Mrs. Johnson's First Grade

And That's A Wrap!! {Freebies}

2013-05-23T14:53:00.004-07:00

I am so excited that our summer vacation has officially begun! And what a fun week this was!! Here is a quick peek of things we did during our last days of school.

Reader's Theater: Three Billy Goats Gruff

I love saving this play for the last week of school. The students are such great readers by this time and they have lots of fun with these kinds of activities!

Click the link below to see all the masks available for Readers Theater.

Wacky Science

We had a half day of fun science experiments with the students using Jamie Woodward's Wacky Science Unit! We blew up balloons, made slime, pierced bags with pencils full of water, and much more!

Inflate -A-Balloon

Wacky Slime

Piercing Pencils

Click the link below for more on this science unit.

End of Year Posters

My students wanted something to remember their first grade year besides a memory book so I made these for the students to take home and frame if they wanted to. The pictures were of students holding a frame with a tag that said "Last Day of School". I took a picture of the class and attached it below.

Click the link below to download the K-5 versions. There are also versions for 2013-2014 school year.

Student/teacher gifts

I LOVE Pinterest! Here are a few student gift ideas I found.

Click the pictures to use for your class!

I will miss you Beary much!

These are cute tags from "What's the Buzz in First"

"Owl Miss You! Hope you have a great summer!"

These were so cute and fun to do!

I'm saving the best for last!

My baby girl graduated from Kindergarten this week! {Sniff} We will also be celebrating her 6th birthday! Both these events fell on the same day! I was knee deep in end of year activities and clean up, birthday planning, and graduation celebrations! I am one tired Mama!!

AND THAT"S A WRAP!

My room is now ready for summer cleaning and I'm going home!!

Have a wonder end to your school year and a great summer!

End of Year Memories and a Sale!

2013-05-06T19:01:00.002-07:00

I don't know about you, but we are on the official countdown with 2 weeks left!!! We already have plane reservations for the family and home remodeling scheduled to begin June 1st! I think my plate is going to be pretty full!! The kids worked hard and I am very happy with how they are ending the year.....a little on the hyper side at times though!
Let's face it, we as teachers have worked our TAILS OFF and are in need of some great resources to get us through the hardest times...the beginning and the end of the school year. I'm already stocking up for August and for the last few weeks of school.
The teacher appreciation sale is on at TpT so be sure to stop by for up to 28% off some awesome resources that will save you what you need the most....time!

Also, if you are looking for End of the Year activities, this is a memory book I'm using with my students again this year. Just click the link below to download.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Science in Motion!

2013-04-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

This post is a little shorter because I have been battling a cold but wanted to share what we did this week. We get to spend the last few weeks of school learning about simple machines and famous inventors. Can you believe the school year is almost over!!! Oh, how the time has flown by!! We have 4 weeks left and it is definitely showing with my students getting a bit C-R-A-Z-Y!!! Behavior management is in full swing and my headache medicine is with me everyday! Anyone else feeling like this? In order to try to keep my own sanity, I have a few fun activities to keep my students actively engaged.

This week we learned about "Simple Machines". Let's face it, simple machines can be a bit boring. So I brought a few simple machines and activities to the students this week.

The Pulley Investigation

The students had to pull a bucket filled with heavy rocks with the pulley and without. They had to predict which way would be easier before we went out to try.

They found out that the pulley was the easiest way to bring a bucket full of heavy rocks up.

Without the pulley

With the pulley

We also investigated inertia. This is when an object moves only as long as force is applied to them. This is a great tool to use to explain why seat belts are so important! Things don't move unless the force of stopping and going is applied. We used my daughter's stuffed dog and the PE teacher's scooter to experiment with.

The wall was the force

I had the students ride in a wagon to feel the force when I pushed and stopped them quickly.

For those of you needing something fun and engaging towards the end of the year, my Science in Motion Mini Unit has all the activities here and a few more. Click the link below to see more.

Incubation Station - The Chicks Have Arrived!

2013-04-19T15:40:00.001-07:00

Remember I told you round 3 of my science obsession was coming soon? Well......
Our chicks have finally arrived and are growing fast!! We started our chicken life cycle unit 6 weeks ago and this was one of my most educational experiences yet! My classroom was FULL every morning before and after school with kiddos coming to see our first babies arrive! I am attaching lots of pictures so get ready!

