Common Core for 1st Grade

In case you missed it on my Facebook page, I did create the same Common Core tool for 1st grade that I posted for a Kindergarten a few weeks ago.  {you're welcome!!}

Kindergarten teachers are finding this to be oh so helpful for Parent-Teacher Conferences as well as a way to keep themselves accountable to teaching each standard.  For 1st grade there are 3 pages {literacy, math, science & social studies with a large section for student-specific notes} and you can use all 3 or only print the one you want your families to focus on at home.

{click any page to download}

If you're a kindergarten teacher who's already found it to be a helpful Common Core tool, please share with your 1st grade friends!  :)

 

election results.

Let me just give a little shout out to Cara Carroll at The First Grade Parade.  Besides being the absolute cutest thing I've ever seen she makes fab-fab-fabulous units.  I've purchased many and have had no complaints.

My latest download from her was the Presidential unit...full of mock-election printables.  I'm teaching about characters this week so I was looking for some good read alouds when I realized I hadn't planned a darn thing to do with the presidential election!!  Luckily, I double whammied both with these activities.

We read Duck for President, My Teacher for President & Grace for President then talked about each character and what proof we had {from their book} about why they would make a good president.  Then we made our campaign posters.  Don't you love how my little girls have started drawing me in high heels?!

Seriously cute, right?!  I hung them in the hall so they would see them the next morning and be thinking about their decision.  Then we filled out our ballots and chose a winner.

Peanut Butter M&Ms will be acceptable breakfast food as soon as I can pass my first law.  ;)

Because of my slack planning we only had time to squeeze in a few of these activities but I recommend it to you.  There are voter registration cards {hilarious} and lots of other presidential games in there as well.  If you download it, tell Cara I sent you.  But maybe leave out the part about how I want to be her when I grow up!  ;)

goin batty.

It's bat week in science!  Here are a few funsies we'll incorporate:

{rhyming bats}

These picture cards are from a Mailbox magazine reproducible but you can use any picture cards you have.  Or instead of cutting and gluing pictures down, your kids could draw their own!

For more bat rhyming - can you tell what we're working on?! - we're going to do this cute activity from Rhonda at Classroom Fun.  Instead of using each child's name I'm going to challenge them to come up with a rhyming word for something else.  It's free on her blog!

{Stellaluna}

We're also going to read Stellaluna and compare bats with birds in a Venn diagram.  One page has the facts to cut out & glue down and the 3rd page has a place to write and illustrate a fact for each.

{click the picture to download}

{vowel bat}
Just try to show this to your kids and not sing along.

{echo-echo-echolocation}
Another great song the kids love to sing along with that will help them remember bat facts.

{going batty}
If you don't know much about bats yourself you can always leave it to the Magic School Bus to introduce the basics!

And happy Currently time!  I love how adorable this theme is...cute and fun just like Farley herself.  Be sure to link up over at Oh Boy 4th Grade.  Check out her pumpkin book characters while you're there.  Amazing!

we declare war.

I love games.  Especially board games but card games at times, too.  {like during Christmas break when you have the time to drag it out for days at a time because nobody has to waste their time working or taking a shower.  I mean, that's not just us, right?}

Today I introduced a childhood favorite to my kids.  War!  Our lesson in Investigations was to count and compare numbers and to look at the numerals and say which has more and which has less.  But...that's boring.  So we covered the same concept {Common Core K.CC.7 by the way} by playing war.  They loved it!  And because we only used number cards 0-10 today there were a ton of battles.  I made a big deal about it happening when I modeled how to play the game because I wanted them to really pay attention to the 1-2-3-flip part so it was clear that whoever wins the battle gets all of the cards on the table.

Well, I did a great job of getting them excited but they then felt the need to freak out when ever their cards were equal.  "Mrs. Young!!  It's EQUAL!!!"  At one point we did stop and all watch one game because they had 3 battles in a row!  Hilarious.  And they were such good sports about losing their cards.  Love my kids.

We also played Stack Tell Roll & Win which we now call Break the Tower because many of us are trying to learn English and it's much easier.  ;)

It's officially November - the month of Thanksgiving - and I want to be sure you all know how thankful I am for you!  I started this blog with no expectations and no real plans of longevity, I just wanted to see if I could help a few people.  Now I can't imagine not being a part of this community!  I appreciate my faithful readers {thank you for clicking that blue button!} as well as those of you who read secretly.  ;)  I am thankful for the friendships I've made in the blogging community, for the way it's reenergized my teaching and mostly for the positive impact it's had on my students.  I am thankful for all of you!  Thanks for allowing me to express myself in this little corner of the world!  :)

at-home packets.

