Tag Archives: freebie

Is reading MORE..really ENOUGH??

1 Reply

Consider this my DISCLAIMER…

I read. I read a LOT!

I am NOT A College Professor.

I do NOT have a MASTERS ( or above )

in ANYTHING!

Just a READING CERTIFICATE!

I teach reading!

I am just a teacher.

A first-grade teacher.

A Veteran (27yrs ), first-grade teacher, in a TITLE 1 SCHOOL!

I read! They read!

I have seen a LOT!

Done a LOT!

Hear me ROAR!!!!!

Ok. So again.

I am a teacher.

(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

Daily 5

And 

A MULTITUDE OF PUBLISHER’S CURRICULUM!

New sets every 7 years!

Having said this…1 thing most curriculum have in common :

READ!

READ A LOT!

And then…READ SOME MORE!

So …

My little sisters…

YES…both of my LITTLE SISTER’S are

PRIMARY TEACHERS!

We were discussing school.

( I know..we are NOT supposed to discuss SCHOOL during SUMMER VACATION!)

But…um…we were discussing school…

and we are trying to WRAP our minds around the

“READ..READ..READ more”

and they will

“GET IT!”

(way of thinking.)

Well, maybe…

I  LOVE reading with kiddos!

See my post here about the GUIDED READING TABLE!

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…

Will it ALL come TOGETHER?

At a recent PD, my little sis said she understood the

READ, READ, READ philosophy.

Integrate science, social studies, math, technology

INTO  READING!

YES!

Writing and Reading COMPLIMENT and Coexist WITH  each other!

You can’t have one without the other!

THEY NEED EACH OTHER!

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:

Letter Sounds

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…

YOU  MUST  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!

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..

LET  THEM  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?

Here are some “HELPERS” for YOU!

Check out ALL my reading & writing products!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/1stgradefireworks

JULY already? NO!!! Summer… SLOW DOWN!

2 Replies

Where did my SUMMER go?

July???  Already HERE?  End of JULY is close! NO!!!!

 (Sniff…sniff…deep breath..) I need to get my classroom ready for… The First day of SCHOOL!

OK…student’s are coming to school July 30..

I had better go & see what it looks like..

Books on the floor!

EEEEEEEKKKKKKK!

WHO LEFT THIS HUGE MESS in my classroom!!!????

Oh, yeah…ME? 🙂

I locked the door …AND  RAN!!!!!

Whew! Time to clean up!

So, I spent today (again) working in my room, this time…

throwing things away!

I purged like I never have before!

My poor janitor…he came in twice to take away PILES.

But it’s getting there. Now to teacher organization.

I have 3 big things I did TODAY:

1. I got rid of my teacher desk. 

No more file cabinets, drawers, or “piling” surface.

I now have a “U” reading table as my area! 

LOVE THIS!

 I now have 2 tall (5ft) bookcases next to my area.

Teacher's Guided Reading Table

2. I made a “supply” center ( Lowes tool box) 

for all of my desk supplies.

AND…

to keep all of my centers and student stations…

My teacher TOOLBOX.Organize after getting rid of my TEACHER DESK!

LOOK AT WHAT I DID TODAY!

WMart  3 drawer containers.

I “cutsied” ( is that a word?) them..

LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

My counter has NEVER been this clean! 🙂

I couldn’t decide what I wanted on each label.

So, I chose the month ( so I can add theme materials)

AND

next to it, I put what skill is taught during that month.

My thinking is …

when I create or purchase new materials,

I can file them either by the month OR by the skill.

Math was a little harder…most CCSS cross the entire year.

You can’t just teach number & operations in August…all year long! 

I think I will keep the standard, and separate each one by quarter.

Maybe…or maybe monthly…I dunno yet. 

I need to live with it a while & see how things go!

Busy day!  I love getting organized!

Tomorrow I challenge the dreaded….

PUZZLE CABINET!    UGH!

FREEBIE…You made it to the bottom of this post…

Here’s A FREEBIE FOR YOU! (Click HERE)

Back to School Word Work PREVIEW FREEBIE!

Let me know…HOW DO YOU GET READY FOR BACK TO SCHOOL?  

