New TpT product .... Visualizing Illustration Sheets

The finishing touches on my latest Teachers Pay Teachers product were made while still in my PJ's and enjoying my coffee this morning!  

( That's allowed.  I'm on Thanksgiving break, remember?! Ha! )  

The product - Visualizing Illustration Sheets - can now be found in my TpT store.

This product was created to supplement our Visualizing Unit in reading this year.  My students have really enjoyed sketching out mental images in their mind as I read to them or as they read independently and then using these illustration pages to help their mental images come to life on paper.  These pages have also served as good conversation starters when reading a story whole group and sharing the variety of mental images created by each of the students, noting the similarities and the differences between them.

As we have moved through our reading curriculum, my students have really bought into the strategy of "making connections" to the stories and texts being introduced and read.  They are SO eager to share their text-to-self and text-to-text connections and thinking with me and their friends.  When first introducing visualizing as a reading strategy, I piggy-backed off of the making connections strategy already in place...modeling and sharing with my firsties that sketching and painting mental pictures in my mind also helps me to "connect" with the story and become a more engaged and growing reader.  With the help of the visualizing illustration pages and relating this strategy back to our "being a scientist skills" - using our 5 senses - my firsties are becoming more involved in the stories we read together and those they read independently.  They have also enjoyed using the illustration pages as a way to showcase their creative mental images and share them with their classmates.  I just love it!

Be sure to stop by my TpT store to check out the Visualizing Illustration Sheets!  I certainly hope they will serve as a great supplemental resource for you and your students!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy your day!  

Milestone Monday!

Hi friends and followers!  Happy Monday!  Today is just a little extra special... not only because I am enjoying the day off for Thanksgiving break, BUT also due in large part to the fact that I have achieved a milestone with my Ms. Gartman goes to First Grade Facebook page!!  

Drum roll, please ..... that's right, folks - I have reached 100 likes!! Whoop, whoop! 

(Insert happy dance here)

Thanks so much to my friends, colleagues, and fellow bloggers for your support and virtual love!  Y'all are awesome!  Although this blog is more of a hobby and live journal than anything else, those 100 likes sure help to motivate and encourage me to just keep calm and blog on!

// Photo retrieved from Reviews from a Bookworm //

Here's to 100 likes and counting.... !!

New TpT product ... Hungry Alligator!

Hello all!  I hope your week is off to an awesome start!  I am enjoying my last day of a mini-vacation (spent several days in the Blue Ridge mountains with my parents... #happyheart) and have certainly made the most of it.  Between unpacking, doing household chores and preparing for the week ahead - I managed to find time to finish up my latest TpT product... Hungry Alligator! 

Earlier in the school year, my students were introduced to Hungry Alligator and have enjoyed incorporating his "Chomp, chomp!" into any comparing numbers situation.  The amount of fun my firsties had was definitely the motivation behind the creation of this product in hopes that other kiddos would have as much F-U-N as we did learning about and practicing comparing numbers.

Swing by my TpT store to check out Hungry Alligator as well as my other products!  Thanks for stopping by and cheers (or, "chomp, chomp!") to a fabulous rest of the week!  

This is Halloween, this is Halloween!

Hi friends and followers!  And, hello November!  But, before we get carried away with pilgrims, turkeys, cornucopias, pumpkin pie, Charlie Brown and all things Thanksgiving - I want to share some of the highlights from my classroom during the week of Halloween.  In two words, our week was "terrifying-ly terrific!"  

To kick off our week, I made googly eye reading sticks for my firsties to use during their read-to-self and buddy reading time!  If I had known that a popsicle stick, googly eye, and a little bit of hot glue would excite my students as much as it did last week, sheeesh, I would have done it weeks ago!  Ha!  I may just have to come up with another themed reading stick for Thanksgiving!  Any ideas?! 

Not only was it the week of Halloween, but our school was also celebrating Red Ribbon Week!  Talk about b-u-s-y and FUN!  Red Ribbon Week was punctuated by "Be Super, Be Healthy - Super Hero Day."  How perfect for Halloween... especially for a team of first grade teachers who do not need much of a reason to dress up for a theme!  Check out my SUPER team of awesome teachers!

