It's hard to believe, but our middle child, our sweet little girl, is heading off to Second Grade this fall.  All three of our kids our growing up so quickly, but Second Grade for her just came out of nowhere!  Wow!  It seems like we were just drying her tears as we dropped her off at the 4 Year old Junior Kindergarten room and now, she can do it all herself!  She lets me know that whenever I try to help her!  "I've got this mom. I can do this by myself." I know that's a good thing, but can't she just need me a little bit?  Just a tiny little bit?  Sigh.

I had her, and some of my 2nd Grade teacher friends, in mind, as I was creating some of these goodies for this 2nd Grade Back To School Packet.  I only see the end of First Grade, so I really cannot imagine just how independent those big 2nd Graders really are, but I'm certain that many of these things are going to get you 2nd grade teachers off to a great start that first week of school.  

 Second Grade Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

 Here is a list of everything that is included in this packet so you know exactly what you're getting.

 Here are some great First Day activities.  A picture for the first day to keep as a keepsake for that student portfolio you might be making as well as an ice breaker activity that gets everyone up and moving and getting to know everyone.  Most 2nd graders are reading at some level as well or can at least help one another read too, so they will be able to work through this activity with some independence and enjoy one another's company.  What a fun way to start their day together.

 Have you ever asked your student's what their "Hopes" are for themselves for the school year?  This might be something to talk about and come back to later in the week.  This is a nice way to set up some personal goals early on as well and a nice page to revisit again later in the year.

 How cute is that?!  A jelly bean jar craft, and why not!?  The actual craft is a clear jar that the kids color in colors of their own choosing.  Each jelly bean has information to help the children learn more about one another.  What a fun and colorful activity that is sure to keep those bigger, independent kids busy for a few extra minutes those first few days of school.

 We are all establishing Rules those first few days and weeks and 2nd graders needs those rules established too.  Here are two rule booklet options for you to choose from.  One large, one small but both covering important school rules.  An empty page for each rule allows you time to add on and elaborate for a more in depth discussion of the rules as the fit into your own classroom and needs.  This is a week long project for sure!  

And the fun doesn't stop there!  There are math activities galore as well as summer memories that can be saved and set aside to be revisited during Writing Workshop when someone says they have nothing to write about (that never happens!).

You can get all of this here and so much more!

Second Grade Back To School Packet First Little Lessons

And if you have a teacher friend who is looking for a Kindergarten or First Grade Back To School Packet, please share these with your friends too!  I'm all about sharing!!!

Happy School Year to All

-Mary Ellen

First Grade Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

Kindergarten Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

Oh Snap! It's Almost August!: Almost Back To School That Is!!!

How is it possible that summer is flying by so quickly?  I'm enjoying every last second of it, and all of the ice cream I can on a daily basis, but my goodness!  Can't summer just slow down a little bit?!  Sigh.  

While it seems I still have a few weeks of summer left to enjoy with my own little friends here at home, some other not so fortunate teacher friends out there have to go back sooner, so here are some great things to help you as you venture back into the classroom.  I know you'll find something here to help you as  you start back that first week or two.  

If you've been searching for that perfect Back To School First Grade Packet of Go-To items....look no further!  

I'm so excited to share this First Grade Back To School Packet with all of you! Here are just some of the many things included in this packet!  

First Grade Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

How about an adorable picture to remember that first day of school?  Just like a Polaroid from way back when, draw it, color it and tuck it away for Mom and Dad until the last day of school in each child's special portfolio.  Won't that make a a great keepsake? And when they finish draw a picture of themselves on their first day of first grade, how about going around and finding friends who like to to do some similar things as them?  This darling "Get To Know You" ice breaker is sure to put some smiles on faces on ease tensions around the room.  You might have to help out with reading some of the clues, but that will only help you get to know your students more too.  And while they're chatting away and talking with their friends, they'll be learning how to spell their friend's names too!

Now we all know every classroom needs some order and routine, so I know you'll want establish some rules...on Day 1!  This packet includes some options!  You can make a mini Rule booklet or this larger Rule Booklet which includes blank pages for the children to complete one rule on their own.  It's your choice.  This is a project to be revisited over the course of several days!

There are more fun Math Match-Up activities than I can mention!  Enough for the first couple of weeks and several numeracy related math activities to help first grade learners keep busy understanding those teen numbers for sure!

Activities for centers and independent work time when you're trying to teach them how to work in a small group or on their own.  

There is a whole mini-booklet for Numbers About Me!  How fun is that?  Here is just one preview page!  Packed full of a few pages loaded with ideas about numbers about Me! Me! Me!

