Are You Ready for Some Poetry? 

I'm so excited about my new and improved Acrostic and Focus Poetry packet! I've added some new "Zing" and "Color" to it and I can't wait to share it with you! I hope you like it too! 

Poetry Cover Page

By the way, you have to drink some coffee while your reading this post. It will help you pretend that you're in a coffeehouse and listening to poetry... ok not really. Lol

Last month I blogged about how I incorporate poetry into my themes. I teach one poem a week and have it hanging above my poetry center. The poem goes with the theme that I am teaching. This is a poem that I wrote about Martin Luther King Jr. It is called "Dreams".  I've used this poem with first grade and third grade! They always get a kick when they see my name at the bottom. They cannot believe that I actually wrote it!

Dreams

In January when we study MLK, we read this poem and learn about the punctuation and parts of speech. If you notice on the side of the poem are index cards hanging down. These are my ladders. I call them my parts of speech and punctuation ladders. On each index card is a skill that we find in the poem. I make sure to not go over the skill until after I have taught it. This is great because I can spiral skills all year long and what a fun and easy way to review parts of speech and punctuation! Poetry lends itself to so many skills: creating mental images, connections, rhyming, fluency, comprehension, author's purpose... the list goes on!
I've made new ladders in my poetry packet so they look cuter than before. I love polk-a-dots, so I used all different colors for the backgrounds. Here are some of the punctuation cards. You simple print, laminate and cut apart. You can hang them on the way beside your poem, or shrink down and put them on a ring.

Punctuation Ladder

Here are some of my cards for the parts of speech ladder.

Parts of Speech Ladder

Another thing I added to this packet is having the poems in color and black and white! This way the teacher has a choice of which template is better for her students. My preference is, the black and white ones. I LOVE to have my students illustrate the background and color the pictures on the poems. It makes it more student friendly this way. But, I do know of some teachers who like to print in color and they are so beautiful! So the choice is yours! Here are some of the many poems in the packet. These are originals that I wrote for my students.  All you need to do is shrink these down about 80% when you copy them for the students so they will fit inside their poetry journal.

Poems in Color 
And... in black and white!

Poems in Black and White

I also did the same thing to my acrostic poems. I've written acrostic poems for every holiday. These are so fun and easy to teach. I teach acrostic poetry at the beginning of the year, but it's also something I spiral with other themes and craftivities. You can teach this cross curricular in social studies and math too!

Acrostic Poems in Color

Acrostic Poems in Black and White

I hope you got some great ideas on how to incorporate your poetry in your classroom this year! If you are interested in checking out my new and improved Focus Poetry Packet click below.

Love, Kara

Acrostic and Focus Poetry for Every Holiday: Grades 1-3

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Launching Literacy Centers for the Fall in the K-2 classroom

Check out my new and improved Literacy Center Packet! I've added a lot of new and helpful tools to this packet to launch your centers in the fall! Keep reading if you want to check out the new stuff! 

Cover Page

In this packet I've included a number of things: photos of my classroom centers with materials and directions, "I Can.." cards to laminate and put on a ring for directions in the centers, Large Center Icons to laminate and display in the center, Small icon cards to put on a rotation poster, and center activity pages in color and black and white for the students to complete in each center. It is jammed packed full of fun and colorful stuff!

In my classroom I have 24 centers:
Library, Theme, Read the Room, Write the Room, Math, Science, Museum, Drama, Finger Puppets, Felt Board, Geography, Art, Word Wall, Author Study, Construction, Games, Listening, Calendar, Word Work, Research, Overhead, Computer, Poetry and Writing.

I LOVE to see real photos of classrooms, I just think it is so cool to see the real thing! And, since I'm a very visual person, I like to see how the classroom is set up and organized. That's why I took photos of all of my literacy centers to give you a visual.

Drama Center

Felt Board

Museum

Writing

These are just 4 of the 24 centers that I have in my classroom!  The rest of the photos you have to see in the packet!

I also included large center icons- to copy, laminate and cut out! You can display them on the wall or table of your centers so the students know where each center is. They have the center name and the picture to go with it.  I LOVE using chevron in my classroom, so I used it around the border.

Large Icons 

Large Center Icons

I also included small icons to copy, laminate and cut out as well. These are small enough to put velcro on the back of them and stick onto your center rotation board or poster.

Small Icons for Poster

For each center I wrote "I Can..." cards. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is so helpful for the students! A lot of times when the students get to a center they forget or are confused on what to do there. These cards can help! They are step by step instructions on what the students can do at each center! Mine are very simple. Simply print, laminate and cut them out, then punch a hole in the top corner and attach together with a ring! You can hang these alongside the center icon or have it somewhere in the center for the students to read. I always have my students clean up there center when they are finished, so that is also a part of what they "Can Do!"

I CAN cards

At each center I have an activity page for the students to complete. I've made these in color and black and white!
These are the pages that stay inside the students' center folder for later rewards!  

