Primary Handwriting Pack

63 Vertical & Horizontal Pages

I have worked hard on this primary handwriting pack to create as many different kinds of writing pages you might need in the classroom for writing projects, stations/centers and journals. I usually kept handwriting paper handy and with this packet on your computer, all you need to do is open and print. 

I hope this helps you. You can choose from any of the 63 vertical or horizontal pages in this pack!! I have included a few samples of what you would be getting below! This is just a few of the great pages! 

Check out my TpT store by clicking any image below. 


Thank you for stopping by!

Wacky West (Melisa)

Cyber Sale

November 28th and 29th

Cyber Sale on TpT. Please check out my store and others for great deals!! Click on the sale banner to go to my store. 

Thanks for your support! 

Melisa (Wacky West)

Black Friday Sale

Check Out My TpT Store for Savings

Black Friday 2016 I have my whole store on sale! Check out the savings at :

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wacky-West

TpT is also having a Cyber Sale November 28th and 29th. Come to my store for more savings!! 

Thank you for supporting hard working teachers, like yourself! 

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Wacky West (Melisa)

Spelling Test Forms

LOTS of Spelling Test Forms

My spelling test forms were homemade and looked it! I decided to work on spelling test forms that were better and I could print right from my computer. As the year goes on, I tend to add a dictation sentence or two to my test as well. I usually have a bonus word, some teachers have two. In order to help all, I made 20 different spelling test forms and put them all into one download on TpT. 

You can get the download by clicking on one of the images below.

Scroll through these images here to view some example images from my packet: 

This is just a FEW examples of what you will get from my download. If you purchase this and you need another type of form, please email me and I will help create a form for you, if I can!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wacky West (Melisa)

Cyber Sale

Don't Miss This... 

Make sure you check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store for my CYBER SALE! Don't miss out on all the great deals other authors have, as well! 

The sale takes place November 28th and 29th!! DON'T MISS IT!

Thank you for supporting teachers, just like you!!

Wacky West (Melisa)

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wacky-West

First Grade Opinion Writing

Opinion Writing Materials and Ideas

I have a love and hate relationship with writing in first grade. The students are just learning how to read and write yet we want them to go through the whole writing process and produce a finished multi sentence piece that makes sense and stays on topic. YIKES, am I right?

I feel like some writing comes easier when you have a good text or idea. I also like to have classroom journals up and running so that response to literature can happen, station writing can happen and it is another early finisher idea. Journals are something that is easy to pull out and help practice when you need a time filler that is high order learning with writing being a difficult skill. 

Click paper image to go to TpT store

One of my favorite opinion writing projects is paired with reading the book, "Duck Rabbit!". This book is perfect for your first opinion writing project. The author has two people arguing whether or not the picture they are looking at is a duck or a rabbit. The people in the story give their reasons or their evidence why they believe what they believe. It is a great way to explain opinion. TpT has a lot of templates like the one that I have posted here that help with the writing project. The kiddos can color the picture to show the animal they think it is and write their reasons why. 

Just 1 of the 4 pre-writing organizers
included in my TpT packet

Of course, you can not just give the students a writing paper and ask them to write their opinion, give reasons and a conclusion without giving examples or a pre-writing organizer. I have created just the thing that you would need to help your students organize their writing, come up with journal ideas when writing opinions on their own and pre-made writing pages for you to create your own opinion lessons. I have also included my PowerPoint presentation that I use to introduce opinion writing to my class. You can find it on my TpT store, Wacky West or click the link to go straight to it. 

1 out of 17 different pre-made
writing prompts!

Good luck teaching writing in your classroom! I hope you check out my TpT and I hope it helps you, as it has helped me through the years! 

Come back for more ideas, seller items and freebies! 

