Pack up your good behavior and bring it back to school!

We all know that in January we must go back to the beginning.  The first day back is a great time to remind those little ones of all the rules and expectations.  Role playing, drawing, and discussing are all great ways to let it sink back in their minds after a long break.

Have you noticed all my pictures are from home?  I never find the time to take them at school!

It's also a great time to start new initiatives if they aren't working or the students have grown out of the old.  I find that first graders before winter tend to be a bit needier and then all the sudden they come back in January ready for some independence.  So for me it's time to pull back a little and watch them obtain their goals and I make it a tad more challenging. 

This year I have had a hard time getting the students to turn in homework.  I had a faithful 3 every week but no more.  I started hosting lunch dates for the students that turned in homework and then the papers started to roll in.  I still intend to have my lunch dates because I think they are so important for the kids and myself but I know that I need to make them earn them.

Our school gives out Cougar Paws for being responsible, safe and respectful.  Anytime you notice a student following those rules you write a Cougar Paw.  Every two weeks they go to the store.  They store their Cougar Paws in the chart below and we also chart them every two weeks and I have a special lunch with the top earner.  My school is having first grade try out new chips to replace the paper Paws to see if it helps with paper reduction. So I needed a new way to store for January.

Here is my new holder for the Cougar Paw Chips.

The chips will be held in the lower pockets.  I bought a double sided jewelry holder and glued on ribbon and then used paint pens to write their numbers.  Chip letters finished it off.

On the other side, I decided to use Kinder Gals idea of Happy Rocks.  I am going to use it as a type of monetary system in which they can buy lunch dates, treasure box items, Cougar Paws, free computer time, a day at my desk, etc.  I used to freely give rewards (treasure box once a week, lunch dates, recess parties) and I realized that my students need to learn that earning takes more than just a little work.

Happy Rocks Earning/Rewards

I started to make prize passes and realized I had come across ones that I could not have made better. 

First Grade Fever made the wonderful prize passes below that I plan on using.  I will just add a star or heart to represent their value. Check out her page!

We are still a bucket filling class but it is something that the students handle on their own and it teaches them the value of intrinsic rewards....just feeling good because you did something great!  Here are several ways to display the buckets.  I changed rooms two weeks into school so I had to overhaul some of my original ideas.  Our buckets are now on a small shelf.  The command strips didn't hold up for very long on the back of a metal bookcase.

The following paper can be found on Heather Robinson's site.  How to be a bucket filler, which would be a great reminder!

Hope January runs smoothly for all of you!  And me too :)

Pinterest is addictive and I LOVE it!

So I didn't do all of the projects up to the caliber that  the creators did, but they still came out usable.  I also just used the materials that I had rather than go out and get the stuff they used.  The first idea was from Remarkable Home and her handy File Folder Organizer.  You will notice that her creations look polished and finished and mine are just decent.  My classroom is themed Western with the colors red, blue, black and white.  She used grommets and suggested sewing with a heavy duty needle.  Though I have a sewing machine, I didn't have a heavy duty needle.  I did have a glue gun though :)  I glue the bottom of each folder into the folder beneath. I then punched 3 hole into each to connect the folders further and to keep the sides closed.  It's pretty sturdy and I look forward to hanging it by my desk after the break!  I think when I am back I can jazz it up with labels and western die cuts....we'll see.



Inspiration from ReMarkable Home

My Interpretation:



 The next project was easy because it required only a $1 and no labor...I just had to buy the crown at Michaels!  So the idea behind this crown is to let your students know when you are in session during guided reading groups and not to be disturbed unless of emergency (I always say if your hair is on fire then you can disturb me).  Great idea!  I had tried turning on a push light but it wasn't enough.  Last year I had a stop sign and a go sign on magnets and I hung them behind my head to let them know when I was/wasn't available but I don't have anywhere to hang them this year :(  Hopefully this will do the trick!

Inspiration from I'm Blog Hoppin'

 My Interpretation:

At our school we use a TON of PostIts, mainly because we are teaching all of our readers/students to track their thinking.  I made the following for a couple of teachers and of course there is one just for me!  At my student tables their is a stand up picture frame with their Kagan numbers for pairing and support, I plan to do a variation on the other side to be a PostIt holder.

Inspiration from Paper Wings 

My Interpretation:

The next few projects are based off Kinder Gals ideas from their post Managing Behavior.  A magnetic sign is hung by your whole group area.  Anytime the students don't do the right thing you just take one magnet down, for all the magnets left the class gets points (or happy rocks).  My board fits in with my Western theme (check out the ribbon, so cute).

Inspiration from Kinder Gals

My Interpretation:

The other idea I got inspiration from was their tattle monster.  I decided instead to go with tattling turtle.  I plan to put the tattling turtle poem next to it and also the wheel of choice (I couldn't find the link to this).  The students tell the turtle their tattle and if they feel that the teacher should hear they bring over a turtle.  The number of turtles left at the end of the day equals points given to the class.

