Anchor Charts

Hello friends,

I feel like I have not blogged in a long time! But I have pictures and I am ready to share now. First off, the Lilly project promised in the last post! We made this to show character traits (and what better character than Lilly?!). I am rather proud to say that I drew Lilly free-hand! And the kiddos colored her in  

“Lilly makes lots of noises.” “Lilly is good.” “Lilly is fun!” “Lilly is mean.” “Lilly is funny".”

“Lilly likes school.” “Lilly is mad!” “Lilly is sad and angry!” Lilly is a drama queen!”

Can you tell we were also practicing using exclamation marks??

 

We have been making lots of anchor charts. The more the kids get to help the better, I think. So here are our Character and Setting charts.

 

We have also been doing a Mo Willems author study which has prompted a genre anchor chart and a Characters by Mo Willems chart.

 

This is old, but here are our number/word/ten frame labels for Math in Focus!

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Some “I can…” statements for last week.

 

Lastly- my Daily 5 rotation banner!! Mrs. Kirby totally upgraded this in her room with velcro names instead of pins… Jealous. But, its still super cute and the firsties LOVE making their choices!

 

Hope you are having a great fall!

Hilarity

Do you ever laugh so hard you cry? I do. I rarely ever just cry hysterically. That’s just not me. But, sometimes I laugh so hard I can’t breathe and I start crying! And I just cannot stop! It is physically painful. And also delightful.

Well, this finally happened to me at school. My kids are hilarious, don’t get me wrong. This is NOT the first funny thing they have done. Usually I can just take a deep breath and chuckle to myself and move on. Yesterday, I was caught in a fit of laughter and tears!

I will spare you the joke. It was a “had to be there kind of thing”. It wouldn’t be very funny to anyone else. But, something about it just tickled me. And all the kids were laughing and I was laughing and then I tried to carry on with class and I kept laughing instead. Then came the hysterical laugh/crying! It took about 5 minutes to calm everyone (me, mostly) back down. We finally re-directed and moved on. It was a fun moment for us as a class.

Last Friday we wrote our class promise! The kids had great ideas and I took them all and organized them into this promise. We had three main ideas: how to treat each other, things to do each day, and how to act. My favorite idea from things to do each day was “Eat”. My favorite part of the day .

Then I let the students get paper for their faces and yarn for their hair. They did this with basically NO direction. I just wanted to see how they’d do it.

 

Is it any wonder why I love the firsties? Look at that? precious.

The corner child here gave me a giggle. Such short hair for a girl…

 

My favorite is definitely this bald one  

No, none of my students have goatees… But somehow this happened.

And the one angry eyes kid makes me smile.

It’s the best display in the room, I think.

Next post I’ll have pics of the awesome character traits display we’re making! Whoo!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Fake vs. Real Reading

Today as my students were "Reading to Self", I noticed that a few of them were, in actuality, "pretending to read while I madly flip pages in my book"... Not what we want.

So I called my darlings together to have a meeting. I wrote "Fake Reading" and "Real Reading" on the board (i'm 95% sure I stole the idea from pinterest... ). I told them some of their classmates were not really reading, they were pretending... Then I asked for examples of what the "Fake Reading" looked and sounded like. Surprisingly, it was the culprits themselves with most of the answers!! haha. We listed flipping pages, talking, playing with clothes and shoes, wiggling around, and playing with the book. Then we listed what "Real Reading" looks and sounds like. Then we talked about which things we should be doing. It was a very good discussion.

Later when we "Read to a Friend" it went MUCH better! Yay! The magic trick to having them read quietly was to have them put their hand on their throat and whisper so quietly they couldn't feel their throat moving. It has worked brilliantly! We call it "a true whisper".

Then today during writing I introduced the conferencing aspect. We have a sign up on the board and 3 kids can sign up at a time. When one is finished they erase and the someone else signs up. It was HILARIOUS! They all wanted one-on-one share time (sweet firsties!) so it looked a lot like vultures circling a carcass! They kept hovering and staring at the board, just waiting for someone to erase their name! I don't think any of them got any work done. I hope tomorrow will go better. But, it is adorable to see how excited they get about it.

