Be a Good Writer

I'm linking up to Manic Monday Classroom Freebies to share a new writing poster I quickly whipped up on Friday because of something a colleague downloaded and of course I had to tweak it to fit my style....plus I LOVE to make things!

Making first graders cognizant of how they can improve their writing is very important and isn't rocket science.  You, their teacher, needs to be aware of the strengths and struggles in their writing and both praise and guide them along the path to becoming a good writer.

You'll find this cute poster here.

Enjoy!

Word Family Packet

T-minus 1 week until I'm back in the saddle of my 1st grade classroom!  I've really enjoyed the past 9 weeks at home with my daughter and new son, but I'm itching to get back to my new group of first graders and the classroom that I love!

Last year I learned about and tried implementing the Daily 5 in my classroom for our reading block.  It went really well and I'm going to ease into it again this year.  The "Word Work" that my students do is based on our reading curriculum's weekly word families.  I'm in the process of creating a packet for each word family that engages students in making words, spelling words, writing words, comprehending words and using words.  So I'm linking up again for Manic Monday on the Classroom Freebies blog.  Download this free packet and tell me what you think :)

Halloweeeeeeeen!

Seven weeks ago I reported back to school on the first inservice day for teachers.  I was 9 months pregnant and, oddly, felt great that day.  The next morning I woke up and went to get ready for work again when my water broke!  9 hours later I was holding my son and I haven't been back to work since.  I have about 1.5 weeks left of my maternity leave and then I'm back in the saddle again.  I'm excited and nervous and have been living in a bubble since the beginning of the school year, just staying at home taking care of my 4-year-old and new baby.

So what does this post have to do with Halloween you ask?  Well since I've been in my bubble I haven't really felt like Halloween is coming up.  But now I'm seeing pumpkins in the grocery stores and some decorations on houses in the neighborhood.  That reminded me of my Halloween packet and I wanted to jazz it up and make it even better because I'll be back in the classroom for Halloween this year.  So go on over to my TPT shop and download a preview.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Locke

Reader's Theater

There is no better....funner way to practice reading fluency than by using Readers' Theater!

There are no props, costumes or scenery, but kids love using only their voice to convey the heart of a great book.  There are many scripts out there waiting for you or you can create your own.  I personally LOVE to whip up a script to go along with a book we've read because I can tailor it to meet the needs of all my readers.  I think the secret to success with Readers' Theater is all in how kids prepare for the "performance".  I am a very structured and organized teacher and that's how I run the preparation part of it.  So if you've never done Readers' Theater in your classroom or have but want to know how I run it, click below to download my guide.

I'm linking up with Manic Monday, so checkout Classroom Freebies!