Snowballs!!

Hello Everyone!
Hope everyone had a great weekend, and perhaps a long weekend.  We actually had a teacher inservice day today. Kids had off, but we as teachers got a lot done organizationally!  Checked a few things off our growing list of things to do this semester. How often does that happen, right? 
Over the weekend, I had a chance to work on a little fun unit with a snowball theme. It started off as a little study on adverbs which is an objective we are covering this week, but it started growing and growing.  It actually snowballed!! Teehee! Anyway, I'm posting it tonight in case you need a little snowball fun in your week. I know some of you are probably soooooo tired of snow, but our little Texas kids can't get enough! 
 Here are a few pics of the 60 page unit.

This is a small sample of what the unit includes,  I can't wait to enjoy it with my kids starting tomorrow!!  I'll let you know how it goes!!

If you would like to try some of the snowball fun...

SIMPLY CLICK HERE!!!

I can't wait to show you how the kids are doing on our poetry unit!  We have been so excited to become poets!!! That update is coming soon!!

Have a great week everyone!!! Don't forget to look for the joy in every day!!

Thanks for stopping by our little window!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Questions? Comments? e-mail- firstgradewow@gmail.com 

April Adverb Adventure

Hello Everyone!
I hope you are all having a good week so far!  This week in writing along with "showing, not telling," we are also working on adding adverbs to make our good writing even better! I had the kids close their eyes and I gave them the sentence, "The fish swam." Then they had to describe the picture they had in their head. All the pictures were different!  Then I gave them the sentence,
 "The mama fish swam quickly upstream after laying her eggs." (We are studying the life cycle of fish this week!) The kids described their visualization and were so much closer in what they "saw." Adverbs are a way to revise writing to make our stories more clear for our readers! We want to make our good writing even better!
 We brainstormed three different kinds of simple adverbs. 

Then the kids got busy creating and building their own sentences full of adverbs.  A quote from one of my little cuties, "I just love doing this! I can't wait to use adverbs in my draft book writing!" 

They were so proud of their 15+ word sentences!!

  I was too!!!

I did create a little unit (of course) just to keep me organized and on track. Here are a few pics.

Unit includes nouns, verbs and adverbs. The kids know how to add adjectives. 

If you would like a quick copy of this unit, click HERE!!

OK! Gotta run!! Working on some decor for our school's 10 year birthday party!! It's going to be spectacular!!

Have a great rest of the week!!

Don't be shy! Leave a comment!  Your words make me want to be better!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Hip Hip Hooray! It's the 100th day!

Hello Everyone!
The 100th day of school is quickly approaching!! First graders have been counting every day from the first day of school!  The number 100 is a very exciting number for our little friends!  There are so many activities you can do to celebrate 100.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I love to focus on one piece of literature or idea and design lessons around them that include our learning objectives for the week.  I have had a lot of fun putting together this unit which includes activities for inferencing, interpreting text, poetry, written expression, questioning, conceptual categories, adverbs, comparing and ordering numbers and place value, as well as some fun activities.  Here are a few pics from the unit.

for your copy of my 100th day unit, click here!! Hip Hip Hooray!


Our wonderful school will culminate the 100th day with a balloon release. Attached to the balloons are info cards so that anyone who finds a balloon can contact the school.  A great geography, weather, and communication project!!
Here are a couple pics from last year! Simply beautiful!!

Just a quick side note.  I received an e-mail the other day implying that I share too much, and that I should limit the "freebies" that I offer. WOW! Can someone share too much?  I promise that it is not my intent to infringe on those trying to sell products.  I truly don't even think my units compare to those that are for sale on various sites. (I find tons of typos on my stuff-ugh!- so unprofessional)  I truly enjoy creating lessons and sharing with those who are looking for another way to teach certain concepts. From the beginning of time teachers have shared with each other for the good of their students.  Should that change? What are the limits? Are there "rules" for sharing? Help!!  If I have offended anyone with my offerings, please accept my apologies! 
On the other hand, I have also received countless comments and e-mail messages of thanks from teachers, homeschoolers, parents, and even college professors who appreciate this blog and my work, and use what I offer as springboards for their own endeavors. YAY!!  That is exactly how I measure what I want to share.  
I am not sure which outweighs the other.  Please let me know via the comment section below, or e-mail (nancyvb1@gmail.com) what you are feeling.  My heart is sad for those who are suffering because of my sharing, but also rejoicing for those who can benefit. What to do????!!!
Sorry, this was a little more than a "quick side note!" 

Anyway, have a joyful weekend!!
Nancy
   

Adding Adverbs

Hello Everyone!  Thanks for stopping by to peek through our Window on Wonder!  I wanted to take a minute to share a lesson on adverbs.  We had a lot of fun the other day growing our sentences.  We worked on adding three different kinds of adverbs to a very simple sentence.  Working with a simple verb, we grew our sentence with a  "how," "when," and "where."  We did a ton of brainstorming and then the kids experimented with their own.  The next step is to notice adverbs in our reading and including them in our written expression. 

Click for adding adverbs printable

Thanks for taking a peek! Keep Adding those Adverbs!!
Joyfullt!
Nancy