End of the Year

Today was the first Monday of my summer vacation. While I am grateful for a break filled with sleeping in, vacations, bonfires and other adventures, I can't help but reflect on the school year past. I sit here staring at this amazing, hand painted Dr. Seuss chair my head is flooded with memories. This chair at the beginning year was filled with potential moments. Moments of sharing personal stories during morning meeting, reading authentic read alouds to spark memorable conversations and children developing their love for reading. Now the chair is scratched, has discolored paint and one wobbly, unstable leg . To me, this shows that this chair holds unforgettable moments. Moments where three tiny first graders fell in love with the book, The Day the Crayons Quit, moments of first graders sharing small moment stories with their peers, moments where stories came to life and moments where struggles were overcome.

As years come and go, memories quickly seem to fade. We remember those students that made us learn to appreciate the world a little more, those students that allowed us to be a little more innovative, or those students that simply put a smile on your face when they walk in the classroom door. However, we don't always remember those defining moments in a child's education. To help myself cherish these moments as a teacher, we created these original collages to allow these memories be preserved.

 We created one for each student in my classroom and printed on card stock. We have uploaded an editable version to my TpT store that can be used as a first day gift, a holiday gift or an end of the year gift. Click HERE to access it! We would love to hear how you celebrated the end to a successful school year.

A Very Merry UnBirthday

The first graders have been completing an ABC countdown for the last 26 days of school. Today was letter, U, Unbirthday Day. It was originally intended for those students that have summer birthdays and do not get the opportunity to celebrate their birthday in school with their friends and teachers. However, as I was preparing for the day this morning all I could think about was the scene from Alice in Wonderland, with the MadHatter singing A Very Merry Unbirthday To You! 

That's when I realized this was an opportunity to celebrate all students in my classroom. Birthdays are about celebrating what makes each individual unique. Celebrating all the good they bring to the classroom. To help make our day about celebrating my students, we started the day by reading one of my favorite birthday books, Happy Birthday To You, by Dr. Seuss. 

We then shared our favorite memories from the year, sung happy birthday to each and every student and spotted our birthday Elf on the Shelf! 

Today made me realized how important it is to not only celebrate our students on their special day, but each and every day. My first graders light up my day and teach me something new! Without them my days would have a lot less laughs and smiles, have a lot less sticky encounters and be a lot more boring. 

To help make celebrating birthdays in your classroom a little brighter, we have provided self-created birthday tags to give students on their birthdays. Tape these to the top of a silly straw or pencil or print on stickers! This will surely bright up their special day.

Find the birthday toppers HERE and birthday certificates are soon to come!

Appsmashing to Compare Numbers

When asked to recall details from our own elementary school experience, the details seem to be far and few between. However, one of the few things remembered is the alligator to compare numbers.

As I approached the topic of comparing numbers, I wanted a way to engage my students in their learning. Sure, I could simply just teach how the alligator eats the bigger number, but I wanted a way for my students to grasp WHY the alligator eats the bigger number while using mathematical vocabulary.

As a first grade team, we had decided that students would create a project where they would choose two numbers and place their self-created alligator between it. I wondered how they would explain their knowledge though. While walking down the hallway to pick up the printed alligator templates, it hit me. I would use technology to make the alligator come to life, through appsmashing! Appsmashing is when students use two or more apps to create an engaging project. This allows students to share their knowledge and understanding. I will post more on appsmashing soon!

The students began by using the app, Chatterpix Kid, to give the paper alligator voice. Here they recorded if their alligator was the greater than or less than sign. I then wanted my students to place their video into, Explain Everything, which is an interactive whiteboard. They would choose two numbers and explain why the greater than sign was facing towards a specific number using their knowledge on place value. Our previous unit focused on place value to the tens and ones place. By combining content from two math topics, I figured this would be the perfect activity to assess student's knowledge and learning.


Below is an example of a student's comparing numbers video.

To have the alligator speak first, the students clicked record and then played the video. After the video was down recording the student's explained their knowledge on place value and comparing numbers. 

Want to try this in your classroom, click HERE!

iPad Rules and Expectations

Teaching with 1:1 technology may seem like an overwhelming experience, especially when teaching primary aged students. How do students stay on task? How do students know what app to use? How do students keep their device clean and safe? How do you manage 22 students on a device at once? The answer I always give to visitors in my classroom and other educators is like any well managed classroom. Define and set clear expectations for student. 

Spend the first couple weeks of the school year establishing guidelines and rules with the technology. This is the key to integrating technology into the classroom. In my classroom, I had a conversation with my students on what does it mean to be responsible. We then talked about how we need to be ready, responsible and respectful with our technology. That meant keeping food and drinks away from our device, charging it nightly so that we are ready to learn the next day, keeping our hands clean before using it and ALWAYS carrying it with two hands.  While the rules were posted in our room and everyone had signed them, I wanted a way that these rules were always visible to students. I decided to set the rules as their lock screens. Students are always agreeing to the rules that were set when they unlock their iPads. This will help create consistent expectations with technology in your classroom. 

Check back later this week, to continue to learn how I integrate iPads into my first grade classroom. I would love to hear your experiences with technology also! 

                              

 Access a copy of the iPad rules here!

Small Moments

My school uses Lucy Calkin's Units of Study for their writing curriculum. We begin the school year writing small moments, otherwise known as personal narratives. A small moment is one moment from a person's life that can be stretched across a book.

As I sit here reflecting on the school year, small moments flood my mind. Walking into my classroom for the first time. Meeting my co-teacher. A student reading to self. Receiving 1:1 iPads. Books with Buddies. Partner reading. The excitement of learning. The moments are endless, however, I am struggling to complete a simple task that I ask my students to complete their first week of first grade.

Why is it that writing about one moment is such a difficult task? So I've decided instead of sitting here beginning my blogging experience about one specific moment in my classroom, rather give a virtual tour of my classroom.

Walking into my room, you would instantly walk into a group of students laying on the floor listening to QR code stories on their iPods. Stepping around the engaged students, you would enter into the classroom library; where students sit on handcrafted Dr. Seuss crate seats, reading authentic texts, making stories come to life through the gift of literacy. Turning left, you enter into the heart of the classroom where, students are spread amongst the room. Some students are partner reading on a very loved, ABC carpet. Other students are sitting on a handcrafted Dr. Seuss chair, sharing small moment stories, expert books or how-to stories to their classmates.Others are sitting at the very loved multicolored tables, as they engage in word work, writing, and fluency activities. Some are searching the crevices of the room, engaging in a  differentiated QR scavenger hunt. While the rest of the class huddles around a rather small brown kidney shaped table, where they receive individualized, guided instruction. It may seem like the typical primary classroom, however, it is far from it.


My classroom is a co-taught classroom comprised of 19 students, with 4 students who have IEPs. We are not a typical co-taught classroom, our co-teacher splits her time between Kindergarten and first grade. We begin each day by eating breakfast, taking lunch count and reviewing homework from the previous day. We then move into our reader's workshop, where student's engage in differentiated learning centers, while teachers work with strategy groups on individualized instruction. We then move into a shared reading time, writer's workshop block and math workshop block. The most exciting aspect of my school is that we are a 1:1 technology school district. Each one of my students has a piece of technology. We began the school year with MacBooks and transitioned to iPad minis in December. The 1:1 experience has transformed my classroom, but i'll elaborate more on that in future blogposts.

The teacher I am today and the environment that I have created is created by hundreds, maybe thousands of small moments. Without a small moment, where would our professions, passions and life be?