Above:  Pretty Super Heroes

{From left to right: Minnette, Ashley, Ann Elizabeth, Me, Haley, and Shelley}

// Photo credit: Haley //

Above:   Strong Super Heroes

{From left to right: Minnette, Ashley, Ann Elizabeth, Me, Haley, and Shelley}

// Photo credit: Haley //

Didn't they all do an awesome job with their costumes?  It's hard to tell the details of my shirt and skirt in these pictures, so I posted separate product pictures and links below.  I actually wore this outfit to my Nerdy 30 birthday party in February...LOVE it!

Marvel Super Heroes Vintage T-shirt: I Heart Men in Uniform 

Marvel Avengers Comic Book fabric skirt (made to order from Etsy by NerdAlertCreations)

Black Star Panythose from Party City

Once the students arrived, it was time to hit the ground running with all of our Spooky Fun Friday activities!  As I was in the planning stages of Halloween week, I came across this AWESOME Pumpkin Mini-unit freebie by Nicole Ricca posted on TpT.  This freebie includes so many fun activities related to pumpkins accompanied by book suggestions, lesson plans, and printables!  What a gem this was to find!  Thank you so much Mrs. Ricca for sharing such a thorough, fun, and FREE resource in your store!  I am now one of your newest followers!!  :-) 

 

Before we started our Pumpkin Investigation from Mrs. Ricca's mini-unit (pgs. 8 - 11), I read "How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?" to my firsties.  A few weeks ago I introduced a Counting Collections mini-math unit to my students following a district-wide math training and this book was actually mentioned by one of the training facilitators.  Since we had already spent several days sharing our mathematical thinking and strategies used for counting collections of objects, my students really enjoyed seeing many of their ideas expressed and illustrated in this book.   

Following the reading of the book, we engaged in a book discussion and students were able to share their thinking about the book and how the characters went about making predictions about the number seeds as well as the strategies they used for counting the seeds (i.e., counting by singles, 2s, 5s, and 10s).  Again, I felt like this discussion had a little more depth due to our previous lessons on Counting Collections.  Yay, they had been listening!  As we concluded our book discussion, my firsties were excited to investigate their pumpkins and put their own counting strategies to use.

Each table was assigned a pumpkin and we used the Pumpkin Investigation page from the Pumpkin Mini-unit freebie by Nicole Ricca on TpT.  You have to stop by her store and grab this freebie!

Below you will see the 5 different pumpkins we investigated.  One of my super sweet room Moms donated all 5 pumpkins to our class... how generous what that!  I would definitely recommend using small to medium sized pumpkins - they are much easier to cut open and just the right size for this age group.  This picture collage shows several of the tables working together to deseed the pumpkins and conduct their investigation about pumpkin size, height, characteristics (i.e.,. float vs. sink; lines/ridges), and total seed count.  This was all very time consuming and a little messy, but we had an absolute blast!  Some students even shared that they had never deseeded or carved a pumpkin...and this was their very FIRST time!  What a special memory for them to make!  Loved it!

Here's a snapshot taken from the float vs. sink part of our pumpkin investigation.  For the record, each of the pumpkins floated!
  

The "investigation" of our pumpkins will not stop just because Halloween is over.  On Monday, we placed the pumpkins in our classroom garden bed and will watch the pumpkins decompose and turn into a rich fertilizer for the Swiss chard plants we are growing and harvesting.  To say that the kiddos are really pumped about watching this process would be an understatement!  I am so excited and proud of how much interest they are showing in pretty much EVERYTHING!  #luckyteacher

Thanks again for stopping by!  Have a great week and hello November!

// Photo courtesy of Free Internet Pictures //

#perksofa3dayweekend

So this past weekend was a 3-day one for my school district!  Boy, oh boy!!  I was super excited for an extra day to sleep in, get my house in order, and.... drum roll, open up my own TpT store.  Check out my post - I'm a teacher-preneur - to see my first FREEBIE product!

