Digging Deeper…Our NEW Word Wall

So, today I got the chance to take a quick peek inside of my classroom! Now, my creative wheels are in overdrive and I’m growing more excited by the minute! As much as I’ve enjoyed having a little down time, I’m ready to start prepping our learning space.

One of the first things that will be going up in the room this year is our word wall. The best thing about taking a look into the room is seeing the blank slate. It’s a new chance, a new opportunity to do something great…to work with a new batch of kiddos…to grow and change and become better!

Our word wall is going to be one of those things that changes for the better this year!

At the beginning of last year, our word wall looked like this. Each week, the class and I added 5 new words (given that I remembered to print them) to the word wall. To facilitate a little visual “pop” and to help me stay organized…I used neon Astrobrights to run copies of our sight words. I love ROY G. BIV order! I love it so much, I use it to organize things in sequential order by grading periods. Our year is divided into 6 of them. During the 1st 6 weeks, the words were added on pink, then orange in the 2nd 6 weeks, then yellow in the 3rd 6 weeks and so on. This helped me to ‘at a glance’ be able to keep track of when words were introduced throughout the year.

We’ll be using neon again this year, but instead of the focus being on classroom organization…the focus will be on student learning!

 

Word wall headers have been prepped and the Astrobrights are on deck and ready! Our word wall is growing up! It’s maturing and being organized to focus on phonics! You might say….well, duh! But….wait! Let me tell you HOW!

There will be 3 categories of words on our word wall. The first category will be sight words that can be used to generate other words. These words will be copied onto neon cardstock. For instance….take the word drink. You can use the rime to rhyme and create other words like….link, mink, brink, pink, sink, wink, blink, or think. With before…you can use the rime of the second syllable to rhyme and create…chore, score, shore, snore, core, or bore. Get it? Of course you do…YOU rock!

Because these words will be on brightly colored paper, students can use the color, the rime, or the shape of the word to help recall them, use them, or spell them by analogy to create new words.

The second category of words will be those that are the outlaws. The naughty ones….the words that don’t always follow the [phonics] rules and can not be used to generate other words. They will be copied onto white paper. White….like glue, to help them stick in students’ memories! These words will have to be memorized by sight! After copying each of these words and cutting them from white paper, they will also be framed in black.
 

The last category of words, will be vocabulary words. These are the words that may be required in our curriculum’s specificity or words that are important to students but are not a part of traditional sight word lists. They will be copied onto tan/manila paper and cut to the shape of a rectangle…another visual reminder/distinction.

Our word wall will continue to be interactive in the sense that we will USE it! We’ll hang the words together, we’ll play word games, apply movement to our spelling activities…and when that age old question arises… “HOW DO I SPELL…?” We’ll make reference to words that can be manipulated to guide the spelling of others.

One other additional BIG detail…the background of the word wall will be black. LOVE! Black and white is our running class theme, so our word wall will fit right in!

The alphabet line will be hung in ABC order from A………..allllll the waaaaaaaaaay to Z, in ONE single line…so it will quite literally be a word WALL, lol! After hanging the alphabet line close to eye level, sight words will be placed in a vertical line above each letter…about 5 per week…WITH KIDS. Vocabulary will be hung below the letter and changed out according to need throughout the year.

Cutting the words to their shape will be another visual tool to help students remember them. The black background really creates a clean look. I love the way the neon pops! Even the outlaws stand out in their little black leather jackets!

I’ve had word wall on the brain all week and will be excited to get my hands on those golden keys on Monday morning to begin prepping it in the classroom!
 

This is a small shot of what our much bigger word wall will look like and I have to say, I think it’s going to change the way our kids use the word wall in a great way!

You know, one of the reasons I found this opportunity to dig deeper during word wall time so exciting is because our trainer presented it with the enthusiasm of a kid with a brand new toy! I can only hope to have a fraction of her energy and excitement once we're back at school. If you had never used a word wall before in your life…attending her training would make you want to run out and hang one up as fast as you could!

And guess what? There will be no more having to remember to prep my words for the week because I’ve typed my entire list for the year! No lamination...just print, cut and hang! That’s one little thing that makes a big difference checked off of my list for the entire school year! Check out this little diddy in my TPT store to check it off of your list too!

First grade friends, you can click HERE to grab your list. =) What BIG change are YOU looking forward to this year?

Not all heroes wear capes…

…some wear pots on their head! Isn’t she just the cutest?! It’s a blessing to work with someone with such a wonderful spirit. Her joy for teaching shines through in a big way! I’ve never left her presence without feeling better or happier than I was before seeing her. It’s obvious that she loves what she does and does what she loves!

Some heroes enjoy school celebrations! I always look forward to special days at school because I know this team will go all IN! You can guess what day it was when this pic was snapped! You got it…the 100th day!

Some heroes inspire with their friendship and genuine collaborative spirits. Brainstorming with these two is the best!