Wacky West (Melisa)

My TpT Store:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wacky-West

100s and 120s Chart Freebies and Activity

100s and 120s Chart Activity

I like to think of activities that my kids can go to when they are done with their work, maybe even done with a station and need something to do for a few minutes while others finish. I call these activities, "Early Finishers" and I usually keep them in buckets on a shelf for the kiddos to go to. I talked about elkonin boxes as a great ELA early finisher a couple posts back and I wanted to give you more ideas. 

I usually keep a list of what the students must do during their work time and put "Early Finishers" on the may do list when they are done with their must dos. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wacky-West

This is a great math early finisher activity. I print 100s or 120s charts on colored paper. I try to find as many different colors as I can. You could print on card stock but if you laminate, you don't have to. I ask my other teacher friends for a couple sheets of their colored paper if they have different colors than me. I use all the different colors so I can make as many puzzles as I can. When the students go to clean up, they know that ONE color goes in their bag. That way there is not mixing up bags. DON'T FORGET - print one on white too!

Zipper Bags
are GREAT!

Once I print all the 100s charts out that I want, I laminate the sheets whole. I trim the sheets and then make 100s chart puzzles. I cut them in many different ways. Remember the more cuts that you make, the harder the puzzle will be. You can change out your puzzles as the year goes on, if you would like to. I put the puzzles in ziplock bags. I LOVE the bags with the zipper because they are easier for kids to work them. 

ALSO, I like to print out a couple copies of each chart and laminate them in advance so I can just pull them out and make new puzzles when needed but you can always go back and print more. (I also print in advance while I have the colored paper, I don't want to use a color all up during the year and then not have a chance to have it as a puzzle color.)

I made my own 100s and 120s chart and posted them on TpT for FREE!! You can go there and also check out my other TpT items. 

Here is my TpT site - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wacky-West

Thanks for stopping by! Check back for more ideas and freebies! 

Wacky West

First Grade Graphing

First Grade Graphing Packet on TpT

Hey everyone! 

I worked hard this past weekend to clean up all my graphing activities that I have made throughout the years. I know M&M and Skittle graphs have been done before but I have also added in Goldfish Colors, favorite pie, favorite animal, etc. This packet has 9 different activities. Some of the activities come with multiple pages and ideas. 

I have 2 other graphs that I didn't include because there are people on Pinterest and TpT that have perfected the graphs already but it is "What is your Favorite Apple" and "Gingerbread Bite Graph" where you graph which body part you ate first on the gingerbread man. One is perfect for the fall and the other around the winter holidays. 

The packet I made is only $3.00 and it even includes tally marks, data interpreting and gathering your own data from materials given or from the class. 

I love graphing because it is an easy break from the other more difficult units but it also includes some challenging questions as well. 

I hope you check it out and enjoy!

Please come back for more tips, ideas and TpT freebies and buys! 

Follow the link for my TpT site: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Grade-Graphing-Packet-2877746

Melisa (Wacky West)

Disguise a Turkey

Tom Turkey Disguise Project

This project is a great way for the kids to be creative at home with their families and a great way to decorate the hallways for the Thanksgiving holiday. We would do this project as a grade level and hang/display all the turkeys in the hallways to make it festive. 

Each year we would send home a white and black turkey clipart picture printed on cardstock paper. We asked the kiddos to decorate the turkey so he would not get caught and eaten for Thanksgiving. 

I collected some turkeys my students had decorated throughout the years to show future classrooms but I have included pictures here to give you an idea of how creative they can get and you can show these ideas to your students if you choose to do this project with your class. 

We asked our administration to pick the "Top 5" winners of the grade level and we would pass out awards that I have included in my TpT freebie. I have posted a direct link below. You can award how you want, but it was fun doing it as  grade level and having outside judges. 


To relate the project more to school I had a writing project in place for the kiddos to do once the turkeys were turned in. If a student didn't complete the project at home, I would give them some time in class to complete one with a few materials I had at school. We would each write a funny narrative story about our turkey and how he disguised himself so he was not eaten for Thanksgiving. It was fun for all and the stories are usually hilarious too, showing how creative the students' voices can be. :-)

I hope you have fun doing this project with your kiddos! It is a blast! 

