Celebrating Dr. Seuss Day 1 and 2

This week we kicked off our Dr. Suess theme. We started by asking our students to hunt around their houses for any books by Dr. Seuss and bring them to school so we can read them. I had a few kids bring on the first day, but more usually trickle in throughout the week.

Our first activity on Monday was to read aloud the classic "The Cat in the Hat" and do a responsive writing: "What Would You Do If Thing One and Thing Two Came To Your House?" Here is the craftivity that my class did to go along with this. I got the writing sheet from www.seusstastic.blogspot.com last year, which I'm not sure you can even get anymore from there. There is a big thing about selling things that are Seuss related because it violates the copyright Seuss Enterprises has. Takes a lot of fun out of looking for Seuss stuff on Pinterest because you have to recreate them yourself if you find an idea you like.

 

 

During Guided Reading on Monday we had our firsties do a Cat in the Hat mystery number grid picture that we got last year from Little Country Kindergarten.  I just looked on her blog and I don't see it available anymore.  You'll have to check out all her mystery number grids she has for sale at her TPT store.

 

 

Tuesday during our Dr. Seuss Theme time we did a Color-A-Rhyme Cat in the Hat.   These rhymes are great for enforcing listening and following directions.  They have to listen for the rhyming pair and then color that part of the picture as we read the poem.  We found this YEARS ago, so I can't tell you where we got the poem.  If you happen to know the author, please give them a shout out! 

 

 

During Guided Reading on Tuesday, students got to do a Cut-Apart Sentence that I put together:  "March 2nd is the day we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss."  Just right click and "save as" if you'd like to use this in your classroom.

 

 

I will try to update with a few more things we plan on doing throughout this week and next week.

 

 

 



 

 

Habitats Mini-Books

During our Animals Habitats theme we have our first graders learn fun facts about each of the habitats. Last year I made some Habitats Fact Generator posters that we used as a Fill in the Blank large group activity to learn the facts about the habitats.  Over the years we've also put together a couple different versions of a habitat vocabulary book.  This is teacher directed.

I just wanted a little bit more to go along with the unit where the first graders are able to independently read.  This year I decided to create these mini books to add to the unit, which I hope will help teach about the habitats and animals that live in the different habitats.  In the past, we have just done a teacher read aloud to have students learn about each habitat.  I want to keep doing that, but think it also very important for firsties to learn to read on their own so they can read for details.

Here are the mini books I wrote and are in a set. You can purchase this set HERE.  Each book is about 12 pages long and includes the characteristics of each habitat as well as a few animals that live in each habitat.

 ***These mini books have all been updated:  April/May 2015***  If you purchased the set and/or have previously purchased the set and the updates are not there, you will get an email from TPT when the file is updated on their site and you can download the update.

Text for each book:

The Antarctic Habitat: updated May 2015
This is the Antarctic habitat.
It is by the South Pole on Antarctica.
They call the Antarctic habitat a cold desert because it gets little water.
Only some plants like grass grow by the ocean coast where there is water.
It is too cold to live there.
It is the windiest place on Earth.
Scientist only go there to  study the weather.

But penguins live there all year.

Penguins huddle to stay warm.

The leopard seal hunts for penguins.

Orca whales hunt for penguin and seal.

The Arctic Habitat: updated May 2015
This is the Arctic habitat.
It is at the north pole near the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic is very cold.
It is very windy in the Arctic.
The ground is covered in ice and snow. This is called the tundra.
Winters are long and summers are short.
Plants grow close to the ground to stay alive in the winter.
Reindeer live in the Arctic.  They have thick fur to keep warm in winter.
The Arctic Fox has white fur to blend into the snow.
Polar bear's this fur keeps it warm on land, and fat keeps it warm in the water.
The walrus lives and swims in the Arctic Ocean.  Blubber keeps the walrus warm.

The Desert Habitat: updated April 2015
This is that desert habitat.
There can be sand in the desert.
There can be rocks in the desert. 
You can see a cactus in the desert. 

It is hot and dry in the desert. 

A desert is a place that gets less than 10 inches of rain in one year.
It is hot in the day and cool at night.
Animals come out at night when it is cool.
Snakes and scorpions live in the desert.
An oasis is where there is water in a desert.
The Sahara Desert is the biggest desert in the world.

The Forest Habitat: updated April 2015
This is the forest habitat. 
Animals live and hide in the forest.
Birds make nests in the trees. 
Squirrels hide nuts in the trees.
There are trees and bushes in the forest.
Trees need sun, water, and soil.  
There are many kinds of trees.
Some trees lose their leaves in the fall. This is the temperate forest. 
Some trees have needles and no leaves. These trees live in the boreal forest where it is colder.
Some trees live where it is warm and hot. Tropical forests are near the equator.

