My OCTOBER classroom DILEMMA!

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So my October dilemma.

We have a two-week FALL vacation.

(NO COMPLAINING HERE!)

WAHOO!!!

BUT…

We return on Oct. 18.

MONDAY

21 days (exactly ) until…

YOU KNOW IT

Sunday, October 31, 2021.

Thank You HALLOWEEN for being on a weekend!

Says EVERY teacher, EVERYWHERE!

Happy Halloween!

HALLOWEEN!

Parties,

CANDY,

Kids who can’t wait to get home ( highly DISTRACTABLE!)

(some schools…not mine….)

COSTUMES!

So … My October dilemma.

When we go back,

Do I put out HALLOWEEN themed centers?

Do I keep it OCTOBERish with Columbus, Halloween, Fall, Pumpkins, etc?

Do I just “touch” on the “HOLIDAY” stuff…and Promote the FALL stuff?

Do I add THANKSGIVING?

Should I keep it ALL going until THANKSGIVING?

What to do? What to do?????

FAll Leaves

BTW… I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE FALL!

I love October!

My favorite season.

Pumpkins

Starbuck’s Pumpkins Spiced Latte

YUMMY!

But…

CONTENT is EVERYTHING!

My students MUST take a BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT in December.

I want them to do well.

( I don’t think there will be a

HALLOWEEN question on it.)

Unless it’s about

HOW MANY CANDIES DID YOU EAT ALL TOGETHER?

So ..what to do? What to do?

October INTEGRATE!

I must teach SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES!

( Living things…life cycle…Plants/animals…Lifestyles Long Ago..)

So here is MY October plan:

Reading:

Nonfiction about pumpkins, apples, plants
Biographies about Christopher Columbus, Squanto
Fiction about Fall, Halloween, Pilgrims, Thanksgiving

I am checking my district curriculum

( yes, we have one )

for REQUIRED (Tested ) Skills & Strategies for this quarter.

As we delve into our reading…I make SURE to incorporate TESTED strategies.

Questioning? Sequencing? Retelling? Etc..etc…

Vocabulary? Again…check NECESSARY vocabulary for success!

I spend A LOT of time on the necessary vocabulary. I have 10-12 English Language Learners.

They need visuals, modeling, & practice before they can “TAKE ON” the new information

Phonics? Spelling? Grammar?

Required phonics skills for this quarter.

What to use for Spelling?

BOTH!

Required spelling skills AND thematic vocabulary words.

WHAT? WHY?

Because…I want them to have some INTRINSIC vocabulary to use easily in their…

WRITING!

Bear wrapped as MUMMY

I want MY Mummy! 🙂

Sorry…. couldn’t resist.

October Writing:

“How To”..grow..carve…etc… about pumpkins, apples, plants
“Informative” about Christopher Columbus, Squanto, Pilgrims
“Narrative” about Fall, Halloween, Pilgrims, Thanksgiving
Thank You cards, Invitations, Lists, Etc.

Again…I am checking my district curriculum

for REQUIRED (Tested ) Skills & Strategies for this quarter.

Whatever our REQUIRED writing prompt will be

( I already know mine is INFORMATIVE)

We will practice, practice, practice!

I won’t skip the other genres.

Just FOCUS on the INFORMATIVE!

BUT wait!

I want crafts! I want CUTSIE! I want products!

I Love October BOOKS!

And so…we will make CUTSIE lapbooks, paintings, charts, stories & crafts

about???

Fall, Halloween, pumpkins, apples

, plants, Christopher Columbus,

Squanto, Pilgrims, Thanksgiving

DON’T tell our FIRE MARSHALL.

I might HANG THINGS UP!

Definitely!

I won’t tell if YOU won’t tell.

MATH:

addition / subtraction
missing addends
place value
graphing
story problems

And October MATH??

Lots of Graphs, addition & subtraction, problem-solving, story problems

ALL ABOUT THEMES!

How many apples, pumpkin seeds, candies, turkeys, Indians, etc, etc.

(Math Journals are GREAT for this!)

Fact families for math

and, yes..

I will need to keep it going until Thanksgiving.

And I will need to use EVERY MINUTE of EVERY DAY!

And yes… it will take planning, and prepping…

Bat craftivity

BATS!

Black Cat Watercolor

Black Cats

Pumpkin plant in the garden

Growing Pumpkins

Crock pot applesauce

Making APPLESAUCE!

Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!

And YES

I WILL LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

You see…

FALL IS MY FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR!

Don’t you just LOVE OCTOBER?

To those of you who hung in there to the bottom of this LONG POST…

A FREEBIE FOR YOU!

Happy FALL!

BOO BANG!

Boo Bang FREEBIE!

Games for ASSESSMENTS???? REALLY???

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Can I really play a FUN game to ASSESS?

Oh YEAH!

