Fluency.... It's all about WORDS... right?!? Words are the building building blocks of reading. As a first grade teacher, I need my students to recognize words instantly. I want them to enjoy reading... to be able to pick up ANY book and read for enjoyment rather than...
After pre-reading comes the FUN PART - READING! You can read all about pre-reading HERE! Reading is when my little learners apply what they have learned! They apply knowledge of sight words, phonics skills, decoding, vocabulary skills, word identification, and reading...
Sixteen years ago... I was a first year teacher... I had NO IDEA what I was doing when it came to guided reading groups! I DREADED that small group time! I taught a 1/2 split and my kids were on so many different levels. I couldn't figure out how to organize my...
2020 has been one for the books! I've learned things I never thought I would... I'm using technology to implement my instruction... I've learned google slides, google forms, google classroom, google meet, ZOOM... What in the world? THIS IS SO NOT ME! I know technology...
It's November and I'm still teaching first grade VIRTUALLY! We are live for an hour each morning for ELA... my students get a 15 minute break and we're live again for 45 minutes of math. During those live sessions I do my best to keep my students engaged, working, and...
As a first grade teacher, my goal is for my students to become fluent readers. I want them to enjoy reading, and I want them to leave me and enter second grade knowing that they can pick up any book and read for enjoyment. While fluency is only one key ingredient in...
At the beginning of each school year my goal is for my students to have fun and enjoy reading! My first reading lesson is to teach them that reading is MAKING MEANING. My students learn that they can read a story by reading the words AND/OR by reading the pictures....
I just added another tie-dye classroom decor set and I want to give you an idea of what each piece looks like all together! I always have a hard time imagining what my classroom will look like when I only look at one piece. This decor set is huge... so I'm going to...
Anyone else love the tie-dye trend right now?!? I love tie-dye... but I also love farmhouse! SO... I decided to combine the two with my latest Farmhouse Flair Tie-Dye Classroom Decor. Get ready for a picture overload because I'm going to show you everything included...
I'm already thinking about what I want to do with my classroom next year! Our classrooms are FINALLY getting new floors... which means EVERYTHING has to come down and get boxed up... I've decided that if I want to change themes this is the perfect time to do it! This...
I’m a mom, wife, first grade teacher, and curriculum designer. I love teaching and I also enjoy creating resources that engage and inspire our little learners. My goal is to save you time while providing researched based, high quality, engaging lessons and activities that can be adapted to meet the needs of ALL students. I hope you’ll stay for a while. I’m so glad you’re here.