Whole Brain Teaching

I was introduced to Whole Brain Teaching from the Kindergarten teachers at my school. We spent collaborative meetings watching Whole Brain Teaching videos and discussing how we would implement the ideas into our own classrooms. One of my favourite components of Whole Brain Teaching is their Five Classroom Rules. You can find them here.
For the way that I teach, rule number three doesn't really work for me (Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat), so I use an alternate rule: "Respect yourself, respect others, respect this place."
Because I use that alternate rule, I am unable to use most of the WBT rule posters that are out there on Teachers Pay Teachers and blogs. So, I decided to create my own set and share them with anyone else who is interested. For that set, I included the traditional rule set, as well as my alternate rule #3. I hope you enjoy! You can download them for free at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click the image to go check it out!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Whole-Brain-Teaching-Rules-Posters-Freebie-841977

Flash Freebie! ~Name Plates~

For the rest of the day (July 5th) my new desk name plates are free!  You can grab them here:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-757244

How handy to have a digital file of name plates so that you can print off as many as you need, and if some get ruined throughout the year, or if you receive a new student, you can just print off more!

There are several other styles available in the packet.  These are free for today only, but they will be available for purchase after that point!

Enjoy :)

~Sonja

It's Not Fair

Lately in my classroom we've been talking about fairness.  It's such a difficult concept for students to realize that fair doesn't always mean equal.  I found some books that deal with fairness and how we are all unique and have different needs and strengths.  Here are some books that are great for these types of discussions. I always start off the year with Leo the Late Bloomer.  It helps the students to understand why they might not get to meet with me as often for reading groups (if they are a more advanced reader) or why I need to work with them more frequently.  It also helps with the discussions about "just right" books.  Leo might be able to read the pictures of a book but not the words.  And that's ok!

The first book is a great way to introduce the concept of fairness at any time of year.  The students love it, because it is filled with silly surprises!

Spoon is an adorable book.  The spoon starts thinking that everyone else has it better (knives and forks), but then he comes to realize that he's pretty special as well!

Cookies: Bite Size Life Lessons deals with more than just fairness, but it's a great book as part of a series on character.  All of the life lessons relate to cookies: generosity, patience, respect, fairness, etc.

It's Mine is a classic book about fairness and sharing!  

The Rainbow Fish is another classic book about fairness and sharing.  There are also many ways you can extend this book into a week-long theme!  Just search on Teachers Pay Teachers!  

Leo the Late Bloomer: A great way to start your year off right, so that your students understand that it's ok to be at different stages of learning!  We all learn at our own pace.  

Border Freebie

Well, yesterday was Mother's Day, and I had been anticipating spending the day with my kids and with my mom and mother-in-law at two gatherings.  Unfortunately, things don't always go according to plan.  Instead of celebrating, I ended up at the clinic with a throat infection!  I was not feeling well at all.  I didn't even check my e-mail until the mid-afternoon.  But----when I did, I was in for a great surprise!  I found out that one of my freebies was selected to be highlighted in the Teachers Pay Teachers 10 Free Downloads newsletter!  

I would love if you would hop on over and download my scallop borders.  They are free for you to use both personally and commercially!  Enjoy!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Colored-Scallop-borders-clip-art-set-of-9

Freebie~Punch Cards

As we're winding down the year of grade one, we're in need of some behavior management boosts!  I don't know about you, but I don't do very well with tangible rewards.  However, I figure I might as well give something new a try!  So, I created some punch cards that I can start to use to reward students for following procedures and routines and for being kind and respectful.

Simply print out a copy for each student and use your hole puncher to note each time a student does the specified behavior or task. 

Ideas for behaviors/routines to reward:
-returning books
-bringing back homework
-completing stages of an assignment or project
-having a clean desk or cubby
-helping a friend
-listening
-focusing during class


Once the student has all of the stars punched, they can either trade the card in for a tangible reward or a privilege, such as:
-extra play time
-read with a buddy
-eat with the teacher
-work without shoes
-etc

I would love to share these with you!  You can grab them here:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seasonal-Punch-Cards-Freebie

Here's a closer look at a few of the cards I've included.  

There are also seasonal cards for fall and winter in the download.  

Enjoy!

Crab Mini-Unit

I can't wait to share my latest creation!

I have completed my first ocean animals mini-unit.  Your little learners will have so much fun learning about crabs and they will record their learning in a variety of entertaining ways!

My personal favorite is the little flip book that they can complete.

In order to make the flip book, you simply need to print the pages back to back, ensuring that each reverse page is printing "upside-down."

Then, you slide the inner pages inside of the outer pages, staple, and the book is ready to be filled in with a student's research! 

You can find this unit at my TpT store: 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Crab-Unit-Animal-Research-for-Primary

Also included in the unit are graphic organizers, a mini book to read, and more!

New Blog Name and TpT store name

In an effort to get more into blogging, I have revamped my blog design and my TpT store name!  I decided to merge two of my loves: teaching and photography!  So instead of "Grade One Fun," I am now "Grade One Snapshots".

My goal is to fill my blog with photographs that inspire and ideas to help you along your way!

Here a student is completing a page about the 3 ways to read a book.  This fantastic freebie can be found here at Crazy For First Grade's blog: 

http://fun-n-first.blogspot.ca/2012/07/daily-5-chapters-4-6.html

Fairy Tale Unit by Teaching with a TwiSt

I was fortunate to be part of a product swap, and I get to review a great fairy tale product.  I've always loved teaching fairy tales, because I feel like they all children should be exposed to them.  I feel the same way about nursery rhymes.  All children should learn some of them, not only for their literary value (rhyme, etc.) but for the fact that they are part of the common literary history.

 

Fairy Tale Unit

The unit I got to test out was from Teaching with a TwiSt by Linsay Humphrey.  Linsay's unit is a well-balanced unit.  It has a Fairy Tale overview poster, grammar practice (subject-predicate), games, a craftivity and more!  All of it is included for $3.00!   To purchase, click on the fairy tale unit image above.

 

 Before diving into the unit I taught some fairy tale directed drawing, which helped the students to get into the spirit of things.

Definitely go and check it out at Linsay's TpT store found here:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teaching-With-A-Twist

Her blog is very cute as well.  You can find it here:  http://firstgradewithatwist.blogspot.com

Thank you Linsay, for the opportunity to have a chance to test out your unit!

~Mrs.D