Love, Life, & Teaching

Since I snagged your attention with my new bling, 

I would like to announce that I'm engaged!  

For those of you who know me in the real world, this really comes as no surprise.  In fact, you are probably saying "finally!"  I've been in love wtih this man for a really long time. 

I thought it was perfect timing since I saw this shirt floating around Pinterest.  Maybe my fiance (love saying that) saw it too and it encouraged him to pop the question!

Here's my fiance Brad.  He came to make my students wild and crazy visit my class this week and bring me lunch. 

This is me again on Field Day.  I'm on one of those itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow rolling squares.  You, of course, can't even see a bit of that thing but I promise it's under me.  This look on my face, 

it's determination.  I get a little competitive around the little ones on FUN DAY.

  

See this little guy? He's one of the countless reasons I love what I do everyday. He's reading.  Really reading his little heart out.  Does it get more precious than a picture like this? I'm always taken back a little when I sit down to do my final assessments and I see how far my students come.  He is one that I get a little teary eyed just thinking how hard he has worked for me.

Who doesn't love some praise?  I sure do.  This is a sweet note from my AP about my reading levels.  I wonder if our administrators know how important little notes and Post-Its like these are? 

This one goes into my extra special file! 

These two gals are my life savers and dear friends.  As it turns out, planning a wedding is hard work and a tad bit stressful. Without these two, I would be lost.  Did I mention that they are two of the most talented teachers ever?! Really, I want to be them when I grow up.  I'm also realizing we are in need of a girls night soon since this is the most recent picture I seem to be able to find and it's from October.  

Janah - the one on the right moved to another school this year.  I miss her dearly and there are so many days I wish she were right down the hall.  The good news is that we have made the effort to stay in touch.  It's challenges like that when you learn who your true friends are.  She is a lady of many talents and she will be the creative eye behind my wedding too! I'm a lucky girl.  

See the one on the left? That's Trish. I have a feeling you will meet her soon.  I think I have finally worn her down and she is going to enter the blog world this summer.  In the meantime, you can follow her on Instagram HERE.

She is going to rock the blog world with her writing ideas and her talents.  She was just honored as Teacher of the Year at my school and I am soooo happy for her.  She is so deserving of this honor.

Next year is on every teachers mind and in case you're wondering what direction Teach It With Class is headed....

I will be teaching a multi-age Grade 1-2 class.  I will be looping with 12 of my first graders (going to 2nd grade) and adding about 12 high first graders. I'm so excited for this new challenge and I can't wait to get started creating for 2nd grade specific skills!

Soda Shop - Long O practice & a Sale

Get your shopping carts ready! Another huge Teachers Pay Teachers sale is underway.  Use Coupon Code TAD13 at check out to get 28% off your total order at my store.  The sale will run all day Tuesday and Wednesday.  

My newest unit Soda Shop {Long O focus} was just posted in case you want to check it out.  Since my firsties have become so independent, they fly through their work.  It is my new goal to make multi-step activities for them to create and apply their skills.  

Special thanks to Beth at Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs for the TPT sales day graphic above!  I will definitely be supporting her during the sale. 

#teachertalktuesday (instagram)

INSTAGRAM

I've had an Instagram account for awhile now.  Let's be honest though...the buttons on the app don't have words and I just keep pushing them until something happens.  I eventually get it together enough to post a picture.  I now have a handful of followers and whenever someone gives me a little love (likes my photo) my heart does a little flip flop!  It seems to me that ALL the teachers of the world are taking over Instagram with amazing classroom pictures and even REAL LIFE pictures.  Of course teachers love to follow other teachers so I've teamed up with this Teacher Talk Tuesday linky.  

Oops! I just realized I need to add my Teach It With Class graphic! 

My new addiction...Shakology! My teacher friend Mrs. Crow (who I think I almost have convinced to start her own blog) and I have been drinking a shake for lunch for about 2 months now.  It has made a world of difference in our health/fitness goals! 

The goslings that live across the street from my neighborhood.  I just love these little guys and always stop to watch them as they grow and hobble along. 

There are just a few of my favorite/most recent Instagram pictures.  I hope you'll consider following me so we can catch a glimpse into each others lives. 

Follow me 

Teach It With Class on Instagram

Link up at What the Teacher Wants and use the hash tag #teachertalktuesday

Winner! Winner!

