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!!!

"My Spring Word's" FREEBIE and I'm Back:)

Well, well, well....it's been a while!!! Sorry blogger friends....I'm BACK!!! I took a tiny break during our Spring Break week and I'm just now catching my breath from a FANTASTIC time in NYC!!!! 

The pic above is of my sister, my daughter, my niece & I at the St. Patrick's Day Parade!!! Fun times!!!

I love visiting New York, but I always forget how exhausted it makes me when I return home:)  Oh well, I'd do it all over again, in a heartbeat!!!

Onto a more 'teacherly' topic.....My Flower Pot Spring Word Craftivity!!!

Here are some pics of the finished products!

The "Firsties" LOVE doing their Word Study Practice in fun ways!!!

You will need:

"My Spring Word's" template page

2 or more different colored papers

1 white piece of construction paper

pencil

crayons

markers

scissors

glue sticks

Weekly words or Word Wall Words

Have fun with my "SPRINGY" Craftivity!!! Be patient, it takes a while for them to complete!!!

One Award, Two Awards, Red Award, Blue Award...and a FREEBIE!!

Ahhhhh.....are you just resting and relaxing knowing that you have another week of Dr. Seuss activities and lessons behind you????  So fun, but sooooo exhausting:)  I LOVE Dr. Seuss week, really I do, but it takes A LOT out of a 1st Grade Teacher!!!!! Just saying'!!!  Here are some inspirations from the week....

Dr. Seuss visited us at Breakfast!!!

And Thing 1 & Thing 2!! 

My Firsties made their own Things!!! Here are Things 1 through 19!!!

again....

and a closer look:)

Now onto more BLOGGY things:) 1st GRADE ROCKS was nominated again, which I am THRILLED about, for the LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD

 by Ashley & Erica at Fit For First Grade!!!

Go check them out because they have the cutest little blog and great ideas!!

Since this is my 4th time to be nominated for this award, I am going to follow the instructions for the Liebster Blog Award with a little creativity;) 

The award is for blogs with fewer than 200 followers and I am delighted to pass it on to you:)  So in the effort of being creative, if you are reading this post, consider yourself LIEBSTERED!!!!

Now....for another WONDERFUL award that 1st GRADE ROCKS was nominated for by two EXCELLENT blogs. 

The One Lovely Blog Award:)

Thank you to Traci at Dragonflies In First & Julie at Lighting A Fire In Third Grade for this great award!!! I am proud to share it with 15 FABULOUS blogs:)

If you get a chance, go check out these blogs....you will NOT be disappointed!  They are AWESOME!

&

The Rules:

1. Link back to the blogger who gave it to you.....CHECK!!!!

2. Pass the award onto 15 other lovely bloggers.....No Problem!  CHECK!!!!

3. Follow the person who sent it to you.....ALREADY DO:) CHECK!!!! 

Here goes:)

 

http://obsessivelyteaching.blogspot.com/

WHEW!!!!! What a POST!!! Sorry for it's length....but here is a **FREEBIE** for sticking around:)

I took a store bought memory game and changed it into a Long Vowel/Silent "e" Word Study Center Activity!!! Click on the link to download your copy!!! Don't forget to leave me a comment if you can!!! They make my day <3 :) Enjoy your Sunday Bloggy Neighbors:)

Long Vowel/Silent "E" Word Study Center Activity

Come see me at Our Life's Blessings:)

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My 1st GRADE ROCKS Facebook Page!!

TGIF "FREEBIES"...and Writer's Workshop:)

TGIF, TGIF, TGIF......Whew....what a week!!!!!  Can you tell that I am a little excited about the weekend????  Well, after last weekend's Cheer Competition with my daughter.....ALL WEEKEND.....3 days people.....I am READY for this two day relaxation:)  

The only thing planned besides the normal Saturday/Sunday routine is a quick Cheer Clinic in the morning and then I'm "good to go"!!!!

Okay.....on to the real reason for this post.....In Writer's Workshop today, I showed my Firsties a picture of penguins and I asked them to think about what the penguins were doing, talking about, what the weather was like, etc.  One student drew and wrote this piece.....

Which I chose to edit via the smart board with the whole group.  My students are used to their writings being used as a quick mini-lesson, so this student was NOT surprised when I put her writing up for everyone to see.  I praised the illustration and the use of the word "too"....which was used properly:)  The picture below shows the picture prompt that I gave them and the corrections made by the whole group for our mini-lesson!!!!!  What a GREAT way to motivate the other students to look for editing opportunities in their own work.

Okay.....on to the FREEBIE:)  I've been working on The CAT Man!! Unit for this week's centers and activities and here is a sampling of what I have done so far!  

Below is a closer image of the writing and word study activities that I have come up with!

Click here for the The CAT Man!!!! FREEBIE to enjoy in your classroom.  Don't forget to leave me a comment if you like the activities:)  I LOVE to read them all!!!! 

Come check me out at my new 1st GRADE ROCKS Facebook account!!!! 

A Little "HONEST ABE"....

Here are some pics of our "HONEST ABE" Word Craftivity!!!  

I used one piece of black construction paper, 1 piece of white construction paper, a glue stick and scissors.  Then made cuts like this.....

...and using chalk and a few crayons, they were able to make their "HONEST ABE" Words for the hallway.  Be "HONEST" and leave me a comment if you choose to use this idea for your "FIRSTIES"!!!:) I love reading them:) We LOVE celebrating President's Day!!!!

Inspiring Crafts....SNOWMAN style:)

I have seen many cute paper snowflake snowman crafts out and about....SO....I decided to incorporate a little WHOLE group "Snowflake Snowman" making in Room 21!!! 

I had a couple of ground rules though!! You MUST with FIRST graders, otherwise-CHAOS ensues!!!!

1. Follow directions.
2. Make symmetrical folds:)  Getting a little math involved in the literacy activity! 
3. Make small cuts with careful hands and first grade scissors. (Incorporated a little SHAPE talk...triangles, circles, ovals, hearts, etc.  I also had them predict what they think would happen if they made a cut at the top of the snowflake craft. i.e. It makes the snowflake have a hole in the center. Some did this, others didn't.)
4. You MUST write your weekly Word Wall Words on the snowflake and any other words off of the Word Wall with a blue crayon. (After all, this is a Literacy Word Work activity:)

Here is our finished product!!! Great practice, great fun and the Firsties LOVED it!!!

Great finds from fellow Bloggers:)

A BIG "Shout Out" goes out to First Grade Blue Skies for this WONDERFUL craft that my Firsties made this week!!! They worked so very hard on them!! I even incorporated it into a practice for their Word Wall Words by having them write their words in each whisker of Santa's beard!! It started to become a competition on how many words/whisker's their Santa would have. They LOVED it!!! Thanks to First Grade Blue Skies for the inspiration:) 

   

 

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