Fun in First

A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard

Jodi

Ready-to-Read Books

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When Simon & Schuster reached out to me wondering if I would be interested in teaming up to promote their Ready-to-Read books, I absolutely agreed.  These are some of my favorite books for not only my own children, but the students in my classroom as well.  I love that they come in different levels and are of high interests to my kids.

  • Ready-to-Read has it all, with leveled books for every young reader! Exciting nonfiction, beloved characters, and fan favorites make Ready-to-Read books the perfect choice for reluctant young readers.
  • All Ready-to-Read titles have been vetted by educational experts to adhere to the latest reading guidelines, and each level is designed to help children confidently grasp new reading concepts. Every title utilizes concepts such as sight words, shorter lengths, word families, rhyming, and contains a guide at the beginning of each book to prepare children for the story ahead. Fun reading comprehension questions at the end of each story help children to re-engage with the text and better understand it.
  • With fun “Star” levels, kids and parents can utilize the easy to understand system to bolster confidence as they move through the levels at their own pace.
  • Ready-to-Read brings the focus back to fun while still offering parents and educators well crafted, imaginative stories and engaging nonfiction. Beloved characters from authors like Doreen Cronin and Eric Carle will delight fans of traditional picture books. Stories from fan favorites like Daniel Tiger, the PJ Masks, and the Peanuts will get kids excited to read about their adventures. Unique and accessible nonfiction series such as “You Should Meet,” and “Living In…” explore the influential people in our world, and take readers around the globe to read about different cultures.

Ready-to-Read has something for everyone, and even reluctant readers will enjoy the easy format and fun stories.I personally love the nonfiction stories.  It can be challenging at times to find engaging nonfiction text written at a level meant for younger kids.  The Ready-to-Read series has a great selection of science and social studies topics.  Make sure to check out their website to see all of the book titles.

Discussion Questions

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One of my favorite parts of the day is our morning meeting time.  We take some time to chat with each other before starting our day.  One thing that I have used for the past couple of years, that I have no plans of giving up anytime soon, are Daily Discussion Questions.  The students always look forward to them and never let me miss a day.

These question cards will allow your students to work on higher order thinking skills as they use critical thinking and problem solving skills to discuss their answers. This packet includes 200 different questions that are perfect for classroom discussions. I use these every day during our Morning Meeting, but they are also perfect to place on a metal ring and use when we find ourselves with a couple of extra minutes. These higher order thinking questions will help your students to develop their oral language skills.

Having discussions with your students and teaching them how to communicate others is such an important skill.  It allows you to stimulate critical thinking, while also working on listening skills.  You can demonstrate to each student that you appreciate their contributions made to the classroom discussion.  Over time, this helps them to build confidence and become more articulate while speaking.

These question cards allow your students to work on higher order thinking skills as they use critical thinking and problem solving skills to discuss their answers. This packet includes 200 different questions that are perfect for classroom discussions. I use these every day during our Morning Meeting, but they are also perfect to place on a metal ring and use during those extra minutes during a day or in a writing center. These higher order thinking questions also help your students develop their oral language skills.

These question cards will allow your students to work on higher order thinking skills as they use critical thinking and problem solving skills to discuss their answers. This packet includes 200 different questions that are perfect for classroom discussions. I use these every day during our Morning Meeting, but they are also perfect to place on a metal ring and use when we find ourselves with a couple of extra minutes. These higher order thinking questions will help your students to develop their oral language skills.

These questions range from simple “Would you rather” type questions to more in depth questions that lead to wonderful discussions.  Plus, some mornings, they are just downright funny!  The one above definitely led to some hilarious answers, but it definitely gives you an insight into how children think about the world around them.

I have two sets of 100 Discussion cards, but I also have a bundle that includes all 200 Discussion Question Cards.  You can find the bundle by clicking HERE to head on over to my store.

Remember to pin the image below to save this idea for later or to share with a colleague.

