Guided Math Freebie!

Hello! Kristen here from A Day In First Grade!  Since I was stuck in my house for two days due to the MASSIVE blizzard, I was able to prep all of my February math centers for my kindergarteners and plan my guided math groups for the next three weeks. On my Facebook page, I had asked y’all what you wanted me to blog about and guided math was one of the topics. On my blog, I wrote all about how I schedule and plan my math block. To be honest, the key to success in my math block is the schedule that I use. All of our math lessons hinge on a simple teaching model that I love: I do, we do, you do.  During our math time I use this model to set up my schedule. “I do” is the first and shortest time {whole group teaching}, “we do” and “you do” take up the majority of our time.

I believe that students need to experience math to truly get it. In order to help my students develop number sense and a solid foundation with their math skills, I make sure that our activities include hands-on materials, interactive lessons, and centers where students can explore and manipulate what they are learning. All of the centers that I create are made with intentionality and are exactly what my students need to work on each month. I base each center off of my curriculum’s scope and sequence and pacing guide along with the common core standards that students need to master by the end of the year. I try to keep some of the games similar while adding in a few new ones each month to keep things fresh and fun. I use the centers not only as my students “you do” activities but also as the basis of our "we do" guided math lessons. In doing this, it only requires me to prep the month’s centers and then my math planning is practically finished for the month!

To help me plan for my Guided Math Lessons, I use this format. If you would like to grab it and read more about how I structure and plan for my math block, Head over to my blog!{Click Here!}

I hope you are staying warm! 

Kristen 

Valentine's Day Emergent Reader {FREEBIE}

Hi everyone!  This is Jennifer from First Grade Blue SKies and I have revised a freebie emergent reader perfect for Valentine's Day!  This is perfect for those beginning readers who "love" to read! Get your FREEBIE {HERE}

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Visit my blog for more freebies and fun things for Valentine's Day!

Are you Ready for Valentine's Day?

I can't believe that it's almost February.   It's such a busy month.  There's 100th day and Valentines day.  We also have Scientist in the School coming at the beginning of the month.  Are you ready?


My calendar numbers were sorely in need of a remake for month.  You can snag these cute love bug numbers by clicking on the picture below.  You can also make two copies and use them in a memory game.

I also updated my alphabet matching game.  Match the lower-case owl to the upper-case hearts.  You can also make two copies of these and just match the owls to the same owls and the hearts to the hearts.  For students that know their letters, have them put the owls and hearts in order.  Grab this for free by clicking on the picture below.

100th Day Writing FREEBIE!

Hey Peeps! It's Traci from Dragonflies in First!

Are you approaching 100 days at school?

I seriously cannot believe we are already nearing that mark!

I have a FREEBIE writing lesson to help you celebrate that day!

As many of you know I am obsessed with teaching writing. I absolutely LOVE it! If you aren't so in love with it... this simple mini-lesson might change your mind and get you hooked!!!

I take pictures of my kids and age them using one of those AGING APPS from the iTunes App Store, then print them out to place them at the top of their final draft. 

Beyond adorable. Seriously. 

And... for those who celebrate Grandparents Day... there is a version of this writing lesson for you, too!

FREE February Journal Prompts

Are you looking for February Journal Prompts? I have a small sampler that you might be able to use in your classroom. The sampler includes Valentine's Day and Groundhog's Day themes. My journal prompts have always included versions for beginning, intermediate and advanced writers to make it a successful writing experience for all of your little writers. They also feature a picture-word bank on each page to help beginning or struggling writers with the thought process . The full version also includes the President's Day and the Healthy Teeth thematic prompts. 

Click on the picture to download it 

from my Kinder Alphabet blog :)

Have fun writing!

Valentine's Day Box Family Project Freebie

It's time to start thinking about Valentine's Day boxes if you plan on doing them as a family project!  So simple and easy for you - just send home the letter and let the families create these masterpieces at home!  Here's a couple of the boxes from last year (visit Simply Kinder to see over 20 of them!)  

The letter is free in my TpT store!  Be sure grab it soon so families have time to get working!

Free, of course, from Jennifer from

                                             

Winter Classroom Management FREEBIE

Olaf is the
most
popular
snowman
I know.

He is funny, dependable, and we all know how Olaf has the
absolute BEST attitude around.

WHO DOESN'T ADORE OLAF?




Have you seen this
Hide -and- Hug Olaf?

 I found it a few months ago and KNEW I had to use this in my classroom. 

BUT HOW?

{Insert Kindergarten Teacher Mind Working}

My solution?

An AWESOME freebie to help you find 

kindness,

  thoughtfulness, 

and positive students in your own classroom. 

and  this Hide-and- Hug in the Classroom FREEBIE pack here.

Head to my blog to read all about how I teach SNOWMEN
and tons of other snow ideas for your classroom.
And to grab this freebie pack too!

Eight Classroom Expectations

Hey Friends! Mrs. Hoffer here!! I just wanted to drop in and tell you about some amazing changes that have been going on in my classroom. In August our school became a Great Expectations school. This may sound familiar to some Oklahoma and Texas readers. 

For those of you unfamiliar with GE, ti is an approach to better the whole child, not just a quick behavior fix. I am loving it! This program was how my mom taught, and she has been out of the classroom for about 14 years. It is constant, but there have been a few tweaks here and there.

Anywho, in about October our school had a trainer come in to talk to the whole school. About this time, our Primary team had been discussing getting rid of our behavior charts. So going into this meeting I was very nervous about what was going to come up. In the meeting, what I expected did happen. We decided to throw ourselves out there and get rid of our clip charts. Cold Turkey. I am not going to lie, I was a nervous wreck! I plastered this quote all across my room and reminded myself multiple times a day.

Now you might be asking, why are you telling me this? Well in all of our classrooms we have Eight Expectations posted, and we go over them every morning.

There they are, front and center in my classroom. We say them each morning after our pledges and moment of silence. Then we go right into our classroom expectations. Then the Give me Five song.

When ever one of my kiddos are not making a good choice, I just remind them of which Classroom Expectation they need to work on. So if I hear a students making fun of another one of their friends, I remind them “Sarah, Expectation #2 say, We do not laugh at or make fun of a persons mistakes”. They quickly apologize. What is even better, when I am working with a small group, and I over hear my friends remind one another of the expectations. Warms this teachers heart!

I have shared my Eight Classroom Expectations over on TpT. Go check them out here! While you are at it! Go look around Great Expectations and see if it is a good fit for you!!

Winter Writing

Every month I like to change out my student's writing on my display boards. I keep these each month to show the progression at the end of the year. It is truly fascinating how much they grow over the year.

I am now providing a color version for you to display on your smartboard to give them an example. Click on either pic to grab this freebie.

Digraph Reader Freebie!

Hi everyone! Kristen here from A Day In First Grade! As many of you know, this year I am teaching kindergarten. We currently are working really hard at locating and reading digraphs in our words. In order to help my young readers read these words, I created a few readers for them.

My students will work on these readers in guided reading. First we will play a game to warm up and then dive in to reading our text. 

First my students will trace the letters in our new sound and underline them in the word. They then will read the word. 

The next page uses the same word in a simple sentence. My students will locate the new sound they are working on and then read the sentence with fluency. 

By working on these skills, my students will have an easier time locating the digraphs in their books that they are reading. It will get them in the habit of really looking at their words and decoding all the sounds that they see. 

If you would like to read more about this process, head over to my blog to read more about it!

If you would like to download the readers for the digraphs sh, ch, and the two sounds of th, simply click HERE. 

Have a great day,

Kristen

A Day In First Grade