I surprised my students with eggs in March. They went on Spring Break and then came back with only a week left before they hatched. I planned it that way so they wouldn't lose interest waiting 21 days!

The chicks need to stay warm after hatching so they spent 3 more weeks under a heat lamp. They needed to get feathers first. My daughter named them right away. The first one she called "Chickadee", and the second one."Hamburger". I guess they looked like hamburger when they first hatched..LOL! We had 4 total hatch out of 12.

Here is a short video clip of the first chick who hatched:

They hatched on day 20 and 21. By day 23, I broke the rest open to show the students that they hadn't been fertilized.

We started an observation journal a few days before they hatched. They loved this part of the day because they could observe them and write about how they changed each day. And boy do they! One week later, they were already trying to fly!

Journals

They are growing up! Sniff!

I have feathers now!

We did a little comparing with chickens and ducks. We put together a Venn Diagram to show our learning. They made chickens and ducks to go with it.

If any of you have been thinking of hatching eggs with your students, I highly recommend it! They will love it!

Here is my Incubation Station Math and Literacy Unit. It has 141 pages of fun! It has detailed instructions on getting you started with hatching eggs and the activities are differentiated for the primary grades K-2. Just click the picture links to see more. It will be 20% off today only!

Happy Spring and Happy Hatching!

Butterflies Galore!

2013-03-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is round 2 of my science addiction! Stay tuned for round 3 coming soon!! HINT: It has to do with eggs!

My first graders really loved our fun with butterflies! It finally got warm enough to let them go this past week. My daughter hated seeing them go!
But we still had fun!!

Last year I got the caterpillars from a local garden. I ordered them this year and did the whole cup thing. It worked a little better this year!

The students used a black and white version of this booklet to complete their worksheets and craftivities.

Last year, the Botanical Gardens in Tucson gave us real samples of exotic butterfly wings and chrysalis'. We used them to compare and contrast. They really liked this.

We passed the caterpillars around and documented our observations.

Sequencing has been our focus this week and we combined that with art to make these life cycle books.

My first graders loved watching the caterpillars change.

They even watched them wiggle into a chrysalis.

I found some flowers to keep in the habitat. They also would drink from the orange slices we gave them. We had to wait 2 extra weeks before we let them go so they wouldn't freeze.

My daughter helped release them in our yard. They loved the flowers blooming on our almond trees!

If you would like to do this with your students, you can grab my Butterfly Unit with all these activities and directions on getting you started. Click the picture link below to see more.

Have a wonderful Easter with your family and friends!

Spring Has Sprung!

2013-03-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I admit that I am totally into science! I love engaging students in fun activities and experiments. Not only does it make it fun for the students, they begin to express their thought more in their writing.
Since it is 80 degrees here in Arizona, we started planting our peas plants. We used Erica Bohrer's Seed to Plant Unit for some of our observations and activities.

I ventured into the local Home Depot for some potting soil, containers, and seeds. I thought peas looked entertaining.

These small pots come in a pack of about 30 and it was only $2

They begin to sprout!

Now there are a few more sprouting and the students can begin to measure!

This observation booklet from Erica was great for the students to use to document the changing plants.

The students were getting excited over how many paperclips they were using to measure!

We sequenced our plant experience with this writing booklet I created last year. Click the link below to download.

Enjoy your week!!

Fun with the Easter Bunny

2013-03-21T21:21:00.003-07:00

I'm so ready for Spring Break next week!! We have had 80 degree days and the kiddos are getting restless. Thank goodness for my Easter/Spring Activities! Here is one I quickly drew graphics and borders for then put it together. They really loved it!! Some even added feet!
I work with ELL students so they need a lot of modeling. I like to share the pen and do one together. Then they independently write based on what we all came up with together. They have become such great writers because of all the modeling.

Click on the picture link below to download.

My students have a routine during math. We start our lessons with guided practice and when they are doing their independent practice, I hold interventions for those who struggle with the lesson. While I hold the small groups, the other students will do math centers after they complete their work. When I finish with the small groups, I go back and check student work for understanding. This is a routine that works so well for me.

Here are some Spring games that are in our centers right now.

You can find these centers on my TpT store by clicking the picture link below.

Have a great weekend!