The Grassland Habitat: updated April 2015
This is the grassland habitat. 
It is big and wide with a lot of grass. 
It does not have enough rain to grow a lot of trees.
It gets enough rain so it is not a desert.
In North America the grassland is called a prairie.
In South America the grassland is called the pampas.
In Asia the grasslands are called the steppes.
In Africa the grassland is called the savannah.
Elephants and giraffes live in the savannah.
Animals travel to find water. 
The tall grass helps animals hide. 
Cheetahs run fast in the grassland. 

The Mountain Habitat: updated April 2015
This is the mountain habitat.
The mountains are rocky and steep. 
Mountains can be covered in trees. 
But there can be only snow and ice at the top. .
It can be cold and windy at the top. The air is thin and cold
Cougars live in the mountains. They are also called mountain lions or pumas.
Mountain goats climb on the rocky cliffs. They are hunted by cougar, wolves, and bear.
The Rocky Mountains are in North America.
The Andes Mountains are in South America. It is the longest mountain range above ground.
The Himalayan Mountains are in Asia.  Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain.
Some mountains are in the ocean. The islands of Hawaii are made from volcanos.
The longest mountain range in the Atlantic Ocean is called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The Ocean Habitat: updated April 2015
This is the ocean habitat. 
The ocean is the biggest habitat on earth.
About 70% of the earth is covered in water.
There are five oceans in the world. 
You can not drink salty ocean water. But it does help you float.
The ocean can be cold, like the Arctic Ocean.
The ocean can be warm, like the Indian Ocean.
More kinds of fish live near the equator than the colder oceans.
The waves in the ocean are made by wind.
Plants like sea weed grow in the ocean.
Sharks and fish swim in the ocean.
Octopus hide on the ocean floor.

The Rain Forest Habitat: updated April 2015
This is the rain forest habitat. 
It gets a lot of rain all year long.
There are a lot of trees and plants. 
The very top layer is the emergent layer.  It gets the most sunlight.
The next layer is the canopy.  It is the “roof” of the rainforest.
The middle layer is the understory. 
The bottom layer is the forest floor. 
There are many colorful flowers.
Many animals live in the rain forest.
The biggest rain forest is the Amazon Rain Forest in South America.
It is around the Amazon River.

The Wetlands Habitat: updated April 2015
This is the wetlands habitat. 
There are plants and grass at the wetland.
Beavers build their home at the wetland. 
Ducks and geese swim in the pond. 

An alligator swims in the swamps.

The wetlands have fresh water.
Animals can drink water from the wetland.
Only 1% of earth’s water is fresh water.
Fresh water comes from rain and melted snow.
Streams and rivers are moving water.
Rivers and streams start in the mountains.

United States Doodles w/Freebie Firework

I'm not even sure why I drew this, maybe because I didn't have any of my own president clip art?  I guess that's what inspired it.  Then I realized I didn't have a US map or flag and yada yada.  That's how the brain works.  Anyway, I put this set together, which includes BW and full-color PNG images of the following files:

Abe
George
Lady Liberty
Liberty Bell
White House
Fireworks
US Flag
US Outline Map
US States Outline Map
Eagle

Where to purchase this set:
Carrie's TPT store HERE
Carrie's TN store HERE

And for all those faithful followers, here's the fireworks image just for you!  Please remember to give credit to me!  Thanks!

Weather Cut Apart Sentences

I think I finally finished the last set of cut-apart sentences for our themes for the year!  Here are some sentences that we can choose from for our Weather and the World Around Us theme.  I simplified some of the sentences from the Weather Vocabulary book that I created last year. 

Sentences included:
--What will the weather be like today?
--It rains when the cloud is full of water.
--Lightning is a flash of light that comes from the sky.
--Thunder is the big boom you hear when clouds bump together.
--Tornadoes are a swirling cloud in the shape of a funnel.
--Big chunks of ice that fall from the sky are called hail.
--A snowflake is an ice crystal with six points.
--A thermometer is what we use to check the temperature.
--A weather man tells what the weather will be.
--The wind is when the air moves.
--Sleet is when there is rain mixed with snow.
--A hurricane is like a tornado in the ocean.

You can find this cut apart sentences set HERE at my TPT store.

