I love teaching Fairy Tales!

Once upon a time, I loved to teach fairy tales and I still do! I wanted to be consistent with the activities I used so I could see growth throughout the year. That's why I created my Fairy Tale Units! 

I created books for each unit. But I also love reading other versions! Below are Amazon Afflilate Links of my favorite fairy tale stories. 

In the fall I use The Little Red Hen. It is great for talking about harvest. 

Here are my favorites!

During fluency practice, my students love using reader's theater. The Little Red Hen is such a simple story, it is great for beginning readers in the fall.

Here are examples from all my fairy tale reader's theater scripts. The character necklaces make them feel like a part of the story. They always want to trade characters and read them again and again!

Fairy tales are a great way to learn about cause and effect.

Around the holidays I use The Gingerbread Man. It's a great story even to use with those who don't celebrate winter holidays.

These are some of my favorite books to use. 

I love pairing nonfiction with fiction. It really help kids understand the different types of reading. 

Here are nonfiction passages included in my fairy tale units. 

Vocabulary and comprehension included. 

We use the nonfiction passages to research for writing.

In the spring I love reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Everything is turning green just like in the story!

I love to compare these books.

Venn Diagrams are great for comparing. 

These simple retells are a great way to hit the standards in literature and writing.

And in March we do a month-long fairy tale unit when I use The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Jack and the Beanstalk, my childhood favorites! 

I had a hard time choosing from the MANY Goldilocks stories so I included several.

 

These sequencing worksheets are great for retelling Goldilocks and the Three Bears and other fairy tales.

Incorporate writing in their retelling. 

Here are some centers that I incorporate during fairy tale units. 

I'm pretty particular about my Jack and the Beanstalk stories. I like it when the Giant has the gold, the harp, and the hen/goose. Some stories only have some of them. These have them all!

Each of my fairy tale units has a read-aloud book and a reader that students can color. 

Fairy tales are perfect for learning about character traits. 

These books are my favorites to use with The Three Little Pigs. 

The kids love making these wanted posters and hanging them all over our school. 

Wanted posters are a fun way to interact with the stories. 

Work on story elements with story maps. 

This is the only Little Red Riding Hood story I have. Do you have any you love?

Writing letters to the characters is a great way to get writing in while interacting with the story. 

Story questions help check understanding. 

You can even incorporate some phonics review!

After they've read several versions of a fairy tale, students can become the authors! They can plan out their story. The fill in the blank outlines give young writers lots of support. 

This is my newest fairy tale book, readers theater, and thematic unit. 

This is the only Ugly Duckling book I have. Do you have any favorite versions of this story? Click to see it on Amazon.

Each fairy tale has a book and reader. Click to see in my store!

       

Each fairy tale has a reader's theater script. Click to see in my store!

         

Each fairy tale has a unit that includes the book, reader's theater script, and all the activities shown above. Click to see in my store!

   

and the BUNDLE!

BIG NEWS!

 

I have taken a new job for the 2021-2022 school year! 

I have been teaching first grade in the same school for 7 years and I taught 6 years of preschool before that in the same district. 

I LOVE first grade and my team of teachers but I felt the need for a change. I will be a Math Interventionist in my new district. I will be in charge of three schools' math interventions. I am nervous about leaving the classroom and packing up my room has been a major chore. 

But I'm looking forward to the new challenge! It is a brand new position and program so there is a lot of uncertainty and things to figure out, but that is what makes it exciting! 

Book and Video Link Library - FREEBIE

Hey all! I've been sooooo busy remote and hybrid teaching this year. I'm sure you have too! I can see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel so I'm hoping we'll be back to normal(ish) by fall! If anything, this pandemic has taught me how to teach remotely and how to use technology in ways I didn't know were possible! 

I am known as Miss Organization and when my first grade team started compiling a shared list of book and video links to use for our lessons, I just had to organize it to save time! 

It started off as a Google Doc that turned out to be several pages long so I thought a spreadsheet would be the best option to organize it. On Google Sheets, my team and I can all add to it to share the workload. And now YOU can get in on the fun! See the video below to see how it works! 

If you'd like your own copy of the Book and Video Link Library, click below to make your own copy. Come back often because I'll be adding to it all the time! If you find any links that don't work, please let me know by emailing me at mrsbates99@headfirstgrade.com! 

Easter Resources to get you through till Spring BREAK!

If you need some Easter resources to get you through till Spring Break, I've got some FUN ones! 

Roll Say Take is a versatile game file that can be edited and programmed for ANY skill. Here we were practicing sight words. Just type in your skill and print! 

Kids love Bingo Daubers! I love sight word practice! This resource makes us both happy! Editable fields that you can type in. Use for spelling words, sight words, etc. 

This seasonal set of 100 Chart Cards are perfect for changing up your math display or for a center. I use them for whole group math lessons too. Or you can choose the puzzle version! 

I also have the puzzle version in digital form for your iPads and tablets.

Or if you want a printable option, kids love coloring these 120 Charts. 

Write the Room cards are always fun and great for centers and early finishers. Mine are premade or editable so you can enter your own skills if you want!

 

Make teaching writing more fun with cute paper!  Page toppers and outlines also included in my Spring into Writing! 

  

For a quick party game, Spring Bingo is a Low Prep option for only $1!!!! Kids make their own bingo cards. Large call cards for students to see easily. Simple enough that kids can play in a center. 

Here's some cute Easter math fact pages for your math fluency. 

Nonfiction Rabbit Passages are a big hit when the Easter Bunny comes hopping by! Or use as an alternative to Easter activities. Read, comprehend, and write about rabbits with this pack!

Or you can assign this digital version on Google Classroom! 

I hope you've found some easy and FUN Easter resources! Have a great Spring Break if you haven't yet!

Holiday and Seasonal Math Fact Worksheet Packs and a FREEBIE!

Math fact practice is a boring but necessary activity for young learners. Make this practice a little more fun with my cute season math fact packs! Click on any picture to see them in my store and get a freebie at the end of this post!

Addition facts, subtraction facts, and a mix of both are included. Different numbers of problems are available in each pack. 

They are sorted by the sums/differences. Divided into 0-5, 0-10, 10-15, and 10-18 for different levels and differentiation. 

Facts are horizontal, vertical, and a mix of each. Many of the pages have number lines right on them for students who need this tool. 

Use for practice and for fact tests. I like to put them on the back of my math worksheets or morning work. Why is there always a back side, Mrs. Bates?! :) 

I was tired of always searching for math fact worksheets, so I made my own! 

Each pack has about 25-30 worksheets to choose from, plenty for a month. 

You can get each set for $3.99 or 

get the bundle of over 225 worksheets for $24.99!

You can also see my nonseasonal math facts here.

And now for your FREEBIE! Enjoy!