With all of this "extra" time (what's that?!) on my hands this weekend, I decided to revamp some old files and create some new TpT products.  As geeky as it sounds (For those that don't know me, I had a Nerdy 30 birthday party this year so I'm all about calling myself out on a "nerd alert"!  Ha!), I really enjoyed figuring out how to re-create my old files and make them "TpT worthy" (not a real thing, but kind of a real thing).  I literally spent a couple of hours learning how to use and incorporate clipart, borders, fonts, fair use policies, PowerPoint gadgets, the list goes on.  I had a blast!

I've included the cover pages of my two newest products below.  Click on each picture for a direct link to it in my TpT store.

 
This product contains 2 PDF versions of a mini-quiz on basic hurricane unit content.  One version, contains 10 varying types of questions on the content of this unit.  The second is an accommodated version I created for a former student with an IEP, containing 5 questions and a reduced number of answer choices.  An answer key is also provided for each version of the quiz.

This 10-question quiz covers content related to a unit on the earth, moon, and sun.  Multiple choice and true/false questions are found in this assessment.  An answer key is also provided.

I really like how the cover page of the Earth, Moon, and Sun quiz turned out.  It may even inspire me to create some sort of product bundle in the near future.  Maybe?!

// Credits for clipart, fonts, and borders can be found on each product's TpT store page. //

Thanks again for stopping by!  I even hope it leads you to my "baby TpT store" from time to time.  Suggestions, comments, and questions are always welcome via email: msgartmangoestofirstgrade@gmail.com.

Have a great week!! 

I'm a teacher-preneur!

Hi friends and followers!  I'm super excited to announce that I have officially opened up a Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) store!  Thanks to the encouragement from my colleagues and, not to mention, a much needed 3-day weekend (whoop, whoop!).... I made the decision to open a store and posted my first freebie product today! (Insert happy dance here.)

Just like this blog, my TpT store is still a work in progress but it's a start! If you've read my previous post - Building Community & Character - you may remember this product.  I decided to start small and start with something that I had already created.  As my colleagues would say... "Work smarter, not harder!"  Ha! 

    

Check out this freebie in my *brand-spanking new* TpT store!  I hope you will enjoy this activity and book discussion of "One" by Kathryn Otoshi as much as my students and I did.

As always, thank you for your support and for taking the time to stop by!!  Please be sure to visit often for new products and updates! Have a great rest of the weekend! 

We are Family!

As an extension of the Building Community & Character unit,  our team decided that we wanted to include a mini social studies unit on family and creating a classroom family.  I thought this was a great idea and was totally on board.  With the direction of our next couple of weeks decided, my teammate Shelley and I hit the ground running to get the lesson plans in place!  It's kind of our thing and no secret among our team... we both LOVE to plan and organize!  Yep, uh-huh!

Our teammate Haley shared an awesome blog post that she came across on First Grade W.O.W.  The post was entitled Me and My Family and was a great resource for kicking off this unit.  Nancy over at First Grade W.O.W. even shares a few sample pages of her mini family unit and these were SO helpful in getting us started and were used to springboard other ideas for the lessons.
Thank you Nancy!!

In addition to using some of the resources and freebies found at First Grade W.O.W., I wanted to incorporate actual family portraits of each of the students.  After some research, Shelley and I came across a cute family poem on Pinterest and decided to use it as a way to introduce the new unit to the parents and ask for each child to bring in a family portrait or photo.

 

// Disclaimer:  I have made several efforts to give credit to the original owner/source of the poem - http://primarypractice.blogspot.com/ - but have been unsuccessful in my attempts as the blog is only open to invited readers only.  In no way do I assume credit for the above poem.  //

Below you will find the poem and letter sent home to each student's parent introducing the unit and requesting a family picture.  Thanks Shelley for your quick mind and typing hands!!  

Here is a snapshot of the "always a work in progress" lesson plans that I used to guide this mini family unit.  The week was a short one due to the Labor Day holiday and as the week progressed, I actually ended up changing the plans for Friday and going a different route.  Keep reading to find out how!

