Showing posts with label Freebie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freebie. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2014
Columbus Day!!
Don't y'all just LOVE Columbus Day?? I appreciate that guy like no other.
After all, I'm still sitting at home in my PJ's thanks to Mr. Columbus accidentally finding the Americas in 1492.
I think I'll celebrate by making some brownies in his honor :)
How do you celebrate Columbus Day in the classroom??
We started our Columbus Day festivities on Thursday before we left for the long weekend- and we had lots and lots of fun!
 |
| Original idea found here: http://rp010.k12.sd.us/Classroom%20Themes/Columbus%20Day.htm |
Our friends, Annie and Moby from BrainPopJr helped us with some important information about Columbus. The "Columbus Day" video is the Movie of the Week- which means you can view it for FREE even if you don't have an account! :)
{Click the picture to view it!}
While we were listening to BrainPop, we completed a Cloze Activity to record some of the facts! Click the pic below to download my FREE Columbus Day Cloze activity for your little ones!
The kids became instant fans of Mr. Columbus!
Next up... it was time to create our balloon globes!!
Y'all. SO MUCH FUN!
{and insanely crazy}
A piece of advice...
Be smart like my teammate and have one of your awesome parents help you out by getting 21 helium filled blue balloons- with strings attached- in order to save your own precious oxygen
...and also prevent balloon soccer from happening in your room!
Here's how we did it!
- The kids colored the 7 continents on this coloring sheet
-and the "super awesome pirate ships" {what???} other wise known as the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria ships from this coloring sheet.
-Cut the pieces out
-Glue Antarctica next to the balloon tie! I told the kids this is the South pole.
-We used a map of the world as a reference to figure out where the other continents should go.
-Next up, the journey trail! We learned that Columbus sailed WEST from Spain to the Americas, so we used a sharpie marker to create the journey trail across the ocean.
-Afterwards, we glued the three ships on the trail.
Ta-da!
 |
| This student decided to draw his 3 ships- too cute!! |
This was a super fun project that I absolutely loved- and so did the kids!!
**Before you leave- don't forget to check out how I send out Weekly Newsletters to my parents!! You don't want to miss it. Also, grab yourself a copy of my Math Addition Puzzles for your first graders! **
Thanks for stopping by :)
Friday, October 3, 2014
Five for Friday- October 3rd
Yay! It's finally Friday and I just love this linky party from Doodlebugs Teaching!
Here are my top 5 favs from the week!
My kids are ROCKING retelling stories now that we have introduced
"Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then"
I can't believe how fast my kids picked it up and how easy it seemed to be. We have retold many stories the past couple weeks using this method including Amelia Bedelia Bakes Her First Apple Pie, and the kids favorite, Scaredy Squirrel!!
Example from one of my students:
Somebody: Scaredy Squirrel
Wanted: to never ever leave his nut tree because he was afraid of the "unknown"
But: a killer bee came into the tree!
So: Scaredy Squirrel panicked and jumped from the tree into the unknown!
Then: he realized that he's a FLYING squirrel and now he has now added "jumping into the unknown" into his daily routine.
**Amazing**
A couple of TPT purchases and freebies that I'm currently obsessed with...
LOVING these FREE random partner cards from Making it as a Middle School Teacher.
They are AWESOME!
The kids actually request for me to use these instead of letting them choose partners (we all know that student choice is highly encouraged- but picking their own partners is usually a recipe for disaster)
 |
| Click here to grab your FREE partner cards from Making it Teacher! |
I'm also LOVING this "Would you Rather" pack from Jen Bradshaw.
These writing prompts (as well as the student's responses) crack. me. up. and they also really make the kids think!
I'm putting my favorite prompt into the Writing Center next weekend.
Can't wait to read their reasons!!
I posted a couple of freebies of my own this week! Be sure to read my post about how my students made our Classroom Creed- and grab your free copies below!
Math is amazing this year. I mean seriously, I love it. We are using the Go Math Curriculum and I don't have a single complaint.
(knock on wood)
We are teaching Place Value for the 1st nine weeks... and I'm sure you're thinking,
"How in the world can you stretch out place value into 9 weeks!?"
But it can be done my friends!
I am so pleased with my student's deep understanding of base ten and how to compare numbers using their knowledge of the digit's value.
So far, I think their favorite activity has been "How much is your initial worth?"
 |
| Original idea found here !! |
Fall Parent Conferences have started this week....
