Trick or Treat Flash Sale!

Happy, happy Saturday!!! :)

I am having a Trick or Treat Flash Sale in my TpT store the rest of this weekend...20% off from now until Sunday night, October 28. 

Check out other sales over at The Bubbly Blonde's linky!

Click on the pic below to head to my TpT store! 
Have a spectacular spooky weekend! :)

Write On! {Nonfiction} Graphic Organizer Freebie

Hey y'all! Hope today was great! 

I LOVE this time of year...my firsties finally know to put their papers in the zebra basket {HA!}, Daily Five and Math Work Stations are running smoothly, and all of our classroom routines are automatic...be still my heart! :)

I HEART using can-have-are charts in my classroom. I like that it gives firsties support with organizing their thoughts, as well as varying sentence structure, when writing nonfiction. I find myself reaching for these for almost every unit! So, I decided to put together a collection of can-have-are charts that I use throughout the year! My unit includes 53 graphic organizers and coordinating lined paper with 4 lines. 

The following topics are included in this unit:

FALL {Apples, Leaves, Pumpkins, Scarecrows, Bats, Owls, 

Spiders, Cats}

DINOSAURS {Bones, Dinosaurs}

FARM {Pigs, Sheep, Horses, Cows, Farmers}

THANKSGIVING {Turkeys, Corn, Pilgrims}

CHRISTMAS {Reindeer}

WINTER {Snowflakes, Snowmen}

HEARTS {Hearts}

WEATHER {Rainbows, Clouds, Raindrops, Tornados}

SPRING {Clovers}

EASTER {Chicks, Eggs, Rabbits}

INSECTS {Butterflies, Ladybugs, Caterpillars, Bees}

SPACE {Stars, Planets, Rockets, Astronauts}

OCEAN {Crabs, Octopus, Fish, Seahorses, Sharks, Dolphins, 

Shells}

RAINFOREST {Monkeys, Iguanas, Parrots, Toucans, Frogs}

PLANTS {Seeds, Flowers, Plants, Trees}

I will be adding more shortly...please let me know which ones you need in your classroom! 

Click on the pic below to check it out! This unit will be 20% off until Wednesday, October 24. 

Download the preview from TpT for a freebie! If you are not a member on TpT, sign up for free!

The freebie includes a graphic organizer for bats and owls, as well as coordinating paper with lines!

Have a great week, y'all!

Math Work Stations

Hey, y'all! Hope you had a fun fall weekend and a painless Monday! :)

This summer, I was on the fence about my Math block...do I stay with Math Daily Five or do I switch to Debbie Diller's Math Work Stations???????? I seriously couldn't make a decision! I think both have great qualities! BUT...I decided to make the switch and I am LOVING it! I wanted to devote a post to some of things I am liking about Math Work Stations my first year of implementation. 

Some things I am really hearting about Math Work Stations...

*THE TUBS

I found these tubs at Walmart this summer and I ADORE them! First of all, they are PINK! :) I wanted a lid so that everything wouldn't fall out! My firsties can easily open and close the handles. They are also big enough to fit larger items! They fit the big die I use for Roll and Graphs, as well as big game boxes!

*MULTIPLE OPTIONS

I like that there is no idle time! There is a sense of urgency for the kiddos to complete their first task so that they can make another choice from the tub! I display a flipchart during Work Stations that says what each tub starts with. Once the kiddos have completed the activity or one round of a game, they can then choose another activity from the tub. I keep previous games in the tubs that they can play all year long! 

*ELEMENT OF CHOICE 

With Math Daily Five, I liked that the kiddos chose their activity each day. Even though I tell the kiddos which tub they go to each day, there is an element of choice in the activities they do in each tub. It is also a lot more organized! They know which activity they start with and then they know the activities they can choose from afterwards! 