We have been playing ( YES…PLAYING)

fun games this month!

And guess what?

I can use them for assessments!

( Do I hear OH YEAH!)

Sorry …my WBT is going to my head!

My new SEPTEMBER game is both.

It’s a game & assessment.

I use the foldable game cards as a

September PREVIEW & REVIEW.

I start the month with the cards to see what my kiddos know…

DO I HEAR KWL???

Then I can plan for the month depending on what they DON’T KNOW!

At the end of the month..REASSESS!

Use DATA for review in small groups.

(WOW!!! I think I am getting this down…sarcasm)

It’s only taken me 23 years..sarcasm

( Some of us have been teaching this way for years!)

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone

Those “young PHDers in Education” may feel sad.

They think they have created something new..

The education pendulum has swung again!

Smile, nod your head,…and teach!

Do I hear an “OH YEAH!” 🙂

Bring on FALL! We are READY!

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Have I mentioned…

I LOVE FALL!

OK…Many times.

I live in NORCAL.

We don’t have the TRADITIONAL

4 seasons.

DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE 4 ????

In NORCAL…

we have

Summer ( 90-100 degrees )

Fall ( 80-90 degrees)

Winter ( foggy… 60-70 degrees…sometimes cooler )

Spring ( 70-90 degrees )

It’s OK…I LOVE my HOMETOWN.

Sometimes.

OH…well… 🙂

And so on.

SO now that it’s 80 degrees & FALL..

What’s UP in ROOM 3??

Fall Brings…

BRAG TAGS!

We use Brag Tags on rings during the month.

They earn BRAG TAGS

for

following classroom / school rules

AND

Lifeskills

At the end of each month…

They transfer their earned BRAG TAGS from RINGS…

To string necklaces.

They get to wear their necklaces ALL DAY AT SCHOOL

and then

HOME!

( Parents are told at BTS night to

REWARD their kids for necklaces

at the end of the month!) 🙂

Fall Brings…

English Language Arts

Word Work

Word Sorts…NO GLUE!

Pick 3 crayons.

Color the words according to the KEY!

Write!

Back from 2 week vacation.

TEACHER…..CLEAN YOUR TABLE!

I don’t have a teacher desk. #bestdecisionever

Reading ROCKERS! #alternativeseating

Birthday Books.

On each student’s birthday ( or close to ),

We make a class BIRTHDAY BOOK!

We do these during MUST DO TIME!

Independent work.

We have a “FRAME” style we use.

Everyone makes a page.

We STAPLE together and VOILA!

CLASS BIRTHDAY PRESENT!

We sing and dance as we PRESENT ( haha ) it to the birthday student!

LAST..( whew..what a week !)

Fall Brings…

GUIDED MATH

My newest & favorite time of the day!

We are doing

MATH MUST DO’s & MAY Do’s

( Same format as ELA centers in the AM )

KEEP YOUR ROUTINES THE SAME!

We go the the MATH Calendar ( next to ELA Calendar )

after lunch.

Math Calendar

After we go through the “math board”…

We NOW ( Quarter 2) do MATH MUST DO’S.

( Approx. 45 minutes )

Must DO’s

#1 MATH JOURNAL

Story Problem with illustrations & number sentence.

#2 Math Paper

A Workbook Page FROM YESTERDAY ( review )

#3 MATH TUB (center) with a PARTNER

I do the whole class MATH lesson BEFORE centers.

SOMETIMES we do the workbook page together…sometimes they do.

Depends on the Lesson. We have a district curriculum to follow.

( Approx. time 45 minutes )

What am I doing?

GUIDED MATH GROUPS!

I meet with 2-3 kids at a time.

We work on a STRATEGY.

NO worksheets!

They need to have independent strategies to do ON THEIR OWN!

I can’t take the assessments FOR THEM!

So…

Here is what’s UP in room 3 in the FALL?

Need supplements for ELA or MATH?

Brag Tags

Balanced Literacy

Check out my store for GOODIES!

1stgradefireworks

When is it “officially” FALL?

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It’s 100 degrees in NorCAL!

My A/C has been on for WEEKS!

I don’t like to sweat.

My calendar says Fall ‘officially” begins on Monday, September 23?

WHAT? Why so far away?

I think FALL should begin TODAY!

WHEN is it “officially” FALL?

I am ready for… FALL!

When is it “Officially” FALL?

I have been looking for FALL-themed resources

to help get my first-graders into the

FALL MODE!

I hope these help YOU too!

(Thank You PINTEREST!)

The Best of Fall Read Alouds

Fall themes? YES! Many to choose from!

What do YOU teach in the FALL?

PUMPKIN EVERYTHING?

When is it “officially” FALL?

Need MORE Fall inspiration?

🙂

Bring on FALL! We are READY!

How Do You Know When It’s Fall?

