Bright Chevron Themed Classroom

Check out my new Bright Chevron printables at my TPT store!! Here are just a few...

 

I hope you enjoyed taking a peak into my classroom!

Classroom Goods

My favorite places to shop for my classroom: Target Dollar Section, The Dollar Tree, Michaels, and the Walmart Dollar Section- you just can't beat the prices! Check out all of the awesome stuff I found!

I found a ton of goodies walking around my local Dollar Tree. The 5 piece shoe-lace tieing practice kit is adorable. I got a bucket for my "bucket of words" flashcard practice. I think my favorite find was these stackable containers in these pretty bright colors!

I found these awesome large clothespins for my student work display bulletin board! They were on a super clearance and after my teacher discount I snagged 4 packs of these (28 total) for just $6.80. After looking around for large clothespins this felt like a huge steal!! Plus, I can write each student's name on the pin in chalk.

The dollar section at the Target by my school was twice the size of the one by my house. I loved the brightly colored paper trays. They always have brightly colored goodies in their dollar section. My favorite of my purchases at Target was the chalkboard tins. I love that you can write right on them!

Crafting

With school starting in only one month I've been crafting away creating new resources for my classroom! I love these alphabet cards I found at TPT. I already have a word wall but these are the perfect size for a center activity or possible to assist during the word work center of ABC order!

Dear Class

During our morning meeting I love writing letters to the class then discussing what needs to be edited and fixed. The students love to take on the role as the "teacher!"

Thankful Turkeys

I love writing for Thanksgiving. The students brainstormed what they were the most thankful for and we turned them into these adorable thankful turkeys that I hung above each of their lockers!!

Here is my newest version of the turkey craft:

  

Watch Dog Dad

I run the Watch Dog Dads program at our school. It's a great way to get dads and grandpas involved in volunteering in the school. The students love working with the father volunteers one-on-one, in small groups, or in a whole group setting. The dads follow a volunteer schedule that is ready for them at the office when they check-in in the morning. With time to spare we had a guest read aloud from one of our Watch Dog Dad volunteers!!

Behavior Recess Reward

The students worked so hard to earn their 10 compliments!! With winter and indoor recess dragging on we had a "recess toy day" where the students were allowed to bring in a toy or game of their choosing for recess. They had so much fun playing with each other and checking out what each of their friends brought in! It was a treat that the special recess day happened to be the 100th day of school (Notice our cute 100 hats)!!

Verb Writing Activity

One of my favorite writing activities is when we start learning about verbs and action words!! The students are given the opportunity to choose their favorite verb and a parent volunteer calls them into the hall one at a time to snap a picture of each student acting out their verb. When I get all of the pictures uploaded and printed the students use their picture to write about that action. I'm always impressed with the outcome of writing activities and how creative first grade minds are!

Contraction Partners

My class was having a difficult time with contractions after we had done a few activities. I decided to split them up into partners and give each group a contraction. The rule was they had to come up with a complete sentence together that included the contraction. When my timer went off they would rotate the clipboards and write a sentence for another contraction. When the activity ended and they received their original clipboard back, with their partner they were to select one of the complete sentences that used the contraction appropriately, and read it out loud to the class. The students had a lot of fun and I was impressed with their creativity!

Nutrition Guest Speakers

We enjoyed a visit from two special ladies who spoke with us on nutrition, portions, healthy food options, and calories. The students each got to take home these awesome place mats and a container of Play-Doh (they were the most excited about this). I loved how they used the Play-Doh to practice making appropriate portion sizes!

ChooseMyPlate.gov has a great drop down of resources!

Pumpkin Estimation Activity

One of my favorite activities that we do in the first grade is the pumpkin carving estimation and sequencing activity. Each of the students has the opportunity to estimate how many seeds are inside of the pumpkin. We talk about "reasonable" estimations then I record each of their estimates including the teacher's estimates.

After these are recorded I carve open the pumpkin and remove the seeds. We then work on sequencing  the events of carving a pumpkin and illustrating our words.

We did this as a two-day math activity. It's important to have help with this activity so that an adult can take students 2-3 in the hall and let them sort and count out seeds into groups of 5. While the seeds are being counted and glued down onto a piece of chart paper we work on math. When the pumpkin was ready to be counted as a class we counted aloud all of the groups of 5 and extra seeds to get our total.

We hung it up in the hall for everyone to see when we were finished!

Total Seeds: 343 pumpkin seeds

The King of ING

Phonics themed fun is a great way to bring sounds to life! We enjoy having a week of phonics fun with The King of ING. Incorporate these crafts into your classroom...

  

Classroom Management

We acquire "Brownie Points" throughout the week to earn a "Fantastic Friday" at the end of each week. I set the goal for the brownie points at the beginning of the year and as the year has progressed the students work together to vote on their goal for the week. We talk about reachable goals!

The Sets of Tables also have "table points" that they earn throughout the day for everyone at the table following directions or staying on task. This is a great way for students to encourage one another to stay focused! The tables are labeled with fruits as well as the categories on the board. This also makes it easy for substitute teachers.

Classroom Cash

As an additional reward the students have the opportunity to work for "Cline Cash" with their participation, acts of kindness, following good behavior, etc.

With their Cline Cash they have the opportunity to purchase Cline Chance Tickets that are personalized to fit the classroom needs.

Class Job Chart

The Class Job Chart is changed monthly to allow students the opportunity at new jobs. As the year progresses students that receive minimal reminders throughout the month have the opportunity to participate in new jobs. This reinforces the class behavior system and the students motivation to follow the class rules and procedures.

Good Behavior System

The students will follow the "Good Behavior System" throughout the year. Colored reminders will be used to enforce very specific expectations for good behavior. The students will have high expectations and will have an opportunity to grow as individuals throughout the school year.

Morning & Afternoon Procedures

I created a "Morning Procedures" poster to guide the students through the morning routine when they come in to the classroom. This helped eliminate confusion and misunderstanding of clasroom routines.

I also created an "Afternoon Procedures" poster to guide the students through the afternoon routine when they're getting ready for dismissal. This was helpful to give the students a list of directions to follow at the end of the school day.

Learning Targets

To display learning targets I printed targets and subject titles then used magents to label targets on the chalk board. A great way to keep up and refer to all day!

Mailboxes

I used calendar numbers to number my mailboxes. This was a quick and easy way to keep organized!

Open House

Open house was a success! Each family received a folder with information for the school year, paperwork to be filled out from the office, and a letter from me. I'm excited for my first year of teaching!

I sent home "Tips for the First Day of School." This is a quick way to remind your students how to prepare for a successful, happy, and healthy school year!

I labeled shelving units and containers for supplies. This was a big help to keep the supplies organized and in their designated places. It also left me with more time to meet my new students and their families.