Summer Reading Loss

As a first grade teacher, I often talk to the K teachers about students. They often tell me that reading was about to "click" with a child and  they hoped they wouldn't lose all the progress they made over the summer. Unfortunately, the kids that need the most reading over the summer are usually the ones who get the least....

I made a packet for my classroom parents that I hoped would spark them to read with their child ALL summer long! Our school uses the BAS, which is similar to the DRA system. I found the top books that my kiddos enjoyed at each reading level. I also included ideas and questions parents can ask their child before/during/and after they read. . Hopefully they found it helpful!

Check out the entire packet HERE! Enjoy summer!!

Guided Reading Lesson Plan

Well, if you read my blog you will quickly find out I LOVE teaching reading. I have a Masters in Reading and Literacy and over my years in first grade, I have come to LOVE teaching reading. I will be sharing my favorite reading resources and EASY ways to teach guided reading without getting OVERWHELMED! One of the first things I find teachers stressed about is writing LESSON PLANS!! Those can take FOREVER and then when you sit with a reading group, you may have to changed everything you planned because the kiddos didn't get a concept as quickly as you thought... I gathered the most common topics for guided reading lesson plans and make this quick lesson plan template.

It should take you less than 45 seconds to fill out per reading group! Super quick- super easy. Straight to the point. Add the Common Core Standards at the top or I just write (Refer to my "I CAN Board"- which I will post about later).


I hope you find this as helpful and I do. Also- I copy 2 to a page- front and back so all you need is one sheet for the week. Let me know your thoughts.

Download it Here!

Center Labels

I usually spend my summer redoing my entire classroom! I get bored with the same themes VERY quickly! Last year I went Zebra CRAZY!! and now I want to focus on bright neon colors with Zebra accents. My hubby and I never agree on how we decorate the house so I take out my creativity in my classroom!! Eventually when I have a baby girl, I will be able to at least decorate her room cute! Until then, I will be redesigning my classroom year after year!! haha! Can anyone relate??? I spend most of my day in a little classroom, might as well make it feel like home! Here is a little freebie. These were my center labels I used last year. I changed my centers up every few months, but only had 5 centers a week. It worked GREAT for my class! I will post soon on how I found success with balanced literacy- the new buzz word at my school! Until then, I hope someone can use these in their room next year!!

  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I am a first grader teacher and love 6 year olds! This is the best age to teach! I will be using this blog to share some items I have made over the years, plus some tips I have learned while teaching my kiddos! I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear your comments!