Fourth of July Sale!

Hi everyone! Just dropping in real quick before some family time to let you know I'm throwing a sale in my TPT store!

Just click the image below to go to my TPT store!

(Image from Traci at Dragonflies in First!)

Have a Happy Fourth of July!

Get Yourself Organized!

One of the things I'm vowing to work on this summer is relabeling all my binders. During the course of the year, it's easy to just throw things into a binder and be done with it. I wanted to be able to have a more organized way to keep my things straight, so I created new binder covers and coordinating spines that go with my brights and black/chalkboard theme. (Okay, so it's not a theme... But I just LOVE those colors!)

To check them out in my TPT store, just click any of the images above!

I've put my binder covers (above) and my folder and notebook labels HALF OFF today and tomorrow only, so you can start getting organized for next year ASAP! 

(Click on the image to go to the product on my TPT page)

And because I want to give these away too, the first two people who comment with their email address will get BOTH the editable binder covers and the folder/notebook labels for FREE!

Have a great day! :)

Coming to You (FINALLY!) From Spring Break!

We are in the midst of our spring break, and let me tell you, it is a beautiful thing. I am loving every minute of this. We had fantastically warm weather here in Chicago on Saturday (almost 80... Whoop whoop!), but it's been colder since. Nevertheless, I've had date days with each of my kiddos, including a trip to the American Girl Store today (brings back memories of my own Kirsten and Felicity!), dinner with a friend from college and her new hubby... And just relaxing a bit.

Also, knowing that there are eight weeks left in the school year? Relaxing and frightening at the same time!

I've used this teeny tiny bit of downtime to finish a product I started long ago. Like I had to go back and change the dates at the bottom from 2013 to 2014.

Sigh.

Lo and behold, here it is:

(Click the picture above to see the listing on TPT.)

Each year, my firsties learn about matter, and let me tell you, it is my FAVORITE unit. I started college as a chem major, TAed chemistry my senior year of college, and taught 8th grade science my first year of teaching. Yes, you heard that... I {heart} science. Chemistry specifically. Not enough to make it my major (I ended up a psych major), but it holds a place near and dear to my heart.

I wanted to make the unit as teacher-friendly as possible, so I included the following:

Enduring understandings for the unit that really focus the unit on keep principles that are high-level, yet appropriate for young students.

A student-friendly reader about matter that is easy to assemble (copy, stack, staple, and cut) and easy to read. It's also interactive, allowing students to draw and label in the book.

A matter sort (an updated version of the one I have posted on TPT) that includes enlarged cards for a pocket chart or anchor chart, as well as smaller student sorts for authentic assessment.

Student-friendly vocabulary cards that include visuals and a quick definition of key terms.

Tree maps for supporting student thinking and understanding (small and large versions).

Seven experiments aligned to those key understandings, each including:

Teacher instructions...

... and student recording sheets.

Plus a blank book for your students to write their own All About Matter informational text (great for end-of-unit assessment).

Phew! 

As a bonus, the unit {click here} is ON SALE through tonight for just $3.00 (instead of $6.00)... Plus I'll give a copy to the first two posters who comment on this post with their email address.

Have a great day!

PHEW! Revised Kevin Henkes Writing Unit... Sale and Giveaway!

Well, I feel like I've slaved over this for FOREVER, but it is finally done!

I have majorly revamped this unit! I made each lesson a full page, with mini-lesson format (connect, teach, active engagement, link, share):

This will give new and experienced teachers alike a little guidance in how to teach using the workshop format, and how to teach this specific unit.

There's a unit overview to help you organize your planning. I typically teach one lesson a day, but you can always extend lessons as needed to meet your kiddos' needs.

I've included a mentor text list and sample anchor chart:

You'll get a student sample:

And rubrics (two versions, one with and one without CCSS, plus a celebration rubric):

And finally, you get some final draft paper for your kiddos' final pieces!

I've taught this self-created unit for several years now and it's one of my favorites!

In honor of finishing this unit, I'm putting my whole store on sale for 20% off for today and tomorrow only! Click the picture of the cover above to go to that item, or click HERE to go to my store!

And if you're still reading, and you're the first two to comment with your email address, I'll send you the unit FREE!

Have a great Monday!

How I Teach Vocabulary and More FREE Fonts

First of all, I'd like to congratulate Sarah on winning my 100 follower giveaway! She's walking away with some awesome prizes contributed by some fabulous bloggers.

So, I thought I'd share a little bit with you about how I teach vocabulary to my first graders. I teach in a school with a very high ELL population, and I always have a range of linguistic needs in my classroom. Vocabulary is SUCH a critical area to develop in all students, and particularly in ELLs, since it's key to comprehending reading. Without a specific vocabulary instruction program, I began searching for ideas for how to teach vocabulary several years ago. I found a wonderful post (I think on A to Z Teacher Stuff) but I cannot for the life of me find it anymore. It had a wonderful idea for teaching vocab, and I've used it ever since.

My read aloud time tends to alternate between a theme or author study and a chapter book. I try to read a range of chapter books to my students, including longer nonfiction books, like level 3 or 4 Time for Kids readers. For each book, I try to pull out about 15-16 Tier 2 words, or words that are not terribly common (like "green" or "milk"), but that aren't highly academic (like "photosynthesis"). These are the kind of words I'd like my students to use more of in their own speaking and writing, and that they're likely to encounter again in their reading.

I take a piece of chart paper and fold it into 16 squares. Each day, I write two or three new words on the chart, one per square. I leave the rest of the square blank. Before reading, I tell the students the words they should listen for in that day's chapter. When I get to the word, students put their thumbs up. I often will stop and reread a couple sentences before and after the new word. Then, we discuss the word, using context clues to help determine the word's meaning. We do a lot of acting out, and discuss scenarios in which the word makes sense. Sometimes, I draw the picture right then, to help give students another visual to associate with the word, but other times, I draw the picture after school. I may also write a synonym underneath the picture. By the end of the book, we have a chart that looks like this:

(This was a chart for Toys Go Out, which is a GREAT read aloud about toys that come to life when their owner goes to bed. It's hilarious and very engaging, especially for my boys.)

After we complete the chart, I give pairs of students each a card with a vocabulary word on it and we play charades to review the words. The next day, my kiddos take a short quiz, using the words in a sentence and briefly defining the words with pictures and words:

We accumulate these charts on our wall, and the students get a kick out of hearing a lot of the words in subsequent read alouds and making connections between words that mean the same thing.

At the end of the year, we cut the words into squares and I give each kid a stack of words to take home. It sounds lame, but I think it's like the kid version of Oprah's Favorite Things. They seriously shriek about it! Ha!

Finally, I have a freebie for ya to start your weekend right!

Two free fonts for you! You can use them in personal or commercial use documents (like TpT products), and a link back to my blog is appreciated but not required.

And, in honor of turning the big 3-1 yesterday, I'm throwing a SALE in my TpT shop! 20% today through Sunday! Click {HERE} to go to my store!

Have a great weekend!!!