Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A Pinterest Inspired Freebie!

OH.MY.WORD!  Inferencing is a VERY difficult skill for my students.  So...as any great teacher, I sought out for some help.  First stop, pinterest!  And here is what I found...

Inference mini file folder games.        







I am sure you have seen this floating around Pinterst. :0)  I must mention that this is NOT an original idea.  I just gathered the clip art and my student teacher wrote the clues.  The original idea and directions to make these folders can be found at here at Strong Start Blog Thank you so much for your great idea, Maureen.  She used magazines and such.  I decided to use some of my clip art. 


Click on the picture above to get your freebie!

Happy Inferencing,
Coconut Cutie






Monday, March 26, 2012

PROJECT: Teachers Taking Care of Teachers


Hello sweet friends,

I am proud to tell you that I will be part of a wonderful project called Teachers Taking Care of Teachers to help send support to the schools affected by the tornados earlier this month (March 2nd).  You can read about the project here at Kreative in Kinder.  Thank you soooo much to Crystal for getting this put together.  How you can help...Take a look at this spreadsheet and sign up in any open section.  Keep scrolling down once you get there.  There are many openings still.  Also, there are 4 tabs at the bottom, meaning there are 4 different schools that need help.

I have signed up for two classrooms and I hope you can help too.  Now, off to gather my stuff! 

Happy teaching y'all,
Coconut Cutie

Sunday, March 25, 2012

WHOO-HOO Linky Party

I have joined a K-2nd grade linky party at Kindergarten Lifestyle.  There are so many great blogs out there.  Check it out here. She has some SUPER CUTE ideas over there.  So go check it out!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Spring Break FREEBIE #7

Well...my spring break is officially over :0( and it is sooooo sad!  BUT, on a brighter note, I get to see my kiddos tomorrow :0)!  I can't wait to see their smiling faces!  So...it's really late and I have to get up early, therefore this post is going to be short. 

The freebie for today is an alphabet helper.  I am reviewing alphabetical order, so I thought I would share with you.


Get your FREE Alphabet Helper

Happy Teaching,
Coconut Cutie

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Spring Break FREEBIE #6

Ok friends, how many of you have students that rush through their work, forget vital steps like putting their name on it or date, skip things completely, OR, heaven forbid, all of the above! Come on, raise your hand, you know you do!!! I can't count the number of times I have come to a paper to grade and IT DOESN'T HAVE A NAME ON IT!!!! It blows my mind y'all!

Well, I have come up with a little reminder posters to {hopefully} help eliminate that problem. It does require some training, but it has helped most of my students to turn in quality work ***with their name on it*** :0) We know it as "Smiley Work". This is a "go-back-and-check-your-work" type poster.
Here's how it works:
Students will draw a mini smiley face at the top, right hand of their paper by verifying their work. {I even make this a possible point or bonus point if it is done correctly}

*They verify that they put their name and date on their paper-if it is done, they draw a circle. If not, this is a reminder to put it their info on their paper and then they can draw a circle.

*They verify that they followed the assignment's directions. This may mean that they need to look up at the the paper and reread the directions, or look at the board to view the directions - if this done, they draw one eye.

*They verify that the work is complete. This involves checking the page to make sure that all blanks are filled in, or look around they desk to make sure that they have not lost/forgot any cut/sort pieces, etc.-if this is done, they make another eye.

*They verify that they did their best work, meaning good handwriting, quality not sloppy copy work-if they did this, the draw a mouth.

*When all of the verifying is complete, they show they are ready to turn in by decorating their smiley face with hair and ears then turn in the work.

One of the first things that I check before grading a paper is to see if the Smiley face is there. If it is not, I call the kiddo back over before grading it to have them complete it. This allows them the opportunity to correct things one last time. I also take points off it the smiley face is completed, but I can see that they did not verify the work.