Writing Mini-Lessons for the Entire Year

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When you hear writing instruction, do you want to pull your hair out, or do you get excited?  Let me be honest.  For way too many years, I wanted to pull my hair out.  It wasn’t necessarily because I didn’t enjoy teaching writing.  It was because I was overwhelmed with the task at hand, and I had no idea where to start.  I knew that writing mini-lessons were the way to go because my students needed to spend the majority of their writing block actually writing.  Not listening to me talk.  Even though I knew that I needed to do writing mini-lessons, I still felt overwhelmed.  Which skills should I focus on and when?  Was I hitting everything that my 1st graders needed?  Over the past couple of years, I have began piecing together a writing curriculum using mini-lessons for my students.  It took me awhile to get it just right, but I am THRILLED with the results.

Teaching writing in small mini-lessons makes writing instruction more attainable and gives students more time to spend during their writing block, actually writing. These mini-lessons for the ENTIRE YEAR take the guesswork out of what to teach each day in writing.

These writing mini-lessons are grouped into months and can be projected for your students as you go through a lesson each day.  Simply open the file, and click onto the day’s lesson.  Each lesson takes 5-10 minutes max.  Then, the remainder of the time is spent on practicing their writing craft using what they have learned from that day’s lesson.  Students will not become better writers by listening to a long writing lesson.  They HAVE to be writing, so I wanted these to be short and sweet with a very clear focus.

Teaching writing in small mini-lessons makes writing instruction more attainable and gives students more time to spend during their writing block, actually writing. These mini-lessons for the ENTIRE YEAR take the guesswork out of what to teach each day in writing.

 

Where do students write?

This file also includes monthly journals that can be printed for your students to use that follow along with each mini-lesson for the month.  The lessons themselves all start with a “We can” statement.  The journal pages contain an “I can” statement to show their writing focus for that lesson.  This format also allows me to stay focused when I am analyzing their writing.  I am definitely guilty of looking at a piece of writing and trying to fix it ALL.  These “I can” statements allow me to focus ONLY on that particular writing lesson objective.

Teaching writing in small mini-lessons makes writing instruction more attainable and gives students more time to spend during their writing block, actually writing. These mini-lessons for the ENTIRE YEAR take the guesswork out of what to teach each day in writing.

As of right now, this is a GROWING BUNDLE of writing mini-lessons.  When it is completed, it will include 180 mini-lessons for your entire year of writing instruction.  As I complete each month, I will add it to the bundle, so you can redownload the update.  These truly have been a GAME CHANGER in my classroom.  I no longer dread writing time.  I look forward to it because I know exactly what I will be teaching and looking for in their writing for that day.  Take a closer look in the video below.

If you need to make your life easier when it comes to writing instruction, click the picture below to learn more.

Teaching writing in small mini-lessons makes writing instruction more attainable and gives students more time to spend during their writing block, actually writing. These mini-lessons for the ENTIRE YEAR take the guesswork out of what to teach each day in writing.

Editable Word Work Activities

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Word Work is such an important skill to practice in the primary classroom.  Word Work, or word study, is often considered “spelling practice” in classrooms.  While word study does involve learning to spell words, it is not your traditional spelling practice of simply memorizing words for a spelling test.  Word Work involves learning the patterns and meanings behind our written language.  Whether or not you do “spelling” in your classroom is up to you and your school district.  My district uses spelling words and gives spelling tests.  My goal is to make them the most useful for my students.  Instead of focusing on memorizing the spelling words each week, and then forgetting them right away, I want my students to understand the patterns in our spelling words.  Our spelling words are related to our phonics skill for the week, plus a couple of high frequency words.  We practice these words during our independent Word Work stations, in our whole group instruction, and small group instruction.  I created these Editable Word Work activities to use each week with my students.

