Short "A" Activities

We've been in school for about 3 weeks and I feel like we are starting to get a groove. I had to show you this new bulletin board I put up. They remind me of clipboards. I am using it to display the kids' writing. In the past I would tape their work to the piece of construction paper, but it was time consuming. With this new board I attached a clip and it makes hanging their writing so much easier. 

 This week we've been working on Short "A". These little ones need to keep moving, so using interactive activities seem to be my best bet. We used play doh mats and stamps for two of our centers. They did a great job working independently. It seems to be a challenge finding independent activities that are also engaging and constructive for the beginning of the year. These two worked well.

We made crowns with Short "A" words wrapped around the edges. My group this year loves coloring, painting, and designing most anything. They wore these crowns all day. They were asked to go home and read the words to three different people or three different times to the same person. They checked off the box on the side and brought it back the next day for a ticket.

 Next up was Short "A" Bingo. The kids were able to make their own boards, so each one was unique. This was a two day project. We made our boards on the first day and played on the second.

We also made these interactive booklets. I was able to get a great understanding of who was struggling and who was able to sound out the CVC words. Letter orientation was something else I was able to observe. Some of the children had the "a" in the right place, but it was upside down. If you are in need of an activity for short "a" grab this freebie.

Grab the whole resource HERE.

Grab this freebie at my TpT store.

Next week we are on to Short "I" and beginning our Social Studies unit on Me on the Map. So excited. On a side note, I was at Staples today and picked up 30 spiral notebooks for 17¢ each.

What a great deal! Usually you are only able to get 6 at a time. If that is the case at the Staples near you, show them your teacher ID and they'll let you purchase more at the discounted price.
 Enjoy the last day of your long weekend.

A Bad Case of Stripes

 This year is already off and running and I am LOVING my class. One of the books we read this week in A Bad Case of Stripes. This is one of my Back to School favorites. The first time we read this story I had the kids complete this sheet by A Year of Many Firsts. The kids visualize and sketch what Camilla might look like at three different places in the story. Great idea!

 

We've also been focusing on story mapping, specifically character and setting. We mapped out the story. I made this board so that Post-It notes would fit perfectly in the empty space. The kids are answering these questions with much more ease. 

 

We also talked about why Camilla did not want to eat her lima beans. What started this big mess for Camilla? You can grab this freebie below.

We discussed all the different feelings Camilla might have been feeling at the beginning of the story. Then, we came up with a list of feelings she might of had once they found a solution.

I love combing art and literature, so we couldn't finish up this story with a fun project. I used tempra paint and 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and let the kids go to town. Whatever they could think up. 

 

At the end of the day, we were sitting on the carpet and we were going over our day. Out of everything we did that day ALL OF THEM loved painting the most. What??? That took no prep time, there was no direction, it was eazy shmeezy. Just goes to show you, kids don't need a song and dance...just give them paint. 

The next day, I had them draw their face with a black oil pastel. I think they turned out awesome.

We've been working on our number up to 120. We are not there yet, but I can't wait to use this mystery picture PowerPoint. How cute is Camilla? I think the slide show would have to be set for too long at this point, but give the kidlettes a month and it will be perfect. If you want to check out a great way to incorporate both math and literature, check out it out at my TpT store. Enjoy your week.

Grab this freebie here.

Pete the Cat - Back to School

The first week is done. I love all the fantastic books that go great with Back to School. Any Pete the Cat story IS AWESOME! We started with Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes and followed it up with Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.

We made these adorable little ROCKING cats. I gave them a choice of red, orange or green shoes. We graphed about it after we were done. I love how the bulletin board turned out.

Next, we read about Pete's groovy buttons. I just love how all the kids sing along with their favorite part. Soooo sweet. We talked about adjectives and how they were used to describe Pete's buttons. We brainstormed our own list. Then, they chose and adjective from each category.
We wrapped it up with folding an origami GROOVY shirt. We used the scrap paper basket in the office to make the buttons. This way they were able to choose the exact color and size they wanted.

