Winter Writing and Story FREEBIE!

Happy day after Christmas! I hope that everyone got what they wanted and are finally relaxing!! (Which is something I should probably do too!) But, I've officially decided that this is the time catch up on EVERYTHING that is on my to-do list!

Which means, time to prepare for all of our fun winter stuff!!

I created this winter writing packet:

Included:

“Snow” acrostic

“Winter” acrostic

How many words can you make with the word: winter

How many words can you make with the word: snowman

How many words can you make with the word: snowball

How many words can you make with the word: hot chocolate

How many words can you make with the word: mittens

My Little Snowman (create a snowman) (2 different versions)

Winter Word Picture Cards

Write the room record sheet

All About My Snowman Fill in the blank

Senses Writing: In the winter, I (see, hear, smell, taste, feel)

How to build the perfect snowman:

Blank Paper

First, Next, Last

First, Next, Last (with pictures).

Winter Mad Libs! Fill in the parts of speech and then fill in the blanks for a funny story!

I have provided two options for each of the following writing prompts (large lines and smaller lines)

“All About My Snowman”

“You built a snowman and all of a sudden it grows legs, what happens next?”

“A penguin escaped from the zoo and is now in your classroom. Write a story about what happens”

“If I were a snowflake”

“In the winter, I see…” (with blank picture space)

“I wish it snowed...” (with blank picture space)

“When it’s cold outside I like to...”

“My favorite part of winter"

Click Here!!

But I wanted to give ya'll a little freebie to start off your new year right! We did this with Christmas stories before winter break and the kids LOVED it! We then broke up into two groups and made up our stories and then shared them. They were amazed at how different a story is with just a few different words!! I hope your kiddos enjoy it as much as mine did!

Thanksgiving Writing and a Freebie

Okay, so I feel like school just started and now we are already at Thanksgiving? I guess it makes sense considering I've seen Christmas stuff in stores for weeks already! We will probably see Valentines Day stuff starting next week?

Anyways, I love all the activities, books, crafts, and MORE about Thanksgiving. I created this writing pack with some of the activities that I have used in the past and my kiddos love it! I have also really seen a love of writing prompt cards in my class, so I decided to start making monthly, or theme prompt cards. When my students are able to free write, I have many who ALWAYS take the writing prompt cards and write the cutest stories!

This pack that I made has 36 pages of FUN!! 

It includes:

1.I am thankful for…. (whole page)

2.I am thankful for _____ because…(half page blank)

3.I am thankful for _____ because…(half page with b/w picture)

4.How to cook a turkey (full page lines)

5.How to cook a turkey (First, Next, Last)

6.How to help a turkey escape (full page lines)

7.How to help a turkey escape (First, Next, Last)

8.How to make pumpkin pie (full page lines)

9.How to make pumpkin pie (First, Next, Last)

10.THANKS Acrostic

11.PILGRIM Acrostic

12.INDIAN Acrostic

13.Blank Turkey Writing Paper

14.Blank Pie Writing Paper

15.Blank Pilgrim Writing Paper

16.Blank Indian Writing Paper

17.Thanksgiving Words (Writing Prompt Poster)

18.Thanksgiving Then Vs. Now (Venn Diagram) (b/w)

19.Thanksgiving Then Vs. Now (Venn Diagram) (color)

20.Indians vs. Pilgrims (Venn Diagram) (b/w)

21.Indians vs. Pilgrims (Venn Diagram) (color)

22.Turkey Facts

23.Pilgrim Facts

24.Indian Facts

25.My Turkey Story

26.Thanksgiving Foods (List Writing)

27.My Thanksgiving Dinner Grocery List (List Writing)

28.Turkeys Can, Have, Are

29.Blank Writing Paper with topics:

1.Indians

2.Pilgrims

3.The Mayflower

4.Thanksgiving

30.5 facts I learned about Thanksgiving

31.Thanksgiving Fun: What are some things you like to do on Thanksgiving?