And as school begins and summer comes to an end, what a wonderful time to remember those fun summer days and write down some of those memories!  Store some of them away in writing folders for story ideas for another day!

 If you're heading back to school soon, I wish you a wonderful start to your school year!  

First Grade Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

I also have a great Kindergarten Packet!

Kindergarten Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

And a fantastic Second Grade Packet as well!

Second Grade Back To School Packet FirstLittleLessons

 -Mary Ellen

Watch Out For That Wolf!

I had started writing this post while the days were still dwindling away in the school year but there was just too much left to do and I had to leave it to finish up when summer days left me with a few extra minutes of time on my hands.  The date on this Blog Post may not reflect that it is now the middle of June as I write this!  Happy Summer!

During those last days of the school year,  I had been trying to find ways to fill the hours and minutes with fun yet meaningful activities for my kiddos.  They were crawling out of their skin, anxious for summer to begin.  I couldn't blame them.  
The weather had finally warmed up and the flowers were finally blooming.  It seemed as if spring had finally come here in Michigan after a long and drawn out winter.

This activity was just fantastic in so many ways!  It was perfect for my end-of-the-year First Graders who were pretty independent and anxious to be out of their seats and moving around  a little with their friends.  This activity can be found in my 3 Little Pigs And The Big Bad Wolf Packet which is in my Tpt Store.  If  you would like to see this product, you can link back to it HERE in my Tpt Store, FirstLittleLessons.  

The Three Pigs Packet found in First Little Lessons Tpt Store

This activity incorporated the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf along with non-standard measurement and addition of three addends.  Who knew so much could happen with that Wolf and those three little pigs?  Watch out for that Wolf!

We started by reading the James Marshall version of The Three Little Pigs (The Scholastic Edition).  It is a little gruesome but always fun.  It always amazes me how many kids don't know their fairy tales anymore. If you can't find this version of the fairy tale, any version is fine.  It would be fun to compare his version to other versions of the The Three Little Pigs if you had time.  There are lots of great versions of this Fairy Tale out there. We ran out of time to do this, but would definitely do this next year!

http://www.scholastic.com

After reading, we moved right into our activity.  The kids were really excited.  I don't have pictures of the construction paper I had pre-cut for them, but I had simply cut the 18x11 larger construction paper sheets in half long-wise and then cut those strips in half again so the strips were about 2.5x18 inch strips.  Each child needed several of these strips so I just put several out at each table.  Any color would be fine but I used white.

I showed the class the page they would need to begin with.  The overall idea is that the Wolf wants to get to all three of the Pig's houses quickly so he can Huff! and Puff! and eat them all up!  You know the story!    But he's got three possible trail choices.  He needs to follow the trail that would be the shortest and fastest for a Wolf.  

The kids had to construct ALL three trials!  Be prepared to let them spread out ALL over the room and give them lots of time.  I modeled construction of one full trail first as well as the recording page, which I will post later.  Can I just say, they LOVED this activity!

Everyone got this page as well as thin strips of construction paper and I sent them off with Unifix Cubes to begin building trails!

Here are some pictures of some them enjoying their time coloring the Wolf trails before they began construction.  The joys of being a First Grader and just coloring.  Does it get any better than coloring?  Who doesn't still love coloring?

Enjoying coloring the Wolf trails before beginning construction.

Lots of coloring before construction begins.

So, while it's difficult to see here, this little guy has the first portion of the trail ready to go.  You can see the Wolf, hiding in the woods. The little boy has his stick of Unifix cubes right up to the edge of the Wolf card.  He has to measure 9 cubes over to the Straw House of the First Pig's house, which is exactly what his is doing here.  Exact measuring is going on here!  Great non-standard measurement for the end of First Grade!

Measuring is beginning from the Wolf to the First Pig's Straw House.

This little girl has already started her first trail and has glued down the Wolf to start her trail.  She is cutting out the First Pig and is getting ready to measure between the Wolf and this First Pig's Straw House.

I snapped lots of pictures of measuring as it was happening.  Here are several of the actual events as they were unfolding.  Fun times and lots of non-standard measuring in the final days of school!

Once they had measured and created their three trails, each child had to record the three measurements for each of the trails, onto their recording sheet for the Wolf.  That poor Wolf was starving waiting for them to figure out which trail he should take!  Here are some pictures of some of the children recording that information.

Aside from having to measure accurately and attach each house along the trails at the end of each measurement, each child had to then record those measurements from each trail onto this recording sheet.  You can see it above and below.  