Some of the best teachers I’ve ever had the joy of working with and that inspire me the most are only 6 years old!

Not all heroes wear capes….some are willing to engage students with a funny hat. Some enjoy special days. Some share their genuine love for teaching or a simple smile as you pass them in the hall. I appreciate my personal teacher heroes. Each of them bravely give the best of themselves without hesitation.

Thank YOU for being one of my heroes too! As you’ve enjoyed the TPT sale today and yesterday, I hope you’ve taken a few minutes to reflect on the invisible cape you wear everyday or thanked a teacher hero in your life. Enjoy the new goodies you’ve picked up during the sale to continue inspiring our next generation of super heroes!  And if you’re a night owl like me…you’ve still got  a little time left to pick up a couple more goodies! =)

Sweet Fold & Learn Fun

Hey, Friends! How are ya? I’m stopping in to share a little peek at our weeks that led up to Christmas. While we ended up having a great time spreading Christmas cheer, it didn’t come without a struggle. One friend shared a cough and achoooo and our whole class was through! Even me! It’s no fun being sick at Christmas time!

When we’re all well, we like using fold and learn activities to make the rigor of math a little more fun! With Christmas just around the corner, we baked up a little gingerbread fun to explore number foundations. Can I share a secret with you? We’re friends, right? Wellllll, I tried my hand at interactive notebooking at the beginning of the year and guess what?! I didn’t like it! {Gasp!} I know……shhhhhhhhh….don’t tell anybody! Those notebooks have collected nothing but dust since Septemberish…

I love all of the awesome products I’ve seen for interactive notebooking…..and I tried! We tried! We REALLY tried! BUT….glueing, cutting and pasting with firsties…in a notebook...nearly drove me bananas! It just didn’t work for me. Now….what did work for my little class of mathematicians is foldables…crafts, 3D graphic organizers….so, we’re getting our interactive learning on this way!

Check out our latest interactive adventure!

I always prep the basics, the bones. Doing this, allows for us to focus on the content of what we’re learning and on following directions to prep the inserts. Here, students reflected on counting forward and backwards by increments of 1. I thought this would be a snap because the numbers are the same, but as students completed this little task…you could almost see steam coming from their ears as they really followed directions to start from the right and move backwards. Counting backwards isn’t as easy as you think…especially, when you’re 6! They absolutely LOVED the novelty of the accordian fold. Did it make ‘em a little wonky? Just a few….my crew of Dwyer Jr’s (the little teachers to-be) stepped right up to help friends that needed a little assistance.

Do you have dice in dice? If not, go get some! They’re a lot of fun and students don’t need two dice to play games…just one. To make numbers, students rolled their dice and used the number of pips on the outside for the digit in the tens place and the number of pips on top of the inside dice for the ones place. Students worked in pairs to roll a number, record it, then used comparative language to describe it as greater than, less than or equal to.

Color coding ALWAYS comes in handy when you’re working with firsties! The first thing we did as we prepared to do a little mental math, was to color code the place for each digit. The tens place was outlined in red and the ones place was outlined in yellow. By doing this, when students were given a specific number, we could check to see if it was put in the correct place according to its value. After recording our numbers, we then practiced naming numbers that were 1 less and 1 more. Easy peasy, right?

We cut the graphic organizer down the middle and placed glue under the ten less strip to glue it down. Then, we placed glue under the ten more strip and glued it down. With one quick snip, we cut each of the horizontal “tens” or red lines….followed by one quick snip to cut the horizontal “ones” or yellow lines. Under the tens digit, students recorded the number that was ten less. Under the ones digit students recorded the number that was ten more than the number named on the outside.

We did the first two numbers together and then they were off and running to practice independently to complete the rest.

We try to focus on solving story problems every Thursday. Here, each student had a single story problem to read and draw a picture to solve. If you look verrrry closely, you’ll notice that because we used a mailing envelope, under the area for the story problem is also a storage pocket. This comes in handy for friends that work at a slower pace that may need to store extra pieces or materials if we have to stop working or have to move on to something else before they’re completely ready.

On the back, we prepared for working with greater numbers. We’ll be working on these same skills when we return in the new year….to 120. Here, students cut and glued to compare numbers to 100 using the math symbols for < and >. This is a picture of the cover…front and back!

Last summer, 2 of my creative co-workers led a training on using mailing envelopes to create graphic organizers. I left so inspired and excited to try them, but knew I’d have to wait until my firsties were ready to handle them. Well, folks…..they handled creating this little gem like champs! Second semester is gonna be so much MORE fun as we bring lots of concepts to life using these interactive, fold and learn activities!

Sadly, the flu bug took a huge chunk out of my sanity during the hustle and bustle leading up to the break. Bad for me….GOOD for you! I’ve listed this little activity in my TPT store for F-R-E-E, BUT just until Friday! Sooooooo, grab it while you can to add to your files for next year. On Friday, it will be priced for sale. Check it out….there will definitely be more to come!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a sweet Christmas!