Catching up on St. Patrick's Fun with Lots of Freebies!

2013-03-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

I feel so bad for neglecting my poor blog for so long! I unfortunately have had a lot of health issues this last month and have had so much to catch up on! I wanted to share what we have been doing this week for St. Patrick's Day. I guess it's better late than never. And because I waited until today to share all this, I am giving away some of these activities and am also having a 20% off sale at my TpT store until Saturday, March 16th.

Okay, here goes..... OUR TRAPS ARE SET!! The kiddos did such a great job this year with these! I have a group of ELL students and so they need lots of visual support so I showed them a few videos from You Tube. Here is one of them.

Here's how they all turned out!

OMG!! I just noticed this one..ha ha! One of the kiddos is trying to kill the poor Leprechaun!! Guess we'll just skip this one.. HA!

Here is what they will find in the morning! The little notes will have a dull dirty penny for our experiment later in the afternoon!

A fabulous friend of mine put together this Luring Leprechauns science experiment. You turn dull pennies into shiny ones. So Fun!! CLICK HERE to grab it for your students

The students also had fun with Writing! After they made their traps, they wrote about how they were going to catch their Leprechaun.

We also read "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover". They made their own stories with it and they turned out great!

You can grab these writing activities and a few extras by CLICKING HERE. Enjoy!

As they have been learning 2 digit addition and subtraction, and time, I also added these Math Center Games.

How many more is a game they use as they learn missing numbers. If they need 12 and they only have 6, how many more do they need to get to 12?

This is a fun game as they are learning time. They pick a time, then draw the hands on the Leprechaun

The students are learning Place Value with 10 more and Less. This is a bingo game where they uncover a number and then find the number that is 10 more or less on their Bingo Card.

Here is a Bingo Freebie with 2 digit addition and subtraction. CLICK HERE to download.the 1 digit version.

All the other games are available on my Lucky Clover Math Centers. Click the picture link below.

I added a new set of Easter/Spring graphics that are on sale as well!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week with your students! Have a great weekend!

Valentines Math and a Freebie!

2013-02-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a peek at what is happening in math during our short week next week. By the way, I just want to know which one of our administrators had the bright idea of holding parent conferences on valentines day UNTIL 7:00PM!!!
Due to our short week, I got a head start on our math center games this last Friday. The students have been learning addition and subtraction with base ten, missing numbers, domino addition, and more. Here are just a few of the games from my Cupid Kids Valentine Math Tubs.
(To grab the entire Math Tub Set for your class, click any of the pictures below)

Students match the base 10 blocks to the correct numbers

Students spin numbers then add or subtract

Students practice adding 3 numbers

Students play a bingo style missing numbers game

Students play a domino match with valentine dominos

Click the link below for the Domino Addition Freebie

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Funniest Commercials and Sunday Super Sale

2013-02-01T11:43:00.005-08:00

Is it all about the Super Bowl game, halftime show, or the commercials this Sunday? I'd have to say I like watching the Super Bowl just for the commercials! Okay, and the halftime show too! Here are the Top 10 commercials from 2012 to get you ready and laughing!

CLICK VIDEO LINK

Besides the excitement of the Super Bowl, there are also some exciting things happening over at Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) this Sunday only! Many stores including mine will be on sale this Sunday with savings up to 28% with promo code: SUPER.

Here are a few items to get you ready for Valentines Day, St. Patrick's, and Easter!

My newest Math Center Unit for Valentines Day.

St.Patrick's Day Math Centers

Spring Time Math Centers

NEW Valentine Graphics for Commercial Use

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Fun with Book Clubs Henry and Mudge Style

2013-01-19T20:16:00.001-08:00

Well, it's time again for my first graders to be introduced to chapter books through book clubs. They are getting over the reading hump now that the holidays are over. Now we are in the "Git R Done" mentality and fine tuning our reading skills before the school year comes to an end. What better way than with the Henry and Mudge series!!

The kids have been learning about characters, setting, and main ideas in stories. Now they will be getting jobs to identify these in longer stories. With each book, there are 5 students with jobs to identify the character, setting, main idea, problem, and solution.

We hold our book clubs on Fridays and each group will have a different book. We rotate each week. I introduce them to book clubs by doing "Henry and Mudge: The First Book" with them together. After that the students alternate through 11 books total. This is an 11 week lesson plan that the kids really love!! It also helps them work together to understand what they read.

