“Squam is a lake, a gathering, a community”… and later this year, I’m going to be part of it! Yup, crafty folks, I’m going to Squam!! I can hardly believe it’s true, but come September this year, I’ll be heading off for New Hampshire to teach at the Fall Squam Art Workshop. I’ll be teaching a couple …
This blog post uses An A from Miss Keller as a writing mentor text. It includes a personal narrative checklist anchor chart, a writing lesson and FREE printables!
PRIMARY WRITING - UNIT 3 I am so excited to teach this narrative writing unit! This writing curriculum is geared for kindergarten, first grade and can even be used in second grade classrooms. In Unit 3 , we are learning how to write a personal narrative . We practice writing about what we l
Hello Everyone! Wow!! I just have to say that a little bit of "sand in the toes" time does wonders for the mind, body, and spirit! It was a well needed time of decompression and rejuvenation as a family. We did it together and it was wonderful!! Now, time to get my teacher hat back on. We will meet our new little learners on Thursday!! I'm sure many of you are starting soon...or maybe you've already started. I know that as I start my 33rd year, I can say that I am excited about this year! Many of you use Lucy Calkins' Units of Study to help guide your writing lessons. You know how much I love that whole series. We will be using the Grade 1 series this year and I can't wait. I wanted to use her little anchor chart ideas- but have them available in printable form for the classroom anchor charts and smaller ones for the kids' writing tools notebook. So, I came up with these. You do have to know that these go along with Lucy's lessons and will make more sense if you are using her books. ( I feel like a walking advertisement for her!!! :)) Anyway, if you would like a quick printable, CLICK HERE!! :) Let me know if this is something you can use. Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back soon! Joyfully! Nancy
Strategies for using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with younger students. CBT is effective for children 8 and up, but elements can be used with modification.
Writers Workshop in first grade this year has been quite the learning curve for me. I need to remind you that I have never taught first grade until this year and the last time I taught writing was well before the workshop model was popular. I am still by no means an expert, but I […]
The New Wave is a 6" perfect circle. It is simple, clean and minimal. It personally reminds me of my younger days at Malibu beach with my older brother in the mid 80's. Dawn patrol sessions and empty beaches. It was a nice time to be a kid.
We are knee-deep in our 5th grade historical fiction unit right now. This is always a favorite each year. We've blogged about our various HF adventures HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. In 5th grade, kids have already completed a HF unit when they were with us in 4th grade. During that time, they all read the SAME book. This year, to take them a little deeper, the kids main focus is studying the ERA they selected. Due to this, kids are all reading DIFFERENT books that are within the same era as their book club members. Our students also had to select a different era this year from the one they studied last year in our space. Eras we focused on this year: Colonial America, Revolutionary War, Westward Expansion, Civil War, WW2, and Civil Rights. Our favorite part of this, is that kids of all levels are in book clubs together, really creating fantastic discourse tied to era understanding and how their book fit together. A huge part of any historical fiction unit is nonfiction understanding of the era they are studying. We spent the first week+ immersing ourselves in nonfiction materials tied to our era. Kids shared ideas with each other and created a group timeline outlining important events from their era. As we have been working through our books and discussions, they started to bring up and share where their books fit into these non-fiction timelines. Last year, we made "double timelines", which were fun, but only one book could fit in that framework. This year, our amazing student teacher, Megan Leverence (she's looking for a job, people...anyone hiring?? :) found a great blog post. You can read it HERE. She took the idea and changed it up a little bit, and found a way to connect it to the timelines the kids created. Rather than write up "reviews," like the blog suggested, she had the kids create "book timelines" of the books they had been reading. She had them find 5-10 important events in their books (no spoilers allowed), and create a timeline "flipbook." Once the kids created their "flipbook timelines", they placed their books on the nonfiction timelines. This created a fantastic visual of where all of the books we were reading fit across history. We utilized a huge bulletin board in our hall to hang all the timelines and books on. It's been a great discussion and visual tool for all of our kiddos. How have you taught HF units? How do you bring in nonfiction? We'd love to learn with you! Happy Teaching, Angela
