Fabulous Fall Giveaway

I am participating in a giveaway on the Classroom Compulsion blog and you won't want to miss out!  There are 6 prize pack giveaways with some great items up for grabs.  Check it out here.

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Predict & Summarize {Freebie}

In first grade, we teach predicting & summarizing all year long.  And I love foldables.  So... I decided to create a freebie to teach predicting and summarizing using a foldable, a graphic organizer, and a craftivity.  Here are a few pictures of the activities included in the free pack {available in both English & Spanish}:

We had academic night at school tonight, so I'm pooped.  That's all for tonight-- goodnight & sweet dreams blog world :)

Thanksgiving unit

Have you ever read the book "Gracias the Thanksgiving Turkey" by Joy Cowley?  It is so cute!  The basic premise is that a dad buys his son a turkey and asks him to take care of it until they eat it on Thanksgiving.  The boy names the turkey Gracias and really grows to love him.   At the end of the book, the family eats chicken for Thanksgiving dinner and Gracias joins them in the Thanksgiving festivities.  I especially LOVE this book because it comes in both English and Spanish. {You can buy it on Amazon for $7 or less if your library does not have it}

I created a mini-unit in both English and Spanish that you can use with your students when reading this book.  One of the activities is a turkey sequence craftivity.

Also included is a file folder game to review short a and short e words {pictured below}.  The game pieces are rectangles with short a and short e words that the students have to read and put in the correct spot.  In the Spanish version, the same game is included except it is to review word with c:  ca, ce, ci, co, cu.  I find my students really need practice with these syllables since the c makes a hard or soft sound depending on the vowel that follows it.  On one side students put words with ca, co, cu and on the other side words with ce and ci.

Also included in the mini-unit are 

• thanksgiving vocabulary cards
• a singular and plural booklet based on Gracias the Thanksgiving turkey
• a template to make a class book called "My Pet Turkey"
• a character description activity:  "Have you seen Gracias the Thanksgiving turkey?" 

I hope you'll check it out on my TpT store-- I will send a free copy to the first person who comments with their email address below!  {just make sure to let me know if you would like it in English or Spanish}

Pumpkins galore!

Well... I know this post is a little late but I've been very busy eating Halloween candy.  Seriously, we have way too much laying around our house.

Every year we send home a letter asking kids to decorate a pumpkin like their favorite book character, and we got some seriously cute ones back this year.  Here are a few pictures:

Dia de los muertos

This Thursday and Friday, November 1st and 2nd, is when "El Dia de los Muertos" is celebrated in Mexico.  I love exposing my students to cultural celebrations from around the world, and for some students in the dual language program this holiday is not celebrated in their families.  Here is a link to some info about the holiday.

Last year, my students made this skeleton craft and it turned out super cute.  I look forward to doing it again this year!

I also found this amazing blog with many great ideas of activities to do in your classroom related to "El dia de los muertos".  How do you plan on celebrating it with your students?

Fairy Tales: Happily Ever After :)

I have been collecting photos over the last few weeks in preparation for this post about fairy tales.  In first grade this year, we did a fairy tales unit and focused on Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Cinderella.  We had a blast!  Many of the activities came from my fairy tales unit, which is available in both English and Spanish on my TpT store.  Here are just a few of the activities:

Comparing & Contrasting the 3 little pigs' houses

Matching subject & predicate:  The 3 little pigs

{This looks way cuter in color except that my color printing is being monitored by big brother} 

Comparing & Contrasting two versions of Cinderella:

We did lots with Little Red Riding Hood too, especially related to adjectives, except I didn't get any good pictures of that.  My student teacher is in her full teach now, so I am not doing a good job of taking pictures of the kids' work... slacking, I know.

I have some incredibly talented teachers on my team, and they decorated their walls for the fairy tale unit.  A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  {Shout out to Ms. Kallead & Ms. Rodriguez}  Here are some pics for you:

One activity that they did is that the kids used wordle to describe little red riding hood with adjectives.  Love!  These teachers are seriously creative, are they not?

Anyway, I hope you'll check out my fairy tale unit!  Until then, let's all live happily ever after :)

Small Groups: Reading

In first grade, reading is a huge push.  I spend between 45 minutes to an hour every day doing reading groups with my students.  I love my kidney table for groups, and especially appreciate my comfy teacher chair :).  A couple of summers ago, I saw the idea on pinterest for crate seats and made some for my classroom.  I have started really using them to store materials for use with my small group and it has made group time go so much smoother!  Here are some items I have stored in my crate seats:  letter magnets, sight word bingo, syllable bingo, white boards, dry erase markers, and foam syllable blocks.  I am doing a lot of word work with my strugglers, so I am using materials from my crate almost daily.  Here is a picture of my reading table:

I also started using a little teacher caddy this year.  I have items such as pens, scissors, index cards, stickers, guided reading prompting questions, my teacher white board & marker, my small group planning binder, books to use with my groups, and of course-- my tiara!  I put on the tiara during groups so the other students know not to come and ask me questions.  In my small group planning binder, I have a sheet that helps me to stay on track with which students are in which groups and what groups I am meeting with each day.  I have already changed my small group plan 3 or 4 times this year to meet the needs of my kids.  My plan at the moment is to meet with 2 groups a day so I can spend 20-30 minutes with each group.  Normally, though, I like to do 3 groups a day for 15-20 minutes.

Teaching reading small groups is definitely challenging.  Even after 6 years in first grade, I am still learning new things about how to make my group time better.  Do you have any suggestions?