The students work on recording their answers to their "Jobs" on the worksheet and then do an independent worksheet by answering questions about the story.

We also had some fun with math to go with the Henry and Mudge theme.

The students are beginning to learn how to add 10 and subtract 10 from large numbers. This is one of the games where students uncover a number under the dog, add or subtract ten, and then find the match.

This is one of the games for adding 2 and 3 digit numbers BINGO style.

This is one of the fun games for students to learn to tell time to the hour and half hour.

For your literacy centers, this is one board game from a set of 18 with different phonics skills to choose from.

The students had fun writing about Mudge too!

For those of you interested in all the worksheets and activities, you can grab this unit by clicking the link below. It will be 20% off until Monday January 21st!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Valentines Digital Paper Packs, Graphics, and Border/Frames

2013-01-06T09:13:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Friends!! I hope you all are continuing to relax before the Monday wake up call! I have been spoiled this break and am counting the days until Spring Break now! Hmmm...I need to check the calendar.
I know some of you might be starting to creating some fun projects and activities for Valentines Day so if you are looking for digital paper, border frames, or clip art, stop by my TpT store for my latest Valentines additions. Click the links below to see more!

Cupid Kids Clip Art Set

Valentines Digital Borders and Frames

Heart Pattern Digital Paper Pack

Happy Holidays!

2012-12-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from my family to yours! I hope you all have a very fun, relaxing, and safe holiday break! I will be taking a much needed blogging break for now but will be back to ring in the New Year with some teaching goodies so be sure to check back in January!

Moment of Silence and LOTS of Prayer!

2012-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Please take a moment today to say a prayer for those little ones and their families! My heart goes out to all those families and the community!

Santa Sequencing and more Freebies

2012-12-13T20:22:00.001-08:00

I love this time of year! So many activities planned but I find it so hard to fit it all in this year! Our last week is next week and I am still trying to fit it all in!! I wanted to share a few activities I have been doing with my class this week. There are also some freebies to help get you through your last days before the holiday break.
I have loved the book "Santa's Stuck" by Rhonda Gowler Greene and have seen some activities posted on Pinterest. Cara at First Grade Parade has a cute one from last year. Here's the one we did. The students have been learning sequencing in their writing so they wrote about what happened in the story starting with First, Then, and Last.

CLICK HERE to grab a copy of this activity for your students. The clip art is in my newest set available at my TpT store.

We also did an activity with Santa's New Suit by Laura Rader.

The students colored, cut, and assembled Santa. Then they wrote about how they did it.

CLICK HERE to grab a copy of this activity for your students.

I'm having an end of the year sale at my TpT store Friday (Dec 14th), Saturday(Dec 15th), and Sunday (Dec 16th). Click the link below.

Happy Holidays!

The Grinch,Gingerbread Cowboy,and a Freebie!

2012-12-07T10:41:00.001-08:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks! I've been getting ready for the holidays by doing tons of shopping and just about the same amount of decorating! I feel just as busy in my classroom! One of the traditions I started last year came from an idea I found on Pinterest (SO ADDICTING!!). It was posted at What the Teacher Wants. My students love coming into the classroom to check their boxes for notes. Each student has a box. I got these boxes at Michaels. As they finish their assignments they can get a small paper to write a nice note to someone in the class. The idea is that since the Grinch's heart is 2 sizes too small, we will try to make his heart grow bigger by saying nice things about each other. Each week we notice the Grinch's heart growing a little bigger. They love it!!!

This week we finished up an activity I have in my Holiday Literacy Center Unit. They love the Gingerbread Cowboy! It is a favorite here in Southern Arizona! After reading the story, the students came up with a different ending to the story. Here's how a few turned out!

You can download the Gingerbread Cowboy activities and other literacy center games and activities by clicking the picture link below.

We also got started with the Christmas Math Centers! Here is a fun game that they love!! They are learning how to add 3 digits so they play this Gingerbread game for practice.

You can download it by clicking the picture link below.

If you are needing more Math center games you can check out my Holiday Math Centers. Just click the picture links below. The 3 digit Gingerbread math game is part of this larger unit.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

You Might Be a Shop-a-holic Teacher When....(And More Sales)

2012-11-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

I don't do Black Friday but I am still guilty of being a Shop-A-Holic when it comes to teaching materials! I know I'm not the only one who is a "Shop-a-Holic Teacher"! I've heard teachers tell me the things they do and it is so funny because I do it too! Here are a few I am guilty of.

