Substitute Survival

Have you ever realized you need a sub at the last minute and had a full blown panic attack because you knew getting your act together was going to be IMPOSSIBLE??? Have you ever gone to work SICK because you were too SICK to do all the prepping for a sub? We have all been there. Wellllllllll PROBLEM SOLVED! We created and used this pack last year to see if it was helpful, and OMGoodness was it ever. Once we put in all the information we were set for an entire year. In this pack you will get everything you need to create a binder with all the pertinent information a sub would need to run your class smoothly, as well as activities for each day of the week. You will put in all of your information for the binder first, then take your time making the copies and filling the file folders with everything a sub would need for the day. We included reading, math, and writing that would work on any day of the week. In no time you have a Substitute Survival Kit- which will include an info binder with procedures and tub of activities, one for each day of the week - and suddenly being out of the classroom will be stress free. We included everything we could think of that a sub might need. The activities are geared toward K-3, but many parts of this could be used in any grade. All you will need to add will be 5 ANYTIME read aloud books that are not tied to a holiday or season. Pop them in the folder with the student sheets and you are ready. We hope you find it as helpful as we have. We ♥ hearing from you, so please let us know how it works for you in your tpt comments. I can honestly say this was a LIFE CHANGER!

Once you have it set up, you are ready for the entire year!!!

The Lesson Plans are easy to set up and super easy to follow.  Each day of the week is different.

Your classroom procedures take a little time to fill out, BUT once you have it in there, they are a life saver!  And they won't change much from year-to-year.  That'll make next year even easier!

                           You can get this must-have resource here!

If you have any questions about how we set ours up, please e-mail us at iheartbeingfirstgmail.com.

Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark

Can  your kids relate to being afraid of coming to school after summer break? Of course they can!  Do you totally get into ocean animals as part of your science study of animals? Well, The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark book extension activities for K-2 is a pack you could use at the beginning of the year to address fears, like going back to school, or used anytime during the year. It could also make a great addition to any unit of study on ocean animals. Your kids will be making those Text To Self and Text to World connections as they read about Pout-Pout and his fears. Use this fictional book to teach fictional characters, word order, word work with rhyming words and vocabulary, as well as some plain old fun stuff. This packet is filled with fun activities that will keep your children engaged and thinking in a fun way as you use these activities to help get the conversation going about our fears and how this is NORMAL for us all.

Click here to get this.

APPLES! APPLES! APPLES!

We are summer girls at heart!! But, there is something about the falling leaves, football games, cooler air and bonfires that get us excited about Fall. You can't do Fall without doing APPLES! We created this thematic teaching pack for those of us who love using apples to teach all kinds of things in September. It's full of activities and ideas that we have used for years! The apple theme will go right along with all the back to school things you do at this time of year. We included many fun language arts, science, and math activities and tools to make your classroom APPLEITIOUS for your students. ENJOY!

 Check it out here!

Classroom Newsletter (editable)

We needed an EASY TO USE newsletter to send home to our parents each week (or so)!  This one is basic, easy to use, and consistent.  It has worked perfectly for communication with our parents. We wanted to share it with you! You can use the same one all year or change it up monthly.  The format stays the same.  Only the graphic in the top right corner changes.  Choose the one that fits your style, personality, or season, and because it is editable, you can add your own info and fonts. Our favorite fonts by far are CCfonts and Kevin and Amanda free fonts. Check them out!

Check it our here!

Wemberly Worried - Book Extension

Wemberly is a real worrier. She especially worries about the first day of school and what will happen there. This story is perfect for the first days of school. It lets the children see that their worries are shared by others around them. We all have worries, don't we?!?!
We put together some of our favorite fun and engaging activities to get your students thinking. We included writing activities, comprehension activities, and some just for fun activities too.

Check it out here!

Chrysanthemum - Book Extension

Are you looking for a quick, engaging activity to celebrate back to school and all those wonderful new names in your class? This book extension is short and sweet and gets the job done. We have loved this book for years!!! (You can get it from Amazon in two days with PRIME, maybe even one day if you time it right.) We had to do a book extension to go with it. We knew the kids would love it. There is a graphic organizer to do whole group, with a partner or individually, writing activities, comprehension activities, vocabulary words, a sheet for home and a craftivity to make Chrysanthemum.We also included some graphing for math that makes counting letters in your name fun.

Check it out here!

David Goes To School - Book Extension

Why do we love to see this little guy getting in trouble? Better him than me I  say. Maybe it's the bare  bottom picture. We know that page brings out the giggles in us all.  In this book David gets in all kinds of trouble at school, which makes it the perfect teaching tool for the first days of school. Then follow up with some fun activities from our book extension packet. Check it out in our TPT store by clicking below.

                                            

We have lots of activities that help your students get into the details of this story. See the preview on TPT for an idea of what's included.

Click here to get this extension.

