Math Talk

 I found these cool Common Core Cards for Math on TPT, and I love having this Math Talk chart at the front of my room during our Partner Talk time on the carpet.  It is a super way to engage my students in using the correct words when we are talking math strategies!

I also have my Whole Brain Teaching posters, along with Linus and Gus under my board to continue with the Math Talk theme!

Pete Loves Books!

Seriously!  I love Pete!  He is so totally groovy!

Anchor Charts and Circle Maps

 We made a Circle Map this week while we are learning about details.   

 We also made a list of Ocean Animals before we started reading our story for the week.  I had no idea that Dory was a Pacific Regal Blue Tang- but my Smarties knew it!

This is my Literacy Wall in my classroom where we try to contain our weekly knowledge in one place.  It has our retelling cards, oral vocabulary, spelling words with selection vocabulary challenge words, anchor charts, graphs and maps, and my Whole Brain Teaching posters that show our skills and gestures for the week. Over the the right, I also have our High Frequency Words listed, as well.

I Know About...

I love having this information right in front of the room for my students to see every day!  It just helps them to stay focused on what they should be learning each week.  Our Journeys series comes with a Focus Wall that I use in my classroom, but I like my idea much more!  I think it is so much more colorful and creative.

Linus the Minus

 I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea for teaching subtraction!  You can go here TPT-Sarah Cooley to get this amazing download.  My kids love learning about strategies and subtraction with this cool little booklet.  There is also another booklet about Gus the Plus that she has made.

 I also love that I can just pull up the PDF on my board and do it right along with them.  What a super clever idea to make this cool booklet!  As always, Sarah Cooley is one of the best teachers for coming up with some amazing teaching ideas!   If you haven't ever visited her blog- it is one of my favorites!  First Grader At Last

Super Smartie Blends

I mean, seriously, how much smarter can my little Firsties get!  Check out these awesome blends they came up with today.  I am so proud of them!

How To Make 10 Anchor Chart

Another great math lesson!  My kids came up with some awesome answers today when we discussed all of the ways to make 10.  They are so amazing!  They were telling me what to use- words, numbers, or patterns- and made sure that I used the correct terms on our chart.

WBT Posters

 I have made a new set of Whole Brain Teaching posters for my classroom which I am selling on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I just love these adorable Tots -smiley dudes- (which I bought on TPT).  My kids love them too!  They just brighten up my classroom!  Plus, they go right along with the Classroom Management system for WBT.

My Favorite Ten Frame

Teaching my students how to use a ten-frame with Pete the Cat and his groovy buttons was so much fun!  It is one of my favorite math lessons yet!  Plus they kept asking me to sing about his belly button all day long.  Since we were working on possessive nouns this week, I also finished out the day with a Pete the Cat Possession lesson.  They had so much fun thinking of all of the things that belonged to Pete!  Seriously, I just cannot get enough of this cool cat!

By the way, the ten frame was a freebie that I found on Pinterest!  Which makes it even better.  Of course, it used up a ton of ink to print.  But, he is so worth it!

Yardsticks and Clothespins

 I tried to figure out a new, different way to hang my students work this year.  I used clothespins last year, but when the hallway got repainted over the summer- then my clothespins came down.  I didn't want to fool with putting them up.  So, I decided to just make something that would be easy to put up and take down.  So, I got some yardsticks from Amazon....some purple clothespins from Oriental Trading...and some gorilla glue from Wal-Mart!  I love these!  I just attached them to the wall with some mounting tape which is also easy to remove.

New Organization

 If you haven't noticed, I LOVE organizing my classroom for a brand-new year.  I think since we have started a new reading series and changing everything over to Common Core, I am even more excited about starting fresh.  So, I made some new labels for all of my manipulatives.

 I also found these purple containers that I am now using for everything- for pencils on my students' tables, too.  I also bought some square ones that have come in handy for crayons.  I just love these.

