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
Work on Writing
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!
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!
Val Day Ideas & a FREEBIE!
I just have to share a few new ideas as well as some oldies for your little sweethearts. I have been quite MIA lately, but I am getting all caught up. I can't wait to share pics of my new classroom! If you follow me on INSTAGRAM, then you've had a sneak peek! It's been such a stressful year! Moving halfway through the year & getting rid of at least half of my belongings. It does feel good to start fresh in a brand new school & classroom! I love it & so do my little nuggets. I am waiting on a few shipments for my classroom, working on some bulletin boards & then I will be sharing pics. Here are some pictures I did last year using photo props that I made from graphics. The kids had a blast! Now I just need to find which box all these props are in so we can do this again...lol! Here is a few gift ideas to make your students or to make for your child's classmates. This one is in the process of being made by a former … [Read more...] about Val Day Ideas & a FREEBIE!
Work on Writing Linky Party
Thank you to Caitlin from Kindergarten Smiles for hosting this Freebie-licious summer linky party! I will be honest......I have always struggled getting my firsties to love writing until this past year. There are some fabulous resources out there in blogland to help you. I am confident they leave my classroom with a love of reading but my goal this year was to do that with writing.We are giving them the foundation for reading and writing and it's our job to prepare them for the dreaded "writing" portion of state tests. If you have been following my blog then you know I use warm fuzzies. Last year I actually started taking warm fuzzies if they forgot a capital or punctuation. They would get so frustrated but it did work. Daily 5 provided my class with the opportunity to write daily and they ended up being the BEST writers I've ever taught. You have to make it exciting for them & change things up. As soon as I sniffed out any boredom at all I would … [Read more...] about Work on Writing Linky Party
Daily 5 Chapter 6 Book Study & a Lakeshore Discount!
I will be honest......I have always struggled getting my firsties to love writing. I am confident they leave my classroom with a love of reading but my goal last year was to do that with writing.We are giving them the foundation for reading and writing and it's our job to prepare them for the dreaded "writing" portion of state tests. If you have been following my blog then you know I use warm fuzzies. Last year I actually started taking warm fuzzies if they forgot a capital or punctuation. They would get so frustrated but it did work. Daily 5 provided my class with the opportunity to write daily and they ended up being the BEST writers I've ever taught. You have to make it exciting for them & change things up. As soon as I sniffed out any boredom at all I would change things up. There are so many resources out there in blogland and on TPT that I took advantage of this year. I start out discussing the following chart. Of course you need to provide them … [Read more...] about Daily 5 Chapter 6 Book Study & a Lakeshore Discount!