What's Your Mental Image?

Our brains are really interesting things!

They are vastly different and very powerful.

Awhile back, I wanted to show my kiddos how different we all think.

I was introducing mental image and wanted them to visually see what I was referring to when I said "When we read, we see pictures in our brains, but they are all very different."

I gave each student a blank piece of paper and told them to draw and color a cat.

Here were their pictures.

There were no two alike.

It was a great way for them to see how their friends think as well. 

Here are several books I read to my kiddos to help them practice visualizing their mental images.

A Bad Case of the Stripes

The Salamander Room

I Need my Monster

Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Snowball

Normally we record them on a response page.

You can get this page from my Reader's Response to Literature pack in my TpT store. 

This is a great foundational lesson that can be used as reference all throughout the  year!

A Quick Look at President's Day

Whew!

I tend to forget how BUSY the month of February can get!

It's jam packked...but then again what month doesn't feel that way by the time it is over? 

Besides Valentine's Day, February also brings us President's Day.  

I find my students are more fascinated with non-fiction than anything else I teach. 

 There is just something about it that totally tunes them in!

 I put together a little packet to go along with our week long President's celebration.

  If you were able to check out my MLK unit and enjoyed it, then this will be right up your alley as it is fairly similar.

 

This mini-unit is the perfect way to teach all about Washington, Lincoln, and President's Day in just a few days! All you need is a non-fiction book to accompany the pages in this unit and you are set!

Here is what the unit includes:

 

*Who Was Washington? {describing graphic organizer}
*Washington was/had/wanted facts organizer
*Washington 3 facts and a fib {students produce & record 3 facts and a fib)

*Who Was Lincoln? {describing graphic organizer}
*Lincoln was/had/wanted facts organizer
*Lincoln 3 facts and a fib {students produce & record 3 facts and a fib)
*Comparing Washington and Lincoln! {Venn diagram}
*The President's: Fact or Not so Much {cut and paste fact activity}
*If I Were President... {creative writing prompt}
*President's Day ABC order

 

 

It is now available in my TPT store and will be on sale this weekend!

FREE Tips and Tricks for Managing All Kinds of Behavior

Do you ever feel your patience may become a little more strectched this time of year?

You're dealing with the same kids, but yet they seem a little different, right?

If you said yes, I think we may be in the same boat!

One thing I learned at the I Teach 1st SDE conference is to switch things up...and OFTEN!

It seems so simple and was quite a "DUH moment" for me. 

Seriously, why didn't I think of that...geez.

 #teacherfail

Thankful there's a Cara Carroll in this world to save my teacher butt sometimes : )

Her ideas were on point and I knew I had to implement them asap! So I did!

Here are 3 ideas for managing individual, table or team and whole group behavior.

And good news for you, I've put these printables in my TpT store for FREE!

 

If you're thinking about changing things up, find these free printables in my TpT store HERE.

A Teacher's Dream: SDE I Teach 1st

5 years ago, I was getting my first job and classroom.
5 years ago I had absolutely no idea where to start!
5 years ago I started reading teacher blogs in search of tips, advice, and help on getting started.

For 5 years now, I have learned more than I ever did in college about being the teacher I need to be for my kids. Not from a textbook, not from research, but from experienced teachers who generously share their ideas/ups/downs/struggles and successes.

To say that I was EXCITED to go to the SDE I Teach 1st conference to meet some of these fabulous inspirations is an understatement!

I was beyond overjoyed to get to experience this with 3 of my fabulous team mates!

We headed to the ATX on Sunday for a little bit of girl time and bonding before hand.

We were up and at it early the next morning. We figured the lobby would be packed with teachers registering but, much to our surprise we were definitely overachievers and the first ones there...an hour early! That means...1st row baby!

Our first day, we heard from Reagan Tunstall from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits.
Her ideas and passion for math have totally transformed my math block.
So glad I finally took the plunge this year, thanks Reagan!
I've gone from teaching math from a textbook to teaching math similar to reading.
Here's an old post about how I took her advice to change the way I teach math.
It was amazing to hear her talk about it in person!

I spent the night talking to a sweet new friend, Marcy from Saddle Up for 2nd Grade.
Social media is a great way to connect with teachers who are just as passionate as you are!
Love that we have so many things in common.
I know that she totally rocked her sessions, even though I didn't get to see her in action.

Let's just say this girl has been on my radar for awhile.

Jessica from Wild About Firsties.

Her blog is something fierce and I LOVE her ideas and all her fabulous freebies!

