Check Out this Blog....It's a Keeper!

Tammy at Klinger Cafe is having a contest with some great prizes...
Hop over and join the fun....you might even get some great ideas while you're at it :)

While your out and about hopping....stop by

Oceans of First Grade Fun

she's got some great ideas for Tippy Toe Chick Go!

Enjoy,

Llamas

We were recently challenged to do some writing involving llamas ....

We used some of the Llama Llama stories to get us in "the mood"...

But I wanted the writing to be more of nonfiction flavor ...

So I put together a little powerpoint to share some information with the kids....

You can download it Here

I used a tree map to help the kids organize their facts for the story....

and just in case you need to work on some adjectives....

and a wonderful team member found this great site with a cool video about a llama farm...

Meet Me at the Corner

Enjoy,

Math Practice with a Flash!

I LOVE   LOVE   LOVE the share for fact practice at Queen of the First Grade Jungle!
She's taken a great outlook on the technology aspect and gotten "GREEN" in the process.
I can't wait to try this with my firsties next week!  I know they're gonna love using
the powerpoint she's sharing on her post right now!  They think they're 
Double Masters right now!  What a great way to review and practice!
Thanks for sharing such a great idea!

Pig's Egg Unit Winner

Congratulations to Number 11

You've won the free Pig's Egg Literacy Unit.

I've emailed you the document today.

Please let me know if it doesn't work for you :)

Not sure what Pig's Egg is...

Check out my post about this cute book HERE...

Happy Monday back after Spring Break!

Enjoy,

Linky Party for K-2 Blogs...don't forget the Pig's Egg too!

   Jeannie Partin at Kindergarten Lifestyle is hosting a linky party for 

K-2 blogs that you can follow along and find some great ideas from...

I've linked "The Swamp" up with her party to share in the fun.Be sure to hop over and take a look at all the great blog info being linked up with her partyand follow Jeannie on Pinterest as she'll be creating a board of all the blogs she's found!

Don't forget to hop over to the post on Pig's Egg and comment for a chanceto win a copy of the word working literacy unit to go along with this great story by Katherine Sully!

You can also download this freebie from there :)

Hope you find some great things to use!

Pig's Egg Word Work Literacy Unit

*Find the Worm HFW game        *ABC Order with HFW

*Making Words with Pig       *Sentence Scramble

*Art project templates to create Pig and the Turnip

*Writing project ideas for two stories

*Graphic organizers        *Writing Paper

Spring Break was a wonderful time to get creative!  

And when you're spending time with the person who gifted you

with the creativity ... it can go wild!

My mom and I worked together for the activities available in this 

word working literacy unit based on the story of

"Pig's Egg" by Katherine Sully.

It all started with the words...

"Hey Mom,  take a look at this pig...I'd like to have the kids create this pig for a writing project..."  and mom took it from there!  

She created the pig patterns along with a turnip you can have the kids craft.  The idea behind the writing is to get the kids to think of something else that might have "hatched" from Pig's Egg!

I went a little crazy with some of the word working ideas that you can use while working with this story!  But it was too much fun!

Although the literacy unit is for sale at my TpT and TN shops...

I've created this sequencing page to give away for Free :)

After reading "Pig's Egg", students put the story in sequence by cutting and gluing the pieces to a sheet of construction paper

....they could also illustrate their favorite part of the story on the other side of the paper

...create a flipbook with the sentences and illustrate each one

... use the sentences at a station to put them into proper order instead of copying for each child

.....attach a clear velcro dot to the pages in the book that match each statement

....have the students match the sentence to the picture by attaching it to the velcro dot

... any other ideas?

I had Mom help me create the youtube movie for the story so I can upload it to my iPads and iPods for the kids to listen to during the Listening Station ... It's also an AR book .... bonus!

You'll need to get your own copy for the words and just because it's the cutest little book I've seen in a long time...Amazon has it available from different vendors...

NOTE:  Amazon has two books by the name of Pig's Egg...

This unit is based on Katherine Sully's book...

Hope you enjoy our joined efforts to bring you this adorable unit to go with an adorable story by Katherine Sully!  I had a ton of fun working with Mom.  She celebrated her 72nd birthday while I was visiting...and she just keeps getting better and better with age! 

In honor of her birthday, I'm giving away a free copy of the literacy unit she helped design.  Leave a comment with your email address so I can send you the packet if you win!  I'll choose the random winner on Monday as a little "perk me up" for the beginning of the fourth quarter and the end of Spring Break !

Happy Birthday, Mamaw!

Thanks for all you do for me and the kids!

Can't wait for them to see this one!

Enjoy Friends,

Luck o The Swam Goes To...and a Teacher Cupcake Day!

