We're Off to See the Wizard...

Hello again!

I wanted to share another unit I created earlier this year.  

I read The Wizard of Oz with my children each year.  I love reading it aloud to my first graders and they always seem to be glued to it.  Thanks to some amazing teachers, I've been able to purchase several of their units and it's always fun to pick and choose from each of them.  I don't like doing the same exact thing each year so it's nice to have a "stash" to pull from.  I love being able to do all of the different activities they develop, but I wanted to have more of a comprehension based unit for my students.  This way, we could read a chapter and then complete the complementing comprehension page(s).   Here's a little peek at what I created:

You can click here to see it in my TPT shop too.

I am so grateful to all of those teachers that have created Wizard of Oz units that I included a "Shout Outs!" page that shows each unit I've purchased as well as the link for you to purchase it too.  The unit includes a cover page and then additional pages that complement each chapter in the book.  There are also a few writing activities for the children to complete at the end of the unit too.

I read Frank L. Baum's original version of The Wizard of Oz to my students.  I chose this version, published by Penguin (Penguin has a whole line of classical literature called Puffin Chalk...the covers look like they were created on a blackboard with colored chalk.)  

I just love the look and feel of this version.

I love exposing my first graders to classical literature but I was also reminded the hard way that it's very important to read the entire book first.  I know...that was rule #1 in our undergrad courses but I was on a time crunch at this particular moment during the year.  We started reading the original Peter Pan during the winter but I had to make a quick switch to a different version after we started reading a few chapters...that Tinker Bell has a real attitude in the original version!  :)

So, I'm trying to change and update what I'm using as read alouds in my classroom this year.  I've read a few great books that I've fallen in love with but I think they have parts that might be a little too heavy for my first graders.  I'll post about those later...because they were amazing.

Have you read any new chapter books that would be a good fit for first graders?  I'd love to hear what you're reading!

Have a great weekend!

Book Bargains!

Hello friends!

I'm sure you've seen this, but just in case you missed it, I found some $1 STEALS at Scholastic's Teacher Store recently!

Our school mascot is a pirate, so I picked up a class set of Corinne Demas's Pirates Go To School to use as my "Welcome to First Grade" treat for next year's class at my Open House.  Now I just have to make sure I don't lose them or forget I bought them between now and August!

Pirates Go to School

 For literature circles next year I purchased a set of Felicia Bond's The Day It Rained Hearts:

The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond

And, then I found Robert Munsch's The Sand Castle Contest:

The Sand Castle Contest by Robert Munsch

Don't tell, but this is going to be the book I'll give to my children at the end of this year.  We usually do a Beach Day and this will be a perfect gift!  I actually bought several more copies to have on hand to use as literature circle books at the end of the year too.

I had to have a little self control (which is not my best quality when it comes to children's books)!  I picked up a few more $1 books for our classroom library too...the books are only priced like this until February 28 so go and take a peek!

Have a great day!

Well, hello!

I know…I've been missing in action again!  I'd love to promise you that I'll be more consistent…but I think I just get so wrapped up in school life that my little blog gets put on the back burner.  I've not even had time to blog stalk like I used to…ugh! 

I'll try to be a better blogger though…I'll really, really try!

I have been creating a few things for my little old TPT shop in the past few weeks.  If you follow me there, you've probably "felt" me blowing the dust off of it recently and opening up the doors again.

Our Student-Led Conferences will be in a few short weeks and I wanted a book study that my children could complete on their own and then share it with their families at conferences.  A few years ago I purchased a class set of Jan Brett's The Mitten from Scholastic.  They were like $1 a piece at the time…wish I could find that deal again!  We'll use this book for a whole class read aloud and then the children will each have their own copy to use to help them complete the book study.

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

We're in need of a little extra help with contractions, so I created a simple matching activity for the children to use to practice on their own or with a friend or two.

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

Our school mascot is a pirate and it's our annual Pride Week this week.  It's a week that we celebrate the pride we have in our school, district-wide. We've been reading Peter Pan but we're also going to be reading a few more fun pirate stories.  One of my favorites is Tough Boris by Mem Fox.  I like to use this book to introduce adjectives to my children so I whipped up a little activity for us to complete together.

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

It's also "testing season" for us and I'm in need of some literacy activities that the children can complete independently while I'm doing one-on-one assessments.  There are 6 literacy centers in this packet that will serve as a review and/or extra practice for us!

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

And since I've been MIA for several months, I'm going to hold a quick flash sale in my shop for today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!  Everything is 20% off for the rest of today!

Here's hoping your 2014 is off to a wonderful start and that hopefully,  I can get back into the swing of things again in blogland!

Take care!