 

I would LOVE your feedback!  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Habitats Cut Apart Sentences

I know I've gone a little overboard lately making and creating cut apart sentences for our upcoming themes.  The kids do a great job with them and it gets them thinking about what "makes sense" as they put the sentence together.  I just finished up these Habitat Cut Apart Sentences that we will use these during our study of the different animal habitats. 

Sentences included in this set:
--The animals in the grassland run very fast.
--The water in the ocean is very salty.
--The rain forest gets a lot of rain all year.
--The mountains can be rocky and covered in trees.
--The wetlands are made of fresh water.
--There are many kinds of trees in the forest.
--The arctic is very cold and covered in ice and snow.
--Scientists go to the Antarctic to study the weather.
--The desert is very hot and dry.

My next plan of action is to create mini-books for each of the habitats, so stop back soon to see if I ever have time to tackle that project.

You can find it HERE at my TPT store.

Post Office and Letter Writing Mini-Unit

We are right in the middle of our Post Office/Letter Writing unit and I just finished up some new cut-apart sentences and put them together with some activities that I've used with this unit this year. 

 

We have REALLY been trying to improve how we are teaching our firsties to learn their address.  The first week of our theme, we had students learn their house number and their street name.  The second week of our theme, we had them copy/write their address each day using sheets that we created on www.handwritingworksheets.com.  Students had to trace their address and then write it on their own on the bottom half of the sheet.  The cut-and-past parts of an address was a fun activity that I used today as sort of an assessment.  They had to write their address in each labeled part and then tomorrow I will have them cut it apart and piece it back together in the correct place.

 

I put together a few of my favorite new things into a Post Office Mini-Unit and uploaded it to TPT.

 

Cut Apart Sentences:

• Put a stamp in the right-hand corner of the envelope.
• There are five parts to a letter.
• Your address tells the mailman where you live. 
• A zip code is a special number for your city.
• A mailman drives a mail truck to deliver the mail.
• The mailman delivers mail into your mailbox.
• You buy stamps at the post office.
• A postmark cancels the stamp so it can't be used again.

Write Your Address Cut-Apart:

• Have students write their address in the labeled “dotted lined” sheet.  Then they cut and paste onto the envelope in the correct spot.

Post Office Center Card:

• Use for your classroom post office and letter writing unit.  Photocopy double sided and students can write letters to each other and fill out the address to send to people in your class or other classrooms doing the post office theme.

Cut and Paste Parts of Letter and Envelope:

• Students cut and paste the different parts of an envelope and letter into the correct spot to learn about the different parts of each.

You can purchase this HERE at my TPT store.

 

 

 

 

Continents and Oceans Cut Apart Sentences

Well, I'm getting a few things done off my to-do list this weekend.  Took a little break yesterday and had fun junior bridesmaid dress shopping with my sister, my niece, and my daughter for my niece's wedding in June.  We had my daughter's choices down to two that she liked and her final decision was made after we sent pictures to her dad and found out which one he liked.  TOO SWEET!

Tonight I crossed off my Continents and Oceans cut-apart sentences and uploaded it to my TPT store.  You can f nd it HERE.

Sentences included in this set:

• Australia is called the Land Down Under.
• People cannot live in Antarctica because it is too cold.
• Asia is the biggest continent in the whole world.
• North America is made up of three countries.
• There are rain forests in South America.
• The Sahara Desert is in Africa.
• Europe is the smallest continent, and it is made up of many small countries.
• The Southern Ocean is around Antarctica.
• The Arctic Ocean is by the North Pole.
• The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean.
• The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean.
• The Atlantic Ocean was the first ocean to be crossed by ship.

Space and Planets Cut Apart Sentences

Does it drive you nuts when you are in the middle of teaching a lesson and an idea pops in your head about something completely different...and you can't act upon that new idea until your lesson is done and the kids go to recess? Then you get paranoid during that lesson that you are going to forget all the new ideas that run through your brain? So your lesson plan book becomes sticky note haven...until you have time to sit down and do it?  Well, that was tonight while watching Grey's Anatomy.

This morning while making cute little Valentine bouquets with the kids to give their mom and dads, I started thinking ahead to two themes from now: Space and Planets. I have been updating our cut apart sentences all year and realized I need to get ahead on those so that I am not making them as I need them. Then I decided it would be an awesome idea to have a cut apart sentences about each of the planets that tell one important thing about each planet. These cut aparts have worked great for morning work as well as must do activities during Guided reading.  Well, I ended up coming up with a TON of fun sentences to use throughout the unit.

