Seriously! What were YOU thinking?

Have you ever found yourself wondering the answer to that question during the day? Actually saying it out loud? Well, today….I did…out loud….over and over again….



…during math. Shocked?! At me asking that question or by the fact that I taught math, lol?! I don’t share a lot about our math time because my heart belongs to all things literacy, BUT today was one of those days when the lights came on. It was one of those days when through the organized chaos, the chitter chatter, through the rowdiness of it all…they learned. They REALLY learned. They got it!

 After creating a chart to outline the steps for solving a story problem, we reviewed each of the strategies we’ve been discussing and prepared to practice what we’d preached. We’ve been calling these…. “Think” Strategies…



I have some very clever little mathematicians in my class that keep me on my toes, so one strategy that I was sure to incorporate was, “I just know it”! I attended a training recently where one of the instructors expressed how important it is to share with students that “just knowing” the answer is a valuable strategy. By honoring it, the need for acknowledgement is addressed and those students that “just know it” are more receptive to practice the steps of the process because THEY know, YOU know that THEY KNOW the answer, even before beginning the steps of problem solving. =)



Each student received a story problem to solve. Only 5…6? 6, I think, were created. This approach allowed for students to work in pairs and/or small groups to engage in “math talk” to discuss their thinking. It also allowed for differentiation for ability. After students walked through the steps of solving the problem, they had one additional task….explain your thinking. Prove it. Defend why the strategy you chose to use was the BEST strategy to solve your story problem. Here’s a closer look.

Their choice of the "BEST" strategy is named on the green sticky note.



….and now that we can better verbalize the “why” of what we did, the pesky worksheet has become a “think” sheet. Want your kiddos to show what they know? Great! But make ‘em tell you why! Seriously! Ask ‘em…… “What were YOU thinking”?!



See ya later! =)

 

Five for Friday~SNOW DAY!!!

Hey, ya’ll! It’s SNOW DAY Friday!



We woke up to SNOW! Real……SNOW!  My friends that live a little further north of the Texas state line will most certainly get a real giggle out of the frenzy we went into over a couple inches of the frozen stuff. We didn’t dare venture any further than our yards today because we have no idea how to get around in this stuff! My son didn’t even make it out the front door before he was flat on his butt!!!



Now, here’s the real kicker! On Monday, we had on shorts! The forecast for tomorrow…70! Yes, that’s how drastic our weather can be, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! We live in the only state where we experience EVERY season of the year…….weekly! Ha!!!



With only 3 days of school this week, getting a chance to snap a pic or two was tough. These first two weeks back have been used to complete mid-year assessments. They’re D.O.N.E and now we can move on to the fun of teaching and learning again! Yahooooo!!!

Things are getting a little harder, moving a little faster….expectations are, dare I say {more rigorous}. One of the little changes we’ve made is switching the dice on our fact family slide from 6 sided dice to 10 sided dice. By doing this, we’ll practice adding and subtracting to 20 rather than to 12. Each day, our fact family is randomly selected by clicking the dice to name our addends, adding to find the sum, then writing the 4 equations for the fact family. This also meets the guidelines for our new TEKS (state standards) update that rolls out next school year. This is one part of our daily calendar routine.



Because my kiddos did such a great job working like little church mice during testing and running records, math time was a little more hands on and active. Well, um…if I’m completely honest……….math time in our classroom is ALWAYS hands on, active, and loud! I believe in structure, but I also believe in balance. We start our day quietly….reading requires thinking, concentration…., math gets a little rowdy with music, games, manipulatives….then we end the day with writer’s workshop that goes back to quiet. Balance. It’s key!

Also, having a class that’s made up of mostly [the cutest] firstie boys….I have got to keep them moving or they will move on their own! One of the ways I use that energy rather than fight it, is by completing write the room activities. One way we ‘write the room’ is to review math skills, work in pairs to share “thinking” strategies, and to encourage “math talk”.



Cards with review problems are printed, cut apart and hung around the room. Student pairs…….each with a response sheet, pencil, and whiteboard (to write on the back of) in hand scoot around the room solving problems and recording their answers. I get total engagement, they get to move, talk, and learn…..all at the same time! Win/win! While students are working, I float around the room checking in, questioning, and {smiling}.



