Summer Planning Scavenger Hunt Giveaway!

 

Happy Saturday, Everybody!  Have you joined in the Summer Planning Giveaway Scavenger hunt for awesome freebie prizes?  If not, be sure to grab my secret word button below (and be sure to follow my blog with Bloglovin' by clicking the heart-shaped button to the left)!   Everybody wins prizes in this one!  If this is your first stop on the Summer Planning Scavenger Hunt, be sure to visit Erin, our scavenger hunt hostess at I'm Lovin' Lit for more details and links to the other stops in the hunt.   Here is the item I've donated to the giveaway: Hollywood Star of the Week

 In case you missed the post telling how I use these in class, here it is.  I send home the parent letter with one boy and girl who will be the Stars the following week. I have new students go earlier in the year so we can get to know them. Then, I "randomly" choose students for the rest of the year (but I have my shy kids and kids who need to make new friends go first--don't tell!). On Mondays, the Stars share their posters that they worked on over the previous weekend. They are also allowed to bring a special item for sharing. This is a big deal because the kids don't get to share toys or things like that normally—only items related to what we're learning in class. Each day of the week the kids have the option to share other items or stories about their hobbies, families, etc... On Thursday, the class writes a page to go in a book that each Star gets. Usually, kids write compliments or tell why they like the Star. The writing is just priceless.“Hanna, I thenk yu are beeyutifol.” Then, at the end of the week, the stories are collected and bound into a book for each Star to take home. The kids LOVE this! Even the shy kids want to talk about themselves! I laminate the posters, 3-hole punch them, and bind them with binder rings. The Star of the Week big book is by far the favorite buddy reading choice in class! 

In addition to the Hollywood Star of the Week pack, I also have created an Ocean/Beach themed Oceanographer of the Week (it includes some variations--Sea Star of the Week and Big Fish of the Week).

You may also be interested in my Jungle themed Explorer of the Week Packet.

Have fun planning for your school year, and thanks for stopping by!   Be sure to hop through all of the blogs to get your scavenger hunt words for free goodies!  Leave a little love in the comment section if you like your freebies!  Have a great weekend! 

♥Corinna

Happy Spring!

To celebrate the first day of my spring break, I'm hooking up with Teaching Blog Addict for Freebie Friday!  Here is a quick and easy way for your beginning writers to plan out a basic paragraph using a 4-Square Writing Organizer.  The topic sentence is provided on one version and and a blank 4-square with a writing prompt is on the other version.  Your students just have to write three things that they love about springtime and a concluding sentence.  Four choices of handwriting-lined papers are included for the final copy.  

I LOVE using 4-Square writing organizers with my Firsties!  My reluctant writers really get into doing this because of the extra support the organizer provides.  On the first day, the kids fill out the 4-Square.  The next day, I have my students check each sentence for capitals and punctuation.  They trace over the first letter of the sentence with a green colored pencil and trace the ending punctuation with a red colored pencil.  They love this part!  Later, we use "spell checkers" (high-frequency word lists) to fix basic spelling errors.   The kids work with a buddy to reread the writing for any revisions before writing the paragraph on the handwriting paper.  Ta-da! 

You can grab yourself a copy of the project at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  If you like it, I'd sure appreciate it if you'd considering following my store and letting me know what you think.  Thanks for your support!

I love spring weather (sunny, but cool) and beautiful daffodils (OK, so it snowed a bit this morning, but that was very strange for mid-March in Oregon)!  What is your favorite thing about springtime?

Have a happy weekend!
♥Corinna

Happy 2013!

I'm linking up with Freebielicious for Fabulicious Freebies on the First!  I'm sharing a bit of a winter unit I'm working on.  My kiddos will be working on Common Core's Commutative Property of Addition, so I whipped up a cute pack of worksheets and a math center for practice.  Here is a little sample.  Click on the picture to download your copy!

If you are a new visitor/follower, I'd love to hear any feedback you may have.  Leave your blog so I can visit you, too!  Have a great first week of January 2013!

Corinna

Teacher Week: Wednesday--Freebie Friday!

So, I've not posted since Tuesday because Blogger was making me crazy!  It wouldn't let me upload any images.  I tried many times and then decided I needed to smash my computer take a break before I lost my mind.  It still isn't cooperating, but I found a way to work around the weirdness.  One person said to post the pictures in HTML mode instead of Compose mode, so...  TA-DA!  It worked.  Has anyone else ever had that problem?  So, close your eyes and think back to Wednesday...OK.  Open your eyes.

WHERE I WORK WEDNESDAY:
I haven't even been into my school yet!  I could have snuck in this week, but then I would have had to put Real Clothes on, not Vacation Clothes (a.k.a only acceptable at Walmart).  Staying home was soooooo much easier!  I prefer not to think about unpacking and organizing my room in the 2 days we're given.  I'm OK with denial.  In any case, here is a picture of Harvey Clarke Elementary in Forest Grove, Oregon!

 

THERAPUETIC THURSDAY:

After Blogger was being obnoxious, I decided I REALLY needed a therapuetic day which consisted of  snuggling my Hubby, watching movies, and some Medicinal Ice Cream.  What is that, you ask?  Why, that is the ice cream you eat for "medicinal" purposes, so you won't need real medication when you lose your mind.  You may have already tried Medicinal Dark Chocolate, which works, too.



See? It says so on the tub! It's for therapy!