On the introductory day of the mini unit, I created an anchor chart titled, "What is a family?", and provided students with index cards.  Students were asked to write and/or illustrate what the word "family" means to them.  Some guiding questions I used were, "Who did it include?" and "What did it look like?"  As students finished their definitions of family they posted them onto the anchor chart.  Returning as a whole group on the carpet, each student was given the opportunity to share.  The student share time was AWESOME!  It provided many different avenues for discussion as students related to one another's definition of family, as they shared recognizing that many of their families included the same people (i.e., Mom, Dad, brother, sister, etc.), and that some key words like "caring", "love", "help" kept popping up.  I was so impressed with their thinking!   

To wrap up day 1, I read The Family Book by Todd Parr.  This is such a great book and really illustrates in a bright, funky kind-of-way how each family is unique, special, and full of love.  My students LOVED this read-aloud!

On the second day of the mini unit, students shared their family portraits and pictures sent from home.  Oh boy, were they excited!!  Just as the index cards activity sparked good discussions, I witnessed so much "getting to know you better" type questioning coming from students as they listened to their classmate show and share about the special people in their lives.  These are the moments you wish you could just bottle up!

After students shared their pictures, I read All Families Are Special by Norma Simon.  This book is rather long (32 pages) and I still wanted to fit in one more activity to wrap up day 2, so I decided to only read the first half of the book and save the last half for the following day.  The book represents a wide variety of family situations (so be cautious and perhaps preview before reading aloud to your class) and includes multi-cultural family components.

   

After reading the first half of the book and leading a brief book discussion, students returned to their seats and completed the "My Family Portrait" page.  This page was adapted from the one found in First Grade W.O.W.'s  Me and My Family freebie.

   

On Day 3, we continued with our reading of All Families Are Special followed by a brief book discussion.  I projected the Families: Can... Have... Are diagram page (created by my tag-team partner on this unit Shelley) onto the board and we worked as a whole group sharing our own ideas and those that were sparked by the various family books we had read during the week.  Students had their own paper copy of the diagram page and recorded their thinking as I did on the board. 

   

Here is a picture of the student ideas shared during our whole group discussion.  They had SO many great things to share that I even had to drawn more lines!! 

These are snapshots taken of student work.

       

On the last day of the mini unit, I replaced the original plan with a class craft project.  I wanted to showcase the students, their families, and the LOVE that each had and shared about during the week.  So, I projected a heart image onto the board and using red butcher paper, I traced the heart.  Some students helped me cut out the heart (you better believe I had my most precise scissor users on this task!) and other students filtered through the family pictures deciding where to place them within and on the big heart.  I printed out "We are Family" and glued it in the very center.  This "change of plans aka Plan B" turned out to be a really fun project and an awesome way to wrap up the unit as a class!

Here is the final product... We are Family!

// Images were blurred to protect the privacy of the students and their families. //

There's no "I" in TEAM

This week I want to take a break from the formats of my previous posts and just brag on my team!  I was really nervous (but still more excited!) about the transition from third grade to first.  Would I do well?  Would it be a good fit?  Would this...?...What if that...?...   What a waste of my worries!!

// Photo retrieved from The Keep Calm-O-Matic //

My new team was quick to welcome me with outstretched hands and they literally haven't let go since!  In some way, each of them has taken me under their wings and shared countless ideas, books, templates, games, advice, resources... the list really does go on!  They are AWESOME!   

{ From left to right: Minnette, Shelley, Ashely, Ann Elizabeth, Haley, and Me }
// Photo credit: Haley //

Thanks to Haley and her bright idea, our team has custom-made t-shirts.... "still in FIRST grade and loving it!"  Wearing them as a team has become a regular Friday tradition!

Last week, some of us had the opportunity to visit the Birmingham Zoo for Teacher Night!  That's right - the Zoo put on a special night of food, drink, and teacher talk!  We had an absolute blast and enjoyed team building and (a rare) weekday teachers' night out!  Thank you Birmingham Zoo for being such great hosts!  We will see you with our firsties in May!!

{From left to right: Me, Ashely, Haley, and Shelley }

I am so blessed to be a part of both an AWESOME team and school!  As the Beatles say, "I get by with a little help from my friends."  Such a true statement in regards to these sweet gals!  So thankful to call these girls friends and colleagues!  Only 25 days or so in and it's already been such a great year!  I cannot wait to see what the rest of the school year has in store!!

