Sight Word Uno Games

We've just created 4 new sight words games that are available at ReadingResource.net and our new TpT Store. Teach the most frequent words students will see in print their first 3 years in school with these sight word games!  Our word choices are backed by current research so you get more than just the standard Fry or Dolch words. These words truly are the most commonly seen words in print! Download the "First 100 Sight Word UNO Game" for FREE at our TpT Store and if you like it we offer three more versions (2nd 100, 3rd 100 and Multi-Syllabic Words).  Great for centers, small group, and one-on-one!

FREE Under the Sea (1st 100 Sight Words)

Raceway (2nd 100 Sight Words)

Movie Night (3rd 100 Sight Words)

Out of this Word (Multi-Syllabic Words)

 

It's Me Again!

It's 100+ degrees here in Ohio and it's too hot to be outdoors for more than 15 seconds! Translation: I've been on my computer...a lot! I've been reading (and by reading I mean "blog-stalking") a lot in the past week. I've seen many blogs post their "parent packets" for the upcoming school year but I can't seem to get the motivation to work on mine! It's my least favorite thing to do.  


One of the blogs I came across has a list of "what-not-to-do" for blogging. One of the rules is to NOT post more than 2 times in one day. Well, I am going to break that rule...Because I can. Hopefully you'll forgive me!


My kids almost always seem to have trouble with counting on the hundreds chart so I use this to help them:

Hundred Chart Counting

It's pretty simple to use. The pound sign in the middle represents the number you are starting on. If you move "up" on the hundreds chart from that number, you are subtracting...Subtracting 10 to be exact. (Kids typically think because we are going "up" the number is getting bigger). If you go "down" from the number you are adding. Get the idea? Same works when you move left to right. You are either subtracting 1 or adding one. (I hope this helps you as much as it's helped me!)

The next set of "posters" is one of the first things I teach my kids how to use. I wish I had a visual of what this looks like in my classroom, but I don't. I'll try my best to explain! Early on in the year I emphasize the importance of being able to differentiate between "adding" and "subtracting". Certain terms tell us what we need to do. For example, if a story problem tells us to "find the sum of 4 and 5" most of us (adults) know we need to add. For children, this is sometimes tricky. 

I typically keep these posters around my calendar area (where most of my math materials are located) so that children can place Post-Its on each poster when they come across a word, term, problem, or situation that requires them to add or subtract. We talk about these posters constantly and we refer to them when we are having difficulty determining whether we add or subtract. When I get these up (and running) in my classroom, I will take a picture!

I hope you find them helpful! Oh, and make sure to print them on legal size paper!

Addition & Subtraction Posters

(More) Daily Five

In the past I have made t-charts for The Daily Five on Word and taken them to have them enlarged. Unfortunately, I'm not going to have a lot of wall space this year...So I made the t-chart on legal-sized paper in hopes to free up some wall space!

Daily Five T-Charts

Graphing With Food

There are a lot of graphing ideas out there with Skittles, M&Ms, and other kinds of candy...Once I used those options I started thinking about other foods to graph. I did these last year with my 2nd graders and they were a big hit! I was able to purchase all of these items at Costco (pretty cheap, too!)

Froot Loops Graphing

Fruit Snack Graphing

Graphing Goldfish

Perfect Attendance

I have quite a few incentives in my classroom for positive behavior.  Each day that all students are present and on time, I color in a letter. Once all of the letters have been filled, my class will receive a reward! (Usually an extra recess). To print, just click on the link below the picture!

Perfect Attendance

What a Hoot

After yet another look-see on Scrappin' Doodles I came up with another take-home book for this coming school year. Click on the link below the pic to download. 

What a Hoot Take Home Book

Super Centers

By keeping a music box at your guided reading table, you can manage the children who are working at literacy centers when you are working with a small group without having to interupt the reading going on. If it gets too loud, turn the music box on until it's quiet again. If the music box was not used during the day, one letter of "Super Centers" gets colored in. When all of the letters have been colored, the children will receive a reward (extra recess, movie, new classroom book, etc.) 

If there is music in the box at the end of the week, the children will receive a special "treat" inside the music box!

New CVC Game

We've just added a new game on our Reading Activities Page that uses Fry's top 30 CVC words...A fun game for whole group instruction. Click on the link above to download the pdf for free! Just scroll down to the middle of the page! Enjoy.

New Signature

Just figured out how to make a signature...Very excited.

Take-Home Books

It's been a couple years since I taught first grade and this coming school year I get to go back! I am very excited to be working with kids at the early stages of reading and writing. One way I like to encourage writing at home is to provide many "take-home" bags. I've spent some time the past few days revising some of them with new fonts and graphics! (Browsing through blogs lately has encouraged me to ditch my typical Word fonts & graphics and purchase new ones...I'm kinda obsessed!) I use one-inch binders with a clear cover and add the pages in as they are needed. I'll add more of my take-home books later, but here are a few that I've finished. Click on the links below to download! Enjoy.

The Boo-Boo Book

The Tooth Fairy Journal

The Birthday Book

Code Variation Flip Chart

We still are working on getting a TpT Store together...But in the meantime, check out our Download Central Page to purchase our revised Code Variation Flip Charts! It's no longer just a pdf to download...We are now shipping them! 

We have two versions; The Phonics Version and The Original Version. They are perfect for Guided Reading!

Dollar Store Finds

I spent a good portion of the morning going school shopping with my mom (who is also a teacher) looking for things for our classrooms. Yes, I know it's a Saturday in July...and I don't really need any more "stuff" but I saw these crayons and I had to get them! I mean, they were only $1!

Originally I thought they'd be fun to hang from the ceiling. I usually like to label my tables with something hanging from above, but I now I'm thinking they might be fun to keep at the writing center for kids to use when they are rainbow writing.  Not sure what I'll do with them, but I am very excited about them! (Sick, I know!)

Book Room

So somehow I managed to get myself into another project! (That typically happens when I'm around Steve during the summer). He's been working on setting up a book room for a school in our district and asked for my help organizing it. Don't get me wrong, I love to organize...But this is a huge undertaking!  


This is what I walked into...

This school is very fortunate to have a classroom available for a book room. Most schools have a small closet, if any! Steve ordered bookshelves, hundreds of book bins, and...

MORE BOOKS!

Did I mention that teachers have donated their own books to the room too?

That's Steve pretending to work!  Only kidding. 

We decided to group the bins by color so that teachers could easily distinguish between each different reading level.  Sorting the bins by color and moving them around took quite a bit of time! That's about all we accomplished on Day One.  

We are going to be placing leveled books in plastic bags.  On the outside of each bag will be a sticker that has the reading level, the title of the book, and the number of copies.  Use Avery 8163 labels for this template!  On the outside of each book we will also place a sticker that tells what level the book is...Use Avery 5176 labels for this template.  


We'll keep adding the progress of this room. Keep checking back!