Yesterday was a sad day in more ways than one. My heart goes out to everyone affected by yesterday's tragedy. I am thankful I have my kiddos and their creative little minds to get my mind off of things! We finished up our spring image writing yesterday. We began the lesson by reading a spring book (of course!). Then the kids each painted sheets of paper in the colors they would need. It takes awhile, but the end products are well worth the time spent!! Each started by making a page in all blue (for the sky) and all green (grass, trees, & flowers), then I let them decided which colors to do from there. They were so cute, making sure everyone had the colors they needed! Many of them were helping their friends when they finished. Teamwork! When the paint had dried, we talked about all the fun things we can do in the spring. They each chose their favorite and made their spring image showing that. We wrote a spring acrostic poem to go with our beautiful pictures. (I am also using these poems for our library poetry contest!) Here's a few samples! "Super warm days Perfect weather Rainy drops fall It's nice out Nice, pretty flowers Gorgeous flowers grow" "Some sunny times Pretty plants coming Rainy days begin It's time to plant New animals come Gorgeous things are here" "Spring is here, caw Pretty plants Rain coming, caw Ice melting Nice roses Grow flowers" I have some great writers! I love how their pictures came out. Image writing is one of my favorite things to do because they each come out so different! I put the spring paper I used in my TpT store as a freebie! It includes the acrostic poem and a page for creative writing if you choose to do that instead. :) Click here to get it!!!! Enjoy this beautiful weather!
Handwriting can be tricky to teach. Sometimes it must be done 1:1 with students, and it requires rigorous, thorough practice and follow through. Some teachers and administrators will tell you that handwriting really isn’t important, but I disagree. In kindergarten and first grade, we are
easy to use Kindergarten Writing Workshop Units that include writing prompts, ideas and activities for beginning writing throughout Kindergarten
Help your emergent writers stretch out words with this strategy! Build spelling confidence in your kindergarten & first-grade students.
As I am thinking about what I use or need during the beginning of a school year I began thinking about writing workshop. Do you follow some type of writing workshop model? I know I have and I love it! I really enjoy watching my students build a love of writing and I am a firm believer that the writing workshop model helps to do this. It provides students with a number of opportunities to write in different genres, helps them to fully understand the writing process, and builds their confidence in writing! It is always a thrill to wrap up workshop time by listening to students share out their accomplishments for the day. When I run my writing workshop I follow the traditional model of a Mini Lesson, Guided or Independent Writing, and Share Out. This model stays consistent day to day and it is something that the students come to expect and enjoy. As part of workshop each student is given a writing folder at the beginning of the year which THEY LOVE! I am always sure to brag about MY own writing folder and they too become proud owners of theirs. This folder includes items they can use for reference as well as being a place to keep their "still working" and finished work. Do you use writing folders? Here is a look at how I prepare my writing folders to start the school year. 1. I start by printing out my writing folder resource kit (found here) and your basic 3 prong folder. I add a shipping label to the cover with a student name. 2. When you open the folder you will see that I label the inside left pocket with "still working" in green and on the first page I insert a page protector with my "Writer's Checklist Sheet." 3. The next sheets in page protectors are my "When I'm done Chart" and "Alphabet Chart." 4. Then I include a "Helpful Words" chart and the next page is where students will keep their mini word walls for reference. 5. This is the mini word wall continued and I label the right back pocket in red with "finished" as will be the place students put pages they have completed. How do you set up your writing folders?
I received a lot of great feedback about how I run my reading block in first grade . Thanks for all the comments and emails! My kindergarte...
Every year I like to make a set of these spaceman sticks for my students. It is a great help when teaching your class how to make spaces between words! It is an essential writing tool in my classroom! Simply print the spacemen onto labels (or you can use paper). Then cut the labels to the desired size - I like to cut off some of the white area. Put the stickers onto jumbo craft sticks and secure with a piece of clear packing tape. I also like to add each students name on the bottom of the stick with a permanent marker. Click below to get the labels.
Printable Label A Sticker template to help you create an easy and fun literacy activity, no matter the time of the year!
