Rocks and Rock Buddies

A few weeks ago we finished up a rock unit in science. Of course, teaching rocks to 1st graders was WAAAYYYY different than teaching rocks to 4th graders, like I am used to! Rocks is one of my favorite areas of science, so it was fun, nonetheless.

For one activity, we asked students to bring in rocks so we could sort, describe, classify, and observe them. (The kids thought that was the coolest homework assignment ever!) After we had some fun with the rocks, we used the rocks to make a classroom Rock Museum. Next year, I think we will do a little more with the Rock Museum because we kept it pretty simple this year. After the exploration activities with the rocks, the students were instructed to write a sentence about their rock(s) so others will have some information, just like at a real museum.

While we were studying rocks in science, we were also learning how to write stories that have a beginning, middle, and end in writing. My 1st grade team and I decided to extend/solidify learning by coming up with a special project to make things a tad more exciting. We decided to bring in rock buddies!! The students were told about the Rock King who chose our class (out of alllll of the classes in the United States, mind you!) to host some rock buddies for a few days. The buddies came and hung out with us for about two days and it was a B-L-A-S-T!!

Here they are! They were so excited to meet them!

Of course, we just had to give them makeovers.

The kids cared for the buddies, documenting some of the fun times along the way. At the end, we were able to turn the adventure into a BME story! I was so impressed/entertained to watch the kids care for the buddies! They REALLY embraced the challenge of the activity and cared for the rocks like they were little babies. They even spoke for the rocks, let the rocks write (hilarious) and listened to the rocks read!

Just look at those buddies write!

And look at these happy faces!!! (haha, couldn't resist):

I also made a journal for the kids to use for the activity and for what we were studying in science. A few nights ago I went back and spruced it up so I could make it available to you!

You can check it out in either store by clicking on a link:

And since this is a new product, you can get 15% off, just like my other new product promotion. Hurry, because the sale ends tonight at 11:59 p.m.!!

Thanks for hopping over! Hope you had a merry Christmas!! :)

Final, Stable Syllables--fun, fun, FUN!

Yes, I know how exciting of a topic final, stable syllables is!! :)  I actually enjoyed teaching this to my students because it really helped them to be able to decode a lot more words! They are getting so much smarter each day! In the upper grades, you do get to see the kids learn what you teach but in 1st grade, MAN, it is almost instant! The mind really is like a little sponge. I am so proud of the progress all of them have made since the beginning of the year!! :) Anyway, back to final, stable syllables--I had to come up with additional activities for my students to do to help solidify their understanding because our phonics program was NOT enough. A few activities turned into this 83-page pack! Check out a few of the pages:

You can see more by downloading the product preview from either store. Click below:

This product, along with the last three that I have posted, will be on sale from the rest of tonight through the 26th!! Take advantage and save 15%!! :)

Here are the others:

Another New Products Giveaway!!!

A few months ago I had a little giveaway for all of the new products I had posted at the time. Well, I posted a pretty big math pack today and several other products in the last 3-4 weeks, so I decided that I MUST do another one of those giveaways!!!

Simply follow the rafflecopter instructions listed below and you might win a free copy of one of my newest products--you pick which one! :)

Check out what I have recently posted:

Head over to one of my stores to read more about these activities!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by!!! Good luck!!! :)

50th Day FUN!!.....like 50 days later ;)

Well, the 50th day of school has come and gone (even though I am just now posting about it). For my first graders, it was a b-l-a-s-t! And it was PERFECT timing, because the 50th day fell right in the middle of our Numeration 31-50 unit!!

Up until the 50th day, we had been working on basic counting, skip counting, and, most importantly, making groups of ten. We had counted lots of objects, such as beans, buttons, noodles, and erasers, and grouped them in tens. So when it came to the 50th day festivities, the kiddos were ready to apply their new knowledge.