The PERFECT Christmas Gift!

Hey y’all! How are ya? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet…..or are you like me and work best at the last minute, ahem, I mean…..under pressure? Have a teacher friend to shop for or searching for a personal pick me up to prep for returning in the new year? I’ve got the PERFECT solution for you! …….a TPT gift certificate!

I’m teaming up with a group of blogging buds to host a giveaway of nothing but $10 TeachersPayTeachers gift certificates! Not only is it the perfect gift, but you’ll have the opportunity to win more than ONE! Each blogger’s giveaway may vary a little, so be sure to read the rules as you hop from blog to blog. The giveaway will run until December 23rd. You can enter using the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let’s stay connected! Join me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for more firstie fun and teaching ideas to come. I’m looking forward to catching up and sharing all that we’ve been up to now that I’ll have some time to relax! If you’ve never used any of my resources, stop by my TPT store to check them out! While you’re there, download a freebie to check out the quality of my work.  I enjoy creating rigorous work station activities that are simple enough to be kid-friendly, yet challenging enough to meet the rigor of our required standards.

Be sure to visit the link-up below. Enjoy your holiday break and if someone asks what you’d like for Christmas…..remember to tell them....a TPT gift certificate makes the PERFECT GIFT! Merry Christmas and don’t forget to check your email on Christmas Eve to see if you've won! =)

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun with Friends {Giveaway}

Hi, Friends! How are ya? Did you hear it? Did you hear the mighty rush of wind last night as the calendar swooshed past July right into the FIRST day of August! Say what?! The summer has come and GONE! But, don’t fret! There’s still just enough time left before heading back to school for some fun to be had!



This Five for Friday is gonna be all about classroom prep and fun with friends!

I started the week with a bite from the decorating bug and made a few pretty changes to my home work space.

…then made sure to grab school supplies during Walmart’s Teacher Appreciation sale. Can I just admit, that makes my teacher heart take a big leap looking at all those supplies? My mommy heart, went……WHOA!!! LOL!

 

Being creative also spilled over into classroom prep. I had been working on a simple display for my work on writing station in the classroom for the last few weeks. This week…I finally wrapped it up and was so excited to get it laminated, cut and prepped to roll out in the classroom! 

Want a quick easy way to display student work? Check out the clip above! These little clips will house labels for different writing types that we’ll do throughout the year. They’ll also provide an easy way to “clip” student work to the board as they complete excellent work!

My awesome team got together for the first time to throw around ideas and lots of yummy food. Before we knew it, 5 whole hours had rolled by! It’s gonna be a GREAT year!

I’ve also been in the midst of doing a little planning with my virtual firstie friends too! How about a little GIVEAWAY FUN? That should make that quick calendar change a little easier to bear. Check out the details below and don’t forget to head over to our FB fanpage to enter!

Enjoy these last few days! August is HERE!

Are you ready for a HUGE giveaway? I have gathered together with some AMAZING teacher bloggers and we have put together a fantastic set of prizes for you. We have 42 bloggers participating, so we are giving away a prize pack of 14 products each to 3 winners! :) You can enter on the Firstie Friends Facebook Page, and you can earn a LOT of entries. Go to the tabs under the header picture and click the tab that says "Giveaway". The giveaway will end on Sunday, August 4th at 8pm CST. At the bottom of this post you will also find links to ALL of my Firstie Friends' stores! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for reading! Good luck in the giveaway!

Math Daily 3 {FREEbie}

Hi, Friends! How are ya? It’s been a long, fun vacay day…….BUT, I wanted to be sure to keep my promise to share the labels I’ll be using this year to organize math stations. I’ve been working to wrap my mind around changing the way I teach math and I think I’ve finally got it! Thinking of following a format of guided groups for math is a big change for me, but one I think will benefit my firsties well. The magic happens outside of your comfort zone, right? Well, stay tuned folks because this year……..my friends and I are headed waaaaaay out of my comfort zone! And it’s gonna be UH-mazing!



Click here to read a great post from my friend Katie about how she uses daily math journals in her classroom. She was the one that helped it all to finally “click” for me!



If the explanations for the labels are a little fuzzy…no worries! I’ll be posting lots of pics of them again “in action” ASAP.



If you’re anything like me, you’ve already been printing, laminating and planning away for the new school year. Thanks to my friends that stopped by and grabbed the labels for literacy stations. Click HERE to grab the labels for math.  They were each created to coordinate with the Classroom Couture {Black and White Décor} that I’ll also be using this year.



Click the pic to take a closer look OR you can visit my TPT shop to find this little packet of goodies already listed. Enjoy these last few weeks! Day 1 will be here before you know it! 

Laters, gators!