If the first measurement on Trial 1 said to measure 9 Unifix cubes, the child records 9 in the first circle.  If the second measurement said to measure 5 Unifix cubes to the Straw House, the child then records 5 in the second circle and so on.  Additionally, the child records the third measurement.  This creates a 3-Digit addition equation which aligns with Common Core practices for First Grade.  

Once the children completed the equations for all three trails, their final job was to determine which trail would be the shortest and fastest trail for the Wolf to follow to gobble up those Pigs!  He is hungry after all!  Should the Wolf follow Trail 1?  Yes or No?

Should he follow Trail  2 or 3?  Only you can decide by constructing all 3 trails and determining THAT answer for yourself!

Here are some pictures of our final products!  This was NO fluff project!  It involved determination, skill in non-standard measurement, addition of 3-digits, comparison of numbers/inequalities and perseverance.  I could NOT be more proud of how hard my class worked on this project and what a great job they did on their accuracy in measurement and adding.  They were very worried about that Wolf!

 

 

You can grab all of the things you would need to complete this project in your own classroom right HERE.

There was much more in this packet that we just didn't get to but I know I'd like to spend more time doing next year.  Here are some of the other fantastic things to with those three pigs and that crazy and very bad wolf!

While this is just one example of a Compare/Contrast activity, this page allows children an opportunity to discuss in depth, the similarities and differences between the homes of those Pigs!  These discussions might lend themselves to good conversations about why we build our homes out of the materials that we use!  And by the way, where exactly does that Wolf live anyway?  That might just make a great STEAM activity!  Build a home for the Wolf!  Why not?!

And speaking of the Wolf!  Here is a fun Huff and Puff Science activity that is included in the packet as well.  The Wolf has got a lot going on in this packet!  This time, just like in the fairy tale, he huffs and puffs.  But he's not blowing down any houses.  He's blowing things around.

There is a variation to Huff and Puff in the packet, but you'll have to check out my link in my Tpt Store to find out more about that!  I can't give away all my secrets!

There are lots of other great things in this packet and too many more to mention in this Blog Post.  I hope you'll come visit my Store and check out this packet.  The trail there is direct, but watch out for that Wolf!!!!  Happy Summer!

Mary Ellen Merglewski

First Little Lessons

Mitten Match-up

It's the season for mittens!  What could be more inviting and fun than matching up mittens while learning math facts?  Problem solving and engaging activities are all here in the 
Mitten Match-Up game.

I wanted to create something that I could use with my First Graders to build fast and familiar recall of those Addition and Subtraction facts to 10 and 20.  After I copied the various pages on colored paper of my choosing, I cut them out and laminated them for years of mileage.  It's a lot of work to prep some things, so I made sure to  do it well so it would last being shared among many small hands.

The idea is simple.  Sort the various addition and subtraction equations to their matching mittens.  

The Mitten Match-up Game.  Complete with mittens to sort and printables for accountability.

There are many mittens with subtraction facts.  They include subtraction facts to 10 and 20, but you could even divide them up for facts up to 5 or 12 if that was the stage your students needed.  I actually did divide the equation mittens up based on need and understanding so that everyone could be participating in this activity in a way that was appropriate for their needs.  
Some kids got facts to 5 and only mittens that were equal to 3 and 4 (as an example), while others sorted out mittens with facts to 12, but maybe specifically only 9, 10, 11 and 12.   So many options!

Mitten Subtraction Equation Fact Pages

Here is an example of the mittens with addition facts.  Again, these are done through 10 and 20, so they could be sorted and used for children who need to work on particular addition facts.

Mitten Addition Equation Fact Pages

Here are the larger mittens with the answers on them.  The smaller mittens with the equations match up with one of these.  Mittens with 0-20 are included in the set.

These are the Match-up mittens to use when sorting.
Students match an addition or subtraction fact to the appropriate larger sized mitten.

Recording pages are made that match up with all equation mittens and help with accountability.

Mitten Match-up Recording Pages

Here is a blank Match-up mitten fact page which enables teachers to differentiate the task for their students.

Blank Mitten Match-up page for differentiation.

 While it's important for children to start to have immediate recall of all those facts, it equally important for them to begin to understand the relationship between and adding and subtracting. So if you're working on fact families, like I am, you might like these. We've been using them not only for sorting, but when solving story problems.  

I did have to copy these onto a color I wanted as well, and cut them out and laminate them, but I know the time I invested will be well worth it in the coming years.

I haven't given all of the sets to all of my kids.  Instead, I've given four Fact Families and their matching addition and subtraction sentence to a small group of children and had them sort them out and record their findings.  This is one activity that keeps them engaged and has been helping them make those beginning connections to adding and subtracting numbers and how they relate to one another when solving specific equations.

