Classroom Must-Haves: Resources I Love

Dry erase pockets = boss of the applesauce. I love these for Work on Writing and for our guided math block. They help save on copies and are perfect for on-the-spot informal assessments. You can use sheet protectors but personally, I find these are easier to erase and they don’t crinkle! Also, the magnet letters below are high-quality ones I purchased from Lakeshore and they came in a compartmentalized case. Initially, I had to piecemeal magnets, and having this set made Word Work so much easier!

We flexibility group our friends into these 3 groups – green (below grade-level), yellow (on grade-level), and blue (above grade-level) for math and reading. To make it easy to remember think of a first grade outside picture (green = grass, yellow = sun, blue = sky). Our kids can move anytime they are ready, no big deal. Anything we copy that stays in a center (math dice mats, math dice, word-work rings) are all copied on colored cardstock. When at a center, students grab their color activity tub. This way, students are able to work on the same activities, but at their just-right level. In a school year, I use a ream of Astrobrights paper (one in each color) and a box of binder rings.

Another ‘must-have’ resource for primary friends is a 0-30 number line. I was hoping to get 2-years use out of them, but we used them so much that it’s time to replace them. I laminate them, punch a hole at the top, and hang them on a command hook for easy access. Students always know where they are and can use them anytime!

Do you all play Sentence Scramble with cut-up sentence strips? I introduce this center later in November, and it soon becomes one of my kids favorite ‘games’ when working on our vocabulary words. It is SUCH a challenge and easy to differentiate.
*Level 1 = cut up sentences with capital letters and punctuation attached
*Level 2 = cut up sentences with all lower-case letters and punctuation detached
*Level 3 = cut up sentences with all lower-case letters, punctuation detached, and vocabulary words are represented with a blank. I provide a word bank and students have to find the ‘just-right’ word in the word bank.

Now, this is *definitely* a splurge and I was blessed to walk into a classroom that already had a library display shelf. My 1st grade friends love walking in on Mondays to see what books I’ve chosen for them. It is such an easy way to get them excited about reading and exposes them to LOTS of different books!

Well friends, these are some of my favorite resources in our classroom. Most of them aren’t splurges and over the course of the year, I was able to pick them up with classroom money or gift cards I received as gifts. Plus, it always helps to walk into a classroom with a bookshelf and pocket charts. So, tell me, what are your go-to resources that are used weekly (if not daily) with your primary friends? I’d love to hear your ideas!