Small Moment Writing!!

Hi Friends and HAPPY SUNDAY!!

I am excited to share this post with you all about small moment writing!!  My first grade writers have been doing such a great job generating ideas and putting them down on paper, so now it is time to "zoom in" and teach the children to take their big moments and narrow them down to something smaller. 

Now...I had every intention to bring the introduction of this unit to life by using a watermelon so I made my anchor chart  using watermelon pictures... 

 ...BUT that didn't work out! 
Did you know that watermelons are now made SEEDLESS!?! Ah-I didn't get that memo and don't they know I need the seeds for my small moment unit!!
SO, what's a teacher to do after visiting FOUR grocery stores and still not finding a watermelon with seeds... TIME TO IMPROVISE...PUMPKIN IT IS! :)

We talked about how the pumpkin is the big moment, like going to the beach.  So many things happen at the beach so we talked about making it smaller into a slice.  Then we went even smaller, into a seed. 

The visual of the pumpkin really helped them to understand the true meaning behind this unit. 

Then, it was time to WRITE!  The students worked in partnerships and I made a planning sheet for them to use to help organize their thoughts :)

*Click on one of the pictures and it will take you to my TPT shop to download your FREE copy*

There are some great things happening in first grade and I love the e-mails I am seeing from you guys!! If there is something positive happening in your classroom I would LOVE to hear about it!! You all are amazing and are making such a difference in the lives of children!!!

Have a great day!!

GRAND OPENING!!

Hi there!!!

Our long awaited grand opening of our library happened this past week and boy, oh boy, was it a SUCCESS!  The students were welcomed on Monday morning with balloons at the front door and in the library...

Then our sweet and amazing counselor came in to "cut the ribbon" and partake in the festivities. Her excitement really helped pump up the kids even more :)

 

 

After the cheering we said goodbye to Mrs. Baker and it was time to book shop! I am still working on my reading testing to find each kiddos level so this was such a great time for me to sit one on one with each child to help them find their "just right books."  We use the 5 finger rule in our library to find good fit books.  I was also able to introduce our book shopping cards! I love this time of year when we are able to foster their love for learning and help mold them into the best independent readers they can be :)   If you are in search of a "just right books" book mark or a set of book shopping cards head on over to my TPT shop HERE and get your copy for FREE! 

 

 

Have a great day!!



Library is ALMOST opened....

Hey Ya'll!! Happy Friday Eve!!! *Whew*

My students have been working SO hard on building their stamina during independent reading and we are SOOO excited to open our library on Monday!!  Our sweet assistant principal is coming in to "cut the ribbon" and the students are going to *love* it!!

During the summer our campus had Dave Burgess from Teach Like A Pirate out...and boy, oh boy, if you have never had the opportunity to hear him speak, DO. IT.

In an effort to bring up the engagement level in the classroom we have been doing little "surprises" for the kiddos leading up to the grand opening of the library.  Today, a mysterious green bag appeared!  I acted like it wasn't there but, of course, the "What is that?" "I think it's ____" started buzzing!  Mission accomplished.  I finally let them open it and it was NEW BOOKS!!  They LOVED it!!
I also gave them an index card with their name on it and allowed them to decorate it.  No one really wondered "Hm...why are we coloring an index card?!"  Until I made them turn it in.  They wanted to keep it but mean ol' Mrs. Uselton told them I wanted to keep it until tomorrow ;) After some moans and groans they wanted to know WHYYY!!  I told them they would have to wait until tomorrow...WHAT?!? A whole night not knowing...!!!  *Spoiler Alert* We are going to use the index card on their NEW BOOK BAGS they will get tomorrow!! They are going to go b-a-n-a-n-a-s, BANANAS!! I decorated a box with some bows tonight before I left and it will just be sitting on the table when they come in, just waiting to cause some more buzz in our first grade classroom!!

P.S. You know you have accomplished the element of surprise/engagement when a kiddo goes home and I hear from his mama that he can't wait to see what the surprise at school tomorrow is!!

In honor of libraries on our campus opening and soon to be opening...I am loving the way my sweet friend's library came out in her fabulous new 4th grade class ...

 

 *primary and intermediate book bin labels as shown here can be found in my TPT shop*

I love how inviting and put together it is!! The teachers on my campus are seriously unbelievably talented!!  I will be posting pictures next week of my class library, our Grand Opening and all the festivities that will go along with that...stay tuned!! :)

Have a great weekend ya'll and HAPPY FRIDAY {tomorrow}!!!

FIRST post...FIRST week!

HI EVERYONE!

I can't tell you all how excited I am to be posting on my NEW, FABULOUS blog!!  I started this blog not only as a way to document the day to day life we all go through as teachers, but also to *hopefully* help or inspire someone a long the way! 
 

I’ll start by introducing myself and then take you on a little tour....

I am beginning my fifth year teaching, all of my years have been spent in first grade and in the best place ever…Katy, Texas.  I am a wife to my sweet husband Brian and a mother to our 2 fur babies Benny and Riley.  A few of my favorite things….1.) shopping at Target {you know when you only go for ONE thing and come out having spent $100…*sigh*} 2.) spending time with my incredible family and 3.) CREATING!  I absolutely love taking an idea and seeing it come to life!!

Now for a tour in Mrs. Uselton’s first grade classroom…

These pictures are taken AFTER our first week...and I must say, I am pretty proud of our class because, for the most part, everything is still in tact *you teachers know EXACTLY what I mean*

 

 *P.S. how CUTE is that Mrs. Uselton sign by my student work board?!  A mom MADE that for me last year...so fortunate to have such amazing parents that spoil us at our campus*

We have a Pirate theme this year and we are all "Teaching Like a Pirate" and LOVING it!!

 



*Side note...I do have my classroom library CLOSED! WHAT!?!!? I know!  We did this for a purpose!  At Meet the Teacher we closed it down and students couldn’t believe they were limited to only the books on the TABLE {ugh} while mommy and daddy filled out the oodles and oodles of paperwork, BUT this caused such a BUZZ in the classroom!  The kiddos CAN’T WAIT for the “grand opening” of our library {you know…after procedures have been introduced ;)}. I can’t wait to post about our GRAND OPENING celebration {balloons and official ribbon cutting included}!!  If you have never done this before…DO IT!  You can grab a FREE sign in my TPT store….  Get your Grand Opening Sign HERE!

Head on over to my TPT shop for more great items and FREEBIES!

Thanks for stopping by today and I look forward to taking you on this journey with me!  OH, and don't forget, if you have an idea and want to see it come to life don't hesitate to e-mail me...I am always here to help!!