Fall, Apples, & Johnny Appleseed

And so my friends…as YOU can SEE…FALL is ALMOST here!

Enjoy the changing season! Have fun with your students, hug your family!

Now…where did I put thise leather boots?

Hmmm…I may have to clean out a

closet or two!

pumpkin spiced latte

Pumpkin Spice LATTE is almost HERE! WAHOO!!

HAPPY Fall. ‘yall from NORCAL!

1stgradefireworks

Who wants a $100 TPT GIFTCARD? ME! ME! ME! YOU?

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Are You BACK TO SCHOOL?

I AM! We started back in August. AUGUST? Really?

Yes. My first graders are still in SUMMER mode. ME TOO!

But… we are BACK TO SCHOOL.

Get up. Go to School. Come home.

To HELP us get ready for this TRANSITION to WORK LIFE…

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Fall, Apples, & Johnny Appleseed

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It’s ALMOST HERE!

FALL

via GIPHY

FALL!
The leaves will be changing, sweaters & boots come out of the closet, & PUMPKIN SPICED LATTE!

The world will be “balanced” again!

To celebrate the
COMING OF THE NEW SEASON

I have a new apple activity for fall!
I LOVE APPLES!
Apple pie, apple cake, applesauce…apple everything!

September is the MONTH of celebrations!
We celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday too.
We make… APPLESAUCE!

To add to this year’s celebration..
I have a NEW product.

Apples are the BEST!

September Literacy Booklets for Apples and Johnny Appleseed.

Booklet style..2 on a page..B/W

21 PAGES of Reading, Graphic organizers, Word Work, Grammar, labeling, & Writing!
All in ONE BOOKLET!
Great for Whole Class, Small groups, Partner Work, Independent practice.

Early Finishers WILL LOVE THIS!

Fall themed.

If you need more Literacy Products… follow 1stgradefireworks

I hope you can enjoy

APPLES ARE THE BEST!

Follow my PINTEREST boards for

FALL FUN

PLANTS…Do You Want to Grow A Garden? and a FREEBIE

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In Northern CA it is supposed to be 90 degrees

this Thursday!

My Sunflower Seeds are growing!

We went from Spring to Summer..overnight!

So..it’s time to get out the sunflower seeds, get the other seeds out, & start planting that garden!

My kiddos LOVE this one!

Click Below

Sunflower Seeds

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sunflower-Seedsa-Plant-Unit-638327

A 24-page plant unit including…

Plant Needs / Wants

Plant Parts We Eat (Sorting / Writing)

How To Grow Plants with Writing

Plant Problems..discussion starters

Vocabulary Work

Poetry Work

Just to add some fun…

Vocabulary Word cards for Plant Unit!

Happy SPRING!

Heart Words – AKA – Words you NEED to know by HEART

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What are “heart” words?

Why do I NEED them?

How do I use them?

HELP!!!

Heart Words

UFLI Heart Words 2

Heart Words are Sight Words students NEED to know by HEART!

Here are the

120 UFLI

Irregular Sight Words

for students to PRACTICE!

Word Cards are printed

onto HEARTS

for small group, large group,

and
independent practice!

Have students practice :

letter identification, phonemes, blending, segmenting, rhyming, sight word mastery, writing, beginning and ending sounds.

Cards can be used for a variety of literacy lessons.

Print, laminate, and let kids enjoy!

Have fun, while mastering

120 Sight Words. For the WIN!

Heart Words will help students be readers “From the Heart”!

Words you NEED to know by HEART

Check them out HERE!

This word list came from UFLI – Irregular Sight Words.

If you have ANY questions, email me: 1stgradefireworks@gmail.com

Wendy

How to use addition and subtraction math task cards.

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Math. I said it!

Does the word “MATH” make you giggle, or grumble???

If you teach TK – 6th grade, you teach addition and subtraction.

It’s never-ending.

Teach. Practice. Practice. Practice. Reteach. Over and over.

The numbers change. They get bigger.

But the skills and strategies don’t change.

The vocabulary changes ( occasionally), for example:

3 + 4 = 7 … Is this “all together” or “in all”?

Is this a math “sentence” or a math “equation”?

I have taught them ALL.

Our newest math program has first graders using the yellow and red foam counters on day 1.

And, they need to “discuss” with their partner HOW they got their answer.

First of all, some can’t count yet, and they won’t “discuss” their mathematical thinking

with students THEY DON’T KNOW! Not yet!

Now I get the idea. Just a little FAST!

Shouldn’t we allow them to “explore” the math counters first?

Some were poking them with pencils. flipping them in the air, and yes..one student chewed on the foam counter. Ewwwww.

And so, I am S L O W I N G things down, a bit.

To help my “littles” with addition and subtraction we are EXPLORING the math manipulatives first.

Then we will discuss routines and procedures for using them.

Last, we will use them to create math experiences.

