Elfie Returns!

Elfie returned to our classroom today!  So excited for him to watch over us and report behavior to Santa!  Check out the note he left us...

Snowmen Graphic Organizer

I just uploaded a graphic organizer with snowmen that will be really fun for your students when comparing and contrasting and/or when making text-to-text connections! 

Use for Compare/Contrast:
When comparing and contrasting, students will determine in what ways two subjects are similar and in what ways they are different. Students will first label the two subjects on the line provided in the snowman’s scarf. Then have students write details that tell how the subjects are different in the outer circles and details that tell how the subjects are alike where the circles overlap.

Use for Text-toText Connections:
When analyzing how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. Students will first label the two texts on the line provided in the snowman’s scarf. Have students write details that tell how the texts are different in the outer circles and details that tell how the texts are alike where the circles overlap.

Snowmen Graphic Organizer includes:

- Large version for small group work or teacher modeling
- Small version for individual work

Snowmen Graphic Organizer

Compare/Contrast Common Core Standards:

Kindergarten

CCKRL9 - With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.

Grade 1

CC1RL9 - Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.

Grade 2

CC2RL9 - Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.

Grade 3

CC3RL9 - Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).

Grade 4

CC4RL6 - Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

CC4RL7 - Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.

CC4RL9 - Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.


Text-to-Text Common Core Standards:

Kindergarten

CCKRI9 - With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Grade 1

CC1RI9 - Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Grade 2

CC2RI9 - Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.

Grade 3

CC3RI9 - Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.

Grade 4

CC4RI9 - Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

Stuck inside while Hurricane Sandy makes her move outside...so I've been busy working on some fun for school!

Main Idea and Details Turkey Graphic Organizer

Check out the graphic organizer in the shape of a turkey that  will get your students thinking! Have them read a grade-level appropriate passage and work with them to name the main idea and help them to find supporting details by going back and re-reading the passage. All students will have fun identifying the main idea and supporting details from the text.  

Main Idea and Details Turkey Graphic Organizer

• Main idea turkey
• 4 Details feathers 
• 4 Blank feathers

Common core standards:

Grade 1: CC1RI2 - Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

Grade 2: CC2RI2 - dentify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Grade 3: CC3RI2 - Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Grade 4: CC4RI2 - Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Grade 5: CC5RI2 - Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details;summarize the text.

Also, a freebie fun for Halloween...some clip art!

FREEBIE! Halloween Clip Art

Thanks for reading!  And if Sandy's coming your way stay safe!

Halloween Themed Contraction Cards

Halloween Themed Contraction Cards

Halloween Themed Contraction Cards 

These cards can be used to instruct, practice and/or review contractions ‘ll, n't, 'm, 's with students. 



- Use as a matching game and have students match the contractions with their word group by flipping the cards.
- Use as flashcards in whole group or with individual students.
- Use as a partner game and have students try to make contraction pairs.


Halloween Contraction Cards includes:
11 word pair cards
11 contraction cards
Student record page

Aligns with common core standards:

Grade 1:
CC1L2 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Grade 2: 
CC2RF3- Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

CC2L2- Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

Grade 3:
CC3L2- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

ARRrrr Game with R-Controlled Vowels

So I've been busy, busy, busy at school but the anticipated Frankenstorm (Hurricane Sandy) leaves me with some time to upload what I've created for my students.

The latest is a game that can be used for instruction and review of spelling and pronunciation of words with r-controlled vowels spelled /ar/, /or/, /ore/.

Help the captain and his crew find the treasure by sorting the words with r-controlled vowels.

Students will pick a card, say the word and then sort/record the word by the r-controlled vowel and when completed correctly they will role the dice and move that many spaces.

ARRrr Game with R-Controlled Vowels

ARRrrr game with r-controlled vowels includes:

- 24 words cards with r-controlled vowels spelled /ar/, /or/, /ore/
- 6 Pirate game pieces
- Game board
- Record sheet to laminate and use with group
- Record sheet for individual student use
- Answer key

Aligns with common core standards:
Grade 1:
CC1RF3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis 
skills in decoding words.

Grade 2:
CC2RF3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis 
skills in decoding words.

Grade 3:
CC3RF3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis 
skills in decoding words.

My kiddos found it really fun!  Hope you do to:)

Castle Themed Graphics

I've been working on some castle themed graphics for a TpT request...let me know what you think!

Reading Comprehension Target Skill Posters

I've been having some fun creating some Reading Comprehension Target Skill Posters.  They  clearly identify target skills and define them in student friendly terms. Use these bright and colorful posters will encourage students to improve reading comprehension and understanding of comprehension strategies through the use of target skills.

Reading Comprehension Target Skill Posters includes:
- 11 Target Skill Posters with corresponding definitions

- Author's Purpose
- Cause and Effect
- Main Idea and Details (separate boards)
- Realism or Fantasy
- Sequence
- Setting
- Summarize
- Theme 
- Vocabulary
- Character


* These are also great to post on your focus wall or standards wall. Students will be able to identify the objective related to the common core related standard in their own words.

Get yours at my TpT store!

Reading Comprehension Target Skill Posters

Vintage Classroom Theme

I've been busy working on a TpT request and have created a vintage look to classroom signage to match up with her existing theme.  

Here's what it's looking like so far...any thoughts?!