Want to really see their little faces light up? Write story problems that include their names! They go totally bonkers every time I tell them we’re working on story problems because they want to see who’s name is going to be in them! It makes a tough skill a LOT more fun to learn. When I’m reading stories that connect well with our classroom community, I do the same thing. I wish I could’ve recorded us sharing Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal! There were laughs and cheers and screams of encore! I would’ve read it again, but YOU KNOW, I didn’t remember who’s name was read where, LOL! Couldn’t give myself away! Try it sometime and watch your kids' faces light up like a Christmas tree!



Prepping for the week? Snowed in too? Click the pic to grab the little set we used to review telling time to the hour and half hour. Enjoy and I’ll see ya on Sunday with lesson plans! Have a great weekend! =)

 

Sunday Reflections & Lesson Plans

Hi, Friends! How are ya? It’s Sunday evening…as I enjoy my guilty pleasure (reality TV), it’s really nice to have an extra day to prep for the upcoming  week. Actually, with MORE time on my hands I’ve gotten my lesson plans done earlier! Go figure! LOL!

In between completing mid-year assessments, we took some time to wiggle and learn in fun, creative ways. Having to slow down a bit for assessments has also brought about a few changes in instruction that I’ll share a little later…..here’s what we were up to last week.

“COOL, Mrs. Dwyer…I really like this book!”

 

To make the best use of our time, we incorporate science and social studies into our writer’s workshop block. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we concentrate on sight words, grammar, and writing. On Tuesdays, our focus is social studies. On Thursdays, our focus is science. As often as possible, we also make cross curricular connections during our literacy block. We read The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall to explore how the change in seasons affect plants. After reading it and discussing it, we got our bag lady on…

 

 

For this activity, the sentences were completed through guided writing. After students finished their writing and illustrations, they then got to complete it by adding the apple tree torn art to the front cover. They really enjoyed this activity and put a great deal of thought into it, after we had a heart to heart about the importance of completing our work neatly.

“This is my favorite book we’ve made so far!”

 

They thought the Apple Pie Tree booklet was pretty cool, but favored our landforms flipbook a little more.

 

 

 

I have an active class full of some of the cutest, firstie boys you’d ever want to meet! Exploring landforms was right up their alley. Most of them chose to go mountain climbing to explore the features of their favorite landform. I WISH I had enough time to share the hilariousness we experience in Room 159. A boy heavy classroom is a very interesting, active place to be!

 

 

We spiced up our daily word work by using paint samples to rhyme and mark glued sounds. Writing with sharpies was definitely appreciated because they don’t get to touch THOSE too often!

 

 

By Friday, it may have been a sunny 70ish outside, but it was chilly in our classroom because a blizzard of blends blew through! Decoding blends is one of those skills that we'll spiral review constantly. With the introduction of blends, digraphs, compound words, suffixes….our words are getting bigger and correct spellings are becoming more important. Word play has to be fun!

 

 

Brrrrrrrrr…..in honor of all things Frozen, we listened to the soundtrack from the movie as we worked to complete our snow storm of blends too!

Looking ahead to next week…


Daily phonemic awareness activities have been added.



Small group lessons have been differentiated according to instructional needs.

 
Testing continues with mid-year reading records and adjustments to flexible groups are being made.



….with LOTS of fun to be had!  Stop by A Classroom Full of Smiles to check out her new weekly linky and the giveaway she’s hosting. You may recognize one of the contributors! Have a great week, friends!

A Peek at Last Week…{Visual Review}

Hi-ya, Friends! How are ya? Last week was our first week back after the holiday break. After enjoying some time to rest and rejuvenate, we returned to school on one of the coldest days of the year to a chilly 19 degrees! Ugh, it makes me cold just thinking about it! In true Texas fashion, it was back in the 70’s by Friday…BUT getting to Friday with the coldest weather we’ve experienced yet, rain, and NO recess was just a little K-RA-ZzzzY, with a capital K {wink, wink}! HA!

Sooo, as I prepare for Week 2 of 2014, here’s a quick peek at our last week! I hope you you’ll find it helpful as you kick off the new semester.



Our little home for the day has been reorganized for a better flow and easy access to materials. The picture above is of our writing station. The picture below is of our little library nook. I LOVE open and clutter free. If it doesn’t have a specific purpose or function for our learning, it’s out of our room!


