B2S Bag of Tricks {Begin with the End in Mind!}

Hi Friends, It's Jessica from Tales of a First Grade Teacher

Begin with the end in mind! This is the best tip/trick I could give you for anything and everything you will do as a teacher. From your teaching, to your training, to your bulletin boards. That has been a motto in my district for the last year or so. But when you think about it, it really makes sense. 

Think about these for a minute:

When your kids come to you in August or September what are your expectations for behavior, learning? 
How do you expect them to sit when you are teaching? 
How do you expect them to sit on the rug?
Where do you want your students to place their completed work? 
Where do they write their names on their papers? 
What types of behaviors do you expect of your students? 
When you are doing guided reading or daily 5 what do you expect your students to be doing? 
How do you want them to do it?
I could go on and on. But the point of all of these questions is to get you to think about where do you want your students to be?
I am going to focus specifically on the training of students for independent reading centers. I personally use Daily 5, however the aspects of the Daily 5 for training students is FABULOUS!
I have read both editions of the Daily 5 by Boushey & Moser. If you have not had a chance to read this book, I highly suggest you do. As a classroom teacher for 17 years with a Master's Degree, I can tell you, this book is worth your while. I don't think I could teach or run centers any other way. Especially after reading their 10 Steps for Establishing Independence.This book and the following 10 steps, transformed me as a teacher and my students as independent learners. I always felt the need to rush. Like if I didn't get my centers started right away the world would end-- RUSH! Maybe it was the New Yorker in me? I'm not really sure why I wanted to do it all so quickly. But that side of me is no more.

Download your Copy HERE

Whether you do Daily 5, stations, or literacy centers, you need to train your students. I guarantee if you Begin with the End in Mind, you will not be disappointed. 
When I am at my guided reading table, it is my expectation that all of my students will be engaged in some form of Daily 5/Literacy activity. I do not want to have to be interrupted 427 times during my small group time to find a book, spell a word, or tell students to stop being so loud. Now, don't get me wrong some of those things do still happen from time to time. Nobody's perfect, especially me. Without a doubt, there are always kids who have trouble and take longer to build stamina. But not nearly as often or with as much frequency. In fact, the more time I take to train my students in the beginning of the year, the less this happens throughout the rest of the year.
Why Daily 5? Each Daily 5 has a purpose behind it. When you introduce each one to your class, you sit with them and ask "Why do we read?" "Why do we write?" etc..., you would be surprised how insightful 6 year olds can be when you ask for their opinion on this area. I'm never at a loss for good answers. Here is a set of posters I have in my room. You can download them HERE.

Now to the Giveaway! 
No room is ever complete without a theme! What's your theme?  The last couple of years I have had owls. I'm slowly changing over my theme this year to birds, but owls will still be present. It's good to have an idea of what you want your classroom to look like. What colors will you use? borders? patterns? etc...
I personally go for a solid bulletin board with the pizzazz on the borders and from either student work or information. Here's a few examples of simple ways to make your room fun and a calm learning environment at the same time.

Solid background, Fun borders and ribbon to hold the velcro so the word wall will be interactive.

 

CAFE is another book from Boushey and Moser. This portion focuses on  Reading Instruction in the areas of Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary

Here is the Owl Love Alphabet, Word Wall Bundle {including the Editable Labels} You can win in this Rafflecopter! Head on down and Enter now!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Throwback--with some Freebies!

This post is coming a little late in the day, but it's Sunday so were out early to church and then came home to just relax. {I posted this last summer when I was getting my classroom ready. I am using all of these in my classroom this year as well.}
Last summer, Ashley Hughes posted some brand new papers, called Rachel Papers. They were made especially for her, from Mrslambsclass.blogspot.com. However, I really think they were made for me!! These are the exact colors of my classroom!!! I was literally the first one to leave a comment--so I think I might have been the first one to buy it.  But anyways, I immediately got to work on my new classroom alphabet and word wall set.

Chevron Chic {Chalkboard Style}

I had bought these CTP dots back in June!! I had no idea what I was going to do with them. But then it hit me!! My Word Wall!

I printed, cut and glued my little heart out!!!

