Vocabulary Journal

This activity is designed to support the new addition of vocabulary in the common core for first grade.

I was shown this idea at a district training. You give your students vocabulary books. When you introduce a new vocabulary word, your students get out their books and write down the word and the definition you come up with as a class. They can also describe the word in their own words. The students then draw a picture to help them remember the meaning of the word. 

For example: if you are introducing the word “sphere”, your students could draw a picture of spheres or an activity you did as a class when you learned about spheres. Let them draw whatever helps them remember the word! The circle on the page is for them to number their pages. That way, if you ever want to go back and talk about a word, you can tell them what page to turn to in their books. 

I have included a page cover for a vocabulary journal and also for a math vocabulary journal. I will have my students have two journals. One for all new words in language arts, writing, and science. The other journal is for math.

I hope you enjoy your freebie!!!

Job Wheel

There are so many options to assigning your kiddos jobs each week. I use to have all their names on laminated pencils, then each Monday I would take them off the wall, change them around, and have to either staple or tape them back on the wall. Well....this is MUCH easier and all I have to do is turn it one itsy bitsy turn and WHOLA!!! New jobs!!!! This wheel was left in my classroom last year when I changed schools (along with many other things that I am grateful for each day). All I have to do each year is change the names (plus a few jobs I realized I didn't like and I want to add different ones).

My friend made one of these by projecting the image below onto her wall and tracing it. Easy as pie!!! You could make one as well using your own size of circle. You can make it as big or small as you want. Then it has a fastener in the center. It is also laminated so that it can be wiped off each week.

I promise you will love this! I don't have enough kids to fill in the spaces, so I added my name to a few spots. I look for those "on task kids" and I let them do it at that particular time the job is needed. What way do you assign jobs in your classroom?