Vote Now: Really Good Classroom Blog

If you enjoy reading my blog, you can vote for my blog or any of the other many great blogs out there in Really Good Stuff's 2011 Really Good Classroom Blog Contest. Voting begins today, July 1st, and goes through July 7th!

Really Good Stuff Classroom Blog Contest Nominee

My blog has been nominated for the Really Good Stuff Classroom Blog Contest in the K-4 Blogs category. Voting begins on July 1st so if you get the chance, head over to their site and vote for Bishop's Blackboard: A First Grade Blog!

Classroom Library Organization and Seating

When I first started teaching I knew I wanted the students to have a comfortable place to relax and read. The problem, as with most new teachers, is there is so much I wanted and needed to buy for my class that I could not afford to buy anything fancy. But, I came up with a solution that has worked just as well. In the former school I worked in, two of the teachers had taken an old gymnastics mat, folded it up, and covered it in a sheet to create a "couch" of sorts. With that idea in mind, I bought a cheap infant crib mattress and covered it in a primary colored polka-dot sheet with the matching pillows from Target. For the back of the "couch" I used a long body pillow also from Target. As an added bonus, the "couch" is super easy to clean - throw the sheets and pillows in the washer and the crib mattress is bleachable. The colors of the "couch" match perfectly to my favorite library boxes that I purchased from Steps to Literacy. I love the boxes because I can sort the library books by theme and into fiction and non-fiction categories. It helps teach the students responsibility and organization skills as they are responsible for ensuring the books go back to the right box. Because the boxes are labeled, they also add to the print-rich environment I mentioned in my post about shoeboxes and labeling everything.

How to Raise a Book Lover

Since one of my favorite hobbies is reading and I consider myself a "book lover," I wanted to share this great article from http://www.parents.com/ about How to Raise a Book Lover. I still remember my parents taking my sister and me to the bookstore on a regular basis when we were kids to buy our favorite book series. For my older sister, it was The Baby-sitters Club. For me, being the little sister, it was The Baby-sitters Little Sister. I am pretty sure I still have those books at my parents' house somewhere.

Shoeboxes, Shoeboxes, Shoeboxes

If you've ever been in my classroom or seen pictures of it, you know I like to keep things organized. One of the easiest ways to keep a classroom organized is by storing things in plastic shoeboxes. Mostly I use the shoeboxes for math manipulatives but I also use them to store indoor recess games, magnetic letters, markers, etc. I have a box for everything - I even have a box of "party supplies." As a teammate of mine said, only I would have a party supply box but it does come in handy when a well-meaning parent brings a birthday cake at the end of the day for their child but forgets to bring something to cut it with or serve it on...we've all been there, right? A key to keeping things organized is labeling. I label everything...no, really...I label everything. I tend to use Avery Full Sheet labels because I can create any size that I need. Although I use clear boxes and the labeling isn't necessary for me to find things, labeling creates a print-rich environment for the students. Not only can the students see the objects, they see the matching word and soon the words become a part of their sight-word memory. It also creates a great word bank for the students to use when they are writing.

Garden Harvest

This is a little late as I've been enjoying my summer vacation, but here is a slideshow of the students harvesting their potato and onion garden. They worked very hard throughout the school year to plant, water, and measure their plants and it was great to see them dig up the end product of all of their hard work. The goods of their garden were donated to the local food bank.

This picture slideshow made with Smilebox

My Favorite Things About First Grade

My favorite thing about first grade is.... MY STUDENTS! This year has been an amazing year and the students have been exceptionally good. I am blessed to have been a part of their lives. This is a podcast of the students' favorite things about first grade.

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The End

To celebrate all of the accomplishments the students have made in reading over this school year, the students performed various Reader's Theaters for their family and friends. This is a podcast of their performance of "The End."

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Jack and Jill

To celebrate all of the accomplishments the students have made in reading over this school year, the students performed various Reader's Theaters for their family and friends. This is a podcast of their performance of "Jack and Jill."

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The Three Little Pigs

To celebrate all of the accomplishments the students have made in reading over this school year, the students performed various Reader's Theaters for their family and friends. This is a podcast of their performance of "The Three Little Pigs."

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Awards Ceremony

We had our annual first grade awards ceremony this morning to honor all of the students' hard work. The students received awards for academic achievement, excellent attendance, excellent citizenship, and for being "Terrific Thunderbirds." Top Reader awards were also given to the three students who turned in the most reading logs this year.  Below are a few pictures of the students with their awards.

