The Night Before School Starts

'Twas the night before school starts 

And the teacher can't sleep

Hoping there are no first day disasters

And children who weep!

My dad used to tell us about how my grandmother gave them "sleeping pills,", aka Good and Plenty candies, on Christmas Eve.  I may need to go buy a box so I can sleep tonight.  I've made a list and checked it twice two hundred times.  The playdough is ready, the activities are laid out on my table, and I've got a stack of books to read as tall as a first grader.  I met most of my new first graders at Meet and Greet, and they are absolutely adorable, even the one who bounced around my room like a ping pong ball!  I've identified the potential criers, (both first graders and parents!) and am prepared to comfort the students and gently push the mommies out the door!  My clothes, although not the size 10 I wish for,  are ironed and ready to put on, and I don't think they look too "grandmotherly."  (For the past 2 years during the first few days of school I have been told I look/smell/sound like someone's grandma!)

So why am I so nervous?  Because I know that these next few days will have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year.  Because I have been given this awesome responsibility to influence 22 little people and teach them as much as I can.  Because after 30 years, I know what lies ahead, and after 30 years, I know that there will still be a lot of surprises coming my way!

Now it's time to check my list once more, set my alarm for 4:30 and eat a box of Good & Plenty candy!
Have a wonderful school year everyone!

Classroom Progress

Slowly, but surely, my classroom is coming together!  Here's what it looks like right now:

I need to make new FACE (CAFE) headers.

 

Math stations and pocket chart for rotation.

I do calendar on my smart board but I  like to have one visible all day.  Need to find the missing numbers!

Still a lot of stuff to put away!

The biggest job remaining is to organize my books.  I ordered a set of new shelves that haven't arrived yet for my classroom library.  Then I need to figure out what I am going to do with all of my mentor texts.

I had hoped to have a project to share for Made it Monday, but other than cut some bulletin board letters for myself and my husband (he's a PE teacher in another district) I didn't get any crafting done.  I did make a number book for my team to use during the first few weeks of school.  I had seen several books on different blogs but the ones that covered the right skills didn't have the correct handwriting.  So I tried making my own!  I don't think it turned out too bad!  Click the caption if you would like a copy.

                                                                   My Number Book
Tomorrow's tasks:  Finish FACE board and get started on classroom library.

TPT Love!

I love a sale, especially on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) right before school starts.  I didn't buy a whole lot (yet), but I found some fabulous resources.
Here's a couple of things I purchased:

Morning menu

Michelle Oakes wrote about this on her blog recently and I knew it was something I had to try!  Read her post here.

Fall Math Journal Prompts

Then I purchased another volume of Anna's wonderful math journal prompts.  I started using these with my class last year and we loved them!  I make enough copies for a couple of weeks, cut them and store them in manila envelopes so all I have to do each day is pass them out.  The kids glue them in their journals (we use the black composition books) and they get to work.

Workstation Activity Cards

Back to School Number Cards

Another math purchase- I got these activity cards to go with the Back-to-School number cards I bought earlier this summer.  Donna is a math coach in my district, and I love her blog and the things she creates!  These cards will be great to use all year.  Donna has several other themed number card sets, and I like that I can differentiate by choosing the number range the kids will use.

Camping Unit

My final purchase for today- the sale is still going on!- is this camping unit from the wonderful Cara Carroll.  The First Grade Parade was one of the first blogs I ever followed, and am continually amazed and inspired every time I visit.  I thought a little camping unit this fall or maybe next spring would be fun.

Now it's time to fire up the printer and laminator and get busy making all these great activities.  One more week until I am officially back to work!

Edited on August 16 to link up with Blog Hoppin'!

Let the Games Begin!

I went in to school for the first time today.  This is what awaited me:

This is how I left it 2 hours later:

It may have looked better before I started!  Because I moved into a new room, I had a hard time finding some things.  Never did find my stapler!

I am so excited about having a mounted Smart board this year.  The mobile board and cart with computer, projector and document camera took up so much space.  I was worried about the new position of the computer table at the front of the room.  They redid all of our wiring and that was the non-negotiable location for the computers.  But now that I've seen it, I think I can live with it.  It does leave a partially obstructed bulletin board to deal with.  Any suggestions?