32.What would the turkey say? (Creative writing)

33.If I were a Pilgrim (write about your experience on the first Thanksgiving)

34.If I were an Indian (write about your experience on the first Thanksgiving)

35.On Thanksgiving, my family...

36.Happy Thanksgiving Coloring Page!

Click on the pictures to grab a copy!

I have also took a page from the pack for a FREEBIE for you!! Follow my blog and/or teacherspayteachers to receive followers ONLY freebies coming up!! :)

Click below for your own copy!!!

What are you thankful for??

Alphabet Board Games!

I sometimes feel that my kiddos get board with constant repetition of letter recognition practice. I do a lot of small group practice with my kids, and I wanted to make something a little more exciting for them.

My students LOVE games. You put a skill with a board game and they are all over it! :)

So, I decided to make a bunch of alphabet games that you can use with your little ones!!

THese board games are perfect for small group instruction, practice, literacy stations, or even review! 

They help reinforce:

letter knowledge

letter sounds

beginning sounds/ending sounds

and MORE!

INCLUDED:

Capital Letter Board Game

Lowercase Letter Board Game

3 Blank Board Games

Capital Letters (color)

Capital Letters (b&w)

Lowercase Letters (color)

Lowercase Letters (b&w)

Directions: 

Roll a dice and move that many spaces. When you land on a square, you must say the letter name, letter sound, or beginning/ending sound. If you do, you can stay. If you do not, you must go back. 

There are many OTHER ways you can play this game:

Letter Sounds (say the sound the letter makes when you land on it)

Lowercase Letter Recognition (say the letter)

Uppercase Letter Recognition (say the letter)

Beginning/Ending Sounds (say a word that begins/ends with that letter)

Writing Practice (land on a letter, and you have to write the letter)

EVEN MORE ADVANCED IDEAS (for differentiation):

Land on a letter and write a word with that letter

Vowel Practice (make a word with that vowel in the beginning/middle/end)

The ideas are endless!!

There are also blank board games where you can roll the dice, and pick up a card. The student then has to say the name of the letter, sound, or word that starts/ends.

If you have any other ideas that you use with this pack please comment and share! I LOVE to hear how teachers use my products differently than intended! Everyone always has such great ideas!!

Click Here, or on the picture above to check it out! 

Happy Teaching!!

Teacher To-Do List Freebie!

Do you have to-do lists for your to-do lists? Well, I do! I feel like I am constantly making to-do lists and then I can't find those little pieces of paper that I wrote on!

This has by far been one of the best organizational tools for me! I made a "to-do" list divider of my lesson plan binder. That way, when I think of something that needs to be done, I write it there, and it's ALWAYS with me! Yes, I take my lesson plan binder with me EVERYWHERE....call me crazy :)

I wanted to help out my former teachers, so I decided to make it a freebie for ya'll!

Click on the picture to grab a copy of yours!

Happy Organization! Have a great week!!!

Elephant Ending Sounds and Bear Beginning Sounds!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE literacy stations! I especially love making them! My favorite types are the interactive ones that they kids really get into! Because of this, I created two really fun stations that my kiddos really loved!

Beginning Sound Bears and Ending Sound Elephants! 

How to use this activity:

Print the elephants or bears (or both) onto different colored paper. Print the pictures (black and white or color on their own paper). Once you have copied the elephants/bears, cut them out, and glue the sound pictures on each elephant/bear.

How to play:

The students will pull an elephant (if doing ending sounds) or a bear (if doing beginning sounds), and write the beginning or ending sound on that picture. Then, color the picture to match the color of the elephant/bear!

Click here to grab a copy for yourself!

Elephant Ending Sounds

Bear Beginning Sounds

Follow my blog to find out about the freebies I will be posting this week and stay tuned for some giveaway opportunities! :)

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of a new school year!!

                                 

First Day of School FREEBIE!

