Math Workshop for Kindergarten and First grade students. Hey friends, I hope that you are enjoying your weekend! This is a recap of the session that I did on Thursday at the SDE Kindergarten Conference here in Florida. In this session I explained how Deedee Wills and I structure the lessons in our math units so that the kids gain a deeper understanding of the math concepts that we are teaching. Our lessons follow a 5 step process as outlined ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/writers workshop
Ideas for a Kindergarten Earth Day Lesson Plan
We know how much kindergarteners love holidays! We can almost feel the excitement in the room as the calendar inches closer to holidays like Halloween or Christmas. However, there are other holidays that our young kindergarten students likely haven’t heard of before. Earth Day is one of these important holidays! I’ve put together a list of ideas for a kindergarten Earth Day lesson plan to help you introduce this holiday to your class. What is Earth Day? Earth Day is celebrated every ... continue reading...
Book Study Part 1: In Pictures and in Words
Deedee Wills kicked off our book study and she did such a great job that I just want to add a few little snippits. By sharing some pictures of student writing from my classroom. One thing that really stood out to me in this book is the idea that it is OKAY to slow down and take our time. Writers don't have to jump right in and start writing "words" to create meaning. Each time they pick up a pencil or a crayon they are making meaning through their illustrations. I'm excited about really ... 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...
Illustration Techniques: In Pictures and In Words
Welcome back to the second week of our book study which covers the 50 illustration techniques that demonstrate "Good Writing" I have to give a shout out to Deedee Wills for working so hard to get this book study up and running! Katie Wood Ray does suggest book titles, but merely as a way to introduce these illustration techniques. She recommends searching your current book collection and reading these books with a new eye... the eye of an illustrator/writer. Each illustration ... continue reading...
Planning Your Instruction
Can you imagine if I were to jump in my car and decide to drive to California? I point my car west and drive... no map, no GPS, just a general direction. I would probably get there, but it would not be the most effective method. That is the same idea behind a curriculum map. It helps you find your way. It helps you to know you are on the right track. Can you take detours? Absolutely! But you HAVE to know where you are going BEFORE you start the car! Start with a Curriculum ... continue reading...
Math Units with FREEBIES and Toolkit binder covers {REPOST}
Hi friends, as many of you are starting the countdown to summer you are already starting to think about next year! I don't think ANYONE works harder than a teacher. We never turn our teaching brain off! Deedee and I have received a lot of requests for more information about our Math units. So I thought I'd do a quick blog post to share how we structure the lessons and give you some free sample lessons so that you could check it out if you're interested. We are both ... 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 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...
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...
Leonardo the Terrible Monster Reading Lesson Plans for K-1
Leonardo the Terrible Monster reading comprehension lesson plans with student response activities. Print and teach lessons to engage your students in reading! Leonardo the Terrible Monster This story by Mo Willems is one of my favorite stories to read, especially in October around Halloween. If you are not familiar with this book, it is about a monster named Leonardo. Leonardo is not a scary monster, no matter how hard he tries! He does some research and thinks he finds the perfect little ... continue reading...
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...
FREE Spine Labels for Binders: Getting Organized!
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...
Phonological Awareness Small Group Activities
Students learn so many critical skills while in school. For instance, they learn how to add and subtract, which are essential when dealing with money. Additionally, they learn how to write, read, and spell, which are necessary for many aspects of life. Therefore, teachers work hard to create exciting ways for students to learn content. In terms of language arts, it takes time to understand that sounds blend together to make words. Luckily, phonological awareness small group activities are an ... continue reading...
Phonological Awareness Lesson Plans for Kindergarten & First Grade
Phonological awareness lesson plans and digital slides to make daily instruction simple! A systematic way to teach students to decode and spell words. Phonological Awareness Lesson Plans What if I told you that your students could develop into confident readers and writers who can decode and spell words, with just 10 minutes of phonological awareness instruction each day? Would you be running to get in line to find out how? As a teacher, I would be the first one there! Phonological ... continue reading...