I Didn't Kill the Plants...It's a Miracle

Before break, we started our ever entertaining and enjoyable unit on plants.  This is one of my favorite science topics ever.

While perusing through the W, I found these awesome mini greenhouses from Miracle Gro Kids.  At $1 each I couldn't pass them by.  I got carrots (which we know do not grow on trees), cucumbers, tomatoes, sunflowers and forget-me-nots.


Each group got to set up one greenhouse and I had one to demonstrate.

Everyone had a job: soil dumper, mixer, seed sower and seed coverer.  We set them by a window and...

we had forget-me-nots (and a little mold) popping up!  The next day cucumbers poked through the soil.  By the end of the week everything was growing except the carrots.  Those just started yesterday (about 10 days after we planted them).

I was really worried I would kill these jokers over Spring Break.  Both my parents and my man have beautiful green thumbs.  Mine isn't brown, but more of a wimpy yellow-green.  Ha!

 

Just before break we also planted watermelons.  I told you, I love planting!  Fingers crossed, these will be ready to eat by the last day of school.  More on that later.

 Last week I won a giveaway!  Jana Guerra of WeHeart1st has this wonderful Life in the Garden resource.

The students practiced their reading for details and answering questions skills to complete "Parts of a Plant" in their interactive notebooks.  On the opposite side we used the cut and label parts of a plant, but I didn't snap any pictures.

This pack wrote my science lessons for the next 2 weeks!  We will be learn and observing soil, parts of a seed, plant life cycles and much more.  We'll be using Dirt: The Scoop on Soil by Natalie M. Rosinsky, Oh Say Can You Seed? by Bonnie Worth and (my go-to) Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace.  Love me some Buddy Bear.

       

Don't forget about my TpT sale this weekend!

Sale! Friday, Saturday and Sunday and a Freebie

Adorable clip art by Krista Wallden.  New logo by me.

My Spring Break has been really productive!  I love having the time to get the ideas out of my head and onto the computer.  I feel like I am ready.  I'm sure that feeling will start to fade Sunday night and Monday morning.

In honor of the last few days of my break I am throwing a sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Check out some of my newest products:

Spring Math Centers runs the gamut of 3rd and 4th quarter math skills for my firsties.  Activities include:

• Place Value matching numeral, word, base ten blocks, tens and ones and expanded form numbers 12-99
• Measuring length and width with both nonstandard units and inches
• Time to the hour and half hour both digital and analog
• Fractions of circles and squares into halves and quarters
• Related facts find related addition and subtraction facts with part-part-whole (We are going to practice this all Spring. My students are still struggling with this, grr!  They can complete fact families like nobody's business, but many aren't making the connection.)
• Word problems with sums and differences within 20
• Graphing with 3 and 4 categories and questions to analyze the graph

And how adorable are the Crazy Bugs from Graphics from the Pond? Seriously! 

 The Math Anchor Charts for Interactive Notebooks: Measurement and Data is up, too!  (And this weekend it is only $1.60...go get it now!)

 

I use these anchor charts 2 to 3 times a week.  The district I teach in requires us to use Interactive Notebooks in ELA, math and science.  It was definitely a learning curve, but I see the impact the notebooks make.  It is a different from journals.  After I understood that and started teaching students *how to use* their notebooks it made all the difference.

When we do our quick review from the previous day I would see students trying to secretively turn back and peek.  One day I called them out in a good way, they got stickers for using their tools.  That's all it took.  Students take their notebooks with them to math tubs (rotations, centers, independent work...whatever you call it).  I LOVE it!

Each chart has 2 per page for easy prep.  Print, slice, glue, go!

This set covers ALL the first grade Common Core Standards in Math for Measurement and Data.

 It also includes vocabulary cards.  I enlarge these for the word wall and print regular size for student notebooks.  They glue it like a flap on their side of the journal.  Under the word they draw or write their understanding of the definition.  You could even just glue it down and write beside it.  Whatever works for your class.

 

I also use the poster maker at school to enlarge the charts.  We use these in class.  I have students color it and hang it on our Math Strategies Wall.

Ok, so if you're still with me you get a reward!  No, not a sticker.  How about a sight word freebie? 

 Full color version here...

and black line here.

Don't forget about the sale!  Happy Spring!

Anchor Charts for Interactive Notebooks: Number and Operations in Base Ten Edition

 Volume 2 of the CCSS Math Strategy Anchor Charts for Interactive Notebooks: Number and Operations in Base Ten is finished and uploaded!

The anchor charts are two per page so they fit perfectly on composition books, spiral notebooks or onto notebook paper.  Plus, it saves paper.  It's a win-win, really.

