Word Wall Quick Tips and Printables

The word wall are VERY important in my classroom (this is Rachelle from What the Teacher Wants).  My students use it as a reference all day.  In my first grade classroom we add 5 words a week (sometimes more) and we study those words all week.  I love to do sight word chants with them, sing songs, and write them in our password books.  I bought my sight word wall from Lakeshore, but unfortunately it is now discontinued. Sorry!

Tools for Word Walls

Zeno Words

Fry Words

Dolch Words

Word Wall Headers

Password Book

Sight Word Dictionary

Sight Word Chants

Sight Word Songs

And here are some freebies to get your feet wet. ;)

Click each picture to download the printable!

clipart/fonts copyright Dianne J. Hook djinkers.com

S is for Staff Development

Holly here, from Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections!

I'm here today to share my "S" thankfulness!  

In my book...

Go ahead.  Say it out loud... 

"Staff development?! Is this girl crazy?!"

Well.. maybe I am.   But for me... the staff development conferences I have attended in the last few years have literally changed my life! 

{Serious "shout out" to Staff Development for Educators 
right here!  LOVE. S.D.E.}

Yes, I'm "that" teacher... the one who reads brain research books in her spare time and my "pleasure reading" is often about RTI or the latest trends in education.  So, of course I love staff development for that reason...but almost more importantly, I love staff development because it has provided me with some of the BEST and most wonderful supporting friendships a (teacher) girl could ask for!

I mean, truly... did you ever realize that STAFF DEVELOPMENT could look like this? 

I am the only kindergarten teacher in my small, private school... and the friends I've met through SDE events are often my life-line and inspiration on a daily basis!  

I NEED these girls... and I am so very thankful for the fact that attending SDE staff development events have brought these amazing and brilliant friends into my life!!!  {Not to mention... I never laugh harder than when I'm with these teacher-friends!}

So, if you are in need of a little inspiration... a new teaching supporter... or just a good laugh...  come and hang out with us this summer at the SDE National Conferences!   Come on people... Vegas.  Summer.  Shopping. Sunshine.  National Teacher-Blogger Meet-Up.   Do I really need to twist your arm any further?  LOL

What is YOUR thankful "S" this year?

Link up and let us know!

An InLinkz Link-up

K is for...that's an easy one!

Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting and Koothrappali of course! 

Just kidding.

Sort of.

My own kids.

Other people's kids.

Kids!

They are hilarious. Honest. Fun. Inspiring. and basically the only reason I don't look for another job sometimes!

What are YOU thankful for on this Black Friday?

Link up with us! 

the tattooed teacher

An InLinkz Link-up

N is for...No School Days!

Hey y'all!  It's Sarah Cooley from First Grader...at Last!  Happy Thanksgiving sweet teacher friends!

All of us work so hard throughout the year.  Many of us get to school before the bell, and leave when the parking lot is dark.  We go home to our families, but we still don’t leave our jobs at the door.  We cut out things all night, laminate, create activities, and even shop with our classrooms and students in mind. Our students become a part of us.  Teaching is a part of us. 

But today is a day to be thankful for those "no school" days.  Even though we never really leave our jobs behind, remember to take advantage of this well deserved break—they don’t come often enough!  Relax, enjoy your families, and EAT.  Y’all, get those fat pants on, and don’t even worry about it.  Enjoy this day, and the rest of your week of no school days.  Take time to do what you want to do.  Don’t work on school stuff.  It will still be there next week! 

Happy Thanksgiving!  Many blessings to you and your family. 

Xoxo,

Sarah

An InLinkz Link-up

Week of Giving Thanks - A is for A Good Book or Few

Are you ready for Day 3? It's Elizabeth from Kickin' it in Kindergarten. I'm here to host the "A" for our week of thanks. 

My A is for what I love to do the most...read. I'm sort of sticking to the plan because reading is on the top of the list for me. 

Yes, I love to work-out, teach, bake, etc etc. But, I really love curling up with a good book. 

I've got three categories for this one {grown-up, classroom, and teacher books} because reading really is something that I love and love to get my kids excited about. I made a big to-do about the library and the importance of loving to read. Other than kindness, manners, and treating others with respect...books are pretty high up on the list.

These are the books that I have been reading with my grown-up glasses on. I have been at the beach this week and I've finished Wild and I just started The Paris Wife. Last Spring Break, I finally read The Book Thief and really loved it.

Then of course, we all love our classroom books. My favorite children's author/illustrator is Oliver Jeffers. This is his newest book and it is ridiculously wonderful. All of his books make me so happy.

I'm the teacher that can't leave for Thanksgiving Break without my bookshelf matching the theme for the week we return. I also just love holiday books in general.