To get started, I gave each student the 50th day paper. I told them that they were going to use 50 of the following items to decorate their 50:

Of each item they chose, they were allowed to get 10 to put on their 50. We discussed ways to get the 50 items. In the end, the kids decided that they would use cups to gather the items because they could make groups of ten using the cups (like we had been doing)! Then they decided that if they all used 1 cup each, it would take 5 trips to get enough of the items. {*insert clip of happy teacher dance*} So, that is what they did! They used cups to make groups and 10 and then placed the items on their 50. (By the way, they used the markers to make 10 dots. 1 marker = 10 dots, so if they chose a marker they only put one in the cup.)

My eager little shoppers:

Masterpieces in the making:

During the activity I walked around the room and visited each student several times to informally assess understanding. When they finished I asked each to count their items for me. It made me very happy to see them point to each type of item and refer to it as "10" instead of counting them all individually. For instance, a student would point to the sticker section and say "10", cheerios and say "20", beans and say "30" etc. The 50th day is definitely in my top 5 favorite days of school this year!

HAPPY 50TH DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

You can grab a copy of the activity page by clicking below:

And stay tuned, because I will be finishing and posting this winter math station pack I have been working on either tonight or tomorrow!!! :)

Disguise a Turkey and Another Freebie

My grade level participated in the "Disguise a Turkey" activity this year. It was h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s to see some of the ideas the kids and their parents came up with!! We just sent a note and a blank turkey home with each student. Here are a few honorable mentions:

Gotta love the hairy chest!!

Blurry, but you get the idea.

My favorite one! A KISS turkey!!! Bahahahaha!

A sweet little Christmas tree! :)

Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Batman!!

Silly clown! :P

I am diggin' the dress!

And I know that it is past Thanksgiving, but feel free to download this Thanksgiving activity we did and file it away for next year! The cute turkey is from Lettering Delights. Click on the image to download the document.

MORE Writing Freebies!

Happy Saturday evening!!

I hope you had a chance to comment and win a FREE copy of my Magic e Activity Pack! If not, click here to head on over to the post.

Speaking of free, I have some freebie writing activities to share with you. You may recall this Finger Spacing Sort I posted a few months ago. Well, I created one just like it when we introduced capital letters at the beginning of sentences. It was a nice and quick assessment of their understanding. Grab your copy below!

Also, I made a Personal Word Wall to go into our Writer's Notebooks. The students will add names and other words that they frequently use. It serves as a quick reference for them. (My students were very excited about this, by the way! So excited that we now have to go back and reinforce the importance of spelling the words correctly when you add them to the page!) :) You can grab a copy of this as well! It is meant to be copied front-to-back and then hole-punched, so I adjusted the margins accordingly.

Oh, and don't forget about the TN sale and the TPT sale!! You can save all sorts of money! And my shops are both 20% off! :)

Magic e Activity Pack!

Well, it has been a month since my last post. In this past month, I have logged into Blogger maybe 4 or 5 times. The other day I actually visited a few blogs and even left comments!! I am finally into the swing of things at school BUT I have packed one house and moved into another in the last 2 months!! What a not-so pleasant experience!!!!

Anyway, I was struck with inspiration last night and went with it! I created a NEW pack that has NOTHING to do with math! {insert sounds of shock and awe here} I have actually created a Magic e Activity Pack!! I am REALLY loving teaching phonics and have all sorts of ideas for products to create. I hope you enjoy this first one.

It includes:
-word slider
-poem
-mystery picture coloring page
-magic e mat
-wand activity
-word stamp
-practice pages
-magic e minibook

BONUS: ActivInspire flipchart (Promethean) with Magic e practice

I have not shared any flipcharts yet, but I really hope to start soon because I can make a meeeeaaannnnn flipchart! (If I do say so myself...)

Check out the products by clicking below:

Leave your name and email below and I will send a FREE copy of my Magic e Activity Pack to three randomly chosen people.  Winners have been notified. Thanks for entering! :)

Thanks for sticking with me!! ;)


And please take advantage of these super sales!! I am having a 20% off sale in both of my stores!! :)