Main idea and theme can be some of the most difficult topics to teach my first graders, so I thought I would share some of my favorite picture books I use to teach these skills in my classroom. Favorite main idea and theme read alouds:   Sheila Rae, The Brave by Kevin Henkes This story […]

Games, games, games. My students love games! You may know this already because of the many times I talk about using games in my math block. I find that phonics is another area where partner games can help tremendously with a student’s fluency. After students learn the sounds of their short vowels, they can practice their […]

Fractions in the first grade classroom can be a CHALLENGE for sure, but I like to use a lot of hands on manipulatives and real life situations for students to see the parts and the whole of each fraction. While CCSS only requires first graders to identify 1/2 and 1/4 of shapes, I like to […]