Fact Family mittens with equations.

Recording page for Fact Family Mitten Sort.

One other great feature to these mittens, is that they can be used for many months.  I've only just started using them in my classroom, but I know that they will have a purpose for the next few month of winter.

If you like this product, see it HERE, or visit my TpT Store, FirstLittleLessons, for lots of other great games and printables.

I hope it's warm where you are. Please send sunshine our way in cold and snowy Michigan!

Stay Warm!

A Sprinkle of Winter

I've been finding my way through the twisting, winding road that is Tpt as well as the world of creating things.  I'm enjoying it....most of the time.  It's difficult when you don't have anyone to turn to when you're trying to figure out how things work, but I'm getting there. 

The good news for anyone reading this, is that I keep having ideas of things I'd like to do and make for the kids in my own classroom and have been trying them out and am sharing with you!  I get a lot of feedback from those little people I spend my days with, and it's almost always positive!  Win-Win!

I've been piloting a great Math program this year in my room, but still like to give my First Graders varying experiences in math while having those experiences be meaningful at the same time.
This is the time of year when everyone is enjoying the middle of winter but needs to have a pick me up since we're all stuck inside so often.  My Winter Workout packet of printables is not only fun, but engaging and differentiated.   That's something to smile about!      

Check out this great Winter themed packet of print and go pages.
It's full of varying stages of development so you can differentiate with
ease.  Check it out in my TPT store HERE!

Several pages include sorting facts that equal a particular number. The numbers get progressively higher so you have options over several days.  And the kids love this because they're already excited about winter and the cold snow!

Sort the equation pages encourage children to use varying strategies to
solve the equation and then sort into appropriate columns.
There are several printable pages to choose from.

Now, if you're class is like most, you've got little ones with varying abilities in all curricular areas.  Math is the same.  I've got kids who need to sort equations to 5 and kids who can sort equations in the hundreds!  It's amazing to say the least.  This packet includes several pages like this one.  The child has to figure out how to sort the equations and then be able to explain her thinking.  This might be perfect for a few of the kids in your class and certainly something all of the kids in all of our classes should be working toward.

How are these equations the same or different?
Students have to solve and make decisions and then explain their thinking.

This next printable takes some thinking on the part of the child.  They are presented with two numbers and need to make equations that will correctly equal either number. Then, they cut and glue their snowball in the appropriate place.  For some, this will become an successful and independent activity, but others will gain confidence the more they practice this concept.  

You've got the answer!  Now create equations that are true and match the answers.
 Solve, sort and glue.

I know that each morning in my classroom, we're solving a number story.  We're constantly checking our answer to be sure it's correct.  Children need to be able to determine if an equation is true or false.  In this case, they need to determine if the equation on the mitten is equal to the number on the penguins tummy or not and color the mitten orange or blue, accordingly.  They love this!  Several of my kids got out double ten frame boards and unifix cubes to solve each equation while other counted on or back in their minds.  It's fun to see their varying stages of understanding progress.

Solve and determine if the equations match the number on the penguins tummy.

We haven't enjoyed outside recess in a week.  Afternoons can feel long.  These are great options to give your kids to make the long, cold winter engaging and fun.

Visit my Tpt Store, FirstLittleLessons, to see this and other fun-filled products to help you put a little sparkle in these long winter days!

Visit FirstLittleLessons here.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

People who just now know that I'm creating things ask me how I have time to do this and work full time and take care of my family.  My answer is simple.  I'm just enjoying doing this (for now) and it helps me forget my worries.  I'm having fun creating new things for my kids at school while hoping to share with others and make learning fun for kids.  It doesn't consume all of my time but it's a fun alternative to watching television later in the evening.

So here are some printables with an Autumn/Halloween theme with a focus on some word families.  I've used several of these while teaching my own students about different word families and sent one or two as homework as well.  They have loved them and I hope you will too!  Check out Spooky Spelling in my Tpt Store.

I'm most excited about Jack And The Beanstalk!  This is full of all kinds of great skills:  Nouns, Verbs, Retelling, Sequencing, ABC Order, Text Evidence, Early Math Skills and so much more.  All of this wrapped around the Fairy Tale Jack And The Beanstalk.  If you study Fairy Tales, these printables and activities might be a great addition to your Fairy Tale file.  Take a minute to preview Jack and The Beanstalk in my Tpt Store.

I hope you'll be able to use either of these in your classroom.  Enjoy!
Mary Ellen Merglewski
First Little Lessons