FREEBIE FRIDAY:
Well, I decided to whip up a new Word Work sheet so that I have another option for kids to practice their spelling words and/or word families.  So, click on the picture if you're interested!  If you liked and downloaded the sheet, please leave a little love in the form of a comment.  Thanks! :) 


Have a wonderful weekend!  I'm going back to school/work on Monday!  Hmmm...perhaps I should have practiced going to bed early/waking up early before now?  Oh, well.
Corinna

 

Freeeeeeeeeeeeebie Friday!

So, this is technically an addendum and not the faux pas of (gasp!) blogging twice in one day! Now that we've got that covered, here is a little Back to School freebie for you. It is a packet of basic handwriting practice sheets for K-2. One is old-school ball and stick style and the other is a "modern" style (I won't mention the D' name for fear of a cease and desist letter!). 

So, pop on over to my Teachers Pay Teacher's Store for your freebie!  When you pick up your freebie, check out some of my other items.  If you're feeling the bloggy love, I'd love to have you rate me/comment/follow my TPT Store while you're there.  Thanks!

Happy Weekend, Everybody!

Corinna

Blogs, Bloggers & Prizes!

Finding new, exciting bloggers is made even more fun when you enter for giveaways!  So, here are some links to great blogs, with fabulous bloggers, and fun prizes!

Rulin' the Roost is having an $80 Vistaprint giveaway, so go check it out.

Second Grade Perks is having a big giveaway with products from a ton of great bloggers!

Fourth Grade Flipper is celebrating 100 followers with a $25 Amazon.com giveaway!

Learning in Spain is having a Teachers Pay Teachers clipart giveaway from many talented artists.

Fluttering Through First Grade is having a "Back to School Style: giveaway.

Teach on a Limb is having a big 100 follower giveaway with great bloggers' products.

My new bloggy buddy, Rikki, is having her 150 follower giveaway at her site, The Hive.  She's giving away a cute necklace from Home Studio on etsy.

Jessica Ann Stanford came up with a great idea for a linky party--anyone who wants to get to know other bloggers can link up to share our blogs/facebook pages/Pinterest pages and, hopefully add some new followers.

Also, don't forget about my 100+ follower giveaway that is coming soon!  Let me know if you want to participate with the giveaways and get your name out there to more bloggers. :)

OK...one last thing that just made me laugh...When spell-checking my post, it said "Blogger" was not a word...in the Blogger program... :)

Happy Wednesday!
Corinna

The Great "Edu-Pinner" Link Up & A Big "Thank You!"

Come and link up with other Pinterest-ing educators!  You don't have to have to be a blogger--just a pinner!  Disclaimer:  Teaching Fabulous Firsties/Corinna Woita will not be responsible for any time lost from your day due to Edu-Pinning! ;)

I am sending a big THANK YOU to Katie & Beth at Simply Sweet TEAching for the wonderful Common Core Math Game Unit that I won while visiting their blog!  Check out their site and their Teachers Pay Teacher's site for more great teaching goodies!

Happy Pinning!
Corinna

Webby Wednesday: Literacy Websites

I joined Brenda at Primary Inspired ABC for a Webby Wednesday blog hop about fun literacy websites to use for Word Work activities.  She shared a fun site, so be sure to visit her blog, too.

One of my favorite sites is BBC Bitesize.  They have different levels of animated literacy games, plus other content areas.  The kids get a kick out of the games and they are great for use on a SMARTboard or other interactive whiteboard.  I plan to have this site as one of the choices my students can use during our Daily 5 literacy time.

I hope you link up and join in with other great literacy sites.  If you are new to my blog and you want to share ideas, be sure to follow me, leave a comment, and I'll be over to visit!

Corinna



New Blogger Blog Hop!

My new blogging buddy, Melissa from Teacher Treasure Hunter, let me know about the "Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop" started by Janis at Grade Three is the Place for Me!  If you are a newbie like me, you may want to join in the fun!   Here are some things Janis would like us to share:
1. what state you are in

2. your current teaching position

3. your teaching experience

4. when you started blogging

5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource

1.  I am in Oregon.
2.  I am going to be switching from 2nd grade to 1st grade...It has been a long time since I've taught   first grade.  My mind is spinning with ideas for teaching these kids!
3.  I have taught since 1992 in 1st, 2nd, and 1st/2nd blend classrooms.
4.  I started blogging at the end of June 2012.
5. This tip came from Marie at The Hands-On Teacher in First!

When you want to leave a comment on someone's blog post and you want your own blog's LINK to show up, all you have to do is type this:

 <a href="URLHERE">Your Blog title here</a>

I copied my info to a "post-it" widget on my desktop, then copy and paste it when I make a comment.

Corinna

Daily 5 Book Study Blog Hop!

I loved using "Daily 5" in my second grade class!  Now that I'm going to teach first grade in the fall, I am eager to see how this will work.  I've been blog-stalking many great first grade sites to see how teachers are using Daily 5 with their students.  You can join in by joining the blog hop or just by leaving a comment. 

Click HERE to visit the Chapter One Blog Host Mel D.'s Post

I'm a few weeks behind, but I'll catch up soon.  For now, I'll share my Daily 5 Schedule Strips that I made.  I use them so that one D5 activity doesn't get too full of students.  I learned the need for this very quickly last year when a  hoard of eager students descended on the magnet letters for Word Work!  Oops!  LOL!  

Click HERE for my DAILY 5 SCHEDULE STRIPS FREEBIE!