12 on the 12th!

It is December 12, 2012

      I am linking up with Simpson's Superstars today for the 12 on the 12th Linky Party!  I read about it this morning and so my iPhone came in very handy today as I snapped some pictures of our eventful day and just some things around my room!

 So here it goes...12 on the 12th! 




1. This was one of my best friends today!  Yay for some caffeinated beverages in
the last two weeks before Christmas break!

2.  This was probably my 2nd best friend today.  Cold and flu season has
taken over at our school.  We have had a TON of kids and teachers out
with the flu, pneumonia, and Strep. :(  I got this as a gift last year from a parent. 
It stays behind my desk and is filled with hand sanitizer!

                                   

         3.  Our calendar!  I have to say that even though we have a very short 
          Christmas break this year, I am counting down until those red cards cover
the days because that means SCHOOL's OUT! Seven more days! 

 

4.  Buddy Reading!  I love listening to my students read to partners.  

5.  Reading our Scott Foresman Story- The Garden and comparing and contrasting

 Frog and Toad.  I LOVE Frog and Toad.  Usually we do a whole unit with them, but

that unit will have to wait as we are having too much fun with elves this week!

6.  This is my treasure!  It is my "Whisper Bell"!  If you don't know about

whisper bells, you need to go to www.teachertipster.com and learn all about the whisper bell. 

I love mine and it has been a necessary part of my classroom this week.  (The kiddos

think winter break starts this weekend, I think!)

7.  Holidays Around the World- My country is Israel and we are learning about

Hanukkah. Here we are playing driedel.

8.  I WISH I could take credit for this super cute door, but it belongs to my friend

down the hall.  She is teaching about Germany and as the students rotate to her

they get to design gingerbread houses.  I love her door.  I am slightly jealous it is

not the door to my classroom! :)  Nice work Amye!

9.  These are some of my favorite classroom friends.  Here they are just waiting to be

 read with and loved.  Too bad they have to wait until next week for their fun to begin!

10 and 11 are these super cute elves.  The first one is slightly creepy and my student even said so as she asked, "Can I give it a beard and a mustache and can it have one big eye and one small eye?"  I told her sure and told her that it was slightly scary.  She completely agreed with a big smile on her face!  Her elf is holding onto a reading comprehension activity for the book the Elves and the Shoemaker.   The second picture has some of our other elves.  Some of the kiddos completed applications for Elf positions at the North Pole.  They turned out super cute. 

8.  This is the window behind my table/desk.  Here I have some pics of students, pics of

"me" that the students drew, and a picture of my mom and I from last year!   I keep these

 here to give me that extra bit of inspiration! 

Welcome into my world and I hope you enjoyed the 12 on the 12th!

Michelle

The Holidays Have Arrived in First Grade!

      The Holidays have arrived in our classroom!  This week we started our fun Gingerbread centers and literacy workstations and we are getting in the holiday spirit!  We had SO much fun reading and comparing different gingerbread books.  We did partner reading with gingerbread books, wrote about gingerbread characters, typed stories our own versions of the story, and measured gingerbread. 

      We created a chart to sort the different titles, characters, repeated phrases, and the endings of the stories.  Some of the books we read were The Gingerbread Baby, The Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Fred, and The Gingerbread Cowboy.  My kiddos have LOVED these stories and have loved comparing the different books and characters.  My favorite gingerbread book is The Gingerbread Girl.  I was thrilled yesterday to find The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers, while at the Scholastic Warehouse sale! The kids were excited today too, when they saw it sitting on my shelf.  We had to read it and yes, they loved it! 

  

This was our gingerbread story chart.  We compared four different stories. Some of my students used this chart to help them create Venn Diagrams about two different stories.  

This is our classroom bulletin board in the hallway.  We share it with the fabulous first grade class next door!  These cute gingerbread men are covered in glitter, chocolate chips, and sequins!  

      Here is a new packet for Gingerbread Doubles!  Make sure to click below on the picture and get your copy.  This packet has numbers through 30 and includes activity sheets for doubles, doubles plus one, and doubles minus one!  I hope your student's will enjoy the gingerbread activities as much as mine have!

      On another note...Our Elf on the Shelf arrived on Wednesday and the students named him Elfie.  Coming in at a close second was the name Tootie! I am glad that Elfie won!  He seems to be working, so far that is!  Our windows are also decorated with stockings.  The students hang their stockings and each great day that the student has he/she gets a sticker on the stocking.  It is each child's goal to get as many stickers as possible.  It is definitely motivational, as the students have been counting their stickers all week! (We only started this on Monday!) 

     

Take a look at Elfie.  You may have to look closely, but he is in the Kermit stocking! 

Happy Holidays to you and your classrooms!

- Michelle

Freebie Linky Party

      Freebielicious is having a Freebie Linky Party!  Wow!  What a great idea and I am so excited to be able to participate!  The rule is that it has to be something that will be a forever freebie, which means that it will always remain a freebie.  I started thinking about what I would like to share.  I've been creating some items lately, but they are all seasonal items.  Since this would be something that would be a freebie forever, I wanted something that other teachers could use now or later, whenever they need it! 

