Sunday Rewind - Classroom Reveal 2015

Week one - only two days with kiddos - is done! Here are a few pics of my classroom. Love all things owls and blue. Enjoy!

 Writing bulletin board.  Very easy to see if any are missing!  Love the owls border and names.

 Math manipulatives and Ipad station.

 Setting up for Work Work. Daily Five begins next week.

 Tossed out my desk.  This is now my teacher corner.  So much more roomy.  I try to keep the table clear for small groups etc.  I have M - F bins for stashing all the papers,  books, and activities for a week at a time.  The binders hold units and instructional materials.

 Document camera and projector along with my supply cart.  Keeps the things I use most at my fingertips.

 Book bins labeled with kids names.  Time to get Read to Self started.  Excited for Daily Five to begin.

 Overview from the back of the room.

 Large chart paper and large pocket chart for fluency activities.

 My favorite corner of the entire room - my classroom library.  The books are sorted by genre and type:  ex:  Cats,  NF Animals, Fic Animals, Fly Guy... You get the idea.  I made the decision not to sort by AR levels however mosts of the books have AR information on them.

 Owl Word Wall - waiting for all those sight words we learn in first grade.

 Writing bulletin board

 Rocking Chair for story time and carpet activities

 Student Cubbies

 Added Clips to label student cubbies - so easy to move them if needed.  No goo or residue to clean off the wood.

 View from the front door.

Calendar - needs a couple for items to be complete.

Well we are off to a great start.  I wish for each of you a wonderful school year full of learning!!!

Clara ~ Teaching 365

Sunday Rewind - Meeting The "Sisters" at the California Reading Association Conference

When I first found out that two of the people that changed how I approach teaching language arts in my first grade classroom were going to be the keynote speakers at the California Reading Association Conference, I knew that I had to go.  

It was all I had hoped for and more.  It seemed I was just in the right place at the right time over and over again throughout the conference.  Along with my teaching partner Jinny, we had personal time with The 2 Sisters—teachers Gail Boushey and Joan Moser- authors of The Daily Five and Cafe books.  No less than three times we crossed paths and it was a mountaintop experience for a first grade teacher. 

Their new edition of Daily Five answered many of the challenges that I had been working through with my own class of 6 year olds.  

 ... and yes we had a photo op. Here I am in between two of my idols in the realm of teaching.

Chit chatting with the ladies before they begin their keynote address on Friday night.

 The Sisters presenting about the changes in the Daily Five and 

the new edition of their book

Judy Lynch, well know local literacy coach and reading recovery teacher,
 sharing how to incorporate CCSS into your literacy lessons.

 Me - all smiles.

While I am still pinching myself today to make sure it wasn't all just a wonderful dream, I will be working on implementing the changes, albeit minor, in my Daily Five routines.  I learned so much in such a short amount of time that clarified both issues and concerns about areas that weren't going that smoothly or that I knew needed something a little different.  I just didn't know what.

Now I do!

I remember whispering to my first grade teaching partner 

that I felt like we were in the presence of royalty.  

It was a magical and inspiring weekend of networking with other teachers, being mesmerized by 16 different children's authors, and being introduced to the idea that you can use music to inspire kids writing. We got to collaborate with some of the best minds today regarding how children learn.

David Schwartz - Children's Author

Author's Meet and Greet with David Schwartz, author of How Much is a Million and many other nonfiction texts.  

Mean Jean, The Recess Queen

Children's Author - Alexis O'Neill

And now the most important part of any mountaintop experience, the return to the valley with new ideas, energized and ready to get crackin' on them before they evaporate.  

I can't wait to get back to school on Monday and dig in.

~ Clara @Teaching 365

Sunday Rewind - Daily Five Work on Writing

Work on Writing is a very important part of Daily Five.  Rewind - In retrospect, I need to provide more choices for this component of Daily Five.  For the majority of this past year, the kids wrote in their journals for Daily Five.  While they did show a lot of growth in their writing, it would have been even better if they had more choices about different types of writing to choose from. 

I Can Write a from A Cupcake for the Teacher

I plan to use the forms from this great resource from A Cupcake for the Teacher to make a writing bulletin board in our writing center. I found her Writing Center Starter Kit on Tpt. It has everything I will need to get started. You can check it out here Writing Center Starter Kit. Having some fun stationary, postcards, letter templates, cards, and notes is sure to add some life to the Work on Writing component of Daily Five.

With the implementation of Common Core Writing Standards this year, I am thinking that I will also need to have another writing time during the day to teach the different genres to my first graders.  I love teaching writing but sometimes struggle to get in the direct instruction and mini lessons needed for the kids to be successful. I am hoping to do a better job of backwards planning for writing time in my lesson planning this year.

