Mo Willems - Part 2

Our love for Mo Willems continued for many weeks.  We did several culminating activities, two being Readers' Theater and letters to the author.
Readers' Theater was a hoot!  Throughout the unit, we worked diligently on expression and reading fluently.  These two skills came to life as each of my kiddos acted out several of the Piggie and Elephant books.

I can't wait to do Readers' Theater again with our Fairy Tales unit.  I am hopeful that a few more students will come out of their shells before that time.
Our final Mo project was letters to the man himself!  You should have heard them as I explained the project.  Between the clapping and joyous screams, you could hear "we really get to write to MO WILLEMS!"

Their letters were adorable!  They explained which book was their favorite, asked him some questions, and even explained that they had written their own Mo inspired stories.

Do your students have a favorite author?

Math Monday - Balancing Equations

I am linking up with Jess, from I Heart Recess for today's Mathematical Monday.

It is crazy to me that first graders need to be able to balance equations.  Don't get me wrong...understanding the equal sign is vital; so is fact fluency.  Due to the fact that fact fluency is even a struggle, I knew my kiddos were going to need of as much practice with balancing equations as possible.  Specifically, CCSS 1.OA.D.7.
We did several lessons experimenting with an Equabeam (math balance).  If you are not familiar with this amazing tool, I highly recomend it.  It allows students to build and balance number sentences.

After practicing as a class, students practice their skills with Balanced Equation Memory and SCOOT.

I am always so proud of my kiddos when they go and get tools because they know exactly what helps them.
Throughout the lessons, I saw a lot of growth with equation and equal sign knowledge, but they still need more practice.  Lucky for them, it is a center this week.

All of the activities that I mentioned above can be found in Find the Balance.  

What is a difficult math standard for your kiddos to master?

Five for Friday - Facts About Me

It's FRIDAY!!!  Plus it is Valentine's Day...happy LOVE Day to all!
I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for today's Five for Friday.

Here are 5 facts about me...

1. I grew up in Michigan.

Yes, I did!  I miss it everyday, but I feel like I found the best of the midwest (great people and great views) in Oregon.

2. My dog is named after a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Raph to be exact.

3. I LOVE the boutique Paizlee!

Katie and Emily are the greatest!  Their products are fabulous and their customer service is even better!  If I could, I would buy everything from them!

4. I got engaged in Italy.

Moments before...

My wonderful husband and I traveled all over Rome and part of Venice before he popped the question.

5. I live for my students!

Like so many of you, my students mean everything to me.  I work hard for them; I always have and always will!!!

Tell me a fact about you.

Mo Willems Author Study - Part 1

Teaching through author studies keeps my teacher heart beating.
Here is a little background...
I use our district adopted basal, StoryTown, to pace my reading/writing strategies and phonics skills.  I then find the corresponding CCSS.  Once I have my teaching points, I choose the author we will focus on.
Throughout the month of January, we worked on expression, speech bubbles, developing characters, retells, and so much more through Mo Willems' books.

We practiced speech bubble with Piggie and Gerald.

One huge focus was on character development.  We created these anchor charts to help with describing three of Mo's characters.

One of our art projects were these adorable Piggie and Gerald hats, which we wore for our Readers' Theater performances (more to come and these).

One of my favorite activities had students practicing expression as they pleaded to Stay Up Late.

Be sure to check back for part 2 of our Mo Willems' author study.

Spreading LOVE Throughout the School

I LOVE Valentine's Day!  What I am not a fan of is the amount of candy it contains.  In order to keep the focus on spreading love, I ask students and parents to not bring candy to school.  I also make sure that our activities throughout the week, and specifically on Valentine's Day "spread the love."
One of my favorite activities is our cards to staff members.  When I taught fifth grade and even as an ESL teacher, I helped students write valentines to former teachers to detail why they are still in that student's heart.  This is a little tricky with first grade, due to their lack of years in school.  Therefore, I have students choose a staff member that is "in their heart."  First graders come up with the most adorable valentines and love giving their chosen staff member the card.  Here is the template that my kiddos use:

You can grab a copy of the valentine template I use by clicking on the picture above.

What is your favorite Valentine's Day activity?

Currently- February

YAY!  I love February!  But where have I been?!  I just realized I haven't blogged in a while.  That needs to change, I have so many wonderful things to share with you!
Here is a quick look at what I am currently up to...

The truths:
I love skiing!  My love started more as a push, but I kept my balance and crossed many finish lines.  I took this love all over the United States and skied with so many incredible athletes.  I still love going fast with snow blowing past me.
I am a lefty!  This world was not made for us, but I do my best to embrace it daily!

The fib:
I HATE squash!  I love yummy healthy foods, but there is something about squash that I despise!

I am linking up with Farley for her amazing monthly linky!  Be sure to check out what other teachers are currently up to!

Five for Friday - An Organized Classroom

It felt so great to be back with my students this week.  I only got two days with them last week, due to my three days in bed combating yuck!  We had a jam-packed week of learning, but I also had a crazy amount of cleaning and organizing to take care of.  I am hosting a group of first grade teachers from around the district on Monday so tidying-up was in order.  I keep an organized classroom overall, but you all know what it is like before company comes over...you just have to make sure everything is in its place.
Here are five of my favorite organizational pieces that help keep me in order...

1. My Teacher Toolbox

I think this is the most used tool in my entire classroom!

2. Milk Crate Benches

I love the storage they provide.

3. Math Bins and Monthly Tubs

 

Prepping and storing centers can be such a hassle.  These tubs have changed that for me!  It is so easy to grab activities and put them away now that everything has a home.  All of my literacy centers, author study materials, and content examples are stored in the monthly tubs.  Math materials are organized by overarching categories.  The adorable labels are from That's So Second Grade's TPT store.

4. Daily Drawers

I used file folders for years, but they could never hold everything for the day.  These drawers are my absolute favorite.  They allow me to print for the week and put items in their homes, but they also make it easy to find what a need when I need it.  You can grab the daily labels here.

5. Classroom Library Bins

It has taken a long time to feel like my classroom library is organized and student friendly.  This year, I redid all of the baskets and numbered each book to make it easier for students to return and find books. The time was worth it, as my kiddos use it constantly!

What are your greatest organizational tools?

I can't take it anymore!

My students are amazing!  Honestly, they are incredible!  They love learning, work hard, are creative, enjoy writing, are respectful....I could go on and on.  Unfortunately, they are hesitant risk-takers especially with spelling during writing.  I always work toward teaching my kiddos to know and use their resources, but I still hear, "How do you spell...?"
I decided that it was time to create an anchor chart for spelling expectations.  We came together as a class and reviewed different spelling resources in our classroom.  This is what my students came up with...

After creating and reviewing this chart, I provided students with a journal prompt and they were off.  Within minutes a couple of hands popped up..."How do you...?"  They stopped themselves and went to the chart.  More and more kiddos began getting out their writing folders and using our file folder word walls (by the incredible Erica Bohrer).

What do you do to encourage spelling independence?

We Have A Freebie

After 3 days of laying in bed and not being able to move from a fever, I was able to sit up and check 1 thing off of my To-Do List....a Facebook Fan Freebie!  I am so excited to finally have this up and working.  It was not easy, but thanks to a tutorial from Christi Fultz, I worked through it.

Be sure to like Searching For Teacher Balance on Facebook and grab the freebie.  I will be changing it up every so often, so check back!