Call the C.O.P.S.

Back again for the 2nd time this week!!! 

I feel like dancing!

 

I hope you all were able to grab my freebie yesterday. If not....go grab it! And while you are o n my TPT page, be sure to grab some of the other freebies I posted over the last few days.

I've been creating stuff for a few weeks, but haven't had time to post so I'll be adding a lot this weekend (fingers crossed!).

 

 

I also uploaded an awesome Mega Pack that I created for my class this year.

In first grade, we really work hard to improve student writing and editing skills.

So of course we practice "Calling the C.O.P.S."

It is a huge hit in first grade (as well as when I taught K  & 2!).

 

You can check out the Mega Pack at my TPT store:

 

 

 

When I say Mega Pack....I mean it!

Take a look at what's included:

 

 Directions
C.O.P.S. Classroom Poster
C.O.P.S. Individual Classroom Posters
C.O.P.S. Mini Posters (2 sizes)
Letter to Parents
Practice Sheets featuring 2 review pages for each of the following categories:

           Capitals only
           Organization
           Spelling only
          Punctuation only
          Capitals & Punctuation
          Capitals & Organization
          Capitals & Spelling
         Organization & Punctuation
        Organization & Spelling
        Punctuation & Spelling
        Various Mistakes

 

I included a number of variations for the practice sheets for logistical reasons. This helps differentiate when students have difficulties in certain areas. It also helps when you are introducing each specific component. I know that as teachers, we don't introduce capitalization, organization, punctuation, AND spelling all on day one. Having a variety of sheets provides for flexibility as you introduce each component based on your curriculum.

 

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend! Stop by next week as I have another project to post AND a little DIY project!

Where the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks Have You Been?!

Hi everyone!!! I know it has been FOREVER since I posted on this blog. This last semester was beyond crazy. In addition to teaching, I took 2 graduate classes, PLUS I signed up for a  class at the gym run by personal trainers that is 3 times a week. Needless to say...my head has been spinning!

 

And guess what...it's not looking better any time soon! HAHA

This summer instead of my usual vacation plans, I'm taking 3 summer classes, helping with the curriculum and continuing with the gym. Somewhere in there, I'm hoping for a few minutes of relaxation!

 

But don't worry, I do have a few projects, crafts, and packets that are int eh works to share with you. I will try to post at least twice a week. I've really missed chatting with all of you and I look forward to getting back in the swing of things!

 

Until then I wanted to share this with you all:

 

 

Summer Sight Words Freebie

 

I put this up at the end of last year and wanted to share it again in case anyone didn't grab it. If you pick it up, let me know what you think!

 

Thanks for all your support.

I'll be back soon.....I promise!

 

 

 

Power Tower

This idea came from teacher tipster, my educational crush. Ahhh Mr Smith, I do adore you and your creative approach!

The kids in my class need extra help with sight words in order to advance to the next level in reading. Enter Power Towers. First I ate a can of Pringles, not in one day. Then I added a cute label I found on Pinterest. Then I wrote the tricky sight words on the bottoms of Dixie cups.

The kids passed the cups around. If they read it, they kept it. If not, it went to the bottom. Once they have about 4, they start building their towers. The one with the tallest tower wins.

They love making the towers and I love that they are reading an practicing the sight words. It's a win win! We also have a version with number sentences for math. Works wonders!

Classroom Tour

Well after being at school for 3 weeks and already having to change rooms once we are finally getting ready to begin school tomorrow!

Initially, I had to share a classroom with another class due to construction difficulties. Thankfully, that was all resolved last week and now we have our own room again. However that left us only a few days to do our classroom. I'm really happy with how it turned out, but I know that I'll be adding A LOT as the year progresses. There are a couple of blank spaces that I need to fill with student work as well as new creations like anchor charts etc. But until then, here's a glimpse at what lies inside the walls of our classroom. ENJOY!

