PENGUINS!

So this week is penguin week for me and my firsties! Yes, I know it is spring. I know penguins are generally discussed in the winter. I am aware. But, our county pacing guide did not allow me time in the winter to discuss penguins, so I waited it out. I'm VERY excited!

We are, of course, reading Tacky the Penguin. SO funny. I love him. When I write a musical it will be based on Tacky. We are using this fabulous unit by Deanna Jump I found on TpT to help us out!
It has lots of thinking maps with penguin clipart, book templates, reading, and math activities.
We will be using a blubber glove (!) to experiment (!) and see how penguins stay warm. Basically, you coat a ziploc with crisco and it mimics the blubber. Kinda makes me sad when I think about Crisco being in cookies AND being blubber... Anyway, we will hold ice with and without the glove and compare and contrast! How fun?

I have put together a penguin book basket full of fiction and non fiction for browsing and partner reading. They are super excited and think the penguins are SO cute!

I need to find a penguin cam somewhere online so we can see some in action! I just love this week!



Also- I have decided as the year comes to a close (22 days) to only do one-on-one conferencing with my kiddos for reading. No more small groups! I did 5 today and they were really great for me to see where the kid is excelling/struggling. Here's my breakdown of the conference.

1. Choose which 5 kids to see each day. 2 low, 2 mid, 1 high.
2. Choose a text to hear them read (I am only doing cold readings. I made a end-of-the-year basket including BOB books of varied levels, Level 1 books, and a few 2nd grade level books- all fiction)
3. Call the child over, intro the text, listen to them read. I do assist them with words, giving them strategies to use. I also take notes in my CAFE notebook while I listen .
4. Ask comp questions about the text.
5. Ask student what they did well on and what they need to work on. (encourage, encourage, encourage)
6. I identify something to work on as well. I model, they practice. **this is a point I am working on this week. I'm bad about modeling it myself and forgetting to have them practice**
7. I write down the strength and point to work on. They SEE me write it down. No secrets in the notebook :)
8. Repeat! It takes less than 15 minutes with each child.
It's pretty easy and I love how much I get to see them using the strategies with a brand new text. I would love to hear how other people run their conferences!!

Have a happy week!

Bragging... Just a little!

So- we got our ThinkLink scores back and I am PROUD! The dear firsties did a great job and really improved on our big goal number sense. Not just my class, all of first grade made a leap in the area!
So let's give a big round of applause to the factors that made this growth possible.

First of all- to Singapore math (the crowd goes wild)! We just adopted Math in Focus and decided to use it with our students to review/reinforce number sense. Everyday we did an activity to help them identify numbers, order numbers, compare numbers, and even wear number bracelets!! We used ten frames as card games and flash cards. The curriculum was followed to a T. And it definitely paid off. Hurrah for Math in Focus!

Secondly, we must give a cheer to the kiddos! Whoo whoo! Every day they practiced their number sense. They counted until their brains almost turned to mush! They gave up precious end-of-the-day reading time to practice more. Rather than be intimidated, they arose to the challenge of conquering number sense! My class is great and I appreciate them each day I come to school. Thanks for working so hard, Penguins!

Last, and NOT least, the teachers. Let's hear it for ourselves! We met and planned, copied, searched, bought, and created extra practice for our kids. We gave up the precious reading time. We taught 2 math lessons each day. We twisted approximately 150 pipe cleaner number bracelets to fit little wrists. Each day we focused on using number bonds- the math secret weapon. And it all paid off! Congratulations to us, we all deserve a cupcake!

*thanks to smithy for the corrections :) *

Teachers Pay Teachers

Hello friends,
I am proud to say I started my own TPT store today! My first **FREE** item is Read, Write, Glue, Draw pages for plants. We are studying plants this week for Earth day! These sheets are a perfect way for my firsties to practice some much needed skills. They LOVE doing these! Their pictures are always so cute.

I will be posting more RWGD's priced at $1.50, so if you want to have them for the rest of the year, I'll be putting them up shortly.

