September Morning Riddles-Reading & Writing

Good Morning!
  Start each school day with a morning riddle.  Here are a few riddles to get you started....once you get going, the kids will not want to stop.  They arrive looking for that riddle! Kids love to think and solve problems.  This is a great way to get them started and also gives you a few minutes to collect notes from home, lunch money etc.


  I have completed 4 packets of morning riddles.  There are lots of ways to use them...you can make booklets, have them record the riddle each day in a notebook, you can write the riddle on chart paper or board and go over the riddle at morning circle time...
and what else could you do?  Endless possibilities...

• each riddle focuses on a sight word which is in bold print   
• the riddles are appropriate for Grade 1 and Grade 2.  The packets include a riddle for each day of the week and a sight word review page.
• September riddles are about school supplies, school activities, school routines
• easily use the riddles as a springboard for the many class discussions need to start out the new year

 The first 2 weeks of riddles give a black and white illustration to color in...a big hint to the answer.  After 2 weeks, the children read the riddle, think, write and illustrate their own picture of the answer.  If you decide to keep the riddles for each child, you can easily make a booklet as each packet has a cover page included.   If you do this, you will be able to record growth in both reading and writing.   Allow the children to talk about the answers as conversation, speaking and listening are part of a balanced literacy program.

These are 2 examples of a September riddles.  Children read the clues. Each riddle has 2 or 3 statements and a question.  Each riddle has a sight word in bold print.  Each riddle has lines for writing and a box for illustrating.  These have my illustrations, but after 2 weeks, the children must draw their own illustration.  Kids look for the riddles! They love to think what it might be, and you can teach so much from this one page.

This riddle has blank space for illustrating.

Each week there is a sight word review page for the sight words for the week. Handwriting and word shape practice.

October riddles are on the way ...soon!  You can find your September Riddles ...HERE!

Labels for Your Classroom

Classroom organization is essential in getting the children to learn school rules and routines.  Labeling supplies and materials helps children find items they need and return them to the right place.  You can find my 'easy to read' school supply labels HERE for your classroom.  Below are some examples....there are 13 labels included are: pencils, scissors, markers, crayons, glue, glue sticks, rulers, colored pencils, erasers, writing paper, drawing paper, writing folders and homework.  I duplicated some of the labels you need more of so you can label all your bins.  Labels are in exemplary handwriting so children view the handwriting you teach and model.

Have fun setting up your room and making the children's learning environment an organized and colorful place!

September Calendar Keepers

I have been busy thinking about organizing the classroom in a bright and cheery way to greet the students.  Here is a September calendar I created to teach AB pattern and all the wonderful things you might do with the calendar.  Bright red apples and yellow leaves ....traditional look!  Crisp, clean and ready to teach!


You may get your Chris Q September calendar HERE.  It is easy to download, print and assemble.  Easy to read and bold numbers.

Thanks for stopping by...check back as I will be posting my new classroom organizers featuring Chris Q art designs....very soon.

Starting Out Your Year, Positively!

Hello Teachers,

Great Book To Teach Positive Attitude

I read this book last year to my first graders. (I teach grades 1-5)! and I am always looking for good books with positive life lessons.  This one is a great book to read in September it is a great springboard for class discussion in this quick read...to start out on a positive note about how we treat one another and how we might learn to do our very best at school and at play.


The little fish swims from one page to another and she embraces a positive saying as she journeys through the book.  Three examples are:  If you make a wrong turn, circle back.   and If something gets in your way, move around it. and
Set aside some quiet time to relax and reflect.  Every day.


Lots to discuss and write about after this read aloud.  You might have them do a self portrait for your September bulletin board.  Great vocabulary word to introduce is UNIQUE.

And here is a puppet you might want to purchase at amazon.com. You can purchase it HERE.   It could be your class mascot so you could refer back to the author's message throughout the year. She is adorable.


And I love the end pages....see for yourself....

The kids love reading all these bright and colorful words.

Here is a booklet, I am ME,  you might also do after reading this book.  You can grab your full copy HERE.  There are 8 pages.  You can print them 8 x 10 or smaller...below are the first 5 pages. There are 3 more.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

 

Thanks for reading my post.  Check back as things never stay the same.

What Can I Do Today?

What Can I Do Today? 
to make the world a happier place
written by Allison Stoutland
Illustrated by Cathy Hofner

Today is another new day, and what can you do today to make the world a happier place?  The book is called What Can I Do Today? written by Allison Stoutland.  It is another great book to start out the school year.  The story starts out with a child's lemonade stand ....which starts a chain-reaction of kind deeds.   From the neighborhood to the classroom, at work and at play, it's the little things we do that have the biggest effect on others.  What Can I Do Today?  reminds children and adults alike to look for opportunities each day to make this world a happier place, one kind deed at a time.

What can you do today?