My Dilemma…DO you Teach Halloween? October? Fall? Want a FREEBIE?

Leave a reply

So my dilemma.

We have a two week vacation

 from Oct. 1-Oct. 17.

(NO COMPLAINING HERE!)

BUT…

We return on Oct. 17.

 MONDAY

14 days (exactly ) until….

YOU  KNOW  IT

MONDAY, October 31, 2016

HALLOWEEN!

Parties,

CANDY,

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

(some schools…not mine….)

COSTUMES!

So …

My  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 “HOLDIAY” 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 student’s MUST take a BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT in December.

I want them to do well.

( I don’t tkink 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?

INTEGRATE!

I must teach SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES!

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

So here is MY plan:

Reading:

  • Nonfiction about pumpkins, apples, plants
  • Biography 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 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.

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 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 MATH??

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

ALL ABOUT THEMES!

How many apples, pumpkin seeds, candies, turkies, 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…

BATS!

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!

How to Make INTRINSIC LEARNERS! #Kinderfriends

Leave a reply

How to Make INTRINSIC LEARNERS! #Kinderfriends

How to Make
INTRINSIC
Learners!
I am right in the middle of Teacher-Parent Conferences.
I work at a Title 1 school with 99% FREE LUNCHES.
LOTS of LOW INCOME, struggling families.
WONDERFUL people..
Just that education is NOT one of the top 3 items on their survival list!
AND THEIR KIDS KNOW IT!
So how do I…1 person…help the kids WANT to LEARN?
(Especially because  a lot of them…are FAR FAR BEHIND?)
HOW can you MAKE someone an
INTRINSIC LEARNER??
You CAN’T!
 You can’t MAKE anyone “want” anything!
BUT, you can give them 3 three things to HELP:
#1
You can give them MOTIVATION!
Find the “carrot”.
Watch, listen, talk!
Find the “thing” that will help add some “DESIRE” to change!
What “thing” will help spark the desire?
#2
Make it FUN!
As we all know….
If it’s FUN…exciting…enjoyable
WE WILL WANT TO DO IT AGAIN!
Spark their creativity!
Do something THEY want…
Add some SPICE to the day!
Laugh!  DANCE!  Giggle!
#3
Make them believe they can do ANYTHING!
A little FAIRY DUST…
A LOT of  “I BELIEVE IN YOU!”
And …They can FLY!
( You know what I mean…)
Show them how to be better, how to EXCELL..how to do it ALL!
 I think the conferences have made me rethink my day.
If I can keep them IN SCHOOL ( maybe even on time & ALL day!),
 If they know I BELIEVE IN THEM,
 and I give them fun & exciting reasons to be HERE…
We can learn…. from each other!
Help them, help themselves!
You can MAKE intrinsic learners!
Let’s start TODAY!
My friends and I  at
KinderFriends are having a
Blog Hop!
Lots of goodies & great ideas for
BACK TO SCHOOL!
My store has some BTS goodies marked down for YOU!
And a FREEBIE!
Check out #Kinderfriends at TPT
( Type in #kinderfriends in the search bar…Goodies for YOU!)
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/1stgradefireworks
 Giggles, Grins, Hugs & High Fives!
NOW…Hop on over to
Robin @ Class of Kinders
for more GOODIES!

CHRISTMAS in JULY?? YESSS!!!!!

Leave a reply

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Ok..I said the “C” word!

As  of  TODAY ( July 6 , 2016)

there are

172 days

until

CHRISTMAS!

YES!!!


I need to  begin my Christmas lists…

and then

 SHOP! SHOP! SHOP!

But … that’s  another STORY! 🙂

To help out with the whole “giving to others” MINDSET…

My friends and I

 at

iTeach Linkies

are “GIVING” to YOU!

Each of us is having a 20% off sale in our TPT store!

My store is 20% OFF  EVERYTHING…Bundles & BTS TOO!

AND…

I have a FREEBIE for YOU!

Check out my COMPLETE

BTS Word Work Packet

AND  THERE  IS

MORE!

Each of us has added a FREEBIE in the link up for YOU!

Click on each one for FREEBIES..

Check out my friends’ stores too…ALL of us are 20% OFF!

WOWZA!

 Check out your wish lists & stock up EARLY!

