Sunday, October 30, 2011

Making some treasure out of Treasures!

I have had a couple of emails and questions on what I posted last time about how I split up activities across the week! I am a firm believer in making your reading series work for you and your students. I love having the guide there but I sometimes have to change a few things up! I do this because I find that there are just way too many things they want you to accomplish in there, and then on top of that I always have my activities that I want to complete also! So I made myself a schedule to keep me in check and to not overwhelm my babies.
Here it goes:
Monday is the day where I introduce everything! This is usually when we go over our spelling skill and comprehension skill for the week. I have now been making our anchor charts at this time, too. I find that I enjoy having them come up with what needs to be on the chart and it saves me time too! The chart below my students created on their own and I just wrote down what they told me to! I guided their thinking a little bit, but I can tell you know that they know what author's purpose is!
Tuesday is when we review the phonics and comprehension skill again and we learn our new spicy words (or vocabulary) I pick two words from the oral vocabulary story that is included in Treasures. They don't add vocabulary in the first grade book till unit 5?! I think this is soo late. I want my kids to build vocabulary early! So, we start with two words and eventually I will add on a few more. They get tested on these on Friday also.
Tuesday is also our poetry day. I introduce our poem of the week, and we choral read together. We also look for rhyming words and and popcorn (sight words) words. They then copy the poem in their poetry journals. I get the poems from various places. I look them up or I have been using the "Sight Word Poetry Pages" book from Scholastic. I also place this poem at the poetree!
The poetree! Also serves as the poetry workstation.
On Wednesday we read our main story (also if I don't like the story I pick something else) and then do our graphic organizer. I also usually make my own graphic organizer. I find that sometimes the ones that come in the practice book are too hard or don't make sense for a first grade brain.
We also write our popcorn words in sentences. I like doing this to just keep reinforcing sentence practice and structure.

On Thursday it is fix it up day! Like in the last post, I use the grammar practice book and copy those sentences on chart paper. We fix them together using post-it notes. I also will include the grammar skill. Like last week, we circled all the nouns in the sentences.

Friday is review day and then test day. We take a spelling test, the reading test from the assessment book, and vocabulary. I also pull them for their popcorn words.

Also, throughout the week my kiddos write the morning message everyday during morning work time. They copy it and then usually answer the question, if there is no question I add my own. 

I hope this explains how my week in Treasures turns out! Email me if you have anymore questions! thefirstgradejungle@gmail.com

Coming soon....running records, DRA.....what do you do and how do you get it done?!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Fix it up, main idea chairs, and the doubles rap!

I just started this year making a weekly schedule for certain activities for Reading. I did this to keep my head in check so I won't get too ambitious (been there and ripped my hair out) and will stay on track. Well, Thursday is our fix it up sentence day. During whole group time we fix sentences I have written out that usually come from our grammar book (I am a treasures teacher). I use these because it usually has the skills we have been working on that week in them!

We fix them and I use post-its to put over the mistakes so they can see where they were. After, we go to our desks and do our weekly fix it up sentence page. I am using Growing Kinders Fix it Up! unit. It is amazing and put together so well and neat! We write it and fix it and then I let them check it over with their workstation partner. It is a nice cooperative learning activity.

Also, we started the doubles this week! Ms. Simoneaux found this adorable activity using the doubles rap. We used the rap last year but these were just too cute not to do!
A doubles fact ipod!!!

They keep all their doubles facts on flash cards inside of them! She found this on some website not sure where?! It is an envelope you cut in half almost and then you snip the corners off one side and then it will slip on like a sleeve! The little pages Ms. Simoneaux made pretty easily! My kids are loving it and I can tell they are excited about knowing them!.

Last but not least, our comprehension skill this week is main idea and details. This tends to be one that can be tricky for the firsties. I always use the mental picture of a chair with the seat being the main idea and the legs being the details. Last year I made the graphic organizer on the actual chair and it helped them out, but this year they all put it on their chairs!

Here is our anchor chart!
Happy Wednesday!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

all over the place

I gave this post that title because seriously these pics and ideas are from one end to the next. Get ready.
First, we just finished our matter unit and ended with making ice cream...holy mess! It was fun thought, but with science experiments you never know if everything will go as planned. I had to make an extra bag for those that just could not get their own ice cream to freeze!


 We also made these adorable books from Lesson Plan SOS!
 This is a little anchor chart I made for the kiddos to remember those states of matter!
We also started reading monsters this month! I figured with October it would be perfect and I am also getting my kids ready for accelerated reader! Luckily my girl Ms. Simoneaux won Abby's Ready to Read packet and I got in on that too! With us, sharing is caring. :)
My kids just got to 15 minutes in read to self so we switch that time to the morning after morning work. Once they finish a book they have to tell me what it is about and then they can write that book down and "feed" it to their monster. Too cute!


