From Seed to Pumpkin ( A Common Core Retell)

I love this time of the year but for me I am busy working on writing units of study with my team at the district office. We just finished a Thanksgiving packet and I am so glad to move on after looking at curriculum maps, content and language objectives, informational text, and still slamming in some games to make all this look like fun to the kids! The rigor is going to kill me (just sayin").

So what have I learned in all of this? Materials for teachers need to be simple and easy to put together. So here are my "famous" retelling cards that form a flow map in a pocket chart. Teachers in my district are probably sick of seeing these for all kinds of topics. This time I did it for the growth of a pumpkin. How are these different? Let me share my thinking.

I did not include the transition words because I want students to practice this orally. They need to use words such as first, next, after, last, finally... you get the idea. Some of your students might be reading by now and that's why sentences have been provided to challenge them.  Common Core is all about offering differentiation. The language is still simple and repetitive.Be sure to model the language you want them to use and do this over several days. Now you can hand out the cards so students can have an opportunity to retell the growth story while the others watch. I often do this during my morning opening. Listen for those crucial transition words. Can they do this? This can be a great assessment for oral language, but teach it first! 

Retelling is an important skill and is part of the CCSS. However, what makes this truely a Common Core activity? Yup, doing it in collaborative groups of four, practicing academic language. Run the cards off  so that each group is provided with a set and store in a baggie. Students sit in a small circle and each one finds the next part of the sequence and continues to tell the story, using those important transition words. The teacher walks around and listens carefully as students work together. Your administrator will be impressed with your collaborative academic conversations and the kids will love working together to build their understandings. Are you willing to try this? This is what Common Core is really about!

Do you want these cards? I have them right here but be sweet enough to leave a comment and tell me what pumpkin activities you love to do! I forgot to mention that I sometimes prefer to make these cards magnetic and if you have a bookcase or file cabinet at the level kids can use this makes a great independent science/literacy center. I bought the magnets for just a couple of dollars at Walmart and they are self adhesive!

Don't Be A Turkey... Some Fresh Ideas

By the end of October I am screaming with happiness if my students know all their letters and sounds. This makes a huge difference when it comes to reading and writing. Not there yet? Are you sick of working on this constantly and do you feel like you are spinning your wheels? Welcome to my reality! This is a Fall Beginning Sounds Packet (seasonal images) that might be what you are looking for. It is filled with interactive and differentiated materials to meet the wide range of needs in your classroom. Click on the picture to find it in my store on Tpt. I promise you won't be sorry. My students love it and need more practice, and more, and more... so i need to make it fun!

Stick with me and I will solve all your problems this week...

Don't start screaming but did you know about this? Stop screaming. 

So Pete is in a school play and it is all about the story of Thanksgiving kindergarten style. It is really cute and a bit interactive with flaps. I might have to create one as a Big Book for my kindergarten classrooms. Easy to teach the story if it has my buddy Pete in it. Look for freebies soon. Check back and leave me some some suggestions!

Finally we get to my Turkey Packets if you are trying to stay ahead of the curve:

These are filled with math and literacy activities for your students with the famous Fran Kramer emergent readers. They are two of my best sellers. Take a look at T is for Turkey and Turkey Leftovers if you want some meaningful work at this time of the year. I don't think you will be disappointed. Trust me. Check back for some fall freebies.

More Washi Tape Wonderful Projects For Your Classroom

Many teachers shop in Ikea for all kinds of inexpensive containers, carpets, picture frames, etc. to fill their classroom with attractive pieces that make it more homey. They are know for having goods that are simple and clean in design. I love their plain white pots that often just have a little texture. They are only a few dollars so they are affordable for a classroom. These have horizontal lines which made them perfect for washi tape decorating! Here are the results. Really nice looking and a cute pop of color... right?