AND

We are having a HUGE  GIVEAWAY!

blog3

Who wants to win:

 One of three (3)-  $50  TPT Gift Certificates

 ( ME–I DO!  I DO!)

AND

A   $50  TARGET Gift Certificate    ( ME–I DO!  I DO!)

AND

A $100 TEACHING IN THE TONGASS CLIP ART Gift Certificate

ME–I DO!  I DO!

You can’t win , if you DON’T ENTER!

Good  Luck!

Here you go:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No More , How Do You SPELL..??? and a FREEBIE

1 Reply
Spelling.
( I know..I cringe at that word.)
Making sure each word is “perfect”.
Students who STOP writing a wonderful story,
because they can’t remember HOW to spell a word.
Just one word.
And then..they stop writing! UGH!
They ask themselves,
“What does it start with?”
Oh..I dunno…so where do they look?
What do they do?
ASK  THE  TEACHER!
NO!
Those DREADED words…
“HOW DO YOU SPELL…????”
Ugh!
We have gone over letter sounds, word families, vocabulary, picture prompts, word walls, word lists, dictionaries, pictionaries, and so on..and so on.
And still they ask.
So what is a teacher to do??
PINTEREST!
( The place where ALL questions CAN be answered!)
And so I search…
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5911043239308984/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515802963551850222/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/42784265188753752/
SO MANY CHOICES!
( And don’t EVEN get me started on WORD WORK!)
And so…what’s a teacher to do?
Create MY OWN!
My district has adopted a curriculum.
I have 18 boxes waiting for me to unpack!
My PD for this new curriculum is 5 days before I have students!
I probably won’t have time to REALLY dig into the program.
Surface teaching for a few weeks!
BUT…
My kiddos are ready… BEFORE I AM!
And so..
I create!
Here are a few of my newest
SPELLING   creations!
( I do have access to the word lists…so I am using them!)
If you do not have
CA   JOURNEYS
DO  NOT  FRET!
The word lists in this program can be used anywhere, anytime!
Homeschools, interventions, homework, practice pages!
Here is KINDERGARTEN

Here is  FIRST  GRADE
And  Grade  2

All of the lists are printed in black and white.
SAVES  ON  COLORED  INK!
( I print mine on colored paper!)
I print one copy for the student’s desk.
A little tape on top..and voila!
Instant word wall for writing!
(NO MORE …HOW DO YOU SPELL…)
The other copy I send home for homework each MONDAY!
They have to read & practice each night.
Spelling tests on FRIDAY!
I give “rewards” for 80% correct or higher!
I don’t expect perfection…just effort in their work.
I add these word lists to SPELLING CITY on our ipads.
(If  you don’t have SPELLING CITY for ipads…GET IT!) 🙂
They practice EVERY DAY!
They also must use the week’s spelling words in their journals.
They read their journals to a partner.
WOW!
 Spelling, reading, writing, word lists, &  homework!
I think we’ve got this!
I hope you can use my new SPELLING Packets!
GOOD FOR ALL LEARNERS!
Leave me a comment
which grade level you would like
 and I’ll pick someone on
 SUNDAY Night,  June 26,
to send a FREEBIE to!
Good Luck!

Change YOUR mindset..work-play-work-play

Leave a reply

I LOVE my job!

Really!

I love to plan, to create, to share with YOU!

BUT…

I   LOVE   VACATION!

Who  doesn’t?

I am in GMA mode.

Disneyland Parade!

Princess staying with us for a while.

Family at the beach!

WHAT A VOLLEYBALL GAME! 🙂

And so…I have been playing!

BUT…

My brain won’t STOP!

And so…I am trying to

CHANGE MY MINDSET!

Instead of:

I MUST STOP!

I MUST LET IT GO!

IT’S SUMMER…STOP  WORKING!

I am changing my mindset to:

I AM GETTING ORGANIZED FOR NEXT YEAR.

I AM CREATING PRODUCTS THAT WILL HELP OTHERS.

I AM ENJOYING THE CREATIVITY I CAN EXPRESS!

This will make my classroom “work” easier & more engaging!

And so..

I create..

If YOU are in need of new & exciting products to help

 your classroom, homeschool, and students

become “independent learners”..

check these OUT!