I have one too! Only fed him one book so far! 
Last but not least, we started studying owls this week! We are using the fabulous Mrs. Jump's unit on owls. Meet Oscar and Rudy, our two visitors!

I heart them...so cute. Plus, they serve as anchor charts for our learning! We read "Owls" by Gail Gibbons, then talked about all the facts about owls and posted them here and made owl fact books.
Watching them say oviparous, is priceless.
 Also, read this poem....
Hope you enjoyed my randomness! More random anchor charts to come in the next few days!

Also if you haven't yet go enter Ms. Preppy's giveaway! It ends tomorrow!

Monday, October 17, 2011

A giveaway!!

Hey all! Sorry I have been MIA for a few days, but I have exciting news! Ms. Preppy (love her name) is doing an AMAZING giveaway over on her blog. I have contributed my Add it Up! unit BUT there are even more amazing things that are up for grabs!


From Kathy at Kindergarten Kiosk....
 
 
From Karen at Froggy Friends Fun...
From Rebecca at Teaching First... THREE units!



From moi...

AND then there is also a membership to The Graphics Factory!! I mean HELLO awesome giveaway or what?!

Here's how to enter...go to Ms. Preppy's page and follow her awesome blog, then follow all of us, follow our shops/stores, and blog about the giveaway! Leave a comment on her blog to enter for each different way. So many ways to enter, what are you waiting for! The winner is announced on Saturday, you have until Friday at 11:59 pm to enter!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Add it Up in action!

I took some photos the other day of my kids doing the activities from my new unit Add it Up!
Domino addition, scroll down to get some new info on this one!

Chalkboard match up! Matching the facts with the sum.

Writing number sentences looking at pictures.

sideways :/ writing number sentences by counting.

Count those counters! Matching sums with the counters.


Dice addition, sorry it's upside down!
Just a few snapshots of my kiddos using the new math tubs! I also separated the dominoes in the unit to put in a separate TPT item! It has all the dominoes and three activity sheets. Go check it out, click below!

Hope you guys like it, I am telling you reading all your blogs made my day better today! It was a rough one!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Add it Up! A new math tub unit!

Hey all! I hope Sunday is treating you well!
I have just finished my first math unit for TPT! I realized that when we started addition last week that I really did not have a good amount of quality addition math tub activities. So, I decided I would make some! This math tub unit has seven activities all based on addition concepts. I tried to incorporate a lot of different ways to do addition. I put number lines, dot cards, dominoes, and pictures in this unit.
Click on the preview below to go and check it out!

Also, the first three people to comment will get a FREE copy! Make sure to put your email address!
Thanks for the love!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Water Habitats and Apples!

We wrapped up our water habitats unit this week! I loved this unit, it was so much fun and I could tell the kids loved it! Thanks to the fabulous Deanna Jump and her ocean animals unit! It was so awesome, and so easy to implement. She is great!
Here are the ocean animals we made:
They all turned out so cute, and the facts Deanna included were so great!
We also had been talking about living and nonliving things. I made a "foldable" so the kiddos could connect their knowledge. Not sure if any of you guys use these, but our district LOVES them. I use them every now and then, but I thought it would be good for science. Basically you take a piece of paper and fold it in half and then cut little flaps, the students put the words and then illustrate or write info under the flap. It is a great study guide!
What Does a Living Thing Need to Live Foldable

So, now on to APPLES! I love this week, because it makes me think it is almost Fall. It is so cute seeing everyone saying "yay it's Fall"! It was 95 this week here in the deep south. I am sad. But the apples helped!
We made these courtesy of Deanna Jump:

Here is what my fall door looks like!
The Johnny Appleseed plate faces are from The Lesson Plan Diva! TOO cute!

Last, I stopped by Made for 1st grade (awesome blog), and I went to look at their classroom blogs, and saw this activity with reading the book Ten Apples Up On Top. So precious, and it worked perfectly since we started talking about addition this week. AND....drumroll please!

I GOT AN ACTIVBOARD! YAY!!

Ummm so excited. Giddy in fact. So, for the book I made a flipchart like Mrs. Schmelzer did with the pictures of my students with the apples on top and we wrote number sentences. They thought it was hilarious. After, we did independent work just like Mrs. Schmelzer! I rolled the dice roller on the board (so cool) and they had to draw the apples and then write the number sentence. I even drew the animals myself!

That was our week in room 103! How did everyone's week go?

Happy Saturday and GEAUX TIGERS!