I promised myself that this year I would try and post at least once a day, but AH!!! Hopefully things will slow down!

I am feeling pretty excited about being in the second week of school so I thought that I would have a fun freebie for ya'll! Click on the picture to grab yours! 

Have a great first week of school!!! 

Pre-Planning: A Work in Progress?

Pre-planning Week: I feel like it should be called "overwhelm yourself by wanting to do EVERYTHING but still not have enough time"week.

I moved rooms...AGAIN. But at least this time I had some warning, so I was able to move my stuff a few weeks ago, so this week has been spent decorating. 

I know I'm nowhere being close to done, but I figured I'd share a little bit of my "progress"

I will be uploading my OWL products VERY soon!!! I have made a calendar pack and wall decorations!! 

STAY TURNED FOR MORE!! I am also going to be having GIVEAWAYS soon, follow me to make sure you don't miss them!!

Second Grade Reading Street Materials

Is it really August? This summer flew by and the school year crept up on us! I hope everyone has been working hard preparing for the new school year! I know I have...especially with our school adopting a NEW reading AND math curriculum.

As many of you who follow me know, I have been busy making kindergarten and first grade Reading Street materials! I have gotten multiple requests for other grades and I have finally been able to start making some second grade material!

I just posted a Second Grade Objectives and Overview for the entire school year! Check that out if you want all of your resources in one place! :)



Second Grade Reading Street Objectives and Overview (2013 Common Core Edition)

Stay posted for additional Reading Street materials!!

I'll be doing a giveaway soon too, so make sure to follow me here and on TPT so you don't miss it!

:)

First Grade Reading Street Word Cards

As you have seen in my past posts, I have been making MANY resources to go with the new Reading Street curriculum. I already made the word cards in separate packs, but I decided to bundle them together to make ONE huge pack! Click on the picture below to check it out!

These cards have always helped me out in many ways in my classroom. I have used them on my focus wall, word wall, as flash cards, and even in literacy stations! Just print them out, laminate (optional), cut them out and VOILA! You have a complete set of cards.

The one thing I like about these this year (which I didn't do last year) is that I color coded them by unit, so we can differentiate which ones are which! They look awesome on word walls too!! 

Spelling Word Cards: 300 word cards (10 per unit) (the curriculum only has spelling words for the 5 units, not the review unit)

Sight Word Cards: 191 word cards (each unit has a different amount)

Amazing Word Cards: 282 word cards (each unit as a different amount)

Please feel free to comment or e-mail me with any questions or comments! I would be happy to also change anything you would like to make your transition to reading street much easier!

Giveaway WINNER!

So, I decided to be extra giving today and have TWO winners for this WONDERFUL giveaway! Congratulations to Megan Loefke and Gale Daniels! Be expecting an e-mail from me soon and let me know which Scott Foresman Reading Street product you would like!! 

Thanks for being AWESOME followers and supports of my blog and Teachers Pay Teachers store! I really appreciate it :)

Reading Street GIVEAWAY!!

As promised in my last post, I am running a GIVEAWAY!! Check out the post below to see all of my new Scott Foresman Reading Street resources! There are resources for Kindergarten and First Grade!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remember the MORE things you do, the MORE points you get, which means the higher probability of you winning this GIVEAWAY! You'll also benefit from following me (here and on TeachersPayTeachers) because you'll receive updates on when I post new products or even have freebies/giveaways! 

In this giveaway, you can receive points from:

-Following my blog

-Following my TeachersPayTeachers store

-Liking my facebook page

-Commenting on my blog!

See, aren't those things SUPER simple!? :)

The winner will be able to choose ANY 2 of my Reading Street resources....and maybe more :)

Enjoy!!

K/1 Reading Street Resources GALORE!!

So, I don't know about your school, but ours (and I know of many others) that are switching over to new Common Core Curriculums. Our entire district is switching over for reading and math. For reading, we are moving over to the Scott Foresman Reading Street (2013 Common Core Edition). This curriculum is totally different than the one we previously had, so I figured I would get a head start getting acclimated to this new curriculum.

