Sight Words

When I was teaching first grade, sight words were a huge part of teaching Language Arts. The teachers I worked with and I used the fry's first 100 sight words with our students. The goal was that all students mastered those 100, but we would push students farther if they were ready for a new list of words. We broke the 100 fry words into lists of 25 for each nine weeks. I created activities that went along with each list. The activities I created were introduction PowerPoints, PowerPoints and word lists, flashcards, phrases, memory, bingo, and rainbow words. Here is how I used each resource.

Introduction PowerPoint- These PowerPoints consist of one slide with five words that you can introduce to your students, practice reading them and talk about them. Then there is a slide where students can put the word into a sentence. There are 25 words for the nine weeks, so you could do this for five weeks.

PowerPoints- These are like flashcards in a PowerPoint. I would project the word on the board and have students practice reading it. I did this if I had a few extra minutes before a transition. You could also print them and make a sight word book for students to practice reading.

Word Lists- These word lists were used for me to check off the words students knew. I also would copy a word list to the back of the classroom newsletter each week to let the parents know which words we were working on so they could practice at home.

Flashcards- I printed these for students to have sight word bags. Students would practice these words with a partner. While they worked in partners I tested students on their sight words or practice flashcards with them.

Phrases- These phrases are great for guided reading. While we are transitioning or right at the beginning of the lesson I would give students a couple of fry word phrases to practice reading fluently.

Memory- The memory games were put in my Daily 5 word work area.

Bingo- I would play this with the whole class on Fridays every couple of weeks.

Rainbow Words- These pages were used for morning work or were used in my word work area.

These resources were a huge help for me when I worked with beginning readers. I hope you find them helpful as well.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fry-Words-1-100-Bundle-1123329

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Math Differentiation

Math Differentiation

I have tried many different ways to set up my math block so that instruction time is utilized well and I am able to differentiate for a variety of levels. I have done Math Centers, Math Stations, and Math Daily 3 to see what works for me. What I have found to work the best is a combination between Math Stations and Math Daily 3. I structure my time where I teach three small mini-lessons in an 80-minute block. In between those three mini-lessons are a combination of math stations and math daily 3. I say it is a combination of the two because math stations focuses on having a variety of games for a group to play with and practice multiple times. Math Daily 3 focuses on math by myself, math with someone, and math writing. I have incorporated these activities into my math workstations so students are getting all three ways to practice. The cen

Mini-Lesson #1: Main Lesson introducing the new skill. This is where I model how to do it. Then I practice it with the students.

Math Stations/Math Daily 3: Students then get into their groups that I assigned. These groups are mixed ability groups. Students are working on math by myself, math with someone, and math writing. Each of the three activities is organized with a variety of activities for students to choose from. They are all activities that they have done with me or similar to a game they have done with me. Usually there is no confusion on how to play the game. During this time I call back a group of students who seemed to struggle with the first Mini-lesson when we were practicing together. I then reteach the lesson with them in a small group.

Mini-Lesson #2: The lesson is practiced with the students again. Then they try some problems with a partner. After the students are finished I check their work and they go to the second round of math stations/math daily 3.

Math Stations/Math Daily 3: Students get into the groups they were assigned to and work on a different math daily 3.  I work with partner groups who struggled with the skill and reteach.

Mini-Lesson #3: I review the skill that was taught again with a few more problems. Students are given a short assessment so I can see who understood the skill and who didn’t. If there is time students can do another round of math daily 3. If there is not enough time, I collect the assessment and go over it with them later in the day or the next day. I try to give them feedback as soon as possible.

Check out my math stations that I use to differentiate. I have grades K-3. I use a variety of grade levels depending on the standards and skills students are struggling with. 

Kindergarten Common Core Work Stations

First Grade Common Core Math Work Stations

Second Grade Math Work Stations

Third Grade Math Work Stations

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Creating Classroom Rules and Establishing Routines

 It is back to school time for many students! As students are learning about routines and things happening in the classroom it is good for them to create the class rules together and talk about routines. This gives students ownership of their classroom and helps them to understand why each rule is important. It also gives the teacher and students a chance to talk about the rules, model them, and discuss their importance. I always like to send a note home to the parents letting them know the rules that their child agreed upon in school. This way kids can take ownership of the rules and tell their parents why they are important. One thing I keep in mind when making rules with my class, is to make positive rules. Instead of don't run, we would say walk in the classroom. This way students know what they should be doing, not what they shouldn't be doing. Another thing to keep in mind is to keep the list of rules short. You want students to remember them, if there are too many rules they will forget the expectations. Check out my classroom pack on making classroom rules! It contains resources to help you set up classroom rules and expectations for the year!

Creating Classroom Rules and Establishing Routines

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