This volume holds anchor charts for all the NBT standards in first grade.  I use them when I teach a new strategy or concept.  After making a poster size from the poster printer at school, I present it to the students, modeling and talking through all the steps.  Then the students glue their chart into their notebooks and we work through it together.  Then they practice the skill on the next page.  I hang the poster size on our Math Strategy wall and a mini chart on our focus wall.

I have more info and in-class photos here.

Here are some samples of the anchor charts included:

Word and definition cards for the math word wall and a place value mat are also included.

I am working on the other standards and hope to have them posted soon!

Follow me on Instagram

@whathappensin27

So, I've been on Instagram for a while, but never mentioned it here.  Follow me and I'll randomly choose 1 follower to win any 3 of my TpT products.  Your choice!

@whathappensin27

Amazing Pizza Adjectives - FREE PRINTABLE

 I was able to create and post a new freebie to my TpT store! My students had a lot of fun doing this activity and craft.  You can read more about it on this post.

 We made a tree map of adjectives for pizza using our sense.  I color coded the brainstorming lists and blocked the blanks with the same colors.  That way the students knew which list to choose from when filling in blank.  

When we do shared writing or journal activities I've taught the students that they can copy any thing I write in green (as in "go ahead") and to read and do what I write in red (as in "stop, read, do your own").  It was a phenomenal tip I got from a fellow workshop-mate. 

We also had an impromptu chat on why y sounds like e.  Love it!

 

Amazing Pizza Adjectives is live and free in my TpT shop.  Go get it now.  Then reward your good move with a slice of steamy, spicy, scrumptious pizza.  I'd skip the carrots.

Five for Friday...almost

I am linking up with Kacey for some Five for Friday fun, but it is Sunday.  Is that close enough?

 In math we've been practicing counting by tens starting at any number and comparing numbers.  I made a print, cut and go product with number cards.  It is available on my TpT shop.  I also use many of the activities from Erica Bohrer's 0-120 charts and activities unit.  It was one of the first products I purchased on TpT.  It is great!

 We've been working on using adjectives in our writing.  Honestly, I wasn't going well so I reversed course and tried something new.  We made a chart of pizza adjectives one day.  We used all our senses and listed appropriate adjectives.

The next day I gave the students a fill in the blank story about eating pizza.  They had to use the adjectives to fill in the blanks to finish the story.

Finally, we got crazy with the scrap box and made slices a pizza to add to our stories.  It turned out very cute and even the struggling writers were able to correctly use adjectives in the story.

Next week we will transfer this skill to adding adjectives while we are writing individual stories.

Later today I am going to work on making this a freebie on my TpT store.

 Friday St. Nick visited our school.  He and his elves sprinkled gold tinsel all over the hallways.  They also left bags of goodies for each student to explore when they arrived in the classroom.  Mass hysteria? Check.  Happy kids? Check.  Get work done in the morning?  Not so much.

The kids were beyond excited all day!  Their smiles were actually bigger than the smiles on Krista Wallden's elves.

 Backing up a little now.  We did the disguise a turkey activity before Thanksgiving break.  I love, love, love the creativity the students showed when dressing the turkeys.  We had 3 Franken-turkeys, 2 singing turkey divas, 2 cheerleader turkeys, several super hero turkeys including SuperTurkey, SpiderTurkey, Hulk-Turkey, and Bat-Turkey and of course, Turkey Claus.  Their how-to stories were hilarious.  I used the free Thanksgiving How-To Writing pack by Lisa Richling.

 Have you ever played the Find Objects app?  It is very addictive and very fun.  It has one player and vs modes.  My boyfriend and I play vs mode on the tablet.  He's really competitive, but I am good. Ha!

Finally, I am so proud of my man!  His concrete condiment cup holders were featured in Food52.com's latest collection Fresh Caught: Oysters.  They took beautiful photographs that really show the quality of his concrete.  Also, check out his Etsy shop.  Any of these products would make for great gifts!

Count by 10s: Christmas Edition

This week we are working on counting by 10s starting at any number other than 10.  Although we've been practicing place value, the concept is not really getting through to them.  We practiced using the 120 chart to count, but when I whipped out these bad boys I had their attention.

First we had a race to see which team could order their numbers the fastest.  Then we switched cards to see which teams could do it under 1 minute.  (I have A LOT of boys so racing is a big motivator in our room.)

Now I moved it to a pocket chart math center so everyone gets to practice.  I love when someone finally gets it and says, "Hey!  All the ones digits are the same and just the tens change!". Didn't I say that about 97 times already?  More proof they need to figure it out themselves to make it stick.

The printable cards are available in my TpT shop for $1.50.  You can also pick up the 10-120 only set as a freebie.