There are books out there that we need to read with out teacher glasses on. One of the best teacher books I've read was Crash Course. It's one that I think of often and it has inspired me to be a better teacher and to think outside of the box. It is one that I refer back to often and it continues to inspire me to this day.

Link up with either your favorite books or something else that starts with an "A"! 

You can grab your own image here. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Week of Giving THANKS - H is for HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Hi friends . . . it's Kelley Dolling from Teacher Idea Factory.  I'm here to bring you the second installment of the Blog Hoppin' Thanksgiving Week Linky. I have the honor of hosting the letter H today!  Although this letter can be whatever you want to make of it, after much thought I settled on a H-themed target. I am going with my favorite things about my HOME AWAY FROM HOME (school).  

Let's be honest with ourselves today.  The countless hours, endless report card comments, cruddy curriculum changes, technology problems, lack of parent support, and other troublesome issues that swarm school campuses can really get you down from time to time.  Most of us knew this going into the profession, but such issues can begin to wear on you.  I caught myself here just a few weeks ago.  In my opinion, these are the times in our profession that we need to hold on to what we LOVE about school and teaching.  It always seems to put a smile back on my face and it helps me change my attitude.    

Let me back up and front-load this one for you a bit.  I was alwas a HUGE fan of Pollyanna growing up.  After the first time sitting through this flick, I began playing the Glad Game on a daily basis.  I know it's dippy, but finding the "good" when things seem to not be going so well always makes me feel better.   

With this said, I played the Glad Game just last week and it helped.  Here are my 3 favorite things about my home away from home . . . those things that keep me coming back for more when the going gets tough.

ONE - Those "Oh, I Get It" Moments
One of my all time favorite things about teaching is watching those "wheels turn."  There is nothing like the moment when it "clicks" for a babe.  The pride in their eyes and the smile on their face is worth every tough moment in the trenches.  

This was the moment I heard tons of those exclamations about subtraction.
"Oh, this is EASY!"  #musictomyears

TWO - My Bestie
Everyone has someone that they lean on while they are on campus.  I am lucky enough to get to share a classroom with the person who helps hold me up on a regular basis. Not only is she an amazing teacher, but she puts up with my insanity and is one of my dearest friends in this world.  When things get messy, she always puts a smile back on my face.  Court . . . you are one in a million and I am so THANKFUL to have you in my life.  

Doin' what she does best . . . teaching our babes!

Three - The Giggles
My final favorite thing is rather simple, but it undoes me every single time.  A child's giggle keeps me coming back for more.  If I can teach a concept in a way that not only makes the standard stick, but also produces a grin from ear to ear, I have earned my pay for the day.  It's those contagious giggles that always warm my heart and eventually melt any and all worries away.  

We are always causing trouble in Room 13.
Kiddo giggles are the BEST thing ever!

  
Alright, that's it from little old me today.  It's your turn now.  You can jump in on the Home Away From Home angle or you can roll with another H theme.  NO matter which route you choose, we would love to have you jump in on the action and link up below.  Thanks so much for stopping in to visit us -- we are thankful for YOU.  I'll see you next month. 

Snag a blank copy to add your own H Topic to . . . HERE :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Week of Giving THANKS~ T is for Technology

Happy, Monday!

If you are off from school all week, I hope you are relaxing!

If you are working a few days this week, I hope it goes by quickly!

Sadly, I'm in the "working" group.

Today, starts off Blog Hoppin's week of THANKS!

You can read more about it here.

Today is all about the T.....

I am thankful for Technology!

I really wonder what teaching would be like without

 the use of technology on a daily basis.

No emails

No computer games

No Teacherpayteachers

No Blogs

No Pinterest

No Facebook

No friendships through blogging
No online shopping:)

and the list continues!

Technology is something to be THANKFUL For!

Now, it is your turn to link up! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanksgiving Fun and a freebie

Happy Thanksgiving from Stacy at Mrs. Johnson’s First Grade!  Just wanted to share a few things we have done already and a few things we want to do next week.

If you are not already familiar with Time for Kids, it’s a great tool to introduce students to nonfiction topics such as Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day, and other areas in Social Studies.  This week my First Graders learned about the first Thanksgiving and the voyage on the Mayflower. 

The students talked about how their Thanksgivings are celebrated and we made these fun Table Toppers they can place at the table where they are sitting.  CLICK HERE and you can download this activity if you’d like for your students! 

We will also be learning about Turkeys.  My students disguised turkeys again this year.  They turned out really great!

To learn more about turkeys, I’m using a Turkey Unit from Stephanie Stewart.  

I love the work that was put into this unit!  She has Reading Passages with close reading worksheets, vocabulary, writing activities, and more.  My students are really excited to learn more!  You can download this unit yourself by clicking the picture link below.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!