Ashley Knapp

This is the suitcase template and world map we staple to each side of our students "suitcases" for traveling around the world. We fold a large piece of construction paper in half, staple 2 handles to the top, and then the map on one side, and the picture of the suitcase on the other. We use the map for marking our destinations as we travel and coloring in some of the countries on the map and in the map key. This goes along with the smartboard file "Christmas and Holidays Around the World."

In first grade we love to do a “Holidays Around the World Unit” around Christmas time. Towards the end of the unit we have our first graders “travel” to each of the classrooms and the teachers each do a different country. I usually do Italy every year. Here is a great smartboard lesson you can do for teaching some of the holiday traditions of Italy. It goes along with the story “The Legend of Old Befana.” It also discusses some of Italy's special traditions such as the Nativity Scene, Ceppo

This goes along with the symbols of the U.S.A smartboard file. The book contains one page for each of the U.S. symbols: The American Flag, The Washington Monument, The Lincoln Memorial, The White House, The Capitol Building, The Great Seal, The Liberty Bell, The Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore. Students color the picture of the symbol, and write 2 facts they learned about it.

This paper goes along with the "Christmas in Italy" smartboard file. Students learn about what Christmas is like in Italy and they learn about the legend of "La Befana." Then they make a little broom and color this picture of La Befana. There is a retelling of the story as well so they can take it home and read it with their parents. I usually cut the extra off the bottom of the paper and fold it in half and staple it together like a little pocket. Then the kids put the little broom they ma

(This is an extension on my other Maps Unit- its the same but incorporates ELA standards of Main Idea and details). This was created by our first grade team to align with the common core standards for first grade. This smartboard file contains an entire unit plan for map skills (3-4 weeks)! It starts out introducing features of a map (symbols, map key, compass rose, cardinal directions, etc.) There are links to read aloud books you can use from the website Pebble Go, BrainPop Jr. and Bookfli

This is a U.S. Symbols unit created by our first grade team to align with the common core standards for first grade. This smartboard file contains an entire unit plan for U.S. Symbols (3-4 weeks)! It begins by introducing what the word symbol means, using a video on BrainPop Jr. Each page contains a photograph the symbol, questions for discussion, a link to google maps (where you can see the real symbol up close!), and then a page for writing 2 facts learned about the symbol. Students write

This is a full unit on Fairy Tales! This starts out as an introduction to Fairy Tales, and some of the characteristics of these stories. Students decorate a manila folder to use as their fairy tale folder, and then all of the things we make to go with each Fairy Tale can be kept in this folder. The smartboard file has crafts and writing extensions for students to do after each Fairy Tale you read. The stories included in this unit are: The Princess and the Pea, Cinderella, Cinderella Bigfoot

This is a week’s worth of lessons for introducing and teaching nouns! It begins with an intro lesson, a suggested read aloud book, and a chart for recording nouns (person, place, or thing). There is also links to 2 different noun songs, where students listen and identify the nouns they hear. On the following the days there are example sentences, and phrases to read aloud and have students circle the nouns. There is also a noun sort activity, where students sort the words based on person, pla

This is an entire unit on Christmas and “Holidays Around the World.” There are suggested read alouds with writing activities and prompts, as well as crafts and activities to go along with some of the stories and countries learned about. Some of the other Christmas stories included with activities are: The Penguin Who Wanted to Be Different, The Christmas Humbugs, Howard B. Wigglebottom-A Christmas Story, The Snowy Day, and more! The students also create a passport and “suitcase” and “travel” to

Enhance your common core unit with these lesson extensions for the First Grade Animals and Habitats domain. This smartboard file contains drawing, writing, and vocabulary activities for after each of the Animals and Habitats read alouds. Students work on vocabulary, and draw/write “doodle time” about what they have learned, with specific prompts. There is also sorting review activities, and a picture/match review activites. This also includes links to Brainpop, Bookflix and Pebble Go online

This is 2-3 weeks of smartboard lessons for introducing and teaching the 2-syllable words and compound words. This includes practice for divding closed syllables and open syllables. It also includes 2 syllable words with endings such as “er, ing, and consonant le.”. There is also suffixes “ness” and “less.” Throughout there are many word sorts for students to interactively practice reading and word and sorting it on the smartboard. There is also compound word practice, sorts, and a link to

This is a whole Smartboard unit plan for teaching students about the first Thanksgiving. There are suggested read alouds and writing activities for discussing the lifestyles of the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims. There is also some thanksgiving vocabulary words, and a Bingo game at the end to play. There is also an interactive compare/contrast activity where students use the Venn diagram to discuss and sort things that we do the same today to celebrate Thanksgiving and things that we do d

Enhance your common core unit with these lesson extensions for the First Grade Astronomy domain. This smartboard file contains drawing, writing, and vocabulary activities for after each of the Astronomy read alouds. Students work on vocabulary, and draw/write “doodle time” about what they have learned. There are writing prompts that students use to write in their "Astronomy Journal" after each of the Common Core domain read alouds. There are also links to Brainpop, Bookflix and Pebble Go onlin

This is a unit on Needs and Wants created by our first grade team to align with the common core standards for first grade. This unit also has lesson and activities incorporated for Earth Day and Arbor Day, since we teach this social studies unit at that time of year. It starts out introducing what a needs and wants are, and then discusses earning money, goods and services, saving and spending, taking care of the Earth, and the importance of trees. Throughout the unit we use the following book

This is an entire unit on Poetry (3-4 weeks)! It begins by introducing poetry and some of its features that make it unique. Then students read examples of different types of poems each day in their own poetry books (this poetry book is available for free). Some of the types of poems include: list poems, shape poems, and acrostic poems. Some of the other features discussed are: repetition, rhymes, similes, personification, and metaphors. Student write their own poems each day in their poetry

This is a great mini-unit on Veteran’s Day and Heroes. It starts out with read aloud slides that tell information about Veteran’s Day, followed by a Veteran’s day poem, and cloze activity, where students can help fill in the blanks to show what they learned. Then there is a writing activity, where students can write a thank you letter and make a card for a Veteran. There is 3 different card templates for them to choose from to color and write inside. We also talk about Heroes and how Veteran

This smartboard file contains lessons and activities to go along with the story Chrysanthemum. This is a favorite story for reading that first week or two back to school because it has so many great themes that apply to the beginning of the year: such as "what makes our names special?" and "friendship." The first slide talks about feelings and how the students might feel depending on what a classmate did or said. There are some slides that look at the number of letters and number of vowels

This is a week’s worth of lessons for introducing and teaching verbs! It begins with an intro lesson, a suggested read aloud book, and space for recording nouns. On the following days there are example sentences, and phrases to read aloud and have students underline the verbs. There is also a link to a verb song, where students listen and identify the verbs they hear. There is also a connection to writing, in which students identify verbs in a picture, and then construct a complete sentence

This is an entire unit on opinion or persuasive writing! It starts off as an introduction by defining the differences between facts and opinions. There is an interactive sort for practice with this, and then it also prompts students to make a list of some of their own opinions. This helps them develop some ideas for their future opinion writing. Then the there are some lessons with mentor texts to follow that highlight the parts of writing a persuasive piece. Some of the mentor texts used a

This is a set of spiral review "math boxes" for common core math module 1. In each box there is a review question for a previously learned math skill, or skill taught within the module. We felt that spiral review was something missing in the common core math modules and so we created these pages to add to this area and give students that constant review of previously learned content. We also wanted to expose them to multiple choice questions and have them practice the ability to switch from p