Hello October!

Hi, guys! As always, it's been a while. I hope you all are well!
I'm still here... alive... and ticking. =) I just have had my hands full lately taking care of my precious baby boy. He'll be 2 months old this Saturday and, although I am grateful that he is growing nice and healthy, I'm saddened that our time together will be coming to an end in 6 short weeks. =(

This is my baby boy! Isn't he precious?! Don't mind me... I didn't brush my hair this day. Side Note: The photo shoot was supposed to be baby ONLY. As you can see, I was NOT prepared to be in the picture! Lol.

Enough about mommyhood... I don't want to start crying mid-post. Lol.

I think in my previous post I may have mentioned that I was moved from a primary classroom to a 4th grade classroom (if I didn't mention it, I apologize. I was too lazy to check just now.) I'm still so saddened by that news. =( I'm trying to figure out how to win the lotto so I could skip this whole school year and go back for the 2015-2016 school year..... but I guess I should start playing first. Lol.

Would be nice, but a MILLION would be better!

OK... *BACK TO REALITY*

In honor of our new month and my new addition, I decided to make a new set of Repeated Reading Task Cards for you to add to your bag of Spanglish Resources.
During the Cinco de Mayo Bilingual Blog Hop, I added a set of Spring Themed Repeated Reading Task Cards that, according to the feedback, were a big hit. This time around I've made a Fall Edition of those exact task cards.

Click HERE to get your very own sample of my new set!
OR
Click HERE to purchase the Full Set of 20 Task Cards (Note: Product will be FREE for the next 24 hours Grab it while you can!)

Until NEXT TIME! Ta! Ta!

Last stop in the Bilingual Blog Hop! =)

Thank you all for stopping by! This is such an incredible opportunity to be a part of and I can't thank Nancy Alvarez enough for putting it all together!

Aren't these freebies AMAZING!?
Bilingual resources are so hard to come by and for the next couple of days you get to snag quite a few at no cost to you!

Remember that this blog hop only runs for a few days so be sure to grab your freebies before they become purchasable products at our TPT stores!

With that said, let's get this show on the road!
In one of my recent blog posts I posted a sample set of Repeated Reading Fluency Task Cards. Each card in the set has a sentence that is reached through repeated reading.
Such as this:

These cards have worked wonders with both my struggling students and non struggling students. They are fun, engaging, and the sense of accomplishment that comes along when reading the whole card is PRICELESS.

As part of this Bilingual Blog Hop I am giving away my brand new set of Repeated Reading Spring Fluency Spanish Task Cards (sheesh, that was a mouthful!) for your educational use!

There are 12 Task Cards in all, each with it's own spring themed sentence. I usually print them out on card stock and laminate them, so that they last me the whole year!

Click HERE to grab your very own copy!

If you are one of the lucky few to snag a copy, please leave me a comment with some feedback. I would greatly appreciate it!

Follow my blog to get the latest updates on ideas, printables, and other awesome resources for your Spanglish Classroom. ;)

If you missed any of these fabulous freebies, hop back over to Nancy's at Teaching With Nancy to restart the Bilingual Blog Hoppin' and get ALL the fabulous freebies before they are no longer free!

Click HERE to be on your way!
Happy Hopping, Everyone!

November Fluency Task Cards in Español

Hi, Guys! I'll make this post short and sweet! =)

I came across this amazing Freebie on Pinterest the other day.

As you can guess, I immediately fell in love and thought to myself, "Why didn't I think of this?!" "Why aren't they in Spanish?!"
Well, problem solved, Ladies and Gents! I took it upon myself to recreate/translate/modify these cards and made a Spanish version for all my Bilingual/Dual Language Peeps out there!

Click HERE for a copy of the SPANISH VERSION Fluency Task Cards
Click HERE for a copy of the ENGLISH VERSION Fluency Task Cards

Please keep in mind that Angelia over at Extra Special Teaching is the original creator of my Pinterest find. Head on over to her blog to check out these task cards and as well as other amazing products!

Oh, and before I forget, I am well aware that the O in "Expresion" needs an accent; the font I used does not have accented letters. =( Boooooo! (lol).

Parent-Teacher Conferences! Yuck!

Am I the only one that hates these?! Lol. I CAN'T be the only one!
This year, my students parents were all wonderful, with the exception of 1 or 2, but still I find entire day dreadful... as dreadful as checking your bank account when you know you've spent more money than you should or listening to your voicemail when you don't answer a phone call from your mother. Lol. I'm just a weirdo.

