Tag Archives: Lesson plans

The seven Dwarfs from Walt Disney.

Do You Have a PLAN for Packing up YOUR Classroom?

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It’s THAT time.

Time to pack up my classroom!

Are YOU packing up YOUR classroom?

via GIPHY

WAHOO!  Summer vacation. The Beach. Family BBQ’s. R&R.

BUT, WAIT!  NOT YET!  First I need to pack up my classroom so I can find the things I need when we come back. Back to School is crazy enough without me NOT being able to find my MOST needed items! ( Where is MY stapler???)

Are YOU packing up your classroom?

What am I packing?

What is on my classroom packing list?

Here is my list:

Number One

It’s ALL about ME!  What will I need the first week?

Teacher Editions and Lesson Plan Book

My Teacher Editions  & Lesson Plan Book. I need them to plan for the first weeks.

Mostly Routines and Daily schedules. (Work on THIS before VACATION!)

Sticky Notes

Sticky notes inside to remind my “aging” brain…what I INTEND to do!

What MATERIALS will I need to accomplish this? What lesson to focus on those first weeks? What went well? What didn’t?

USE THOSE STICKY NOTES INSIDE YOUR TE!

You will NOT remember months from now… what you are thinking about TODAY!

Use the next few weeks to make your NOTES!

How to Prepare for a Successful Reading Workshop in First Grade

Teacher’s Desk

Don’t forget, in your TEACHER DESK…

hide a few water bottles, mints, chocolate, and Tylenol, sanitizer, throat lozenges,

for the first week back…FOR YOU!

Never know how that FIRST WEEK will go!

BE Prepared!

* “SUGGESTED” teacher MUST HAVES for the first weeks:

Number 2

Student materials ( packets, papers, journals, etc ).

Before packing up your classroom,  RUN THEM NOW!

( Nothing feels better than pulling out MUCH NEEDED things…ALREADY DONE!)

Papers copied, sorted, and filed!

Whew! SO glad I prepped these BEFORE school was out!!

Get some puzzles, games, blocks, etc. out.

It’s National PUZZLE Day! Do YOU play GAMES??

classroom card games

THEY WILL NOT BE INDEPENDENT!

Have a few things ready so they can have “downtime”

while YOU are doing ONE-TO-ONE assessing!

You know you will HAVE TO…prepare for IT!

How do YOU FIT IT ALL IN? Balanced Literacy

Number three is third.

As you are packing up your classroom with those MANY, MANY BOXES (for centers, games, things you need to go through) …

DO THOSE LATER!

I know you NEED these,  BUT

You will “SURVIVE” looking at them LATER!

NO STRESS!

( YEAH, right!)

Read to SELF…LET THEM READ! 

Prepare today… after a RELAXING Summer… the thought of coming back

and redoing everything in a day or two is

EXCRUTIATING!

Screaming Child

Breathe…relax…make your lists…stick to them…and PREP AWAY!

The payoff is HUGE!

Now…where did I pack that STAPLER?

stapler

These posts might help “ease” the transition Back to School…

Polka Dots Please blog post on flexible seating.

Polka Dots Please

Teacher Stacking chairs

Packing Up Your Classroom

* PS…I just found out I have three weeks to pack up

MY ENTIRE CLASSROOM! I am getting NEW Carpet! I am happy…I think!

PACK UP 30 years of stuff? In 3 weeks? EVERYTHING?

Time to PURGE! Who needs the PD resource from 1999???

I think I need a LOT MORE BOXES!

I may need ALL of these boxes to pack up my classroom.

Hi HO…HI HO…It’s off to pack I go!

                        

via GIPHY

 WENDY  – 1stgradefireworks

YOU want to…P.P.Paint ????

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Just hearing the 

“P A I N T”

word.

Sends shivers down my back!

I have nightmares of 

spilled water, ruined paintings,

our janitor YELLING ,

“NO!  STOP! NOT ON THE NEW CARPET!”

 Ok…NOT yelling…but  you know…”NO!”

So, I guess

24 …   6-year-olds

sitting at desks, 

painting beautiful pictures

was NOT was I thinking about!

AND

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN!

I admit…it was ALL about ME!

WHAT WILL  I  HAVE  TO “Deal With”?

And you know what?

NOTHING.

Every time we paint

(and I try to do it once a month)

THEY AMAZE  ME!

Clean, quiet, detailed, HAPPY!

They worked for about 45 minutes…

TOTALLY  ENGAGED!

(I wish some of MY lessons were SO ENGAGING!)

I start with my BFF…

PINTEREST!

I have some GREAT pins on my boards.

Check them out!

This months “painting inspiration”came from

Elyse 

@

PROUD to BE PRIMARY

And now we are…
ALL ready for JANUARY!