                                Daily Proofreading Practice                                        BTS  HFW “DOTS”

MEGA BUNDLE

This is HUGE!

YOUR  entire  year  in one MEGA  BUNDLE! 🙂

( Who  doesn’t LOVE to be organized for the WHOLE  YEAR?)

*  It correlates to CA JOURNEYS but….can be used for ANY  curriculum.

Hide & Seek BUNDLE

5 packets of HIDE & SEEK ( Kiddos LOVE this!)

 These products are also available individually!  🙂

And for YOU!

A FREEBIE to help your kiddos when working on close reading!

ENJOY!

And so…

I am back to work, play, work, play!

I LOVE VACATION!

ENJOY YOURS!

Nibits for Newbies 5.8.16,Close Reading, and a FREEBIE!

Leave a reply

If it’s Sunday

It’s time for…

NIBITS FOR NEWBIES!

This week’s theme…

CLOSE READING

If YOU need CLOSE READING info…

just ask

PINTEREST!

From HANNAH @ The Classroom Key

From Jen @ Teacher Karma

and from

Kristine @  Young Teacher Love

She has a GREAT blog post about

CLOSE READING!

If you are learning…check it OUT!

Gotta know YOUR standards!

And so..

to help US all

DIVE  INTO THE  TEXT…

Here is a little FREEBIE

from ME  to  YOU!

Enjoy!

CLIPART ADDICTS…Who wants to WIN some DJ INKERS? ME!ME!ME!

Leave a reply

HI!

My name is Wendy.

I am a CLIPART ADDICT!

Anyone join me?

(You know you are. The first step is to admit it.)

I don’t really feel it’s a problem.

Just an OBSESSION! 🙂

Well..to “enhance” your obsession…

DJ INKERS

is giving me a CLIP ART CD

to give away!

YES!

KIDS  ALL  YEAR

(click HERE to check it out)

YOU CAN WIN IT! 🙂

ALSO..

DJ INKERS is HAVING A SALE!  

Hooray!  

It’s almost time for DJ Inker’s Teacher Appreciation SALE!!!  

This happy celebration begins

 Friday, April 29 – Maonday, May 2.  

Don’t miss the awesome store-wide SALES, fun NEW products… and exclusive FREEBIES! 

 You can join the fun & enjoy the savings,

 even if you’re not a teacher.  🙂  

Sign-up for their weekly e-newsletter list to stay in the loop:  http://goo.gl/8OS0D4

Next…

A preview of  what YOU can win by entering the Rafflecopter:

Of course…

DJ INKERS CLIP ART!

And…

60 Pages of EDITABLE  Classroom Newsletters!

YOU can add all of YOUR information!

Great for Parent Communication!

Of course I used

DJ INKERS CLIP ART!  DUH!

Here is a SAMPLE…

ALSO….

You can choose any products from my TPT store ($8 value)..

Get your wishlist ready!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/1stgradefireworks

Giveaway  entry dates: 4/16/16 – 4/23/16

Good LUCK! 🙂

Bunny BUNDLE & Giveaway!

1 Reply

I am CHEAP  FRUGAL.

NO.

CHEAP!

I want the most & best things for the LEAST amount of money!

Who doesn’t?

SO…to help out my VERY TIRED, & VERY BROKE

teacher & homeschool friends…

 I have

BUNDLED   IT!

I took my favorite BUNNY packets

and BUNDLED them

FOR YOU!

It’s a

BIG

Bunny

Bundle

So WHAT’S INCLUDED????

ALL  of this in one FANTASTIC BUNDLE!

If sold seperately…

almost $20!

BUT BUNDLED…

$9.99

ALL of this for $9.99???

WOWZA!

 The BUNDLE is  available in both my TPT and Educents stores!

https://www.educents.com/1stgradefireworks

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/1stgradefireworks

OK…

WHO WANTS TO WIN 

A  BUNDLE FOR FREE???

YES!  FREE!!

Follow my blog..leave a comment with

 ONE thing you are doing for SPRING!

and, please leave your email!

( So I can send it to YOU!)

 🙂

 HOP to it! HAHA

I will choose a winner on Saturday, March 19,2016.