Word Work is such an important skill to practice in the primary classroom. These Word Work Activities allow you to use ANY words that you would like for your students to practice. Your students can practice spelling words, sight words, or word families. The possibilities are endless. Simply type in your list of words and 12 Word Work Activites are automatically generated for you to use in whole group, small groups, independent word work centers, or homework.

These Word Work Activities allow you to use ANY words that you would like for your students to practice. Your students can practice spelling words, sight words, or word families. The possibilities are endless. Simply type in your list of words and 12 Word Work Activities are automatically generated for you to use in whole group, small groups, independent word work centers, or homework.  See how it works in the video below.

What are the Editable Word Work activities that are included?

There are 12 Word Work activities that can be used with 10 words and 12 of the same activities that can be used with 5 words. This allows for easy differentiation for your students who are not ready to work with more than 5 words at a time.  You will find the following activities:
•Rainbow Write
•ABC Order
•Spin & Write
•Writing Sentences
•Using Different Tools
•Roll & Color
•Pyramid Writing
•Wiggle Writing
•Roll & Write
•Roll & Read
•Tic Tac Toe
•Secret Code Words
•Flash Cards

“This is a brilliant idea!! Type the list once and instantly get 12 differentiated activities. I can’t wait to use this in my classroom. This has to be one of my all time favorite downloads.” -Darlene

 

Word Work is such an important skill to practice in the primary classroom. These Word Work Activities allow you to use ANY words that you would like for your students to practice. Your students can practice spelling words, sight words, or word families. The possibilities are endless. Simply type in your list of words and 12 Word Work Activites are automatically generated for you to use in whole group, small groups, independent word work centers, or homework.

This is truly a huge time saver in my classroom because I can use any list that I want to use for my students.  It is easy to differentiate for my students to work on sight words, word families, or spelling words.  I also included activities that can be used with 10 or 5 words, which allows me to cut my word list in half for struggling students.

You can learn more about these Editable Word Work activities by clicking on the picture below.

Word Work is such an important skill to practice in the primary classroom. These Word Work Activities allow you to use ANY words that you would like for your students to practice. Your students can practice spelling words, sight words, or word families. The possibilities are endless. Simply type in your list of words and 12 Word Work Activites are automatically generated for you to use in whole group, small groups, independent word work centers, or homework.

 

Back to School Challenge

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The beginning of the school year is always exciting.  New supplies, new students, new opportunities to try something new.  However, it’s also stressful.  The first couple of weeks always end up being a blur.  One of the most important things that I want to accomplish during those first couple weeks of school is a sense of community.  I think it is so important to teach students how to work together successfully.  We do a lot of group work during the year, so they need to learn early how to cooperate with each other.  My classroom challenges provide the perfect opportunity for students to work together to complete academic challenges and earn rewards together.

Do you need a fun, engaging, and academic activity for your class to complete anytime during the Back to School season? The Back to School Challenge is your answer. Your class will compete in small groups to complete 10 academic challenges. After each challenge, the class will open a Challenge Ticket envelope and solve the code word. The first team to solve all 10 code words is the winning team. Letter sounds, missing numbers, counting, rhyming, and more.

What is the Back to School Challenge?

The Back to School Challenge includes 10 academic based challenges for the students to complete in small groups of 3-5 students.  After each group completes one of the challenges, that group earns a Challenge Ticket.  The Challenge Ticket includes a coded mystery word that the group must solve using the decoder page.  The first group to complete all 10 challenges (or however many you decide to use) is the winning group.  You can decide if there will be a prize for each group or not.  I usually hand out something little after each group is finished. (pencils, seasonal erasers, candy, stickers, …)

Do you need a fun, engaging, and academic activity for your class to complete anytime during the Back to School season? The Back to School Challenge is your answer. Your class will compete in small groups to complete 10 academic challenges. After each challenge, the class will open a Challenge Ticket envelope and solve the code word. The first team to solve all 10 code words is the winning team.

