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Throwback Thursday

I'm linking up with Cara for a super fun weekly link: revisiting old blog posts. Check out the link here:

For my throwback post, I decided to revisit my classroom from 2011. This was my three year of teaching and I really liked the way the room turned out that year. Enjoy!

*****************Originally posted on August 24, 2011*******************

I've posted most of these pics already, but for the sake of formality, I'm going to post them all together in one nice and neat entry :) I'm loving seeing everyone else's classroom pictures! I love getting ideas! :)

Meeting area/ Buddy Reading Center

Writing Center

Concept Question Board

Math Focus Board

Front of the room

Sounds Board

Mailboxes

Back corner

Job Chart

Cubbies and Student Work Display

Small group meeting area/word wall/ focus board

part of my desk and the beloved Elmo

Behavior Chart

Door and outside display

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Be sure and join in the fun and link up with Cara. :)

Favorite Things Giveaway Winners!!!!

Congratulations Jen P. and Kimberly C.! I'll be emailing both of you shortly :)

Thanks to everyone who entered...I'm thinking about making this a monthly favorites giveaway..sound good? :)

Giveaway Winners-Soon!

Hey y'all! Just wanted to quickly write a post to let y'all know that I will announce the two winners of m

These are a few of my favorite things-GIVEAWAY!!

It's summertime=the greatest time EVER, so I thought a giveaway would be a great way to kick off summer! I've collected a few of my favorite things to give away to two lucky winners. Two other prize winners will be able to choose one item from my TpT store. :) Here's what I'm giving away:

Let's start off with the non educational goodies-the beauty goodies!

Soap and Glory's Hand Food Hand Cream- the stuff is the BEST hand cream you'll ever use and it smells AMAZING!!

B&BW's Malibu Heat Body Lotion- a new favorite for summer!

L'Oreal Nail Polish in Bubble Trouble 

B&BW Candle in Pink Sangria- LOVE this scent!!

Now let's get into the educational goodies!

Wiggle Eye Rings- Perfect to use as pointers for small group reading. I told my kids these little creatures loved to look at words while they read, so they worked extra hard to keep their finger on the words as they read. These little guys were a huge hit in my classroom!

Who doesn't love Scentos Markers??? My 1st graders loved when I check center work with these. My 5th graders better get ready because I love some smelly markers! :)

As I was shopping for the markers, I came across this scented jumbo eraser!! What?? I've never seen these before! How fun! :)

Scented notepads-need I say more??

Let's first talk about the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems. I absolutely LOVE this series and one of the things I'm going to miss about 1st grade the most is this fantastic collection of books. Year after year, my kids fall in love with these two funny characters. They are perfect for reader's theater. My ONLY problem with them is that the majority of these books are not AR. A few are, so I was always on the hunt for them. I found this one (which is AR!) about a week before I decided to request to move to 5th. 

The other two books are also AR and are perfect for beginning independent readers. I use to be a snob about the Biscuit books and the branch off Pinkalicious series, but I now have a new found love for them and they worked extremely well in my 1st grade classroom later in the year during AR time. 

*** Since I'm having this giveaway on my Life in Fifth Grade blog as well, if an upper grades teacher wins, I will substitute the picture books for more appropriate literature :)

Two winners will win a mixture of my favorite things, while two 2nd place winners will receive one item from my TpT store. 

Here's how to enter:

*Become a follower of Life in First Grade (if you aren't already)

*Become a follower of Life in Fifth Grade (if you aren't already)

*Like Life in First Grade's Facebook Page

* Follow me on Instagram (msleslieann01)

Super simple! Giveaway wins Sunday 6/16 and will be announced Monday 6/17! Good Luck!! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Literacy Unit for Upper Grades

I've just uploaded my first literacy unit for upper grades. Come over to my new 5th grade blog to check it out and enter to win it! :) 

Bird Themed Classroom

Two years ago, I made my door and hallway display bird themed. This has been one of my favorite themes, so I decided to have a "Tweet Tweet" bird themed classroom this year....then I decided to move to 5th grade. I had already created almost all of my bird theme creations, so rather than throw it away, I decided to finish it and upload it to my store in case any of y'all wanted to create a classroom with this adorable theme. Here's my door/hallway display from two years ago.

Here's what's included in the 85 page complete classroom set:

Word Wall Letters

 Classroom Rules

Place Value Cards, Calendar Cards, Name Plates

 Months of the Year

 Number Cards

 Days of the Week

Behavior Management Plan

ABC Cards

Click here to check out the set!!

The Importance of Focus Boards

One of the most important parts of my classroom design is my focus board. I feel like this is one of the most essential boards in my classroom and also one of the most beneficial. I love the fact that students can look and see exactly what they are going to learn about for the week. It also helps me stay on track! I'm currently working on several different Focus Board Headers and I just finished and uploaded the first pack to my store:

I've included 8 different headers in 7 color choices. If you need an additional header title, feel free to email me and I'll add it to the pack.

If you are unfamiliar with focus boards, here are my past focus boards.

I'm still working on different theme for these headers. If you have a special request, feel free to email me! :)

**Remember! I've started a new blog for my new grade: come check it out and follow me!!! 

Life in Fifth Grade