A simple prewriting practice activity with Letter A! This free printable teaches letter formation and beginning writing skills to toddlers and preschoolers. #preschool #finemotor

These free pre-writing printables give kids practice with common strokes that are found in letters, and can be used in many different ways!

The first few weeks of school are all about setting the foundation. We're establishing routines and procedures, encouraging a growth mindset culture, building classroom community, etc. I also like to spend some time laying the foundation for what students will need to be successful writers throughout the year, especially since writing is a focus that threads through all subject areas. In second grade especially, sentence structure is a great place to start. We review the 4 parts that every sentence has to have in order to be a complete sentence:

The start to the school year for newcomer ELLs can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. It is our job to set them up with tools to help them feel comfortable exploring a new language in a

So you’ve taught your students to write sentences. Now what? In the beginning of my career, we worked HARD on writing sentences. When it came time to take the next step into writing paragraphs, I found this was even harder for my students. We were able to write 2-3 sentences about a topic or picture, ... Read More about How to Scaffold Paragraph Writing for Special Education

easy to use Kindergarten Writing Workshop Units that include writing prompts, ideas and activities for beginning writing throughout Kindergarten

I am all done with parent conferences and it feels great! I had the most terrific year and I’m so happy to share my students’ progress with their parents. During parent conference time, I always love to have lots of student work to display. I absolutely love to incorporate student pictures into student work. This ... Read More about Silhouette Autobiographies and Read Across America

Cultivating a postive classroom community is such an important part of teaching, and I've learned that little things go a long way. The Best Part of Me writing activity is a great community builder!

If you're looking to build confident writers it's important that they develop the skills in these four stages of beginning writing.

Check out these 5 ESL Speaking Activities that can be adapted for different grade and proficiency levels to get your English learners talking