My kids love stations. I love stations! Done correctly, stations can be one of the most beneficial (and enjoyable) times of the day. BUT some people make a case against stations - saying that they are chaotic and they require too much planning time. The solution? Consistency! Choose a few staple stations and use them often throughout the year, just varying the difficulty and theme. One station my kids LOVE is Scrambled Sentences. I love them, too, because they are PACKED with great practice. My students love completing sentence scrambles of each thematic unit we cover! This keeps the station fresh and exciting even though they are technically doing the same thing each week. Students unscramble three sentences by reading the words to decide what makes sense, searching for the first word by the capital letter, and searching for the last word by the punctuation mark! After they put the sentences in order, they write them on their paper. Each paper has a self-assessment at the bottom so they can check their writing for a capital letter, a punctuation mark, and finger spaces between words. If things start to feel a little monotonous, there are some easy ways to mix it up a little! You can throw the cards in a theme based sensory bin for students to fish out before unscrambling. Or you can have students build sentences in a pocket chart - during stations or whole group! I also like to laminate cards and put a piece of magnetic tape on the back so students can manipulate the words on the board! There is another Scrambled Sentence option for students to work independently! I like to use these in a writing station or for morning work. They could even go home as homework! Students cut the sentence out, unscramble it, write it on the lines, and then they illustrate! The illustration adds a meaning-making piece which is great for students working on comprehension. Have you ever tried scrambled sentences in your classroom? What do your students think? Click the image below to check out the bundle with over 30 themes!
The perfect end of year writing template! Have your students reflect on their favourite experience, memory, activity, event, friend or teacher from the school year. Writing template includes lines for printing and space for an illustration. File includes: Writing templates for Kindergarten to Grade 4. Kindergarten template is interlined. TPT License: # TPT52686
This fun and free Write the Room Monster Color Words activity makes learning color words exciting and hands-on in Pre-K & Kindergarten!
I love teaching Writing and it's so hard for me not to "jump right into it" on the first day of school! I've mentioned before that I do no...
Easy, editable name practice worksheets. Just type in your class list and push print. You will have a complete set of personalized pages for your students!
Looking for writing centers and ideas for your writer’s workshop? This Kindergarten Writing Unit 1 is all about learning to tell stories by drawing. Children will work on telling stories through drawings, adding details and labeling their pictures with words. The activities can be differentiated for children at different levels. Lowest level writers can start […]
She's your girl and there is no way she will not be in your wedding. You both know it, but a sweet little card to ask her the big question will mean the world:) Ask her to be your bridesmaid with this funny wedding party card. Card is printed on *kraft cardstock and comes with an envelope. Kraft cards will come with a kraft envelope and the color cards will come with a white envelope. (COLOR CHOICES: Kraft, blueberry splash, electric kiwi or popping strawberry). PRINTING ================ (Outside) "NOW ACT SURPRISED YOU LIKE HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS COMING" (Inside) WILL YOU BE MY (BRIDESMAID, MAID OF HONOR, MATRON OF HONOR, JUNIOR BRIDESMAID, FLOWER GIRL OR PERSONAL ATTENDANT)? Listing includes 1 card and A7 envelope (5.25" x 7.25") If you're going to ask your closest friend to be your bridesmaid ask her in a language she understands...your language...FUNNY!!! There's space to write a meaningful note to your future bridesmaid. You got the ring - NOW YOU NEED YOUR GIRLS!!! These items are printed and already to be shipped!!!! If personalizing with a name or message other than bridesmaid, maid of honor or matron of honor please contact us about creating a private listing for you. These customizations may incur an additional fee If you're going to ask them, ask them in style! KEEP IN MIND ================ If you want matching cards for another special someone we can create...maid of honor, matron of honor, flower girl, etc...LET US KNOW, we're happy to create a listing and have them all packed in the mail together!!! *Kraft is a recycled paper. This may show slight inclusions which add to the beauty and uniqueness of the paper. IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION =============================== -Your item will be shipped within 1-2 business days unless otherwise noted. -All items are shipped via USPS First class Mail. Upgrades are available as requested. SHIPPING TIMES -While packages arrive MUCH, MUCH sooner we allow the post office up to 2 weeks for Domestic delivery and 4-5 weeks for International delivery before resending/refunding for non-delivery. Thank you for understanding, while we pride ourselves on our organization and timeliness, the USPS can be delayed by Mother Nature and circumstances out of our control.