Where I live we have little dollar type stores everywhere and I was cruising around and found this clear plastic box which I use when I need to take supplies with me on the run. Once I added a label and colorful tape it become this adorable box and my name is right on the front. It only took me minutes to make. As I was cruising around I found a white plastic binder. I grabbed it and made it so much cuter with some tape on the outside and inside. The pages are color coded so I can find information quickly and easily. 
Helpful Hint: I like washi tape best on white products or clear ones since the tape is a bit transparent.  Have you washi taped anything lately? I would love to get some other ideas from you so leave a comment if you want to. Now go have a "washi wonderful weekend."
Fran

Here Are Some Delicious Apple Activities

 As we approach the end of September (Can you believe that?) it is time to start thinking about progress reports which are crazy to do with kindergarten students. Those of us with 31 kiddos want to pull our hair out since any assessment for this age is done individually. OMG, what does a teacher do to maintain her sanity or what's left of it? Bust open this packet. laminate the pages and set up some math and literacy stations for your students to do independently. Does this sound like a plan?

These are easy enough for your students to do with a little modeling and screaming  training. It is packed with apple activities in both reading and mathematics and I even included the famous Kindergarten Crayons emergent readers that you are constantly asking for. Don't work harder... be smarter and have fun with this packet. Many of these activities can also be done in whole group as part of your morning meeting. I hope you love this as much as I do. Click here to grab this applelicious treat.
Have a great day of teaching. 

Color Your World With Common Core Posters

Have you seen these Common Core Number Posters for your classroom? Once you have printed them, laminated, and hung them up they are really gorgeous in all their rainbow colors. What makes them super special is the fact that they are free in my TpT store. Do you want to grab them? You can click {here} to make them yours. If you appreciate having them I would love for you to leave a comment and follow my store.

So many of you asked me to make the numbers 11-20 so you could have a full set. This took me some time and I hope you like the results. I decided to make this a freebie too. If you want them you can grab these {here}. 

How do I show my appreciation?

EASY...

1. Leave a comment on the blog which will show up after I approve it.

2. Follow me on Bloglovin' which is just a simple click on the right side panel.

3. Follow my TpT store to hear about other CCSS products I create.

4. Follow my Pinterest Boards which are filled with amazing teaching resources by

    clicking on my right side panel too.

Have a great Sunday and I hope these numbers brighten up your classroom.

Dear New TK and Kindergarten Teachers: Get Them Under Control

When an administrator walks into your classroom he is looking for many things but you can bet your last dollar that your classroom control is what he will notice first. Forget Common Core, Big Idea, Curriculum Maps, room environment, your highly engaging lesson, etc. if the kids are hanging off the ceiling. I hope new teachers are looking around for strategies that might work in their room so they can rock out behavior management. It is crucial. Set the tone now, while you can. Read on and see if this might be a solution!

So mine is a little different than most but I made sure I was using academic language to stay consistent with Common Core. Right? You can put this together in no time but the real work is in modeling this until you feel like screaming. When students are not doing what you expect, refer back to the chart. Ask them, " Are you on task?" " Are you being a learner?" No matter what, expect a five year old to say yes, regardless of what he is doing! Anyhow, this is far more explicit and will be a good management tool if you use it daily.  For very young children you can use a small photo on the end of each clothespin, as well as their name. This will serve as a scaffold for them. It is important for them to recognize their own pin and care about its placement

Allow children to make mistakes and the Oops can be a warning. If  behavior improves move their clothespin or students have nothing to gain by getting back to workand making better choices. Forgive them. Students at this age can be really impulsive and often give little thought to the consequences of their actions. What system do you like to use in your classroom for behavior management? If you like it you can grab it {here} and leave me a comment if you want.

Look Who Joined Our Staff!

After twelve years of watching teachers receive "pink slips" and leave our district we finally had the opportunity to welcome two new, male teachers to our staff. They have changed the climate of our school and bring so much passion and enthusiasm to their job. Both are upper grade teachers who cannot wait to get started on this wild and crazy ride known as teaching. 

Aaron was hired before school started so he joined me for the Common Core trainings. He participated in all the activities and the staff loves having him on board.

Why is this such a big deal?