Here's how to visit my store!! TpT Person
So excited!

Do your BEST on the TEST!

Just wanted to shout out to all my teacherfriends who will be giving state testing this week! Get it girls!!!

I will be praying for your kids to be focused (and correct heehee) and for you to feel at peace.

My dears made sweet cards to give a fourth grade class. We also gave them Smarties to help them be smart! The cards said "Don't let the test trick you!" "Don't cheat!" and "You are doing magnificent!". They were precious.

We will be working very quietly tomorrow! Good luck, friends!

Non-Fiction Writing

So we finished our How To writing. It was very fast, and I really wish I could have spent more time on it, but hey, we live and learn. Next year I will plan differently :) The kids did a good job with their topics, but the thing that impressed me most were the book blurbs they wrote! My favorite was "Are you ready to learn how to draw a heart? Read my book!" so adorable!

Next week: NON-FICTION!
We will be making bubbles, not books. The amazing book Of Primary Importance by Ann Marie Corgill gives examples of them, so we are going to try it out. Basically, its a poster that it is a circle! They choose a topic and write 3-5 facts, draw a diagram or time line, and make a heart with something their subject loves inside. I will be making a bubble about penguins (which we will refer back to when we study penguins in 2 weeks!!).

I think the kids will really get into this! On Monday we will be choosing non fiction books. For the rest of the week they will be using post-its to flag important facts, and then writing all their information down. I'll be sure to post some of them next week.

How To

This week we are doing a *quick* How To writing study!

It looks like this: Day One (I am not at school... so this is a modified sub plan..) class writing "How to Make a Cupcake". This is an assessment. I will simply write what the kiddies tell me and we will use this to see how we can improve our writing.

Day Two: Students will examine some How To texts (I'll show them the how to I followed to make baby headbands over spring break, an example in our basal, and *hopefully* a library book as well). We will notice that these texts have in introduction, sentences organized in steps, pictures, and a list of materials needed. Students will brainstorm together about things they know how to do and choose a topic. They will use a planning sheet to get started!

Day Three: I bring in the materials for a PB&J! I ask how to make it and follow the kids directions EXACTLY! Should be pretty hilarious.... Then we will discuss how you need to be specific in your directions. They will finish their planning/start on their books today.

Day Four: We discuss the introduction. Tell people why they want to do this. Is it fun? Is it easy? Will it help them? We write a group introduction for "How to Make a Cupcake". Then they write their own intros. After those are finished, they continue to write their books. I will be furiously conferencing!! Starting with my low babies who will need the most help organizing.

Day Five: We work, work, work! Conference, write, trace, cut, glue, staple, trace, decorate, reread, and FINALLY SHARE!!!

I think it will be great. My kids LOVE Writer's Workshop and this will be a fun way to relax after Think Linking all morning long.
If you want the worksheets/organizers I made for this, just leave me a comment with your email address!! I'll happily share! (putting the last doc. up caused me much stress.... I need a tutorial haha. So for now, I'll just email it if you need it.)

Happy writing this week!

You Know You Teach First Grade When...

So this is a linky I saw on Abby's blog. Write your own! I love reading everyone's lists.

You know you teach first grade when...

~ You get more hugs than anyone else in the world!
~ You get called "Momma" but ignore it, because the kid is always embarrassed when they realize what they did.
~ Eating lunch with you is a BIG DEAL!
~ You are a part time nurse and referee.
~ You're favorite part of PE is jump rope, and the kids are really impressed by your skills.
~ Mo Willems cracks you up.
~ You are basically a linguistics expert with all the coded handwriting and spelling you read on a daily basis.
~ Dr. Jean comes on you iPod when it is on shuffle....
~ Between the Lions is secretly your favorite show!
~ You feel accomplished if you can get just one nosepicker to break the habit over the course of a year!
~ Calendar time stresses you out *Abby, I stole this one from you!*
~ You get emotional at the end of the year when your kiddos are great readers and LOVE to read!!! Because you know you helped them get there!

I love my job!!