They came out awesome. Now I just need to laminate and hang them.  I can't get back in my room 'til August 5th and even then, we are not allowed to use the laminator. We have a designated person for that. So I will probably have to wait even longer to get these up--so sad :(

I also made a Chalkboard alphabet with the Chevron background. I don't have a lot of wall space, so I printed them 2 per page. (look at my dog--he was so excited that I was down on the floor working, he's not allowed anywhere my new couch! LOL!)

Ha, can you see my toes?  I had to stand on my dining room chair to get this shot!!

I also started on my next most favorite awesome project for the upcoming school year.  My co-worker this year had a "working folder" where she put all sorts of useful information into clear sleeves and then fastened them in a folder.  I took the concept and decided to cut and paste what I had onto file folders.  I made up a bunch of labels and printed them out. 
You can find them here Student Executive File-FREEBIE

My Student Executive Files

The alphabet chart is from Maria Manore at Kinder-Craze you can find the alphabet chart {HERE}-Free
The Digraphs and Blends on the right  are from Lacey at Wild About Teaching. Find it {HERE}-Free
The long deskplate with more digraphs and vowel teams is from the Clever Classroom. Find it {HERE} 
I also added a blend deskplate to the back that I forgot I bought, also from the Clever Classroom. You can find that {HERE}

The 3 Daily 5 signs down the center are from Lori from Teaching with Love and Laughter. What I did was print the 3 pages to 1 page by changing my printer settings.  I will probably also use them at their normal size so the class will have a reference for their file.  You can find her Daily 5 Goodies {Here}-Free.
I have a new product out as well, that is having a Flash Freebie as you read this today.  Head on over and grab it before the day is done! I will be back to full price tomorrow.  Newsletters for All Seasons   is an editable file. It has 12 different templates with a variety of seasonal/monthly graphics. If you are able to get this for free please leave some love in the feedback and comments below. I hope you can use these great items in your classroom this year!
Enjoy,

Summer Reading

About 3 1/2 years ago, my best friend called me up and said "Jess, you have to see if your principal will let you come to my school and see this!"  We had worked together for a couple of years in first grade. We taught side-by-side and loved to plan, work and teach together.  We have been friends since we were about 2 years old. So, pretty much, we could finish each others sentences. Unfortunately, our school was closed down, due to budget cuts. We were sent to two different schools, but that didn't stop us from talking shop. She went on to tell me about The Daily 5 by The 2 Sisters-Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  Long story short, I went to my principal, and he not only said yes, but said take it as a professional development day and get a sub.  Woohoo! was what I was thinking, but out loud I only said--Thank you.

So I went up to her school, and got to travel to many 1st and 2nd grade rooms, where Daily 5 was alive and kicking.  I was hooked!  I drank the "kool-ade"  I couldn't get enough of it.  I went on to Amazon.com that night, and ordered The Daily Five and The Cafe Book.  

I don't know about you by, when I read a good book, I can't put it down.  I stayed up late into the night when Twilight first came out and didn't think a teaching book would be the same. Well I was wrong.  I felt like Gail and Joan were my friends, colleagues or buddies for years.  Having been in the classroom about 13 years at the time, I pretty much have my own style or ways of doing things.  But after reading their book, my only thought was, "I wish I had this when I first began teaching". I told my Principal and A.P all about my experience.  My Principal, being a wonderful person, said "OK, I'm going to order the books, and you are going to do a Learning Community--see who wants to join."  [paraphrased]  Well, basically about 20 teachers, from K-2 all got involved.  It was wonderful and great and fun. We read the book, chatted and got to see how other people incorporated Daily 5 into their Classrooms.  

If you have not read The Daily 5 and are expected to have Differentiated Reading Groups/Instruction, you need to read this book. It is one of the best "Teaching" books I've read, because it gives explicit reasons, and training for you and your students.
They also have a great web-site with free ideas and if you want, you can also pay to become a member. http://www.thedailycafe.com/
If you do get a chance to read it this summer, please come back and let me know what you think!

Here is how my CAFE board starts in the beginning of the year--Blank, waiting for Reading strategies to be added.

Here is a freebie of the Daily 5 Signs I use in my classroom as well--to anchor students to each Daily 5.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1QNV2NyRAucR0didk9samstd0U/edit?usp=sharing


More recently, the Two Sisters, have written a 2nd edition, where they have enhanced, adapted and/ or changed the structure as they have seen the ebb and flow in their classrooms.
If you are interested in Reading the Daily 5 or some other professional materials this summer to get you ready next year, check out the carousel below.