What will you need to get started with Daily Five in your classroom? Mel D from Seusstastic has a great set of materials you can use to begin Daily Five I charts (I for independence) with your class and they are free.  Check them out here Mel D's super fantastic freebies. She is one of my favorite bloggers and shares amazing materials - many for free.

There is a great book study going on now in Blog Land around The Daily Five 2nd edition.  It is a quick read and will answer your questions about the how, when, and why of Daily Five.  Join in and reap the benefits of other teachers' insights and experiences.  

The  Freebielicious blog site is a great place to begin with lots of links to other teachers' blogs to share in this journey.  I would love the hear how you use the Daily Five and Work on Writing in your classroom.

~ Clara - First Grade Sunflowers and Ladybugs

Teaching 365

Sunday Rewind - Daily Five Revisited - Read to Self

I have just finished my first year back as a first grade teacher and my how things have changed.   I taught 3rd and 4th grade for the last 12 years.  Returning to first grade has been a goal of mine - it was where I began my teaching career.

On to Daily Five - Right away I knew I needed some way to provide authentic reading and writing experiences to my kiddos.  Daily Five was just the thing I had been looking for.  The results are in and as the saying goes - The data shows the results.  The kids made amazing progress both in reading and writing.  

And now for the rewind - All across Blog land, I have been reading along with others the new Daily Five, 2nd edition.  It has just confirmed what I had discovered on my own this past year.  IT IS FLEXIBLE!!!  As the beginning of the year, I tried to stay true to the recommendations and teaching in the first edition... But.. I found that my class needed some modifications to be successful

I began with read to self.  You can read my original post here - Read to Self.  The thing that has stayed the same is that this is a must do everyday.  No exceptions.  In the new edition of Daily Five this is addressed nicely as the sisters restate that Read to Self is one of the required dailies.

My experience was such that there wasn't enough time most days to have 5 rounds.  On a great day we might have 4 rounds.  I am happy to hear and have validated that it is "officially" okay to have only 3 rounds a day.  After the kids build up their stamina, that equates to about a 90 minute literacy block.  Within that they complete 3 rounds of Daily Five in addition to the
whole group mini lessons I sprinkle in.

Here is one of my little cuties
sitting in a hula hoop with her
book bin totally engaged:)

Book Bins

A sure fire tip for success with Read to Self is having a book bin for each child.  This eliminates the need for "book shopping" daily.  They have 5-7 books, sometimes more, in their book bin.  I developed a rotation for "book shopping" which allows each child to have a day designated as their book shopping-book exchange day.  No one is assigned to Friday so we have a built in make-up day for anyone that missed their turn or just needs more books. There are aways exceptions if a child truly has read all of their books - several times - and needs new ones, they find a time to shop.  If they are finishing quickly, that is a signal to me to start them reading easy chapter books and
introduce them to Accelerated Reader.

Over the next few weeks I will be reading along with the rest of Blog land the new Daily Five, 2nd Edition and sharing how The Daily Five has impacted the teaching and learning in my first grade classroom.

Happy Reading Everyone!!!

Daily Five 2nd Edition

~ Clara @First Grade Sunflowers and Ladybugs
Teaching 365

Sunday Rewind - Moving Classrooms Again!!!

School is now over and the next adventure begins!!! Packing and moving - AGAIN!  
I have spent the last week working long hours to literally pack everything in my first grade classroom so it can be stored until August.  Yes stored.  The classroom I am moving into is an old portable with 4 blank walls and will need some major renovation before a classroom can be moved in. No cabinets, no shelving, no nothing.  I have requested a few pieces of furniture/shelving to get started. The good news is that the carpet is being replaced.  Good thing since it smelled like a moldy attic when I did a walk through.

It looks a a lot like the beginning of the school year - boxes, boxes, boxes.

So, I will get to create the space.  I read once that you should begin with an empty space or classroom and then move in pieces as you establish the need for them.  That should be fairly easy since the room is completely empty.  Student desks and chairs will be moved over from my old classroom. My teaching partner is also moving her 
classroom into the portable right next to me 
(looking for any small silver lining I can latch on to).

All of these changes came about because our school is beginning extended day kindergartens.  In the past we have had pairs of two kinder teachers teaching and sharing a classroom with half day schedules for the littles.  No more sharing classrooms with an am and pm class. That also means no partner to help teach.  

Big changes. I am trying to take the high road and not complain too much. However 3 moves in the last 4 years is a little daunting even for me who usually just rolls with it. Fortunately I have been able to stay  at my same school throughout all these changes. 

The upside is that I will have time to read and reflect focusing of two things in particular.
1.  Daily Five Rewind - How did it go after the first year  of implementing Daily Five?  What will I do differently next year?   What will I continue to do the same next year?

