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
Writing
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!
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 Summer Journal Freebie & Mother’s Day fun!
The following is a freebie gift idea for your students. Personally, I will give each of my students a spiral notebook to use as a summer journal. I made my little nuggets journals all.the.time! I don't assign them anything to write at home...they want to write at home! I have some very exciting writing activities I have created to share with you this summer. This cover I would use with a construction paper journal. Simply fold a large sheet of construction paper "hamburger style" and insert writing paper. This cover is small to fit on the front of a composition notebook. These are very reasonably priced during back to school sales. This is the cover colored & pasted on a spiral notebook. These were purchased for a penny EACH! I always stock up on these every time I see them on sale. The other side of the cover has these journal writing tips that they can also color. We had so much fun getting ready for Mother's Day this … [Read more...] about Daily Summer Journal Freebie & Mother’s Day fun!
Daily 5 Writing Tips & Halloween fun!
Oh boy what a day I had today! I cried 2x...yes twice over a VERY DIFFICULT parent! I love my job, I love my job, I love my job. That is what I keep telling myself every day. And when I wake up in the morning I say a little prayer that this tyrant mother will leave me alone for the day & I also remind myself that each & every one of my students are in my class for a reason & I am going to make a positive difference in their lives & that is all that matters. I don't do well with criticism & bullying & I just need to have a thicker skin & let it roll off & continue what I do best & that is....TEACHING! I know I am not alone in this...am I? Do any of you have this problem this year??? I am so grateful for my job & especially grateful that I have been gifted with a wonderful student teacher. She is a natural & has been a God send to me & my students. Now onto my original blog post...just had to vent a lot little. You … [Read more...] about Daily 5 Writing Tips & Halloween fun!
Work On Writing Ideas for Daily 5, Fingers & a FREEBIE
As promised I was going to blog about some things I do with my kids during the Daily 5. I am just exploding with ideas & some have worked out VERY well & others...not so much. Here is something my kids are O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D with during their "Work on Writing" rotation. Last month I used apple and Fall stickers and words. Now I changed it & place Halloween words in sheet protectors & provide Halloween stickers to make their own sticker stories. This is how one of them turned out....... I think they did a fabulous job! I love how they are making connections from one sticker to the next. Of course, I modeled this before they were on there own. They do 1-2 sticker stories a week. I also will incorporate seasonal stamps for the same type of writing. My kids fly to this station! In 8 years I have NEVER had the kids like writing so much since I introduced this! Here is how my Daily 5 writing looks for the week. Monday: Response to reading … [Read more...] about Work On Writing Ideas for Daily 5, Fingers & a FREEBIE