Since I teach a K/1 combination class, I have been making resources for BOTH! I am planning on (hopefully, soon!) making a combination resource/pacing guide to match up both curriculums!

Anyways, I wanted to share everything I have been making, if you FOLLOW both my blog and my TeachersPayTeachers store, you'll be able to see when I post FREEBIES/GIVEAWAYS for these new curriculum products!!

Let's start with Kindergarten!

Below are the sight word cards that go with the units!

 Now, here is a "master" list of the sight words, including a checklist, and record sheets! Note that I haven't put up ALL pictures, just a few to show you what you get. Click on the pictures to go to my TeachersPayTeachers Store with all of the resources.

The last kindergarten product I have is an "objectives/overview" pack which has helped me TREMENDOUSLY in my planning. Included are:

- charts/tables with phonics, listening comprehension, speaking and listening, and conventions for EACH week! 

- charts with the unit/main selection title/genre

- High Frequency (Sight Word) chart sorted by unit/week

-Amazing Word lists (Oral Vocabulary) also sorted by week!

This has helped my organization IMMENSELY! I hope it helps you as much as it has for me :)

     

                     

Now onto my FIRST GRADE resources. First grade has a MUCH larger selection of material, so I have more resources for that. I am still in the making of more products for each grade level!

Sight Words Cards:

          

                   

 The above pack is a sight word card pack that has the units organized by color! Each unit has one color for it: yellow, green, blue, orange, pink, purple

Then, there's a sight word card pack with ALL different colors!

Then, I made SPELLING word cards for each unit. These are great for literacy stations or even your focus wall! I always put up the week's spelling words in a pocket chart and I love how these bright colors stand out! 

You can buy the pack with ALL 5 units or you can buy them individually by unit!

Then, there's a sight word checklist/assessment pack that has:

- Sight Word Lists

- Sight Word Checksheet (with two check spots for before/after each unit)

- Sight Word Checksheet (with one check spot)

- Sight Word Lists (divided up by unit and week!)

So, as you can see I already have made A TON of Reading Street Resources...but know that there are MANY more to come.

Follow me to get updates on when I have freebies/giveaways....there will be one coming SOON!!! :)

Classroom Organization and LABELS!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE organization. I love it so much that I sometimes find my self organizing things that are already organized! Well, as I was cleaning up my classroom during post planning, I decided I wanted to make ALL of my labels match. So, I created a classroom labels MEGA PACK! There are 286 labels that you can use for almost ANYTHING in your classroom. 

I have a supply closet that I keep my supplies in tubs. I have an entire side for supplies, one shelf for reading, one shelf for math, and then multiple shelves for my "month boxes". I love my month boxes. They are those plastic file hanging tubs that you can get at office supply stores. I keep everything that goes on in that particular month in one. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of them...but I will as soon as I can!  Below are my supplies:

These right here are my reading materials. I have them all organized based on "topic". This is great when I need to pull something for the week, or for stations. I always know exactly where it is!

 The next two pictures are my supplies! I cannot believe how much supplies teachers have...and this isn't even close to all of it! I use plastic tubs to store everything in.

The pack includes:

Supplies

Months

Days of the Week

Holidays

Subjects

Reading

Math

Stations

Numbers

Colors

Alphabet Letters (GREAT for word walls!)

If you LOVE these labels as much as I do, click on the picture below to check them out! 

We LOVE Mo Willems!

I don't know about you...but our class is in love with Mo Willems and his many amazing books! Every year I spend a week doing an Author Study on him, where we read all of his books and do activities with each!

Check it out!

Pigeon Fun

Elephant and Piggie 

Knuffle Bunny

Amanda and Her Alligator!

Click on the picture below to grab yourself a copy of the fun!

Have fun with this unit, I know your kiddos sure will!