Trick or Treat! Happy October!

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OCTOBER

It’s HERE!

 
I LOVE OCTOBER!
See my other posts about October.
 

Today I am helping YOU get ready for October.

First, It has it ALL!

October Centers for ELA & Math

Includes:
Syllables…Pocket Chart Picture /Words Cards
Printables Color & B/W
Nouns/Verbs… Picture Cards / Sorting Mat
Printables Color & B/W
Let’s Write… Complete sentences / Fragments
Who? Did What?
Interactive Notebook Page
Close Read / Comprehension Questions
October Writing Paper
Graphic Organizers
HFW BOO Bang! game
Math Centers:
Math Mountains…Printables
Number Bonds…Printables / Booklets
Missing Addends… color & B/W
Fact Families..color & B/W
printables

 
 
WOW!
 
Print & GO!
 
 Next, 

56 pages of OCTOBER  GOODIES!

 
 
 
Check it out HERE!
Finally,
 
Happy  OCTOBER!
Phonics and Math Morning Work BUNDLE

Happy Fall, ‘Yall. Surviving September and October. And a FREEBIE!

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Happy FALL, ‘Yall 

This has been a CRAZY Fall month!

We started in August.

We are SO LUCKY to get 2 weeks FALL VACATION

the first two weeks of OCTOBER.

IF you can survive SEPTEMBER!

We just finished Fall multiple

( and I mean MULTIPLE ) assessments.

Some whole class, some one-on-one.   

AND  then TEACH!

Don’t forget… report cards for ALL.

(Make multiple copies and then some!)

Fall Parent Conferences.

I had 100% attendance this year! 

This has NEVER happened to me before!

I can get close… but 100%???   

( Pat on the back ). 

 

Finish 1st quarter lessons & skills.

Introduce 2nd quarter skills.

And… a new student on Thursday

before Fall Break! 

Of course!

 

And so this Fall Break was WELL DESERVED! #tiredteacher

multi task teacher

We have no “BIG” plans.

Family is local ( we are catching up with family).

 

So,  I thought this Fall break,

I would work on my TPT store,

           1stgradefireworks

a “little bit”.

Thank you, Misty Miller and Shelly Rees.

You helped MOTIVATE ME!

1stgradefireworks logo

1stgradefireworks logo

And so the Fall creative juices started flowing.

I kept asking myself, “What do I need this year?”

I asked friends, “What do YOU need this year?”

And here is what WE came up with.

TADA!

Phonics Morning Work BLENDS, Short/Long Vowels, & Digraphs

Math Morning Work Activity Pages 

Phonics and Math Practice Pages

FOR THE WHOLE YEAR!

Happy Teacher

Preview skills. Review skills. Assess. Interventions. Homework. Centers.

Whole Group. Small Group. Independent.

ALL DONE!  WAHOO!

And a FREEBIE for YOU!

Click HERE

Enjoy your FALL.

Take care of yourself.

You can’t pour from an empty cup. 🙂 Take care of yourself.

                                                                Wendy

                                                                                                                                                       

Fall Dilemma

My OCTOBER classroom DILEMMA!

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So my October dilemma.

We have a two-week FALL vacation.

 

(NO COMPLAINING HERE!)

Celebrate!

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!

Trick or Treat Kids

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

FAll Leaves

BTW…   I  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE   FALL!

I love October!

My favorite season.

Pumpkins

Pumpkins

Starbuck's Pumpkins Spiced Latte

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

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???

, 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!

(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 craft

Bat craftivity

BATS! 

Black Cat watercolor

Black Cat Watercolor

Black  Cats

Pumpkin plants in garden

Pumpkin plant in the garden

Growing  Pumpkins

Crock Pot applesauce

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

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

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?

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

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?

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 spiced latte

Pumpkin Spice LATTE is almost HERE!  WAHOO!!

HAPPY  Fall. ‘yall from NORCAL! 
1stgradefireworks

1stgradefireworks

 

 

$100 TPT Giftcard

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!

Summer Sun

But… we are BACK TO SCHOOL. 

Get up. Go to School. Come home. 

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

COULD YOU  USE  A $100 TPT GIFT CARD?  Sure you can! 

Some AMAZING TPT Store owners want YOU

to have some shopping FUN!

All YOU have to do is fill in the RAFLLECOPTER! 

EASY- PEASY Lemon squeezy!

(Can YOU tell I am back at school… I CAN!)

$100 TPT Giftcard

$100 TPT Giftcard

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: 

Prize: $100 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card

Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher)

Co-hosts:   An Apple for the Teacher, The FroggyFactory, TheBeezyTeacher,  1stgradefireworks, April Pickett- Teach Travel Read, Chocolate 4 Teachers, Mrs. Wennings Clasroom, A Teacher and her Cat, It’s a Teacher Thing, The Best Days with Julie Santello, The Craft of Teaching, Mickey’s Place, Paula’s Primary Classroom, Walk With Me a Second, Leah Popinski – Sum Math Fun,  Homeschool Style-Katie Ring, Research Based Teaching Tools, Jackie Crews, Sweetie’s, The Monkey Market, Angie S,  The First Grade Lunchbox, and Penley’s Pointe Educational Resources.

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The giveaway ends 9/13/23 and is open worldwide.

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Fall, Apples, & Johnny Appleseed

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It’s ALMOST HERE!

FALL

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
MORE
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

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

    Heart Words 

UFLI 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”!

Heart Words

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