4-Square Writing for March

I've been on medical leave for three months and I'm FINALLY able to get back to school next week!  I was thinking how important it is for my firsties to really improve their beginning writing skills, so I put together a March 4-Square Writing Organizer and Papers packet.  

4-squares are a quick and easy way for your students to plan out a basic paragraph. I love using these simple writing organizers with my first and second grade classes! They provide needed scaffolding for beginning writers. You can use these as a whole class, during Writer’s Workshop, or your students can choose to use them during “Work on Writing” time. This is what I'm going to use on Wednesday for "Read Across America Day!"

As with each topic in the pack, there is a color cover for making a class book, 4 differentiated 4-Square Organizers, and 5 different coordinated writing papers for their paragraphs.

Each writing topic is differentiated so that all levels of writers are supported.  I included some pages without a topic, so you can use your own ideas, too.  Here are the topics included in the pack.

You can pick up a 10 PAGE FREEBIE by downloading the preview file at Teachers Pay Teachers.  It is the Rainy Day Fun writing papers.  I hope you like it!  Enjoy!

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

I'm Free...and a Freebie for You!

It seemed as if this day would never arrive!  After spending two full days packing up my classroom (with the help of my sweet Mama), I finally was able to check out of my classroom.  It was so delicious to turn OFF my alarm and not have to wake up on time even though my stupid body clock woke me up at the same darn time as usual) and be on a schedule!  However, this would be super fabulous if I wasn't sick!  My allergies/asthma combo was mixed with a serious dose of First Grade Germs and I've been sick the past two weeks.  If it weren't for the fact that we only had a bit of school left, I would have called my favorite sub (Mama) so I could recuperate faster.  I thought I had finally started to get better, but then two days of stirring up cotton ball-sized dust bunnies in my classroom kicked my behind (or should I say, "lungs?") and I feel awful again.  I swear it feels like I've cracked my ribs from all of the coughing.  Sooooo...since I can do nothing more than lay her like a lump, I figured I'd better get back to blogging before everyone forgets me. 

It has been too long since my last post, so you know me, I'm throwing you a freebie with my apology. Usually, I give chocolate with my apologies, but since that won't work, here are some graduation borders that I made for some fellow teachers.  I'm hoping that you won't have to use them until next year because you're already on summer break, so tuck them away in your files.  Click on the link or the picture above to grab one for yourself.  Enjoy!

I'm off to the doctor to see how my ribs & lungs are doing...
♥Corinna

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Word Work Still Works With Ten Days to Go (and a Freebie)!

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With only a few more days of school this year, the kids are getting restless!  The kids were starting to get bored of all of the ways they could practice their Word Work for Daily 5.  Luckily, my friends at MyBinding.com (shout out to Hillsboro, Oregon!!!) sent me C-Line's 9x7 Reusable Dry Erase Pockets, a fun, new product to try out with my students!  These pockets are heavy-duty and they are reinforced and sewn all the way around the edges of the pocket.  Plus, they have a little eyelet so you could hang them for easy access.  All I had to do was slip in a paper that I wanted my students to practice and voila! a non-prep, fun Word Work center was born! 

I tried having the kids use Crayola's Dry Erase Crayons first.  Here is one of my cuties practicing on his own.  At first I loved the crayons because they weren't stinky, but eventually it stopped erasing on the pockets because the eraser mitt it came with got covered in greasy crayon. Then, the kids decided to put the mitt and crayons INSIDE the pocket! Teacher FAIL! That is what happens when you don't give enough specific directions with a new tool!  So, I had to scrub it clean inside and out.  We won't be trying the crayons again. 

So, I got out the EXPO markers, which wipe off easily with a tissue or white board eraser.  Here are two of my kids playing, "Spelling Test."  I put a spelling practice sheet facing one way and a blank paper with handwriting lines on the other side.  That way, kids can practice with a buddy or one their own.  I wish you could hear how the "spelling test" was going!  He was giving the spelling test using it in a sentence, then he made up a sentence dictation sentence using the words (just like me!).  Too cute!  CLICK HERE FOR FREEBIE SAMPLE OF MY SPELLING PRACTICE SHEETS!

We are currently studying about plants and the kids have been working on adding science vocabulary words to their Plant ABC vocabulary sheet.  I slipped a few blank sheets into the dry erase pockets so that kids could add one of their words to the class ABC list.  Talk about easy motivation!  Some of the kids who don't always want to get their work done were scrambling so that they could get their hands on one of the dry erase pocket activities!  CLICK HERE FOR A FREEBIE OF MY ABC VOCAB SHEET!

