First-year teacher advice: How to prepare for your first year of teaching, how to decorate your classroom, what to do on the first day of school, and more!
As a new teacher, you try your hardest to learn all of the new procedures and cultural norms of your school, but many times it can be hard but what if all of the veteran teachers poured their knowledge into you? Well, we’ve compiled the best advice from veteran teachers and here you go. Don’t […]
If you’re looking to regain some of your essential time, this is a post for you! Many of the daily systems teachers have setup for themselves and students can quickly turn into time-suc…
We had another themed play day the other day, and the kiddos loved it, so I thought I'd share our fun with you. This time we planned ou...
We want students to work at their own pace, but when one student is significantly slower than his peers, it can cause problems for him and for his teachers.
We are reflective teachers who embrace the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice. We are committed teachers who want to take the magic out of mathematics and focus on the beauty of sense-making. We wish for teachers everywhere to seek coherence and connection rather than offer students memorized ...
Hi friends! Kelly here from Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten. It's the 22nd of the month again which means it's my turn to share some ideas with you! Today I want to talk about something new that I've implemented in my first grade classroom… As the year has progressed, my students have been so eager to take home books from our class library, especially as more of my students are able to read now independently. So I came up with a simple book envelope system to help keep my firsties organized! Something big that my class is working on right now is RESPONSIBILITY!! I wanted my kiddos to understand that if I was allowing them to take home books from our class library, they were responsible for making sure that the books stayed in good shape and made it safely back to the library. I decided to have all of my kiddos sign an agreement, and we talked about what a big responsibility it was to take care of their books. Essentially, the way the system works is that my kids keep a book in their envelope at all times. They take it to and from school every day. My students also take Accelerated Reader tests on the computer on most of the books they read. Most of the books that they keep in their envelopes are "AR" books. So, usually, I have my kids pick out a new book for their envelope after they have taken and passed an Accelerated Reader (AR) test on the book they've been working on. I don't let my kiddos get a new book every day. I really want them to be successful with their comprehension, and have them read their book multiple times. My high kids get a new book about three times a week. My lower students sometimes keep the same book all week. Here's the cover of their book envelopes. Next school year, I plan to laminate these so that we can use them all year long! The books that my students put in their envelopes are organized by AR level. My kids all know which basket they are supposed to pick from. My students also sit in table groups of 5 or 6 students, and the groups are labeled by ability. Now, some teachers may not agree with grouping their students this way. However, it really works for me as I have a larger class and no extra aide or help. I am easily able to differentiate and give each table different assignments to work on if necessary. I am also able to re-teach concepts to certain tables of kids while other tables work independently. Having my kids in these table groups also makes it easier for them to check out books. I can literally take baskets from my library and put them in the middle of each table for students to pick their new book. They love helping each other and recommending titles to their friends. :) Here's a look at part of my library. At this point in the school year, I still have a couple of EL students who are not quite ready to take AR tests on the computer, as they are still working on decoding and are not reading fluently. I have these kiddos check out a Bob Book for their envelope. Bob Books are awesome for helping children build their reading confidence! I just LOVE my library labels!! And guess what!? They are EDITABLE!! My friend and fellow Primary Pack blogger Alisha over at Missing Tooth Grins made them. I have loved using them this year in my classroom! They make organizing my library so easy. Thanks Alisha! :) Do you use Accelerated Reader in your classroom!?? My first graders love it for comprehension, and I do too! Last year when I taught Kinder, my kiddos used it too, but it was a very different process. My Kinders needed a lot more guidance and support. They picked one book for the week, and tested on their book on Fridays. It was very difficult for me to have kids test daily as I only had one computer in my classroom. My high kids were able to test pretty much every week, but I had to create a reading log to help them and their parents keep track. If you use AR in your classroom, feel free to click on the picture below to download an EDITABLE FREE version of this reading log! My Kinder kiddos also would start using AR at different times throughout the school year based on their abilities. I had a letter ready to go that I would send home to parents each time one of my kiddos started using AR. Click on the picture below to download an EDITABLE FREE version of this letter to use in your classroom! The graphics on my reading log and AR letter are from one of my favorite clipart artists: Whimsy Clips. I just love her stuff!! And the border is from Bubbly Borders and More! Interested in trying out Book Envelopes in your own classroom!? I have a TPT pack that includes everything that I posted about today, AND it is editable! You can write your own book agreement for your students to sign to meet your classroom needs. :) This pack is ONSALE in my store this weekend! Click on the picture below to check it out! Thanks for stopping by today friends! I hope you have a great Sunday! :)
Läsning behöver tränas på många olika sätt. Nedan beskrivs flera olika sätt att göra stationsläsning på. 1. Fasta stationer Jag plockade fram ett antal småböcker i olika svårighetsgrad. Varje elev fick ett protokoll (MALL) där de skulle skriva namn. Vi använde oss av gemensam lärmiljö genom att ha fasta platser för några av stationerna. De fick följande instruktioner. Välj en
Students will determine the fraction that the arrow is pointed to on the number line. The fractions are halves and fourths only. There is a practice page and an exit ticket in this file.