Add some skills and strategies, and VOILA! We will have mathematicians!

To help my littles with beginning addition and subtraction to ten,

I have created some Math Task Cards using our WONDERFUL foam counters, and ten frames.

Math Task cards with ten frames

I have included Addition Task Cards,

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with ten Frames

Subtraction Task Cards,

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with Ten Frames

And student work pages for accountability.

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with Ten Frames

Check out the video:

92 task cards for students to practice addition and subtraction with Ten Frames.

For the WIN! I may use this for guided math centers, interventions, and/or independent practice. We shall see!

Check out the other goodies for MATH CENTERS:

Think ADDITION to help you SUBTRACT

Halloween Math Fact Families

Pool Party Number Bonds – 232 Task Cards

Number Bonds help students work on number sense. Part Part Whole, Addition and subtraction, and mental math skills.

Math Vocabulary Tools for Success

Math Skill & Strategy Cards for Preview, Review, Minilessons. 6 Cards per Page. 36 math “tool” cards for scaffolding and support.

I hope this helps YOU with planning

Back-to-School math lessons for your students. Here’s to a great 2022! Check out all the goodies in my TPT store and here on the blog!

Lots of FREEBIES! Have a great school year!

Follow me :

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Wendy

Are your students ready for CENTERS?

1 Reply

How to add games for independent centers!

We have been in school for 4 weeks. I know…we began JULY 31! I spend 3-4 weeks working on whole class routines & schedules. Then we spend a week or two working on centers ( without me actually taking reading groups) so I can monitor HOW they are doing during independent centers. AND THEN????

We begin INDEPENDENT CENTERS without the teacher!!! WHAT??? Yes!!

Release the KRACKEN!

Release the Kracken

And yes..we begin small group reading.

I used to call it GUIDED READING.

But I have added Guided Reading Skills & Strategies.

Sometimes, we work on words. Sometimes we work on skills.

Sometimes we read. Sometimes we write.

I use my assessments to guide my instruction.

I know WHO needs WHAT.

So what are the other kids doing?

MUST DO’s & May Do’s.

And this week..enter their FAVORITE CENTER SO FAR!

( Yes…in their WHOLE LIFE…as they say!)

Here is the FUN game for centers!

And they are LEARNING! WIN! WIN!

Short vowel dominoes

SHORT VOWEL DOMINOES

294 CARDS! WOWZA!

294 domino cards for short vowel practice. Domino games can be differentiated by vowel sounds, picture cards, or word cards. Fun activities for student learning. Games help students stay engaged while practicing short vowel CVC word families.

They LOVE THIS! They beg for more time! Get your WORK done so you can PLAY!

YES! I love it when a plan works!

And so here we go!

Small groups for me..independent centers for them.

WIN! WIN! All around. Check out the video!

So my October dilemma.

So … My October dilemma.

Do I keep it OCTOBERish with Columbus, Halloween, Fall, Pumpkins, etc?

I love October!

October INTEGRATE!

So here is MY October plan:

October Writing:

I Love October BOOKS!

And October MATH??

Don’t you just LOVE OCTOBER?

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

I LOVE FALL!

We don’t have the TRADITIONAL

4 seasons.

Fall Brings…

Fall Brings…

Fall Brings…

Here is what’s UP in room 3 in the FALL?

Share this:

Like this:

WHEN is it “officially” FALL?

I am ready for… FALL!

I have been looking for FALL-themed resources

Fall themes? YES! Many to choose from!

What do YOU teach in the FALL?

And so my friends…as YOU can SEE…FALL is ALMOST here!

HAPPY Fall. ‘yall from NORCAL!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

FALL

To add to this year’s celebration.. I have a NEW product. Apples are the BEST!

I hope you can enjoy

APPLES ARE THE BEST!

Share this:

Like this:

My Sunflower Seeds are growing!

So..it’s time to get out the sunflower seeds, get the other seeds out, & start planting that garden!

Share this:

Like this:

What are “heart” words?

Heart Words are Sight Words students NEED to know by HEART!

Cards can be used for a variety of literacy lessons.

Heart Words will help students be readers “From the Heart”!

Share this:

Like this:

Math. I said it!

Is this a math “sentence” or a math “equation”?

Shouldn’t we allow them to “explore” the math counters first?

To help my “littles” with addition and subtraction we are EXPLORING the math manipulatives first.

I have created some Math Task Cards using our WONDERFUL foam counters, and ten frames.

Share this:

Like this:

How to add games for independent centers!

And yes..we begin small group reading.

So what are the other kids doing?

And this week..enter their FAVORITE CENTER SO FAR!

They LOVE THIS! They beg for more time! Get your WORK done so you can PLAY!

Small groups for me..independent centers for them.

Share this:

Like this:

To add to this year’s celebration..
I have a NEW product.

Apples are the BEST!