We have been learning about spiders this week. I love this unit! I think spiders are so interesting and the kids love learning about them. I start my unit by finding out what the kids already know about spiders. The idea for this chart came from the book, Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller. I asked the kids what schema they have for spiders and I wrote it on a pink post it note and attached it to our chart under Our Schema (what we think we know). As we learned about spiders ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/interactive journals
Guiding Readers Questions and Answers
Last November Deedee and I had a conversation about her desire to do more with the books she was using for Read Alouds. Her kids loved many of the books she was reading to them, and they wanted to hear them again and again. She felt that she had a great foundation with writer's workshop (more on that later) but she wanted deeper connections and interactions with the texts that she was reading to her class. So we created Guiding Readers. What are Guiding Readers? Guiding Readers started ... continue reading...
Phonological Awareness Digital Activities for Kindergarten & 1st Grade
Phonological Awareness digital activities to practice rhyming, syllables, letter sounds, word concepts, onset & rime, and sounds in words. Phonological Awareness Digital Activities Interactive phonological awareness digital activities for Boom Learning, Seesaw, and Google Slides are here! Students will love practicing foundational skills to support their learning and development towards reading success. From rhyming to syllables to sounds in words, you can feel confident that students ... continue reading...
Name Activities for Early Learners
Carol Lyons once said, “The most powerful and effective way for children to begin learning the complex process of learning about letters is by working with their own names." This quote does an incredible job of explaining how important one's name is. When meeting students for the first time, one of the first questions asked is, “What’s your name?” Teachers work so hard to remember all of the names as quickly as possible. This shows teachers care about them for who they are and enjoy getting to ... continue reading...
Engaging Reading Activities (With a FREE File)
Engaging reading activities for kindergarten and first grade! See how we improve reading comprehension through various reading comprehension strategies. FREE sample file too! This is a guest post from Deedee Wills. We are so excited about our Engaging Readers units... you can tell because I. Can't. Stop. Talking. About. It. Engaging Reading Activities: How did it start? Around last November I had a conversation with Deanna Jump about wanting to do more responding to literature with ... continue reading...
St. Patrick’s Day How to Make Leprechaun Punch
March?!? Seriously, how is it already March? This year is flying by! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things to do for St. Patrick's Day. It doesn't get any better than Leprechaun punch and Leprechaun glyphs! YUMMY and ADORABLE! In Unit 3 of our Writing Through the Year unit we teach students the process for Procedural (How-To) Writing, and throughout the year we continue to work on How-To pieces to record our experiences as a class. First, we talked about the ingredients that ... continue reading...
Big Hungry Lion
The entire environment transforms when students listen to a classroom read-aloud. Suddenly, the book brings magic and adventure to the classroom. Instead of a crazy trick, students experience a story evolving with rigorous vocabulary, deep comprehension, and personal connections. For instance, Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion is an incredible way to expand learning through an enjoyable story. Additionally, the Engaging Readers Read Aloud Lessons ensure students truly absorb so much learning ... continue reading...
Stellaluna Read-Aloud
Listening to a read-aloud is often the most exciting part of the day for students. They love sitting together and listening to their teacher read a fantastic book. Honestly, this is one of the calmest parts of the day. However, it can also be one of the most educational! With the Read Aloud Lesson Plans, students can enjoy amazing stories while working on engaging activities. For instance, they can enjoy the Stellaluna read-aloud and dive into their standards. Students will love the story and ... continue reading...
I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More Read Aloud
Read alouds are a wonderful resource to use in the classroom. They allow students to hear a fantastic story. Additionally, teachers can work on so many literary skills throughout one book. However, a key aspect involves engagement. Students need to be interested in the story to focus on skills, such as characters, vocabulary, and predictions. Thankfully, the I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More read aloud will create excitement in every student! The fun book and the Engaging Reader Lesson Plans will ... continue reading...
Making Inferences
Learning how to make inferences is a really tough skill to learn! Often, students want to look back in the text for answers. However, this is not the only aspect students need to do when making their own inferences. They need to use their prior knowledge, personal experience and incorporate it with the information provided. Additionally, in the primary grades, we know that students' listening comprehension far exceeds their reading comprehension since students in kindergarten and first grade are ... continue reading...
St. Patrick’s Day Math and Literacy Activities
Wouldn’t it be nice to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow? While it is not actually possible, the excitement this would cause is coming alive in the classroom! However, many students are looking forward to building leprechaun catchers or pinching people not wearing green during St. Patrick's Day. No matter what the excitement is over, it will be essential for teachers to create engaging St. Patrick’s Day Math and Literacy Activities. By doing this, student excitement for St. ... continue reading...
Kindergarten Math Lessons and Activities for the First 20 Days!
Kindergarten math lesson plans for teaching numbers to 5, 2D shapes, and 3D shapes. This resource provides detailed instruction for your first 4 weeks of math! Kindergarten Math: The First 20 Days The first few weeks of school are a hectic time for kindergarten teachers! You are making sure to cover all procedures and routines, all while beginning to teach the kindergarten math curriculum. Many teachers get started with academics right away in order to stay on track for the expected ... continue reading...
American Symbols Activities and Resources for Kindergarten & First Grade
American symbols activities and resources. Informational texts, anchor charts, crafts, science experiments, emergent reader, math games, writing activities, and more! American Symbols Activities Teaching about American symbols can be lots of fun and students learn about important pieces of our history! These lesson ideas and resources are perfect for engaging students in the study of American symbols. Chit Chat Messages: American Symbols Chit chat messages are perfect for shared ... continue reading...
Making Read Alouds Come to Life: Creepy Carrots
Teacher read alouds are just as important as giving students time to read independently. Read alouds take the student's focus away from having to decode the words and gives students a chance to really hone in and focus on the meaning of the story. I love it when I read a story to children, and they love it so much that they beg me to READ IT AGAIN! It's so important to reread books to children and give them time to: Hear you thinking ... continue reading...
Five Little Monkeys
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed Math & Literacy Fun! I just uploaded my newest unit to TPT and I'm so excited because it comes with a song and video by Jack Hartmann. You can click on the image above to view the unit on TPT. Here's What's Included: *Five Little Monkeys Song AND Video by Jack Hartmann *Five Little Monkeys Big Book *Five Little Monkeys Interactive Pocket Chart Set *Monkey Story pieces to act out the story *Story response sheets *Five Little ... continue reading...