     So...here is my freebie!  This freebie is a set of journal entries for teaching addition/subtraction with a part-part-whole diagram.  My students are advanced first graders in the area of math.  They know their math facts with fluency and consistency, however, they have trouble applying a variety of strategies.  My students are the ones who are used to saying "I knew it in my head".  With the Common Core we are really pushing the students to be able to verbalize or state in writing how they solved the problem and what strategy they chose to use.  My students are able to solve the problem and give the correct answer, however, they are still having trouble remembering how to use a part-part-whole box.  Therefore, I have created some additional journal entries to help with building consistency in using this strategy. 

Click on the pictures below to download the file:

     Don't forget to stop over to my TpT site too, and grab another freebie.  It is my Amelia Bedelia freebie that will only be there for a limited time!  It is a reading response pack that goes along with the story Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey!  The kids loved this book.  We finished it on Friday and they truly enjoyed reading all about Amelia Bedelia!

      I hope you can use these with your kiddos!  If you download my freebies I would LOVE for you to follow my TpT site and/or my blog!  Then make sure to stop back and let me know what you think!

Happy Freebie on the First! 

-Michelle

Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia and a Freebie!

      Who doesn’t LOVE Amelia Bedelia?!  I think she is super funny and so do the kiddos!  I am a little behind with my read alouds, so we are still reading Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey; however, today I had a little boy jumping up and down when I told him that after we finish this book, we are going to read Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia!  I thought he was going to scream with excitement!

       I recently created a set of reading response activities to go along with Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia and it can be purchased at my TpT store for only $2.50.  It includes 5 activities in color and black and white.  They require the students to compare characters, describe character traits, identify idioms and the then determine the true meanings of the idioms, and imagine their own reaction to one of Amelia Bedelia's mishaps.

     While you are at my TpT store, go ahead and download this freebie!  I have added a similar reading response packet  for the story Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey.  It includes 3 of the 5 activities that are included in the packet above.  This Thanksgiving packet will be free for a limited time, so make sure to stop over and grab it now!  While you are there, please make sure to follow my TpT site and let me know what you think about the packet. 

Michelle

Cyber Monday Sale and New Christmas Math Stations!

      Black Friday has come and gone and CYBER Monday is almost here!  Are you ready?  Teachers Pay Teachers is joining in on the Cyber Monday Sale.  All items in my store are going to be on sale and if you enter the promo code: CMT12 your items will have an extra discount.  Make sure to stop over there on Monday and an extra sale day on Tuesday! 

    Here is my newest item to TpT.  It is a pack of Holiday Center/Math Station activities that are geared toward first grade, but could be used with advanced Kindergarten students or those who need extra help in Second Grade.  The packet includes one or more activity for each of the Operations and Algebraic Thinking Standards for the First Grade Common Core Standards in Mathematics. 
    The packet includes 10 activities that are games, word problems, journal prompts, fact family practice, and more!

Don't forget to stop over at my TpT store to get your copy!  Monday and Tuesday it will be on sale!

-Michelle

Leibster Award!

     

Last night I came back from spending Thanksgiving with family and friends and of course I checked my email and my blog.  I was shocked to see that Hilary from Second Grade is Out of This World nominated me for a Leibster Award! Thank you Hilary!  I was incredibly shocked and so excited that you found my blog. :)

     The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  It’s to show that new bloggers are appreciated and help spread the word about our little pieces of cyberspace.

Here are the rules:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.
5. You cannot “tag back” the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster post so I can learn more about you & see who you nominate.

Here are 11 random things about myself... 
1. I knew I wanted to teach since first grade.  My first grade teacher was my my favorite teacher and inspiration. My first grade class was one of her first years teaching at the elementary school I attended and she still teachers there today.

2.  I love making crafts and have become a HUGE Pinteret junkie.  It is a terrible addiction.  When I decorated/set up my classroom in August, I realized that it looked like Pinterest taken over!

3.  I play on an adult rec soccer team and love it.  I was an athlete growing up and it is something I really enjoy doing with my free time.

4. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and just left there today.  I made sure to pick up my favorite Cincinnati foods...Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce, Skyline Chili, and LaRosa's Spaghetti sauce.  I can't live without Skyline or Montgomery Inn sauce. 

5.  I speak Spanish...well I used to.  I double majored in it in college and lived in Spain for a summer studying abroad.  I wish I practiced it more often.

6. I love to travel!

7. If I am reading a good book, I can read all day by a pool or a on a beach.  

8.  I like photography and if I had time I would love to take a class to learn more about it.  

9.  My favorite Christmas CD is Mariah Carey Christmas...it never gets old! 

10.  I just bought a new 31 bag for school and I absolutely LOVE it!  I don't know what I did without it for 8 years.  

11.  Today I left my family in Cincinnati and it always makes me sad to leave.  My dog is probably not going to make it to Christmas and it was extra sad to say goodbye to him. He has lived a good (CRAZY) life!

