A Hopping Good Week!

     This week my firsties had a blast learning about their favorite little amphibians, frogs! We started off the week same as always, we filled in our anchor chart on schema, new learning, and misconceptions. Students came up with so many great facts for schema, I was surprised at how much they already knew! I loved how they connected to other learning with some of their answers. They said they know that frogs can be different colors, and then one student said, “I think they might be camouflage to blend in like penguins.” There is no better feeling as a teacher! Their only misconception was they thought frogs were quiet. Here is a picture of my anchor chart I made for frogs.

     Then we read The Frog Prince. While I read, the students filled in their story map to show comprehension of the story. When finished, we did a class graphing activity. I asked the students if they would kiss a frog like the princess in the book. After graphing, we answered questions about our graph. The funny thing about this activity was that when I first posed the question all the kids said “Ew!” but obviously some of them changed their mind.

     We read aloud a non-fiction book about Frogs. They wrote down on sticky notes any new fact they learned. They had some great new facts. I then handed students their Froggy Research paper. They started writing down the answers to any questions they knew. They kept this paper in their unfinished work folder all week. I gave students the book from my packet called My Little Book about Frogs and they read through this with a partner in the room. They illustrated each page to show understanding of the text. Then they got to take this books home and share with their family.

     One of my favorite parts of frog week was the frog-themed math centers I created. My first graders needed a bit of polishing up on their number sense after Spring Break. So, I designed 5 centers that helped them work on their number sense and fluency. They built numbers with connecting cubes, stacked them into order, practiced counting on, adding up to find totals, etc. Here are some pictures from Froggy Math Centers.

     We finished the week off with students presenting their Frog Informative Writing pieces. They used all of the information they learned throughout the week to write a research paper on frogs. They used my Writing Process to produce their finished papers. Click here if you’d like to buy my Writing Process. They wrote their papers, then matted them onto construction paper. Then, they added their frog parts, and poof! They had these absolutely adorable frogs. They loved these and were so proud to show them off. They read them aloud to the class and enjoyed Froggy Floats during the presentations. The recipe for this is included in my packet! It was a class favorite.

Download my frog-themed unit by clicking on the picture above. It’s full of math, science, literacy, and other fun activities and resources. Enjoy and Happy Teaching! Ribbit, Ribbit!

A Seuss-tastic Week!

     This week we did an author’s study on the famous Dr. Seuss.  The students loved learning in-depth about their favorite children author and illustrator.  Especially after we celebrated his birthday the week before Spring Break!  We started off by filling in our weekly chart.  Each week we fill in a topic of focus chart with three categories: SCHEMA, NEW LEARNING, and MISCONCEPTIONS.  I then ask students what they already know about the topic (SCHEMA).  Then, as we learn throughout the week we add any new findings about the topic in the NEW LEARNING space.  Anything from SCHEMA that we find out to be false, we move to MISCONCEPTIONS.  This is a chart that we review each day to build a strong understanding on the topic.  Students often reference this chart during writing activities for recalling information.

     On Tuesday, we read Green Eggs and Ham.  After reading, I had students graph whether they like Green Eggs and Ham.  I gave them a picture of a egg to color in green and had them put their name on it.  They then place their vote under YES or NO on the class chart.  We then analyzed this information to compile a graph and answered questions by interpreting data as a  whole group.

     My favorite activity of the whole week was a class book writing project aligned with Green Eggs and Ham.  We talked about what we noticed in the book: rhyming, silly ideas, nonsense words, crazy illustrations, etc.  I told my students that everyone was going to be responsible for one page in the class book.  They had to come up with two words that rhyme.  One word needed to be a food item and the second word needed to be a thing.  I found this page on http://first-grade-fever.blogspot.com for free!  On the printable page it says, “I do not like Green Eggs and Ham! I do not like them (Student’s Name) I am! But I would eat _______ on a _______.”  I came up with “I do not like Green Eggs and Ham! I do not like them Ms. Engels I am! But I would eat pizza on a cheetah.”  My students were laughing hysterically when I read them my page.  They could not wait to be creative on their own to complete their own rhyme.  First we brainstormed some possible rhyming words.  We listed a bunch of favorite foods on the board and came up with words that rhymed with each food item.  I always like to get my kiddos thinking and on the right mind track before setting them on their own.  Click here to go check out the blog to download this fun and wacky Seuss activity!