Each challenge has a picture on the top left of the page.  This picture matches a picture on the Challenge Ticket.  This makes organization of this project very easy.  The academic skills that are included in this challenge include:

-Lowercase Letters
-Numbers or Letters
-Missing Numbers
-Rhyming Words
-Counting
-Beginning Letter Sounds
-Number Order
-Fixing Sentences
-Graphing
-Illustrating Sentences

“I bought your 100th day challenge last year and it was a big hit with the kids! I’m excited to introduce this to my new group of kids the first week of school. I think it will be a great way to promote team-building and cooperation skills, while also reviewing things that they should know from kindergarten.” -Beth

If you love this challenge, you may also want to check out my other Classroom Challenges including The Christmas Challenge, Valentine’s Day Challenge, Spring Challenge, and more.

Do you need a fun, engaging, and academic activity for your class to complete anytime during the Back to School season? The Back to School Challenge is your answer. Your class will compete in small groups to complete 10 academic challenges. After each challenge, the class will open a Challenge Ticket envelope and solve the code word. The first team to solve all 10 code words is the winning team. Letter sounds, missing numbers, counting, rhyming, and more.

Back to School Must Haves

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Every year, a couple of weeks before school starts, I start purchasing things that I need for the school year.  I always seem to find myself wracking my brain to try and remember everything that I need to get.  I decided to make a list of items that I buy EVERY SINGLE YEAR before the school year begins, so I can make sure that I have everything I need.  This list includes all of my must-have back to school items.  I am not including those items that you buy once every couple of years or a new expensive item for your classroom.  I am talking about the consumable items that have to be purchased every year.

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.

1. Crayons, crayons, and more crayons

You can never have enough crayons.  I feel like my students must be eating crayons each year.  They always bring their own at the beginning of the year, but most of those are gone by the second week of school.  I always provide crayons in baskets in my classroom, but I am constantly adding more to the tubs.  I usually stock up on the cheap crayon boxes at Walmart during back to school time (ALWAYS Crayola), but if I have to buy them later on in the year, I found that buying a large bulk box on Amazon was cheaper.

2. Glue Sticks

Glue sticks are another item that somehow disappear in no time.  You can never have too many glue sticks.

3. Folders

I always get folders before the school year starts.  I purchase red ones to use as Ketchup folders.  (Students keep these in their desk to place work in that they need to “catch up” on.)  I also love these Resource Folders from Really Good Stuff.

4. Mr. Sketch Markers

I get a new pack of Mr. Sketch Markers every single year.  They last the entire year and are perfect for anchor charts.

5. Chart Paper

I go through at least one tablet of chart paper each year for anchor charts, interactive writing, etc.

6. Astrobrights Paper

I seriously use Astrobrights paper for everything.  I love the colors, and I love the quality.

This Interactive Practice Folder is perfect for early finishers. Students can practice sight words, vocabulary, math facts, phonics skills, and more.

Find this Interactive Practice Folder in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

7. Sticky Putty

All of the walls in my classroom are cinder block.  This definitely makes hanging things harder.  I have found that Sticky Putty seems to work the best for keeping things up.  There are still times when I come into my classroom after the weekend, and I have to pick things up off the floor, but it isn’t nearly as often if they are hung up with Sticky Putty.

8. Name Badges

I love having name badges for my students.  These are great for the beginning of the year when they are still learning their lunch numbers.  They are also great for subs and/or field trips.

9. Pencils

If you’re a teacher, you know how quickly students can go through pencils.  Ticonderoga pencils are definitely the easiest to sharpen and are my go-to pencil choice.

10. Hand Sanitizer

I always purchase the gigantic hand sanitizer container from Sam’s for my classroom.  There is a lot of sneezing, nose picking, and shoe tying in 1st grade.

What are your Back to School Must-Haves?

Are you new to 1st grade or do you just need some new and fresh ideas for Back to School?  Check out my go-to for the first week of school.

Everything you need for the first week of 1st grade. Lesson plans, activities, forms, letters, and more.