Then that led to me to thinking about our Continents and Oceans unit and creating a sentence for each of the continents and oceans, which then led me to come up with ideas for the different habitats for our Animal Habitats theme.  Look for post about those when I get them done. 

It's a good thing we have Friday and Monday off for Winter Vacation so I can be home and will have time to get those things done before it drives me nuts that they aren't done!

Sentences included in my Space and Planets set:

• There are nine planets in the solar system.
• The nine planets orbit around the sun.
• The sun is a star in our solar system.
• Mercury is the closest planet to the sun.
• Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.
• Earth is the only planet that animals can live.
• Mars is called the red planet.
• Jupiter has a giant red spot that is a storm.
• Saturn’s rings are made from rock and ice.
• Uranus spins around on its side.
• Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun.
• Pluto is called a dwarf planet.
• An astronomer uses a telescope to study the stars.
• An astronaut wears a special suit to travel in space.
• A constellation is a group of stars that make a shape.

You can find the Space and Planets Cut Apart sentences set HERE at my TPT store.

Continents and Oceans Vocabulary Book

I think we have a whole month before we are going to do our Continents and Oceans theme, but I'm trying to stay ahead of the game.  In the past we've pieced together some things that we had found to make a continents and oceans packet, and I just wasn't really happy with it.  Call me OCD, but I like to have things look neat and tidy...all the same font, same type of clip art, you know...Now that I have all my own clip art that I've drawn over the last year, I wanted to update it a bit in more first grade friendly terms.  This will be a shared read, as I'm not sure our firsties will be independent at reading all the information by themselves.

In this vocabulary book, students will learn the names of all the continents and oceans, as well as a few facts about each.  I also wanted to put a little bit of a focus on the different habitats on each of the continents so students can see how the world is such a different place.  This will be a great way to lead into our Animal Habitats unit we do after that, as one of the projects in this Continents and Oceans unit is to create a world map where they add an animal that is from each continent.

I left the continent and ocean names out and replaced it with my shape boxes font, so students can have a visual of what word should go there.  They can use the word bank on the first page to help them find the word.  Or...they can utilize the word wall pocket chart cards to find and write the correct word.  You can find my "MY World Word Wall Cards" HERE.

You can find this vocabulary book HERE at my TPT store.

St. Patrick's Day Cut-Apart Sentences

Well, I'm home again today with my little guy running a high fever, so I thought I'd use the time to update and create some more cut-apart sentences we will need next month.  I just finished 9 different St. Patty's Day cut-aparts.  I never usually do all of them, but its fun to have different ones to choose from each year.  Seems like I always get tired of something and need to switch things around a bit.

Sentences included:

• Where did the leprechaun hid the gold?
• The pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow.
• When you catch a leprechaun he must grant you 3 wishes.
• Hang a horseshoe above your door for good luck.
• If you find a four leaf clover you will have good luck.
• People in Ireland raise cattle and grow potatoes.
• The Ireland flag is green, white, and orange.
• On March 17th we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
• Wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

 

 

Money Doodles UPDATED with Half-Dollor Coin

Home today with a sick child, so I thought I'd get some clip art work updated.  Finally added a half-dollar coin to my Money Doodles set.  If you've previously purchased this set, just go back to TPT or TN and download the update!

Valentine Cards for Letter Writing

Whipped these up last week to go along with our Post Office theme of letter writing for this week.  We plan to write Valentine letters to our parents as one of our writing activities.  Last week we focused on learning about addresses, parts of an envelope, and parts of a letter.  I wanted to get something in the plans for this week about writing letters, as next week we will be writing letters to each other in our Post Office center.  You can pick up this FREEBIE  at my TPT store HERE.  Simply pick the form of the Valentine you want and copy the letter writing sheet onto the other side, fold in half, and you are done!  If you like this, drop me a comment below!  Thanks for stopping into my blog.

~Carrie

St. Patty's Day Word Wall Cards

Just finished my St. Patty's Day Word Wall Cards, which includes these words:

leprechaun man
leprechaun woman
hat
rainbow
pot of gold
clover
four leaf clover
gold coin
horseshoe
potato
Ireland flag

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

St. Patty's Day Doodles w/FREEBIE Clover

Just finished my St. Patty's Day Doodles digital clip art set!  This St. Patrick's Day Doodle set includes 28 images (BW and full-color PNG):

leprechaun boy
leprechaun girl
leprechaun hat
horseshoe
gold coin
rainbow
pot of gold
4 leaf clover
3 leaf clover
blank clover
potato
Ireland flag
Luck of the Irish words

You can purchase this set at my TPT store HERE or my TN store HERE.

