Blog Swap and Hop with Monica from Treasures for Teaching

Hello and welcome to our blog party!  I'm excited to have Monica from  here today as my first ever guest blogger. Be sure to visit her blog after reading here and then hop over to http://arlenesandberg.blogspot.com for my guest post. Grab your favorite drink and take your time visiting the talented bloggers as they share their creative ideas and some freebies along the way.

Hi, I am SO excited to be here at Melissa's blog for my first ever guest post! It's a good thing I am not in front of you, 'cause I would probably be talking really fast (but that's probably just a Texan thang). I'm Monica from Treasures for Teaching. I will begin my 9th year of teaching first grade this fall. I can't believe how time passes so quickly. I absolutely love watching my firsties grow and learn over the course of the year. Since we all know the wide range in abilities that are found in a kindergarten and first grade classroom, my post will include ideas suitable for K-1. I know I want to get to know my students' strengths and areas of concern as soon as possible. So, I thought I would share with you some fab.u.lous freebies and ideas that I have found that will help get you started in the fall, so you can spend more time welcoming your students. First, I wanted to share with you this Multiple Intelligence Chart that a fellow blogger, Marsha, from Differentiated Kindergarten created.

get your copy here

I think it is so important those first few weeks to get to know the kinds of learners you have in your classroom. I would keep a copy of this chart on a clipboard and as your students are completing tasks, I would take a sticky note and jot down the names of students that are showing a particular trait. You can use this data later to reflect on improving tasks or working with students on using different intelligences. I love read-alouds, especially at the beginning of the year, because I enjoy visiting old favorites and having my students make text-to-self connections right away. One of the wildly popular books in my classroom is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. My friend, Tammy, from Live, Love, Laugh Kindergarten, has a super cute mini-literacy unit based on the book that includes uppercase / lowercase / beginning sounds matching cards and story retelling cards.

get your free copy here

Another great beginning-of-year activity is a freebie from another friend, Heather, from Hojo's Teaching Adventures.

grab this freebie

I like that this activity is differentiated by having letter sorts for 2, 3, and 4 letters. She also includes letters in different fonts, which will help letter recognition for letters like a and g. If you want more letter sorts, she also has a larger unit for sale. As for math, Rachelle from What the Teacher Wants! is offering a number-word matching game for individuals, partners, or small groups. I love that this set has a number-word reference page and a recording sheet.

grab it here

For all you The Daily 5 fans, I would like to share my I Can...Picture Displays. I got this idea based off the idea of anchor charts. I think, as teachers, we tend to use a lot visual reminders as support in math, due to the learning concepts, and need to remember to support other content areas with visual examples. Here is what I used last year in my classroom.

I took and displayed pictures of my kiddos after they had built their stamina for each of their literacy choices. I would refer to the pictures when someone needed reminding, after a long break or holiday, or when I got a new student (which was quite often last year). I wanted to expand on that model more this year. I thought as I introduced each literacy choice, I would have my students draw pictures of what they should look like and you could focus on what you see: student being on task, busy the whole time, getting started right away, building their stamina, etc. Then I would take photographs and use these same frames (copied on cardstock or themed paper and laminated) to display students showing those traits. You know how they love having pictures of themselves around the classroom. Plus, it is helpful for subs to get a visual of what they should be doing if they are not familiar with the D5 (or if your students decide to deviate from what they should be doing...but that doesn't ever happen, right?). So, I came up with this:

get your copy here

This is the first place that this freebie is available! I will add it to TpT later :) Kinda a bonus for doing the Blog Swap and Hop! I would love for you to stop by my blog sometime!







Enjoy the rest of your browsing :)