My Favorite Author and Genre Studies 

In my classroom I have an Author Study center. This is where the students get to read books by a specific author or genre.  I focus my author and genre studies around my themes. For example... if my theme is Objects in the Sky or Weather and our genre study is expository, then I would use Anne Rockwell and put out books that correspond with that theme. She has books about Valentine's Day, President's Day, 100th Day, Stars, Clouds, The Four Seasons, and much more! During my read aloud time for writing, reading and science, I usually try and read one of the author study books, so it will entice the students to want to read them on their own during center time. 
I put pictures of the author on my small bulletin board and pictures of the book jackets too. Underneath my bulletin board, I have white metal baskets that I hung from the wall with the books. This is a cool way to hang books from the wall if you don't have a bookshelf! I also have a center template that I have in the baskets that the students can complete after they have read or listened to a book. You can have them listen to stories on EPIC or Storyline Online. They LOVE to listen to stories... I mean what child doesn't??? 

Here are some pictures of my Author Study Center: 

                                      August: Kevin Henkes

 

                                September: Laura Numeroff

                                                           October: Gail Gibbons

November: Tomie dePoala

December/January: Jan Brett

February: Anne Rockwell

                                                                     March: Dr. Seuss

                                          April: Eric Carle

                                          May: Fairy Tales
                                                     

If you are interested in any of my author study pictures and titles here are the links: 

Kevin Henkes: here

Laura Numeroff: here

Gail Gibbons: here

Tomie dePoala: here

Jan Brett: here

Anne Rockwell: here

Happy Teaching!!! 

Love, Kara 

                                         I CAN... Posters  
               What a cute and easy way to post your objectives!

Do you need something to post your objectives in your classroom? Well you're in luck! Try these I CAN posters to help you organize your standards or objectives every week. 

I've created an I CAN poster for every subject: Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies and Spelling. Simply print and laminate and post in your classroom somewhere that is visible to you and the students. You can use a dry erase marker to write your objectives and erase them and start over every week! This is perfect because you can save paper! If you are interested in checking out my I CAN posters, click below. Have a great week and Happy Teaching! 

I CAN Posters: For Every Subject

Farmhouse Fun I CAN POSTERS


Love, Kara 

                                                          Fahrenheit Friday! 
                        Science Investigations and Experiments

If you LOVE teaching science using investigations and experiments...check out this blog post about how I implement Fahrenheit Friday in my first-grade classroom! 

First, you need to look at your district's scope and sequence and see which thematic units you are teaching in what month. During those units, you will need to look at your science standards and see which of those standards you can use for your investigations and experiments. In this post, I will give you a month-by-month layout of my thematic units for science and social studies and what investigations/experiments that I have used for each one. 
                                          Here we go!!!
On Fahrenheit Friday, we all go out to our neighborhood or classroom and put our lab coats on. We sit on the carpet and listen to a story. We make an anchor chart of our learning. We review what the scientific method is and then talk about what we are going to investigate that day. We talk about what scientists do: investigate, observe, ask questions, thinks, experiments, discovers, collects data, sorts data, takes guesses and tests their data. 
                            We review this anchor chart:

At the beginning of the year, we do this scientific method foldable and glue it into our science notebook:

There are a lot of great discussion questions that you can ask your students during science and I use this to engage the students into being excited about what they are going to investigate. I had a parent make my lab coats one year and it has been one of the best things that I use in my classroom. The students really feel like scientists and are so excited to wear them. 

But, I have some rules...
Don't spill anything on your coat.
If you use the restroom, take it off and put it on your chair. 
Button it up when you put it on.
After you take it off gently lay it on the back of your chair. 

I have had these lab coats for many years and I always wash them about twice a year. 

Here is a month-to-month breakdown of my thematic units and which science investigations/experiments I do within that unit. 

August/September:
What is a Scientist: The Blooming Flower
All About Me: Investigating Fingerprints
Weather: Cloud in a Cup, Tornado in a Jar
Apples: 5 Senses 

                                         The Blooming Flower 

                                Investigating Our Fingerprints

                                            Cloud in a Cup

                                         Tornado in a Jar

                                    5 Senses with Apples


October: 
Force/Motion/Energy: Investigating Types of Energy
Owls: Dissecting Owl Pellets
Columbus/Maps: Magnets/Investigating Maps

                              Investigating Types of Energy

                                  Investigating Owl Pellets

                                        Investigating Maps

November:
Native Americans: Growing Corn with Natural Resources
                                     Sand, Soil and Water
Rocks/Soil: Edible Dirt Cup

                                      Investigating Corn

                            Edible Dirt Cup: Layers of the Soil 

December:
Christmas Around the World: Investigating Evergreen Trees

                                   Evergreen Trees

                                           Pinecones

January:
Winter: Ice Experiment/ Igloo STEM
MLK/Black History: Diversity Duo

                                               Igloo STEM

                                           Diversity Duo
February:
Groundhog Day: Investigating Shadows
Objects in the Sky: Phases of the Moon, Constellation Investigation
Presidents/America: Lincoln Log Cabin STEM

                                      Investigating Shadows

                                  Phases of the Moon

                                 Constellation Investigation

                                   Lincoln Log Cabin STEM

March:
Texas: Oil Experiment
St. Patrick's Day: Rainbow Investigation

                                        Oil Experiment 

                                 Rainbow Investigation

April: 
Rainforests: Terrarium Investigation
Plants: Investigating Sunflower Seeds
Life Cycles: Investigating Butterflies, Ladybugs and Frogs

                                      Terrarium Investigation

                                       Investigating Ladybugs

                                       Investigating Sunflowers

May:
Earth and Volcanoes: Volcano Experiment
Oceans: Investigating Sharks and Whales, Ocean in a Jar
              Investigating Shells

                                     Volcano Experiment

                               Investigating Whales and Sharks

                                    Investigating Shells

                                     Ocean in a Jar

 After we do each experiment/investigation, the students record their data on their science template and then glue it into their science notebook. At the end of the year, their notebook is full of science experiments! 
Here are some examples of our science notebook:

If you are interested in doing Fahrenheit Friday with your students, check out my science investigations resource here. You will not be disappointed and your students will LOVE science! This resource includes step by step materials and directions, classroom photos, lesson plans, and science notebook templates. 
Happy Teaching! 
Love, Kara 

                                          Happy New Year! 

If you LOVE teaching goal setting and making New Year's resolutions with your class, then check out my blog post! Here are some fun ideas for Mentor Texts, Interactive Notebooks, Student Booklets, and Writing Craftivities! Here are some mentor texts that you could read with your class: 

Here are some fun writing craftivities that you could have your students write about their New Year's Resolution! 

If you're interested in checking out this resource, click here

I love reading Squirrel's New Year's Resolution and doing this fun writing craftivity: 

You can also have your students make a sequencing foldable using these sequencing cards and labels. I just take a big piece of construction paper, fold it hot dog style and cut 4 slits in the front. 

You can also have your students make a Goal Setting Booklet and tell about things that they can get better at: Reading, Writing, Math, Science, etc. Click here for this resource. 

You can choose to do this booklet during Morning Meeting time if you want. That's when I do it. The booklet is included in Squirrel's New Year resource. 

You can also make these hats for New Year! 

I have these hats for all the different months and holidays! Click 

here  I hope you have a great time with your students for New Years! Happy Teaching!

Love, 

Kara