Click here to download this file.
Sep 30, 2011
Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe Activities
I have just finished creating monthly Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe activity sheets for October and November. This will be a new addition to the homework routine for my first grade CREW. I can't wait to see how creative they get with it! What great ideas do you have for practicing student spelling at home?
Sep 19, 2011
Imagine It Unit 2.6-2.10 ADDED
If you are a first grade SRA Imagine It user, I wanted to let you know that I have just updated my Unit 2 posting. The files for lessons 6-10 have now been added and lessons 11-15 will follow in the next day or two... So be on the look out! I hope you find these useful.
Sep 18, 2011
Open Court Imagine It! Unit 2 Support Materials
Getting ready for "Back to School Night" and "Talk Like a Pirate Day" have put me a bit behind of where I would like to be with materials preparation for Unit 2 of our SRA Imagine It reading and language arts program. At this point I am only prepared for this week, but just in case anyone else was waiting on these, I am going to include what I have so far for Unit 2. Take a look!
Click on the links below to get a FREE copy of the files.
Unit 2 Lessons 6-10 Files
Click on the links below to get a FREE copy of these files.
Click on the links below to get a FREE copy of these files.
Sep 16, 2011
Super Sentences
One way to get students to use more complex sentences when writing and make sure they grasp the concept of who, what, when, where, why, or how is to teach them to write SUPER SENTENCES. Begin by developing super sentences as a whole group. Once students have had several opportunities to practice with you, move on to small group or partners. You may even want to make it a competition to see which group can craft the most creative and grammatically correct SUPER sentence. You will be surprised how quickly they ALL catch on and are ready to write their very own complex super sentences.
I created this 16 page Super Sentence pack to help you do just that! Sample pages are shown below.
Click here to download for FREE.
Click here to download for FREE.
Enjoy!
Sep 13, 2011
Back to School Night Template
In any case, my teaching partner, who by the way is totally FABULOUS, shared her ABCs of First Grade handout with me...which I loved. I am guessing many of you use a similar type handout as I saw several variations all over the Internet - both on classroom websites and teacher blogs, especially at the primary level. So, I thought, "Why not create a presentation that matched up. " So, once again I got right to work!
The template is now complete and available in my TPT store.
Enjoy and Happy Teaching!
Sep 12, 2011
-ack, -ick, -ock Word Sort
Our spelling words for next week all end in _ck so I thought I would create a word sort to help the students identify similarities and differences between the words by completing an _ack, _ick, _ock Word Sort during workshop. I included all of the spelling words they will be responsible to learn and then added in several others to provide a challenge for my advanced learners that are able to decode words with blends.
Enjoy!
Click here to go to my TPT store where it is offered for FREE.
Click here to go to my TPT store where it is offered for FREE.
Sep 11, 2011
What a Difference a Day Makes!
We have all heard the saying "What a difference a day makes!" Well, today was one of those days.
Thanks to Kinderglynn for blogging about my blog yesterday, I went from 22 followers to more than 80 in just 24 hours! I am still in disbelief! Then, one fabulous comment after another came pouring in... My "bucket" is simply overflowing! Thank you to Tanya at First Grade is Fantabulous, Ms. Martin at Peace, Love, and First Grade, Trisha, Nichole, and Scrappin Shana at Starting From Scrap for their kind, kind words about my blog!
I am thrilled you have all found Sailing Through 1st Grade and will be able to use some of the resources I have created in your own classrooms. I am certainly building a fabulous electronic library of games, printables, projects, management tools, and creative teaching ideas from all of you! So... I am glad that I am able to give back in some small way for all you are "teaching" and "giving" to me as I begin my first year with first graders.
