Tag Archives: Writing

First Grade Writing – NONFICTION

First Grade Writing

So…we have taken the step  jump  LEAP into writing

NON-FICTION.

As a Title 1 teacher

with half of my class CELDT Levels 1&2 ( low English),

I am ALWAYS trying to give my kids more vocabulary, visual clues, and

FRONTLOAD information

…before we WRITE!

So this week…was

REINDEER  WEEK!

I was going for REAL REINDEER.

We read books, watched VIDEOS, did real research ( yes, ONLINE!)

We even attempted to watch the

REINDEER.CAM

Can’t show kiddos in my district…

TOO MUCH SANTA!

I know…don’t go there!

So …I kept it real!

ONLY REAL REINDEER!

I was going for NON-FICTION!

They did great!

As an adult, I felt they had mastered

 a LOT

of information!

What do reindeer LOOK like?

Where do they LIVE?

What do they EAT?

( One of our movies mentioned MUSHROOMS…

BOY did they pick up on that!)

And then…

what makes them different

 (special )

from

other ANIMALS?

Here are some of our writings…

(Don’t judge….we have NOT edited for CONVENTIONS..

Just  CONTENT!!  🙂

Sorry pics are turned…

Can’t get them to TURN! UGH!

No where…no how…

did I   MENTION

SANTA  or   RUDOLPH!

99%  of my students wrote

that the important thing about REINDEER is…

THEY PULL SANTA’S  SLEIGH

AND

THE LEADER IS…RUDOLPH!

And THAT is NON FICTION!

HAHAHAHA

But that is their

 PRIOR  KNOWLEDGE!

SO CUTE!

They brought it into their writing!

Let their VOICES be heard!

And so…

ADULTS  BE  AWARE!

The little ones WILL be HEARD!

I LOVE TEACHING FIRST GRADE!

They make me GIGGLE!

If you need some writing help…

WRITE  ON!

ENJOY!

Write On! Journal Pages with Support!

 

What does READ AT HOME really look like?

I am a BLOG STALKER!
I admit it.
 
I am ALWAYS trying to find the BEST, FASTEST, & EASIEST ways
to make my classroom run smoother & more effective while being 
academically successful.
I want my students to continue to practice their reading & writing skills and strategies 
AT HOME!

BUT..What does Read at HOME really look like?

 
Aren’t we ALL?
 
So each year I try to “change” a few things for the better.
NO THROWING THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER!
 
(  For YOU youngin’s…  Don’t get rid of the good stuff while trying NEW stuff! )
 
So here is something “NEW” ( or New to ME )  that I am doing this year!
 
I am NOT ( Ugh…),
NOT  
choosing the Student’s TAKE HOME BOOKS each week.
( Let it go! Let it go!)
 
I LET THEM!
The power is in the CHOICE. 

I thought if I chose reading books that were ON their reading level

THEY would MAGICALLY fall in LOVE with READING!

NOT!
I have RAH ( Read AT Home ) envelopes…
Purchased at REALLY GREAT STUFF
BUT ANY envelope will do!
 
Each WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY they bring their RAH folder back.
I have them choose 2 books…YES…2 books to put in their folder.
( I place a pile 20 or so, of books at each level …
 
*disclaimer…right now I have 5 Guided Reading groups..I group their 
PILES of books by the Guided Reading group level…
 

So they really are taking home books at THEIR reading level.

Just a little teacher “nudge” in the right direction!

 
They choose two books, put them in their envelopes, and put them in their cubbies.
They keep them for 2 nights..hence bringing them back WED. & FRI. 
We change them for two NEW books … and here we go again!
 

Some nights I add a READING RESPONSE page to their homework.

USE ONE OF YOUR RAH BOOKS!

( Your choice!)

 
You can get my READING RESPONSE Packet HERE  
Some nights I have them do a page or two from my
Book Reports.
Accountability?
I do have a paper…lined…for parents to sign each night.
DO ALL OF THEM SIGN IT?
 NO!
If YOU take a horse to water…Can you FORCE it to drink it?
NO!
Let it go! Let it go!
So then what?
If you have a parent who won’t support reading at home…
 READ, READ, READ at school.
 
YOU may be the ONLY adult who reads with “THAT CHILD”..
We ALL have “that child”.
 
Don’t fight it!
Don’t PUNISH the child.
IF he/she could read it BY THEMSELVES…..THEY WOULD!
 