     on Wednesday, we read The Foot Book and learned about antonyms.  Students loved learning about opposites and could not stop giving different examples.  After talking with my teaching partner, we decided that next year we needed to have an Opposite Day when we taught about antonyms.  I simply sketched out a pair of feet on a piece of paper for students to list opposites on.  They put one word in one color on one foot and the opposite in the same color on the other foot.  They came up with SO MANY great examples like: messy/clean, rich/poor, nice/mean, healthy/sick, light/dark, yummy/disgusting, new/old, silly/serious, sweet/sour, stop/go, etc.  Later in the afternoon we read Fox in Sox and switched the focus to synonyms.  I sketched out a pair of socks on a piece of paper for students to list words that mean the same on.

     Next, we read the Cat in the Hat and worked on story sequencing. We looked at different events that happened in the story on sentence strips and placed them in the correct order together as a class.  Then, students brainstormed about what a day with Thing 1 and Thing 2 at their house would be like. They used my writing process to complete this assignment.  The students came up with some very hilarious stories!  Some decided they would let Thing 1 and Thing 2 in and play board games, make mini pizzas, and watch movies with them. Others wrote about how they would barricade (YES! One of my first graders used this word!!!) the doors and lock the windows, and keep them out of their house. Like I’ve said before, my first graders always wow me with their creativity and imagination with writing.

     Finally, to finish our Dr. Seuss unit off, we read the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Not a single student in my class had heard of this book before and so they all loved it. They were really engaged when following the adventures of Bartholomew who must save his kingdom from a sticky yucky substance called “oobleck.” When I closed the book, the students hands shout up. They immediately asked, “Can we please make our own oobleck?” Lucky for them, I was prepared! We used the recipe I found here to make the Oobleck with Borax and white glue. It stretched good and wasn’t sticky. I gave each student a handful of it in a Ziploc bag to take home. 

All in all, the kids had a blast learning about Dr. Seuss. Now we are working on our next unit, Frogs. Ribbit Ribbit!!!

Enjoy and Happy Teaching!

 

Pets! Pets! Pets!

     Last week I had my students work on persuasive writing. We read the book I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff. If you are unfamiliar with this book, you must find it and give it a read! It’s a beautiful mentor text for teaching persuasive text to students. This story is about a little boy named Alex. He spends the whole book just trying to convince his mom to let him have an iguana. He puts his arguments down into persuasive letters. He promises that she won't have to feed it or clean its cage or even see it if she doesn't want to. Of course his Mom counters each argument with a point of her own. She imagines life with a six-foot-long ugly iguana. Alex makes a couple valid arguments: It takes fifteen years for an iguana to get that big. He will save up money to buy lettuce. He will make sure it has clean water and clean it’s cage, and so on. The letters go back and forth until his mom finally is persuaded to let him have the iguana. We made a chart on the easel as we read along to highlight each reason and decide as a class if we think it’s valid (good) or poor. This is what we had on the chart:

Reason	Valid? Yes or No
The dog will eat it. Iguanas are cute and quiet. Keep it on his dresser. He’s lonely. Teach it tricks. Takes 15 years to get big, he will have a house of his own. He will take care of it. Teach responsibility.	Yes No No No No Yes   Yes Yes

     After we completed the chart, I told the students that in order to persuade (convince) someone of anything they must have VALID reasons. I then told the students that we were going to be doing something very similar to Alex in the story. They would be writing persuasive letters to me for a class pet of their own. We’ve had several stuffed animal class pets, but now it might be time for a real pet. I told them to think about valid reasons why different pets would be a great class pet and why I should buy them one. They came up with some very clever arguments. Here are some examples.

