Color Words: Learning to Read & Write 'Em

This is an oldie but goodie for me.  I did give it an update, though.  This is a center I use each week, for the first several weeks of school.

Each student has a recording sheet and are looking at a set of color cards.

I display the cards (mixed up) on a pocket chart.  I also allow the students to grab the cards to compare words if they need to.

My students need to write the color word (6 times) on the lines.  Then they match the initial consonants to figure out which picture to draw.

The MOST important part is reading with them when the finish.  I use my finger to practice one-to-one correspondence.  This center takes a lot of guidance at first, but pretty soon they're independent.  You could also cut the little squares and make a book.

You can get the Blue Freebie HERE.
You can get the whole set in my TPT store HERE.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

This is another fun holiday.  Many of us have Irish roots, and I get to see GREEN all day.
I have a collection of St. Pat's books, but my two favorites are Irish folktales:

Of course I love to do accents for the speakers.  I'm glad kids don't know how terrible I am at them! =)

We did a Lucky Charms graph.  I just scoop and serve.

For Writing, we did The Teacher Wife's Worth more than gold... craftivity.  Mine are cut a bid oddly- I'm going to hole-punch and place in their memory binders.

And we stopped by our media center for a special story from Ms. Gibbs.  She read Leprechauns Never Lie.

And if you follow me on Instagram, you got to see a clip of one of my Irish students dancing a jig. =)

Fairy Tales and Fables

We spent the week before last on fairy tales.  We discussed common elements and compared various versions of stories.  Plus there's all those fun fractured ones.

Last week, we studied fables.  I'm hear to share our "Jigsaw" Strategy.  We started the week by reviewing vocabulary and discussing what a lesson/moral/message is.  I am SO happy we have Nicole Shelby's Reading Interactive Notebook.

The following day, I grouped them by reading level, and each group had a different fable to read, discuss, and take notes on.  For my ESOL babies, I gave them a fable we had done in Guided Reading AND I found an audio version online that they could listen to the day before.  These stories came from a HUGE packet of fairy tales and fables by Yvonne Dixon:

The following day, I mixed them into different groups.  This time no one in their group had the same fable.  They were responsible for teaching (NOT reading) the fable and the lesson.

We wrapped up the week with a ticket out the door, a matching title/moral game, and final notes for our reading journals.

What a fun week! =)

Hallway Bragging!!

I have so much to display in my room that I've had to move to the hallway.  I often remind the kids not to brag on themselves (except to a Mommy).  But I can sure brag!  Here are some ideas to help your students feel special.

At the very top you'll see our Fact Fluency clubs.  Our school really pushes automaticity at every grade level!  I highly advise this!!  They are given a sheet of 100 simple facts (randomly organized) on a weekly basis.  They have 5 mins. to complete as many as they can.  Each student's goal is to increase a little bit each week.  And of course we graph these results!
I also give mine a strip with 20 problems each day.  I give a couple of minutes to work on ACCURACY, not SPEED (strip not to be completed!!).  This TOTALLY makes a difference.  When I taught 5th, I saw that if I skipped the practices, they wouldn't complete as many on our timing day.

4th/5th grades work on multiplication through 12
3rd works on chunks of multiplication facts
2nd works on addition through 20; subtraction through 20
1st works on addition through 10; subtraction through 10
K works on introducing and practicing for fun!

"50 Club" means those kids can do 50+ addition facts in 5 mins.  The "100 Club" kids can do 100+ facts in 5 mins.  There's a history-making student in my class.  (Our school has been open 11 yrs.)  Rachael can complete over 300 addition problems in 5 mins.!!!  Yowsa.
This 2nd semester we're working on subtraction this semester.

The bucket:  fill our bucket!!  We have these all around the school.  Anyone can write a note to our class or to a student.  Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

We are collecting GoNoodle certificates.  I lost the first one! =(

We are the Black Knights, and we adopted a "Champion" mentality several years ago.  I pick a Black Knight each week.

Finally, we need to advertise our AR points.  Thanks to Amy Lemons's freebie, I have super-cute signs for them to autograph.

Literature Circles for the Little Ones

Having several literature circles going at once when I taught 5th grade was so fun!  In second, I run one literature circle during a guided reading time.  I start out very slowly.  I assign a chapter or two, and we all have the same job.  Then when we meet again, we review their assignment and brainstorm how to improve on our work.  There are so many jobs to choose from.  My favorites are:  Discussion Director, Amazing Artist, Word Wizard, Creative Connector, Super Summarizer.

I created a packet for you to use in your room.  It's for sale in my TPT store.  All you need to do is print and start working with your kiddos!  You can buy it here.

Valentine's Day!!!

I do so love holidays!  All week we read and wrote about friendship and being kind to others.  Some of my favorite books are

 

After reading Love, Splat, we had to make First Grade Parade's Splat.  These always turn out so cute!!!

About two weeks before Valentine's Day, I sent home a letter that my students would need to do a book report.  I had to approve the book (to make sure it was on their correct levels).  In addition to the written piece, they needed to decorate a Valentine box to represent their book.  This idea and printables were all found in One Extra Degree's TPT store.  On Friday morning we sat in a circle and listened to everyone explain his box.

 A Geronimo Stilton book

 My Weird School

I can't remember the book, but I thought this one was very creative.  The slit is in the dog's back, and he can lift the whole top off. =)

I always need to incorporate a treat of some sort.  This was a lovebug cookie.

While students rotated over to the snack table, the rest of them were making a card for someone special.

And to finish off our holiday, we always end the day with

 

As part of my Valentines, I made them bookmarks.  They sure can't seem to have enough of those!

Here's a link of bookmarks for you!  I just deleted my name.  Print, sign your name, and laminate!
Val Bookmark Freebie

I hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day, friends! xoxo