They can’t.
So
Let it go! Let it go!
BUT…
I do REWARD those who make the continued effort to read at home
EVERY NIGHT!
 
When they bring their envelopes back, I check the paper.
IF the parent HAS NOT SIGNED…I highlight in RED that date.
 
At the end of the MONTH,
I give a reward (and a SPECIAL BRAG TAG ) to those who have read
EVERY NIGHT!
 
I know…NOT fair for “that child”
Fair is NOT Always EQUAL!
 
I want my kiddos who 
DO THE WORK
to know…
I NOTICE!
 
And so my friends…
I keep stalking.
 
LOTS of great ideas out there in 
BLOGGY LAND.
 
And PINTEREST  LAND.
 
AND  INSTAGRAM LAND.
 
If you need some ideas..
 
 
 
 
Happy  Reading my Friends!
 
 

How to Survive the 4th Quarter DASH!

AKA… What to use to keep some working, while reteaching to others! 🙂

SPRING BREAK is Finally HERE!

 

Assessments, report cards, cleaning, paperwork,etc…

Third quarter done! YIPPEE!!

Though I really DO love this time of the year.

Kiddos are making TREMENDOUS progress!

Sniff…sniff…PROUD TEACHER!

So NOW we WORK!

When we go back we have the

4th Quarter DASH!

Catch everyone up to grade level standards

before they go to second grade!

And to HELP…I need it!

Some of my kiddos will work on YOU QUACK ME UP!

While I am WORKING with small groups, reteaching concepts they DIDN’T quite get.

DATA tells me that.

Right?

Say this with a SMILE..

“YOU QUACK ME UP!” 

to be taken to my TPT store!

You Quack Me up
You Quack Me Up! ELA & MATH Centers for first grade 4th quarter!
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade table of contents

ELA: rhymes, Read the Room, Sight Word Games,Grammar

MATH:  3 digit addition, Place Value, Guess My Number

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade rhyme game
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade Grammar
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade word work
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade story vocabulary
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade prefixes
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade prefixes
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade prefixes
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade task cards
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade Sight Word Game
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade 3 digit addition
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade 3 digit addition
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade Place Value
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade number game
You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade number game

My kiddos LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

So much fun going on in Room 3!

And NOW for the FREEBIE!

Click HERE

FREEBIE HFW GAME

This GMA wants some

GIGGLE  TIME! 

baby laughing
cowgirl sisters
smiling boy in John Deere Tshirt
little girl princess

 And so…

HERE  WE  GO! 🙂

Check out my TPT Store for MORE goodies!

Informational Writing

This week we did some EXCELLENT WRITING!

 I have to be honest…I have not taught ALL of my SCIENCE standards. And yes, animal classification is a standard.

 Somewhere, I have a new Science series, but my new ELA series takes up most ALL of our day…& Math… so, as any good teacher ( who LOVES science & writing) would do INTEGRATE!

We wrote informational writing about animal classifications!

And then we PAINTED them! 

Living things…yaadaa. yaadaa. yaadaa…NO!

WE WROTE ABOUT REAL ANIMALS!

My EL’s had a hard time with the new vocabulary, (Thank You Project GLAD), we did new academic language, made charts, filled out graphic organizers, did shared writing, sloppy copies, and a final draft!

After our animal reports, we painted!

We had to edit for spelling, handwriting, complete sentences, punctuation, AND IT HAD TO MAKE SENSE!

All of that in 5 days!

AND THEN….. They got to make a “tear art” bear head.

 ( They HATE  tear art… “Can I PLEASE use my scissors?” “NO!”)

Simple…tear construction  paper, glue to small paper plate, add ears (with torn paper..they need FUR too), add eyes, nose, & mouth.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351843789621516644/
Tear BEAR! 

As a culminating activity, we painted out animals & added our reports for sharing. ( see above)

SO….here are the units we used to RUN the MARATHON!

Animal Classification from 1stgradefireworks on TpT
Animal  Classifications 
Animal Classification GAME!

Enjoy! Check it out on my TPT store!

Word Work

Guided Reading

Balanced  Literacy

Sight Words for Word walls

Those CRAZY Word Walls!

WORD  WALLS

I can honestly say, in my 27 years in first grade,

I have “redone” my word wall

probably 26 times!