This book is another great book to read on that first week of school.  Here is my mini-poster that you can display in your classroom.  It is colorful and goes well with my "Manners Matter" poster...but with a little boy.  You can grab it HERE or find it at my TPT store HERE.  The mini-poster measures 8"x 10" and is blue and orange.

Thanks for visiting and check back as I am busy making more useful and colorful things for your classroom to start out the school year.

Design and artwork by Chris Q

Manners Matter

Hello All,  

Isn't it fun to have a few extra minutes in the day...to relax and read?  Summers are meant to be playful and creative. But if you are like me, ideas about September are already forming. Those first few days of school are so important to establish routines and rules.   To start the year off well....teach good manners!  You can download my 'Manners Matter' mini-poster for FREE! right here! 

Artwork by Chris Q.This poster measures 8"x 10".  It is bright and colorful and will catch the children's attention. Display in your classroom to add a splash of color and at the same time to post an important message.   It will also be available at my TPT Store.  

Thanks for stopping by 

Check back as I hope to make another poster about manners featuring a boy.

Summer Reading

Oh, the quiet summer days for reading!  Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson.  This is a great resource for teachers and parents.  Here is her introduction:

Chapter 1  Reading to Live

  In a blue corner of my house, where the light slants down from the mountains, hangs a glossy painting of a little boy curled deep into a wide, white window seat.  In his lap is an immense picture book staring up at him in a rainbow of pictures and dancing words.  With the red of a fiery winter sunset streaming over the snow outside, he bends over the page, eyes bright, face flushed with the thrill of his story.

I love that picture.  It embraces the essence of reading-its hushed power and its subtle, soul-shaping delight.  In every line and hue, I see evidence of the way a great story wakens a child's heart.  The boy's face reflects the stirring of deep thought, the sturdy joy of newly imagined worlds, the thrill of the soul widened by beauty.  The heightened color of the sunset hints at the way the story is reshaping his eyes to better perceive the mystery of the world and his own unfolding tale.


This book is an easy summer read and will inspire you and your teaching of reading and writing.  She illustrates many examples of all the very good reasons to be a reader and writer.  In later pages, she writes brief descriptions of the great books and authors in children's literature.  Sections include the classics, fiction, fairy tales and fantasy, history, biography, spiritual, poetry, music, art and nature. Appendices include: Caldecott and Newbery Medalist books, Landmark History Books and The Trailblazer Series.  This is a wonderful resource!  

Hurry! Hurry! by Eve Bunting

My favorite page!  What do you think they are looking at?

Hurry! Hurry!" shouts a joyful chicken, her wings outstretched.  The news happily spreads across the barnyard.  All the while, the children listen and predict what all the animals could be rushing to see  and where are they going!   A wonderful picture book by a favorite author, Eve Bunting.
Simple words, repeated twice on each page.  A perfect book to do "I have, who has?"  reading-listening activity! It's a wonderful book for Spring! and would be nice to include when studying farm animals.

 "I have, who has?"  and wordshape activity to go with this book

 here at my TPT store.  

Wise Owl Factory

Get these response pages for this book at Wise Owl Factory.

Incredible Ned

Read Incredible Ned and use the book for a springboard on discussion about artists and how they visualize what they want to draw or paing.  Incredible Ned, You could see what he said!

Incredible Ned, You could see what he said

Every "thing" that he spoke appeared over his head,

Or right next to his chair.  Or a few yards away,

And his friends would all shout:

"WE CAN SEE WHAT YOU SAY!"

Ned is an amiable boy with a shock of red hair, a shy smile and a humble demeanor. "When Ned said `giraffe,' you could see a giraffe,/ And its neck was so long it made everyone laugh./ ...No wonder the children didn't get their books read:/ It was so much more fun just to watch what Ned said."
Ned's mother knows her son is incredible when she "sees" his first word. When Ned says gorilla, his friends all jump back. And when he says bananas, it's time for a snack.

Soon Ned's teacher is upset, the nurse is up to her ears in pills, and even the bandleader doesn't know what to do — until a friendly art teacher discovers the cure when she hands Ned a pencil.

Some artwork by the kids:

the hidden alphabet

all you need for this lesson is the book, a pencil and paper

 by Laura Vaccaro Seegar

This is the BEST book ever for Reading Readiness. Even the cover is fun!
so as you can see the book is all black but if you take off the dust cover, you and the children will see letters...random all over the place! Then place the cover back on and you see the Title...
the hidden alphabet
Now that is just the beginning. Each page in this book shows a word first then the letter it begins with, children read the word and then predict what letter they might see. I have the children use whiteboards or pencil and paper.   Read the story giving children time to write each letter as the alphabet unfolds. For example, the book shows a door and you say, "What letter do you think you will see?" Children write the letter D; then you reconfirm their guess when you turn the page...and more fun...the pages turn up!  Go slowly and enjoy each page.   ...you will love this book as much as the children.  Great book to reinforce alphabet, practice handwritiing, making predictions, teaching titles,

 listen, look and do!

here are some example pages:

Read : balloons      Ask:  What letter do you think you will see?


