Time Scoot to the Minute

I know it's been awhile since I have posted but I created something tonight that I wanted to share.

I searched the web for a "time to the minute" scoot game and was not able to find one. I hope someone else out there will be able to use this activity.

 

My students LOVE playing scoot and it is a great formative assessment.

 

Click HERE for the PDF copy.

The cards look like this:



 

The student paper looks like this:

I couldn't figure out how to post a better picture of the document.

 

Only 18 more days of teaching this year for me! :)

 

* If you have never played "scoot" before I will leave you with some quick directions:

 

- Place the cards in order around the room or on student desks.

 

-Have each student use a clipboard to write on their paper as they "scoot" from desk to desk.

 

-My students do this using a level 0 voice (no talking)

 

-Depending on the subject give them 20-45 seconds to write the answer.

 

-I say 3..2..1... scoot to your LEFT (you can say right)

 

-The students scoot to the next desk and write the answer down and wait for the scoot signal

 

-KEY students MUST write the answer in the number box that MATCHES the number on the card. They CANNOT all start writing their answer in box number one.

 

-When finished have students return to their desk and you can correct on your own or have students say the answer out loud together while they correct.

 

ENJOY! :) 

 



Text Connections

I have noticed a major trend while teaching from the new Houghton Mifflin curriculum. 

Every single lesson relates back to making connections.

 Text.Self.World.

 

 So I thought it would be nice to create a text connection writing log.

 I created a worksheet for primary levels and one for intermediate grades take your pick!

 You could use this to create a book where they can have it to use throughout the year or pass out an individual worksheet when needed. 

To download the making connections poster click HERE

Cover page for book click HERE

Primary worksheet click HERE

Intermediate worksheet click HERE

 During my student teaching Ms. Carty my classroom teacher 

mentor taught her first graders to use hand signals 

for the three text connections.

For text to text she had them fold both hands to create a book 

and say "text" to "text" while making the hand signal.

For text to self she had them again do and say the "text" 

signal and then for "self" they would 

point to themselves while saying self. 

Then for text to world she had them u

se both pointer fingers to trace a circle

 in the air while saying "world". The firsties loved it! 

I hope you can use this in your classroom. :) 

Fall Bulletin Boards

Looking for a fall bulletin board idea 

"Hibbard Hawks (insert your school here:)

 Are The Cream Of The Crop!"

My students and I created this last year 

when our class was assigned. 

I got this idea out of a mailbox magazine and
then decided to make it look 3-d. 

My students each cut out a piece of
corn and then painted it. 

We were also in charge of the display case for
the month of November. This idea once again
came from the Mailbox magazine. 

First you paint your styrofoam cup brown.

Then glue on your turkeys face and feathers. 

Quick, easy, and fun Thanksgiving display! 

Before we created the turkeys we of course learned about them! 

This bulletin board I made for inside our classroom.

And if you are looking for a halloween bulletin board... 

the teacher I worked with last year sent me a picture 

of what her class did for their bb this year.

 I thought it was so cute! 

Thanks for sharing Mrs. Skillicorn! :) 

One "Spook"tober Post

Happy Harvest !
Although I wish I had my very own classroom  I'm very excited to say I found a substitute job!
So using the idea a teacher I taught with last year (Thank you Kristen!) did I made business cards.
With the help of my husband I think my card stands out! Thank you Graig! :)

I blurred out my phone number. If you work for the Bellevue School District or St. Thomas Private School and are looking for a sub give me a call! 

I figured I would continue to keep my blog going and share ideas that I used over the past couple years of teaching in my classroom.

One activity that my students LOVED last year was with the book, "The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin" by Joe Troiano. This is a great story to share with your students that has an awesome message reminding us that we are all the same even if we look different. 

After discussing the story my students colored their very own pumpkin. 

To use the pumpkin template HERE 

Square Pumpkin HERE

Triangle Pumpkin HERE

Rectangle Pumpkin HERE

I copied them on white construction paper and pre-cut them out to save on time.

Here are a few other October activities I have done in the past.

Mr. Sticks 

This idea was shared with me from Mrs. Crowder! :) What a fun activity!

To save on time pre sort the amount of toothpicks for each student and precut tips for the fingers and toes!

The students traced their feet (with their shoes on) and added a ghost face.

This activity the students traced their hands on black construction paper. 

I cut them out the night after and had them glue together and add eyes.

They picked their favorite book wrote the title and the author on the orange paper.

And here is a collection of some of my favorite October read alouds!

Back to School!

It's that time of year! 

Here are a couple informational worksheets I send home the first day.

Click HERE to download a copy. 

Get to know your students! 

Click HERE to download your own copy.

I love reading what parents have to say about their child.

 It helps me get to know them better that first week.

I also thought I would share my hallway sign. 

I got this idea from the teacher I did my student teaching with in Las Vegas.

After the students are lined up the teacher would say:

"Eyes forward" students repeat

"Arms folded" students repeat

"Lips quiet" students repeat

This worked for her students and it has worked with mine the past two years. 

My second year I created this sign to go above the classroom door as a reminder.

Click HERE to get your copy.

Back to school hall bulletin board idea. 

This is the bulletin I used for my class last year. 

Instead of putting a photo copy picture you could have them draw a portrait of themselves.

Click HERE for crayon template. You can enlarge on the copy machine.

For jobs I also got this idea from a teacher at the school where I did my student teaching.

He had them color a  picture of themselves using the template he provided. 

Then he would change the "people" according to the job and day. 

For a template click HERE. 

You can shrink or enlarge on the copy machine.

If you are looking for a daily schedule to use and this one fits your routine be sure to download a copy!

Click HERE if your interested.

 

 

To teach is to touch lives :)

May 26, 2011 was a sad say for me

 It was the day I had to say goodbye to another group of adorable first graders that I had the opportunity to teach all year. 

This was a gift given to me by one of the moms of my students. She had them print their name on a paper and had it lasered onto this tile. It brought tears to my eyes, I LOVE IT!

Below is the treat I gave my students along with a DVD of our school year featuring pictures I took throughout the year to music we learned in music class. The treat idea came from fabulousinfirst.blogspot.com where she created her version of something she saw on another blog. Thank you for sharing that made my life a little easier. 

Not only was it a goodbye to my students but a goodbye to my classroom and the school. I feel so blessed to say that I have a job that I love. I love everything about my job, my students, finding new and creative ways to teach and make learning fun, lesson plans, bulletin boards, projects, books, reading, science, math, everything about teaching I enjoy. So to have to pack everything up was very hard.

My husband just graduated with a degree in business and accepted a position with Unique Beverage Company. Which means we moved to Washington where I grew up so yes it's exciting but sad at the same time to leave my job at a school that I love so much.

Here is a note I found on my desk after an inside recess the last week of school...

That just melted my heart so sweet!

Here are some pictures of my classroom before I packed it all up!

 

Bookshelf my husband made. This picture is very messy but it was the only one I had. The top shelve of books is organized by AR level while the bottom books I never got organized. 

Raingutter Books I changed these according to our theme or the holiday.

Last day with my first graders. Thank you for another fabulous year!

As Dr. Seuss would say "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

The teacher wife made a cute printable of this quote, if you're interested in printing it go HERE.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacation. I will be back to post some other projects we did throughout the year that I haven't had time to post.