ALSO- today I was showing them a game for Math Workstations and we played as a class. It's called Save the Whale! It practices number bonds to 10. The poor whale is trapped in a ditch and you have to make the pipe long enough to pour water into the ditch so he can float out (hilarious premise.). So the pipe is x units long and you have to find the one to make it 10 units long. No joke- 3/4ths of my kiddos were getting it right on the first try! What?!?! Genius children. Now granted, it does have tic marks so you can count and figure it out- but I did NOT point that out. They just figured out. I was so happy/speechless!

Ok. LAST thing. NUMBER BALANCE MAGIC!!!! If you don't have this magical tool, please consider purchasing one. Our lovely Math in Focus comes with one (but we bought an extra as the MiF is back ordered....).

This thing is pure first grade MAGIC. You put a hanger (or tag as I called them today... sometimes I have NO brain...) on a number to represent the whole. Then you put hangers on the other side to represent the parts. Ex. whole:6 parts:2 and 4. When you do, the whole thing equals out. And all of my kiddos clap! EVERY TIME! I really felt like a magician today showing it to them. I get the feeling that number bonds are going to be a *snap* with these kids. Love it!

New Teachers Pay Teachers Item!

I have added my clip chart materials to TpT! If you would like to have an adorable penguin clipchart- here's your chance! Just hop over to my store and purchase away :)

AND- since I am SO excited about this, I am offering a special deal. Tell me your classroom theme and I'll make a customized clip chart for the low, low price of $3! What a deal! Comment if you are interested.

Teacher Week... Abridged...and late.

Well, last week was just too busy to blog. So I will just combine all the teacher week blogs into one!

Teacher Talk Tuesday: New teacher advice
1. Make friends with people who clean/cook/take care of you. They are life savers!

2. Look for a mentor (if you aren't assigned one). They are great helpers and can help you get started when you just get stuck.

3. Don't be afraid to ask questions!! Do ask someone privately c: but don't be scared to ask! Like if your kids go to music tomorrow, and you don't know where that is... ASK! Your cafeteria is probably particular about procedures... ASK!

4. Document everything! Keep a notebook and keep up with behavior issues, academic problems or gains, anything that may be important to share with parents or others later.

5. Stop whatever project you have going right now and make SUB PLANS!! Get some activities and books together, your roll/seating chart, schedule, behavior plan, and anything else that will make less work for you when you are sick. If you have it ready now, you will be prepared later!

6. Have FUN! Enjoy your students. Lift them up each day. Find something you love in their individual personalities. Take pictures, be a little silly, and have fun! Share what you love with them.


Where it all goes down Wednesday: Here is the link to my classroom tour post.

Three things Thursday:
Favorite Font is... don't really have one. I use a lot of different things. I am partial to fonts with penguins...

Favorite blogs are The Inspired Apple, Third Grade Meanderings, and Once Upon a First Grade Adventure. The first because I feel *inspired* by her great ideas, and the second two because they are wonderful ladies who I call my friends and mentors!

Favorite online resource is PINTEREST! I get so many great ideas so quickly. I have reproduced several things already this year from Pinterest. Feel free to follow me so you can see all the wonderful stuff I find c:

I feel caught up now.

Classroom update:
This week went very well. We have worked up to 10 minutes of stamina with read to self! I am very proud of the kiddos for that feat. We are working up to a dance party c:
In reading we worked on "Check it and Fix it" strategy. We listened to reading and said "Check it" when we heard something that didn't make sense. Then we went back and tried to fix it.
This strategy will evolve as they become better readers, but for now the point is LISTEN TO YOURSELF READ! If you aren't listening to yourself you will never be able to fix it if you mess up. They had fun practicing with "Peanut Butter and Jelly" partners. We also practiced individually and they made a check on a post it each time they used the strategy. It is so cool to hear them talking about their reading *!!!metacognition!!!*

This week is Horseshow Break. What? You ask... What is horseshow break??? Horseshow break, my friends, is the best idea in the world. In Shelbyville, TN where I am blessed to work, they host the world championship of Walking Horses. It is a very big deal. Everyone in town goes to the horse show or rides in it or works at it... So, we close school. For the horse show. Yes. Its magnificent. So I will be flying out to see my dear Texan loves on Wednesday. Enjoy your week!

Pretend its Monday, Ok?

So I am joining Teacher Week! While no one wants to ever pretend its Monday, let’s just allow me to write my Monday Post, ok? Thanks!

Meet the Teacher Monday:

Tell us a little something about you...