This is the next page the children see. 

Read: mouse
Ask:   What letter do you think you will see?

This is the next page.

And so it goes..... When you finish the book, the children will have written their alphabet.  This is a wonderful book.  It's clever.  It's motivating. It captures the children's attention.

Hello All,


We are working on revising our writing about Birds in first grade.  I am teaching my first graders that writing is a process. We started our writing before vacation.

1.  First, we write down our ideas. 
2.  Then we reread, add details, revise and make corrections. 

It is important to teach each writing element and at the same time show the process of writing.
Today we used our spacemen to check for spacing.  I found these adorable spacemen over at www.lovehugsandladybugs.blogspot.com .  The children loved the 'spacemen' and 'spacewomen' to check for spacing.
This is the practice page we did for correct spacing between words.

I did a quick mini lesson on capitals in titles.  All the important words should be capitalized.  We looked at several titles on real books and the concept was easily learned.  
Next, I handed out a writing checklist.  We read and discussed the checklist.  You may find the checklist HERE. 

        and Writing!

Birds by Kevin Henkes

  Reading 

Birds by Kevin Henkes

 I love this book and the children do also.  After reading this story, we talked about our favorite page.  There were many favorites and we almost mentioned every page in our revisit to the book.  It was fun and we are all welcoming Spring in First Grade.  After reading the book, we wrote about birds.  See below a writing activity to use with this book.   We used our mini offices to practice our quiet writing behaviors.

If birds made marks with their tail feathers when they flew, think what the sky would look like.

Each page you turn is a wonderful surprise!  It is a quick read and a wonderful springboard for writing.

I made a mini book for children to write about birds. It is a short 4-sequence picture book with space below for writing. Encourage the children to do a picture walk and then write to tell the story. The pictures are from scholastic.com teacher resources.   Two pages to copy : one -one-side page and one two-sides page.  Copy and assemble.

You may grab this writing activity HERE.

Word Study

Inside the mini office a bird word bank was posted. (see mini office post in archives)  These words were also displayed on the pocket chart.   We talked about ways to write plurals ...i.e. bird, birds, baby, babies, egg, eggs, branch, branches, fly, flies, and flying, sing, sings, singing.

You can grab the vocabulary words here.

Thanks for visiting.  Hope you have a great school day!

Writing Anchor Chart

A Writing Anchor Chart

This is a writing anchor chart that I use for Grades 1-5. 

I find anchor charts are motivating and very helpful.  Anchor charts can keep you on track when explaining a new skill or strategy. This anchor chart depicts the many traits you expect the children to include in their writing.  When posted somewhere in the room, your students can refer back to it and you as well, when you want to review and reinforce a particular trait of writing.  I made this anchor chart using a model from 6 Traits +1 Writing Program.  I had fun making this anchor chart lively and especially the girl's hair with WILD and MANY ideas to write about.  The kids love the girl and her crazy hair.   I let them know that VOICE is what we love about reading the most.  Can you hear my voice in my anchor chart?

 I studied writing with Dr. Donald Graves at the University of New Hampshire.  He taught the writing process. He believed the process of writing and revision are both VERY important.  When writing, children need to know that all writers revise and rewrite.  The process of rewriting and revising often times makes the best writing. Teach your students to reread, rewrite and add more details.  Rough drafts are essential.  Writing time and writing folders give the children the writing environment that is necessary to produce the best writing. And when you hear, "I'm all done" encourage them to recheck, look back, and make it better. Remind them that writing is not a race, or the first one done, rather it is your personal best.

Model good writing and the many writing styles by reading Children's Literature.  Trust the books to model and teach good writing.  Write with the children and share your writing with them.  Presentation and publishing can be an author's chair, a quick share or a more formal published book.  We all need an audience for our writing.  I find authentic writing experiences are best.

Thanks for visiting.

Chris Q.



Handwriting for First Graders

when reading the book:
Is the blue whale the biggest thing there is?


I decided to add a handwriting practice sheet during our reading-writing time. The children practice writing ...big...bigger ....biggest! And, of course, you might teach comparisons as it would fit in nicely.
This is an easy practice sheet for handwriting...
particularly awareness when writing, good posture and pencil grip.  I use a little saying that helps.

P ut your feet flat on the floor.

A lways sit straight in your chair.

G ently hold your pencil.

E ither slant your paper to the left or the right.

After teaching your students the saying.  You can simply say PAGE when they are writing and it will alert them to good posture when writing.  Teaching handwriting might becoming obsolete as we are all keyboarders now, but children are still writing in school and a little time devoted to writing and presentation is important.  I find some children write too fast and do not close up their letters, haphazardly form their letters, or spacing is in need of improvement.

I also added a text box to this handwriting paper showing the small letters, tall letters and the ones that fall.

You can find this handwriting practice paper HERE.  Happy Teaching!

See below for the initial post about this book.