View of the room from the doorway. Here you see my newly designed table (awaiting a framed quote...this week, fingers crossed!) and "today's password sign.  Throughout the room, I've made items in my green and white polka dot pattern. If anyone is interested let me know. I am planning on adding them to my TPT store. 

Our cubbies are divided in half. Here is the first half. The area above the cabinets is awaiting materials/storage for Breakfast Baskets when not in use. I found the alphabet on TPT the other day and I love it! It's all math vocab!!! I just want to label it with a sign on the blank cabinet towards the left. You also see our SuperKids poster. So excited for this curriculum. We added a rug and some pillows This will give our students a nice nook when they read for the American Reading 100 Book Challenge. 

This is the second half of the cubbies and the rest of the alphabet. You also see our caddies up top and other bins. I like to store them here when not in use because they are just pretty and look better than storage boxes up there. 

This is a shot of the room from around the doorway. You can see our layout with the tables. 

Guided reading area/small group area. Materials are behind in bins for small group work. The cubbies will be great for our belongings, especially winter coats!

Our objectives will be posted here as well as our daily class goal. I'm sorry I forgot where is got this amazing poster, but I am beyond excited to use it! If I got it from you...THANK YOU!

View of the library/morning meeting area. Love the crate seating (bottom of the picture). We found two that were left from another teacher. We used them to define the space. 

Students data binders, "Boo Boo Lotion" bin and "Spotlight on writing" waiting for a great piece to illuminate!

Sample breakfast basket waiting for the students to arrive!

View of the classroom library which includes American Reading Company books, SuperKids Library, AND personal books for free reading...sorry its blurry. I really like the ledge it makes to display books on top. This will change with each month. 

The desk area. Includes American Reading Log, Reading stamina sheet (again...if I  got this from you...THANKS!), and teacher toolbox. The curtain hides wires that are hanging off desk as well as our listening center. It's great camouflage. The material is green with white polka dots...it looks olive green here though for some reason :/

Behavior clip chart, classroom rules, and "Sample Student." Below is a dry erase board. The cards will be where we display Spelling and vocab words each week. I'd like t add more to this wall, but it's tough to get things to stick to this cinder block. 

Part of the calendar. In the next few weeks, I'm going to spruce this up and make it polka dot, but with the moving I haven't had time. Still great because it exposes the kids to a lot of concepts early on that they normally wouldn't learn to mid year. 

In the "spotlight" (classroom helper of the day) and sillybration for the day. Above is the birthday area. Again, I made these cards myself. If you'd like them to go on TPT just let me know!

Overview of the calendar area.

exit question by the door

bathroom/hall passes. 

That's it. I hope you found this helpful and can use some of these ideas in your room. Any thoughts? I'd love to here them!!

4th of July Recap & Two New Projects

To say this week has been busy would be an understatement. I have been crazy busy running all around getting ready for our 4th of July party, cleaning up from the party, and most importantly hitting the after 4th sales!

Plus, we have a wedding to go to in a little bit and my mom's birthday tomorrow, but I felt I needed to come and show a little love to my bloggy friends. 

Here are some pics from the 4th:

Sangria in mason jars with  cute firecracker straws (from Target of course!)

View of our patio at 11pm, party still going strong!

The backyard is looking really good these days. We've actually added an outdoor bar and more string lights around the perimeter since our party. I'll have to post a picture of it soon. It looks incredible!

Oh, and one other things I've been busy on is two projects for TPT.

The first, Super Spellers, is a great way to review spelling words during literacy centers. I love doing these activities for my word work.

You can pick this game up HERE.

The second, Super Hero Search, is perfect to help incorporate phonics and grammar into literacy centers.

You can pick up this game HERE.

Both activities can be planned two ways. After laminating, I usually place them on a binder ring. Then I pull out on task card for the students to complete. I follow this procedure until I have introduced all the tasks. Then, students are allowed to select the activity they would like for that day.

I find that these are super easy and the kids stay engaged while doing them. You can head on over to my TPT store and pick them up!