2.  Implementation of Common Core State Standards - I will be attending 3 days of training throughout the summer directly tied to Proficiency Scales and our new electronic report card as it relates to Common Core.  Fun times!  

What changes are you experiencing this fall?  How have you dealt with portable classrooms in your teaching?


~ Clara @ Teaching 365
First Grade Sunflowers and Ladybugs

Daily Five - How is it going?

Read to Self - 20 minutes - whew we made it.

Work on Writing - nearing 15 minutes.  The kids love their journals and have made amazing improvement in their writing already.  I am amazed.

Word Work - Surprise, surprise - going well!

 After rereading the sections in the Daily Five book multiple times, long discussions with my teaching partner and gathering materials, we dived in. My awesome partner made cards with the spelling lists for the kids to use for Word Work.

Some of the materials at the word work center are:

Rainbow Write with Mr. Sketch markers

Magnet Letters 

Scrabble Tiles 

Alphabet Stamps 

Wikki Sticks
Alphabet beads

After trying two other systems that were not effective, efficient, or kid friendly, I bought a set of bins with clip on lids that can both house the materials for storage and 

can be moved easily by kids to their work spots in the room.  Can you say happy teacher?

Listen to Reading - After many challenges to get this going, I can finally get the listening station going using the IPads in my classroom. I will download audio books onto my Mac and then sync it to the IPads using Dropbox.  By using a Belkin Rockstar headphone splitter, two students can listen at the same time. Whew... Magic! You can attach up to 5 sets of headphones to one IPAD.  Woohoo:)

Read to Someone is the last part of Daily Five that needs modeling, practice, and stamina building. Who knew that choosing partners could be so challenging for six year olds? We have a long ways to go on this one for developing independence.

How does Read to Someone work in your classroom? I could definitely use some insight.

By the end of this week, I will have all five parts of Daily Five going and it is only October 13.  Definitely cause of a mini celebration for this milestone in first grade.

Daily Five Part 4- Read to Someone

Read to Someone in Chapter 5 of The Daily Five by Gail Bushey and Joan Moser, The Sisters, offer step by step guidelines.  If you haven’t yet read the book, get it and read it.  I am sure to keep it close by for ready reference as I begin first grade this year.

There is a tremendous amount of information in the book beyond what I am blogging about here. 

The purpose of Read to Someone is to increase the amount of time kids spend hearing fluent and expressive reading by others.

In order to be successful with these two dailies, the kiddos have to be able to:

1.  Listen carefully to their peers

2.  Offer appropriate assistance

3.  Share materials fairly

Focus lessons for these dailies include EEKK, Voice Level, and Check for Understanding.

EEKK – Teaches the kids to sit elbow to elbow and knee to knee to share a book they will read together. The kids may be reading the same book or two different books.

I will use this chart to help reinforce EEKK with the kids.

Voice Level – As any teacher that has tried partner reading knows, noise levels can be problematic. It is important to train the kiddos to use soft voices.  A quote from page 64 of the book states that “the loudest voice in the room is the one that regulates the noise level.” Model, practice, repeat!!! Using soft voices is important to the success of Read to Someone but can be very challenging.

Check for Understanding– Good readers retell what they read. This lesson helps the kiddos check for understanding of the book they are reading. The listener asks questions such as Who or What.  They may retell the story, “I just heard you read…”. This holds both students accountable for the reading and increases comprehension of the story.  Some teachers make a check mark with the questions on it as a visual reminder to the partners to read and listen carefully.

I love this graphic from http://kuieck.edublogs.org/files/2012/09/photo-21-11igawn.jpg. I plan to make something similar for my class to use during Read to Someone.

How do you handle Read to Someone in your classroom?  I would love to hear tips for success as well as challenges.

This week my goal is to sort my classroom library books and get them ready to go into book bins so the kiddos will have books to choose from for their Read to Someone time.

~ Clara @ First Grade Sunflowers and Ladybugs

Please leave your comments below.

Daily Five - Word Work

Here is an update on Word Work in my classroom.  The kids are loving the materials and I am loving how much they are practicing their Words to Learn.  The Words to learn in my classroom are 10 beginning spelling words plus 5 new sight words each week.

The kids are practicing their spelling words and having fun at the same time.  They take it very seriously.  Have you implemented Daily Five in your classroom?  I would love to hear how it is going for you.


Daily 5, By Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  

Step 1 - If you don't have the book, get it.  I have read it through twice now and it has changed my perspective on how I will implement literacy centers in my first grade classroom this fall.  If you are at all interested in The Daily 5, get it, read it.