As an ESL teacher, I often hear from classroom teachers that they don't always know where to start when it comes to working with beginning English language learners (ELLs), or newcomers, in small group instruction. In this post I'll share a typical "guided reading" lesson that I would give to my beginning ELLs, as well as a glance of at what a typical week would look like. Let me start by saying, the very first thing I do before I start instructing my newcomers is, I assess what they already know. First, I see if they have literacy skills in their native language...can they read and write? Then, I see if they know alphabet letter names and sounds. Next, I assess their reading level. Since they don't have English literacy skills yet, their reading level typically starts at level "A" (emergent). I can say that most students do have some literacy skills in their home language, and often times, many know some letter names and sounds. So now I've got my starting point! When I first begin working with my newcomers, the main components of reading that I typically focus on are building vocabulary, phonological awareness/phonics and sight words. So a typical week would encompass all three of these skills. Down the road I add comprehension skills, but they are not ready for that yet. Step 1 - Choose an appropriate book. I carefully select books that have relevant vocabulary. For the most part, my main focus is to build their vocabulary. The literacy skills in their native language will transfer to their new language, however, they have an extremely limited vocabulary, so... vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary! I chose this book because I wanted to teach my students the word "big." It's also about animals, and I know that most kids are interested in reading about animals! I used gestures to SHOW them what "big" means. It's important to be mindful of your students' age when picking out books. You don't want to give 4th-6th graders books about bunnies or teddy bears. Try picking age appropriate books; which I know can be a challenge if the selection is limited, but you don't want your students feeling embarrassed. Step 2 - Preview the book. Point to and say each animal's name and have the students repeat the names back to you, keeping in mind to speak clearly and to enunciate the sounds in each word. It's important for them to hear how to pronounce the names. A side thought...Think about "A" level books... they are not created with English language learners in mind. "A" level books have repeated sentences, which are GREAT, but they also have very specific vocabulary that students are expected to decode using picture cues. In the book my students read last week, the repeated sentence was, "We go to the _____." The pictures show the family in different locations like the pool, park, library, soccer game, etc. In one picture the family is standing in front of a large fish tank. If I asked English only students where the family is, some might say a fish store or they might even guess aquarium, depending on their background knowledge. Then they'd cross check their thinking with the word and see that it begins with the letter "a" and hopefully they'd say, "It's an aquarium!" But our newcomers don't know what a big fish tank place is called in English, so it's important for us to support our students by saying the names of each vocabulary word. Step 3 - Choral reading! Newcomers feel more comfortable in a choral reading setting. They need help pronouncing the words. They need to hear YOU pronounce the words. Choral reading helps to keep anxiety levels low. (In a few weeks, the choral reading decreases and I will start focusing on decoding.) Step 4 - After reading, review the animal names. Point to an animal and see if they can remember the name. Perhaps make a matching activity with animal pictures and names. Support as needed. Encourage a LOT! Step 5 - I always provide a guided writing activity based off of the book we just read. I use sentence frames to support their thinking and writing. Sometimes I create my own, like the picture below, and other times I'll use a graphic organizer as a follow up activity. On this day I wanted them to understand the meaning of "big," so their writing supported this goal. As they finish their writing activity, I'll ask each student to read some of their writing to me. Then they'll draw a quick picture, which I always ask them to label. I know that my newcomers don't understand every word in the book, and that's OK! They are being exposed to new words and ideas in a repeating format. I want them to get used to the structure of our lessons so that they know what's expected. So, here is what a typical week of small group work entails for my newcomers. Knowing what the focus is each day helps me to zone in on their learning goals. The variety keeps it fun and interesting, yet it's consistent so they know what's expected. As you can see, on Tuesdays I include direct vocabulary instruction, either using the vocabulary from the book, like the animals, monthly themed vocabulary, or content area vocabulary. October Themed Vocabulary (along with sight words and phonics review) One vocabulary activity I have my students do is called the K.I.M. Strategy. In their notebook they write the key word (K), important information (I), sketch a memory clue (M) and write a sentence (S). For my newcomers, I leave out the (I) portion. They are not ready for adding "information." Right now the goal is for them to learn the names of things and simple sentence structure. My higher ELLS definitely include all components of the K.I.M. Strategy in their notebooks. This is what the K.I.M. Strategy looks like. And this is how it looks modified for my newcomers... On Thursdays, I focus on building sight words. When teaching sight words, it's important to teach them in context. Your beginning ELs need context in order to make meaning of the words. I pull a sight word from our books and I include an extension activity with that word. (A link to this resource is provided at the bottom of this post.) I do teach sight words throughout the week, but on Thursdays we always have an extension activity for one of them. As an "exit ticket" I have them orally use the sight word. Today, I asked each student, "What can you do?" And they responded with "I can _____." Then they get a high five, a sticker (big kids like stickers too!), or some encouraging praise. I also include Word Study activities in my small group work. I like using the sorts from Words Their Way. Each Monday they receive a new spelling pattern. Remember, I assessed my students to see what they already knew. Most already knew initial sounds, so I started them with word families. If they did not know initial sounds, I would've started there. I do have one student in this group who does not know many initials sounds, so I spend a little extra focus with him on initial sounds. This resource is from "Words Their Way." My newcomers use this activity to learn spelling patterns AND vocabulary. They are introduced to their new word list on Mondays, then they have independent activities to do with their word list throughout the week in their gen ed classrooms. (It's so important to set newcomers up with meaningful activities that they can work on independently during Reader's Workshop.) Below is their Word Study Activities list. It gets glued into their Reading Notebook. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays they work on their independent activities. Friday is Word Study Quiz day! FREEBIE - Click Here And that's what small group instruction looks like with my newcomers. To recap, assess what students can do to evaluate your starting point. Focus on building vocabulary, sight words in context, word spelling patterns and choral reading to start. My guided reading lessons usually looks like... preview the book, front load main vocabulary, choral read, and end with a guided writing activity with sentence frames. Here's a TIP: Many times I make my own guided writing activity based on what I want the students to learn from the book. I'll write the activity in my notebook, make copies, cut them to size, then have students glue it into their notebook. Keep this notebook! You may get a newcomer next year, and when you do, many of your guided writing activities will already be made. You'll just need to find the book that goes with the activity. My notebook where I write out the guided writing activities. I know that many school districts lack ESL resources and often times the classroom teacher is the only one providing instruction. Knowing where to start with beginning English learners is probably the biggest challenge. I hope that this post gives you some ideas about where to start and what to focus on with your new students. To read more about the K.I.M. Strategy, click here. Affiliate links below for Sight Words and Word Study.

Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom. Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher. Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection. Day 1 To begin, I asked my students to write any name they wish they had on a sticky note. They then placed it in a mason jar. I read my class the story "The Name Jar" by Yansook Choi. We stopped at several points in the story to predict, make connections, infer, and ask questions. At one point, we paused in the story so that students could journal about the name they wrote down on the sticky note earlier: - Did they choose their own name? Or another? - Why? - If you chose another name, where did you hear that name before? Day 2 At the end of Day 1, students were given homework. (Stick around to the bottom of this post for a chance to get your own copy of this sheet.) I make it very clear, that while names all have meanings, your family may not have chosen your name for that reason. They might not know the meaning, and you can choose to look it up with your family if you wish. I also focus a lot on nicknames and your own feelings about your name. While I've never taught a student in foster care, or one who was adopted, I do think it's important to mention that this could be a touchy task in those situations, so be sure to know your students first, and modify as needed. Students use the homework task, and the journal write from the previous day, to write "The Story of their Name". Some possible options to include are: - who you are named after - the meaning of your name - a name you'd rather have - your feelings toward your name - nicknames you may have - the person (or people) who chose your name - how your name was chosen This piece of writing is then self, peer, and teacher edited, and a "good" copy is made. Day 3 I found this excellent step-by-step self-portrait from "Art Projects for Kids". I modified the task so that instead of drawing the left or right side of their face, they would draw the top half. Students find that folding their page into quadrants as she suggests is very helpful. Under the document camera I demonstrate each step, and students copy, adapting to their own facial features. Each student gets a mirror to look in to help them personalize. The final pieces are put on a bulletin board for display. Students also coloured in a bubble letter version of their names to complete the display. (I used the font KG Red Hands Outline for this.) Day 4 Once we've completed the task, the last job is to reflect on our work. I pulled some elements from our Arts Education curriculum (very relevant regardless of where you teach) for students to self-assess on. I've used the proficiency scale language our school has moved to for all reporting. A few students found it helpful to complete their reflection while looking at the finished product on their bulletin board, but most didn't need this. Want a copy of both my homework and reflection pages? Follow the image or button below to grab your copy. Take Me to the Free Download Pin this post.

Ready to rock teaching beginning of year writing in first grade? These early days of writing instruction must be targeted and on point. Click to learn more.

Build writing confidence, as your students take ownership of the writing process, with these FREE personal sound walls and writing folders!

End of the Year Activities : Sunglasses Craft ► Summer Activities ► Craft and Writing ► 32 pages ► The writing prompts are: Our Future is so Bright! My Future is Bright! Sunny Days Ahead Summer Memories Summer Dreams The Future's So Bright We Have to Wear Shades ► Letter size 8.5 x 11 inches ** Personal use only NO COMMERCIAL USE ALLOWED!**

How to writing is one of my favorite writing units to teach. My students just get it and they enjoy writing many, many pieces! Maybe it’s because my students think they know how to do everyyyytthiinngggg. 😉 If your students are like mine, let them run with the idea that they know it ALL and have […]

The first week back to school is usually pretty hectic. From getting back in the swing of things to preparing for the first day and all of the back-to-school

If you have students who say, "I don't have anything to write about" then this writing activity could definitely work for you. It lends itself to pretty much any grade level. I was actually introduced

I have updated this link with a freebie! Click here to get there. "No, David" is one of our favorite books to begin the year or use anytime we need a little review of what our classroom expectations are. One corner of our classroom is devoted to David and our school rules. We read the book several times then the students chose one rule they thought was especially important to them and they typed their rule during Computer Lab time. Then each student created a picture of David and they turned out AMAZING! We had so much fun with David this year that we decided to use iMovie to create a short video of David following the rules and showed the video to the entire school. How FUN! If you would like to view the video you can see it on my classroom webpage. The poster shown above was printed at Staples. I used PhotoShop to edit the title to fit our lesson and class.

first grade teacher blog

This post contains an affiliate link The first week of school is usually a blur. We are all settling into a new routine and the summer haze is lifting-slowly. This is the time we are

This post shares 5 engaging, hands-on, and play-based learning journal activities for preschool-aged kids. The activities cover skills such as pre-writing/tracing, shape recognition, counting and number recognition, beginning letter sounds, letter recognition, left-to-right progression, and fine mot

Using sentence frames to get ell students writing. Click here for more:

Pete the Cat is the go-to book for many classrooms. Here are free Pete the Cat activities, videos and books - perfect for kindergarten and first grade.

This super-cool beginning reading activity uses a fun racing printable and miniature race car to reinforce phonetic blending ("sounding out").