Don't get me wrong, deep inside me, I do enjoy being able to learn about my students through the formal conversations held with their parents. I had so many "a-ha!" moments yesterday that today I approached the day quite differently; which is something that may not have happened anytime soon if yesterday had not taken place. Today, was a good day. =)

To help me mentally prepare for the actual conversations, I made a sheet to help guide each conference. Over the weekend I pre-filled a sheet for each student with 2 celebrations, 2 concerns, and 2 suggestions for each child (even my Honor Roll students because there is always room for improvement). I also included a portion at the bottom for their IDEL and Mclass results.

Having this filled out before each conference gave me a peace of mind, so I decided to share it with those of you that get a little frazzled and need a little something to help guide you through the good, the bad, and the ugly conversations. =)

Click HERE for a copy!

Problema Del Dia

Even on a day off, teachers work. Doesn't it feel like our brains are on work mode 24 hours a day? I was making a purchase today and saw two children not being very friendly towards one another and I tried very hard to not to say something as I would in my own classroom, but I failed miserably and had to say something about their behavior. Needless to say it stopped, but I wouldn't be surprised if one day someone decides to punch me in the throat and tell me to mind my own business. Luckily today was not that day. =)

Teaching is a disease and there is no cure..... no one is safe around us. Lol.

Anywho, Do you guys solve a daily math problem? I started doing this a couple of years ago with my Firsties and it has been very successful in my classroom (in the past).
My first year teaching first grade I didn't do this until January (when I was sure that all but a handful could read and handle their own). Last year, I started at the very beginning of the year, but only because I had a high group of 1st and 2nd graders.... we solved a problem every day until school was out.
Below are some sample images of their P.O.D. notebooks.

Not bad for Firsties, right?

Although they have been successful before, this school year I tried to implement them a bit early, but it didn't go as well as it had in the past. Maybe the problems were a bit overwhelming for the little ones due to not all of them being able to read just yet. I'm going to try a different approach this week as I make an attempt to implement P.O.D. yet again. For this purpose I made a cute little pack of Halloween themed word problems to get the excitement going.... I mean, who doesn't love Halloween, right?

CLICK HERE for a sample of this packet.
For the full product CLICK HERE to go to my TPT Store!
If you do grab a copy PLEASE leave a comment below and tell me if you like it. If it's a hit, I can try to make a pack of word problems for November.

As usual, thank you for checking out my page! See you soon, Lovely Peeps! =)

Calendar Math

Happy Saturday!

TGFIO- Thank God Friday Is OVER! Maybe one day I'll enjoy Fridays again... in the mean time... waaaaaah (in my Snookie voice). Lol.

I'll try to stick to the REAL reason for posting without going off on a tangent about some random thing. =)

Last year, when I taught my 1st/2nd split, I was looking for a way to incorporate calendar math in my daily routine without it being too babyish for my 2nd graders or too difficult for my 1st graders; I came across this Calendar Math/Number of the Day Sheet on TPT....

(If you want a copy of the above Calendar Sheet you can click HERE)

..... it was JUST what I needed.... EXCEPT..... I needed it in Spanish!

Random thought: Why is it so hard to find resources for such a large population?! Ugh!

The resource itself was perfect, so I did the next best thing I could... I translated it. =)

It's not IDENTICAL to the one above, but it is very similar.
Click HERE to grab your Calendar Math sheet in SPANISH! =)

Villa Cuentos

Hi, Guys!
Hope you all are well! I'm excited that it's Wednesday, but not excited that Friday is near. I know what you're thinking, "What the heck is wrong with her?!" Lol. Believe me, I've asked myself that same question before. Although many of us LOVE (or should love) Fridays, they are kinda dreadful and stressful around my end. We (our school staff) have to turn in parent logs, reflection logs, and grade logs by the end of our school day (3:15) and also we have to submit our lesson plans by midnight Friday evening. It's a little overwhelming to say the least. We have "Freaky Friday's" (and not freaky in a good way) rather than "Fun Friday's". LOL.

Enough of that... moving on.

Do any of you use Villa Cuentos as your reading series? I know we are in a Common Core day and age, but I still use Villa Cuentos for phonics, grammar, and extra skills practice. At our school we are required to submit 15 grades into our electronic Grade Book weekly, so our students have to constantly complete assignments, worksheets, and other mumbo jumbo so that we have stuff to grade and submit. Definitely not Best Practice if you ask me... but hey... I'm just a teacher. =/

I've created a couple of tools and assessments for a few of the lessons in Villa Cuentos. Today's post is for the story Gala y Vito or Dot and Bob. In this lesson, we are studying the V+vowel and the L+vowel syllables. The first printable has those syllables plus additional syllables to help students create the weekly spelling words.