Room On The Broom is the perfect mentor text for Halloween writing activities in kindergarten or first grade. Includes a FREE writing prompt and craft.
There are dozens of ways teachers can address students who finish their classwork early. Over the years I’ve had a binder with small academic tasks (including some from here) for kids to cho…
Teachers are always looking to improve their craft, and there are a ton of resources out there. But finding the time to weed through them all, so that you know which ones will be the most benefit for you can be time consuming. So I have this list of 5 books for math teachers that will guide you through actionable steps to help improve your math teaching.
Good old-fashioned note-taking is a skill students should master.
Your new favorite teaching strategy: This pared-down version of learning stations keeps the movement, interactivity and variety while minimizing the prep work.
Vad fastnade hos dig? Varför inte tillverka en plansch att hänga på dörren ut ut klassrummet och låta eleverna hänga sina exit tickets i form av post-it-lappar innan de går ut ur klassrummet efter lektionen eller när de slutar för dagen?
This week we are learning all about adding 10 more and 10 less in our first grade classroom. Some students 'get-it' and some students look at me like I have two heads when I'm explaining the patterns and concept to them. It really is a lot to remember... ones place stays the same, go down-add 10, go up-subtract 10, tens place changes by 1...yada yada...!! Well, yesterday and today we drilled it and I am confident that we are ready to move on! Here are the things I did to teach the concept! Nothing to fancy--but, it works! ;) We began with base 10 blocks. I verbally stated a number and students had to make that number on their table with base 10 blocks. Then I would say, "Now, what is 10 more?" Students took a long and added it to their pile. During all of this they were writing their numbers on their whiteboards. Then I would say make that original number again. Now, what is 10 less. Students took away one long and then wrote down that number. We discussed how the cubes (ones place) never changed when adding and subtracting 10. I forgot to take pictures so here is a digital visual of what we did! After we completed this students played a dice roll game that is in our everyday math manual. I actually like it! Students move through the number grid. They roll a dice and if they roll 1 they move 1 or 10 spaces, roll 2 - 2 or 20 spaces and so on. It helps them learn to navigate the number grid and add 10 or 20. Then, they completed their math journal activity for the day! Today, we dug into 10 more and 10 less even more. I demonstrated a quick 'game' (aka assessment for me) to see who know what to do. To play the 'game' each student needs a whiteboard or something to write on. I put my students in groups of 3. They need to take turns picking a middle number. I had students choose any number between 11 and 89. This would take away confusion with 9-10 or 91+10! :) Once the student writes a middle number they lay their board on the ground. Then the other two students in the group need to write the number that is 10 more and 10 less. Students rotate being the middle number person. After we completed this I had a few kiddos come to my T.table for extra support for our next activity. Then, the other students completed a 10 more/10 less activity at their seat. With my group that needed more support I broke out the base 10 blocks. These are lifesavers for these kids! I found this activity for free here. After we completed this we broke out into math workshop mode!! (LOVE) Students completed their math journal activity for the day and then off to math tubs they went! I had students who struggled do the 10 more 10 less math tub and I sat with them while we worked on completing it together. Tomorrow we will be working on 10 more 10 less & 1 more, 1 less (hope that's not to hard) !! ;) You can find the math tub activity here in my Spring Math Stations Packet You can find the math journal activity here in my Interactive Math Journal (May) Don't forget about the sale going on!! My whole store is on sale so stock up on all sorts of goodies now!! :)
Det går snabbt och lätt att göra hemlagad trolldeg och egen play-doh lera. Nästan allt som behövs finns hemma i skafferiet. Modelleringen blir till en lek med barnen samtidigt som ni kan fixa fina dekorationer till jul och påsk.
Explore in-depth reviews and savvy recommendations of the best and latest educational web tools.Discover how these tools can transform education and inspire innovative teaching.
