Worry No More...Free First Week Assessments

t's August!

The month when school resumes.

The month when summer is over.

The month when littles come to us and we have NO idea what they know.

We need to know how to meet each and every one of them on their level and get at it quick!

Today I am sharing with you a collection of back to school simple daily assessments for the 1st week.

This packet contains all the assessments you need to figure out what your littles are capable of.

Included are the following:
*I Can...draw a picture of me.
*I Can...write my name.
*I Can...write my alphabet.
*I Can...match uppercase and lowercase letters.
*I Can...hear beginning sounds.
*I Can...write my numbers.
*I Can...can the objects.

My recommendation is to knock out one or two a day that first week, before you even begin to teach anything at all. 

You can grab it HERE in my TpT store or by clicking on the cover below!

Check out my TpT Store for even more freebies I didn't have the chance to share OR just click on the freebies tab at the top of my blog page!

PB&J Partners

Need any easy management tool for when you use "turn and talk" in your classroom?

PB&J partners are a great way for your students to know exactly who to talk to during a discussion.

Click on the picture above to download it for FREE! 

Tracking Class Dojo Behavior

W O A H.

It's been a hot minute since I've posted. 

Now that I'm officially over the mid point of summer, I've started thinking about the new school year.

On my mind lately has been how to update my behavior system in my classroom.

So let's talk behavior management.

Over the past six years I've tried many different things.

I started with the clip chart. Hated how the same kids always moved their clip...never making a difference. Visual smisual. Didn't work. Same kids always visited the treasure chest blah blah.

OVER IT. 

So I came up with a ticket and folder system. Students earned different value tickets for daily behavior. They saved the tickets and cashed them in on Friday's. Much better than a clip chart and treasure chest but still hasn't been doing it for me. The "put your folder on my desk so I can sign it" was doing nothing.

OVER IT.

I decided to try something completely new this year. Class Dojo. I've had a few coworkers try it and LOVE it.  They praise how involved the parents are in communication to their child's daily behavior. So this year we are giving it a try. 

I decided I wanted kids and parents talking about their behavior daily, whether it be good or bad. Here is the freebie that came out of my vision.

Each student has a folder they take home. In it they will keep a Dojo Behavior tracking chart.

Each night, they will discuss their points earned and record them on this tracking chart.

I have set a goal for them to obtain 12 points by the end of the week.

Here is a parent letter I am going to send home explaining the point "system".

If they reach their goal of 12 points by Friday, they will get to pick a pass.

{Passes are in the works and will be released in my TpT store soon!}

Students will also have the ability to reach a long term goal of obtaining 100 points! On Friday, we will spend 5 minutes of our time coloring in our weekly points on this tracking chart. 

Once students have hit their 100 points, they will get to pick an "exclusive" 100 point pass!

Have you used Class Dojo? Do you have any ideas, pointers, cautions?

Please share below, I'd be happy to hear from you.

Don't forget to grab the freebie which includes all the examples from this post by clicking -----> HERE

End of Year Gift Ideas and FREE Tags!

Are you trying to put together some quick and easy end of year gifts?

Need a cute gift tag to attach to your gift?

I've got you covered.

Included in this freebie are gift tags for parent volunteers, classroom helpers, substitute teachers, staff or team members. Please click on the picture below to be taken to my TpT store to download.

But don't leave yet, here are ways I have used the sayings included on the tags in gifts I have given out in the past. 

[Note: They are not the same gift tags as the ones included in the product. Pictures are from years past]

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ORANGE YOU GLAD IT'S ALMOST SUMMER!?

Grab anything ORANGE (lip gloss, gum, Sunkist drink, etc.) and attach the tag.

This is my go to last week gift for my team just to help get us through to the end!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR THYME AND HELP, IT MINT SO MUCH!

I went to Walmart and found pots, packages of Thyme and a package of mints. I glued ribbon around the pot and stuck everything inside. I used this as a gift for my parent volunteers and room moms.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELPING HANDS

In the past, I have attached a similar tag to a bottle of hand soap or sanitizer from Bath and Body Works and given it to my classroom volunteers who help out throughout the year. 

THANKS FOR ALWAYS GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY TO BE AN AMAZING SUB

You know there are those subs that make sub plans and being out that much easier.

Thank them for helping you out this year by attaching the tag to a subway gift card.

Happy gifting and end of the year!

#youareawesome

Grab the Egg FREEBIE

If your kids are still talking about hunting eggs then I've got another freebie for you!

I mean, who gets tired of egg hunts anyways!?

So if you still have a bucket of eggs laying around, grab them and fill them!

First find this FREE activity in my TpT store!

Second, fill the eggs with the double digit addition and subtraction problems. 

Next, hide the eggs and unleash the hunters.

Last, have them open the egg, solve the problem and record it on the included recording sheet.

You can used this as practice or a pre/post assessment.

In case you missed my last post, it had A N O T H E R free egg hunt activity.

Find it HERE!

Got Eggs? Turn them into a Game with this FREEBIE!

Do you have a few extra eggs floating around your room now that Easter is over?

Great! That's all you need to throw together this quick and easy grammar review game.

I'm sure your kids have perfected their egg hunt strategies and will love this activity.

First you will need to download this FREEBIE <------click here

Then you will need to find 3 buckets/baskets/cups (whatever you have) and label them: noun/verb/adjective

Cut out each word and stuff it inside an egg.

Hide the eggs around your room.

Students will have to find one egg, open it and read the word inside.

