Parts of a Sentence FREEBIE!

Phew! Time sure does fly when you're busy! I can't believe it's almost October & we've been in school for 7 weeks already! We've been learning all about sentences...& have nearly mastered subject & predicate. It's amazing what first & second graders can do.....I swear I didn't learn about subjects & predicates until upper elementary. How about you?

Anyway -- I just wanted to share with you a powerpoint I made for my class about subjects & predicates. Just click the picture below to download from my dropbox!

Enjoy!!

Literacy Centers

Hi everyone!  It's Megan from "Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade."  Today I have a post for you all about literacy centers in the early grades.  I love using centers for many reasons:

1.  They provide a spiral review of the concepts I've already taught.
2.  They give students an opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers.
3.  They help students develop social skills.
4.  They are a nice break from traditional learning.

I run my centers daily, for 20 minutes.  My students visit one center per day.  To see how I set up and manage my centers, click HERE!  You can also snag an apple-themed freebie from me!

Have a great week!

xo
Megan

School Is Tough. Teach Your Kids to Relax and Be A Friend (freebie)

School is tough.  Not just for the teachers--put your tissues away.  I'm talking about it being tough for the kids.  School is a social minefield of missteps and misdirections.  It's even tougher for new students and those that lack strong social skills (from a behavioral/emotional standpoints).   This year I'm working with a larger amount students who have needs for social skills/management and utilizing coping strategies and skills.  After all, we want everyone to be successful.

I've gotta admit though...it can be tough.  It takes work and practice to learn and implement strategies then generalize them across all settings at the appropriate times.  And I don't blame them.  I can only imagine how silly I must have looked as a socially awkward student in elementary school (and even some times these days).

So, to help out my students so they can be successful learners (and implementers), I've created a couple of sets of classroom posters on how to RELAX and how to be a FRIEND.  We've been using them to practice skills and increase awareness when we're frustrated or lost (socially).

And here's the kicker--You can get both poster sets for FREE.  Just follow the links at the bottom of each to get your copy.  There's also a full version you can buy with worksheets, journals, and activities that match up with the posters (if you feel so inclined).

FRIENDS FREE

FRIENDS Full Version

RELAX FREE

RELAX Full Version

I'll admit it--I'm fond of these.  I think they look good--BUT the meanings behind them is more important.  I have the Relax poster set on my whiteboard and I see it every time I walk in my room.  Laugh and Smile is probably my favorite (because I do it the most, since my kids are hysterical).

That's it.  That's all I got.  No funny or witty stories.  I just hope that these can assist you and your students like they've been helping mine.

Math Groups on the Computer

Hey everyone!

Some exciting stuff has happened since I posted last month. I was offered a position until January at my favorite school! I am teaching 1st grade, 2/3, and 4/5 ESOL (English classes) and in a week or so, math intervention groups!

As of today, I'll be starting extended day math club and working with kids on the computer.  What programs will be using?


I'll mostly be using XtraMath and Khan Academy as my resources online. I was also told that we're most likely going to be following Marilyn Burns' style of teaching too, with her program Math Solutions.

I wrote a blog post about Common Core Math Resources over on my blog if you would like a list of more ideas.

Inspirational Quotes for your Classroom

 Hello!! I know it's been forever since you've heard from me. School started for me two weeks ago so I've been in that adjustment period. Goodbye freedom of summer!

I STILL haven't taken picture of my classroom for you. It isn't that different than last year. For some reason, it still took me forever to set it all up! If you want to take a peek at my room last year, you can see them here. Last year I made the big change from first grade to reading teacher. When I was setting up my room, I realized something was missing. I had this small space that I wanted to fill but it was a tricky space. It's small. It's sort of a focal point when you walk in the room, but too high to really use as a teachable space for students. So I chose to put some of my favorite reading/education related quotes there. Here's what  I came out with:

Okay I'm realizing there is WAY too much glare to actually see anything so I'll show you this way:

(PS. I swear it looks way better in real life.)

I just love looking at these because it gets me all excited about teaching reading. Our goal is to  give our students the tools to make these posters come true, right?

Since there are only 4 of them, I decided to share these with you as a freebie. 

I hope they will make you smile too! :)

Head on over to my blog to download this freebie! 

Have a great week my friends!

for the clipart lovers

Hi everyone! I'm just popping in really quick to make sure you know about a couple of ways to collect some FREE clipart :)

On Facebook...

 On Teachers Pay Teachers...

That is all! I hope you all are having a great week and not too crazy!!!

Free from Scholastic!

Happy Hump Day Friends!

School has just begun and I wanted to share an incredible resource with all of you.

Last year, I signed up for a free monthly subscription to Scholastic's online newsletter.  To my surprise, I opened the email yesterday and was very excited at what I was seeing!

 

 Scholastic has refined many of their products and are now putting together monthly digital resources that are based on themes!  That's right primary teachers....THEMES by the month! Yippee!

 

 So of course, I clicked on the Apple image on the TEACH in September page and OH MY WORD, it was stocked FULL of fabulous "click & go" pages for every content area!  I don't know about you, but when it comes to finding THEME-related projects and units that are free, I get a little giggly!!!  

So be sure to check out this phenomenal resource over at Scholastic and sign up for free emails to notify you of new monthly units available...for FREE!!!

Have a great week!

Julie

Clipart Fan Freebie!

It's September! I made it through August! Woooohooo! To celebrate, I'm offering this Sweet Lil Raccoon FREEBIE to all of my Teachers Pay Teachers followers! It's an EXCLUSIVE freebie, which means you won't be able to get it unless you are a follower of my store :)

Make sure you're following by clicking below and *Follow me. Check your Teachers Pay Teachers inbox in a few days and there will be a link to this freebie for you to grab it!

Thank you so much for following my lil store!