Start as you mean to go!
My first word of advice is to think about what you want for your classroom's structure and routines. Have a firm idea for yourself in place, then begin getting the children involved from the very first...
View ArticleBegin each day with Organization
Each teacher has his or her own way to manage a classroom. My way, of course, is what I've found to work for me the best over the years.On Open House (Meet the Teacher) day each child is given a...
View ArticleLabels, Labels, Labels
Self sticking labels for the computer have become one of my favorite new ways to be well organized and efficent in my classroom.I print sheets of labels with each child's name. The first day of school,...
View ArticleCalendar Time
Each day we spend about fifteen minutes together having calendar time. We take a look at the calendar and say the month and date together. On my calendar I post birthdays, trips, etc. We count up to...
View ArticleFabulous First Grade Websites
There are so many wonderful websites out there and so many creative teachers among us. Spend some time visiting a few. Even after all of these years teaching first grade I am always finding something...
View ArticleWho is the Grinch Anyway?
Each day this week, I have picked a Christmas book to read aloud to my first graders. After reading the book we follow with an activity correlated to language arts.Today I read that old classic How...
View ArticleWinter Wonderland of Ideas
Brrr....it's snowy and cold in many parts of the country, but you can warm your students' imaginations with these fun ideas.Snowmen are a great way to start. You can use 3-ball snowmen to review...
View ArticleMath Meeting Area
My first graders love "math meeting time". We spend the first 15-20 minutes of math instruction on the rug in front of our math board. Each day we cover day, month, number sequence, tens/ones, and...
View ArticleSight Word Dictionary
Our first grade team decided to incorporate a list of Dolch basic sight words per day. Each child has a sight word "dictionary" in which to record the new list of words. I've made A-Z tabs throughout...
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