Learning with Firsties

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

New Product Alert

When someone contacts me and asks me to make a product for them it just makes my heart smile!! Below are two of my newest products that came about through requests:

Mister Bones Dinosaur Hunter Literacy Activities

In 2013 my district purchased the most current version of Reading Street and some of the stories changed. All of my units were based on the stories of the new series because that's what I was teaching. Recently I had a request to create units for those stories that had been replaced. Click on the link above to purchase the unit for Mister Bones Dinosaur Hunter. I'm working on units for all of the replaced stories.
If you would like to purchase Mister Bones directly from me and save $0.50 click on the Buy Now button below!

My latest edition of my interactive notebooks is Adding With Tens and Ones. Supplement your math lessons with this interactive notebook. It is aligned with Envision Math topic 10 but can be used with any curriculum because it is standards based.

Interactive Notebook Adding With Tens and Ones

I have a 3rd grade teacher at my school that is loving brag tags so I've made her some brag tags for the Measurement and Data Standards in Math. When a student masters a standard they get a brag tag and they are loving it!!

Third Grade Measurement and Data Brag Tags

Monday, March 14, 2016

Craftivities are the BOMB!

I love a good craftivity where kiddos are learning and don't even realize it!!! I've been really busy creating some craftivities for some of my second grade friends. So please share with your second grade friends if you think they can use them or better yet maybe you can use them in your first grade classroom too!

Bad Dog Dodger is such a fun book and these 2nd graders did a fantastic job with their craftivities. If you are looking for a fun way to teach RL 2.3 you can grab A Bad Dog Dodger Craftivity HERE.

Teach opinion writing W 2.1 with this fun craftivity for A Froggy Fable or supplement your frog unit! Grab it HERE.

I think this unit on community workers is one of my favorites! You can pair it with the story Firefighters or supplement your community workers unit! Your students will choose one of the 4 workers included, research that worker and write a narrative about the worker. Meets standards W 1.3, 1.7, 2.3 & 2.7. You can grab the unit HERE.

The second graders at my school had soooo much fun researching and writing! Some had so much to write about they wrote across several pages!!!

Before writing their teacher grouped them according to the worker they chose. Collaboratively the groups researched the workers and put their info on large chart paper. Once that was complete they presented their information to the class. Sooooo impressed with the work of these guys!!!

For The First Tortilla I focused on teaching standard RL 2.7 and creating 3 graphic organizers focused on character, setting and plot. Grab it HERE.

RL 2.1 is the focus of the Sign Maker's Assistant Craftivity. I created a GIST graphic organizer and included directions on how to use the GIST strategy.
Grab it HERE.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Dear Teacher Take a Breath Everything Will Be Okay

Dear Teacher,

Take a breath. Everything will be okay. I promise.

I just hung up the phone with our oldest who is in his first year as a teacher. He's stressed...to the max! One of my dear friends was brought to tears on Friday because of her stress level. You can look at the faces of some of the teachers I work with and see the stress. I can look in the mirror and see the stress. Our job is tough! Really tough!!! It doesn't matter if you are a first year teacher or a 25 year veteran. So many demands from so many directions. Let's take a moment to breathe and remember why you teach. It's those little people that love you no matter what. They are the reason you walk into that classroom every day. Perspective is everything! Love them, teach them and let go of things that are out of your control.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Printing Posters in Color Without Going Broke

My friends, I have discovered a CHEAP way to print our posters in COLOR!!!! Staples offers a colored engineering print and it works beautifully for those anchor charts, clip art pieces, and just about anything else that you want to print "ginormous"!!! I am currently working on a "Teachers are Superstars" bulletin board at school and needed my melonheadz "stars" to be quite large. So...I was browsing Staples to see if it might be possible for me to afford to have it printed on an 11 x 17 page. Once I got to their site I browsed around and discovered that they now offer the color engineering print!!! SCORE!!! Take a peek at my "star" I had printed. I hung it on my fridge so that you guys can get a good idea of how large it is.

Fabulous, Right???? Here is the best part... I had 2 printed in this size and my final cost with tax...$12.53!!!! Whoop! Whoop!

How did I do it? Easy peasy...uploaded the file to Staples print center and they had it ready for pick up within 2 hours.

Steps to print colored posters:

1. Go to: Staples Print Center

7. Then click the add to cart button.

I'll add pics of the finished bulletin board later this week. :0)

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Oh Snap! It's Almost October

Oh my goodness, ya'll!!! I can't believe how fast this school year is going! As teachers we are always planning ahead so I am linking up with some of my TPT friends to share some of our October products. I'm sharing my Halloween Writing Craftivity! It will be 50% off through September 17.

In this creative writing project your students will work independently and collaboratively. First they will choose the feet of the Halloween character that interests them and create the craftivity. Using a graphic organizer they will describe their character. Then they will collaborate with a partner and use a story map graphic organizer to begin the process of writing a story about the two characters they chose. They will finish the project with a published product. Such a fun way to get your kiddos writing!

If you want a quicker simpler craftivity have your students focus on one of the characters and write just one description of the character and display.

Halloween Writing Craftivity

To see more October products go to Oh Snap It's Almost October!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Assess Often...Who Needs That?

Your students need that!!!! You need that!!!! Assessment is key to planning instruction. If you don't assess throughout your lessons how will you know what your kiddos need? Assessment and response to instruction are essential for effective instruction and improved student learning. "The word assess is from the Latin word, assidere, which means to sit beside. This implies that assessment is something we do with and for students, not to them." (Green, 1999)
Four essential questions should drive instruction:

1. What should students know and be able to do?

2. How will we know when they have learned it?

(FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS)

3. What will we do when they haven’t learned it?

(INTERVENTION)

4. What will we do when they already know it?

(ENRICHMENT/ACCELERATION)

The 3 Types of Assessments

Where are you on the Assessment Continuum? We really want to move towards the right side of the arrow. It's never too late to start.

Take a look at how one school uses formative assessments to differentiate instruction.

Here are some of my favorite quick assessments for reading.

10 Quick Reading Assessments

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Labor of Love Sale

Teaching first grade is an absolute labor of love!!! So I've joined with some of my first grade friends and we are having a LABOR OF LOVE SALE!! You can grab some AWESOME first grade products for up to 1/2 off!!! Search #firstlove on Teachers Pay Teachers to see all of the products offered!