 Hope to see some friends at the Cover To Cover Cafe in Arlington, TN today 

for a Cupcake get together....

I'll be there at 11:00 to get first dibs on a yummy cupcake for St. Patty's Day!

They also have soup, sandwiches, and salads!

Bonus.....they'll have some books on sale for 50% off today!!!!

Yeah!

From Memphis...Bartlett...Lakeland...Cordova... and anywhere else below Arlington....

Take 70 to Arlington

Turn right at Quintard Rd....

You can also turn right at Collierville - Arlington Rd.

Winner! Winner!

Congratulations to Kim

at Teach-Play-Smile 

She's won the wonderful upgrade to a premium membership to Spelling City!

If you haven't hopped over to her blog…go check it out!  
She's got some wonderful ideas to share!

Blog Award!

Thanks to Lauren at The Weekly Hive...

for awarding me the Top 10 Blog Award….

I could pass it along to a TON of blogs…but thought I'd choose a couple you may not have hopped over to see in awhile….

In order to get your award you need to....

1. grab your button.

2. Thank the person who gave you it.

3. Blog about others who deserve it. 

Have a wonderful St. Patty's Day....

Early Bird Work Linky Party

       

I'm experimenting with some ways to "spice up" the early bird work in my classroom.

I've tried journaling, but need a little more to push my firsties through this last quarter.

I've created some slides to project onto the board as they come in for early bird work.

These are specific to the words and grammar skills in Reading Street's Unit 4 Story 5

"Peter's Chair" and the Power Standards review for some of our math skills...

Download the pdf of the power point here and let me know what you think....

Any suggestions on how to change it .... add to it... take away from it...???

What do you do for Early Bird Work in your class?

Join the linky party....blog about your early bird work ideas and then

link back to share what you do with us !

Don't blog...consider leaving a comment to share what you do 

for Early Bird Work in your class!

Can't wait to see what you have to share!

PS....don't forget to hop over and comment so you can join the give away for a free Premium Membership to Spelling City ....I love this web program!

Luck O the Swamp Give Away!

Top O the Morning to you!

Thanks to VocabularySpellingCity.com, 

I am able to offer one lucky follower a free Premium Membership Upgrade!

I really do love this program and all the benefits of the Premium Membership...

You can read about how I use the benefits of the Premium Membership HERE.

source

To join the giveaway for the Premium Membership Upgrade:

1. Become a follower of my blog...

Swamp Frog First Graders 

and leave a comment with your email 

to let me know you've joined The Swamp!

2. Already a Follower:  

leave a comment to let tell me know that you follow with your email.

3.  Become a new Follower on my Twitter... by clicking on the 

Follow me on Twitter button in the side bar 

Leave a comment with your email.

4.  Become a new Follower on Pinterest... by clicking on the

Follow me on Pinterest button in the side bar 

Leave a comment with your email.

source

Good Luck to all! 

 I'll choose a random winner on 

St. Patrick's Day!

source

Spelling City Premium Membership!

I've been using spellingcity.com for several years as a free web resource to help my students work with their spelling words during computer time at school and for homework.  About two weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to upgrade to the Premium Membership and

I  AM  IN  LOVE !

Free Clipart Pictures

Spelling City has always been a part of my "Homework Activity Board" choices.  

However, I have never had a way to track the games being played 

or the tests the kids were taking using the free version. With the Premium Membership, 

I can login and check on their progress without a hitch :)   

I love the ability to give students assignments to complete each week t

hat are differentiated and suited to their individual needs.  

Better still....being able to track their progress and see where they are showing success 

helps me see which skills might need more reinforcement in small groups.  

There are more games and activities available to the students with the Premium Membership.  

Two student favorites right now are ...

I particularly like the speedy speller as it combines keyboarding skills with the spelling of the words.  

I find the kiddos are more aware of where the letters are located on the keyboard after playing this activity just for a couple of weeks.  They also get a little excited when they get to add their initials to the gameboard for having the fastest time of the day :)

Having the students take a "Pre-Test" using the Premium Membership allows me to access a gradebook and see which words they got correct on the first try, which they had to try more than once, and which they have yet to attempt.  

                         

                                       

We use spellingcity.com during our computer lab time 

as well as a portion of our time with our laptop cart.  

Parents are able to access their child's information and 

reports for their assignments are easy to see at a glance.  

Here's what a parent had to say about our new membership upgrade...

 My child is "really enjoying the premium games, especially Letter Fall.  She has been asking to play that game since we had access to Spelling City, but couldn't until now.  

Pros- she seems more engaged in learning her spelling words because of the new game choices.  

So far, I have no cons.  It's very easy to access and navigate."

I tried to put together a screen recording of the things I like about 

the Premium Membership in Spelling City...it may take a moment to load on your computer.

Enjoy,