     I did lots of research over break, and even visited the pet store. As soon as I get the okay from my principal we will have a new addition to our classroom. A Mountain Horned Lizard. Here’s the little guy!

    
     If you are interested about doing a class pet in your classroom, check out my TpT Class Pet Journal Pack. It’s simply adorable and your class will love it! You can use the pages and print them to put in a spiral notebook or you can print the pages and bind them together separately.

 

Click on the title or the picture to purchase my product. Hope this is helpful for you. Enjoy and Happy Teaching!

 

Spring Break Check-In

     This Spring Break has been the best yet!  I went to Anchorage last Saturday to see two of my little firsties compete in a Ju-Jitsu competition.  They were so fierce and did an amazing job.  I was one very proud teacher!  After the competition, James and I headed up to Talkeetna, Alaska.  James had our trip planned for months, and was so excited about us flying out on a plane to land on Ruth Glacier in the middle of Mt. McKinley. We had both never been there, and it was definitely going to be an opportunity of a lifetime to fly and land in North America’s tallest Mountain.  Little to my knowledge (Kind of… I had a pretty good hunch), James had this all planned so that he could propose to me when we landed on Ruth Glacier.
    
     While we were at the Ju-Jitsu competition he told me he had to head somewhere really quick to sign papers for work and would be back in about an hour.  I didn’t think anything of it.  However, during the time he was actually picking up my beautiful, gorgeous, amazing engagement ring! After a long drive we arrived at Talkeetna and checked in at our Bed and Breakfast. We settled into our room and we were both reading a book while looking out of our wonderful view of Mt. McKinley. A few hours passed and then James said to come over in front of the window and he got down on one knee. He had only had the ring in his possession for a few hours but it was killing him to wait and ask me! I thought it was the best proposal I could have ever imagined. I was on cloud nine, and honestly still am.

Engagement VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

     This week, I’ve been busy working on wedding plans and making TpT products. I just picked up my brand new Dell Laptop from the UPS Store this morning. I love it!!! Now I can finally blog and make products as much as I’d like. Products such as my new Vowel Digraph Word Work Packet. I can’t wait to use it this week in my classroom with my kiddos. There are lots of FUN, HANDS-ON, and NEW activities in this packet. It focuses on –oo, –ou, and –ew digraphs. Here is what is included in this packet for only $3.50:

My Vowel Digraph Flipbook
Digraph Sort
Group the Pictures Worksheet and Sorting Mat
Hide and Seek Worksheet and Cards
OO, OU, EW Game Board, Dice, and Cards
Digraph Poster for Classroom Display

 

Please check it out and thanks in advance for your support! Enjoy and Happy Teaching!

 

Amazing Writing Workshop!

    It’s officially Spring Break! Today was in-service and I used the day getting all of my persuasive writing pieces graded for the quarter. After reading over 100 writing pieces from my firsties, I must say that I am beyond happy with how my first graders are writing. They are writing organized, detailed, lengthy pieces for every assignment. I credit this success to my writing workshop I designed. It differentiates writing for every learner and allows students to write at their own pace. My teacher partner Staci and I sat down at the beginning of the year and really thought about what the best approach for writing was. We ended up creating this amazing step-by-step process. These are the 8 steps to writing success.

Step 1: Bubble Map (Students write their topic in the middle of the map and then write one idea in each surrounding bubble to tie to their topic. I tell my students that they can only have one word in each bubble or it will pop. This makes them really narrow down their thinking to be precise and succinct. When they finish their bubble map, they color in their 3 best ideas with a yellow crayon or highlighter. These are the three ideas they will expand upon.)

Step 2: T-Chart (Students then grab a T-Chart and begin expanding. They write their 3 words on the left side and then write a sentence out of each word on the right. These will be their three supporting sentences in their writing piece.)