Today was our first day back since Elsa froze Texas. I love to look at snow, it's beautiful, but I'd much rather wear flip flops and a v-neck tee! Although, the ICE ice cream we made was delish! This week we are focusing on the sound of /ar/ and /or/. Super fun! I LOVE to get my kiddos excited about new learning, and hello,....I definitely want them to remember 1st grade as their BEST year ever! I found this tutorial online for my pirate vest. Thank goodness or it would have ended up looking like a shredded tomato. ...and the man at Sonic gave me the strangest look when I rolled up to get me a large DP! #wedoitallforthekids We started our day off meeting our class visitor Captain Sm-ARR-ty! You can download him here. He needed us all to become pirates for the day and help him find his lost words! After we became pirates, we starrrted our voyage! #cheesyiknow We found lots of words for his map, but some did not have /ar/. The words that did not have /ar/ became shipwrecked! Sm-arr-ty was pretty excited we found all his words! But, our voyage wasn't done yet! He had more work for us! We headed off to our quarters to sort our own words just to make sure we knew the difference between the words Sm-arr-ty wanted and did not want! Next, he sent us off to collect gold for the treasure he was going to bury. ...and he even made us walk the plank! This was by far their favorite! They had to read the /ar/ word on the card to walk the plank. I love seeing their imagination! They were trying so hard to stay away from the sharks underneath them! He then sent us off on a treasure hunt! We had to find rhyming words, the correct spelling for words, fill in missing sounds, count the sounds, and lots more! And, at last our ship ported and we found our treasure! It was full of jewels and Smarties! We had a blast today! You can find all of these activities here.
Whether you are trying to land your dream job or just survive your first few weeks, here are some ways to thrive as a substitute teacher!
It's taken me forever to get this post together... just because of my out of control to-do list. I'm sure you can relate. Anyway, when I in...
A summary of 8 best practices in note-taking, straight from the research.
Hi ya'll! I'm back again this week with a new Our reading skill for this week was cause & effect. I introduced cause & effect with this anchor chart. The students also had all the information (with a little extra) from the anchor chart in a note format for their literacy binder. To give examples of cause & effect, we watched an animated version of Strega Nona which has a ton of cause/effect relationships. You can access the animated version here. It is from PBS so you will need to login or register. We watched it the first time while just listening. During the second viewing, I had the students jot down a few cause/effect relationships they noticed. Here are a few of my sweet students working hard! We recorded these on our Strega Nona anchor chart. We then discussed a few graphic organizers they could use to represent cause and effect.
Students learn about even and odd numbers by sorting "Truffle Seeds" (I use Trix cereal) into two groups. If each group ends up with the same amount of seeds, the original quantity was an even number. We talk about how even numbers are "fair." If the groups end up with a different number, the ori...
Kids love learning all about chickens, they especially love to learn all about the chicken life cycle. Find 5 SUPER fun printables and activities to teach chicken lifespan through this post!
Here are some of my favorite January Winter classroom activities for prek, kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade! Penguin research flip book craftivity, Martin Luther King Jr activity, and more!
Work plans are used in the classroom as a tool to help the children explore all areas of the classroom. It also encourages them to choose more than a few works that are out of their comfort zone within the three hour work cycle. The work plan I have designed is only to be used for children four years and older (four and a half in most cases). Now, I have been opposed to work plans in the past, for I feel that the child should be left to their own devises to explore and stay with work for extended periods of time. The time that they spend on one work for two hours is just as valuable as the 8+ works that they complete in that same time. I always reward the children if this is the case either with a special responsibility/or project that encompasses one or two areas of the classroom. Sometimes I will reward them with a lesson. And i never tell them that it is a reward. Because their completion of their own work is it's own reward. Here is a link to the work plan. Print it on card stock, in color ink, cut them out and laminate. To personalize, write the child's name on the laminated card in sharpie (I do this to reuse them). Also, block out the days that the child is not present with a sharpie. I use a wet erase pen to place stars in the grid after the children have completed the work.
Då har vi jobbat med ytterligare en problemlösning i temat I drömmarnas värld. Den här gången med fokus på tidsberäkning. När vi går igenom dagen varje morgon så skriver vi upp tiderna som gäller för dagen och pratar om hur man tänker med digital tid. Nu var det dags att använda kunskaperna. Nu hand
The Unfair Game is a totally unfair twist on Jeopardy that your students will LOVE to hate! Learn how to play and find sample game boards in this post.
One of the kindergarten Common Core writing standards is to participate in shared research and writing projects (W.K.7) and to gather infor...
Here are our top 30 photos that will make you want to sign up for the One Month Immersion Yoga Teacher Training today!
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Odds and ends from a First Grade classroom and more...including teacher tips, activities, and downloads!