Je vais demander à mes élèves de se présenter et cette année, je vais m’appuyer sur une idée trouvée sur Pinterest : Je l’ai adaptée à mon projet de classe : page 1 page 2 PROJET-se-pré…

Click to see how one teacher uses 1 book to launch writing workshop with a detailed breakdown of each day and a free download.

Teaching patience from the beginning of the school year is so important! I have found that when my students are patient through the day, we accomplish so much more. To introduce the concept of patience, we complete this fun Patience Character Education Lapbook together! We begin by completing a KWL chart on our character wall about what we Know and what we Want to learn. Then, I send my students to their seats to color, cut, and paste their lapbook cover. At the end of our patience lessons, we will add what we Learned to our KWL chart.

Engage students with this fun snowball collaborative writing activity that will get even reluctant writers putting pencil to paper!

When trying to differentiate instruction for our students, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are 6 Easy Ways to Differentiate Instruction

This is an idea that comes from one of my interns this year, Tracy. She saw it in another classroom. I could not find anything about it online so I just had to make my own poster. When you begin teaching handwriting on the “lines” this is such a helpful visual for the children. Chicken […]

Do you teach your first and second-grade students to learn how to write a paragraph? In this post, I share ideas, lessons, and activities for students to learn how to write their own paragraphs in a structured way. Before I dive in, I wanted to let you know you can watch or listen to all […]

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR NAME It is so exciting when children become curious about how to write their name. I believe teaching them to write their name should be the first word they learn how to spell . It is personal, concrete and helps them realize that putting letters together in writing has me

"End the year with a fun art and writing activity that you and your kiddos will LOVE! I hang these in my hallway, and I can't tell you how many compliments I receive. They are SO DARN CUTE! My students loved doing them, and I loved reading them...and seeing them (of course). " Included, you will find: ★Project templates ★Detailed project instructions ★Writing prompts for both primary and intermediate kiddos

Preschoolers can enhance their fine motor development and practice pre-writing skills with these nine apple themed pre-writing strips! Perfect for back to school time. Cut and laminate the strips and place them in your literacy center, where students can use a dry erase marker to trace the fine motor lines. It's important for pre-k students to build fine motor skills before they begin writing. This resource also helps children learn to write left to right. BONUS: Includes a bonus apple themed line-tracing worksheet! MORE PRE-WRITING PRACTICE TO BUILD FINE MOTOR SKILLS: Back-to-School Camping Construction Farm Germs Gingerbread Pumpkins Sharks Thanksgiving Weather Zoo

I started my kids putting together reports with this animal report minibook. Perfect for beginning and pre-writers. They can either draw or write in it.

Le prime attività insieme I primi giorni cerchiamo di tessere nuovamente i fili della relazione. Cerchiamo di stimolare la conversazione, l...

B and D reversals are something I see often in my students reading and writing. I've posted before {here} about some of the errors that I often see in struggling readers and how I correct the errors while reading {here}. Today, I'm sharing with you some of the activities that I use to help students practice differentiating between the letters B and D. Sometimes it seems like my students really just need so much practice and lots of visual cues to help them out. I like to give my students consistency with how I describe the formation of B and D. I always use the sayings "bat before the ball" for B and "doughnut on a stick" for D. This helps my students remember what part of the letter they need to form first. I keep some of these types of activities handy all the time. I can easily pull them out whenever we have a few extra minutes or if I just think my students need some more discrimination practice between the two letters. You can check these activities out by clicking on the picture below or {here}. One of my students favorite games is this B and D Zap! game that's a freebie in my store. We play this game as a "speed" game. I set my timer for 3 minutes and students must quickly say the correct letter to keep a card. We try to do as many as we can in 3 minutes. There are special cards that students can pull, such as the Zap! card. The Zap! card means students must give all of their cards back to me. There is also a skip and reverse card to keep the game fun. My students love playing Zap! You can check it out by clicking on the picture below or {here}. I hope this gives you some helpful ideas for your students!

Tips for Primary Teachers.

One of my favorite things about back to school, is knowing that I get to meet and love on a brand new bunch of kids for the school year. I’m sure you feel the same way, and have your lesson planner packed to the max with different “get-to-know-you activities.” I want to share with you […]

In this blog post you will find five mini lesson, in the order I would teach them, for your next informational writing unit. These mini lessons have been created based on standards and using common struggles students face with this type of writing.

Free printable letter cut and paste worksheets. A preschool alphabet letter activity where kids color beginning sounds images and paste them.