Step 3: Topic and Conclusion Sentence (Students grab 2 green strips of paper. They then write a strong topic sentence on one. Then they write a strong concluding sentence on the other one. For my below students I might give them a sentence starter for these. With my above students, I encourage them to think about their audience and how to best express their voice in these sentences. They are aware that a topic sentence needs to grab the reader’s attention and a concluding sentence should be a strong statement or question that leaves the reader thinking. They glue these strips on the top and bottom of an 8x14 piece of paper.)

Step 4: Big Ideas (Students grab three yellow strips of paper and transfer their three sentences from their T-Chart on them. They then lay them down on their desk and work with the order of these sentences. They think about what seems to flow smoothly together the best. For my below students, I might have them begin all of their sentences the same, then work on sentence fluency as they show growth. For my above students, I give them three red strips in addition, and they write a detail sentence for each supporting sentence.)

Step 5: Thump, Bump, and Finger Space (Students then go over their 8x14 paper and thump each capital and bump each period. Last, they check for correct spacing between each of their words and sentences. My students have little spacemen (made out of clothespins from Really Good Stuff, CLICK HERE) that they use to check for spacing. Having the manipulative really makes them follow through on each step.)

Step 6: Peer Conferencing (Students then find a buddy who is finished to conference with. If a student happens to be done and there is no buddy to conference with I have them read it to me, and I conference with them. During this time, they sit elbow-elbow-knee-knee and look over each other’s writing. They give suggestions and guidance to improve their paper. I love this step the most! I love walking around the room and seeing a student suggest to another that they might want to add an adjective or a detail here or there, or telling a student they missed a capital or that they should have an exclamation mark instead, etc. My students are thinkers, and they really know what qualities and skills a good writer must encompass.)

Step 7: Teacher Conference (Students then bring their 8x14 paper up to my desk. We then look over the piece together and see if there is any changes that need to be made. Sometimes I might suggest a stronger topic sentence or adding more details. A lot of time it’s just me finding a few spelling errors and helping the students sound them out and write them correctly. By the time my students bring me their paper, they have really attempted to polish it up to publishing quality! After I have checked it over, I give them the thumbs-up to begin the final step.)

Step 8: Publish and Illustrate (Students then grab a paper with writing lines and a box for illustration. They look at their 8x14 piece of paper and transfer their writing onto this piece. When they are finished writing, they illustrate their writing in the box. Last, they turn in a fine piece of paper!)

My product can be found on my TpT store here, and for a week it is on sale for a steal. Only $1.50! I am so enthusiastic about how amazing this works for my first graders that I really just want to share this with as many fellow educators as I can at little cost. It’s meant to be used within the K-3 classroom setting, but with some adjustments I’m sure it can be used in other grades as well. You need to introduce and model each step of the writing process with your students as a whole group, but once implemented for a week or two it will become routine. I usually use the unit theme as my topic and then set students off to begin at their own pace.

I recommend cutting out each diagram for the 8 steps and mounting it on to a piece of sturdy paper. Laminate each piece and attach together using a ribbon. I hung mine in the classroom at a height that is accessible to all of my students. This way they can self-monitor their steps by moving clothespins with their names on them. I also have labels included in this packet to put onto plastic drawers to organize a writing workshop supply center in your classroom.



Also included in the packet are labels for student folders. They have a cover and an inside label that has all the steps written down in order with visuals for ELL and ELA students. My students keep these folders in the seat covers and put whatever they are working on in their folder at the end of the writing process each day. This way they never lose strips, t-charts, bubble maps, etc.

Finally, I have created a SMART Board file aligned to my workshop. I have it available for download here. I ask that you please buy my product on my TpT store if you download and are planning on using my SMART Board document in your classroom for writing. If you have any questions/comments about how this workshop works or suggestions on how to improve it, please let me know. Hope this writing workshop works as wonderfully for you, as it does for me. Enjoy and Happy Teaching!