Math Center Activity Page

Other Center Activity Pages

Literacy centers are so fun to have in your classroom. It's a wonderful way to spiral your skills and concepts taught during the day! If they are fun and engaging the students won't even know they are learning at the same time! And, there are a million different ways to launch them, these are my tips and tricks. If you are interested in my new and improved Literacy Center packet, click below.

Launching Literacy Centers: I Can cards, Icons and Templates

Love, Kara

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1492: A Maps and Columbus Thematic Unit Grades 1-3

Sailboat Jell-O

(The best part about this thematic unit.... is the Jell-O!!!!! All you need is blue Jell-O, a plastic clear cup, coffee filters, toothpicks and mandarin oranges... yummy! )

Are you thinking about what units you'll be teaching in the fall? If you've ever taught maps and Columbus, you probably know that you can incorporate a TON of skills into this unit. I really had fun writing this one. This unit includes: Lesson Plans with Mentor Texts, Vocabulary Cards, Craftivities, Interactive Notebook Activities, Problem Solving, Science Experiments, Poetry, Expository Writing and Riddles. I'm so excited to share this unit with you! Under the umbrella of maps and Columbus, I also included: Landforms, Magnets, Force and Motion, Cardinal Directions, Parts of a Ship, Riddles, Expository Writing and Capacity.

Maps and Columbus Cover Page

I've written 16 days of lesson plans with mentor texts, materials, directions and examples.

Lesson Plans with Mentor Texts

I've also included vocabulary cards and anchor charts. The vocabulary cards include:

The Continents
The 3 Ships
Columbus Characters
Landforms

This is an excellent way to give your students visuals... and they are colorful and cute!

Vocabulary Cards

Anchor Chart: Living on Landforms

You know I LOVE to incorporate my craftivities, and I included a lot of room for creativity here. 

I Spy a Spy Glass: the students will use a paper towel roll and a plastic cup and cut out the bottom of the cup to stick on the end of the paper towel roll. Then, decorate it with paper and jewels.

I Spy a Spy Glass

Did You Ever See a Magnet: the students will color their magnet and picture templates and sort them according to if they attract to the magnet or not.

Did You Ever See a Magnet? 

Living on Landforms: the students can cut out the landforms free hand using colored construction paper and layer them. After glueing them on a background, then they can glitter and glue on the labels.

Living on Landforms 

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue: the students color and cut out the three ships and Columbus and glue them onto their construction paper and then write an autobiography about Columbus.

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

A thematic unit isn't complete with out experiments! I've included experiments for magnets, force and motion, and capacity. I bet your wondering... why is there an experiment about magnets in this unit? Well, I incorporate the compass into this unit and discuss how it always points north because the poles of the earth are magnetic too! This is a perfect segue into learning about magnetic force! With these experiments, I've included a lesson plan with materials and directions and a student interactive notebook page for their science notebook.

Experiments

Another part of this unit that is a great addition are more interactive notebook activities! I've included poetry, math and social studies. For math, the students can complete a problem solving activity using ships. For poetry, the students can cut out their poem and glue it into their poetry notebook and illustrate a picture with a caption. For social studies, I've included a compass rose to label, and to drawing a map of the students' room.

Interactive Notebooks

Last I'd like to share the writing portion of this unit. I think that writing is so important and can be incorporated into everything! I've written templates for two expository pieces: Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue and Parts of a Ship. 

Writing Templates: Brainstorming and Final Draft

I hope you got some great ideas on how to incorporate maps and Columbus in your classroom for the fall! If you are interested in my thematic unit, click below.

1492: A Maps and Columbus Thematic Unit Grades 1-3

Love, Kara

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It's Raining Cats and Dogs! A Weather Thematic Unit Grades 1-3 

Have you started to think about what you'll be teaching in the fall for science? If you love teaching thematic units cross curricular, check out this weather unit!  I LOVE teaching my students about weather and meteorologists. There are so many awesome skills that the students can learn. This unit includes 20 days of lesson plans with mentor texts, vocabulary cards for different types of weather, (weather tools and clouds), anchor charts, scientist/meteorologist expository writing, a weather investigation journal, weather experiments, weather poetry, craftivities and a class book about clouds. Each component is fun and engaging for the students! I hope you enjoy it!

Weather Packet Cover Page

I've written 20 days of lesson plans for this unit and they all include mentor texts, materials, directions and examples.

Weather Lesson Plan Examples

I use vocabulary cards and anchor charts with every unit. These are excellent visuals for the students to understand the skills and concepts that you are teaching them. You can also display them around the classroom for a resource later on. Here are my examples of anchor charts and vocabulary cards:

Weather Anchor Charts

Just in case your wondering, I use the cause and effect anchor chart with the book Thunder Cake, and the sequence of events anchor chart with the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Here are my vocabulary cards: 

Weather Tools Vocabulary Cards
and
Types of Weather and Clouds

Also included in this unit are craftivities. Ya'll remember how I LOVE to include craftivities within my units? They are engaging, fun and allow for imagination and creativity. Here are some examples of some of my craftivities from this unit. Most of these I like to hang in the classroom or out in the hallway. 