Work Work - Fun ways to have the kiddos practice spelling skills.  "The Sisters" in the book Daily 5, explain the importance of Word Work for reading and writing development.  Some of the goals of Word Work are:

• Experimenting with words for learning and practicing a spelling pattern
• Memorizing high frequency words
• Generalizing spelling patterns
• Adding to our knowledge and curiosity of unique and interesting words

                                   (The Daily Five, page 85)

Materials:  A key consideration for Word Work is identifying the materials students will use for their practice.  While there are tons of choices, The Sisters recommend selecting materials and then keeping it consistent for the year.  This supports their proposition of providing authentic reading and writing experiences for your students.  If the materials keep changing, the kiddos may become focused on the novelty of the materials rather than the Word Work.

A list  of materials I am working on for the kids to practice Word Work includes the following:

• Whiteboards
• Magnetic letters
• Scrabble tiles
• Wikki Stix
• Letter stamps
• Mr. Sketch colored markers
• Tactile letters, Foam letters, Upwords game (perhaps as one rotating activity)
• Just added:  alphabet beads for stringing their words

I plan to use the process outlined in the book, Daily 5, to introduce Word Work.  The Sisters make the point that the kids will need time to "explore and play" with the materials for Word Work in order to use them for tools for spelling practice.

Now that I have gathered the materials for Word Work, I need to have a kid friendly storage system that allows easy access to the materials but also keeps them organized.  The kiddos should be able to set up, work with the materials, and clean up independently.  A tall order...

My amazing teaching partner has made cards with our Words to Learn for each week.  Let the fun begin!

How do you organize your materials for Daily 5 Word Work?  What materials have been successful for use with the kiddos?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Please leave your comments below.

~ Clara @ First Grade Sunflowers and Ladybugs

Daily Five - Work on Writing

Work on Writing is the next piece of Daily Five I plan to implement.  "The Sisters" - Gail Boushey and Joan Mosher, in their more recent writings recommend adding this element next after Read to Self.  This is a change from the order presented in the book, The Daily Five.

This change emphasizes the utmost importance of BOTH reading and writing. This makes sense to me as they are so closely related.

Be sure to read the book for more complete details about Work on Writing.  It is an amazing resource.  

Quote from page 80 of the book, "Intensive work (and play) in writing and word study also supports reading development.  The two components of Daily Five, Work on Writing and Word Work, help students hone their skills as writers and their knowledge of words."

How does Work on Writing for D5 differ from Writer's Workshop?  The main difference between the two is that during Writer's Workshop, I choose what the students are writing about such as a grade level genre piece or a specific writing strategy.  During D5 the kiddos may choose to continue working on their pieces started during Writer's Workshop however during the D5 it is their choice of what to write. That choice is the key.

Work on Writing follows the same gradual release model of instruction that will be repeated as you introduce each of the components of Daily 5 - Introduce, Brainstorm I-Chart, Model, Practice, Repeat, Build Stamina.  Refer to Chapter 6 of the book for excellent descriptions of what this looks like in a classroom.

I want to focus on what those very first lessons will look like in my classroom.  How can I foster the independence necessary to make D5 a success in first grade?

Day 1 - Create I-Chart of expected behaviors

             Teacher model writing process

                   Tell a short story.

                   Model the writing on chart paper (Write 3 or 4

                   sentences.)

                   Model underlining words you don't know how to

                   spell.  Come back later for spelling.

Day 2 - Brainstorm - Practice where to sit and what materials to use.   (Notebook/journal, pencil or pen, drawing or sketching - I plan to put their notebook/journal and a pen or pencil in their book bins.)

Day 3 - What can we write about? Make a list of topics, a list of forms, and post the lists for the students to use when they are writing.

I plan to use the forms from this great resource from A Cupcake for the Teacher to make a writing bulletin board in our writing center.  I found her Writing Center Starter Kit on Tpt.  It has everything I will need to get started. Check it out.

Day 4 - Continue to teach different forms of writing in short focus lessons.  Begin practice sessions for 3 minutes.  Practice 1 -3 times as time allows.

Continue to follow the model of placing the kiddos around the room with their book bins, practice, signal, return to gathering place, check-in, revisit I-chart,  then practice again.  Add 1 minute each day until you build stamina to 20-30 minutes.

This bright carpet will be perfect for our gathering place.  I  can't wait to get into my new classroom and start setting it all up for first graders.

I know one of my biggest challenges will be to move away to the guided reading table and not use eye contact or proximity to manage the kids behavior in order to foster independence. Challenging but necessary.

How do you do Work on Writing with your class?  What challenges have you faced?  I would love to hear about your insights, suggestions, or successes.

~ Clara @ Teaching 365

First Grade Sunflowers and Ladybugs