Fun with FICTION!!!

Good Morning Sunshines!!

This past week we have been wrapping up our "Fun with Fiction" unit and "spying" on our fictional characters.

We made several anchor charts throughout the past few weeks to go along with character traits.  Something we really focused on was inside and outside character traits.  We practiced that the outside character traits are the things we can see on a character (i.e. brown hair, blue eyes, tan skin, smiling, thin, large, crying, dancing around etc.) and sometimes the outside traits can help us infer the inside traits (i.e. happy, excited, sad, etc.). 

We used mentor texts throughout this unit to really spy on our character.  We chose to use Kevin Henkes' books like Owen, Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse, Chrysanthemum, Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick, Lilly's Chocolate Heart, Julius, and there are so many more wonderful titles by Kevin Henkes that are so helpful during a character unit. 

We read a different title each day during our IRA {Interactive Read Aloud} and then referred back to it during our reading workshop mini-lesson when making an anchor chart.

During the last 2 weeks of this unit we wanted to help the students write about their character so I made a couple different handouts to practice inside/outside traits and then after they were strong in identifying those things, we practiced writing down the "evidence" to prove the inside trait.  These student recording sheets are part of my "Fun with Fiction" unit in my TPT shop :)




*Students drew a picture of the character they were spying on in the middle, and then identified the inside/outside traits*

*Then once students mastered identifying the inside/outside traits they picked 2 of the inside traits of one of their characters wrote it on the left and provided evidence on the right*



 

Then during the last week in this unit, the learning really CAME. TO. LIFE!  WOAH!

I made a letter to send home to all parents introducing a "Book Character Day" assignment that the students would do at home for homework.  {The letter to parents and character day assignment are also part of my "Fun with Fiction" unit in my TPT shop!!}  The students absolutely loved presenting on their book character and dressing up to match :) Some of us teachers even got involved...!  Enjoy the pictures below from our Book Character Day...PS these are just  a FEW!!

 

Mrs. Uselton aka Mrs. Twinkle was ready for the day!! :)

One of my amazingly "FANCY" teammates...dressed as Fancy Nancy!

The Pigeon from The Pigeon Wants a Hotdog-LOVE!

 David from David Gets in Trouble-AWESOME!

Animal from Put Me in the Zoo-So FUN!

FLY GUY!! P.S. His mama made those wings from wire hangers and panty hose...can you say CREATIVE!?

 



 

WOW!  Sorry for such a fictional filled post friends, but I just wanted to share it all with you!!! If you are looking for some resources to implement with your character unit don't forget to stop by my TPT Shop for my "Fun with Fiction" unit!!

 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Management Monday...or Wednesday!?!?

Hi Friends!!!
Sooo...Management Monday quickly turned into Management Wednesday!  Yikes!  I'm sorry!

I am excited to share some of the management ideas I have implemented in my classroom and look forward to hearing fabulous new ideas from all of you :)  I would LOVE to hear from you!!

*Individual Incentive Program*
This year, on our campus, we are doing something different in first grade and we have departmentalized.  I teach reading/writing and my fantastic partner teachers math/science/social studies.  It has been an adjustment, but we all seem to be getting in the swing of things now :)

One challenge that we faced at first was ensuring that our individual incentive program stayed the same between both classes so it was unified and expectations were clear for both sets of students.  This year we are using "behavior bucks" that I created.  We chose to do "behavior bucks" instead of tickets because we wanted to integrate a math skill...always looking for another way for real life application ;)  You can grab your free copy of my behavior bucks HERE!

The students are LOVING to spend or save their bucks!  Below is a picture of the reward chart I made for my class and it is so neat to hear FIRST GRADERS have the conversation about the importance of saving and not spending right away *music to a teachers ears*!  You can make your own using any amounts/prizes that fit your classroom! 

*Whole Class Incentive Program*
In addition to an individual positive reinforcement system {the behavior bucks} I also have a whole class incentive program called BEHAVIOR BINGO!!  I heard about this fun idea a few years back and the students love it each year!!  You can grab your free copy in my TPT shop HERE!!

*Bathroom Breaks*
I don't know about you all but we do not have time for whole class restroom breaks.  I know a lot of teachers that use the crossed fingers in the air and as much as I would love for that to work for me, it just DOESN'T! *sigh* SO, I implemented the hand sanitizer bathroom system and it has been a life saver this year!  How it works: When a child needs to use the restroom {during the appropriate times you have discussed beforehand} the girl/boy grabs the designated bottle of hand sanitizer and places it on their desk.  This gives me a visual for who is out of the room AND students grab a pump of hand sanitizer when they get back {just in case my little sweetie didn't wash with soap and water...you just never know...}before they put the bottle back in it's "home."  My ADORABLE bottles were made by a fellow teacher at my campus and she makes them for lots of teachers.  Her work is flawless and she is amazing to work with-I would recommend her in a heart beat. If you want to order one of her products you can reach her here: https://www.facebook.com/MadeByMissyGiftsandMore.

I mean look how cute these stinkin' bottles are...*swoon*

WOW!  You made it to the bottom!  I look forward to posting more Management tips in the future...I hope you were able to gain something from this post!  Remember, e-mail me {keluseltonATgmailDOTcom} with your super ideas!!

Have a great hump day ya'll!!