Inspiration from Kinder Gals

My Interpretation:

The last two items are my ideas.  First, I saw ice trays at the Dollar Tree that are ice rods.  I thought they would be a great number line manipulative. I labeled the trays 1-10.  I flipped two around and labeled them 11-20 in case the problems exceeded 10.

The other idea is very simple.  As I was cleaning and rearranging over the holiday I had a couple containers that I thought would be a nice addition to my desk.  I glued ribbon onto them and they are like new. With the addition to my PostIt holder I'm all set :)

Check out Pinterest for fabulous ideas!

Reading Partnerships

In January of first grade, I find that the students are truly ready for a reading partnership.  I launched my partnerships in August but till this point they haven't been proving their thinking through writing....although they have worked with PostIts.  The students, for the most part, are beyond beginning reading and are ready to read and think together.  The strategies have been taught and the students now are able to monitor them on their own with Does it make sense?  Does it sound right? Does it look right? 

Sometimes the Gradual Release of Responsibility takes months...but I am so glad to see the progress my little ones have made up until now.  Can't wait for more!

Each partnership of students has a basket to store their materials.  The materials are several copies of a couple books, PostIts, pencils, bookmarks, comprehension dice and a reading tool of their choice. They also have a fluency rubric (Fluency Rubric).

These are the reading tools. There are pointers, finger puppet pointers, glasses, microphones, chunking bookmarks, etc.

The students also have access to leveled readers and prove-it papers that are in a hanging file.



 I group the students by their reading abilities.  Sometimes it doesn't all work perfectly so I have some groups that are 3 students.  After we have learned a strategy or reading skill, the students are given time with their partner to try it out with the book they are using.  This ensures that the 90 minute reading block differentiates in various ways....during the whole group lesson and during guided reading groups/centers. 

Reading Partnership Form

Partnership Bookmark

Number Labels for Partnership Baskets

Partner MatchUp Form

The Prove-It Forms are just graphic organizers that we have used previously, but now they are showing what they know on their own.  See Reading page for printables.

I also used this book to help guide me: 

Picture Walk How-To and then some...

Picture Walk

I notice all these teachers have time for cute holiday related stuff and crafts.  I work at Title One school...meaning most of my kids are way behind.  This means every minute counts!!

When I see the blogs with all the cuteness I start to wonder what kind of area they live in.

At my school we are building their schema because they don't have any...trust me I'm not complaining, I have a great job but I feel pressure!

You will notice that I don't post crafts.  I wish we were able to fit them in.  My posts are based off our curriculum needs at the time.  My main area of creativity is in my math centers because they change weekly.  My reading materials are their to support and provide organization to my fragile readers. 

This picture walk document was made as a reminder to my readers of what good readers do before they read. 

Check out my schedule...it's intense.  (I run 5 to 6 reading groups a day!)

8:30- School Starts

8:35-9:15 All students are in a reading group at their level...this means most of them go to other instructors and I get different 1st graders.

9:15-10:00 Writing, we start with a mini-lesson, the students write and I meet mainly with my struggling writers (still stringing random letters together).

10-10:40 Specials, I meet with 5 kiddos that are almost reading to push their skills a little further (this was my choice).

10:40-11:15 Intervention Reading Group, out of our 5 first grade teachers 3 of us run reading groups as well as three support people in which we meet with one group Monday and Tuesday and another on Thursday and Friday.  On or above students go to the 2 other teachers for Social Studies and Science.

11:15-11:55 Lunch

11:55-1:30  90 minute reading block, we start with word work, move on to lesson, and end with centers and guided reading groups (I meet with 2-3 groups a day).

1:30-2:00  Math Centers

2-2:15 Recess

2:15-2:55 Math Lesson, some students receive another intervention at this time.

3:00 Pack up

Whew!  We don't have time to write in agendas or even color...that's why all our minutes count.  Some students are in three or four reading groups a day.

Does anyone else feel that pressure too?

Adding and Subtracting with a Number Line

Inspiration is all around you!  This game was inspired by my sister-in-law's father, Randy, who loves his Harley!  I saw the graphic and knew I had to create a game with it....although it took me a bit to figure out what and how. 

The students select a card, use their number line to solve and move their playing piece on the Hog Heaven board.

Hog Heaven: Adding and Subtracting with a Number line

Enjoy!

Place Value Addition and Subtraction: Baseball Bonanza

Enjoy this math center to practice adding and subtracting with place value!  Click here to download: Baseball Bonanza

Designed by TheGoToTeacher

Graphics by Scrappin' Doodles



Monitor for Meaning Activities

While reading with first graders, our world consist of three questions...Does it Make Sense?  Does it Sound Right? Does it Look Right?  We teach our students to use fix up strategies to understand what they are reading.  The following activities are to provide practice for your kiddos!

Spin and Monitor  The students place the sentence playing mat onto a cookie sheet and spin a top.  When the top lands, the students read the sentence andfigure out what's wrong with it and mark it on the graph by writing the incorrect sentence in the correct area.  Afterward, choose a sentence to fix.

Roll a sentence

Roll each of the dice. Use them to create sentences on the recording form.  Circle to mark the answer of the questions to answer, Does it make sense?  Does it sound right?  Does it look right?