My name is Lauren and I live in Middle TN with my sweet husband of 2 years and our dog, Moe. We are a family! I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in second grade and my teacher let me help someone finish their work. I had to wait a really long time, so to speed things up I finished high school in 3 years. I am a HUGE nerd (I heart collecting and analyzing data, glasses, harry potter, taking tests, reading, taking notes, etc….). I love the arts (sweet husband is a painter) and I did community theater my whole life. Somedays I really wish I had time to do it again! But- teaching is acting, right?

 

How long have you been teaching?

I started in January of 2009 (the state calls this my 4th year). I taught a semester long interim in Special Ed 4th and 5th grade. Then I taught first and I LOVE IT.

 

You might not know...

I played Lucy in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” in highschool. It was the best musical ever! I found out that I, in fact, AM Lucy VanPelt. I can be bossy and give advice and think I am a queen… Its true.

I am kind of a Jesus hippie. I love people and trees. For more on this, see my personal blog: BlahBlahBlog.

My sister is a genius. Follow link for proof: Nikki is a Genius.

 

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

Daily 5 (my team is joining me in it this year. Praise!)

Writer’s Workshop

Singapore Math (Math in Focus)

Cookies from the cafeteria

 

What do you need to improve?

Cleaning every day. Catching the kids doing a great job so they can move up our clip chart. Not buying a tall iced nonfat chai latte every morning. Doing more projects rather than one day activities so we can go more in depth.

 

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

Mauvelous tape, Sharpie pens, post it notes, something to drink (water/sweet tea/diet soda), Mo Willems books, chart paper, and to do lists.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read about me! Happy Teacher Week!

Whole Body Reading

Here is the poster we made this week about using your whole body to read.

This poor fellow is doing a great job reading, but he is just falling apart! He has elephantitis of the thigh, a jaundiced ear and hand, his nose has fallen off and his brain is falling out… Poor little man. But- he IS doing a great job reading.

The kids are now at 8 minutes of stamina with the Daily 5 read to self and read to a friend! Whoo! And they are turning out to be great writers! I am very excited about this year.

Tip of the week- photo story. Just google it and download it… like, go ahead and do that and then finish reading this post… Ok- so photo story is kind of like a movie- only you use photos instead of footage. You can add your own recorded sounds or music from your computer. It is SUPER easy to make. Each step is spelled out for you.

We are making nursery rhyme stories this week. I paired up the kids and they chose a nursery rhyme to say. They practiced (chorally or I read, you read… they chose) and drew 2 illustrations of the rhyme. Then I recorded them saying the rhymes and took pictures of their illustrations. I will put it all together into a cute photo story.

Here is a photo story I made about jumping. Yes, it is pretty silly. But it will help you understand what photo story can do. Enjoy at your own risk…

Hope you have a great week!

Welcome Door Linky!

Time to link up all those adorable welcome doors/boards!! I have already posted mine, but here it is again!

Thanks MJ for hosting!

Day 6

Hello Blog friends,

I have been on hiatus due to exhaustion! The first week was so crazy and I worked 10-11 hour days for the whole week! Including today- we went to Walmart after school to buy more supplies. Despite the crazy-long hours it was a very successful first week. I had mentally blocked how hard it is to restart each year… But, MAN! You can really see the improvement each day when it starts out with them knowing nothing about the procedures. I am very proud of my kiddos! 17 so far (liable to change all the time) and they are sweethearts.

So- I had promised a picture of the FACE board I am going to use this year for my reading strategies. And I will make good on that promise! But first- a quick lesson for anyone who has never heard/used CAFÉ (if you are one of these people, please consider reading these books. They are awesome!)

Ok- so basically you use the CAFÉ board (or, as I am doing this year, FACE) to record reading strategies as you teach them and help the students realize they use them! Metacognition!! So when we read a story I may introduce the strategy to Check the Picture to make sure what you have read makes sense. We would model this strategy and then write it and put it on our FACE board. We would put it under the letter C because C=Comprehension! Check the Picture helps kids understand the story, so we put the strategy under C for comprehension. Get it??? So easy and smart.

So then when I read with Nikki (my sister’s name… I’ll use her as the example ) is reading with me and she reads “The cat is in a truck” when the picture obviously shows the cat in a tree, I can ask her to “Check the Picture”… Does this make sense? Then we go back and identify the correct word and *ta-da* some comprehension has taken place! Not only does Nikki understand the story better now, but she also understands that she used that specific strategy! Whoo!

And now that we all understand what a FACE board is…… HERE IT IS!!!