 

Saturdays in Spring ... Week 1

Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, children are getting antsy, and teachers are getting tired... right? It's that time of the year when we are starting to wind down and have a hard time focusing on anything but... SUMMER! With that in mind, we wanted to offer all of you a fun series called, "Saturdays in Spring!" Each Saturday for the next 4 weeks, we will be providing you with some of our favorite freebies. Be sure to share the button and pass on our blog to all your friends. We loved collaborating and sharing our ideas with all of you!

Here are this week's freebies:

Crystal from Once Upon a Classroom: The Tale of Two Teachers is sharing Story Structure - a perfect activity to use for independent practice or reading centers.

Carrie from Table Talk with C and C is sharing 3D Shapes with QR codes - a fun math activity that incorporates technology.

 Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue is sharing 3-Digit Addition and Subtraction Practice Page - a great way for students to get addition practice.

Britney from Tailor-Made Teaching is sharing Recycle It Game and Nature Hunt Activity - perfect activities for any Earth Day celebration.

Jessica from Tales of a First Grade Teacher is sharing a Butterfly Life Cycle - a fantastic activity to add to any animal unit.

*Click on the pictures or titles above to download your freebies!

We hope you enjoy these freebies and be sure to check back next Saturday for more!! 

The First Thing I Do...

134 Days of school have quickly come and gone! So, I have a quick  Freebie--My kids are at school, I had an all day meeting that ended early (woo-hoo!) and I can actually sit down for a few minutes and blog.  I first saw this on Pinterest--but I do not have the original pin--If it was your idea thanks! During a meeting with Team Leaders and Administrators, my AP and I got to talking about headings.  We both lived in NY as children and started teaching in NY as well. We always had to have a heading on our paper. ALWAYS!!
For First grade--we are just glad they can write their name so, that's when I remembered this poster--(This is my version to match my chevron alphabet) . Our goal is to have first graders write their name and the date. But this is definitely a good place to start!! When I begin a lesson, or an activity, all I now have to say is "The first thing I do is always the same,..."  And my class chorally responds "I take out my pencil and write my name!" It's a great reminder and it really helps them to remember to put their name on their papers.
Happy Thursday everyone!!!
Click HERE to Download
Here's a little "happy" tune for you!
 

Meet Jessica:0)

HELLO!!
Welcome to the Collaboration Connection!  I am Jessica from Tales of a First Grade Teacher. 
If you have ever stopped by my blog before you know I'm a big fan of sound tracks as you read. While, I can't always fit music into every post, I hope you can enjoy this song, while you read a little bit about me.

 
--I just like this song :0)
This is my 16th year in the classroom!  Sometimes that number just blows me away, but there you have it. I have been married for 13 of those years and have 2 kiddos--ages 9 1/2 and 7 1/2.

I've taught 4th grade, 3rd grade and 1st grade.  But, I will tell you 1st grade is my favorite.  I see so much growth in the 9-10 months I have my class.  It makes the job truly rewarding. Here is a peek inside my classroom. You can click HERE to see a full description of my classroom decor and set-up.

My Word Wall is my favorite part of my room.  I have been using ribbons and velcro for at least 7 years, to make my word wall interactive. Students can remove a word and replace it as needed. The paper, does not get ripped down, and the ribbons are stapled in place.

The Calendar is another great tool for learning. I utilize the Calendar as part of our morning meeting and integrate math with some Whole Brain Teaching.  Click HERE to read more about my Calendar transformation.

Of Course, No classroom would be complete with out fluffy poms hanging over the desks!! These are my new favorite trend and I really hope the fire marshal likes them too :0)

Here's what I'm doing this week in my classroom for Presidents' day!

Time Keeps on Tickin' We are learning time to the hour and 1/2 hour!  No Time unit would be complete without a make your own clock! and....Presidents' Day Fundamentals!!!

So, the hat and glasses obviously are not part of the craft, but this is by far my favorite craft of the year!!

Let me end with a little freebie for you... Click HERE to grab your Free 2 Little Pigs Pack. Compare and Contrast the Original version of The 3 Little Pigs to The True story of the 3 Little Pigs.
Don't forget to enter our Giveaway!! Click HERE!