Hello Everyone! I love helping first graders express themselves through writing. For me, the first semester of first grade is all about creating a safe environment for them to feel comfortable putting their thoughts down on paper. We work on all the different ways to incorporate written expression into our day. I just love when one of my little would rather write than do anything else! Well we are now all about making our great writing even better...That means editing. I don't know about you, but it has been my experience that kids do not like going back to fix anything in their writing! Does anyone truly love editing? Hence the challenge, making editing engaging. After researching and trying different things and I think I finally came up with something that the kids can understand, use, and grow. We compared different pieces and rated them. We will use them as rubrics to compare our own writing. We learned about a few first grade friendly editing marks. We modeled editing on an old piece. Then we received out "Editing Super Visors," and special editing pens. I love to have my kids peer edit, so we got with our writing partners right away and picked a piece on which to work our editing magic. TaDah!! Engagement! Our Editing Super Visors I did put all these ideas into a micro unit about editing and rubrics. A quick set of printable rubrics with rating numbers for your own quick print and go micro unit, CLICK HERE!! Or CLICK HERE for a new and improved version of the unit!! I hope you can use some of this!! As always, if you see any typos or anything that should be fixed (or edited!! Ha Ha!) please don't hesitate to holler at me!! Thanks for stopping by for a peek! Stay tuned for more first grade fun!! Joyfully! Nancy
September is here and so is a new Writer’s Workshop! This is an exciting year for our students. They take the knowledge of beginning, middle and end stories and begin to truly craft a creati…
One of our first grade standards in SC is to teach students to edit for punctuation,capitalization, and spelling in writing. For those o...
Even though I wrote this post several years ago, we still use Popplet during reading to organize our thoughts as we read. We have also branched out and used Popplets in math, writing, and more! Popplet has continued to support teachers with more features such as class accounts and by sharing lesson ideas on their blog! If you are just getting started with Popplet read on to learn how to integrate the free iPad app Popplet into the classroom to teach reading strategies. What is Popplet? Popplet has become one of our go-to graphic organizer apps during Reading Workshop to teach
I was so excited when I saw this linky party and knew I just had to join! (Not like I spend enough time on Pinterest anyway, right?) Check out the fun at Ashley's blog by clicking on the picture above! Here goes... (I give you fair warning- I'm a polka dot addict!) #1- Cute, editable and totally FREE polka dot labels from Miss Kindergarten Love! #2- Speaking of polka dots, I LOVE all of Erica's cute stuff, especially this fun and bright Birthday Board with the kiddos holding the number of their birthday! #3- While we're talking about free things, Cara Carroll made these adorable schedule cards! #4- Classroom themes from Clutter-Free Classroom (literally every theme imaginable! Tons of ideas and resources! #5- Spice rack for those little art supplies (googly eyes, sequins, etc)! #6- How to decorate clear plastic draws from Maria at Kinder-Craze! Love her! #7- 21 Ideas for organizing your classroom library from A Modern Teacher- great ideas! #8- Speaking of libraries, I love this idea! (No link for this one, sorry). #9- This was a fabulous linky party hosted by Debbie at Rainbows Within Reach! Check it out! #10- Absolutely adorable and free goodbye rhymes! My kiddos and I love these! Check out more decor and organizational ideas by visiting my following Pinterest Boards: Classroom Management & Organization Bulletin Boards, Doors and More
Writers Workshop in first grade this year has been quite the learning curve for me. I need to remind you that I have never taught first grade until this year and the last time I taught writing was well before the workshop model was popular. I am still by no means an expert, but I […]
This is a graphic organizer we are using with our 3rd graders. It is helping them take biographies and organize the important information to truly understand that person. Can be used for older and younger grades as well! We used the Where in the World section to list important places the person l...
13 scientific studies that teach us how to live happier and more optimistic lives.
