Not Painting our Names :)

For my art club, we used painter's tape to tape out our names.  Then we painted the entire paper and let it dry.  We then tore off the tape and saw our names appear in white!

What!? Write on our desks?!

I am always trying to find new ways for my students to practice spelling.  They love to be shocked, so when I tell them they can write on their desks they love it.  I have them practice writing the words with whiteboard markers and baby wipes to wipe it away.  They work so quietly when doing this, and really enjoy doing something different.

Mummies!

For our Egypt unit, we talked about the mummy making process.  Then we had the students turn each other into mummies with toilet paper!  They had to pretend to do the entire process and LOVED it!

Valentine's Day gift

I'm sure my kiddos will get a lot of candy, so I wanted to give them something different.  Bouncy balls and bubble wands were at Target, so I got those and made a little note!

Paper Clipping

I noticed that a lot of my students do not know how to use a paper clip.  So I decided to create a poster and have them put their name on it if they passed the "paper clip test".  If they couldn't do it, I showed them how and had them do it again later on.  They loved being able the put their name on the poster!  Now I won't have to re-clip any papers they give me! :)

Chocolate Chip Graphing

For our graphing unit, I first created a graph using cubes, to introduce how to graph objects.

Next, I gave each student a baggie with various amounts of chocolate chips.  I think that using their names gets them more excited about the activity, so as a class we graphed how many each student had in their baggie.  Tomorrow it's on to M&Ms!

Egyptian Jewelry

For our Egyptian unit, the students made jewelry!

You can find the complete directions and patterns for this craft on Danielle's Place of Crafts and Activities on the Egyptian Crafts and Learning
Activities for Children.           

Classroom Management

Here are some things I do in my classroom for management.

The students are able to see what level I want their voices at.  I tell them "I want your voice at a level 1" and they know they need to whisper.

Before they ask me what they should be doing, they must follow these 3 steps first!

Fast finishers can do anything on this poster.  This prevents them from sitting around!

I have my students sitting in pods by color.  If their table is working quietly, on task, etc. I move their car.

When they get to the finish line, their table gets a prize from the prize box.

Daily 5 Calendar

Our school does the Daily 5 reading curriculum.  I modify it to fit my first graders' needs.  They do each of the centers, but by rotating through 5 startions.  I made this calendar for me and the students, to show what stations are on what day.  It's a nice way to keep myself organized and the students like they can see what they are doing each day!  I teach a full group lesson on Mondays, where I introduce the week's reading skills and concepts. 

Contraction Surgery!

I found this idea on http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/.  My students loved it!  I started with giving each student a card with two words on it and a bandaid.  They had to cut apart the words to create the contraction, and then put it back together with their bandaid.