I have 19 students, so I have 9 tubs {8 groups of  2 and 1 group of 3}. My kiddos visit one tub a day, so it takes about 2 weeks to rotate through all 9 tubs. I wish they could visit 2 tubs a day, but for now, by the time calendar and our mini lesson is over, we have about 20 minutes for tubs. It takes us about 2 - 3 minutes to get settled, about 15 minutes of tub time, and about 2 -3 minutes of clean up.  I structure my tubs like this:

Tub 1 ~ Number Work 

Tub 2 ~ Game 

Tub 3 ~ Fact Fluency 

Tub 4 ~ Data

Tub 5 ~ Number Work

Tub 6 ~ Game

Tub 7 ~ Fact Fluency

Tub 8 ~ iPad

Tub 9 ~ Computers

Number Work is basically an activity with a recording sheet and manipulatives. I use these recording sheets as work samples and documentation. Fact Fluency is addition/subtraction activities all year long!  Data will also be an activity all year long--think class graphs or activities like Roll and Graph!

Here is a copy of the planning sheet I use! Click on the pic below to download a few versions from GoogleDocs.

I went to a conference a few years ago and the speaker told us not to wait until next year to make a change! You can make a change any day if it is what's best for your kiddos! So...if you didn't take the plunge to do Work Stations this summer...DO IT! Maybe start tucking things away, buying your tubs, etc and start in the new year in Janaury! It really is SO doable! 

Click on the pictures below to check out some of my freebies on TpT that are perfect for 

Math Work Stations! 

Have a fab week! :)

Roll and Graph and a Freebie!

Happy Monday! The kiddos had off today and we had parent conferences. I have never had all of my conferences in one day before...but I LIKE it! 19 down...woohoo! It was nice to be in "adult mode" all day and not switching back and forth between "kid mode" and "adult mode". :) And let's be serious...who doesn't love lunch out in the real world and not the cafeteria??!! :)

This summer, I was swaying back and forth between Math Daily Five {which I did last year} and Debbie Diller's Math Work Stations. I decided to go with Work Stations and I am loving it! 
One of my Work Stations will be Data for the whole year.
 I plan to rotate between Roll and Graph activities and class graphs. 

Last week, I posted my newest Math unit...

Roll and Graph {FALL}. 

Click on the picture below to check it out!

It has 4 Roll and Graph activities:

I will be making sets for each season! 

I also promised you a math freebie! Since we are headed to the farm in a few weeks...here is a Roll and Graph {Farm} Freebie!

Click on the picture below to download from TpT for free! I always appreciate your feedback! 
Hope you can use it soon in your classroom! :)

Have a fun fall week!

Small Group Fun *Updated!

Happy October friends! I am super pumped for the cool weather headed our way in Bama...67?!? Yes, please! :)

I just started my reading small groups last week. So far, so good! I love how excited they are to come to the back table for the first time! HA! Sweet, sweet firsties! :)

The first thing I always do with my small groups is introduce the Alphabet Chart with my lower groups, and the Blend and Digraph Chart with my higher groups. I introduce one row at a time and echo read so they can hear the correct sounds. I use these all year long...eventually moving all of my groups to the Blend and Digraph chart. It only takes about 1 minute and I like that it signals the beginning of group time! I also put both of these charts in their Writing folder for added reinforcement. 

Click on the pictures to download an 
Alphabet Chart and a Blend and Digraph Chart for free!

A fun game we played last week is called Bananas! You can call it whatever you want...I went with Bananas to go with our jungle theme! ;)  I have flashcards of the all of the sight words introduced so far this school year and add more cards every week as more sight words are introduced. Right now, we have about 20 sight words. I also have 4 or 5 cards {more as more sight words are added} that say Bananas! To play the game, I put all the cards in a bucket. When the bucket gets to a child, they choose a card. If they can read the sight word, they keep the card. If they can't read it, they put it back in the bucket. If they get a card that says Bananas!, they have to put all of their cards in the discard pile. When the bucket is empty, the child with the most cards wins! We play a version of this game all the time...with phonics words too! :)

Click on the picture below to download 
Go Bananas for Sight Words {First Grade} for free!

 I am also loving these Roll and Read Fluency Phrases! They are such a great warm up or closing activity! It only takes 1 die and everyone can play in 3 - 4 minutes {or more if you have the time!} I like easy and fun small group activities all year long, but ESPECIALLY the first few weeks!

I just uploaded a Consonant Digraph version, as well as a Bundle Pack of all three sets {short vowels, long vowels, and consonant digraphs}. Click on the pics below to check it out!

I would LOVE to hear your favorite small group kick off activities!

Have a great week!!!