Click on the link for  some of the materials on TpT: 

Melisa 

(Wacky West)



 *Please note that you are free to use the images here for classroom use but they are not to be used in a commercial way or sold in anyway. If you use the images other than for instruction, please ask permission.

First Grade Math Morning Work Freebie

CCSS Based Math Morning Work for First Grade

Option 1 - Beginning of the Year

My first grade team of teachers and I were looking for something simple for our kiddos to do when they came in each morning. We were looking for something that would help with number sense, they could complete on their own and kept them busy. Our students had time in the morning before class started to eat breakfast in the classroom and having morning work and independent activities were very helpful. 

Other teachers also used these as a "do now" or a number talk before math began, it would be something they would go over as a class before they started math. You could also use these as an exit slip or early finisher sheets. You of course can choose what you use it for. 

I created 2 versions as the year moves on, it gets a little more rigorous and adds on another skill level with the part-part-whole boxes. The second version helps when you teach addition and subtraction and your students have a good understanding of it.

Version 2 - Once Addition and Subtraction Concepts Have Been Taught

These 2 versions have 2 to a page. You can cut them apart to use as you wish. I have used these sheets in a variety of ways through the years. 

Here is a list of how I have used them throughout the years: 

1. One year I had a bin with a bunch of 1/2 sheets. The students would eat their breakfast and then grab a 1/2 sheet to complete after eating. They would either turn the paper in for me to check or keep it on their desk for us to go over. 

2. One year I cut the papers apart and made a packet of 5 for the week by stapling them together. I passed out the packets each day and they completed again after eating breakfast. 

3. One year I just stapled 2 pages together and we only did 4 days and I usually had something more fun on Friday. 

I post the number I want the students to use on the board. I usually include the spelling of the number until we have created a poster/anchor chart/math journal page for reference. 
I hope these are helpful for you! You can get them here at my TpT store. Feel free to check out my other goodies and freebies on the page as well!

Click the link for the freebie!!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-of-the-Day-Morning-Work-2859512




Thanks for stopping by!

Melisa (Wacky West)

Pencil War

Are Your Students Eating Pencils?

Some years my students were very good at keeping up pencils. One year I went through pencils like air. I did not know what to do. I talked it over with other teachers, changed pencil policy a bunch of times and turned to Pinterest until I ran into this little gem that SAVED MY LIFE! 

This poster said it all - it was a WAR and I wanted to WIN! This was put together by "The Wise Owl" on TpT and her name couldn't be any better, she is very wise! What is even better, this idea is FREE!!

It is simple and she has it all laid out in her packet on TpT. Click the link here to download. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winning-the-Pencil-War-An-Effective-Management-System-343219

Here is a little about the plan - 

Items you will need: 
             1. Pencils (yellow/regular colored pencils)
             2. Pink Erasers (one for each student)
             3. Pencil Bags/Pouches*
             4. Prizes**

*I just buy cheap pencil pouches when they go on sale in the summer before school begins. I stock up so I have enough for the school year and extras for new students. 

**Prizes can be fun pencils and erasers, stickers, wrapped candy like a starburst, etc. I have used treasure box slips as a prize. 



Set up is easy. Use a sharpie to write the name of the student on the bag. Fill with the same amount of pencils in each bag and one pink eraser. She suggests 8 pencils. I have done 6 before and it worked out as well. 



Last, the rules. 
I give the students their pencils bags on Monday and they give the bags back, with all their pencils, on Friday. They must have all their pencils (in relatively good shape) and eraser on Friday to get a prize put in their bag. On Friday, I sharpen all the pencils, replaced old pencils if needed, and replace ones that are missing. It is okay if they have pencils missing, I just replace them, but they don't get a prize. THEY DO NOT GET TO SHARPEN PENCILS DURING THE WEEK. IF THEY BREAK A PENCIL, THEY GO TO THEIR BAG FOR A NEW ONE. 
I was hesitant about the limit but the kids keep up with them when they know they are going to be rewarded. I have never had a kid break all their pencils during one week. 

