Reading Wonders

My district has adopted a new language arts program and I am very excited!  I was lucky enough to be a part of the adoption committee where we spend over a year and a half looking through multiple publishers and choosing the program that best fit our need!  I have to say, I really am excited to teach using this program!

We choose McGraw-Hill's Reading Wonders program, which is aligned to the Common Core Standards (CCS).  In our district, we have tweaked the standards a bit to help fit the needs of our students, so techinically we don't follow the actually "Common Core Standards", but it is very close.  For all intents and purposes, I will be referring to the CCS from this point forward.

I took the time and made a year long curriculum map that uses my own districts information for math, science, social studies and health.  If you are an employee of Davis School District in Utah, click here to the find the map on my TPT page!  If you are not an employee of Davis School District but are still using the Reading Wonders Program, follow my TPT store and look for more products!  I will be making a curriculum map that you can fill in your own information!

Along with the curriculum map, I have also made cover sheets to use for weekly homework packets.   

Each cover sheet is designed to be double sided and meant to be a nightly review for your students. 

• Each Cover Sheet Includes the following:
• Numbered Homework to help keep you organized
• Unit and Week number
• Weekly Comprehension Strategy & Skill Identified
• Weekly Phonemic Awareness Skill Identified
• Weekly Phonics/Spelling/Grammar Skills Identified
• Essential Question
• Weekly Spelling Words and Practice
• Weekly Sight Words
• Weekly Oral Vocabulary Words
• Phonics Practice
• Grammar Practice
• Writing Skills Practice
• Reading Minute Log
• Place for Student Name and Parent Signature

I like to make copy my cover sheet on a colored sheet of paper, then add 2 pages (double sided) of other types of practice my students need (math, comprehension, grammar/phonics). This ensures that my students will review the cover sheet nightly and complete one page of practice per school night. 

If you are interested in the McGraw Hill Homework Cover Sheet, please click here! 

Be sure to follow my TPT store, Teaching Tidbits by Shelly, so you can get updates when I add new projects as I finish them!

Math Fun!

I just spent the last two weeks teaching at the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) Standards Academy!  It was amazing to be among other K-2 teachers and learn so many cool ideas!

Here in Utah, we have adopted the "Common Core Standards", but of course, are open to the idea of new and changing standards throughout the coming years.  Teaching the new math standards is one of my favorite things!  It is amazing to see a child's face light up when they learned a new strategy!

If you are a fellow 1st grade teacher, you probably understand the need to have "Base Ten Blocks" in your classroom.  I have a set, but they can be very expensive and hard to manage at times with so many students.  A teacher shared this idea to make smaller, individual sets that are really affordable!

In case you can't tell, these are homemade Base Ten Blocks made from plastic lattice.  You can find this at any craft store.  Just using scissors, you are able to make "ones", "tens" and even "hundreds" and store them in a handy little three part case!  How fun, inexpensive and easy!