I just LOVE
Kenny Chesney… Don’t Blink
“DON’T BLINK”
Don’t BLINK!
DON’T BLINK!
I don’t like things on my head.
I do enjoy a great laugh.
I want to participate with the group.
I am a TEAM PLAYER.
There! I said it!
I am the “old teacher” who does NOT dress up for Halloween.
WHY? I dunno.
Just never got “into it”.
The whole “make-up, costume, prop thing” just doesn’t appeal to me.
I don’t get the whole “dress up as someone else”, thing.
DON’T GET ME WRONG!
I love HALLOWEEN!
I dressed my kids up in HOMEMADE costumes AND store-bought costumes.
They were SO CUTE!
I just can’t do it at school!
My kiddos are NOT allowed to wear costumes to school.
I will NOT, if they cannot.
I wouldn’t dress up, even if THEY could. Sorry, Not me!
A cute T-SHIRT! YES!
Maybe. Maybe not.
Maybe??
This post might help me…
WOW! CUTE hat!… Maybe… Gotta go…
I think I found a HAT I LIke.
Stay tuned. Check out my Instagram.
There may be a HALLOWEEN pic.
Maybe. 🙂
Help me out…What do YOU dress up for on HALLOWEEN?
Leave me a comment. 🙂
Wendy
Reading-
Reading Passage
Comprehension Printable
Reading Response Printables
Vocabulary Pocket Chart Cards
Poem ( And Cut a part printable )
Writing-
Spelling List Forms
Word Family Charts
HFW Lists
Journal Pages & Covers
Interactive Journal Pages
Flap Book Graphic Organizer
Assessments-
BPST printable
Fluency Assessment
HFW List
Grade 1 / 2
We have a two-week FALL vacation.
(NO COMPLAINING HERE!)
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!
HALLOWEEN!
Parties,
CANDY,
Kids who can’t wait to get home ( highly DISTRACTABLE!)
(some schools…not mine….)
COSTUMES!
When we go back,
Do I put out HALLOWEEN themed centers?
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?????
BTW… I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE FALL!
My favorite season.
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?
I must teach SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES!
( Living things…life cycle…Plants/animals…Lifestyles Long Ago..)
Reading:
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!
I want MY Mummy! 🙂
Sorry…. couldn’t resist.
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!
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:
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!)
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
Growing Pumpkins
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!
To those of you who hung in there to the bottom of this LONG POST…
A FREEBIE FOR YOU!
Happy FALL!
Boo Bang FREEBIE!
WHAT???? AGAIN???? NO!!!!!!!
So, How many times do I have to do it..before I LIKE it??
Here is the BEFORE…
So, why? Oh, why?
Why mess with a GOOD thing? ( Can you hear the shame in my voice?)
BECAUSE. Because I know what wonderful books are in the tubs.
They don’t search. They just go to what they know.
SO…I am expanding their KNOWLEDGE BASE!
WHAT???? I know…you with OCD will HATE ME!
WHY?
I am going to dump EVERY book in a pile in the middle of our carpet area.
AND WE WILL SORT!
Common core says NONFICTION is a PRIORITY!
My kids don’t even know WHAT Nonfiction books we have!
Fiction…Nonfiction…author study…science…etc..etc..etc…NOT ME!
Not my SUMMER! (again )
OURS…ALL OF US!
(Do not do this the day your admin is observing YOU!)
This will take time…time well spent!
My thoughts are to have the kids make labels…NOT ME!
And put them right ON THE SHELF!
YES…ON THE SHELF!
Not ME!
Others have perservered…it IS POSSIBLE!
WOW! A Classroom library that mimics a PUBLIC LIBRARY!???
They will know HOW to USE a PUBLIC LIBARY!
Not “What tub is LIBRARY——- book in?” Hmm…
Food for thought.
So…if you are thinking of RAISING THE BAR in YOUR classroom library…
LET THEM DO IT!
They might surprise YOU!
Classroom Management with BRAG TAGS!
Back to School is coming soon. I am NOT ready! I love summer vacation.
HOW? WHAT? WHEN?
My vacation brain won’t wrap around the thought of setting up my classroom!
WHAT do I need?
Help is on the way!
First I need to jump in the pool again!
Maybe I’ll start tomorrow!
When you are ready…Let me know!
I love it when SOMETHING WORKS!
YESSSS!!!!
I have
discovered, learned, found a BETTER WAY!
Obviously..
So Does PINTEREST!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/211317407494866485/
and so…
I needed some vocabulary words for MY classroom.
Different ones for EACH MONTH.
FAST & EASY for me.
High Interest for Kiddos.
TADA!
I have a
GAME CHANGER
for YOU!
Tie a triple KNOT!
Yes, a TRIPLE KNOT…and staple it to one side of your board ( or window ).
Measure side to side. Add 3-4 inches!
Tie another triple knot and staple to the other side.
( I measured to make sure both sides were LEVEL.)
I know…those of you who know me… I NEVER MEASURE!
EYEBALL IT!