I have a cup in my room for "missing" pencils that we find on the floor. 

I also allow them to keep "special" pencils and erasers in their bag but they do not count towards their total of 8 yellow pencils. 

THIS IS A GREAT SYSTEM!!! 

Check it out! 

Hope it helps you, like it helped me!

Melisa (Wacky West)

Tile Spacers - The Perfect Math Manipulative

TIP - Tile Spacers are a Great Tool for Math

Local home improvement stores will
have tile spacers for purchase

It is late. I am watching the election results. I want to go to sleep but my curiosity wont let me. I thought I would get on here and give my hands something else to do while I wait on the results. I hope that you were able to get out there and vote! 

Anyways...here is my PSA for tonight...

I am always looking for a great tool in my classroom for math. I feel like the students always do better in math when they can touch and manipulate their math. Seeing the numbers and knowing what they mean is a great way to learn numbers and equations. 

When we use a manipulative in the classroom, math can be loud. I like loud but I do not want the manipulative to be loud as well, the students do not need help raising the volume in the classroom. (Am I right?!?!)

I ran across tile spacers when working with my team of teachers. They are a great tool to use for math. They are soft, quiet, small and cheap. A bag of 500 can be purchased at most home improvement stores for close to 6 bucks. (What a deal!)

I also like them because they are not shaped like anything. When you use bears and other specific shaped manipulatives they can be a problem for playing or stealing. I can tell a math story and we as a class can pretend that these tile spacers are ANYTHING in the world - birds, fish, flowers, cats, kids, candy, etc. 

Check them out! 

Good Night (morning) and Happy Teaching!

Wacky West (Melisa)

Stations and Elkonin Boxes (Ideas and Strategies)

How I Run my Station/Small Group Time and a Perfect Activity for Phoneme Segmentation!!

I like to have activities for my students to do that are easy, fun, and (most importantly) educational. You could use elkonin boxes as a station but I liked to use them as an early finisher activity for my students to go to when they were done with their work or station. Let me explain how I did that. 

This is how I ran small group and stations in my classroom:

1. Each student was given seatwork to complete before going to their station. I do not have the teacher listed as a station, so this gives me time to run stations and give them plenty of work to keep them busy.

            a. The seat work typically went with the lesson

            b. Sometimes I gave out more than one thing of seat work.

            c. The seat work was sometimes skills based, like phonics practice or 

                 spelling practice. 

2. I have a station rotation chart on the wall so students know where to go or what materials to bring back to their desks. The students would turn in their seat work and then go to their station. 

             a. I like to keep stations generic, changing only the words or skill but

                  keeping the station the same so I do not have to do a lot of 

                  explaining each week. 

             b.  I also like to try to find stations that can be completed multiple 

                  times or take a while to complete. 

3. When a student does finish their station I like to have "early finisher buckets" for them to take back to their seat or a quiet place in the room. 

             a. These activities can range but are usually a little more fun but 

                  educational. 

(This was a simple outline of my station/small group time. If you have questions please feel free to comment below or email me! mgriffey1421@gmail.com) 

2 Examples of an Elkonin Box
Freebie from Teacher's Notebook (Link Below)

Elkonin Boxes were a favorite early finisher activity in my classroom. Elkonin Boxes have a picture and then boxes below the picture. There are enough boxes for each sound the word has. I stuck to CVC, CCVC or CVCC words with my students since this was an activity they did by themselves. I have included a picture of a freebie I found and I put the link below so you can grab the freebie!  

I gathered as many freebie boxes as I could find and printed them out on printer paper and then laminated them at school. (Check Pinteret for more freebies, I found TONS on there!!) I cut out each one and then put them in a basket with dry erase markers. When you laminate them, they can write on them with dry erase markers and then erase it and use the box over and over again. Magic erasers help with the marker that is hard to erase. I try to stay away from marker colors that stain like red, orange and pink. Stick to black, blue and green. They tend to wipe away better. 