K-1 WRITING UNIT 4 This is such a fun writing unit to teach! In Unit 4 of my K-1 writing series , we are tackling “How-To” writing pieces, and my kiddos love it when I tell them they get to be the teacher. I say, “You get to teach me! You have to write and tell me how to do something!”
Build and Write Phonics Cards Do you need hands-on phonics activities that students can complete independently and develops their foundational skills AND mee
60+ Must Make Kindergarten Anchor Charts for the classroom. Covers classroom management, literacy and math. Multiple ideas!
Help your emergent writers stretch out words with this strategy! Build spelling confidence in your kindergarten & first-grade students.
K-1 POETRY UNIT I love teaching poetry to kindergarten and first grade students! Even though I have this labeled as Unit 8 in my Writing Series , I actually teach poetry throughout the entire year. We follow the same routine and students look forward to our poetry week every month.
Rain poem of the week is broken down into daily poetry activities to help build reading fluency, phonemic awareness, concepts of print and more!
A Tisket, A Tasket, Freebies for your Basket! Several phenomenal teachers and bloggers are joining forces for an amazing bunny blog hop! As you follow us along the bunny trail, you will visit some of your favorite blogs and discover a few new blogs too! Each with a fabulous freebie just for you! Thank you for hopping on over to my blog! Did you know April begins National Poetry Month? As a student, I always loved writing poetry. However, as a teacher, I've always disliked it. Maybe it's because I didn't really know where to start with poetry and how to get kids excited and confident about writing poems. In my six years of teaching, I've discovered that starting a poetry unit with acrostic poems is the way to go! Read on to find out more and to snag a SPRING ACROSTIC POEM FREEBIE! First, I gathered kiddos on the carpet, and we discussed poetry in general. I wanted students to understand that not all poems rhyme, and "the look" and syntax of poems are different than the "regular writing" we do. I've often found that students who struggle with writing do very well with poetry because the typical conventions are tossed aside! Yay! Next, we created a circle map all about "Spring." Thinking maps and graphic organizers are very familiar to my students so they had no problem coming up with ideas and content. Then, as a class, we created two Spring acrostic poems TOGETHER. I wanted students to realize that while everyone is writing about spring, their poems should look and sound different than their neighbors' poems. We used words and ideas from the circle map to make these two poems: I'm planning to hang the Spring poems on a bulletin board with tissue paper flowers. Won't that be bright and springy!?!? :) Click on the pictures below to download the templates! You can also get this freebie by clicking "Download" next to the Scribd logo! Spring Acrostic Poem Thanks for stopping by and visiting! If you are new to my blog and liked what you see, don't forget to follow me. A Tisket, A Tasket, next up with a Freebie for your Basket is Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers. Hop on over! Just in case you didn't join us from the beginning, here is an ordered list of all the participating blogs. Stephany from Primary Possibilities Sally from Elementary Matters Lory from Fun for First Linda from Primary Inspiration Nicole from Mrs. Rios Teaches Second Grade Brian from Hopkins' Hoppin' Happenings Liz from The Happy Teacher Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers Sarah from Learning is for Superstars Teresa from Fun in K/1 Nikki from Teaching in Progress Faith from Kindergarten Faith Renee from Fantastic First Grade Froggies Amy from Happy Teacher Heaven Leah from Learn with Leah Nicole from Teaching's a Hoot Kristy from The Phonic's Phenomenon Rich from Mr. Giso's Room to Read Susanna from Whimsy Workshop Amy from Motivate to Learn Lola from Preschool Wonders Kimberli from Mixing the Next Batch
Let's take a little peek in a day in first grade! I love my job and working with the kids, tap to get some tips and tricks you can use too!
Our class had a lot of fun learning about Manatees, Sharks, Whales, and Dolphins. We spent a week learning about these mammals/fish. Student...
Helping little ones learn how to write their own name is one of those important life skills. That’s what this Rainbow Roll & Write My Name page helps learners do. And it’s editable. This means you can customize it by typing in your learner’s name! *This post contains affiliate links. **The free printable link can ... Read More about Editable Rainbow Roll & Write my Name
First grade anchor charts are great tools for reminding kids about concepts in math, writing, spelling, science, and more! Check out these great ideas.
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Check out examples of Kindergarten informational writing and the nonfiction mentor texts that inspired their writing. This post also includes a way to support struggling Kindergarten informational text writers.
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