 Terrific Thunderbirds

 Academic Achievement

Excellent Citizenship

 Excellent Attendance

Jet to Success Top Readers

Memorial Day Lessons

Due to all of the "snow" days during the winter, we had on Memorial Day to make up for lost time. To instill the importance of Memorial Day, each first grade class rotated through patriotic stations to learn more about our country and the people who protect it. We began our study of Memorial Day by reading H is for Honor which is an alphabet book about Military families. We then read "Memorial Day" from the website Reading A-Z. After introducing the meaning of Memorial Day, the students went to their first station to learn about American symbols including the bald eagle. The students then made their own bald eagle craft. They then went to Mrs. Goolsbay-Bobick's class to learn the meaning of the Pledge of Allegience and to create an American Flag craft. The students later went to a Patriotic Music and Book station with Ms. Pollard where they learned traditional patriotic songs such as "America The Beautiful" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy." They then went outside with Mrs. Linnabary to have a fun in the sun.  All of the classes learned more about through the history and importance of Memorial Day and our veterans through history videos checked out from the library.

Exemplary Celebration

Moseley is EXEMPLARY! We've known all along that Moseley is a great school and once again the school has received an "exemplary" rating from Texas Education Agency. To celebrate, our Principal played "Wild Things" for the students. The 5th grade students then performed a special dance for the school to "Celebration." Great job to all the students at Moseley - especially the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who mastered the TAKS.

Important End-of-Year Dates

Next week will be the last week of school and it will be a very busy week. A note has previously been sent home regarding these dates, but just in case you missed it, mark these important dates on your calendar:

• Pride Rally/Exemplary Celebration – Monday, May 30th at 8:20AM in cafeteria
• Memorial Day Lessons - Monday, May 30th throughout the day (bad weather make-up day)
• Awards Ceremony - Tuesday, May 31st from 9:15-10:00AM in cafeteria
• Picnic – Thursday, June 2nd from 11:30-1:30PM on east playground
• Early Dismissal – Friday, June 3rd at 1:30PM

 Parents are welcome to attend Pride Rally, the Awards Ceremony, and the Picnic.

Moseley Garden Blog

Our literacy strategist, Mrs. Reed, who also teaches gardening lessons to our students, has started a Moseley garden blog. She has posted pictures of the various plants that the students have planted and nurtured. Our grade planted onions and potatoes. The students really love going out to water the plants and see their growth. Through the garden they are learning various math, science, and social studies skills such as measurement, life cycles, energy, recycling, animal habitats, and natural resources. Thank you Mrs. Reed for all of your hard work!

Reader's Theater Performance

Thank you to all of the parents and families who were able to attend the First Grade End-of-Year Reader's Theater Performance. The students have worked so hard this year to improve their reading and it really showed today. Below are a few pictures from the performance. In case you missed the performance, the students have been working on creating a podcast of "The Three Little Pigs" which they performed at the Reader's Theater Performance. Their recording will be posted within the next few days once they are finished.

Career Day

The students learned about various careers today thanks to the many volunteers that came to visit. The students learned about how to take care of pets properly thanks to Grand Prairie Animal Services. They also learned about fire safety and the role of firemen and paramedics thanks to the Grand Prairie Fire Department. Thank you to our school counselor, Ms. Terry, for planning this fun day for the students.

Another free slideshow by Smilebox

Armadillo Rodeo

As a part of our Social Studies unit over Texas regions, we read Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett which is a story about an armadillo in the Hill Country of Texas who mistakes a red cowboy boot for a red armadillo. After reading, the students discussed the main idea of the story with their partner. They then wrote the main idea of the story and illustrated it.

Robots! Robots! Robots!

As we ended our Social Studies unit on inventors last week, the students had the opportunity to become inventors themselves. The students used two boxes (a great way to recycle) along with a table full of odds-and-ends to design and create their own robot. As a part of the process, each student had to write a plan that included the robot's name, what it was made from, how it works, and what problem it solves. We discussed that inventors need plans of their inventions with dates on them so that no one else can steal their idea. Along with the robot plans and writing, the students journaled in their inventor's notebook about as many inventions they could come up with. Who knows, maybe one day we will see their inventions and ideas in stores!

Another digital scrapbook by Smilebox

The Goat in the Garden

Last week we read the read-aloud The Goat in the Garden. The Goat in the Garden is a tale from Mexico about a couple who can not get a mischevious goat from eating all the vegetables in their garden so they recruit other animals to help them. After reading the story, the students created a Flow Map together on the dry erase board to retell the story. They then completed story element maps individually to describe the characters, setting, problem, and solution.