Here’s a few of ours!

They are sooooo cute!

AND

NO   SPILLS!

I think they are getting the HANG OF IT!

Duh…   you mean with

PRACTICE

we get BETTER!?

I wonder what wonderful teacher gave them that ADVICE???

Anyways…

we will PAINT!

And we will PAINT..a  LOT!

Next month… 

I’m thinking SNOW, and Penguins, and Nature Scenes.

Maybe some “still life”…    Hmmmm.

MONET!     DEGAS! 

Watch out WORLD OF ART…

HERE  WE  COME!

Check out pinterest for more ideas!

How Do You Know When It’s Fall?

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How do you know when it is FALL??

When STARBUCK’S brings out…

It’s FALL! Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte is BACK!

It’s HERE!

FALL!

My school district is on a “modified” traditional calendar.

What that really means is…our FALL starts EARLY!

We start school in JULY…go for 9 weeks…

& get a two-week VACATION IN OCTOBER!!!!

YIPPEE! Fall Break!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

In approximately 22 days ( and 24 parent conferences)…

I will be on Fall vacation for 2 weeks! YIPPEE!!!

I only have a few things to do…

ELA Benchmark tests to be administered, corrected, & data inputted…

Math benchmark tests to be administered, corrected, & inputted…

report cards to be inputted ( no comments needed…)

&  24  Parent Conferences…

  And keep teaching to keep up with the 

district pacing guide!

OH, Yeah! Teach FALL theme also!

AND…It’s Johnny Appleseed’s birthday!

WE MUST MAKE APPLESAUCE!

(And after all of that…PLAN FOR the 2 weeks of OCTOBER after we get back!)

So, to help with the October stuff..

A NEW Fall PACKET!

Click HERE

Trick or Treat October Centers from 1stgradefireworks

 

How Many Syllables from Trick or Treat October Centers

Syllable Task Cards from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Noun or Verb Cards from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Noun or Verb Task Cards from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Let’s Write from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Story Sentences Pages from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Fall comprehension stories from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Math Centers from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Math Mountains from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Number Bonds Math Centers from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Missing Addends from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Candy Corn Fact Families from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Candy Corn Fact Families B/W from Trick or Treat October Centers 1stgradefireworks

Here are a few more packets to help with …FALL!!! 

CLICK   HERE

Sight Words for FALL

Fall Thematic Unit 1stgradefireworks

Greater Than, Less Than, Equal to Math center

BEST SELLER! Halloween Fact families Halloween Booklets

And a FREEBIE for YOU!

Happy FALL!!

CAndy Corn Fact Families FREEBIE

If you are looking for MORE  classroom resources:

Reading Workshop

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Reading Workshop

“Creating a Community of Readers”

via…LUCY  CAULKINS!

This is my newest FAVORITE thing!

I LOVE Lucy Caulkin’s 

READING, WRITING, 

& 

COMPREHENSION LESSONS

If you get a chance to hear her, see her, and/or youtube her…

DO IT!

When I teach reading, I don’t want my students to stop and ask for help.

I want them to have skills to be independent readers.

I want them to be problem-solvers.

So, I am…

How to create a community of readers

 How?

 

What do you do BEFORE reading?

 Take a picture walk. Cover the words. Make them use the visual cues in the story. Frontload any vocabulary that may change thinking, distort comprehension, or unfamiliar to them.

Have them make predictions PRIOR to reading.

After reading, check their predictions.

When you finish reading, do something!

 I LOVE this!

After reading..then what? DO SOMETHING!

Reread it for NEW information. Retell it to yourself or a friend. We use our 3 fingers retell. I love this part…DIGEST IT! Just as a good meal…when you are finished, appreciate it. Think about it.

 ENJOY IT!

Read MORE!

 You are NEVER done! 

When you finish…read more! My kiddos love to stack ALL of their books on the left..as they finish reading a book…place it in a pile on their right. Keep reading! Their goal is to read more every day! STAMINA! Reading MATS are used to make goals. 

Our goals are to read MORE!

Use your eyes to read…not your fingers.

 We want kids to quit using their fingers to read.

Good readers use their EYES!

“SCOOP” up words (phrases) with your eyes. When reading, put 3-4 words together and read the phrases! GREAT time to teach prepositions & prepositional phrases!

Always reread text

 Always, always…reread!
You will see more, read more, and understand more when you reread a story. Read it to a partner, a parent, a friend. The same book can sound new when you are reading it the second or third time!

Lucy Caulkins Thank You

A HUGE THANK YOU to Lucy Caulkins!

So there you are..

GET  READING!

Remember….

When in doubt…

ALWAYS make it

BALANCED  LITERACY

Where is reading in a Balanced Literacy classroom?