Ahh! So lovely, right? The camera was made by my sweet artist husband AND me. I asked him to make it and he helped me do it instead. Great teamwork! The letters are on plates that I painted with glue and then GLITTERED. I dye-cut the other letters and my sweet assistant put them up for me today! Close up time!

closer

Camera from cardboard, construction paper, butcher paper, peanut can lid, and silver crayon

Glitter letter close up. AND my sweet friend Amanda over at Third Grade Meanderings made these great labels. I printed them 2 per page and they look perfect, if I do say so myself .

This will soon be completed with pictures of each of the kiddos peeking over a book! So stinking cute.

I took some quick shots today after school- post comments if you need more explanation!

Its no door by Abby Faulk (sweet girl who did my door last year) but it will do.

Pinterest idea turned into real life! Loved it!

Post it note word wall!

My class library in the corner, storage behind the purple curtains, low table for small groups/anything else.

Kid’s desks, promethean board, computers, my desk.

3 ways to read a book (ignore my ridiculous cutting)

Read to Self Independence chart

Chrysanthemum heart activity. We all promised not to use hurtful words.

Math About Me project (I got it from some awesome blog, but I don’t remember which). They turned out very cute and hilarious. One child’s favorite number is 1002. LOVE first grade!

Hope you have a happy week!

**edit** Math About Me PDF. Sorry I can't remember where I got it to give credit!

Back to School!

Tomorrow is our half day, then we start school full time on Tuesday! Crazy, right? And I know.. I know I should be in bed now but I just HAVE to watch Food Network Star and I'm waiting on dear husband to finish up the dishes so we can watch (best.husband.ever.EVER!)

Anyway, wanted to post my schedule for this year! My *ahem* verydetailedbecauseijustneeditthatway schedule. Here it goes! Ready??

7:15-7:30 morning procedures/read or write/get new books/use restroom/number or problem of the day

7:30 Reading/Daily 5

· Phonics-10

· Choice 1-15

· Read the story -15

Monday put vocab words up, picture walk, predictions on board

Tuesday teacher read, review predictions

Wednesday echo or choral reading, identify vocab words

Thursday have students retell the story, go over story elements

Friday listen to story and review for test

· Choice 2

· Strategy lesson -20

o Intro strategy

o Model it- talk about how it helps

o Ask students to model it

o Put it on CAFÉ board

o Model with partners (with basal or just right book?)

o Have students model it again

· Choice 3-15

· Spelling-15

9:15 calendar

9:30 snack

9:45 (pull out dismissed)

· Language-20

· Choice 4-15

· Choice 5- 15

· Share-5

10:40 Math

· Workstation 1-10

· Whole group with manipulatives- 10

· Guided practice with manipulatives and writing- 10

· Formative assessment- 5

11:15 lunch break/rr

12:00 Math

· Reteach and independent work

12:15 Specials

Monday Music PE

Tuesday Guidance 12:45 Math workstations and reteach/enrich

Wednesday (PLC) Art PE

Thursday 12:15 Math Workstations and reteach/enrich 12:45 Library

Friday 12:15 Math workstations and reteach/enrich 12:45 PE

1:15 RR break

1:25 Writer’s Workshop

· Whole group lesson 15

· Quiet 10

· Independent 15

· Share 5

2:10 pack up

· Folders/mailboxes

· Clean desks/floor

· Color behavior calendar

· Put money in banks

· Line up

2:25 dismissal

Holey Moley. (AND this is my 37th revision.) Also- I realized today that I have no planned time for classroom meetings... Dear oh dear. But, as my adorable new button says, "Keep Calm and Learn On." If you have any questions about my schedule, ask! I'm happy to share!

I'm super excited to fix up my CAFE board and take a picture for you! Only this year, I am making it my FACE board (ya see what I did there??). Saw it on pinterest, can't take credit. But It will say "Picture the FACE of a Reader" with pictures of the kiddos all around, then the sectioned board (I put on a scalloped border so it kinda looks like a picture frame c: ). I will *probably* be using my friend Leigh's idea of putting the FACE letters on paper plates above each section... Genius! Anyway- the shining star of this display (besides the strategies that actually go on the board) will be the camera! Yes, a paper camera! My dear artist husband helped me make it. Actually, he made me do it but gave me helpful tips at every step. He gave me some good confidence :) So, this lovely camera will be posted soon! Can't wait!

Happy first day, friends!!