The laminated boxes can last a while but I usually made new ones each school year. 

The students then use the marker to write the letter they hear when they sound out the word. This helps the child with so many helpful reading, writing and handwriting skills all in one simple activity! 

This is also a perfect small group idea and you could teach it as a small group idea and then put it in the basket for them to complete after they know what to do. 

I typically had 2 markers in a bucket so that 2 students could be at the buckets at one time. I do not like a lot of noise during small group so I limit the students that can use certain materials and activities. You can also make more buckets or make enough so that you can put one at each table group you have in your room. 

I hope this helps!! 

Come back for more activities, ideas and freebies!

Wacky West (Melisa)

Here is the link for a freebie!!!!!

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/kskdmad/freebie-cvc-word-work-elkonin-boxes-phoneme-segmentation

Veterans Day Wreath Craft For Kids

Veterans Day Craft For Kids

Each Veterans Day, the school I worked at held a lunch for our Veterans and families. They were welcome to each with their child at our school during their lunch time. We were a military town so the turnout was very high for lunch. We filled the hallways with extra tables and a special lunch was cooked in the cafeteria for all to enjoy. The students decorated the hallways with artwork and letters to the Veterans, thanking them for all they do. 

I was having a hard time finding a picture of a wreath that one of my kiddos made in years past but I found a picture on a website through Pinterest. (What would I do without Pinterest? How did teachers in the past teach without it??!?!?!?!??!?!)

Paper Wreath from Activity Hero (Link Below)

I would use the school's dye cut machine, you could purchase them too, and cut out stars in red, white and blue. We had 2 different size stars and I would cut out a ton for my kiddos to use. (I usually got the help of a parent volunteer to cut the stars out for me if I could round one up!!)

I would buy cheap white paper plates, cut out the middle of the wreath and let the students go to town gluing the red, white and blue stars around the plate. If you are adventurous, like me, I would have a glitter table for them to add glitter when they were done. You can also add stickers, foam shapes, or draw on it with crayons for the added "bling". One year I had my students write a message on a "banner" paper that I made by cutting out a rectangular shape and we attached it across the front of the wreath with a message to the Veterans. You can really do this craft in many ways. 

The wreaths looked great on the wall, were easy and quick for the kids to make and were a big hit with the Veterans. The hallways looked so festive and inviting for the members of our military that have risked their lives for our freedoms. 

Thank you Veterans!

Visit again for more ideas and freebies!!

Wacky West (Melisa)

Here is the link if you want to read more:  http://blog.activityhero.com/things-to-do-on-memorial-day-with-kids/#sthash.uoZkj6DX.dpbs

Editable Gradebook Freebie

My First Teachers Pay Teachers Item is....

an editable gradebook page and it is free! It was very simple to make but why invent the wheel when you can get it here for free. You are able to type on it before you print it out. 

I always wondered why I would need a paper gradebook when my school system has an online gradebook.  I refuse to buy one, even now, but I LOVE having a paper gradebook around. I don't keep it because I am afraid of technology failing me. I keep in on my clipboard and use it for everything and it is great because I cannot hold my computer and carry it around with me to take grades.. It is a great way to keep up with the quick grading and the kids get to keep their papers for instant feedback for home. I then can record their grades online at a later time and keep instruction flowing. 

I have a few freebies on my teachers pay teacher (TpT) site now. Check them out along with this editable freebie goody!! 

Check out the link below for the freebie!!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Simple-Gradebook-Page-Editable-2857375   


Thanks for stopping by!

Melisa

Take Home Treasure Box Slip

I'm Back!!

Well, I have joined Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) as a seller so that I can share some of my resources that I have made through the years as a teacher. I know that I will have to work on my marketing abilities and computer skill but I have started my page and put up some items that I used in my classroom. 

There are some sellers out there that are my favorites and I hope to become as good as them one day, but for now I am going to keep things simple and see how I do on the site. 