Data Collecting 101

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Data Collecting!

The words that send

SHIVERS

down 

EVERY TEACHER’S

BACK!

WHY? HOW? WHEN?

 Relax…take a breath…

go to your “HAPPY PLACE!”

Data is very important in education.

We as educator’s not only need to deliver the instruction, but we do have the need to ensure our student’s master and apply the knowledge we are delivering.

For me, it was a

CHANGE of  MINDSET.

When I change my lifestyle, I need a WHY?

Why am I doing this? Why is it needed? 

WHY?  WHY?  WHY?

BECAUSE.

Collecting data is NOT about the numbers.

It’s NOT about “judging” my teaching. It’s NOT about seeing

HOW many of my students DID or DID NOT master a concept.

It’s about looking for those SMALL skills, those giant holes, those little tweeks that are missing FOR THE CHILD!

What areas are missing…so I can fill them!

IT’S NOT ABOUT ME???

NOPE!

It’s about the KIDS!

Data is to help our kids.

OK.   So  HOW?

There are a MULTITUDE of  assessments that you can use. 

In this day and age, I bet your district has a LONG list of assessments they  want you to use.

USE them!

Don’t just give the test & move to the next lesson.

LOOK  AT  THE  DATA!

You might be surprised at what you see!

I recently gave a math assessment to my firsties.

We had spent 4-5 weeks (YES WEEKS) on place value!

Tens and ones.  Tens and ones.  

OVER  AND  OVER!

After my “district” math assessment,

I noticed a trend…

On 5-6 of the tests  ( 25%  of my class..)

they missed 3-4 questions about 

adding ten to a number.

WHAT? ADDING TEN IS EASY!

We had gone over tens & ones, tens & ones…

BUT…

I “assumed”

…remember what they say about 

ASSUME…

that it would be easy for them 

because they understood place value!

So…a week later of

SMALL  GROUP

math ..adding tens to numbers

SHAZAM!

100%  on the place value review test!

So what if I gave the review test again.

They didn’t get it the first time!

It is NOT important that 

OUR numbers

 look good to others!

What is important is

DO THE KIDS KNOW IT?

Knowledge vs. numbers.

WOW!

A New MINDSET!

If you are looking for some reading/writing assessments 

to HELP your kiddos…

THIS WILL HELP!

See how I use it 

 HERE…

Why Do I Use DOCUMENT FOLDERS? WHY? WHY? WHY?

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Don’t YOU just LOVE it when something WORKS?

I am a PINTEREST JUNKIE!

I know. I am.

I saw these on PINTEREST and 

 I HAD TO HAVE THEM!

IRIS USA 12 by 12-Inch Portable Project Case, Slim

(I got mine on Amazon…FYI)

What are they (you ask)?

DOCUMENT  HOLDERS!

How do I use them? and WHY?

I have taken ALL of my MONTHLY MASTERS…

Crafts, Reading, Writing, Math, etc

and I have ONE COPY..

YES..

ONE COPY

of each page 

in a clear document holder.

NO more HANGING FILES!

They take up too  much space!

*disclaimer…even though they have clips that hold it closed…

I use an “OLD SCHOOL” rubber band around it..

Just to make sure my papers don’t end up on the shelf!

Then I took SHARPIE PAINT PENS

 and wrote the month on the spine.

It has freed up SO MUCH SHELF space!

All of my HANGING FILES for my MONTHLY papers

(You know…they FUN THINGS!)

are now in one EASY TO CARRY HOME, folder!

I can take home the entire month of ideas

when I do my lesson planning!

EASY  PEASY!

Can you say…DECEMBER!

DONE!

I am trying to “get it ALL together”…

I think it might be my New Year’s resolution!

If so….DONE!

What’s UP in Room 3?

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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’sOK…I LOVE my HOMETOWN.

Sometimes.

OH…well…  🙂

And so on.

SO now that it’s 80 degrees & FALL..

What’s UP in ROOM 3??

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!)  🙂

English   Language   Arts

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 brthday  ( 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 !)

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!

Need  supplements for ELA  or MATH?

Check out my store for GOODIES!

1stgradefireworks

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

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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!

BOO BANG!

Bunny BUNDLE & Giveaway!

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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.

2 Packet “FALL” BUNDLE! :)

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Happy Fall, Y’all!

(Fun to say ..even if I am a CALIFORNIA gal!) HAHA

Just letting you know of a great DEAL!

I just put together 2 of my BEST SELLING Packets

into a MEGA BUNDLE!

Included:

AND

    

BOTH packets !!

Get them here:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FALL-ing-for-NOUNS-Fluency-BUNDLE-2059538

or click on picture

ENJOY!