Books are organized by level and interest. This spot is a definite class favorite!



Meet our new addition…the author’s chair! This little guy has sparked a renewed interest in poetry journals, inspired better quality work in writer’s notebooks and morning journals. They’ve all been volunteering to share now that we have a special, dedicated spot for it. Who knew?! I’m thrilled the kiddos are lovin’ it!



We’ve begun practicing multi-step directions. We used this craft by Miss Kindergarten to set reading goals for the new year!



Our CAFE board has now been personalized with names. How I wish I could’ve recorded some of the conversations students had as they honestly identified areas of growth. Each student chose an area to work toward improving and posted their name under the appropriate header. After completing this activity, students then worked together in small groups to write down the specific reading skill they would like to work toward improving. My class amazes me a little more every day!



Interactive writing….(They love sharing the pen…..sometimes, I wish they’d let me write a little more.) =)



Guided Writing in small groups….



Differentiated word work…. We’ve come so far, but still have lots of work to do.





And here’s what we’ll be up to this week…including mid year testing. Yaaaaaaaaaay, right?! Haha! We’ll get through it…interpret it and make adjustments to get ready to rock this second semester of the year! It all goes by so fast!



Have a great week! Click the pic to grab ‘em. “See ya” soon! Laters, gators!

 

Five for Friday~Happy New Year!

Hi, Friends! Happy New Year! Have you taken some time to rest? Actually enjoyed the time off?  As I wake to enjoy this final Friday of vacation, I’m linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for the very first Five for Friday of the year…


I’ve actually forced myself to rest throughout this break, so this’ll be a great way to kick start my teacher brain and begin to prepare for the new semester. I don’t know what it is about the spring semester of 1st grade, but I absolutely LOVE it! I suppose it may have a little to do with how much the kiddos have matured over the first semester. It’s truly an amazing time of reflection AND planning to finish the year as strong as possible.

Anywho…..let’s get on with it, shall we! {Sigh……smile.} Alrighty, well….we’ve been out of school for two weeks, soooo I pulled a few random moments of awesomeness to share with you from before the break.



If you’ve followed my little blog for even a minute, you know how much we love to doodle in Room 159. We use anchor charts a lot, but there’s not always room to create and keep them all, so some we put together on our handy dandy whiteboard. We used this super sneaky guy to introduce long vowel patterns.



This is another example of our ‘smart art’. This little cutie glued his flap book down backwards, BUT his examples of cause and effect are all matched correctly….looks like a winner to me! Causes are on the outside….effects, glued underneath on the inside.



Smart art + kiddo discussions in small groups = comprehension made fun! (Please forgive the naughty camera strap that made it into that photo!)



The ONE thing that I did work on over the break is our morning work. Every morning, my kiddos walk into a calm atmosphere of low lights, soft music, and instructions prepared on the whiteboard. The structure of our routine is consistent, but the tasks change each morning. I like finding little sneaky ways to get them reading all day long….without them knowing it! After all, we are learning to read for a purpose, right?

Unpack. Put your things away. Read a good fit book. Follow the directions on the board. When the long hand on the clock touches the 11, everyone should be at their desks completing the task of the day. That’s our morning routine. Every.Single.Day. Students have a journal in their book box that is just for morning work…and if they should need extra time to complete it, they know they can continue working on it the next morning. Quick…spiral review and no time wasted. Learning begins the minute we walk in the door.



This is an example of a reflection being completed. I love our morning work routine because students are also learning responsibility. They must read the directions, manage their time, and organize their journal. The tasks increase in difficulty as we move through the year. Most are reflections on “good fit” books, others….like this one are math applications. Cross curricular connections are made through writing about science and social studies topics too. And the best {teacher} part? I don’t have to make one single copy for morning work! Nada. Zilch. Zero….I come in, cue the computer and we’re off on our journey for the day! *LOVE*!!!


Interested in giving it a try? Click any of the pictures below to grab a sample.  These would also be great to print and use as task cards for early finishers! Now, that January’s set is all wrapped up, I’m looking ahead to February. Any suggestions for skills? Leave a comment below…

Grades and lesson plans are calling! Laters Gators! =)