Craftivities for Weather Unit

The students can make a pinwheel when they learn about what makes the wind, two different kinds of rainbow craftivities when learning how a rainbow is made, and reading and writing about meteorologists and what their job is.

You can't have a unit without interactive notebooks! Here are some examples of some interactive notebook activities for science. All you need to do is copy and shrink these down so they'll fit inside the notebooks. Usually these follow a science experiment, poetry, or reading activity.

Interactive Notebook Activities

For Poetry Notebooks, the students have two poems they can illustrate, cut out and glue into their notebook. I usually have the students highlight either nouns, verbs, or adjectives in the poem, depending on what skill we are studying for that week. I also have them write a caption at the bottom of their picture describing what they illustrated.  Here are my poetry notebooks: 

Focus Poetry Notebooks

For the science experiments, there is a rainbow experiment using a prism and an overhead projector. A cloud in a cup using a plastic cup, water, shaving cream and blue food coloring. And a tornado in a jar using a marble, water, dish soap and red food coloring. All of these are also interactive notebook activities after the students conduct the experiment.  I typed out the lesson plan with materials, directions and a photo of the experiment for better understanding. Here are the examples:

Cloud in a Cup

Tornado in a Jar 

Cloud in a Cup and Tornado in a Jar Experiments 

When investigating weather, the students can also use a weather  journal. You could have the students look out the window daily, or take a walking field trip outside your school to observe the weather. I like to hang a rain gauge and a thermometer outside my window so the students can look at it easiest from inside the classroom. The weather journal is for 10 days and includes a cover page, daily weather recording, weather graph, problem solving and recording the students' favorite weather at the end of the packet. Here are some of the pages of the student journal:

Student Weather Journal
Click Here for my Weather Journal:

My Weather Journal Grades K-2

If you are interested in checking out my Weather Thematic Unit for Grades 1-3, click below. I hope you got inspired to try some weather in your classroom for the fall or spring. No matter what time of year you decide to teach this unit, your students will LOVE it!

It's Raining Cats and Dogs! A Weather Thematic Unit Grades 1-3

Love, Kara
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Guided Reading and How I Use It

Guided Reading is an essential component of Balanced Literacy. This allows you to get up close and personal with your young readers. I always enjoy my time with my students during guided reading, it really helps me tune in to their needs, struggles and successes. And, they LOVE to read to me at my table! 
In my first grade classroom, I have 5 reading groups. My reading groups are color names: Turquoise, Magenta, Tangarine, Violet and Jade. This way the students don't really recognize who is the low and who is the high reading group. They're all colorful! 
Here is a picture of my guided reading baskets: 

5 Baskets for 5 Different Reading Groups 

I got these baskets at Wal-Mart and I made the name labels to match their color. I meet with 2 groups on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 3 groups on Tuesday and Thursday. This includes my literature circle who meets on their own. I spend about 15 minutes with each group. This is during my Reader's Workshop time while the rest of the class is working quietly on schema notebook so I have a quiet environment. I also have music playing quietly in the background with my bird contest going on. 
I have two different lesson plans that I use for guided reading. Here is the one I use for 3 days a week:

Lesson Plan for 3 Days a Week 

Here is the lesson plan that I use for 2 days a week: 

Lesson Plan for 2 Days a Week

During my guided reading groups, I teach my students "Fix-Up" Strategies to use when they come to a word they don't know. I use this teacher poster below. I have it laminated and handy in my teacher binder. I show the students this list of strategies and we do hand motions for each one. The students HAVE to tell me which strategy they are going to try before we start reading. Their challenge is to try that strategy that they told me when they get to a word they do not know. Here is the teacher template: 

Fix Up Strategies: Teacher Copy

I also made posters to laminate and put up on a bulletin board or word wall. They have real photos of my daughter doing these strategies. 

I also made bookmarks for the students to use during guided reading, independent reading, buddy reading, literature circles, or literacy centers. They can keep this inside their book at all times. You could also have them cut it out and glue it inside their reader's notebook for a resource!
All you need to do is print and laminate!

Student Bookmarks

At the end of the guided reading lesson, my students do word work, schema notebook or comprehension questions. Depending on the level and needs of the group, I decide what they need to do. I have popcycle sticks that I wrote questions on. I have them inside a cup and the students draw a stick and read it out loud. Here are some of my questions:

Who are the characters?
Where was the setting?
Was there a problem?
How was the problem solved?
What was the author's purpose?
Tell the beginning, middle and end.
What was your favorite part and why?
What was the genre? 

I hope you have gotten some great ideas to use for guided reading! If you are interested in checking out my Guided Reading Packet, click below: 

Are You Fixed Up for Guided Reading? Grades K-3

Love, Kara 

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                                    Kimberly Geswein Fonts