Last Day of School Signs FREEBIE :) Just Updated for the 2017-2018 School Year!

I've just updated my Last Day of School Signs for the 2017-2018 School Year.  These are PERFECT for end of year photos!

Click on the picture below the get them!  They are FREE!

These match my First Day of School Signs that I update each year.  Be on the lookout for 2018-2019 First Day of School Signs in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop in July!

Also, if you don't follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers, you should!  I just uploaded my latest FOLLOWER FREEBIE for April.  If you'd like a freebie each month, click here to see how easy it is to follow me:  Mrs. Gilchrist's Follower Freebies

LAST Day of School Signs FREEBIE :)

They are here!  I just added my "Last Day of ___________" signs for the 2016-2017 school year.  You can click HERE or on the picture above to get them.  All 5 signs (Preschool - Second Grade) are included - just print the one you need.

I LOVE TPT so I'm having a sale :)

February 7th-8th EVERTHING in my store will be marked 20% off and you can save an additional 8% when you use code LOVETpT at checkout!

Click on the ad below to start shopping:

New Year's Activity Mat and a Teachers Pay Teachers SALE!

I am having a sale NOW through December 26th! Everything in my Teachers Pay Teachers store is 20% off. 

 I've also just posted a 2017 New Year's Activity Mat - GREAT for welcoming your students back after the holiday break!

 

Happy Holidays!!!

Sneak Peek at the March Follower Freebie...

When you follow my Teachers Pay Teachers store, you get a FREEBIE (from me) delivered to your TPT inbox each month.  Here's a sneak peek at the March Follower Freebie - Remember, you must be a follower PRIOR to the 15th of the month to get that month's free kit!  However, if it is after the 15th, you may have missed the kit for that month, but you are all set to get ALL of the future monthly Follower Freebies!

For more information on how to follow my store and get a free kit each month, click here:  Mrs. Gilchrist's Follower Freebies

Fluency Builders: Improve Fluency AND Sight Word Recognition at the same time!

I've got a new kit in my TPT store called "Fluency Builders".  These are Dolch sight word sentences that are made into fluency pyramids.  Not only will your students work on sight word recognition, they will improve their FLUENCY while doing it!

These are available in each Dolch level (Pre-Primer through Third Grade) OR in a bundle with all levels for 50% off!

Not only do I love these for the fluency aspect, but I love the sight word sentences.  I wanted to make sure the sentences had words that were easy to read and appropriate for the level they were in so the students could read them fluently.  I've seen sight word sentences in the past that had other words in the sentence that were too challenging for the level they were in.  Nothing blocks fluency more than that!  I made sure to include CVC words and additional sight words that were within the same level for the sentences.  In the higher levels (second and third grade words) I used some CVCe words too - the main goal was to keep it so students could read these fluently!

Each card has the Dolch sight word in the top left corner in color.  Each Dolch level has a different color for the sight words, so if you get the bundle, you will be able to keep the levels organized and/or tell what level students are working on.  

Here is an example from the First Grade Dolch set:

 You can buy the levels separately or save a LOT when purchasing the bundle:

Have a GREAT weekend :)

Veterans Day Freebies!

I have a few new items that I have recently added to my store at Teachers Pay Teachers:

(Click on the pictures to check them out)

CVC Clip The Sound cards.  This includes initial, middle AND ending sounds!  Just add clothes pins and you have an engaging center that is differentiated!  Answer key printables and an easy to follow directions printable are also included so students can get started quickly AND check their own work.

CVC Clip The Sounds

This is a download to make your own teacher printable.  This is GREAT for teacher gifts - just in time for Christmas :)  The fonts are embedded so that means you just type over the teacher name and school name to enter the names you want and the font stays the same.  You can use this over and over for multiple gifts, just change the names each time and print!  Pick up a few frames at the dollar store and you have a very inexpensive, but super cute, personalized gift!

Print Your Own Teacher Subway Art - Perfect for Gifts! 

This FROZEN sight words card game is a favorite right now!!!!  The kids LOVE this!  This was also a past "Follower Freebie", which means you could have gotten this FREE in the past if you were a follower of my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.  If you missed it, I give a new "Follower Freebie" each month!!!  (See below how to follow my store and get a free kit each month!!!)

Don't Get "Frozen" -  A Sight Words Card Game

I also have A Week Of Word Work Centers:  Thanksgiving.  All you need, with options, for a week of Thanksgiving centers:

Also, if you haven't seen these, you much check them out.  I have bundled several of my best selling products at a reduced price!  Click on the photos below to check them out!

