This is a throwback post that I did awhile back about getting our Guiding Readers units organized. Since this post, I've had quite a few requests to make matching spine labels for the Writing and Math units. So HERE YOU GO! Sorry, it took me so long! We also have a Free Year-Long Curriculum Map for Kindergarten and First Grade. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to grab the map and spines) If you want to read the throw back post carry on! If not, Happy Organizing. ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/directed drawing
Engaging Readers: Getting it ORGANIZED!
Hey There! Happy Hump day! We've had a few questions about how we organize our new Engaging Readers units so I thought I'd do a quick blog post to show you! These are the supplies I used to organize mine. I used a 1" binder sheet protectors Binder pocket (one pocket holds all four books) ziploc baggies Clear packing tape Printables for the spine and fronts of sheet protectors click HERE to get yours. First, I put our cutie patootie cover (thanks to ... continue reading...
Common Core Standards Organization and Wishy Washy!
I've had a lot of questions about how I organize my Common Core Standards and Essential Questions. I display them on posters which are hot glued to ribbon. The standards are attached with velcro so that they are easy to change in and out. (Please excuse the bad picture above. The standards shown are from the 1st grade set. Notice that the clipart images match the standard and that the essential question clipart also matches. This helps the little ones who can't read understand the ... continue reading...
Oceans of Fun!
I got up bright and early this morning and drove 2 hrs. in search of the perfect wedding dress for my daughter Taylor. SUCCESS! But, I'm one tired mamma so this is going to be a super quick post! We just started our ocean unit. Nothing gets boys excited more than sharks! (okay...maybe dinosaurs...but they still LOVE sharks too). We used interactive writing to label the parts of a shark. Comparing sharks and whales. Schema Chart Writing ... continue reading...
Inferring with Primary Students: The Case of the Missing Toy Sack
Inferring with Primary Students: Christmas Inference Detectives Activities for Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring with Primary Students: Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring is an important comprehension skill for young readers to have and I love giving them lots of practice with this skill. We infer each week with the story we are reading, but I also like to give them opportunities to infer outside of the text. Inferring is just putting clues together and using that voice inside ... continue reading...
The Gruffalo Lesson Plans | Reading Comprehension for K-2
The Gruffalo lesson plans for K-2. Engaging 5-day lesson plans with differentiated reading response, vocabulary, sentence study, and a craft for this fun story! The Gruffalo A clever mouse outsmarts some woodland animals who want to eat him with the story of a Gruffalo. Little does he know, a Gruffalo is real and loves to eat mice. Your students will love this award-winning story! Through our engaging lesson plans students will strengthen their reading comprehension skills and have fun ... continue reading...
Oceans and Pirates and Fun, OH, MY!
Good News...... After next Wednesday I only have two more days of school left! Bad News....First, I have to survive until then. :) SERIOUSLY! What makes the last two weeks of school so tough. The kids start acting all kinds of crazy and us teachers are just plain TIRED!!! I think that this is God's way of helping us send those little ones off without it crippling us with sadness. Think about it.... we've spent 180 days with these little people. They've hugged us 1,000 times, told us they ... continue reading...
Teaching Informational Text Features: Lions
Your students will love these informational text features lessons for reading and writing while studying lions! Through close reading, students study the features on non-fiction books. Informational Text Features in Books: Lions We decided to dig deeper into informational texts and this book made it a perfect place to start! National Geographic has some fantastic non-fiction books: Here are the books (affiliate link) that will be part of these series of lessons: ... continue reading...
Butterfly Lesson Plans | Digital & Printable Reading Response for K-2
Butterfly lesson plans. Students respond to literature using the story, The Very Impatient Caterpillar and also learn about the butterfly life cycle and migration using nonfiction text. Engaging Butterfly Lesson Plans Learning about butterflies is always a fun Spring lesson, or really at any time of the year! Students can easily get excited about these fun insects because they see them in everyday life. There are so many great pieces of children's literature that represent ... continue reading...
Insects Unit and a FREEBIE!
I will admit that I was kind of sad for my spring break to end. I LOVE being able to sleep in just a little bit and it is so much nicer to wake up without having an alarm clock buzzing in your ear. But today we started one of my favorite units so that made going back to school a little easier, Insects Unit. This Insects Unit can be used with an Insect Animals theme or as stand-alone Reading and Writing lessons and activities. Here is how I plan out my Insects ... continue reading...
Ocean Unit of Fun!
We have been learning a lot about ocean animals. We learned all about different types of sharks and we decided that we thought the Great white Shark was the most interesting. We labeled the parts of a shark. This is our schema chart based on an idea from Debbie Miller. We made sharks and orca whales and then sorted the information we learned by using a venn diagram. A close up of some of our shark and whale ... continue reading...
Zoo unit Day 1 Giraffes
I LOVE this time of year. My little sweeties are becoming independent thinkers and learners who have blossomed into readers and writers AND all of my Favorite units are in the Spring!! Zoo animals, Dinosaurs (my fave), and Insects (my fave), What???!! I can have more than one favorite! :) I spend two weeks on each of these units. There is just something about these topics that get kids super excited about learning! Today we learned all about Giraffes. ... continue reading...
America Part One: Statue of Liberty
We did a directed drawing of The Statue of Liberty. The kids did an AMAZING job! We wanted to find out the answer to the following question. It is really hard to explain to kids just how HUGE the Statue of Liberty really is! So, we measured out bulletin board paper for her foot (even the length of her toes is correct) to get an idea of how huge she is! All About The Statue of Liberty writing Our bald eagles... they turned out so ... continue reading...
Tacky and the Winter Games Lesson Plans (Free File)
Winter Games Lesson Plans for kindergarten and first grade. These are perfect to use during the Winter Olympics. Tacky and the Winter Games Don't you just love Tacky the Penguin? My class has always enjoyed this character, so when I saw Helen Lester's book, Tacky and the Winter Games, I knew I had to add it to our Engaging Readers Series. The version of the Engaging Readers one comes with 5 days of close reading comprehension activities: Visualization Retelling Connections ... continue reading...
Hands-On Learning | Pattern Blocks with a FREE Math Activity
Hands-on learning with these math and literacy activities for kindergarten and first grade. Independent activities to be used at any time during the day. Hands-On Learning "Kids learn through all their senses," says Ben Mardell, Ph.D., a researcher at Harvard University, "and they like to touch and manipulate things." But more than simply moving materials around, hands-on activities activate kids' brains. As teachers, we see first-hand that learning occurs when students are using ... continue reading...