In sticking with with "smiley face" work, I also have a poster on my writing bulletin board that includes a "Smiley Face Writing" poster that I thought I would pass along with you too!
It works the same way as the other poster, but this time they are verifying their writing. This is used before teaching the editing process but this helps them to understand that later.

*A circle for name and date {that stays the same}
* An eye for capitalization
*An eye for punctuation
* A nose for spaces
*A mouth for their best handwriting
*Decorate the face with hair and ears when they have done their best work and ready to turn in.


Get your FREE Smiley Face Posters!
Happy verifying,
Coconut Cutie

Friday, March 16, 2012

Spring Break FREEBIE #5

Alright y'all, I must confess something but I'll try hard not to rub it in. I am typing this post on my ipad at the beach while basking in the sun and watching dolphins! YES, DOLPHINS! I saw them the other day too and I tried to swim with them but they weren't havin it :0(  I also did a bit of stand up paddle boarding in the ocean.  That is the board that I used today {it is upside down at the moment}


Anywho, needless to say, I am having a wonderful time and sad to see my time here end tomorrow. Then, it's back to the daily grind on Monday.


Well, back to business!
Do you label everything? I have a way of doing that because staying organized is a challenge for me, especially when I'm trying to finish one week's materials and plan for the next week. My team and I have an awesome plan for the entire year that we all keep in our plan book, in addition to our weekly lesson plan {we always know what is coming up next} so that's not the issue. 

What is the issue is all the papers and activities for the week. So, to help myself out, I created a little spot in my room to keep it organized. See for yourself below:

This is AWESOME if I do say so myself because it allows me to work for the week and also gather/prepare for the next week.

First I gathered some 3 drawer containers, stacked them and labeled them one for each day of the week. After making my copies for the week, I look at my lesson plans and sort the papers into the appropriate weekday drawer. I pull out the papers as needed. I also put any books or tracers, etc. in the drawer as well.

In the blue bins next to the drawers, I have one labeled "lessons for THIS week" and "lessons for NEXT week". These bins are where I keep the bigger items that don't fit in the drawers or the storage baggies for the materials being taught. In the bin for n ext week is where I keep all of the material that I pull for the next weeks lessons.

The green caddy is a new addition to my little organization station and I have yet to place the labels on but I will as soon as I return to school. This green caddy is where I store my file folders {filled with my original copies for each content area} for the week on the right side and on the left side the file folders for next week.

Behind the green caddy is a clear file organizer that houses my copies that I need weekly {center maps, book logs, homework logs}

Your freebie for today is my organizational labels. Hopefully you too will find them as helpful as I do.

Get your organization labels here!

I'm also curious, how do you organize your materials? Let me know! I can use all of the organizational info that I can.

Happy organizing,
Coconut Cutie

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Spring Break FREEBIE #4

Good evening my sweet bloggy friends!  I hope this post finds you well and hopefully enjoying some of the fun freebies I have posted throughout the week.  This next freebie is one that is simple to make and easy to use.   Many of you may know this game as banger or some other name.  This is a game of sight words.  It can be played as a small group, a center or as partner groups.  This is a game that the kids ask for by name.  It's SHARK ATTACK!!!

“Shark Attack”
To make the game:  Print out page 2 of this packet on Avery Template 5195 labels. Put one label on a craft stick (you will need 60 small craft sticks).  I also put a bit of packing tape on them to keep the game nice and neat.  Place the craft sticks into a container.  Included in this packet is  a cute little label for your container as well.
 
To Play the game:  Have the students pull out a stick/word out of the container.  They read the word.  If they read the word correctly, they keep the stick in a pile.  If they do not read it correctly, they put the stick back in the container.  If they pull a “Shark Attack” stick, they say "Shark Attack" and have to put ALL of their sticks back in the container.  The student with the most sticks wins the game.

Get your free Shark Attack Game!