By the time my friends reach 4th and 5th grade, there are some things that should be non-issues. There are some things I should not have to spend instructional time on. Basics. Thus was born the No Excuses list. Each year, after the first couple of weeks of school, I do a quick intro to the No Excuses list. This is a chart of things that, by the time they get to 4th or 5th grade, a student can reasonably be expected to be responsible for doing. Things like starting sentences with capital letters and putting endmarks on sentences. It is not unreasonable to expect those things of my students. However, I find so many of my friends do not have automaticity with them. They should be no-brainers, but my friends have shown (year after year) to be very lax in doing them. To intro the chart, I have the chart done with just the title. I explain what a No Excuses list is. I tell them that this chart will have on it the things that we know every 4th and 5th grader has been taught in previous grades and can be expected to do when reading or writing. These are things your teacher this year should not have to teach again because you learned, practiced, and did them in 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd grade. I then have the kids brainstorm a list of what they would put on the chart. THEY KNOW! They know what they should be doing! Without fail, every year, they come up with the exact things we need to have on our list. I usually start with the top two; capitalizing sentences and using endmarks/end marks. (I always write endmarks as a compound word. I've seen it both ways band have just always written it as a compound word. Spell check does not agree!) We add teach item to the chart and in the bullet, put the date we add them to the chart. On my chart, the 27th and 28th were actually both added on the same day, but I was talking and writing at the same time and wrote the 28th by mistake. Except for those two items, I usually add items one at a time with at least a week or two between adding an item to the chart. This gives my friends time to work on each without being overwhelmed. What makes the chart work is the rule. Once it is on the chart, from that date forward, it is expected to be done on all work. No Excuses! If a paper is turned in with any of these errors, the student will get the paper back to fix or redo. Or, if I notice it on the paper before they turn it in I will say that I can't accept that paper and they need to check the No Excuses chart. I find that it is usually not that kids can't do these things. It's more that we don't, at some point, draw that line in the sand and say, "Okay, this is now on you! You have been taught and/or retaught these things year after year and now it is your responsibility to do them without being told. No excuses!" I know this might sound harsh to some, but I promise you after just a couple of weeks you will see a dramatic drop in students forgetting to do these basic things. I find the key for me is to stick with the expectations and be consistent in not accepting work that doesn't meet the standard. Now, I also know there may be some students you need to make exceptions for. But, in general, if something makes it on to your No Excuses list, everyone is usually expected to do it. What you have on your list can be tailored to the grade level, students' abilities, and the expectations you set in your classroom. You know your students best, so you have to create a list that works for you. The list can be added to as the year goes on, but I generally focus on things that have been taught in previous year(s) and are reasonable expectations of my students. Is this something you think would work in your classroom? What would be on your No Excuses list? Or, do you handle this issue in another way that might be good to share?
Seven years ago I had a goal to do 52 weeks of stamping videos teaching some fun folds and techniques. I am not sure how I managed to get a video done each week and also doing 4-6 in person workshop
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Scams are in the air, so always be on the lookout for people online who just want to reach into your wallet. In case you do fall for a scam, worst case scenario, have a laugh about it just like this person.
PRIMARY WRITING - UNIT 3 I am so excited to teach this narrative writing unit! This writing curriculum is geared for kindergarten, first grade and can even be used in second grade classrooms. In Unit 3 , we are learning how to write a personal narrative . We practice writing about what we l
For second-grade students looking to strengthen their understanding of main idea, worksheets can be a valuable tool. Designed to enhance comprehension skills, these worksheets provide targeted practice in identifying the central theme or topic of a passage or text. With engaging exercises and clear instructions, these worksheets offer a structured approach to help young learners grasp the concept of main idea and develop their reading and critical thinking abilities.
Leader: Alison Bowskill Duration: 2 hours 30 mins Venue: Coastal Craft Collective, 10 Marine Place, Seaton, Devon, EX12 2QL No experience needed, you will be using a pre-made willow circle to build your wreath on. Choose from a variety of natural foliage to decorate your wreath. All materials provided, but please feel free to bring anything of your own. A pair of secateurs would be handy if you have them. This workshop is intended for adults and older children, we suggest age 14+. Younger children by arrangement only - please contact us if you would like to bring a younger person so we can discuss it with you. Alison is happy to run her sessions with 3 people or more. If only one or 2 places are booked, we will cancel the session. If this happens, we'll offer the people who have booked the class a place on an alternative day, a credit for another workshop or a full refund, whichever they prefer. About Alison Bowskill - After completing a degree in Fine Art and a Postgraduate in Printmaking Alison has been teaching Art and Design in schools and with adults and young people in the community. She is highly experienced in teaching many aspects of Art and Craft with a particular interest and passion for drawing and printmaking. Her own work is inspired by living by the coast in Lyme Regis and she regularly exhibits prints in local exhibitions. She runs workshops for us, including lino printing cards & pictures, driftwood creations, other willow sessions and mosaics. Sunday workshops - the shop will be closed when you arrive. If the door is locked, please ring the bell.
The beach is a popular summer vacation spot. When I was younger, I loved finding seashells at the beach to take home. Just like every person, every seashell is unique…
Physical evidence in the brain found for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