 And MUCH more in my store - click here to see more great products!

And, don't forget to follow my store to get a free kit each month!!!  Past "Follower Freebies" include"

Click here to see how to get free kits each month:  Mrs. Gilchrist's Follower Freebies

Also, if you want a quick glance of all of my products, click on the tab at the top of my blog that says "My Products" or click here to go there.

I have have a "Freebies" tab, too.  Pin it so you don't forget to go there often and get new freebies!

Now to Veteran's Day.....

I have some new freebies just in time for Veterans Day!

The first one is a foldable book that gives some basic facts about Veterans Day that students can color.  I always tell my students to take things like this home and tell their parents about what they have learned.  I like that this is short and sweet and to the point.  We read this in class and it gives a starting point to expand the conversation and talk about Veterans Day.  Then student color their own books.

Click on the picture to download this from Google Drive.  Fold in half and then fold in half again to make this into a "book".

Next I have a printable poem, actually it is a SONG and a cloze activity to go with it.  We read and sing this several times in class.  It goes to the tune of  "O Christmas Tree".  The students then get the cloze activity and fill in the missing words (these are printed two per page to save paper).  I have students glue this in a poetry notebook and draw a picture to go with it, but this could be glued to a larger paper and have student draw a picture to go with it there too.  Click on it to download:

I have a feeling November is going to fly by......

"First Day of First Grade" sign FREEBIE

Each year on the first day of school I take an individual photo of each child holding up a sign that says "My First Day in First Grade".  I upload the photos to Sams Club or Target to have them developed and send them home to parents sometime during the first week (usually on the Friday of the first week).  Parents love getting these photos!  I made a few signs - first started with a chalkboard style, then decided something colorful may be better....anyway, I put them up on my Teachers Pay Teachers store for FREE if you'd like one.  And a little tip...print on cardstock if possible, it'll hold up better :)

Also....Don't forget to enter my raffle right here for a three month subscription to FarFaria!!!  This is a SWEET prize!!!

By the way, I'm all ready for the BIG sale at Teachers Pay Teachers!!!  All of my products will be 20% off , BUT you can save 28% at my store on August 4-5 by entering the promo code BTS14 at checkout!!!!

Get your shopping cart ready!

First Grade Treasures Reading PowerPoints FREEBIE {Units 3-6}

Do you use Treasures for your reading series?  We just adopted Reading Street but we used to use Treasures.  I have a bunch of PowerPoints that I made and used with our first grade Treasures series the past few years.  I know different states may have different spelling words or stories in their Treasures series, but if you can use any of these - feel free!

A few things though....I had to upload these as PDF files since the fonts wouldn't work if they were uploaded as PowerPoints.  Since they are in PDF, the animations won't work, but it didn't seem to be a problem when I looked back at them after uploading them.  Also, the links won't work either :(  I had links to BrainPop and some online games, etc.  You can google to find the games, if you have a BrainPop account, you can find the videos, if not....just skip that slide! You just won't know what you were missing :)  Also, some of the PowerPoints have the spelling words, some don't.  One year we used the spelling words from Treasures, one year we didn't...so some I changed, some not.  

I started with Unit 3 Week 4 and went to the end of the series.  I may have some earlier ones on my school computer, I will check later.  The title of the PowerPoint is the THEME of that week.  The name of the story is in small letters on the front of most of the PowerPoints.  

Click on the pictures below to download:

Hope you can find something useful :)

First Grade Rocks! {A Pop Rocks Treat for Open House}

I decided to make a little treat for open house - just to let my new students know how much FIRST GRADE ROCKS!!!

I made little slip on wrappers to go around packs of Pop Rocks.  You can get Pop Rocks at The Dollar Tree.  They come in a pack of 3 for $1.  I used scrapbook paper for the wrap around band (see bad phone picture below) and designed the label below to stick on top.  

 I've included a copy of the label below if you'd like to use it (I left my name off for you :)  Click on the photo below to go to Google Docs to get it.  It is a JPEG that you can size to the size you want.  I made mine pretty small to fit the band.

I found an easy science experiment to do the first week of school with Pop Rocks too.  I am going to tell the students that eating the Pop Rocks are "homework" because we will use them in a science experiment the first week of school (to introduce the Scientific Method).  They are "homework" because I want them to be familiar with Pop Rocks before we do the experiment!  Here's the experiment:

Steve Spangler Pop Rocks Experiment