FREEBIES
Daily 5 Book Study-2nd Edition-Chapters 1-2
If you have been following me for a while then you know how much I love Daily 5. I have been doing Daily 5 full force for 3 years now and I would NEVER give it up....EVER. My blogging friends and I did a Daily 5 book study a few summers ago...you can check out all those posts HERE. Before I start talking about the 2nd Edition of Daily 5 for this book study, I want to introduce you to some freebies if you were not a follower during our first book study. Click on each picture to grab your freebies. My Freebielicious BFF's and I will be blogging about each Daily 5 chapter every Friday until we are through the 2nd edition. This first post on the first two chapters will be short and sweet. Let me just say that this book is also an easy read. They are real teachers directly from a classroom and they "get it". The Sisters really have the best basis for all their research...a classroom. They get that we have "barometer children" in each and every classroom. … [Read more...] about Daily 5 Book Study-2nd Edition-Chapters 1-2
New Writing Station~In Action!
I FINALLY got this bad boy finished! I am beyond excited & so are my students. We.are.obsessed! This writing station has been a work in progress....for a year! I started it at the end of last year to spice up our writing center. I knew I wanted some kind of display but I didn't know how my space was going to work out in my new classroom so I waited. Since I didn't know what my space situation was, I used binders for my organization. This is more of a grab & go option. Sometimes they would take the binders to their desk or just sit on the floor with a clipboard. I used a poly folder inside of the binder that contained copies of the writing station paper. If there was sheets that went with the station I also included those for their reference. For those that do not have an extra bulletin board or dry erase board space this is another display option. I included 2 different letter sets that spell out "write". Holy cuteness, right? This … [Read more...] about New Writing Station~In Action!