Change is something I really don't do well. I am an extreme planner, many times to a fault. A year-and-a-half ago (finishing my student teaching) my plans were shaken when I was offered a teaching ...
Blog
Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make – Parent Gifts
After our Candy Cane experiment yesterday afternoon, today we made gifts for our parents - tie dye ornaments. The supplies were fairly minimal - glass ornaments (mine were purchased from Hobby ...
Candy Cane Experiment
It's the week before Christmas and all is well in 1st grade. My friends are not too distracted or crazed, and we are loving the chance to sneak in a few extra read-alouds. ;) Our mornings have been ...
Scholastic Warehouse Sale
Twice a year, I take a pilgrimage to Nashville, TN to volunteer and shop at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale. These are mega-sales that take place all over the nation. You can check out the closest sale ...
1st Grade December Randoms
Happy Friday, friends! I hope this post finds you well and loving our 5-days-until-Winter-Break countdown. Today I'm just stopping by to share some pictures and funnies from 1st grade. Nothing ...
Science of Reading Word Work
Structured literacy is evidence-based instruction requires clear, direct teaching, sequential lessons, continuous assessment, and multimodal techniques to engage various parts of the reading brain. ...
Help Phonics Skills ‘Stick’ with Word Collections!
As my first-grade friends are becoming reading pros, I've found that my kids, especially my sweet and lows, struggle with our weekly phonics skills. Of course, we spiral review these skills in guided ...
Cyber Monday & A (Brief) Return to 5th Grade!
Hi friends! Today was awarded "Our Best Day So Far" by my 1st grade friends, and it really was amazing. We received our first postcards from around the United States, started decorating our classroom ...
A Thanksgiving Directed Draw
Happy Thanksgiving break, friends! Today I'm sharing our first venture into in-class art: watercolor paintings. Enjoy the mess and adorable pictures. :) It terms of supplies, there is a ...
Digital Publishing: Creating Books on the iPad
Today was our first venture into Digital Publishing, so I wanted to stop by and share our experiences with it in 1st grade. Per Common Core, students are expected to "With guidance and support ...
{Freebie} Subtraction Word Problem Mini-Book
Over the past few weeks, I have been taming our reading block to make sure I have time for guided math everyday. I typically meet with my lowest friends, and it is such valuable time together. Right ...
Guided Reading: 1st Grade Style
Guided Reading: 1st grade Style Guided Reading offers students intentional reading instruction with texts that are just a little too hard! From lesson planning to benchmarking students to word work ...