#chevronforlife

My name is Christina and I have a chevron obsession!  It's true.  Well, at least in terms of my classroom decor and design.  Over the summer, when brainstorming what new theme I wanted for my  classroom this year, I kept coming back to chevron.  I couldn't shake it.  Sooo, I decided to embrace it.  (Like full arms, bear hug style!)

My earlier post (in case you missed it) - Burlap, chevron, hot glue...ohh my! - chronicles my adventures in making my classroom curtains... no sew style!  But the love of chevron and wanting to incorporate it into my classroom did not stop there.  Oh no ma'am, no sir!  

Shortly after moving to Alabama, I was quickly made aware of several Facebook trading pages that were available for residents of my city and neighboring cities to join as a way to view and post items (i.e., furniture, clothing, books, etc.) for sale.  Over the summer, I would visit these trading pages several times a day hoping to find a "bargain-of-a-deal" for an item that I couldn't live without.  Well, one day in June, I hit what I considered to be the jackpot.... this light yellow and gray chevron bookshelf posted by Brianne over at Chic Pickins Furniture.  

At the time I acquired the shelf, I wasn't exactly sure where or how I wanted to use it in my classroom.  All I knew is that it matched my theme perfectly and I had to have it!! 

Today, the shelf is located in the front of my classroom (next to the dry erase board) and used to hold math games, manipulatives, and student activity workbooks.  It was the perfect purchase and I have received SO many compliments on the great work done by Brianne at Chic Pickins Furniture.  I would reach out to her later in the summer for more of her beautiful craftsmanship...keep reading!

  

  I used leftover burlap from the curtain project to give my plastic containers and crate some extra flair and help bridge the overall theme together.  The plastic containers, which were purchased at my local Dollar Tree, can actually be found all over my classroom for storage of supplies.  After adding the burlap fabric (with hot glue) to the container, I attached the super cute chevron supply labels (laminated) shown above and below.  The chevron supply labels were purchased from Amanda over at her TpT store Teaching in a Small Town.  There are over 100 pre-made labels found in this set and editable versions via PowerPoint and Keynote...how awesome is that!  I have used these labels for virtually everything...supply containers, schedule, table numbers, classroom library...everything!  I absolutely LOVE them!

Here is a close-up view of more storage containers with the chevron supply labels. These are located on the back wall shelving unit in the open cubbies below the burlap chevron curtains.  I have always wanted an organized area dedicated just for supplies!  Yaaayy for dreams coming true!! 

As teacher planning week was drawing to an end, I acquired the shelves shown below from another teacher at my school.  

Although a great and FREE find, these dark black shelves just didn't match the natural and bright colored theme that I was going for in my classroom.  Eek, what to do with less than a week before the first day of school?!  

Without hesitation, I contacted Brianne and she was ready and willing to take on this "rushed" job!  Yippee!  When we met to drop off the shelves, I asked her to make one shelf just like the light yellow and gray that I previously purchased.  I also requested that the other shelf use the turquoise blue color (in place of the gray) from the curtains that I made.  I provided her with a fabric swatch of the Keepsake Calico Blue-Ombre Chevron and she was off to do her magic, promising that both shelves would be finished and delivered prior to the first day of school!  Wow, isn't she just great?!  I couldn't wait to see the final product!

Ta-daa, here they are!!  I was giddy and grinning when she dropped these beauties off at my school the day before school started!  They are absolutely perfect!  Thank you SO much, Brianne!  Folks, I'm telling you...if you're in the north central part of Alabama please check out Chic Pickins Furniture.  She is so sweet and does AWESOME work to refinish antique, vintage, and even new furniture!

These shelves are located right at the entrance of the classroom and hold the student mailboxes.  The mailboxes are the plastic containers purchased from Dollar Tree (didn't use the lids), trimmed with burlap fabric and freebie student numbers from A Cupcake for the Teacher TpT store.