She gave me some great ideas for number sense and my kiddos are loving it already!

I feel like I've known this last blogger for awhile now, even though this was our first time meeting.

I've been reading her blog, for 5 years, since the minute I found out I got my first teaching job.

She was (and still is) my inspiration.

Cara blogs over at The First Grade Parade.

She is brilliant. I attended 3 of her sessions and have never taken so much away from a speaker.

I feel so motivated, rejuvenated, and inspired to give my kids the best learning.
Totally in teacher heaven!!!!
The ladies are THE BEST mentors a teacher could have!
Love each of y'all!

Do Ducks Help Crazy Behavior?!?!

I know my kiddos truly are sweet...deep down inside.

But holidays, parties, crazy schedules can bring out their arch rival nemesis selves! 

Such as the month of Valentine's day (or so it seems).

So what do I do to keep them their sweet little selves? 

Call in the ducks.

Yes, call in the ducks!

 

Not only was it the VERY first thing they noticed when they walked in this morning (they are like hawks I tell you) but that was the very first question out of their mouth.

"Why are their ducks on your desk?"

 

Here was my game plan.

Whenever the ducks (aka the teacher) saw someone who was on task any time throughout the day and making good choices, that duck would come join them at their desk. The duck could move back to my desk at any time, or to another friend's desk if they were making even better choices.

 

The best part...if the duck was on your desk at the end of the day, you get candy from the candy jar

AND

you get a "super student" ticket for the day!

 

{If you want to learn more about my ticket system click HERE.}

 

It seemed to work like a charm today. As we ease closer to Valentine's day, I'm hoping the idea will withhold its magical powers.

 

Who ever knew spending $1 on ducks at Target could be such a brilliant idea!

Responding to Literature: Ideas and Book Responses for Teaching Reading Comprehension

Do you ever struggle getting your students to respond to books you read to teach comprehension?

Often do you wonder, "are they really getting it"?

When I am explicitly teaching about comprehension such as connections, schema, plot, etc., I use the vocabulary that teachers may think of as "scary" or "intimidating" for their students. 

Sometimes we think, "wait a minute, that word is way to big for me to use in my teaching dialogue with my 6 and 7 year olds!"

WRONG

My first graders use those big words, WHY...because they hear me use those BIG words.

Daily I hear my students using language such as this:

"I have a connection. This reminds me of a time....."

"I am using text clues to infer that..."

"In my schema..."

"I predict..."

We know that kids mimic what we say starting at a very young age.

If you are using "teacher talk" in your lessons, your  kids eventually will too!

Not only will they use they language, they will understand it and be able to write their thinking down as well! We all want our readers to be thinkers!

Here are some example books I use to teach my students comprehension strategies and the response pages they use to write about their thinking after we read the book.

Text to Text Connections

The Art Lesson

Patches Lost and Found

Text to Self Connections

The Relatives Came

Too Many Toys

Sequencing (Beginning-Middle-End)

Caps for Sale

Harry the Dirty Dog

Strega Nona

Comparing 

The Little Red Elf----Little Red Hot

Goldilocks----Goatilocks

Predicting

Green Wilma

Dory Story

Inferences

Two Bad Ants

Duck on a Bike

Main Idea

Click, Clack, Moo

Giggle, Giggle, Quack

Earlier this year we read the story Patches Lost and Found.

I had my students make 2 connections to the story. As they listened to me read, instead of raising their hand to share, they recorded their thinking on a sticky note.

{find the printable anchor chart seen HERE}

I love hearing my students thinking this time of year. They have seen me model enough to embrace and share their thoughts and such great conversations come from it!

You can find the reader's response sheets in the pictures above in my Reader's Response to Literature pack in my TpT store.

A Game of Contraction Toss

Who's kids love to get up and moving?

I know mine do and boy do they need it. We require them to sit, listen, be quiet, whisper.

Lord knows sometimes it's okay to make a little noise when learning!

We have been tuned into contractions the past few weeks. 

Here is a fun way to review or even assess your students.

Prep is easy: paper, marker and something to throw (we used a bean bag).

Each student had the chance to toss the bean bag onto the paper. 

They were to read their contraction and tell us the two words that made it.

They then chose a friend.

From this activity, I could pretty much tell who my strugglers were.

My other firsties listened intently and helped their friends when needed. 

This game is SUPER versatile and could be used across any content area:

compound words

categorizing nouns/verbs/adjectives

phonics/word families

rhyming words (read and generate)

fact fluency

This may just become a staple game in our classroom!