RULE 1
Thank you again to:
2. I make a mean Portuguese stew, thanks to my Grandma who passed on her family recipe.
3. When I was going to college, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with computers! They scared me!
4. It took me almost 37 years to find "Mr. Right" and get married. It was worth the wait!
5. I love to go country-western dancing...unfortunately, Mr. Right doesn't.
6. I planned my entire wedding in one day... of course it took one additional day to find the dress.
7. My favorite color is yellow, that's probably why I love Sunflowers so much!
Thanks to Kinderglynn for blogging about my blog yesterday, I went from 22 followers to more than 80 in just 24 hours! I am still in disbelief! Then, one fabulous comment after another came pouring in... My "bucket" is simply overflowing! Thank you to Tanya at First Grade is Fantabulous, Ms. Martin at Peace, Love, and First Grade, Trisha, Nichole, and Scrappin Shana at Starting From Scrap for their kind, kind words about my blog!
I am thrilled you have all found Sailing Through 1st Grade and will be able to use some of the resources I have created in your own classrooms. I am certainly building a fabulous electronic library of games, printables, projects, management tools, and creative teaching ideas from all of you! So... I am glad that I am able to give back in some small way for all you are "teaching" and "giving" to me as I begin my first year with first graders.
I began this blog entry by saying, "What a Difference a Day Makes"... but that is not all that the day brought! To top it all off... I was given The Versatile Blogger AWARD by not one, but two creative bloggers. Thank you to Kim creator of Starbucks, Standards, and Sharpies and to Mrs. D from The Silver Lining. Please visit their blogs... They are just as cute and creative as their blog titles suggest!
Now, for the rules associated with the award ...
RULE 1
Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
Thank you again to:
Kim, creator of Starbucks, Standards, and Sharpies
and to
Mrs. D from The Silver Lining
Please make sure to visit their blogs!
RULE 2
Share 7 things about yourself.
1. I am one of the original authors of the Intel Teach program which has been used to train over 10 million teachers in over 70 different countries world-wide how to effectively integrate computers and other technologies into their classroom curriculum. Thank You Intel for all you have done to promote 21st century learning across the globe!
2. I make a mean Portuguese stew, thanks to my Grandma who passed on her family recipe.
3. When I was going to college, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with computers! They scared me!
4. It took me almost 37 years to find "Mr. Right" and get married. It was worth the wait!
5. I love to go country-western dancing...unfortunately, Mr. Right doesn't.
6. I planned my entire wedding in one day... of course it took one additional day to find the dress.
7. My favorite color is yellow, that's probably why I love Sunflowers so much!
RULE 3
Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.
Hopefully by sharing these blogs that I have recently discovered, I will in turn "Make a Difference in the Day" of another new blogger like myself who is yet to be DISCOVERED!
Sep 10, 2011
Pirate Squeeze
My 1st grade teaching partner just introduced me to "Monster Squeeze", a number order game she had downloaded from Teachers Notebook created by Over the MoonBow. Of course, I downloaded it myself to use with my "firsties". What a fun way to help students acquire number sense.
But before long, I know I will need to go beyond 30, and extend that number line all the way to 100 to meet the standards for 1st grade. So, I got right to work and transformed those "monsters" into pirates to fit my classroom theme. Then, I created a number line all the way to 100. Finally, I added the directions and a treasure box to mark the final answer... and away we go!
Enjoy!
But before long, I know I will need to go beyond 30, and extend that number line all the way to 100 to meet the standards for 1st grade. So, I got right to work and transformed those "monsters" into pirates to fit my classroom theme. Then, I created a number line all the way to 100. Finally, I added the directions and a treasure box to mark the final answer... and away we go!
Enjoy!
Click here to download your FREE copy of Pirate Squeeze from my new TPT Store.
Sep 4, 2011
SRA Open Court Imagine It! 2009 Resources / California
Are you using the California edition of the SRA Open Court Imagine IT! 2009 reading and language arts program? If so, you might find these teacher-created files useful. I created spelling word lists and pretests for the first six units, along with a challenge list for your gifted students. See sample pages below.
You can down load the entire set of Unit 1 Support Materials HERE.
All the pdf files are now together in one organized zipped folder.
Files for each week of the program include:
Unit Focus Question Posters
Weekly Overview
Spelling List
Challenge Spelling List
Spelling Pretest
Spelling Words for Pocket Chart
Vocabulary words and Definitions for Pocket Chart
Focus Wall Strips for Pocket Chart