5 Reasons You Might Be a Shop-a-holic Teacher....

1. The first place you flock to at Target is the $1 section and say, OH that would be great to have in my classroom! Oh, so guilty of this one!!

2. You buy at least one (sometimes more) item(s) a week for your classroom. Mine are from TpT..HA!

3. 90% of the catalogs you receive in the mail are teacher related.

4. Most of the things Amazon suggests you might like in addition to your non-teaching order are teaching items.

5. If you have young ones at home then you know you have to share if you teach Kinder or First Grade...You find yourself buying 2 of the same book or craft materials so one can stay at home.....I'M GUILTY during the holidays!

I would love to hear what makes you a Shop-a-holic Teacher because I know there is one in every teacher...Ha Ha!

OKAY TEACHERS! TIME TO FEED MORE OF YOUR TEACHING ADDICTIONS!!!

Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) is having their annual CYBER SALE Monday, November 26th and Tuesday November 27th. You can get savings up to 28% on thousands of teacher stores. I have already started filling my wish list so checkout is so much easier!

I am offering an early bird sale on Sunday since so many of you like to shop before the "Back to School" grind Monday. All products are 20% off Sunday, then TpT will add extra savings (up to 28%) Monday and Tuesday with promo code: cmt12 at checkout!!

Here are a few of the holiday items that will be on sale at my TpT store!

GRAPHICS SET

(Click Picture Below)

GRAPHICS SET

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GRAPHICS SET

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GRAPHICS SET

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Holiday Math Centers

(Click Picture Below)

HOLIDAY LITERACY CENTERS AND ACTIVITIES

(Click Picture Below)

HOP OVER To Blog Hoppin and join us in a TpT LINKY PARTY and find more savings!

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping!!!!!!!

Fun with Owl Pellets

2012-11-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

I know it is almost Thanksgiving and turkeys are on the brain but I couldn't resist doing Owl Pellets with my first graders this year! Our story of the week in our Reading Street unit was "Life in the Forest". I wanted to make it entertaining when learning about the animal life around us, so I got online and bought the pellets! I did it with my daughter and her friend just to see how it might go with Kindergartners before doing it with my First Graders. They had a blast!

I purchased Deanna Jump's Owl Unit and LOVED some of her ideas. I also added a few of my own so it would go great with what we are currently learning.

I found this poem that I used when I first introduced our project. We currently use poems to work on our "Phonics Chunk" identification. I couldn't find who the author was so if anyone knows, please share:) You can download a student copy by clicking HERE. Deanna also has a cute poem in her unit.

We read "Owls" by Gail Gibbons which is a great informational book! We used the information from the book to complete a tree map using "have, can, and are" and then made these super cute owl books which is also in Deanna's unit.

The students did some center activities with "ow". They had to read sentences around the room and write the words with "ow". Then they went back to the table and made a new sentence with the words.
They also made "ow" sentence books by unscrambling sentences and adding them to the pages.
You can download these center activities by clicking the picture link below.

Then it was time for the pellets! The kit came with posters of the Owl Food Chain, and the kinds of bones found in the pellets. The students used the posters and matched the bones so they would know what it was they found. It was a blast!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Gobble Gobble Giveaway!!

2012-11-09T07:32:00.002-08:00

Hey blogging friends! Just giving you a heads up for another giveaway! This time it is happening over at Blog Hoppin! The authors of Blog Hoppin, including myself, are giving away some awesome units just in time for Thanksgiving! To enter, just click the picture link below!

There will be 2 lucky winners to receive a MEGA prize consisting of 15 Thanksgiving Themed Units and 5 graphic bundles including my Thanksgiving Math Center Unit! All you need to do is stop by our Blog Hoppin Blog and enter to win. It's that simple! Contest ends November 13th!!

Thanksgiving Fun and a Treat or Treat Sale!

2012-10-27T10:36:00.003-07:00

I can't resist... I have to share this about my Kinder, Olivia! She loves to read and I was trying not to laugh out loud when I looked up only to see this image in the corner of my classroom after school yesterday. Aww... my little reader! My students are doing character pumpkins again this year and Olivia fell in love with one of them! This is definitely one I'll be framing! Notice the headphones for her pumpkin pal..haha!