My dilemma is always the same…

How to put them on the wall so kids can

access them ( at ANY reading level!)?

At first, I thought “A..B..C” order.

Then, I thought “by curriculum unit..week 1..week 2, etc”.

Next, I thought ” phonics sounds ..short a..short e…etc”.

Last, I thought “they don’t even LOOK at IT!”

and so…

I WAS  FRUSTRATED!

What to do?  What to do?

ASK  THE  KIDS!!!

 

So what do THEY want?

What will THEY use?

What do THEY want it to look like?

And they TOLD ME!!

They helped me “SOLVE” our Word Wall “PROBLEM”!

Baby eyes wide open

WHAT? You want ME to help SOLVE our WORD WALL PROBLEM???

My Word Wall 

Now our word wall has sight words we use for 6 weeks

( 1 unit of our curriculum).

 

These words will be in our stories 

AND 

on our TESTS!

 

We study them EVERY day ( at Morning Meeting ) 

AND

we play I SPY with the words wall DAILY!

The kids practice with each other, too!

Partner Practice…yippee!

We use our chromebooks, write on our desks with whiteboard markers, flash cards to take home, and we play LOTS of word games!

 

My WORD WALL focus’ on sight words.

I teach vocabulary words, but those go on our focus wall for weekly connections. 

This year…I am adding personal word walls to their writer’s workshop folders. 

 

They will add words THEY need to use in THEIR writing.

 This was last year when we did WAY TOO many 

words at one time!

 

Now…LESS  IS MORE

"W" words on word wall

Word Wall by ABC order

word wall

Large Word Wall by ABC order

word games

Sight Word games from the Word Wall

Lots of games to practice our “words”.

I have some games and products

 to help with WORD WALLS.

Check them out!

So to Conclude…

When putting up word walls, fewer WORDS at one time is BEST!

Teach to MASTERY!  Review!  Practice!  Be consistent!

PINTEREST HAS A MULTITUDE of resources to help.

I found these:

To download the editable version of this product, Click Here!This free word wall is colorful, simple, and perfect for back-to-school! This download includes:- Word Wall Banner- Alphabet Letter Cards- Fry's First 100 Sight Word Cards- 10 Color Word Cards

         Especially Education  

Word Wall - Using magnets to make the word wall accessible to the students. Great for Writer's Workshop and other writing activities!

       All Students Can Shine

A Sunny Day in First Grade: Weekend Warriors: Moving Word Wall!

    A Sunny Day in First Grade

Grade 1 Word Wall... 222 Word CARDS!

222  SIGHT  WORDS from 1stgradefireworks

Here are MORE ways to help your students learn to READ

I hope this helps your students become BETTER readers and writers!

Leave me a comment. How are things going? Anything I can do to help?  🙂

Wendy   1stgradefireworks

 

Write On Journal Pages

Helping my EL’s with Writing.

My kiddos come with a SMALL  amount of ENGLISH print.

MOST..not all..but MOST have enough English to communicate 

everyday NEEDS to me.

BATHROOM, Recess, and When is LUNCH?

How to help my EL’s with writing, when you don’t speak the same language?

We are OK.

BUT…

English PRINT?

WOWZA! Another WORLD!

FIRSTLY…

 We begin…BEGIN…with  Phonemic Awareness.

Sounds…

ORAL…

However, NO PRINT!

Letter Sounds, Vocabulary Words, Rhymes, Alliterations,,

SOUNDS

and LOTS OF THEM!

Secondly, 

We ADD 

PHONICS!

A symbol (letter/word) to the sounds.

Alphabet, HFW, Word Families, emergent readers, etc.

For those who make READING a priority…

they excel!

For those who don’t have a LOT of support at home..

It can take LONGER…

But then…

We WRITE!

We write well and we write A LOT!

Lists, poems, booklets, stories, and they LOVE IT!

The problem occurs when they don’t have an ENGLISH word to attach to the “word” in their head!

Vocabulary MUST be a HUGE part of the daily writing minilessons.

And RESOURCES!

We use Step Up to Writing…

Writing Stoplight

and

I “supplement”…Ummm

SUPPLANT

with

LUCY CAULKINS!

YESSSS!!!

http://www.heinemann.com/products/E07729.aspx

Click HERE to see it…

Lastly, 

We  use  my

WRITE ON!

 papers because they have 

VOCABULARY

built in!

