Daily 5 Success!

 I'm excited to report that my little firsties are doing it!  We're off to a great start with learning routines and building stamina with the Daily 5!  It has taken some organization and reorganization on my part and lots of practice! And the REALLY great news...we are also doing Daily MATH!!  I.CAN'T.BELIEVE.IT!

Here are some classroom pics of my kiddos in action!

Daily 5
 

Under a table or relaxing on the floor!  Read to Self is a favorite time for my kids!

Relaxing with a good book

Word Work is usually a hands on activity.  This is a cut and paste activity working with short "a" word families.  Of course I modeled how to do this type of worksheet with several "whole class" word work days.  But now they are working independently!  Woot!

Bummer!  I don't have pictures of Work on Writing. :(  It's going so well, too!  We started out with one whole class writing time.  Each day for the first 21 days of school, we wrote about one student...our "Cowpoke of the Day."  They loved writing about each other and learned how to draw detailed pictures and add details to their writing!  Now we are writing about our own chosen topics. 

Listen to Reading

Listen to Reading is iPad time in my class.  The kiddos each have their own accounts for Lexia Core 5 and Teach Me 1st.  They can choose either app to work on during their Listen to Reading time.  It's great skills reinforcement and I get to look at their progress with Lexia!  (Not to mention, that it is one silent and engaged little group!)

Read to Someone

Look at these little cuties sitting EEKK style!  LOVE.IT!  We are reading our anthology stories to our partners in addition to practicing our sight words and reading fluency cards!  This is such a great time for building confidence as a reader!

Daily Math 

Drumroll please......
I'm so excited to have introduced Daily Math into my classroom this year.


Each student has a Math Writing Notebook.  This is where we will do our Math Writing.  Currently we are practicing writing stories for ways to make 10.  The kids are really doing well with this and are writing some creative stories!  I try to make time each day for a few students to share their writing!  Below is a picture of an interactive page the kiddos completed for ways to make 10.   You can download this freebie here: Ways to Make 10 !

Our Math Writing Notebooks include some interactive activities.

We write about ways to make 10!

Math by Myself is usually an activity that has been taught in a small group.  This familar activity is then "tweaked" and shows up for Daily Math!  The kids love the roll and color activites. This is one of my Fall Scarecrow simple addition sheets!

Math by Myself

Right now, Math with Someone is a game or an activity that I teach in a small group.   I then place the games in my Math Drawers and the students can choose to play with a buddy during Math with Someone.  We are still working on our procedures, voice level, and stamina. :)

Whew!  That was a long post! 

Happy Weekend!  

Tricks and Treats Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Tricks & Treats Blog Hop! 

I hope you will hop around and find some great tips (tricks) and TREATS!  I would like to share a management "Trick" with you today!  I usually wait to introduce this to my class once I can see that the "honeymoon" period might be over!  HA!  It gets them right back on track and monitoring their own behavior.  This week it just happens to be time!  :)

I don't use clip charts or have kids flip cards for behavior management.  In my experience that just singles out a child that is already seaking attention with negative behavior.  I prefer to use individual behavior charts for each child and give praise for the correct behaviors.  

If a child is on task, I recognize the desired behavior and "stamp" his/her chart.   The magic with this method is how contagious the desired behavior becomes!  Once I stamp a student's chart, suddenly his/her off task table mate is getting on task.  As I make my way around the room I make sure to go back to those students who corrected their behavior.  

Last year, my classroom theme was Reaching for the Stars.  These coordinated perfectly!

 

This is a sample of a desk chart.  I prefer to print and copy my own to save money and match my units of study, but these are available at most teacher supply stores for the fancy kind!  

This year my class has a western theme so I changed it up a bit! 

This is the cover that I slide into a clear view binder! 

What do the students get when they complete a stamp chart?  Now here's the best part!  (Aside from a harmonious classroom)  They choose "prizes" from the Buckaroo Behavior Reward catalog!  This is a binder I decorate and fill with pictures of the "priveleges" they can choose for a prize!  I don't spend any money on these prizes.  These are priveleges they get to have in the classroom.  

These are the pages that describe the prizes...like a catalog!  You can choose to print these 81/2 X 11 or two to a page!

  

As you can see, these choices are pretty fun for the kiddos.  Bring a stuffed animal to school, share a toy, choose the p.e. game or GoNoodle game, etc.

An unintended benefit is I no longer have a "share" day for my students.  (Shhh, I don't actually enjoy sharing time.)  If they want to share, they can choose the "Show and Share" coupon and bring in anything their little hearts desire!  It's motivating and simple!

OK, so here is your TREAT!  These are Western Behavior Reward Coupons!  These are a smaller version with lots on a page.  These are great to use to get started with a positive reward system in your classroom. Download them now...FREE!   Enjoy!  I'd love to read your feedback!

And as a bonus treat, my entire store is on sale for 20% off!

Thanks for hopping and don't stop here!  Keep on hopping ahead for more Tricks and Treats!

An InLinkz Link-up