Veteran's Day Project

Veteran's Day is this Friday, November 11, 2011.  In first grade, we have been talking about our veterans and other community heroes.   As a special project, I contacted a friend from high school who is in the Air Force.  She gave me the contact information for Sgt. Brewster, a soldier currently stationed in Afghanistan.   We wrote letters to Sgt. Brewster and then students were recorded reading their letters using Voicethread.  I sent the book of letters over to him a few weeks ago and I included the link for the Voicthread, so he could hear the students actual voices.  I have not heard from him yet, but hope I will soon!

Here is our final project:



Have a great week!


Jill

Halloween Favors!

I saw these adorable Halloween favors while I was on Pinterest a few weeks ago .  I couldn't resist making them for my own class and I decided to add some jokes to mine!  The original idea came from The Idea Room.  To see the original post and her other mummy ideas, click here.

These are the mummies that I made!

To make these cute little mummy chocolate bars, you need the following:

Like I said, I decided to add some jokes to mine, just to add a little something extra. This is what mine looked like when they were done.

If you want the jokes, I have already made them so that you can download and print them yourself.  To get the jokes, click below:

Why don't mummies take vacation?

Why was the little ghost scared?

What is a mummy's favorite game?

What is a mummy's favorite kind of music?

Why didn't the mummy have any friends?

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

Jill Calkins

The Clip Chart!

If you are unfamiliar with the clip-chart behavior management system, this is the post for you! If you are looking for some fun ideas to use as rewards, then you might want to keep reading this post as well! I absolutely love my clip chart, but more importantly....my kids are OBSESSED with it! It really helps us to stay on track with making positive choices throughout the day. Here is a picture of the clip chart in our room:

This is how it works. Each day, the students start on the green "Ready to Learn" section. They are challenged to try and get to "Outstanding" by going "above and beyond" what is expected. What do you mean, Mrs. C? I mean that when students are "caught" helping others, are the first student/group to get their materials out, they have a neat desk, etc., they get to "clip up." They love to "clip up" because this is done publicly and they are super proud of themselves.

Now, when they are not following the rules, they have to clip down. I do this privately and I am the one who goes and moves their clip (I don't want to get into that battle). The beauty of the system is that I can quickly let them know they are not following the rules and they can "turn their day around" at any point in time.

Each day, the students color in their behavior chart that I created and it goes home in their Take Home Folder for mom and dad to see. You can download the chart here:

Every time students make it to 'Outstanding' (or if they go beyond 'Outstanding' and they get to put their clip on my lanyard), I put a tally mark on their clip.

Once they get five marks, they get to choose from the "Good Behavior Rewards Catalog." They get so stinkin' excited when they get to do this! I got the idea from Christie at First Grade Fever and I love it! No more buying prizes and spending all kinds of money on pencils, erasers, bookmarks, etc!

To download the catalog that she made, click here. I added a few more when I put mine together. To see a slideshow of mine, watch below:

I hope you find this post useful and at some point, you give the clip-chart system a try! I am sure you will love it as much as I do!

Jill Calkins

Wonderful Whisper Phones!

Today was a pretty exciting day in Room 102! We received our brand-new, hands-free whisper phones! I absolutely love them....and so do the kids! This particular model is really nice because students don't have to hold the whisper phone up to their ears while they are reading/writing. They are a little pricey, but a good investment, if you ask me.

If you are interested in pricing this model, this was the best price I could find at Comfort Market: click here.

The only thing is...they are all now saying they want to be telemarketers when they grow up. :)

Mrs. Calkins

Reading Guides

I hate to pay for something when I know good and well that I can make exactly what I want. I decided to make these nifty reading guides for my students and they LOVE them! I copied the template onto colored cardstock, cut out the "reading window," and laminated them to make them sturdier.

If you would like to use them with your students, click here:

Mrs. Calkins