Write ON! Writing and Vocabulary to help EL’s with Writing.
Write ON!
Write ON
Write ON
Write ON

Available HERE

My kids are doing GREAT!

(Most could only write their names at first!)

Daily PROGRESS! 🙂

First Grade Student Writing

First Grade Student Writing

First Grade Student Writing

And so..

we 

PRACTICE, we TALK, WE SING,

WE CHANT,

AND ..we

  WRITE ON!

 

And HERE is a FREEBIE to Help you on your way!

Check My Writing. Post Writing Checklist.
Check My Writing. Post Writing Checklist.

Helping FIRSTIES become Better Writers

Can First Graders become BETTER WRITERS?

Hello everyone!

My name is Wendy McCarty.

I am the creator behind…

1stgradefireworks

I create classroom and homeschool materials

that engage young minds and help the teacher to support instruction.

You can see my products in my TPT Store:

1stgradefireworks

Today’s Topic…

Writing in First Grade

Now… I wish I was PERFECT.

I wish my kiddos were PERFECT.

There are NO Perfect PEOPLE!

NO Perfect KIDDOS.

No  Perfect.

Now that we have gone there…how do we get close?

We get  BETTER!

Better Readers.

Better Speakers.

Better Writers.

Better..Better…Better

( My Mantra )

HOW?

We write EVERY DAY.

Usually..more than once.

We write about our day in school

…things we like

…stories we have read

…new words we have learned

…new thoughts we have had

etc.etc.etc.

I try to do a mini-lesson on a strategy.

I add new vocabulary.  In CONTEXT.

We make connections.

We expand our thinking.

We TALK!

And it can be noisy.

It’s OK.

Sometimes LEARNING is messy.

And loud. And busy.

It’s OK!

We do writer’s workshop.

My kids write.

AND they LOVE IT!

HOW?

Give them paper, pencils, markers, colored pencils, etc…

Give them…TIME!

And … LET THEM TALK!

My classroom is NEVER quiet!

Talking

about writing,

 during writing,

and after writing.

TALK, Write,  Create!

Are they perfect?

NO.

Is that OK?

YES!

*(Update)

I have added new

VOCABULARY BANNERS

to my

Writing Center.

Fall Vocabulary Banners for WRITING

Fall Vocabulary Banners for WRITING

The banners

help my

 beginning writers

( HOW DO YOU SPELL…..??? )

and my

EL students

(LOTS of VISUALS )

See how I use the

VOCABULARY BANNERS

Here.

For WRITER’S WORKSHOP

 If you need a starting point...

Monthly Writing Pages

WITH

VOCABULARY Helpers

at the

bottom of EVERY PAGE!

I LOVE TEACHING!

I am currently headed into my 27th year teaching…ALL of them in first grade!

My kiddos ask me “WHY don’t YOU ever GRADUATE to Second Grade?”

I tell them

“First Grade is IN my HEART!”

You can follow me at:

https://1stgradefireworks.net

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

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

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

https://www.pinterest.com/1stgradefirewor

Follow me:   TPT    FB   IG   Pinterest

1stgradefireworks

Is reading MORE..really ENOUGH??

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

Yes I am excited 5 days to go! The End of the Year is near!

5.5 days left…but who’s counting?

I admit it.

I AM TIRED!

I am counting the days until vacation.

I am counting the days until I don’t have to leave the house by 7:15 AM.

I am counting the days…until I can have coffee at 8:00AM.

Ah…I  Am  READY!

BUT…

My teacher BRAIN won’t 

STOP!

I want to start getting ready for

NEXT  YEAR!!!

I know…relax, breathe…ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

I can’t STOP! I want to plan!

We are getting a new reading program next year.

CA JOURNEYS here we come!

And so…I have begun. counting.

I have begun to plan.

MY day, my month, my year!

I am starting my new projects today!

Here’s a PREVIEW!

Focus Wall

Focus Wall Printables

SPELLING for the YEAR!!!!

The BEST PART???

These Packets can be used with ANY program!

( Just because it follows CA Journeys…doesn’t mean it will ONLY work with 

that program!)

Here is the FREE Focus Wall Headers… 🙂

How about 

DAILY   PROOFREADING    PRACTICE??

More on the WAY!

 Keep checking back!

I’m counting on it!

All available HERE.

Now…Where is my beach chair? 🙂

Time to relax! 🙂

5.5 days to go…  🙂

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

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!