My site link is - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wacky-West 

Feel free to check out the items I have posted. I have posted some free items and reasonably priced practice and assessments. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at my email - 

mgriffey1421@gmail.com

or leave a comment below. 

I am also interest in hearing ideas/comments/and questions about my products. If you like what you see but you need it more tailored to your needs, I am willing to help work with you to make this the best product for your classroom needs. 

Below I have included a picture and short description of one of my FREE products on TpT. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Melisa



Here are some pictures of my Take Home Treasure Box Incentive slips. I don't know about you but I always have parents asking for ideas to get their child more motivated at home or for extra homework/activities to keep their child busy. The one thing that I always suggest is READ with your child more and spend time with your child doing quality things. I do not like homework but if I am going to send it home, I want it to be meaningful and I feel like reading with your child and talking to them about the book, is one of the most beneficial things you can do with your child. I thought these slips will help and it is easy for parents to fill them out and send them back in. It is also a great motivator for their child since they could earn a prize from school for working hard and being a good citizen.

I have created two slips, anymore and it would be too hard for parents/families to keep track of. I created a reading 20 minutes slip and a good deed slip. The parents must sign them and fill out the good deed on the back of the slip before they send them back to school.

I also send the slips home on colored paper, so they are easier to keep track of. You could send them home on the same color each time, but if you are like me, I never have enough of the same colored paper so I just send home on whatever I have in class when I print them out. :-)

I have the slips along with a note that I send home explaining the slips on my TpT store. This little goody is FREE.


You can implement this anyway that you would like to. I have my own treasure box system in my classroom as well. They can earn a slip in class for doing something above and beyond. When the students bring their slips from home I read the slips aloud, usually during morning meeting, and make a big deal about what they did at home too! This helps to create good citizens at home and at school too. I add the home slips to the same jar as the classroom slips. This way, if there is a kid that doesn't participate in the home slips, they all have a chance to win.

I send the slips home every couple of weeks or if I notice someone is more active, I will slip more slips in their take home folder sooner.

**When I have a classroom volunteer/ parent helper come to my classroom to read with students, I will have slips for them to fill out as well. I try to have my students that do not get the slips from home a chance to earn them at this time.**

I hope this idea helps in your classroom as well.

The First Post - A little about me....

Welcome to WaCkY WeSt BLog

Well this is my first blog post. I am sure you can tell and I hope to get better as I go along. 

I created this blog to connect with other teachers. I have taught for 8 years in first grade and one year in kindergarten. I LOVE teaching this age group. I love the connection that is made with learning at this age. It has been a passion of mine to be a teacher and I love every stressful minute of it. 

I graduated in 2007 and in 2008 got my first job teaching in Tennessee. I moved to TN from Michigan with a friend of mine who just graduated too. We were both teaching first grade in the same district and so excited to have jobs. I transferred the next year to the same school as my friend and we worked together in first grade and kindergarten. 

After my year in kindergarten, the numbers for kindergarten dropped and I was asked to move back to first grade. I was not happy at first with the move but it ended up being a great thing. My team of teachers in first grade were like family to me since I lived so far away from my actual family. 

I started dating my now husband, Jason, 3 years ago. He was a transplant as well, from Florida. He traveled with me to Michigan one day and fell in love with the area. We were married in Michigan, vacationed in Michigan and now we live in Michigan. 

Since we moved to Michigan, I have had a difficult time finding a job. I am going to be subbing shortly but in the meantime, I am going to try to help with the information I gathered in the 8 years that I taught and hopefully connect with teachers to help me get a job. 

When I worked in TN, I was the grade level "team leader" and the go to for computer things. I know there are teachers out there that are more computer savvy than I, but I am trying to boost my knowledge while I am out of work. Perfect my craft and hopefully help improve my chances in the job market. 

I am coming to the blog world to help me with my computer needs, get my questions answered and help others if I can. 

More posts to come!

Wacky West (Melisa)