Both of this young men were born and raised in this community. One even attended this elementary school and was dearly loved by this staff. They watched him grow and mature and now he is joining the ranks as a teacher. Talk about successes. It brings tears to my eyes. The second grade teacher brought him lunch for the first day and I watched his family help him set up his room. They feel so much pride in his achievements.

Mike was hired a few days later and I set up his room so he wouldn't walk into a mess. I cleaned it, set up the desks, loaded his book cases with the right materials and put up a few boards, just the basics. He came in with two friends and within hours the room looked beautiful and you could sense his excitement about starting the year. He is a product of our school district and loves the idea of making a difference in his community. Listening to him, sensing his passion, makes me feel so much hope for the future. 

How lucky is my school and my district to have these men? Both of them bring so much to the classroom. When I stand in the doorway and watch them teach I get a lump in my throat. They move around the room constantly, teach with passion, and talk to students using quiet voices, always validating who they are. They understand.

What changes has your school had?

Washi Tape Wonderful

So that was super easy and "cutified" a plain tin container. Realize that a white container gives you the best results since the tapes are slightly transparent. I love that I can match any colors that I want and now all I need is a label on the front for the final touch. How about you? Do you like washi tape and have you tried it? I would love to see what you have done. Have a great week at school.

Do You Love To Shop? Come and Visit My TpT Store

We all love to shop for materials to help us in our classroom. I have not purchased anything in a retail teaching store for years because of  Teachers Pay Teachers. Today and tomorrow they are running their big Back to School sale and I put together a fantastic bundle for you to purchase of some of my new back-to-school packets. Here are all the packets I created to help you start the year off:

These packets will be easy to put together and are all aligned to the Common Core. I am selling them as a set for just $21.60 and that is a steal at 20% off. I spent the entire summer making them and I think you will love the content. There are lots of cut and paste activities to build fine motor skills, students have an opportunity to practice numbers and letter skills and all of these can be made into books to send home on use as part of a portfolio. 

When I created these packets I really tried to minimize the prep time since this is such a busy time of the year.So grab this "bundle of joy" by clicking on the Back to School sign my friend Traci made for us to celebrate going back to school. You can get this bundle on TpT by clicking any of the images you see!  Remember that TpT is offering their own Promo Code BTS13.

If you already bought some of these packets or you don't need all five, you can also get each one for $5-6: Silly Sound Circles: Simple Cut, Paste, and Trace Fun, Counting in Circles: Building Number Sense, Putting the Pieces Together: Matching Upper and Lowercase Letters, Putting the Pieces Together: Letters and Sounds, Putting the Pieces Together: Number Sense Work.  They'll help you make a great start to the year.

B2S: Self Portraits Should Be Created By Your Students: FREEBIE FUN

Every kindergarten teacher has their students draw a self portrait during the first few days of school. It is so much fun to look at these and see where your students are developmentally. Often this is the first board I post in my room. My friends next door do an additional activity that is precious. They use small paper plates and have the kids cut out their own features, using construction paper as they guide them through the process. Each child picks a skin tone they like and even paint their plate before gluing on their eyes, nose, and mouth. Adding yarn hair is the final step! 

I decided to take this up a notch and have them draw their teacher too. This can be done on a separate day and you can talk about hair color, clothing, and other details but do not guide them through the process. This is their "benchmark"

I really believe in guided drawing and teach this throughout the year. I start with white boards, markers and erasers and teach my children the procedures I want them to use to gather their materials and come and sit on the carpet to get ready to work on this. They love doing this and build confidence over time. Often this contributes greatly to their ability to write since they learn how to focus on details and work carefully. I move from people to animals, teaching character and setting this way. Do you do guided drawing? If not try it this year and you will be amazed by the growth your students make. It is my favorite whole group activity. 

I am offering you this freebie so that you have one less item on your "To Do" list as you start your year off. Be sure to save your first set of papers and do this activity at the end of the year. Students love seeing their own growth and this will be such a great visual to show them! Grab it here and please leave me a comment. Are you following me on Bloglovin'. I hope you will.