My family's dog Brinkely 

 Questions from Second Grade is Out of This World:
1.  Besides blogging, what hobbies do you have?  I have a lot of hobbies and they kind of come and go in spurts.  Some of them are running, sewing (my mom taught me last year and bought me a sewing machine), crafts, and sports.
2. What is the best book you have ever read (grown-ups and kids)?  This is a tough question and it probably has changed many times over the years.  I don't think I can say one book is my absolute favorite.  I can pick up a book and read for hours.  I LOVE to read but I didn't always. I really started to love to read in fifth grade when I read The Diary of Anne Frank. 
3. What is your favorite color(s)? My favorite colors are blue, green, and pink.
4. Walking or running? I prefer to go running, however, I enjoy walking with my Mom or close friends.
5.  What is your favorite season and why?  It is probably obvious by now that I am pretty indecisive!  My favorite season is summer.I love the pool, the sun, the beach, and reading a good book outside.  However, there is something about the beginning of fall, the air outside, the snow in winter, and the smells of fresh flowers in the spring that makes me enjoy each season more and more as I get older. 
6. Why did you start blogging?  I started blogging a couple of years ago.  I had a student teacher and so did a fellow teacher at my school.  We would see each other in the computer lab all the time.  She has an amazing blog and she kept encouraging me to join the blogging world.  Thanks Monica!
7. If you could meet one person (alive, dead or fictional) who would it be and why? After my Grandpa passed away, I often wished that I could have met more of my ancestors.  I am fascinated by our geneology reports, etc.  My father is adopted and I wish I knew his birth mother as well as his adoptive parents who had passed away before I was born. 
8. What is your favorite scent?  I love pumpkin/fall scents.

9.  Are you on Pinterest?  If so, what is your favorite Pin Board? I am on Pinterest and I am a Pinterest junkie.  My favorite board that I have is my Ideas for School Board.  I love saving ideas there for school.
 10. Dress-up or dress-down?  After dressing up for work everyday, I love some good old yoga pants and a hoodie!
11. Apple or PC?  I have a PC and an Ipad! If I could afford a Mac Computer that is what I would get. :)


Blogs I am Nominating:
1. Our Sweet Success
2. Carrberry Creations
3. Multiage Days
4. Watters' Wharf
5. Crazy Daze in First Grade
6. The Diary of a First Grade Teacher
7.  All That Glitters in First Grade
8. Learning with Suzie Q
9. Mackey's Classroom
10. Gluesticks, Games, and Giggles
11.  Joy in the Journey

 
Here are my questions for my nominees:
1. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
2. What is the one thing in your classroom you can't live without?
3.  What is your favorite food?
4. What is your favorite holiday and why?
5. What was your first car?
6. What do you like to do in your free time?
7. When did you start blogging?
8. Have you always taught the grade you teach now?
9. Do you prefer books on electronics (ipads/nooks/kindles) or reading a real book?
10.  Have you ever taught in another state or country than where you teach now?
11.  Who do you  most admire?


Don’t forget to leave me a link to your blog when you’ve answered!  I can’t wait to read more about you and I hope you enjoyed learning a little something about me.

-Michelle

Dinosaurs, Summarizing, and more!

      I love dinosaurs and so do the kiddos. We use Scott Foresman Reading Street and last week our story was The Big Circle.  This is a story about a group of Triceratops that are being attacked by a T. Rex.  The Triceratops create a circle to protect their young.  While the Scott Foresman series focuses on sequencing and reviewing summarizing during this story, our county has units of study that we are following.  The unit we just began is about Characters.   We are working hard to not just look at sequencing and summarizing, but looking at the characters in that sequence and determine how those characters grow and change throughout the story.  In this story, the students were able to see how the T. Rex changes his plans because of the bravery of the herd of triceratops.  

      We used a great summarizing sheet to help us organize our ideas about the dinosaurs.  You can click on the picture below to go to Mrs. Bainbridg'e blog and get your copy for free.  This can be used with so many different stories.

We also used visualizing as a way to really "see" the characters in the story.  I am loving our reading response journals and the entries that my students are adding.  They show their learning and thinking.  Here are two examples of visualizing that we did with the story The Big Circle, last week!  Above is the picture of the T.Rex coming toward the circle.  The big Triceratops are on the outside towards the T.Rex and below is a picture of the T.Rex chasing the baby back to it's family. 

    

     Just for a little word work fun, we made words with Dinosaur Boggle and used contractions in our writing with a Dinosaur Contraction activity.  You can find my dinosaur contractions over at my TpT store. Also, you can click here to find my dinosaur boggle for free! 

Dinosaur Contractions- This packet has contractions for will, am, and not.  The students match the two dinosaurs that go together to make a contraction and then record them on the recording sheet.  The students then choose three contractions to use in a sentence.  My kiddos did a great job with this last week!

Free Dinosaur Boggle!  Don't forget to grab it today!  If you download it, please let me know what you think about it! Thanks!  

     Don't forget that all of my Thanksgiving items are on sale at my Teachers Pay Teacher store!  They will be on sale through tomorrow!

Michelle