This post contains affiliate links. The Activities: Print a copy of this free Halloween book (focusing on double consonant words) for your classroom library or Halloween center! Then, have your students write about what their teacher should wear for a costume! Getting Ready: To print the free book (and have the pages in the right…
This post contains affiliate links. I have so many routines and procedures in my first grade classroom, so when fun holidays like Valentine’s Day roll around I love to break out of our normal routine and mix in some fun and cute work stations! I knew this FREE Penguin Number Bond Activity would be engaging…
This post contains affiliate links. Routines and procedures are GOLD in my classroom. My kids know what to expect, I know how to plan, and things just run smoother in general! For the most part, my math block looks like this each day: Student-Led Math Calendar on the SMART board (5 min.) Teacher-Led Math Warm-Up…
This post contains affiliate links. Contractions can be pretty tricky for first graders to nail down! To make it fun and give my students a bit of scaffolding, I created this free Contraction Conversation Hearts literacy center. Since the “matching” hearts are the same color, the focus is less on students knowing the matches, but…
This post contains affiliate links. Almost every day, my first grade students have a writing “job”. We might be starting a week-long writing project, responding to prompts, adding a new entry into our independent journals, or we could be doing some sort of writing craft! I like to mix it up, but regardless, my students…
This post contains affiliate links. When I teach my first graders in guided reading groups, we almost always start out word work with magnetic letters. I have my metal stove burner covers prepped ahead of time with magnetic letters so all my students have to do is “pull down” the letters needed to make a…
This post contains affiliate links. One math skill I always seem to forget about teaching my first graders is adding three numbers together. In my state, students are expected to be able to add three numbers together within 20, but I usually just start within 10. To teach this concept to my class, I simply…
This post contains affiliate links. Each day, my first graders complete a few hands-on literacy activities during our reading rotations. Students get to choose what they work on, and I even have some kiddos who take centers home a few nights a week to do for fun with their families– it melts my teacher heart!…
This post contains affiliate links. My first graders are really starting to take flight with their reading and writing, but I’ve noticed lately that some of my kiddos still haven’t quite made it over that tricky B/D and P/Q “hump”. Because I’m somewhat obsessed with centers, I whipped up this quick and easy letter identification…
This post contains affiliate links. As a first grade teacher, it’s my job to help my students gain an understanding of mathematical procedures– not just show them how to do something and drill it. Even understanding that the number 26 is made up of 2 bundles of 10 and 6 individual “ones” is a tricky…
This post contains affiliate links. Even though my first graders have come such a long way since the beginning of the year, there is still so much room for them to grow their little literacy brains! I wanted to help my kiddos practice their reading and also take notice of the features of print– AKA…
This post contains affiliate links. The other day I had a substitute and needed something fun for my kids to do during writing! Since our theme was “Pumpkins,” I whipped up this free writing paper! When I returned from my all-day meeting, I was pleasantly surprised by the creative, great work I saw! I considered…
This post contains affiliate links. I’ve been on summer break for exactly two months now, but it’s been crazy busy! My husband and I bought our first home, we are still remodeling it (like there is paint on my hands right now), and I just finished up an overly time-consuming summer class for my Master’s…
This post contains affiliate links. Who doesn’t love ice cream??? I sure do, and I know for a fact that my first grade students do! This fun money matching game is super easy to prep and I guarantee that your kids will enjoy it too! One way you can use these ice cream cones…
This post contains affiliate links. Clip cards are quickly becoming one of my favorite types of learning activities! They are super easy to prep, and students know exactly what to do with them! These Color Word Clip Cards are a great way for kids to practice the reading strategy “Does it look right?” when learning…
Teaching first grade is amazing because they grow SO much! I know, I’m starting to get all sentimental that my first class ever is moving on to bigger and better… 28 days, but who’s counting??? Anyways, I still have a few kiddos who need to work on their skip counting. We’ve done plenty of…
This post contains affiliate links. We all know that teachers spend SO much time in their classrooms! Knowing this, I wanted to make sure I loved walking into my classroom each and every morning. Being a first-year teacher, it took me a while to settle in, but I figured a classroom tour in March was…
This post contains affiliate links. WE GOT A TEPEE! That’s in all caps because I think I love it as much (maybe more?) than my first graders do! Anyways, we got the tepee through a very generous donor who is a friend of mine. I babysat her daughter while I was in college and she…
Have you heard about Seesaw? It’s an app that I like to describe to parents as “a confidential Instagram for your students’ work”. I’ve been using it for about 5 months and I haven’t talked to anyone who doesn’t like it! Below is a quick video that explains WHAT Seesaw is (probably way better than…
Graphing is one of my favorite math subjects to teach! My students and I spent two weeks tackling this topic, and in this post, I’ll give you ideas you might be able to use in your classroom, and links to my favorite resources to make graphing fun and interactive! Before getting started, my students and…