Carpet Rug Alternative

 In all of my career, I have been a big proponent of a classroom carpet/rug. I can't imagine not having kids right in front of me while I teach. It helps me to ensure all kids are engaged, on-task and of course, learning! This year, I am moving to 4th grade. 4th graders are bigger so I wasn't sure how I was going to get them all to fit on the carpet...but I was definitely going to try! I was searching through Amazon and discovered these 7 inch carpet dots! They are velcro circles that stick right on your classroom carpet. I like them because I can space them out and design them however I want this year. I am thinking of semi-circles, groups, etc. It will be so much fun to change it up! Take a look below! 

A Culture of Kindness

Something that I like to focus on in my classroom is teaching missing skills. When kids don't know how to add-- we teach them. When they don't know how to write-- we teach them. However, when it comes to behavior and they don't know how to "behave" or act in a certain situation, what do we do? Do we punish? Give consequences? Call home? Maybe. But something that I have to remember is that I am the teacher, so let me teach them. 

I created this kindness card for some students that were struggling with using kind words toward their peers. Anytime they said or did something unkind, they completed a kindness card to replace hurtful language with kind words instead. These cards can be used for anything! Whether it is teaching kind words or simply just doing something kind for someone, kindness cards can help! You can download this FREEBIE from my TPT Store today! 

Wall Hanging Hack!

What would we do without TikTok! I have seen this viral hack multiple times the last few weeks and finally got to try it out for myself. It worked like a charm! 

1. Line up the letters on the straight end of a desk. 

2. Apply painters tape on top to ensure they are straight. 

3. Stick the painters tape to the letters.

4. Put it on the wall.

5. Gently peel

VIOLA! I am amazed. Where has this been the last decade?! I have hung this wall decor the last two years in my other classrooms, and it always took FOREVER. I am so excited to now have this hack in my teacher toolbox!

LET'S PLAY SHIPWRECK: First Grade Review Math Game on Google Slides

When I complete a math unit with my students, we always play some sort of a review game before taking the post-assessment. One of my absolute favorite games to play with my students is SHIPWRECK. To play, divide the class into two "ships" (teams). Students can sit on their desks to make them feel like they are aboard a ship! I present a question to each ship. Students are given a couple of minutes to answer the question, then I call on someone to answer. If they get it right, they can SINK someone from the other ship to the lifeboat or SAVE someone from their own team that's in the lifeboat. The object of the game is to have the most people on your ship at the end.

Students LOVE this game. They chant and cheer anytime I say we're playing it. I have created this SHIPWRECK ADDITION TO 20 FREEBIE for you to incorporate into your classroom! I am working on creating more topics as well. If you'd like to view some other shipwreck games, you can view them HERE. 

This game is a crowd favorite in my classroom and I know it will be for yours too! 

Eureka Math First Grade Resource

 

A few years ago, I switched schools and began in a new district that used Eureka Math (also known as Engage New York and/or Great Minds). After the initial "hard" stage that you go through with any new curriculum, I began to really understand and respect Eureka Math. At the time, I was teaching first grade. The Eureka lessons are well-developed and extremely rigorous. I decided to create a resource for first grade teachers to use to help students review the previous day's lesson and also integrate a spiraling Number of the Day.

My 1st Grade Eureka Math + Number of the Day product was designed to be a quick daily number sense review plus a math content review. I have used this product in my classroom for the last two years and my teammates and I have all seen wonderful results! Kids dig deep into number sense at an early stage while also reviewing the previous day's Eureka lesson. We always use this as morning work, but it could be used at any time of the day. 

You can purchase each module separately from my TPT store or purchase the bundle which includes modules 1-6 for the entire year!

I hope you like it!

Growth Mindset Bulletin Board PDF Printable

 

It will soon be time to start decorating classrooms! I made this bulletin board last year to hold myself accountable for teaching Growth Mindset to my first graders. In the past, I have always believed in Growth Mindset but have also always gotten busy and never really taught it the way I wanted to. Having this Growth Mindset bulletin board in my classroom this year helped to hold me accountable  to teach the language! It was amazing to see how the kids learned the terms and used them when they were struggling with a lesson or concept. This product is a PDF for you to download and recreate in your classroom. I hope you love it as much as I did! 

One Math Problem a Day!

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a math focused professional development put on by Greg Tang. If you don't know about Greg Tang, he is a math genius and specializes in teaching teachers how to teach math effectively. Greg Tang taught us a ton that day, but something that really stuck with me was his lesson on math story problems. He spoke about how completing 1-2 math word problems each day will have remarkable results for students. I took his advice to heart, and began implementing one problem a day (that at the time I just made up as I went along 🤪) for my first graders. The results were AMAZING. Kids were solving harder problems each day. They were able to discuss, elaborate and make judgements about math. This was when I decided that more teachers needed access to at least one math problem a day for their students.

I have created several products in my TPT Store which includes a spiral of daily math word problems for August to May for students K-3rd Grade. Each month, a new type of problem is introduced to students while also reviewing the previously taught types. The types include: 

• Add to (result unknown)
• Take from (result unknown)
• Add to (change unknown)
• Take from (change unknown)
• Add to (start unknown)
• Take from (start unknown)
• Compare more (difference unknown)
• Compare fewer (difference unknown)
• Compare more/fewer (random unknown)
• Review of all types

I have created 3 sets of these spiraling one math problem a day bundles! Content I have covered so far includes: Addition and Subtraction to 20, Addition and Subtraction to 100 and Addition and Subtraction to 1,000. 

Each set can be purchased as a bundle or individually for each month!

Completing one math problem a day for my students rendered remarkable, fast results for me. I hope they can do the same for you!