 I have a new set-up for my folder box and my bin for our aides to run things off and laminate things.  I tried to make it look like home with a lamp and a plant.  It is sitting right when you walk in the room, and it does give the room a nice feel.  I couldn't live without the purple work box organizer.

 I am loving the new LARGE retelling cards from our Journeys series.  I also love that there are only 4 cards with this series.  It just seems to make more sense.

 This is my stations table where everything is laid out ready for the students to get before stations start each day.  They are doing a fabulous job putting everything back each day, and I am truly impressed.  I love having the station boxes (in purple) that contain everything they need for the station each week.  It is so easy for them to get and clean up each day.  Makes my life so much simpler!

 I started using this station chart at the end of the year last year, and I still love it.  It is so much easier to have only two changes each day.  That has also helped my to have nice, calm, quiet station time where my children are actually learning instead of trying to run from station to station.

 I also have this little chart that I keep in our whole group area on the carpet.  Simple- but it helps them to remember what Title, Author, and Genre mean.

 I am still using this awesome cart for my books in my classroom.  But, I just changed my labels to match the rest of the new ones I made for this year.  I do love this cart!  It was a really smart purchase.  It is totally indestructible!

First Day Activities

 After going over our Whole Brain Teaching Classroom Rules Rap, we talked about Whole Brain Listening...with Pete the Cat.  He is so groovy!

 Then, I read The Kissing Hand.  We compared our school to Chester's School using a T-Chart...

 We talked about our first day feelings.  This was a great way to validate everyone's attitude about a brand-new school year.  They loved making Anchor charts!  That is fantastic!

 I made new clothespins for my Behavior Log and new magnets for my lunch board.  I love these new magnets...I made them with bottle caps from Hobby Lobby.  Fun!  I also love the little clear round stickers that fit inside the cap over their names which make them look even fancier!

It is going to be a fun, new year in First Grade!!!

Classroom Photos

 I have said this a thousand times...but I love seeing pictures of other classrooms! So, I thought I would post some more of mine. 

 This is my Read With Me/Math With Me area, along with my computer area, etc.

Our large group space...

 The sink area where I store all of my station materials on the right and left side.  I also like to display fun reading charts that we have studied on the bulletin boards.

 This is a hands-on area where the children can grab supplies they might need during station time.

 My computer area...

 My listening area...

 My AR space...

 Where I keep my station baskets so the students can get them each day... along with other station  materials and things that we might be using in the specific week we are in.

Another shot of my reading table with my charts and graphs behind me.

The Dot

 I absolutely love the story, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.  It has become one of my favorites to teach!  So, this year, I decided to add another activity to our story.  I made a poster with Vashti on it- painting her dot, of course, which is all in a swirly frame.  My students just loved that Vashti appears to be painting their dots on the canvas.  I wrote each one of their names, and they told me something that they thought they might not be able to do in the beginning- but it turned out they were really good at it.  They were able to write their sentences on their purple dot.  Around the poster, they got to draw their own little masterpiece, as well. 

Next week, we will be back to Dinosaurs, at least...Dinosaur Hunting, anyway.  All of the dinosaurs in our room left this week because they were super scared of who might be coming into our room next week.  Hmmmm...wonder who it might be?

Keeping Up With Our Progress

I found this somewhere on Pinterest, also.  I am sure it is probably on my board.  I just love this idea for keeping up with my Firsties progress on their writing.  Once they are able to do each one of these skills properly- they get to write their name under that skill.  When they master all four areas, they get a coupon!

Herbie & Carnie

 I am pretty sure I posted these last year.  I took an idea from the blog First Grader At Last which is the best blog ever!  Anyway, my kids just love this story that goes with our dinosaur stories in our textbook.  So, my Firsties get to feed Carnie lots of meat (above) and they feed Herbie lots of plants.  Unfortunately, Herbie left our classroom today because he heard that our next story is going to be Mister Bones: The Dinosaur Hunter.  So, he was pretty scared.  I think that Carnie will soon follow him in the next few days.  My students were pretty upset that Herbie left, and now they think that he might have escaped into the school just like Bossy E!