First Grade Teachers Chatboard

corinne/ny You probably only need a few. Most children come in as non readers or reading at a beginning level...DRA 3 or 4 is just about average. Of course, some explode later. Once in a while you might get a few readers, but often the comprehension needs work.

Aug 4, 2013

How do you handle loose teeth? (students, not mine)

by winkie

Aug 9, 2013

I'm an old dog that needs to learn a new trick on handling a loose tooth in the classroom. :o) What do you do with students that have a loose tooth and proceed to wiggle it.all.day.long. Fingers in their mouth, can't do their work, telling me it hurts. Pretty soon everyone else that has a tooth that is even slightly loose is wiggling theirs too. It...See More

(2)

patience! At every elementary I've ever worked at the school nurse had little plastic tooth necklaces for them to put teeth in after she pulled them for them. When kids complain, I send them to the nurse to get it pulled. Sometimes I let them dampen a paper towel and chew on it, or even have given them a plastic straw. It's part of the age they are, and they...See More

Dec 20, 2013

hailey I guess you have kinders or first grade... I tell them I'm sorry but I'm not a dentist and can't help with their teeth. They need to tell caretaker at home what is going on and let them handle it. As far as fingers in mouth and not doing work I would just develop some little signal with them that says "hands away from your mouth and let's get your ...See More

Aug 10, 2013

math question

by Bwhite

Aug 10, 2013

I am new to teaching first grade from a middle school science class. I am curious how some of you pace and layout your daily math lessons.

jo/ma Here's my math schedule...

>15 min- Calendar Math (review of many math skills).

>20 min- Whole group lesson and guided practice.

>15 min- Lower group with me (more guided practice, do practice page with help as needed, address any problem areas). Higher group works independently (practice page then a math work s...See More

Aug 10, 2013

Hard is Easy, Easy is Hard

by Mom

Aug 10, 2013

I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not secure with short vowel sounds and also has some trouble with consonan...See More

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No Suggestions?? I am also a mom. I just read this post and then looked for responses/suggestions. I was surprised to see that it received only 2 responses. Maybe that's the trouble....teachers don't know what to do when their students have trouble reading! Sad, because they should!!

On 8/10/13, Mom wrote:

> I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a...See More

Aug 21, 2013

Vet Teacher On 8/10/13, Mom wrote: > I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering > second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade > but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- > 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great > comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not > secure with short...See MoreOn 8/10/13, Mom wrote: > I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a little girl entering > second grade. She was an adequate reader in first grade > but always a little behind....left first grade at an H (13- > 14)instructional level. She is smart and has great > comprehension but has trouble with decoding...still not > secure with short vowel sounds and also has some trouble > with consonant blends. She had delayed speech because she > had undiagnosed fluid in her ears and didn't get tubes in > her ears until mid-Kindergarten. Currently she is reading > at level J (17-19) instructional level. She has been > reading all summer so she doesn't fall behind and is ready > for second grade. My question is...I noticed that when > she's reading she gets stuck on little words like "bug" but > can easily read words like "delicious" and "bewildered". > She tells me that the easy books are hard and the hard > books are easy. I can't give her an explanation. Can > anyone?

This is a new one on me and I've been teaching 25+ years and teaching children to read for as many years. I can tell you that children with fluid in the ears and/or hearing issues are sometimes delayed in their reading levels. But that she can read multi-syllabic words and can't decode some simple words is - to say the least - unusual.

If she were a student in my class, I would be relieved and far less concerned because she can in fact read complex words and that suggests the simple words will also come to her. There are people who are not good decoders and all of their life. Nature did not intend us all to read by decoding. If she is 'sighting' complex words like 'bewildered' without decoding - that's impressive.

If she emotionally needs an explanation for her reading style, tell her her brain works so very well and with reading complex words that it might skip the simple words as not being challenging enough. It is entirely true that some kids who otherwise have no reading issues do skip or stumble on the simple words as they read and focus in on the words of greater complexity and richness.

Aug 23, 2013

We don't have to teach, we GET to!

by John

Aug 11, 2013

This is my mindset going into this school as last year went horrible! I needed this message to change my attitude! Just wanted to share.

DM We don't wake up to an alarm clock...we wake up to an opportunity clock!!

On 8/11/13, John wrote: > This is my mindset going into this school as last year went > horrible! I needed this message to change my attitude! Just > wanted to share.

Sep 14, 2013

6 traits + 1

by ruth

Aug 17, 2013

ros and cons of 6 traits +1

are we texting? yes there are

On 8/17/13, ruth wrote:

> pros and cons of 6 traits +1

Aug 17, 2013

COMMON CORE MATH ENGAGED VIDEOS & MUCH MORE

by Dan Hoffman

Aug 18, 2013

You will discover the main page is loaded with many lessons You will uncover a green button that says (Facilitator videos Flipped Classroom) There you will notice many videos that contain worksheets and Smart Board lessons to assist you in teaching math. You will also encounter a link to Math common core. Each domain contains a video supported by a...See More

you forgot the link to the site On 8/18/13, Dan Hoffman wrote:

> You will discover the main page is loaded with many lessons

> You will uncover a green button that says (Facilitator

> videos Flipped Classroom) There you will notice many videos

> that contain worksheets and Smart Board lessons to assist

> you in teaching...See More

Aug 18, 2013

A collection of GREAT back to school, open house ideas

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Aug 19, 2013

Dozens of ideas to make back-to-school run smoothly, produce a welcoming & efficient classroom atmosphere, and catapult Open House out of the realm of ordinary. Contributors include Harry and Rosemary, Sue Gruber, Bill Page, Marv Marshall and teachers like you!

Four Blocks Literacy

by Pam

Aug 20, 2013

Does anyone still use Four Blocks?

If so I have several of the books to sell.

I also have The Daily 5 and CAFE books. And.... Reading With Meaning by Debbie Miller Making the Most of Small Groups by Debbie Diller

[email removed]

New resource for group projects

by Lori Anderson

Aug 20, 2013

Hey everyone!

Here is a project I did in the late spring with the littleones. I have been using lego sets from pleygo.com to get the kids to work in groups on lego creations. Its great, the kids loved it!

I have been using lego creator series...easy to build and the kids can play with their creation after.

Lori