Vintage Classroom Theme Signage

Place Value Chart

This was a bigger project to create than I thought but I think it turned out well...We'll see if I get any comments from my teacher friends :)

 Place Value Chart

The Place Value Chart is a visual aide to designed to help students understand the value of the digit based on its location in the number with colorful place value strips. Students will work with the place value to determine place value from hundred billions to hundred thousandths and to understand how to read and write numbers and decimals as well as their relative sizes. 

The Place Value Chart set includes:

- Place value headers (billions, millions, thousands, ones, decimals)
- Place value strips (hundred billions, ten billions, billions, hundred millions, ten millions, millions, hundred thousands, ten thousands, thousands, hundreds, tens, ones, tenths, hundredths, thousandths, ten thousandths, hundred thousandths)
- Number sets color coordinated with place value strips (numbers 0 - 9) 
- 3 comma cards
- 1 decimal card
- Color place value mat for students
- Black and white place value mat for students
- Blank black and white place value mat for students

Place Value Chart

Student Dismissal Tags and List

Keep the kids straight at the end of the day with dismissal tags and a class dismissal list.

Dismissal tags will make the end of the day much easier for teachers and parents. Make one tag for each child in your class and have them attach it to their book bag or for the little ones have them wear it on a lanyard and collect it as they get on the bus, in the car or turned over to a parent as a way to keep track of who's been dismissed.

Student Dismissal List

Student Dismissal Tags

Student Dismissal Tags and List includes:

- Dismissal tags are color and image coded for bus, car rider and walker. 

- 2 tags per page, just print cut in half horizontally, add student name, homeroom, bus # (for bus tags) then fold in half, laminate, hole punch at the top and insert string or lanyard.

- Dismissal list to record and post in classroom

Star Numbers Matching Game

Just added the Star Number Matching Game to my TPT store! It is aligned with common core math standards and helps students to understand the relationship between numbers, names and quantities. Students will know number names, represent and compare whole numbers using tens frames, count objects in a set to tell the number of objects and practice writing number names.

The Star Number Matching Game includes:

- Number star cards
- Number name cards
- Tens frame cards
- 2 Recording sheets 

Common Core Standard
K.CC.4. Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.

Star Numbers Matching Game

Star Number Posters with Tens Frames

I just finished creating some math posters!  I think these are really fun (!) and used stars in the tens frame. You can check them out at my TPT store.

Star Number Posters with Tens Frames

Star number posters (numbers 1-20) are a visual aide to help students understand the relationship between numbers, names and quantities.

One poster page per number. Each includes:

- The number
- Number name
- Representation of number on a tens frame

Chip It

I was just clicking through Pinterest and clicked on a hair tutorial from Kate at The Small Things Blog and then had to catch up on some of her recent blogs when I came across her post inspiration for her bathroom update.  She used a Sherwin-Williams app called Chip It! which takes an "inspiration" picture and turns it into a paint palette...

So I've had this inspiration picture I've had in my ideas folder and thought I'd Chip It! and see what colors match up.

Old Chevy Truck -  CheyAnne Sexton

So you just go to Chip It! click upload an image and....

Paint chips from inspiration image

there you have it, paint colors to match my inspiration!  How cool is that?!

PS: Definitely really fun for everyone :)

Mapping with Directions

Introduce mapping skills and practice direction words using shapes!  Students will determine direction and practice using direction words to identify relative locations and fill in the blanks using appropriate direction words.

Mapping with Directions on Teachers Pay Teachers

PS: Students will want to color it when they complete filling in the blanks.

Character Squares

Knowing about characters can help students better understand the story. Students will use the character square graphic organizer to identify character traits, illustrate a picture of how they visualize the character, identify the character's challenge (problem) and how the character faces her challenge (resolution).

Students can write the character's name on the starburst and then attach it to the center of the character square page.

Character Square on Teachers Pay Teachers!

PS: Here's what they look like...

Character Squares

Behavior Point Cards

I've used a behavior card for several students to monitor behavior areas that need some extra help.  The students really seem to buy into the point card when they own it.  When creating the point card I meet with the student to discuss and identify the behavior areas we want to work on and then we create it together on the computer.  They pick the color paper we will print it out on, we discuss the daily/weekly incentive and we talk about how to set a daily goal.


Once in place, "Point Card" becomes part of the student's morning routine.  I quickly meet with   student and we talk about the daily goal (sometimes we have to do a little bargaining).  


I just uploaded the point card and note home to my TPT store.  

Get your student behavior point card and note to send home here!

PS: The "daily goal meeting" also gives me a good idea of what kind of day this student is going to have and we can sometimes refocus and reset right then and there and make it a really good day for everyone!

Quote the Character

In Summer Enrichment we are working with students to give them a jump start on the upcoming school year.  We do this by previewing key concepts in ELA and Math.  We've been identifying and defining literary elements and we know that good readers can use them to better understand the story.  This week our focus literary element was characters.  The target skill was to "identify the characters in a story to better understand the text."  So I decided we could use the story as a reference and find where the character was speaking and then directly quote the character - AND when they ran out of direct quotes, they could infer what the character might have said, still use the quote bubbles, just no quotation marks.  I printed out pictures of the characters with their names underneath and quote bubbles.

PS: The kids thought is was fun and they really had fun making inference statements!

Bulletin Boards

Welcome bulletin board

Personti spent some time on Pinterest and came up with a layout for the welcome bulletin board.  I helped out scrunching tissue paper (not too perfectly), made some tissue paper flowers and added the "bienvenidos" for our Spanish friends.  It looks awesome and I love the border!

PS: We had really fun putting the bulletin board together :)