  

The pink wicker basket is labeled using the round chevron supply labels and holds student's daily folders.  The blue mailbox is where students are instructed to place "Ms. Gartman's Mail" (aka notes from home, lunch money, change of transportation forms, etc.).  The white bucket is also trimmed with burlap fabric and a round chevron supply label that reads, 'To the Office".   This area of the classroom helps to keep both myself and the students organized and informed.  And, not to mention, it's a great "first view" as guests walk in and are welcomed to the room! :)

Building Community & Character

As we wrapped up the second full week of school, much of our focus was spent on building community within the classroom and with one another.  Working to establish a positive, supportive and safe classroom environment is something that I wanted to be both intentional and timely about - it had to start on day one.  My new firsties needed to feel secure, nurtured and loved by each other and by ME!

During those first few days of school, we established classroom procedures and expectations as a group.  We also spent time each day reviewing our school-specific behavior code known as S3R. It stands for: Safe, Responsible, Respectful, and Resourceful.  Students are encouraged and taught (by teachers and guidance counselor) to use this code to guide their thinking and behavior at school and at home.  Our music teacher even wrote a rap and created a music video about the S3R code that my students absolutely LOVE to sing and dance to!  I try to incorporate the music video at some point throughout each day as a brain break and a mini-character education reminder.

This past week I introduced my students to the book One by Kathryn Otoshi.  Not only does this book incorporate primary and secondary colors, numbers, and counting... it's central and guiding message is to show the importance of accepting the differences among each person and how just ONE voice is all that's needed to stand up to bullying and intolerance AND show that everyone counts!  What a powerful message and reminder to each of us!!

 

During the reading of One, I would pause on occasion and share some of my own think-alouds. (It's never too early to drop in a good reading comprehension strategy, right?)  My think-alouds would touch on the feelings of particular colors at that point in the story and how I could relate to that color at some time in my own life.   I wanted my think-alouds to serve as a model for my students and also to help guide them in their thinking for what would later be discussed as a whole group.  

After reading One, we discussed as a class the impact that our words, attitudes and actions can have on other people.  We brainstormed ways that we can help others (i.e., friends, classmates, siblings, acquaintances, etc.) both in and out of the school setting.  We also spent much time discussing what it looked like and sounded like to stand up for ourselves and for someone else.  I was so impressed with how open and willing to share each of my kiddos were.  I loved hearing all of their precious ideas for helping others and being a good friend...melted my heart!

Then I showed students a YouTube video of Kathryn Otoshi reading One accompanied with a dramatic interpretation performance by students from an elementary school in California.  My kiddos were really excited when I told them they would be watching the author read her own book and they enjoyed seeing children act out the pages of the story that we just read and discussed.  They even clapped at the end of the video!  So cute!!

 

This is the page from the book that inspired the student art activity.  The book remained opened to this particular page of One for student reference as they were working.

I simply took the text from the page in the book (as shown above), and recreated it with space on the top for students to add either the colored numbers or colored circles (depending on their own preference).  I printed the page on computer paper (maybe not my first choice next time around) and used a glue stick to paste it onto small and thicker poster board/heavy construction paper before distributing to the students.

Using watercolors and small paint brushes, students began creating their "version" of the page.  Crayons and colored pencils were used to color in the number 1.

Materials:

Sometimes it just takes ONE freebie page; poster board/heavy construction paper (maybe varying colors to serve as a boarded for student work); watercolors and brushes; crayons/colored pencils

Below are two close-ups of student work.  One student chose to write out the numbers with the watercolors and the other chose to paint colored circles. 

The pictures below show how the student work is currently being displayed in the classroom.
Each one is different and unique... I just love that!

Their work has also served as a visual reminder to all and reference (when necessary) of the message of One.

A day or so after this activity, we followed up the reading of One with another of Kathryn Otoshi's book - Zero.  My students really enjoyed reading Zero because they felt like they already "knew" most of the characters.  This book also provides a great platform for discussing character and self-esteem.

As teachers we have such a big responsibility to our students, not just in helping them to achieve their greatest academic success but also by creating a classroom community and culture that is accepting, respectful, and proud of individuality.  Although a HUGE undertaking, I am up for the challenge but - at the same time - am SO thankful I have discovered great resources like One and Zero to help me along the way!  

Many thanks to my fabulous first grade team for sharing these books and countless other resources and ideas with me!!