Symmetry, Word Craftivity, PDAS & ME:)

Okay....so it has been a full, busy week and then some!!!  I'm not complaining...it makes summer come more quickly for me:)  We are on countdown ya know.....30 more days of 1st GRADE!!!

First of all, I turned a year older this week...insert sigh....oh well, we all do, right???  I had a great birthday and my 1st grade team surprised me with an AWESOME lunch in our conference room, my Firsties were super excited that it was my birthday, my honey sent me BEAUTIFUL flowers and I had a wonderful dinner with him to end the night!!!!!

I had my PDAS evaluation today....insert sigh....oh well, we all have to do it, right???? I did a Writer's Workshop lesson for my evaluation and I think it went SPECTACULAR:)  I used Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The focus of the lesson was how author's do different things with their sentences in their stories.  (The main objective was to notice that there are different amounts of words in each sentence of the author's piece.) I chose 2 pages to chart the author's thinking. I showed them on the smartboard and we counted each sentence to get the correct number of words.  They were amazed at the sentence that had 16 words in it:)  Firsties are so easily amused, that's why I love them!!! I then modeled a Mrs. Wallace and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day on the smartboard using my own thinking.  LUCKILY for me.....I didn't have to make up anything!!!  I woke up late this morning, rushed to get ready, had NO time for coffee....insert GRRRR......walked out to the garage to leave and my BATTERY WAS DEAD!!!!!  Oh, yes, so I just wrote from the heart!!! I used lots of voice and expression in my story and the Firsties LOVED it:)

A YouTube Video showing a read aloud of

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Now....onto my Word Craftivity....our theme is Butterflies and Insects this week, so we made symmetrical butterflies and then added our weekly words to them for extra practice.  They were able to decorate their butterflies after that and we hung them in the hallway for everyone to enjoy! 

Here is a picture of the Symmetrical Butterfly Template that we used. Click HERE for a FREEBIE!

Take a chennille stick and connect it.  Then staple it to the backside of the butterfly like the pictures above show.

Here are some of the finished products:)

I hope that you enjoy this little FREEBIE:)  Feel free to download and leave me a ROCKIN' note....I LOVE them!!

Have a GREAT Thursday evening!!!

Merry Christmas "Word Work" Freebie

Here is a great word work center activity that my students are loving!!!! I thought I would share this fun little Freebie!!!! I'm also loving that the theme is MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Feel free to download and use with your students....just please leave me a comment so I know what you thought of it!! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Words

"Barnyard Word Bingo" Literacy Game!!!

Okay...I'm on a roll.....:)  I am always looking to keep my "Firsties" actively engaged while they are in Literacy Centers....therefore, I am always coming up with new activities or games to keep them going!! Check out my latest literacy game that helps reinforce their knowledge of our basic sight words.

It's called "Barnyard Word Bingo" and it can be found in my TPT store! 

 

 

 

Let me know what you think:) Enjoy!!

"going nutty"

For a great Word Study Center activity, check out my newest "going nutty" game on TPT. 

"going nutty"

Have fun "going nutty"!!!

The "-eat" Chunk!!

Okay, so I've been feeling creative lately.....here is another activity to do for the -eat chunk spelling pattern!!

-eat chunk

Have the student color the "treat" bag sheet and cut along the zigzag underneath the Halloween kitten.  Attach a plastic baggie with a staple on each side for the safe keeping of the "-eat" cards.

 They will be able to use these words to read to their friends, parents and siblings in an effort to become more familiar with the -eat chunk. Enjoy!!

It's all about the "_ay" Chunk!!!

This week on our Chunk Wall, we will be adding two new spelling pattern chunks.  One of them will be the "_ay" chunk!!! Here is an activity for a whole group Word Study lesson or to use in a literacy center for individual work and further practice.  I print it out on white tag paper and laminate for durability. I bought a simple, black BOO bucket at Target that I put my "Ghostly" letter cards in.  The students choose their "Ghostly _ay" or "Ghostly _ _ay" Mats and get to work:) Enjoy!!!

Here is the Symbol Chart and Product Sheet

for this activity, and here is the 

"Ghostly _ay" Mats and "Ghostly" letters!

"Firsties" First Field Trip

In honor of the play, Charlotte's Web, that we will be seeing this week on our field trip, I am downloading my 

Wilbur's Word Game!

 I have been reading Charlotte's Web to my students for a couple of weeks now and should be finished with the book before we go on our field trip this week.  It will be fun to compare and contrast the play and the book when we get back.  I'm anxious to see their faces during the show!!! They are already very attached to the characters in the book and for them to get to see them in a different genre will be exciting!!! 

The game directions are listed on the game sheet. Enjoy!!

PS...check back for future card games with different themes....More to come!!!

Word Wall Concentration Game for Week 11...

Concentration Game

Try this Concentration Game as an added activity to help your 1st grade students become more successful with their weekly word wall words.  Just print out a copy for each student in your classroom and have them cut the cards apart, image and word together, to have a set of cards to play with.  Each student should have 8 cards in total.  It is played the same as the traditional concentration game is played.  Players combine their concentration cards together and place them face down on a table or the group rug and take turns turning over two cards to find a match.  If a player finds a match, they may go again until they turn over two cards that are not a match.  The player with the most matches wins the game!! 


**Note: You must model the correct way to play the game for your students to ensure that they are getting the full educational value out of the game.  For example,  I have my students spell the words as they turn over the matching set.  They may not keep it if they cannot tell their partner what the word is or if they cannot spell the word.


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