That's all I got, folks. ;)
Have a wonderful Friday, and don't forget to link up with Doodlebugs Teaching for this fun linky party!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Ask Me!!
It's Sunday night and this teacher has about 7 more loads of laundry to do, so I have to keep this short and sweet...
I'm sure you've seen these floating around on Pinterest, and if y'all haven't grabbed these GENIUS "Ask Me" printables from Frogs and Cupcakes to create for your little ones- you're missing out.
I'm telling you- it's GENIUS!
How many times AFTER you explain directions do you have students coming up to you asking EXACTLY the question you just gave the answer to?
Ya, that's what I thought.
It's ridiculous.
I used her free printable to create badges for my kids instead of necklaces (only because I had the badge holders lying around.)
In our class, we have 5 Ask Me badges.
The students work hard to "earn" the badge while I am giving directions. When I'm done giving my spiel, I will choose up to 5 Ask Me friends to wear the badge to assist friends who still have questions while I'm working with a group.
Y'all- you would think I made them kings and queens of our kingdom.
It's a huge deal to be an Ask Me friend.
After the station is completed, the "kings and queens" are asked to return the badge for me to pick new friends after another assignment is given.
They LOVE it! And it works!!
Click the pic below to grab your FREE printable! Thanks so much Frogs and Cupcakes!! :)
Told ya it would be short and sweet! Hope everyone has a fabulous Monday!!
Friday, September 26, 2014
Student-Guided Classroom Creed
It's been a few weeks since this little blog of mine has had any attention! Too much of my time has been spent focused on taming the craziness in my class- and watching Big Brother. (#teamderrick!)
If you've read my previous classroom reveal post, you know that I am all about Great Expectations with my kids! My students are held to high standards and are expected to follow 8 expectations each day. Part of the GE "gig" is to have a Classroom Creed that your students create and recite each morning during the Call to Excellence (or Morning Meeting). When I had this group in kindergarten last year, they weren't ready to help create the creed. Instead, I had them recite the standard "classroom pledge" I found ...thank you Google!
In first grade, I knew I had to make the kids step it up a bit. The pledge in the picture above wasn't meaningful to them- they couldn't own it because they didn't get to have their voice in it.
We had to change some things this year.
In order to do so, I created two interactive flaps to have the kids glue in their journal as a brainstorming activity.
Under each flap, students would list attributes of each. Example: A great student is responsible, caring, and respectful. A great student follows directions, shows good character, and helps others.
The next day, I had them get out their finished notebook entry to share with friends what they believe makes a good student.
The kids were then placed in groups to use their "great student answers" as a guide to fill in the blanks of our empty creed.
Now- don't think this task came easy to them. I heard MUCH debate between the groups on what they felt was the perfect word to use for each blank. In order to help them in the process, I showed them this example I created-and encouraged them to use their own creativity instead of copying my words.
The process continued with the kids working (and arguing) to make the perfect creed to fit our class. Y'all. I was BLOWN away with their ideas. Each group pitched their ideas- and it was so hard to pick one! Here's a couple for you to take a peek at...
Told ya- my kids ROCK! Their FAVORITE word is "integrity", can't you tell? :)
We loved everybody's hard work so much that we decided to morph ALL of them into one Creed. Here was the final result:
I LOVE it. More importantly- THEY love it!
And OWN it!
And ABIDE by it!
I strongly suggest helping your classroom community by having your kiddos create their own creed. It's the perfect way to start our morning, and I love being able to refer to it throughout the day.
Want to grab your own FREE and EDITABLE copies? Click on the pic below!
(Please be kind and return the favor by leaving a comment and follow me!)
Have a fabulous weekend!!
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Back to School Freebie!
Do y'all LOVE using "Find Someone Who" in your class as much as I do?
My kids LOVE it!!
From an outsider looking in, it can look a little cray-cray watching a bunch of little bodies walking all over the room... plus- it can get pretty LOUD.
BUT, my kids are so engaged!
Throughout the year, we use Find Someone Who in different content areas as a formative assessment. It's one of my very favorite activities!
For the beginning of the year, it's the PERFECT ice breaker for your little ones.
Click the pic below to grab this little Back to School FREEBIE!!
Don't forget to follow our class on Twitter! @MrsSaxonKinder-- you will see ALL the ways we use Find Someone Who (and many other formative assessments) throughout the year! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Grab My Button!
Guess What?!