MyBinding.com has other colors and sizes of these fun Dry Erase Pockets. Besides getting more of the large pockets,  I want to get some of the smaller 6x9 versions, too!  They'd be great to use with some of my other centers.  Instead of copying off a tree's worth of paper class set for every center game, I could just put out a few of the Dry Erase Pockets and I'd be set!  I think they'd be great as response boards, if you had a small or whole group set.  Thanks, MyBinding.com!!!


Sorry for the quality of the next picture, but it was too good not to include in my post.  When my kids turned in their homework yesterday, I came across this one that didn't quite get signed by the student and the parent...  LOL!!!   This little guy spent his Work on Writing time to draw me a picture and wrote me a note that said, "My teecher is a delaket flower and she is always HAPPY!"

We have only ten more days!  How are you spending the last day with your students?  I get to keep mine and loop up to second with them!  Yay!

Happy Teaching!
♥Corinna

I'm Back!

Hi Teacher Friends!  I'm sorry I've been missing from the blogosphere lately.  I've had too many things on my Must-Do-ASAP-Before-Everyone-Realizes-I-Am-Not-As-Fabulous-As-I-Want-Them-To-Think list.  However, since this teacher forgot her MDABERIANAFAIWTTT list, I'll have to just do this blog post!  LOL!  So, here's a freebie to make you forget that it has been 17 days since my last post.  This is a 4-Square Writing Organizer for kids to write about a fun day with a friend. I love using the 4-Square because it is very simple to use and my kids feel comfortable using without needing an explanation each time.

With this organizer, we were doing a writing sample about friends and we were practicing using transition words.  We also had been trying to remember to indent our paragraphs, so I put the pointer finger in box 1 as a little reminder.  We were also working on a wrap-up sentence that shared our feelings about the subject, so I put a little heart shape in box 5 as a reminder.

This version can be used to allow your students to write their own topic sentence.

This version omits the transitional words so your students can choose their own.

 

This is one of the final copy writing paper options.  

There is a matching page with a full page of handwriting lines.

This is one of the other final copy writing paper options.  

There is a matching page with a full page of handwriting lines.

I hope you can find a use for these in your classroom! Click on the cover photo to get your own copy!

We have eleven school days left!  How are you keeping your kids learning until the last minute of the school year?

Happy Teaching!
♥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

Fabulicious Freebies on the First

I'm hooking up with Freebielicious for Fabulicious Freebies on the First (or in my case on the Second!).  I recently finished my latest Teachers Pay Teachers product, "Going Buggy for Operations & Algebraic Thinking Math Mega Pack." 

So, I created a little sampler pack for you for Fabulicious Freebies on the first.  If you download and like what you see, I'd love to hear from you!  Thanks!  Click HERE to get your sampler pack! 

 

Have a lovely week!

♥Corinna

P.S.  I'm sneaking up on 300 followers!  How does a BIG giveaway sound?  Anyone want to join in?

 

 



Operations & Algebraic Thinking Math!

I'm finally done with my latest math packet!  As I've mentioned before, our math "program" at school leaves a lot to be desired.  So, our first grade team is always supplementing to fill in the gaps.  We're currently focusing on Operations and Algebraic Thinking for our data teams.  We're also being asked to post our daily Common Core State Standards in the room.  To do so, I created my latest product, "Going Buggy for Operations & Algebraic Thinking Math Mega Pack." 

 It includes 77 Common Core State Standard aligned reproducibles for teaching Operations and Algebraic Thinking.  There are five practice pages for every skill for a full week’s worth of learning.  I also made ten Focus Wall CCSS anchor charts in student friendly “I Can” language.  These activities are not “seasonal” so they can be used any time during the year.  My kids have been having fun with them this week.  Check them out at my TpT store.

I'm hooking up with Teaching Blog Addict for Freebie Friday!  I made a 4 Square Writing Organizer for dental health month.  It includes a writing organizer and three different choices of paper for final copies of the paragraphs.  I hope you can use it!  Blogger is not being nice to me when I try to upload pictures of the freebie, so go to TpT (click HERE) to see it up close.  UPDATE!  Blogger decided to let me post the pictures!  Here they are!  Click on the cover to download for free from TpT!

Happy Weekend!
Corinna