You can get that freebie by clicking HERE

The next freebie assesses the skill for this lesson which is Characters. It also assesses comprehension by asking students about problem and solution. For number 1, students draw each character in the large boxes and write the names of each character in the small boxes beneath the larger ones (I hope that makes sense). The rest of the sheet is self explanatory, but if you have any questions feel free to ask. =)

Click HERE for the SPANISH version.
Click HERE for the ENGLISH version.
That's all for today... Thanks for stopping by! Happy Wednesday! =)

A 2-Month No Show =(

Anyone out there still reading this? Anyone?! Lol. This year I'm not only teaching a Bilingual Classroom, I'm also teaching a 1st/2nd split classroom and it's been the CRAZIEST roller coaster ride ever! It really feels like I'm teaching a group of K-3 because these kiddo's are all over the place; talk about the pressure being on! Anywho, I'm still alive and even more MIA than usual; and although I have not blogged in a while, I have taken many pics for all the future posts I'm planning to write and am looking forward to giving you guys a little inside peeks to the last couple of months school. =)

Let's get this ball rollin'... Was at the Target dollar section a couple of months back and found this:

In case you're wondering what it is, I believe it's an ice cube tray. Being a hoarder teacher I thought, "this is pretty cool! The kids can sort; add; subtract; etc." and since it came in various colors (pink, blue, green, and purple), I bought one of each. Fast forward a couple of months, they were still in my closet... with the tags on! Hmm... what happened to all the fun activities I had planned in my head when I first saw it? I don't know, but apparently they were hibernating along with all the other stuff I bought for my classroom that day! Apparently, that same day I also bought this:

I'm thinking that the theory behind my thinking was that I could figure out a way for my students to use this simultaneously as a math activity. (Don't you think "math" when you see this?!) In case you were wondering what it is, it's table scatter from the $2.50 section of the Dollar Spot. ;)
So, on with my story.... I somehow convince my coworker and work-bestie to buy the same stuff (lol); she asked me the other day, "so what was your plan for this?!" and proceeds to show me the above items.... my plan, Ladies and Gentlemen? Well, my plan was a subtraction game with a 20 sided dice (and as I'm typing this It came to me that I could have done addition as well, duh! Lol.) Simple enough, right?

Since the tray has 21 spaces you start of with 21... you throw the 20 sided dice. Then fill the ice cube tray with the amount of table scatter indicated on the dice (that's the number you're subtracting from 21). The amount of spaces not filled would be the difference. I hope that makes sense.
I tried it out with two of my second graders they loved it; the only problem was that I didn't have a worksheet to match so there could be some sort of student accountability, sooo.... as you may have guessed.... I created one. (Now I'm thinking I should make an addition one for my Firsties.)

Click HERE to get a copy of 21 Squares Subtraction in Spanish



Click HERE to get a copy of 21 Squares Subtraction in English


The best part about it is that the table scatter changes year round to match the holidays or season, so the "oooo la la" factor will always be there because the fun stuff (manipulatives) are ever changing. =)

Number Grid Tetris =)

What a busy busy week! The end is oh so near.... I can't wait! I'm so sad. ; )
I've been trying to crunch every bit of knowledge possible into their little brains! Everyone is D-R-A-I-N-E-D! Especially me! The only thing they have to worry about is figuring out who to play with (that AND the homework packet I'll be sending with them over Summer Break! {Insert evil laugh here} Lol.) While, I have a million things to do and worry about. Oh, how I wish I were 6 again.... *sigh* =)
OK, back to reality AND the original reason for this post....

If you all teach EDM you know that the number grid is something that is used ALL THE TIME! We just covered lesson 9.something and it talked about the patterns of the number grid. Well, while browsing through the Really Good Stuff catalog, I came across the 100 Grid Ordering Cards and, although I really considered making the purchase, I decided to make my own. =)
In fact, I made a whole 40 page packet (20 pages worth of game cards and the other 20 are the game cards with answers for self assessment) dedicated entirely to the patterns of the Number Grid... and named it after my first thought when I saw it: Number Grid Tetris!
My students L-O-V-E it! I swear it keeps them nice and quiet for a long time (especially when they are racing against the minute timer).
I'm still debating whether I should put the document on Teachers Pay Teachers; I guess it'll have to be up to you all to decide if that is something you'd be willing to purchase.
In the mean time, here's a small sample for you to try out in your own classrooms. If you like what you see, leave a comment... it'll help with the decision making process. =)