But…I want to do this ONE TIME…not taking down the yarn until the END OF THE YEAR!
Staple BOTH sides of the KNOT!
The Knot will HOLD the yarn. NO SLIDING!
HERE IS THE
GAME CHANGER…
After you have laminated the banner ( OR TAPE THE TOP EDGE BEFORE
you HOLE PUNCH!)
Use a hole punch to make two holes at the top.
I went down about ( No measuring there ) a 1/2″.
THEN…
SLIT THE HOLE TO THE TOP!
( SEE the PICTURE )
WHAT??????
“NO! Then it will fall off!”
NOT!
No one is pulling on these. They are for
LOOKING…NOT TOUCHING!
What this does is allows you to change the BANNER page
without having to
remove & put up a new string!
JUST CHANGE THE BANNERS!
YESSS!!!
Alternate sides when you add the vocab. cards.
I wanted an ODD number…
so I could have 1 in the middle.
Add another layer.
Same directions.
I cheated in the middle layer.
Stapled the middle card ( so the arch would be close to the others).
TADA!
BIG pictures…spelling…variety
for EL’s, independent work, & everyday writing!
And i can change them each month…
IN A FLASH!
Just change the cards…not the string!
Here are my
And so..
A GAME CHANGER
for me!
Happy Back to School!
Are YOU ready?
First and Foremost,
Students NEED to READ!
Consider this my DISCLAIMER…
I am NOT A College Professor.
I do NOT have a MASTERS ( or above )
in ANYTHING!
I am just a teacher.
A first-grade teacher.
A Veteran (27yrs ), a first-grade teacher,
in a TITLE 1 SCHOOL!
I have seen a LOT! Done a LOT!
Students NEED to READ!
Hear me ROAR!!!!!
So, I repeat.
(Aren’t they cute????)
I have been through:
Whole Language
Environmental Print
Interactive Writing
Phonemic Awareness
Leveled Readers ( DRA, GSP, AR, Lexile)
Phonics
Words Their Way
HFW
Sight Words
High-Interest Reading Books
SIPPS
Read Naturally
And
A MULTITUDE OF PUBLISHER’S CURRICULUM!
New sets every 7 years!
Next, having said this…
1 thing most curricula have in common :
And then…READ SOME MORE!
So …
My little sisters…
YES…both of my LITTLE SISTERS are
PRIMARY TEACHERS!
We were discussing school.
Yes… we do that!
We are trying to WRAP our minds around the
“READ…READ…READ more”
and they will
“GET IT!” (way of thinking.)
Well, maybe…
See my post here about the
But then my concern is…
When I “release” them to read,
When I want them to become INDEPENDENT readers,
Where do they “learn” the skills to use when they “get stuck”?
Will they use strategies, when they don’t know what’s happening?
When a story isn’t making sense…do they keep reading?
If they keep reading…
Students NEED to READ!
At a recent PD, my little sis said she understood the
READ, READ, READ philosophy.
Integrate science, social studies, math, technology
INTO literacy!
YES!
You can’t have one without the other!
Students NEED to READ!
BUT…
-Me SPEAKING-
There needs to be a BALANCE of:
Skills & Strategies
in conjunction with independent reading & writing!
THERE!
I said IT!
Reading & Writing SKILLS:
Blends
Vowels
Word Families
Chunks
Grammar
Punctuation
High-Frequency Words
Capitalization
Handwriting
and MORE!
Comprehension
Questioning
Summarizing
etc, etc, etc…
(I sound like my Education College Professors!)
I was listening!
ALL of these “lessons” MUST be taught
IN CONJUNCTION with
Reading & Writing!
Yes…To be a better reader…
Students NEED to READ!
BUT…to be a better reader who UNDERSTANDS…
You must have skills and strategies to use
WHEN you read and write!
NOW…CAUTION!!!
Unless you are teaching ADULTS in a COLLEGE CLASS…
A 40-minute LECTURE on diagramming sentences
IS NOT…I REPEAT…
NOT
the way to do it!
If you WANT to spend 40 minutes discussing grammar…
CHUNK IT!
Read a little.
Discuss it.
Let it soak in.
And do it again. And again. and again!
READ!
Do 2-3 MINILESSONS over a few days…
Let it SINK IN!
Show kiddos:
What it looks like.
Where to find it.
How to use it.
Why we use it.
When to ask for help.
Kinder-Grade 1-Grade 2 teachers…
UNITE!
Mini-Lessons with a WORKSHOP!
Use SMALL Groups for STRATEGY & Skill Groups!
Let kiddos have a chance to PRACTICE
what YOU have taught them!
Let it SINK IN!
And Then…
Students NEED to READ!
and
READ!
and
READ!
and then
WRITE…and write, some more!
Skills, Strategies, Reading, Writing
They will become “BETTER”…
and isn’t that what we ALL want to be?
BETTER!
Need some HELP?
learningattheprimarypond.com
Here are some “HELPERS” for YOU!
Click HERE for more reading & writing products!