First Grade Wow: Number Patterns with Tops and Bottoms, Realistic Fiction Writing, and The Empty Pot

Hello Everyone!
We had one of the best number sense weeks we've ever had! We worked very hard on number patterns up to 120. Because we were also in the middle of a plant unit in science, I decided to use "Tops and Bottoms" by Janet Stevens, as a theme for some number pattern activities as well. I have shared my Tops and Bottoms unit before, but I've added this math component for you to download and print. Here are a couple of pics.

If you are interested in trying these activities with your kids, CLICK here for the printable download.

The unit also includes a huge measurement component!!!

For the past couple of weeks we have also been busy trying our hand at writing realistic fiction pieces. We are following Lucy Calkins fairly closely. As inspiration, we are reading a lot of realistic fiction literature, and I think the kids are getting the hang of it. I put together a mini unit with posters, planners, and checklists.

Here are a few pics.

Here's the link to the printable !!!

Finally, this coming week we will be working on author's message in stories. I chose "The Empty Pot" by Demi. It is such a lovely story about honesty and bravery. If you have not read this yet to your kids, do it now!! I put together another little mini unit to accompany this story. The unit will help kids see the value in such a piece.