I spent my weekend writing sight word flash cards, highlighting activities that each kid needs to practice at home and making number cards.  Luckily, this was all work I could do while catching up on Bridezillas and watching reruns of The Cosby Show {for the ten zillionth time}.  Because today was...ta-da!...Parent-Teacher Conferences.

This is the packet I sent home at my conferences...a little varied based on each child's need.

{Reading A-Z books, sight word flash cards for 1st & 2nd quarter and number cards along with my Common Core checklist for parents - now available in Spanish too!}

I previously sent this packet within the first couple weeks of school for my few that were really struggling and not making appropriate growth.

 {tracing capital & lowercase letters and Handwriting Without Tears letter formation cues}

{I can Read It bag - letters or sight words mastered go inside to build confidence - and name from MyMoondrops}

 {cutting practice & Handwriting Without Tears number formation cues}

I also include a pencil, scissors, dry erase marker and crayons along with ABC flashcards {capital on the front & lowercase on the back}.  What do you send with your kids to have them practice at home??

favorite October activities.

I've been Boo'd by Special Teacher for Special Kids!  Thank you!  I love a good shout-out.  What what!!  {haha...I'm such a nerd}

Here are my favorite October activities!

{pumpkin & jack-o-lantern exploration}

Weighing the pumpkin, estimating it's grooves, pulling out the seeds, voting on how to carve it, etc.  I love all things pumpkin & jack-o-lantern at school!

{farm unit}

My farm unit takes us from September into October so that still qualifies, right?!  ;)  I have lots and lots and lots of fun farm favorites but my newest love is these adorable handprint farm animals!  I saw them on Pinterest and adapted it for school by having my students add more to the picture and writing a sentence!

{costume writing}

My kids are going crazy for this labeling activity.  They can't wait to see which costume comes next...and since there are 16 costumes to choose from, I can pass out different sheets and eliminate the temptation to copy from a neighbor!!  ;)

{Shake Dem Bones}

You must read this book in a jazzy little book.  It is just too cute!  At the end of the year when we go back and read our favorite books this one always come up.  :)

{candy corn retell}

Another book I love is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.  I use it each October to teach retell to my kindies.  Candy corn is the perfect template for teaching beginning, middle and end thanks to it's 3 parts and the way the story is written lends itself to retell so nicely.  We read most of the story up until "and what do you think she saw?" then stop to make our project.  They retell the beginning & middle of the story, then write their prediction in the bottom third.  After they share their predictions we read the rest of the story and find out what happens!

{I've updated it to get the colors in the right order but forgot to take a new picture!}

Here are the 5 bloggers I am scaring next.  Be sure to check out their tricks & treats!

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas {for her handprint farm idea!}

Oh Boy 4th Grade {because Farley loves a Linky party}

Confessions of a Homeschooler {for her fab freebies}

Sailing Through 1st Grade {because I repin her pins all the time}

Snippets by Sarah {for her guided reading goodness}

{click the pic for the entire Linky Party of people who have already shared their ideas over at Tori's Teacher Tips!}

Common Core in parent-friendly language.

Our district has switched to online, narrative report cards this year.  I could write an entire post about that but will move right along to this little gem that it inspired.  ;)  I didn't plan on sharing this but thanks to a few of my Facebook friends {who like getting free stuff as a trade-off for their feedback} they've convinced me you'd want it as well!

The bonus of complicated & confusing report cards is that it forced me to create a fab handout for my parents to take away from our conference.  I basically translated the Common Core standards into activities and wording that any parent would be able to understand.  Now when parents say to you, what's phonological awareness?!  You can say, don't worry, that's just teacherese for letter sounds! and hand them this sheet with activities they can do at home.

{click the link - $2 at TpT}

I printed one for each of my kids & highlighted the areas they are struggling with.  I'm also sending home sight word flashcards, number cards, tracing paper and anything else that might help.  But you could send this on it's own as well!  {just depends on your kids & your available resources}

If you end up using it I'd love to hear the feedback you get from your parents.  Is it helpful?  Does it help them to better understand our teacher-talk of phoneme segmentation, high frequency words, tangrams and collaboration??

I think a lot of parents want to help their children at home, they just don't know how.  So why not teach them too!  ;)