Groovy Educator

I am throwing a sale! 28% off ALL PRODUCTS!!!  Monday and Tuesday  (Nov. 25th and 26th) 20% off ALL PRODUCTS!  Wednesday and Thursday  (Nov. 27th and 28th) Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!!!

There is just not enough time in the day!  I wish I had more time with my daughter, more time with my husband, more time to teach the kids, more time to plan, more time to create products for Teachers Pay Teachers, more time to work on this blog, more time to do research, and more time to do crafts... I had to take a break from the blog for a bit because I just wasn't getting enough sleep.  I miss posting and want to get back into it.  Any suggestions on how to balance everything?  I'm a new mom and appreciate any advice.

Calendar is a very important part of the day.  In my first grade class a student leader "teachers" calendar and I guide him or her as needed. On my Teachers Pay Teachers page, I made a set of blank calendars! They have multiple uses! TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS The blank calendars can be used as citizenship documentation in which each child colors a square in corresponding to his or her behavior that day (e.g. green, yellow, or red). They can be used to track weather, teach calendar skills, document how the students are feeling that day. You can even use them to write down your instructional focus for the week and the daily objectives. The can be used as a testing schedule or to mark which days your students go to various pull out programs (such as speech or ESL). They are great for creating your own homework calendars.  These are useful if you have children that need more challenging work or extra reinforcement at home.  If you take the ti...

A fun way for kids to learn new vocabulary is to have them make a classroom museum .  Basically each child is given a word and they have to make a model of that word using clay (or play-doh).  They also make a sign for their exhibit with the word and an explanation of what the word means.  Once everyone completes their exhibit the class goes on a museum tour and the children read and discuss the clay models as they walk around the room. If you want to take grade or document the activity, you can have them fill out the Museum Exhibit Report form.  The report form is a useful tool for the children to help them maintain focus while sharing with the class or their buddy.  It's only one dollar on Teachers Pay Teachers! Afterwards, the children buddy up and discuss their word and their thought process behind the model.  The children then take pictures of each "exhibit."  The teacher loads the pictures into a slide show or a PowerPoint and then the cla...

I have a new product in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!  It is a station documentation packet.  Basically it is a way to record what stations your students went to during the day.  I have also included s brief explanation of the various stations.  Right now it is on sale for $3.00! Here are a few images to give you an idea of what is included. 

I created my first item for Teachers' Pay Teachers! Check out the link to my page!  I've created first grade checklists to document the following Common Core Standards: Reading: Literature Reading: Informational Texts Reading: Foundational Skills Writing Speaking & Listening Language Please give me some feedback.  I'm new to this and want to do my best! Here are some great resources on the Common Core Standards! Common Core Resource created by the State of Illinois This is a great resource.  If you scroll down to the table of contents there are links for activities that correlate with the common core standards. Read Tennessee This website breaks down each standard.  I love that it includes the vocabulary the children need to know, what the standard is, and questions to ask,  It also provides a suggested learning progression. Common Core Standards This is a link to the actual standards. PARCC and the Common Core This is the ...

 Decodable texts can be boring but they can also be very useful.  My district uses the SRA Imagine It! reading program.  First grade students have two workbooks filled with decodable texts that can be ripped, folded, stapled, and taken home to practice.  By the end of the year the children have over 100 decodable books to add to their home library. Here is a list of ways that decodable texts can be used... Practice telling a story through the pictures (picture walk). Echo read with someone (take turns reading the same page) Buddy read with a partner (one person listens, one reads and switch) Read it to a stuffed animal Read it using silly voices Be a word detective and look for words that contain a certain letter or spelling pattern. Practice retelling the story. Add descriptive words to the book. Look for end marks (periods, question marks, and exclamation points).  Copy sentences under appropriate heading (statement, question, command). Pra...

I absolutely love Scholastic Book Clubs!  At the beginning of every year, I send home a couple of book order pamphlets.  Scholastic often offers the best bonus points deals at this time.  I like to stock up on bargain books for Accelerated Reader Awards and for classroom gifts.  This year I am going to try something a little different.  Normally I send home the book order monthly and it gradually tapers off.  Instead I think I will send it home only four times this year. September - Back to School books - Everyone is excited! November - Holiday books - Great for giving as gifts! February - Half of the year is already over (practice, practice, practice) - Allows me to replenish my supplies... April - Stock up on summer reads - I can start building up my bonus points for next year. I plan on creating a letter so that my class families are aware that there will be opportunities to order throughout the year but that they are limited.  By only se...