And as always to thank those of you who actually look at my blog, here's a FREEBIE just for you! 

Writing and Sending a Letter: A Post Office Vocabulary Book

Just finished a new vocabulary book I would like to try this year with my first graders.  It focuses on the parts of a letter and how a letter is mailed through the Post Office.  We just kicked off our Post Office theme this week and have only briefly touched on the mail system.  I am hoping this is an "easy" enough version of how mail is delivered through the postal system for my firsties to understand.

A key vocabulary list is included with the words in my Shape Box Letters font.  The missing words within the vocabulary book are in my Shape Box Spelling Patterns font, where different phonics combinations are separated by dotted lines.  We have started using this a LOT in first grade to help chunk the sounds within words.

Let me know what you think!

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

Post Office/Writing Theme Word Wall Cards

Today we kicked off our Post Office/Writing theme and started off by talking about some of the key vocabulary words at our word wall pocket chart.  Then we went on to a Mimio lesson I put together last week, where the class learned the parts of an envelope and a basic what you need to do in order to get something sent through the mail.  Today my firsties learned about a return address, mailing address, where the stamp goes and the postmark.  Tomorrow we plan to review the parts of an envelope by doing a cut and paste activity that is simialr to the drag and drop Mimio activity (see below) and then get them started on learning their own address and how to write that.

This set includes:
mailbox, mailman, mailbag, mail truck, letter, envelope, deliver, stamp, postmark, post office, mail drop, bar code, address, return address, mailing address, postcard, heading, greeting, body, closing, signature, write, send, sort

You can find it HERE at my TPT store.

Mimio lesson we did today:

Valentine, Groundhog, and Presidents Cut Apart Sentences

A little late on getting this cut-apart sentence set up on the blog, but here it is!  January flew by and before I knew it, February was already here.  This set includes 7 cut-apart sentences around the February themes:  Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and Presidents Day.  Clip Art used in this came from my own collection of drawings, Charlotte Braddock at TPT (Charlotte's Clips) and Melanie at Graphics From the Pond.  You can find this cut-apart sentence set HERE.

 

Valentines Day Cut Apart Sentences:

• What would you give your sweetie?
• Do you like hugs and kisses on Valentine's Day?

Groundhog Day Cut Apart:

• Did the groundhog see its shadow?

Presidents Cut Apart Sentences:

• Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president.
• George Washington was the 1st president
• Abraham Lincoln is on the penny.
• George Washington is on the quarter.

 

Healthy Habits Doodles UPDATE #2

Oh, my!  I had a request to add an image to my Healthy Habits clip art set, so here is update #2 for this set for those of you who have already purchased this (or for those who are interested in this set).  It now includes a hand, mouth, and nose.

You can find this at my TPT store HERE.
You can find this at my Teacher's Notebook clip art store HERE.

Community Helpers Doodles w/FREEBIE

Just finished my Community Helpers Doodles digital clip art set and have them up for sale on my TPT and TN stores.  I'm running a sale at both my stores this weekend, so stop on over and check out all my stuff. 

Where you can find this set:
My Teacher's Notebook shop HERE
My TPT store HERE

And for all my faithful followers, here is a freebie of the hair stylist for you.  Please remember TOU for all clip art used for items given away for free and for commercial resale.  A simple credit to me and a link back to my blog would be great.  Thanks!

And if you have any special requests, send them my way and I'll try to add them to my list!

25% off Super Bowl Weekend Sale on Teacher's Notebook

Running a sale today through Monday for 25% off all clip art in my shop on Teacher's Notebook.  Click on the banner to check it out!  Once you click on the link click on "clip art" on the left hand side and you'll see all the items in my shop.

Healthy Habits Word Wall Cards

Was working on this word wall project for our Healthy Habits unit this January and I never got it completed until the unit was over...so I guess I'll have it ready for next year at this time!

This word wall card set includes these words:

• tooth, cavity, toothbrush, toothpaste, tooth fairy, floss, teeth, dentist, mouth, tongue, rinse, candy, sweets, comb, brush, bath tub, shower, shampoo, soap, tissue, hands, wash, sledding, healthy snacks, nose, heart, exercise, water, clothes, fruit, vegetable, pop, doctor, nurse, meat, bread, milk, food pyramid

Most of the clip art was from my clip art collection, but a few (steak, lollipop, soda, cake, candy, ice cream, clothes) are from Melonheadz.  She has some awesome freebies at her blog, so make sure to check out that!

You can find this at my TPT store HERE.