Next week we are going to talk about Story Maps, specifically character and setting. 
 
Post-It notes fit perfectly on this story map. Then it can be used over and over again. Love the bright colors too.

In the listening center I included this reader-response page. Scan the QR Code and the children will hear a fantastic version Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes. The kids can follow along with the class' book and the answer the questions.
I also included the title for the origami shirt bulletin board. Hope you enjoy.

Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes - Listening Center

Grooooovy Buttons Bulletin Board

If you like any of these activities...check out my TpT store.

Seven Days of Creation

School starts tomorrow, so I thought I would welcome the new year with a freebie. Educlips came out with an adorable set of clipart showing the 7 days of creation and I knew I had to use them. I teach first grade at a public school, so I'm not able to use them in my class, but it will be enjoyed by my own children. I also thought you could use this if you are teaching Sunday School or Vacation Bible School this summer.

I included directions on how to create an eight page booklet by using a 12 x 18 piece of construction paper. I use this in few of my resources and find them really easy to assemble. Depending on the abilities of your students, you might have to prep the booklet before the sheets are glued on.

Are there any other stories you would like to see? Enjoy!

Grab this freebie. Enjoy!

Quick Tip Tuesday

I've been in the same classroom for about ten years now. I wanted to freshen it up a bit, but didn't want to spend too much money. I thought about what they always say on HGTV... a little paint is the easiest way to change the look of a room. So, I went down to Home Depot and bought a couple cans of spray paint.
I had this huge tan file cabinet that I needed to keep, but is was drab and boring. I used my two new favorite colors, teal and lime and went to town. I emptied out the drawers and moved it outside, so it took no time at all to dry. It also forced me to clean out my cabinet and I got rid of at least half of my stuff. I think it came out super cute.
Our language arts series has 5 reading books for each student (1.1, 1.2, 1.3....). Trying to follow common core, they are suggesting we teach by theme, so the books they read are no longer in sequential order. One week we might read a story from 1.2, the next 1.4. I have 33 first graders and this just seemed like a nightmare and a huge amount of time would be lost passing out and collecting books. I got out my can of paint, sprayed the outside of my cabinet lime. Then I painted each shelf a different color. I used a small bottle of craft paint I picked up at Michaels for less than 50¢. I needed five shelves, so I did the colors of the rainbow. Now instead of passing out and collecting the books, I can call them by teams and tell them to put their book back on the orange shelf or grab a book from the purple shelf. This seems like a simple change, but I just wanted to avoid unnecessary headaches and passing the books out myself or asking the kids to grab 1.2 just seemed problematic. And with 33 little ones, I'm already way outnumbered, so the last thing I need are problems I can avoid with a little planning.

 I hope you're enjoying summer. It's going by quickly.

Thing1 and Thing 2

I just love this month. There are so many fun activities to do with the good doctor's books. We made these adorable "hats" today and I just had to share because the kids just looked soooo cute. I saw something like this on Pinterest and had to give it a try. I provided you with the Thing 1 and Thing 2 button, if you wanted to give this project a try.

Grab the Thing 1 and 2 button.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

March is one of my favorite months in school because Dr. Seuss is the Author of the Month. His books are so much fun and the kids are having a blast with all the activities. Each Wednesday our team chose a book and picked a fun theme to go with it. The first Wednesday is "The Cat In the Hat" (kids wear their favorite or silly hat). Next is "Wacky Wednesday" (kids wear backward or wacky clothes). The last Wednesday is "Fox In Socks" (silly socks or mismatched).
I saw this art project on Pinterest and thought it would be a great bulletin board. Super fun and the kids loved choosing their favorite character.

We've also been doing some easy activities for parents to run in literacy centers. I'll add some more pics as the month goes on. Next week we're making mustaches from "The Lorax".
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

This is also included in my March Fast Finisher Pack.

Grab this freebie. This is also included in my March Fast Finisher Pack.

Find the activities above plus so much more...here.