Tonight was Open House at my school.  I love to see how the children light up when they share about their classroom.   I had iPhoto playing a slide show of pictures I took on the first day of school and while the children were working.  iTunes played one of my favorite piano play lists in the background.  Scentsy's pumpkin aroma filled the air.  For the last several years I have been doing a scavenger hunt.  Basically, I type a list of activities or items I want my student to share with his or her family.  When the list is complete, my student brings the list to me and gets to pick out a free book.   .Some of the items on this years scavenger hunt list: Sign in Sign up for parent conferences Share the contents of your desk Share your pocket/morning jobs Read Around the room Share your classroom job(s) Look at a book from our classroom library Share your rain forest project Take home your rain forest project and any papers on ...

I would love for others to have access and follow your blog.  If you have a favorite blog that you refer to often OR if you would like me to add your blog to my page where others can view it, please drop me an e-mail at alowery1978@gmail.com .  In the subject line mention Groovy Educator Blog Link so I know it is not spam. My vision for Groovy Educator is for it to be a valuable resource for new and veteran teachers.  There are so many amazing blogs out there, I would love to help organize and share them with you.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know. ESE Blogs Early Elementary First Grade Blogs

In my thirteen years of teaching, I have worked at three different schools.  The first school had moderate amount of parent volunteers.  The second school had a scant amount of parent volunteers and the third school has a copious amount of volunteers.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful families to work with.  Our PTA (Parent Teacher Association) is very active and it positively affects the school environment.  Our PTA spoils the teachers by providing a scrumptious breakfast once a month to celebrate birthdays.  They also collect and turn in Box Tops, Campbell's soup labels, and a couple of other items.  For our school carnival each teacher provides a booth (often manned by parent volunteers).  The PTA provides all the prizes and sells the food.  They organize the whole event.  They also create and sell our school yearbook.  This is no ordinary yearbook.  It looks like a high school yearbook for an elementary school (grea...

Lesson Plans are always evolving.  As the year progresses in first grade the time it takes to complete assignments change as well as the amount of time the children can focus on independently.  Group work becomes more productive as well. I've tried many different formats for my plans from hand written to having them completely typed.  They have also varied in length from five pages (one for each day) to two pages for the whole week.  Each year I tweak them, always trying to be more efficient and find the best use of time during the day.  I like my plans to be highly functional where I can refer to them quickly, complete them quickly, but where they also contain all the necessary information. For me I like a typed format where I hand write part of the plans.  Sometimes I like to work on them when I am away from the computer and this affords me the opportunity but it also saves me from writing the same thing repeatedly. Here are the plans that I am usin...

Check out mycutegraphics.com ! I want every child to have a sense of ownership in my classroom. It is important for the children to develop a sense of responsibility.  The way to do that is to give them opportunities to be responsible. I assign classroom jobs.  There are weekly jobs that rotate so that every child is able to practice that skill.  There are jobs that are earned and there are permanent jobs that are chosen.  There are also jobs that change periodically. The weekly jobs that rotate consist of: door holde r-self explanatory equipment person -carries out the playground equipment and accounts for all the pieces lights person- self explanatory teacher assistant -This student is my go-to helper.  He/she passes out papers, puts mail in the mailboxes, stamps papers, takes notes up to the office, or any other job that pops up. classroom inspector- He/she is in charge of checking to see if chairs are pushed in, desks are clean, are...

Even though we are busy, busy, busy teaching the curriculum, it is very important to help the children develop listening skills.  Being a good listener is a life skill.  Many children these days have difficulty focusing and attending.  Everyday I do many short activities to augment these skills.  Being able to focus is an essential attribute of a good listener. My theory is that if children can focus intensely on technology (e.g computer game, X-Box, etc.),  they have the capacity to focus on other things (e.g. people). With that said, this is what I do... I never assume a child knows HOW to listen.  During circle time, I explicitly go over what a good listener looks like what a good listener does .  We role play and practice at the beginning of the year. I read Listen Buddy by Helen Lester .  This book really helps in explaining WHY it is important to listen.  We make a chart listing other reasons why it is important to listen....