Enjoy and happy teaching,
Coconut Cutie

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Spring Break FREEBIE #3

Sticking with the spelling activities, I thought I would pass on another whole group spelling activity that one of my colleagues shared with me. We call it Minute to Win It Spelling. The kids adore this game but I will warn you, it gets loud!  To keep the kids a bit under control, I created a few helpful things to keep it organized.

First off, think of groups of 4. Print off enough copies to give one to each group. Place the recording sheet into a page protector, cut and laminate the number cards. Each kiddo will need a marker and the group will need an eraser. 


To play, have the group sit on the floor and set up as the picture shows below. 


The teacher will announce a word to spell and set the timer for one minute (optional). The kiddo with number 1 will write the spelling word as fast as he/she can then turn the recording sheet to the person at number 2. Kiddo number 2 will write the spelling word as fast as he/she can and the turns the to recording sheet to person 3. This will continue until all 4 students have spelled the word. The team to spell the word 4 times the fastest wins a point. The teacher will have the kiddos erase the board ( I like to have the kiddos rotate too so that the same kids aren't always first or last). Once everyone is ready, play again. Do this as time allows and the add the points together. The team with the most points wins.

Get your free Minute to Win It Spelling game here!

Happy spelling,
Coconut Cutie

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

SPRING BREAK FREEBIE #2

Who loves spelling?  UMMMM????  Well?????  Since spelling is not always the most popular thing to work on, I like to pull out SPELLING MAN!  The kids love it.

All you need is a spelling man page, page protector, an expo marker, an eraser, and your class spelling list.  Place the spelling man page into the page protector and tada...Spelling Man game.  This works great as partner groups, bellwork, or as a center.  You can even send it home with the students to play with their families for homework.


I like to print my Spelling Man boards off in fun colors just to give it an extra fun touch.  The kiddos play Spelling Man the same way you play hang man (only isn't Spelling Man a much nicer way to say it).   



The student that can guess the word without adding all of the body parts (head, body, 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 eyes, nose, and mouth) wins the game.  If the student can not guess the word after building the spelling man, the game is over. 

Spelling Man comes from my Phonics Fun Spiral Vowel Pairs Part 1 kit found at Teachers Pay Teachers.  Click here to get to it.  Phonics Fun Spiral Vowel Pairs Part 1-A 5 week Unit

I hope your students love to play spelling man as much as mine do.  

Get your very own FREE Spelling Man! 

Monday, March 12, 2012

Spring Break FREEBIE #1

I love math but it is sometimes difficult for my students.  I love to get out the  number lines to help my students to understand.   A number line can be so helpful in so many ways.
  • adding
  • subtracting
  • before/after/between
  • odd or even
  • patterns
  • more/less


So, for today's freebie I am giving you all a number line.  This is easy to just print and have the kids assemble on their own.  Get your FREE Student Number Line!


  

This number line is directly from my math facts kits (addition, subtraction, and number sense.  Those kits can be purchased here Math Facts Kit-Addition Math Facts Kit-Subtraction and Math Facts Kit-Number-Sense.  Check them out for great math fun!  These are great for daily 5 or math tubs or just something to work on when your students are done with their other work.




Saturday, March 10, 2012

SPRING BREAK!!!

Hey y'all, Coconut Cutie is officially on Spring Break!  Let's celebrate with a FLASH sale.  Everything at my Teachers Pay Teacher's store is 10% until Sunday at midnight!  Oh, AND a freebie for every day that I am on Spring Break, which is until March 18.  So check back everyday for something FUN!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

WOW! Thank you so much!

Dear sweet friends,

Today's blog is going to be short but sweet.  Thank you so much for all of your loyalty and your purchases on Teacher Pay Teachers.  It is greatly appreciated.  I have many more ideas of things I want to create and share with you.  I only wish I could make my little typing fingers go faster, oh and be at two different places at once.  Please check back often.  And, if you could, PLEASE rate my products on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I will be so grateful!  Thanks in advance!

Take care and happy teaching,
Coconut Cutie