Sweet Thoughts For Testing Days

Are you getting ready for all of your End-of-Level Tests?  Here is a little something I do to help keep my student's spirits up through those long days of testing.  Each day I put a little motivational thought on their desk with a little treat to show my confidence in them.  Every day it's fun to see their eyes light up when they walk in the door to see what is waiting for them.  I think it makes testing a bit more bearable

and I know you know exactly what I mean! 

If you would like to download a copy of my testing notes, click {here}.  Happy testing!

Me On The Map

We just finished up our reading unit called,

In this unit, one of the goals that we work towards is:

To understand concepts related to maps, globes, and journeys, including how to read maps and use globes.

One of our big book selections was this story:

I love this book, it does a really good job helping the students understand where their little place in this big world is, but the students still struggle with the concept that we live on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a state, in a city, in a neighborhood, etc . . .

To help them understand this concept better, we made these fun layered flip books to show this concept in a visual way.

Here are the instructions to making the layered flip book:

After we made our books, I went to Google Earth. I started with the Earth and then slowly zoomed in on North America, United States of America, Utah, Taylorsville, etc . . . so the students could see the big picture. The students were amazed and I think it reinforced this concept even more.

My students are such smarties! They brought it to my attention that this whole concept was a growing pattern. They also noticed that the actual book was a growing pattern as well. They always amaze me!

Here are our books displayed in the hall for people to see! The students did a great job on this projects, plus they had alot of fun!

Question of the Day

Every day when my students walk through the door, they have a specific routine they follow. First, they hang up their backpack/jackets and then they answer the "Question of the Day".
Each day I post a yes or no question that the students answer. They find their clothespin and then place it on the side of the poster to indicate their response to the question.

I have done this activity for the past 6 years that I have taught First Grade. I struggled how to have the clothespins ready to grab for the students. I had them in a bin and that took too long for students to find their clothespin . . . I tried several others ways as well, but then I came across this awesome tower from Really Good Stuff . It has worked wonderfully ever since! It's easy for the students to find their name, so they can answer the question quickly and get on to their next task of their morning routine.

Today was our first day back after a much needed, week long spring break. Our "Question of the Day" today was, "Did you have a fun Spring Break?"

"Question of the Day" is a great way to collect data, reinforce a concept from a previous lesson and practice reading. For example, "Is today your birthday?", "Do you know how much a quarter is worth?", "Do you think the groundhog will see its shadow?", "Did you do your homework last night?"

Every day I ask the class questions about the data we collect as well. Such as: "Did more people say yes or no?", "How many more chose yes?", "What is the difference between yes and no?" - some days we even write the equation to find the difference.

Today, we had an overwhelming response to "YES!" I am glad that the entire class had a fun spring break! I sure did!

Time Check

To help my little Firsties practice telling time, I give each student a Time Check slip to tape on their desk. Throughout the day, I say "Time Check" - I always make sure I say "Time Check" when the time is "on the hour" or "on the half hour". When the students hear me say the phrase, they must stop, look at the clock and record the time. They draw the hands on the clock and write the time as well. This is always a fun activity for them - they love it when they walk in and see their "Time Check" slips on their desk for the day! Click {here} to download a copy of "Time Check".

Has This Ever Happened To You?