Anchor Charts

Let me begin by updating you.  Grad school is keeping me very busy.  I am also in the process of building a house, to be closer to my mama and daddy.  On top of all that, my family is pitching in to help my daddy take care of my mama, who had a major stroke this summer.  I get to do my homework and blog when it's my turn to sit with mama. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family.  I would do anything for them.

One routine that I started this year is "Number of the Day".  This idea came from Guided Math: A Framework for Mathematics Instruction by Laney Sammons.  After demonstrating the different ways to represent a number for several weeks, the students would still only use pictures and tally marks.  Together, we came up with several ways to represent numbers.  We left room to add more ways.

This month we are concentrating on visualization/mental images.  October is a great month for visualization.  We will listen to spooky sound effects and draw a picture of what we imagine the scene is like.  This is adapted from an activity that Debbie Miller suggests in her book, Reading With Meaning. We will also use our senses to write about fall.  This week, we listened to Pirates Go To School. It was a really cute book, and the students had fun making a movie in their minds.  As they drew, they listened to the story again.  After I took up the drawings, we talked about their drawings. Then I read the story, and showed them the pictures.  We compared their drawings to the actual illustrations.  I was amazed with how much detail some of the pictures had. 

Our school district began using anchor charts for comprehension strategies last year.  This year, we will also use anchor charts for math strategies.  I haven't been able to attend the trainings for the math strategies, due to grad school classes.  Hopefully all of the reading I did this summer (Guided Math... and Math Work Stations), will give me some insight about math anchor charts. I'll also check out Pinterest.

Data Notebooks

This year my students will keep a data notebook.  Hopefully by tracking their progress, they will set goals and try to obtain their goals. It's more like a portfolio, because samples of their work will be put in the notebook too.  I will keep state and county tests in a different location.

This tool will also be helpful during parent-teacher conferences.  I also plan to use them for student conferences. In the past students never saw their growth.  This year with a Garden Theme, I felt like it was important for students to see their growth, and reflect on how to improve.  At the end of the grading period, students will take the samples home.  At the end of the school year, they will take the data forms home.

As a class, we came up with some classroom rules and mission statement.  The most important rule is, "Listen".  Our mission statement is short and to the point. 

Our mission is to learn, have fun, and stay safe.

Cover of the Notebook

 

Our Classroom Mission Statement and Rules

Writing Data and Goal Setting

Reading Data and Goal Setting

Michelle Oakes at Fabulous in First provided the inspiration for our data notebooks. 

Hats Off to ...

Every year we read The Hat, by Holly Keller, in our reading series.  Then we wear hats while we write about the hats. I have collected enough hats over the years to let each child wear a different hat.  They have so much fun wearing the hats and writing.  This year they asked if they could their hat to lunch.  Of course I let them. I wore my witch hat while I modeled for them.  When it was time for lunch, I put on my Goofy hat.  We had two construction workers, a pirate, cowboy/girl, police officer, firefighter, explorer, jester, hombre, and Zorro.

I'll Get You, My Pretty!!!!

A Pirate and a Cowgirl

First Week of School

I can tell this is going to be a wonderful school year.  I have some of the sweetest students.  Our school will be using PBIS this year.  At least three teachers have started using the Clip Chart Behavior Management System.  I hope it will work with PBIS.  I love my team mate's Pirate-themed Clip Chart.

Pirate Clip Chart

Our class established some classroom rules and a mission statement.  We also did the Marshmallow Toes activity which Castles and Crayons created. The students had fun with it.  I did have to convince a few students that they have five toes.  LOL!!!

Student Sample: Marshmallow Toes

We also read Chrysanthemum. The students made flower glyphs to label their writing pockets.  For homework, the parents had to explain how their child's name was chosen.  My eyes almost started leaking with some of the stories.  A few were hilarious.  The students wrote 1-2 sentences about their names, and displayed them.  We used the letters in our name to make a Name Graph.  My "Teacher Helper" helped me demonstrate how hurtful words never fully heal.  As I read Chrysanthemum again, she balled up a sheet of paper that had a heart on it.  When Chrysanthemum started feeling better about her name, my helper straightened  out the heart.  The students saw that the wrinkles remained.  So we concluded that the pain from hurtful words never completely goes away.

Our Writing Garden is Starting to Bloom

Bulletin Boards

Teachers are some of the most creative people I know.  Here are a few of the bulletin boards I've seen at my school to start the new school year.

This is outside my room.  Notice the "No Peanuts Please..." sign that I downloaded from Mrs. Carroll at; http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/

Behavior to Grow On Clip Chart- to go with my garden theme

My teammate's Pirate themed hallway board

My teammate's wall in her classroom

Big Top- Circus Theme

Preschool Board