I don't know about you, but I love adding play into my lessons, especially when it's food related! With such high demands placed on our kiddos, we certainly don't have time to play just for the sake of playing, although I do try to sneak it in anyways ;)  So, my solution is to add MEANINGFUL and PURPOSEFUL play throughout our day that isn't just fluff. I figure I have to teach these standards anyways, so I might as well inspire and motivate my students to learn in the process! Sidenote- This post contains links to my favorite products and materials. These affiliate links provide me with a small commission, at no extra cost to you, should you purchase something through them. BUT, as always, I promise to never share something that I do not absolutley love using in my own classroom.  Now, on to the good stuff! I have a ton of different food themed activities that I add in to my daily centers and whole group activities throughout the week. But occasi......

At my school we are only allowed to have two celebrations per year, once before Winter Break, and once at the end of the school year. However, I am all about sneaking in fun and celebrations wherever I can. I strongly believe in rigorous content and not filling my day with fluff.....but occasionally first graders need a chance to be 6 years old. Am I right? So this year we are putting an educational spin on our Valentine cards! I teach in a Title 1 school and while some students can afford to bring cards in, many others can't. With this approach I can ensure that everyone takes home something special for less than $1 total ! For the whole class! #teacherwin I first began using Napkin Books years ago and it is one of my favorite ways to inspire my students to write. I have blogged all about them here . Today I am going to show you how to use simple decorative napkins as a meaningful way to spread kindness and celebrate the occasion. First, you will need a pack ......

I am always trying to find creative ways to inspire my students when it comes to writing time.  The struggle is real for some of my kiddos, just to even get started! Napkin books are for sure one of my favorite ways to motivate my students to write and using them is something I have done in my classroom for years. Napkin books are exactly what they sound like! Simply find any themed or decorative napkin and staple paper inside. The napkin then becomes the cover of the book and turns a regular writing topic into a “fancy” published piece that students will beg to complete! (Seriously, my kids are obsessed …which I consider a #teacherwin!) Sometimes I put lined paper with prompts inside, and other times I just staple blank paper inside.  •  Brainstorming made easy! Many students struggle with brainstorming topics to write about and spend the majority of their independent writing time “thinking” rather than writing. Having a fun cover or writing prompt guid......

I had a blast today writing over on the Who's Who and Who's New Blog. And guess what? I wrote about one of my all time favorite topics- books! Come read how I use mentor texts as inspiration for young writers. I even bet you have some of these fun books in your own library. See you there!  ...

I must admit, I was so excited when we recently began our opinion writing unit. In fact...I accidentally planned for it 3 weeks before I was supposed to- oops! Hopefully today I can share a few ideas from my classroom..because in my opinion, this writing unit is the most fun!  We began by discussing the difference between facts and opinions. This concept is a tricky one for my first graders to grasp. After providing them with multiple examples, we dove right in to some sorting. One way to help them remember was by defining a fact as something they would find in an informational text, not something they could argue. An opinion means people may have different views and believe that their thinking is correct. I then used my Fact & Opinion Movement Sort by hanging the Opinion Ocean sign on one side of my classroom and Real Reef on the other. I read each statement while students "swam" to the correct sign. This worked well to get them up and moving and was also an easy ......