Click on the Document Below to
Download the Number Grid Tetris Sample

Pattern Block Math Center, Anyone? =)

Buenas tardes, Damas y Caballeros! Lol. That's how I greet my little ones. I also tell them that men should be chivalrous at all times by always allowing ladies to go first. They had a bit of a problem with that idea at the beginning of the year, but now they are so used to it that they say, "Damas primero." as they direct them in the door. Lol. Their wives will thank me one day. =)

Back to business...
Sometime last week, I was looking for math activities in Bloggyland that I could incorporate into the Everyday Math Curriculum. We were on unit 7 which covers polygons and exploring patterns using pattern blocks. Many of the activities in the program involved the use of pattern blocks, but once the lesson was over that was it... it was over. I really wanted to find something that would allow their creative juices to flow and thought to myself "why not add these to a math center?" I know what you're thinking, "She barely came up with that NOW?!" Lol. You don't understand, this is my first year in first grade. Previously, I taught 3rd grade for 3 years and 4th grade for a few months before that. We didn't do math centers/stations in 3rd grade... it was all ISAT, ISAT, ISAT... DRILL, DRILL, DRILL.... Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Lol. Centers for me are NEW.
Anywho, I did my usual "blog stalking" "nightly research" and came across this cool pattern block activity from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten. She shrunk some pattern block designs that she had come across previously and created a response worksheet to go along with it so that students had work to show, rather than just copy the design. When I saw her post I SCREAMED WITH DELIGHT thought, "Lucky me!" The only problem was.... have you guessed yet?... that it was in English. Lol. So, I took it upon myself to translate it AND, with her permission, post it to share with you all. =)


Click on the Document Below to Download the Pattern Block Activity Sheet in SPanish



Click the image below to get the patterns as well as the Original English Version of this activity from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten =)

Not Very Good At This =(

OK, so as you all may have guessed, I'm not much of a Blogger. I've been so busy with all my IDEL, MClass Math, and TRC testing and Progress Monitoring that I've neglected my little Blog EVEN MORE! I know it's late in the new year, but you can set a Resolution at any time, right? Well, my resolution for the month of March is to Blog at LEAST once a week. Let's see how that goes! Lol.
As an apology to you, I will post a Freebie! I created this at the beginning of the year for my students' reading binders. It's an ABC chart that I use for Reading and Writing. It has REALLY helped my LOW readers and writers. I found all images through online searches. I know for sure there are some from ThistleGirl, but the others are random images found online. If you see an image that you created and did not receive credit for, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.
Oh, and before I forget, I was unable to add the accent to the capital "ñ", so before laminating them, add the accent to it! =)



Click HERE to Download the Spanish Alphabet Sound Chart

Veteran's Day!

So grateful to live in a Country with such honorable men and women that serve and protect us! We are truly blessed!
In honor of Veteran's Day, I created a worksheet for my kiddo's which they filled out only AFTER reading a Veteran's Day book. I have to admit, I had to read the book 3 TIMES, so it was definitely a bit of a challenge for them! I guess I could have made it a little easier by making it a cut and paste activity for this time of year being that they are still in the beginning stages of writing, but my expectations are HIGH! We're reaching for the stars, BABY! =)
Click on the title of the link to download.

Una Celebracion Especial

My First Upload!!! =)

I can't believe how much I have underestimated my little ones this year. I taught 3rd grade bilingual before and some of the assessments I've used in my classroom have been a little over their heads; this year as a 1st grade bilingual teacher I thought, "there is no way these kids will be able to use an Exit Slip at they end of every day".... well, guess what!? They CAN!!!!! Can you hear the Angels sing?! OMG!!! I'm excited!
So here's a brief explanation of what we do.
1) At the end of every day, I give my students the sheet listed below titled, "Que Aprendiste Hoy?" which basically means, "what did you learn today?"
2) On it, they write 1 thing they learned throughout the day (it could be ANYTHING!).
3) Then, we hole punch it and put it in our "Mi Aprendizaje Folder".
So simple, right?! The folder will be a great way for them to see how many things are in their schema by the end of the year and how much their writing has changed throughout our time together.
By January, I will increase it to two things, and by April, 3 things. The sheet itself isn't as amazing as some of the work I've seen on other teacher blog sites, BUT it is one of those things that WORKS. Hope it becomes as useful to you as it has for me.


Que Aprendiste Hoy?