I can't believe October is almost over and Thanksgiving is right around the corner! If you are like me you are already planning for Christmas! I never can wait to put out the holiday math games in my centers and I already have some of my Thanksgiving games in their math tubs..HA!

If you are still looking for last minute pumpkin items or Thanksgiving Math and Literacy ideas, stop by my store for 20% all my units and clip art. Sale ends Sunday, October 28th!

My Pumpkin Unit has fun activities to go with the Spookley the Square Pumpkin book. The students make pumpkin vines to tell about Characters, setting, problem, and solution with this book!

Pumpkin Math - Doubles

Click link below for more on this unit

Here's just one of the games in our math centers from my Thanksgiving Math Centers Unit. They learn their math facts to 12 by giving turkey feathers to match the numbers on the turkey bellies.

Click the link below to see more on this unit.

Here is another Thanksgiving Math and Literacy Unit with Pilgrim glyphs and more!

Click the link below to see more on this unit.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and a fun halloween week next week!

NEW Thanksgiving Graphics

2012-10-14T13:02:00.001-07:00

I have finished some new graphics for Thanksgiving and wanted to let you know they are 50% off TODAY ONLY until 8pm Mountain Standard Time. Click any of the links below to download. Have a great weekend!!

Fall Leaves and Max and Ruby freebie

2012-10-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

I have to say this is my favorite time of year, but unfortunately we don't get the pretty fall colors that some of you may get. This is what it looks like at our school in October....

I still continue to bring the seasons to my students with pictures and activities. I am teaching my unit "Why Do Leaves Change?" and the students are enjoying collecting some of the leaves around the campus, plus they get to read about the ones in other areas . I have recently upgraded this unit so if you have already purchased it, you can go back and download it again for the new activities.

I love this book because it makes photosynthesis easy for my students to understand. They filled out their observation booklet and made a tree glyph to go with it.

We are also using Max and Ruby because it was our story from the Reading Street this week. We learned about how to make predictions, and identifying characters, setting, and main idea of a story. Here is an activity we did with this Max and Ruby book.
CLICK HERE to download the Max and Ruby unit.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!!

Pumpkin Fun and a Sale!

2012-09-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the hottest place on earth! I envy some of you who live in places other than southern Arizona. Holy guacamole am I tired of the heat! Come on leaves, start fallin will ya!
Okay, I couldn't stand waiting any longer to break out the pumpkin activities!! Cooler weather is bound to be here soon so we'll do our apple activities then! My students are loving the fun pumpkin activities I have started doing this past week. I am getting them ready for our 2nd annual Family Pumpkin Project also. They will be decorating pumpkins to go with their favorite book character. I can't wait to see what my new first graders will come up with! Here are a few samples from last year in case you were thinking of doing this with your class.

I have updated my Fun With Pumpkins Unit and added a few new math and writing activities. We are keeping the students informed about bullying. This unit has many activities centered around the book "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" so I added a few Anti-Bullying activities.

We also started learning character, setting, and main ideas of stories. The students are making their pumpkin glyphs based on the Spookley story.

The students have been learning their doubles facts and this is a game they have in their centers.

The students have also been learning about sequencing. They learned how to follow a recipe for Pumpkin Pie in a cup and filled out a retell worksheet as they enjoyed eating their pie.

All these activities can be found in my Fun With Pumpkins Unit. If you have already purchased this, you can go back and download again for the new updates. As a thank you to all my wonderful supporters, it is 20% off along with everything else in my TpT store this Saturday, September 29th through Monday, October 1st. Just click the link below.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Making the most of Whole Group and Centers

2012-09-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

So sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted! I’m playing catch up so this will be an unusually long post but I’ll make it worth your while for some freebies!