Notice the Sonic drink- an absolute essential for back-to-school!

New (School) Year Resolutions

I have just about given up on making New Year's resolutions since I'm never very successful in keeping them.  But I do like to start each school year with some goals in mind, and maybe making them public will help me achieve them!

• The first thing on any resolution/goal list I make is to become more organized!  Specifically for this year I want to work on keeping my teaching table clear and organized so I can actually teach there.  I'm getting too old to hold my small group sessions on the floor!  I also resolve to file daily- no more sorting a year's worth of writing samples for writing folders in May.
• I will implement guided math and meet with small groups 3 times a week.
• I want to spice up guided reading.  After years of doing reading intervention, working with readers in small groups comes naturally, but it has also become a little bit too routine.  I will organize all the wonderful activities I have found on blogs and Pinterest so that I can easily use them to add some variety to my lessons.  I also want to make sure I am providing my higher readers with a lot of meaningful activities to help them continue to grow as readers.
• I will utilize technology on a regular basis.  This year I would like to start a class blog and work on developing digital portfolios.

To help myself stay on track, I am also resolving to blog about my progress towards these goals once a month.  I'm putting a reminder on my calendar right now!

What are your resolutions for the new school year?  Link up with Amanda at Teaching Maddeness  and share!

Monday Made It: July 30

There's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of what you think is a fantastic lesson and calling on a student  hoping to get an insightful comment or question only to hear "Can I go to the bathroom?"  Geesh!  Last year's group was the worst for this!  So this year I am going to be proactive.  We are going to have serious discussions about what "emergency" really means and when is an appropriate time to use the restroom.  I saw an idea on a blog or Pinterest to have signs indicating that it is an OK time to go.  The original pinner used red and green signs; I decided to make something that fit with my movie theme.

Click here to download

 When the "Showtime" sign is up, meaning we are having a lesson or read-aloud, the restroom is closed except for emergencies.  Students, one boy and girl at a time, can take the pass at "Intermission."  (These signs have a red star border that is not showing up in the pictures for some reason.)
Then I saw another great idea on Pinterest to use a bottle of hand sanitizer as the pass.  The student will put the bottle on his/her desk so we know who is out of the classroom and then use the sanitizer when he returns.  I made some labels that can be attached to a bottle of sanitizer after the original label is removed.  I got these bottles at Dollar Tree.  The labels come off quite easily and leave a smooth surface.  I'm going to cover the labels with clear packing tape to protect them a little bit as soon as I figure out where all our tape is!

Click here for these labels and more!

I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. Can't wait to see what everyone has made this week!

                                         

Guided Math: Putting It All Together

I just received the summer newsletter my principal sends out every year  and saw that guided math is going to be required in all classrooms this year. YES!  But now the hard part begins...What will this really look like in my first grade classroom this year?
My team leader has asked me to help our team put together binders for guided math similar to what we use in guided reading.  Our guided reading binders contain information about reading levels, strategies to teach, and helpful hints like suggestions for prompting readers and extending thinking, and they house our running records, rubrics and other student data.  We also use them for our lesson plans for each group and to show how our students are currently grouped for instruction.
So what should a guided math binder contain?  This is what I have come up with so far:

• Objectives/standards to be taught.  Here in Texas, that's our TEKS.  For many of you, this would be the Common Core standards.  No Common Core in Texas:(
• Road map for the year and each grading period
• Resources- problem solving strategies, CGI problem types, question stems to promote higher level thinking
• Lesson plans
• A section for each student's assessment data and observation records
• Blank anecdotal record forms, rubrics, checklists, etc.
• Grouping information

I've been searching for lesson plan templates.  Here are a couple I've found so far.

From Mandy Gregory

I found this last night, but now I don't know where!  If it is yours or you know where it is from, please let me know!

My version

Questions:
What would you include in a guided math binder?
Do you have a lesson plan template or data form to share?
Any hints for successful implementation of guided math in first grade?

Thanks for any help you can offer!