Congratulations to Meredith Gilbert.  You are the winner of the pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies.  Please check your e-mail.  I need some information from you.  Thank you to all who entered.  Please make sure that you follow me on Facebook.  I am working on a big giveaway for Facebook followers coming soon! Scroll to the top of my page and you will see the Facebook link in the top right corner. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of my followers new and old for following me.  Your e-mails and stories that you share with me warm my heart.  

Here is my advice for you for the week! 

Blender Blend Unit

My first graders need some extra help with consonant blends.  I usually use my large blender to introduce the blends along with a song that I have.  A few simple activities and this usually does the trick. Not so much for this particular group.  I have learned this year, that everything that was typical of years past is not typical of this class.  At times this can be a good thing but in the case of teaching blends it's not 

I created this unit with all types of learners in mind.  I have included whole group activities/ideas, small group possibilities, literacy station materials, independent work, assessment pages, and my favorite a blender craftivity!  Check out  the pictures below to see some highlights from the unit.  You can click on the cover picture or click here to be taken to the unit. 

Each student can make their own smaller blender! You pick the skill based on your levels!

Please note that my "Blender Blast" Craftivity is included in the larger blend unit but  can be purchased separately here. 

Pencil Sharpener Giveaway

It's your lucky day! Classroom Friendly Supplies is giving away one of their amazing pencil sharpeners to one of my lucky followers.  If you don't already own one of these you are missing out.  It is by far the best pencil sharpener on the market.  I actually don't mind sharpening pencils anymore.  If you want to read my complete review of the pencil sharpener you can check out my blog post here. What color would you choose if you won?  

Black

Green

Blue

Red

Please enter using Rafflecopter below.  If you have any questions or comments, leave a comment on the blog post. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RtI Interventions

My school has begun RtI officially this year.  I am the "intervention specialist" for our school's RtI team (sounds fancy I know!).  In my research, I have discovered that every school seems to implement RtI a little bit differently.  Some schools have RtI teams who help classroom teachers while other schools have teams that actually work with students.  At those schools, the RtI member's job and title is actually as an RtI interventionist or team member.  At my school, I'm on the team that helps the classroom teacher (in addition to being a full time classroom teacher myself).  

I could go on and on about RtI its processes and the research behind the idea.  Instead, I would rather discuss the student and the intervention.  In a nutshell, when a student struggles, the classroom teacher needs to figure out why and then do something about it.  I often help other teachers at my school figure out in a systematic way, why a student is struggling in a specific area.  From there, we design interventions specific to that student to help them grow in that one isolated area.  Since K-2 students often struggle in similar skill sets, I have created intervention units to help the classroom teacher (or interventionist) work on RtI based interventions.  The cover of each unit tells you if the unit is for you.  

My units include specific details about how to do the intervention and how to assess and collect data for the intervention. When searching for resources for RtI I discovered that many of the units I was able to find were for the assessment only.  None of the units included the materials to do the intervention and then the assessment materials too.  I created units that have both so that everything you need is in one unit.  The units also align with each other.  This means if you are working on multiple interventions with multiple students, your data collection process will be simplified!

I have also included pictures of myself working with students within each unit to help ensure understanding of what an intervention is.  

Recording the Interventions {all charts and graphs included in each unit}

Assessing the Student 

I hope that if you need help with students who are struggling with Letters & Sounds, CVC words, or High Frequency Words that you will consider my units.  If you have any questions about how I use these, feel free to leave a comment or email me.  I would also love to hear about how RtI is implemented in your school. 

SUPER Sale!

My Teachers Pay Teachers store will be on Sale Sunday! Use the coupon code "SUPER" for 28% off your purchase! 

Below are some quick links to my store to save you some time.  Just add items to your wishlist and you will be all set. 

Just click on the picture to head to that product.

I hope you had fun shopping! I'm headed out now to have some fun with my teacher friends.   

120th Day of School Party!

Call me crazy, but I'm not going to celebrate the 100th day of school this year.  Instead, I will be celebrating the 120th Day of School! Common Core for first grade extends the counting sequence to 120. In an attempt to show my little ones that there are in fact numbers past 100 I am going to embrace the number 120.  Of course we have worked with numbers to 120 all year.  However, I have a few that are still struggling.  This extra focus on numbers to 120 will really be helpful.  The 100th day of school is usually one of my favorite days.  I start the day off by filling the classroom with 100 balloons and the fun learning begins from there.  I have created a unit to compliment our 120th Day of School celebration.  

You can check it out here or click on any picture.  

I needed a little help...I promised my dog Toby some extra treats if he would just work with me a little!