Gather together as a class once everyone has found an egg and read their word.

Students will take turn reading their word and placing it into the correct "Easter basket".

If their word is a noun...it goes in the noun basket.

If their word is a verb....it goes in the verb basket.

If their word is an adjective...it goes in the adjective basket. 

We are going to use this as a review before we take an assessment for report cards.

I have also attached the assessment if you would like to use it as well.

Hope you have some hippity-hoppity fun!

This Week in Phonics, OUCH and a FREEBIE!

I love when learning lends itself to cute little memory tricks like this one we learned last week.

In phonics, we learned about the sound 'OU' and called them our "ouch words".

I was astonished at all the words they came up with....on their own...on day 1!

We recorded our brainstorm on a band-aid anchor chart to anchor our learning.

I found a cute poem in Shel Silverstein's book of poems called Band-Aids.

Precious poem that talks about a boy who uses band-aids just because he likes them.

We wrote down why we use band-aids on our 'What Makes You Say OUCH!' paper.

**Download this for FREE {HERE}**

The following day, I had them choose 4 things from their paper that made them say ouch, and we turned them into an 'OUCH' poem...the the shape of a band-aid of course!

To top of our week of OU words, students will go on a word search with the books in their book box and find as many words as they can that follow the phonics pattern. 

This helps me to understand who grasped the phonics pattern and who doesn't.

Students who find words such as "should, could, would, trouble" obviously need a re-teach.
I'm hoping all the connections made to the real world really anchored their learning!

Up Feet, Down Feet, Antonym Feet FREE Lesson

How do feet and antonyms collide you might ask?

Easily, just ask Dr. Seuss!

Left foot, right foot.

Wet foot, dry foot.

Low foot, high foot.

Are you catching my drift? This book is a fabulous introduction for teaching antonyms!

After reading, we make a class anchor chart for antonyms.

(Sorry for the glare. Chart is laminated so I can reuse again next year!)

After making our chart, I took out the 24 feet, each with an antonym written on it and laid them around the room. I must have really confused my kiddos because I got "Why are you putting out bananas?".

Yeah, they may look a little like bananas!

Each student had to pick up one foot, read the word, and find the other student who had a match to make a pair of antonyms.

If you would like to add this activity to your grammar collection, head on over to my TPT store.

I have put it together as a FREEBIE for you!

We also made a bigger than life size feet anchor chart for our learning.

So we took it a *step* further (pun IS intended) by tracing our feet.

Each pair of feet will have a pair of antonyms.

I have a feeling that won't hardly forget antonyms!

Winter Reading Challenge Freebie

Different years bring different groups of learners.

Let's just say this year my firsties need a little bit more practicing reading.

I feel consistency is one key to success so I wanted to find a way to encourage them to read over our two week winter break. I searched TpT and found a very cute challenge already created....a time saver during all of  the Christmas madness that ensued before the break! I knew it probably wasn't very motivating, especially during the exciting season we were in.

I knew I had to create a "reward" their hard work over the break so I may have bribed them by mentioning those who turned in the reading challenge when we returned would receive a prize!

What 7 year old during Christmas time isn't thinking prizes are the best thing ever...exactly!

The challenge was to fill up a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Each marshmallow was a different reading challenge for that particular day. If they brought it back filled up here is what they will get:

Time to make a S'more to go with their mug of hot chocolate!

You can find the Winter Reading Challenge HERE from More than a Worksheet.

AND

You can find my printable FREEBIE in my store HERE!

Light Up the Holidays (FREE Craft)

We are ready to light up the next 3 weeks of fun and learning!

There are so many fun activities planned BUT we still have a LOT of learning to do in first grade.

One of my favorite things to do at home and in my classroom is decorate!

These lights add the perfect touch of "Hello Holiday Season"!

You can call them 'Christmas Lights' or 'Holiday Lights' depending on what your district allows ; )

They will add the perfect touch of holiday cheer to your classroom!

This craft is so versatile and can be made to fit any subject matter.

Here is an example of what I have done with my classes in the past.

Other Examples Include:

singular/plural nouns

noun/adjective to describe

numeral/facts

numeral/expanded form

numeral/draw tens and ones

Stop by my TpT store to grab this craft for FREE or click on the cover photo below!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Voting in the Classroom Election Freebie

It's election season, even though I'm not exactly thrilled. 

But what I am thrilled about is this FREEBIE I'm sharing with you!

Let's teach our students the importance of voting and give them the opportunity to do so in the classroom.

There are several great books that accompany this freebie. 

Grace for President

My Teacher for President

Duck for President

We read all 3 books throughout the week.

We also learn about the actual presidential election and events that take place to help candidates get elected. 

We talk about all things election: campaigning, registering, ballots, debates, etc.

Some of those things we actually do in the classroom as well.

We madk our campaign posters after reading Grace for President.

We hold our election after Reading Duck for President.

Once student are well aware of the many jobs of the president, we hold an actual class election.

Step 1: hang campaign posters around the room

Step 2: make voter registration cards

Step 3: vote!

Step 4: count votes and make pictograph

Step 5: declare a winner, graph results and tabulate data

We also incorporated writing into this day of fun.

After I was declared the official winner {what can I say--they LOVE me}, we pretended they were chosen as the president!

"I would play with my dog. Sign bills. I would make laws and rules to help people." 

Let me just say that I packed a lot into their little brains and LOTS of it stuck!

Not to mention it is always tons of fun!

Don't forget to snag this freebie with most of the templates seen on this post in my TpT store!