Flip or Kick the Sound!

Hello Everyone!

This week in first grade we will be practicing the "Accuracy" menu item on our CAFE board by "flipping" or "kicking" the sound.  As young readers use their knowledge of letter sounds to decode words, we will guide them through this new strategy.  While reading, if a word doesn't sound right, we will work on flipping or kicking a sound from the word and replacing it with another sound that letter can make.  We will work mainly on the vowel sounds this week, but will soon move to the hard and soft sound of g and c, the different sounds of y, and the vowel digraphs and diphthongs. I tried to find a cute song or rhyme to go along with either the "Flippy Dolphin" many primary teachers use, or my new "Kick" the sound strategy posters (You can get my Wranglin' Word Strategies posters here), but ended up just reworking a few different ones to fit our needs. Have a look!

 

To get your printables, 

click (or flip) here! :)

Happy flipping, kicking and reading!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Eat Your words- Skittles!

Hello Everyone!

Just a super quick post tonight! Crazy busy weekend coming up!  

This week our sweet little firsties practiced the short i sound by brainstorming all the words they could think of with ip, in, and it in them.  We practiced with rainbow words, stamps, magnets and...Skittles during Daily 5 Word Work.  My teacher treat for  word work practice one day was to write the short i words, write them again with the "taste the rainbow" colors of Skittles and then use a skittle for the dot above all the short i's. "Skittles is the best short i word ever," said the kids!!  What a sweet way to practice some sweet words!! 

Click here for your own sweet "Eat your Words" printable!

Have a sweet weekend!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Readers Read...

Hello Everyone,

One of the things I try to instill in my first graders is that reading is all around us. The importance of working hard on learning to read is so valuable.  Reading will open so many doors and will allow them to travel to so many places and experience so many things...just look around! To prove to them that our world is filled with opportunities to read, I had the kids pair up and brainstorm and list as many things as they could where they could see words to read.  Of course we read books, but what else?  I must say they came up with an amazing list. 

We shared our lists and created an anchor to make sure we are reminded daily about the importance of learning to read.

 

Here's a quick freebie of our recording sheet. 

If you would like one, click here.

Look around! Reading is everywhere!!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Ready to Read at Home!!

Hello Everyone!

We believe that the more time spent with books in the hands of our young readers, the greater progress we'll see in their growth as readers.  We also believe with our whole hearts in the home / school connection.  We recommend that our firsties read for at least 10 minutes every evening.  Tomorrow is the day when we will begin sending home books for our kids to read to parents. They will be "just right" books which they have each selected. 

Over the years I have had many parents tell me they aren't sure what to work on, or what to do when their child misses a word, or doesn't understand something.  I have reworked my "Reading With Your Child" note for parents to include what to do before, during , and after the read. I will be sending this home along with the first home reader, and the reading log. 

If you would like a printable of the log and the parent guide, click here

Happy Reading!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Flutter, Flutterfly, flutter!!

Hello Everyone!

What a wonderful way to end our week!  We have been studying seasons and weather and today we created "Flutterflies" to help us learn about wind. We had brainstormed weather words earlier in the week.  I saved the chart for an anchor for today. We had some sweet moms cut out 2 cloud shaped pieces of white construction paper and some lengths of crepe paper streamers in the colors of the rainbow for each of our first graders (Thank you moms!!) The kids then wrote the weather vocabulary on the cloud, glued the streamers to the bottom of the cloud and sandwiched the other cloud shape on top.  We then took the flutterflies outside. The kids had to hold their clouds still and see what happened to the streamers.  They discovered that even though we couldn't see the wind, we could see what the wind could do. We had wonderful conversation about what else made the air around us move!  Then it was time to come back in and record our findings just as scientists do!  

Flutter, Flutterfly, flutter!

If you want the free printable, flutter on over to here!:)

Have a flutter-filled weekend!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

An Fan and Apple Jack Words

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our wonderful first grade world!  This week we are working hard on the short a chunks. Word work during Daily 5 is one of my favorite places to add some pizazz! This week I added some "Teacher Treats" to my choice board.  One of the choices was to make an "An Fan."  The kids wrote their choice of /an/ words on paint chips (I did ask the sweet WalMart employee before I took so many of them!) traced over them with a sharpie and then punched holes in the other end for a brass fastener to fit through.  I think they turned out beautifully!  They had to find a friend with whom to read and spell their /an/ words from their "An Fans."

Another "Teacher Treat" from our Word Work Choice board this week was "Apple Jack Words."  This time the kids had to write their choice of /ap/ words on a recording sheet and use a, Apple Jack for the a in each word.  So much fun and memorable.  I think they will always think of /ap/ words as "Apple Jack Words!"  

 

For your free printable, click here! :)

I am sure my kids will be ready for their first Spell Check on Friday!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Why do Writers Write and Readers Read?

Hello Everyone!

Great day in first grade today!!  These kids make me smile!!  Today we had a big discussion about the reasons writers write books, and why readers read books.  I was trying to get them to realize that authors write books to Persuade, Inform, and Entertain.  You know...author's purpose...PIE.  I let them brainstorm  individually, and with a friend.  Then we put their ideas on our new anchor chart.  I think they came up with some pretty amazing ideas! Then we brainstormed some reasons why readers read.  This list was even better!!!  I think their ideas are even better than PIE!!!

Way to go kiddos!!

Why do Readers Read? "So we can smile!" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you want a free printable, click here! :)

Thanks for making me smile, kiddos!!! 

Joyfully!

Nancy

Word Wranglin' Strategies

Hello Everyone!

Ahhhh! A rainy day.  They come few and far between here in Texas, so I'm taking advantage of not being able to be outside and working on some word strategy posters.  It is not a secret that I love the Daily Five and CAFE.  I am also a very visual learner, as I am positive many of my students are as well. I had some old tricky word strategy posters, but I wanted some with a visually western flair. I used the "Accuracy" component of CAFE and created these poster, mini posters and book marks to organize literacy learning in my classroom and keep my kids motivated, focused and Wranglin' those tricky words!

A sample of one of the posters

 

For a copy of yours, rope 'em in here! :)

Download consists of Title page, 7 posters, mini poster/bookmarks for each strategy and 

books marks with all strategies.

Hope you can use them! 

 I can't wait to get them printed and hung up!! Stay tuned!

Happy Trails!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Wonderful Word Work

Hello Everyone!

I am gearing up for some seriously Wonderful Word Work during Daily 5 this coming week. We'll be introducing our "chunks" for the week as well as all of our fun ways to practice using those chunks in words.  We will work hard on learning the differences between vowels and consonants as well as continuing to understand the phonics rules and exceptions.  I have posted on the different choices the kids will have for word work during our Daily 5 rotations, but I wanted to share my "find" of the day!  I love for my kids to stamp their words at least once during the week.  Alphabet stamps are pretty expensive.  Imagine my smile when I found some mini alphabet stamps at WalMart for only 97 cents!!  Now I can have up to six kids stamping away at once! Happy kids- Happy teacher!

 I'm sharing my new vowel poems, a Word Work song and some pics of my cute little stamps. I'm also sharing my word work choices 10 page pack again.

 For printables of my 6 vowel poems/songs click here!

 For a 10 page Word Work Choice unit, click here
  (Unit has directions and recording sheets for 9 different choices.) 

Alphabet stamps- 97 cents, stamp pad- $1.99, Notebook- 17 cents, Stamp Stomp supplies!

Glue the Word Work song inside the cover of the word work notebook!

 For a printable of my Word Work song, click here

 To read a little more about my word work choices, click here


Happy Stamping!!
Joyfully!
Nancy