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie - Book Extension

We read this book because it's a perfect fit with the randomness of a first graders way of thinking. They will love filling in the blank when you ask them what he will want next, and then they will most certainly fight over it when you are finished. It's also so predictable that they can memorize learn to read it quickly. We all know the first step to reading is believing you can. This book has some negative reviews, but that's because none of the reviewers are 6 years old. 

After reading this book, try some of our activities in the following book extension. Check it out in our TPT store. 

Click here to get this extension.

How Do Dinosaurs Go To School - Book Extension

What if you were a dinosaur and you had to go to school? Kids are naturally fascinated with dinosaurs so it is not hard to keep their attention when you read this book.  One in a series of How Do Dinosaurs... this book is just as entertaining as the rest. It will bring a smile to your face as you see how dinosaurs handle the common situations in a classroom setting.  We ♥ this book. 

After reading, try some of the activities that we do with our first graders.  We use it to help reinforce rules, and have them create a rule of their own.  We then have them cut, read, sort, and paste things a dinosaur should and shouldn't do into their chart.  Reduced to 85%, the pages will fit into your interactive reading journals.  Check out the book extension below sold in our TPT store to learn more.

Click here to get this extension.

Harold and The Purple Crayon - Book Extension

This book has been a K-1 favorite for as long as we have been teaching, and that's pretty much FOREVER!  We love Harold and his UNBELIEVABLE  imagination.  Just where could a purple crayon take YOU! When he is supposed to be sleeping, Harold decides to create a whole world of experiences by drawing them IN his world with a purple crayon, until at last he draws his bed, and draws the covers up over himself and goes to sleep.  Most young children will relate to Harold, because they see the world through crayon purple colored glasses all the time.  After reading, try some of our favorite things to do with this book from our book extension in our TPT store.   

Get it here.

One of our favorite activities is getting to use all those odd colored purple crayons!  They get to color the picture using ONLY purple. Have you ever noticed how many shades of purple there are? 

Reducing pages on the printer / copier to 85% will make them fit into your Reading Journals! 

In this extension, you will find many engaging activities to promote comprehension, and much more. 

Things I Like - Book Extension

We just read Things I Like by Anthony Browne.  It's such a simple text and easy for first graders (and kindergartners) to relate to.  They love to tell you everything that they like!  We use this book as we introduce making lists.  They can make all kinds of lists like... "Things I like to do after school." Or, "Things I like to eat" or "Things I like to play".  And the list goes on and on.

We made a book extension to go along with this book!

Click here to get the book extension.

My Crayons Talk - Book Extension

Another fun back to school book we love is 

My Crayons Talk  

by Patricia Hubbard.

If you want to get a great conversation started with a first grader just ask one what  their favorite color is, and why.  They love talking about colors.  That converstaion makes a great intro to this book that goes through the colors in a crayon box, relates them to something that symbolizes that color, in a rhythmic silly way. If crayons could talk, what would they say??? Then you can follow up with activites from our book extension like the ones below.  Also the writing possibilities are endless.  What colors should dragons be? If you could change the color of the sky, what would you make it? Why DOES red mean stop and green mean go? Hmmm.

Click here to get this extension.

Franklin Goes To School - Book Extension

We love reading Franklin Goes To School 

by Paulette Bourgeois. 

 
Let's face it. First days of school can be scary for everyone, including teachers! This book is perfect for the first week of school because Franklin has all the same fears and anxiety we all can relate to when doing something for the first time. Once he gets to school his teacher sees that he is a good artist and he suddenly doesn't feel so scared anymore. It teaches us how the smallest amount of kindness can change a child's world.  We put together some fun activities to go along with this book to get them to dig a little deeper into the story to work on comprehension skills. Here is our book extension in our TPT store. Your kids will love it! 

Click here to get this extension.

Sequencing / Retelling

Sorting

Flip Book

These are just a few of the activities in the extension.

This School Year Will Be The Best - Book Extension

Are you looking for ways to get your children excited about books and reading? This School Year Will Be The Best by Kary Winters will have your children making those Text To Self connections as they read about starting school. This book is perfect for discussing those universal feelings about the beginning of the year or as an example of the Genre Realistic Fiction anytime during the year.  

We created a book extension to go with this book to help us dig for meaning and comprehension.  It is filled with fun activities to that will keep your children engaged and thinking in a fun way as you use the book to teach vocabulary, characters, setting, events, labeling, sorting, making comparisons, and more! Below we have a couple of examples, but click the link to take you our TPT store where you can see a preview of what all is included in this book extension.   

Click here to get it!

Back to School

If you are like us each year, you are wondering "What did I do on those first days of school?" Well wonder no more. We have put together plenty of things to do with your first graders that will keep them engaged and having fun at the same time. We have activities that can give you a quick snapshot of where each child is, on that broad learning spectrum. We hope this will help you as you begin your new year on a positive note.

Click here to be on your way to an easy start to this school year!