Back to school is in full swing for most of you now and many of you are dealing with Common Core and the stresses that come with it….mostly the stresses from administration. I have an added stress because there are 3 new teachers in my grade level and I’m the Go-To gal. Well, actually there are two but the third is on maternity leave, but still, it is work! I am mentoring one of them since I am on our Mentoring committee on top of our Language Arts committee as well. My plate is F-U-L-L! If you are like me, you are looking for ways to keep students engaged in all areas of learning. Our district “Police” look for “On Task” classrooms. They began sticking their noses up at centers, claiming they didn’t keep students engaged 100% of the time. I’m sorry, but yes, there is always “The One” in every class, but that shouldn’t determine the fate of centers. We need that time to work with small groups or individual students. Instead, administration wants us to have more whole group instruction. Well, how do they know students are not spacing out and getting off task then as well?

I decided to write this post and share what the administration likes about my centers/whole group instruction and how to make it work in your classrooms. I’ll start with centers.

I make my centers so there is always something the students can be doing during their 20 minute stretch of time. Let’s start with Writing. This is always an area of struggle. The students may not know what to write or they try to rush through it as fast as they can. I put at least 1 new writing activity for the week and then 2 writing ideas from the previous week. Here is what it looks like in the center.

They are learning about sequencing events so I made a “How To” writing activity with food. How do you make a sandwich? My students love this! You can download this freebie by clicking the picture link below.

Now on to Buddy Reading: I want my students to feel important and that they can be helpful with their peers. I found these handy sand timers on Ebay and I couldn’t see centers without them. Since our district uses Dibels as our end-of-the-year- assessment, the students need to be able to read fluently in a minute’s time. So I type up some passages from books and put them in a file folder. Then partners sit together and test each other. They love it so much, they stay focused the whole time.

Word Work can be the loudest at times especially if you have some fun games. If you haven’t gotten The Yacker Tracker, this would definitely be worth it!

My kids know if they are too loud and set off the alarm, they owe me some recess time. They have only set it off once this year…ha ha. They got it now! I set up my word work center the same way as writing. I make sure they have several activities to choose from. I have at least 1 new center activity and then have some from the previous weeks.

Here is one we used last week with short o words. Click the link below to download.

Okay, enough about centers, now on to Whole Group. I try to have whole group time with only about 10 minutes on the carpet for Direct Instruction. Then it’s off to their seats for independent practice. In first grade, I like to challenge my students. I use the Reading Street program so it has some challenging songs and poems.

I type them out and add pictures for support with the more difficult words. This really builds their fluency and vocabulary! I then choose words from the passages for them to find and circle during their independent practice.

You can choose books from your classroom or library to use too. It may seem like extra work, but doing 1-2 a week is worth it so you have them all for next year!

I hope this helps get you started with your classroom management and student engagement! Have a great rest of your week!

Beginning Sounds Clip Art and another Freebie

2012-08-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Why does it seem like every year gets busier and busier? Oh ya, it's only week 4 for my new school year! I have been making new clip art sets to use in games for my ELL kiddos. I have 22 total students and many of them are still learning the language. Here is the newest set: Beginning Sounds. I am working on CVC and Long Vowel sets too. I will post those as soon as they are finished. CLICK HERE to download the beginning sounds set.

My students are working on sentence structure and I had someone request these Punctuation Heroes for their second grade group. Just shrink them down and add them to Popsicle sticks for your students to use as they are editing their work. They can also be used on your bulletin boards as well.

Click the picture link below to grab this freebie for your class!

Mrs. Johnson's First Grade

And That's A Wrap!! {Freebies}

End of Year Memories and a Sale!

Science in Motion!

Incubation Station - The Chicks Have Arrived!

Butterflies Galore!

Spring Has Sprung!

Fun with the Easter Bunny

Catching up on St. Patrick's Fun with Lots of Freebies!

Valentines Math and a Freebie!

Funniest Commercials and Sunday Super Sale

Fun with Book Clubs Henry and Mudge Style

Valentines Digital Paper Packs, Graphics, and Border/Frames

Happy Holidays!

Moment of Silence and LOTS of Prayer!

Santa Sequencing and more Freebies

The Grinch,Gingerbread Cowboy,and a Freebie!

You Might Be a Shop-a-holic Teacher When....(And More Sales)

Fun with Owl Pellets

Gobble Gobble Giveaway!!

Thanksgiving Fun and a Treat or Treat Sale!

**NEW** Thanksgiving Graphics

Fall Leaves and Max and Ruby freebie

Pumpkin Fun and a Sale!

Making the most of Whole Group and Centers

Beginning Sounds Clip Art and another Freebie

NEW Thanksgiving Graphics