Welcome to Mrs. Johnson's Alphabet Soup

  
Hi there! Welcome to Mrs. Johnson’s Alphabet Soup. My name is Aubri Johnson the face behind The madness. I have been teaching for the last 5 years and now stay at home with my little guys. I miss the classroom on a daily basis but now my class just looks a little different. I love anything creative, innovative, techie and up lifting. My loves are my family, doughnuts, the outdoors and did I mention doughnuts? This is a space for me to be creative and connect with all you amazing people. Mrs. Johnson’s Alphabet Soup really is just that, an accumulation of my loves all thrown together to make something amazing. Welcome!

Apple TV Donor's Choose

I am once again trying to step out of my element (ahhhhh). I am not sure if that is how you feel when you do something new but it gives me this strange since of panic, with a dash of adrenaline.  I guess that is what makes life so fun right :) So.... this is my first time writing a grant, and drum roll please (drum roll sound......) and it got excepted YAY! Now it is getting it funded!

If any of you out there would love to help a little classroom out, we are wanting an Apple TV, mini IPad and a case to protect it.  This will really help make our interactive games more user friendly to the whole class instead of it just being for an individual student. Please pass the word along! This would be so helpful come and visit us at Donorschoose.org

Interactive Focus Journal Complete YAY!

Do you ever have those moments that you want to stand on your teacher desk and do the happy dance!?! {Do doo do do doo do doo do} This is me doing my happy dance! I hope you enjoyed! Well the big dance was all for the Interactive Focus Journal completion!!! I have been working on this throughout the whole year.  I have made it as we went through the program and tweeked what the students had a hard time with or didn't enjoy.  This journal really is written with student input (which I love).  So come and visit the rest of our journals!

Blog Lovin'

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My Book of Sounds

Hello again! This week I have been working on My Book of Sounds. My friend and I were talking about things that we would like for next year and came up with this great idea. Don't you love collaborating!!!! We have been using the Spalding Phonics program in our classes.  We have really enjoyed aspects of it but now continue but with our own twist.  I guess you could call this our own twist.  My Book of Sounds has a column for each sound.  For example if it is o there will be a three columns with an example word at the top for /o/, o, /oo/ and then at the bottom it has a blank for a picture of your choosing. Or in the example provided (see below) /th/ in thin and /th/ in this  If that phonogram has a hint or a special word that we use the hint is below the phonogram on the page (see below the ee).

Here is an index of what the book includes:

 I am very excited to implement this for next year.  We have been using a book similar to this but it focused on different aspect of the word.  I liked the idea that my students could see the sound standing alone, applying in words, using all of the sounds that it makes, AND sketching a picture that makes since to their brain. Oh I didn't mention the poster that we do each day as well. I am providing it  FREE! It is a quick 20 second routine that we do daily.  I have it on a large poster and we practice each sound that goes with each letter.  We do other activities as well but this is part of our daily routine and thought that you may like it as well. This is the first grade version, the extended version is provided in the packet.

 As you can tell I am very excited! Enjoy and happy teaching!

Focus Board

Hello again! I am finally finished with my literacy focus board! Yay! I love the reference for my kiddos and that we are able to go over it at the beginning of the day, then reference it throughout the day. It makes my heart so happy when I hear a student say "hey we talked about that this morning, it is on our board." {sounds of singing angels} Love when stuff like that happens! This board goes with the Wonders Reading program.  I have also created one for the Reading Street Reading Program as well (not pictured but has similar components).

You can get it all with this pack! It includes each Unit Theme, Question of the Week, Comprehension focus, Grammar Mechanics, Grammar, Structural Analysis, Phonics, Genre, Vocabulary Words (as well as words for word wall, and High Frequency Words (also includes word wall words).  I am telling you this is has it all.  

To go along with the Focus Board I have created an Interactive Focus Journal.  This includes the Phonics and Structural Analysis portion (Grammar... Hopefully coming soon). I use this as my writing piece in my Daily 5 and do writing at a different time.  I have seen every student in my class improve in literacy! It is in great efforts to this amazing interactive journal.  My kiddos have embraced the kinesthetic aspect and are loving it!

Check it out! It really is a great resource for any lower elementary grade! 

Happy Learning!

Math Daily 3 (Getting Started)

Hello All! I am very excited to be starting Math Daily 3 in my classroom.  I completely agree with the 'Sisters' when they said that they felt so successful with their literacy groups, but when it came to math they felt like they were throwing information out at their kiddos and praying that they would get the information. Not feeling like I had any time during math to work with my lowies and not feeling like my students were getting enough review time, I knew that this was for me! 

After reading the second addition of Daily 5 (the math portion) I felt inspired and wanted to see what others had found that had worked. One of the most inspiring blogs I found was

Her centers were exactly what I needed! I felt like this made my life so much easier so that I didn't have to compile a bunch of activities. She had them all ready there and they aligned perfectly with our CRT test for the end of the year. AMAZING! I love that fellow teachers are so willing to share! 

So this is how I made it work for my space.  

I needed a number for the front of my buckets. I have attached the numbers. I hope that this can be helpful in your classroom!

FREE DOWNLOAD!

After my students come to check in, the students then go and check off on the chart (free download below). I have printed this on 11X17 paper and laminated it.  I have written each students name above the name column. Each student will find their name (I write these with a Sharpie Marker and then I will erase it at the end of the year with a dry erase marker scribbled on the to and wipe it off) and choose which Math Daily 3 (Math by Myself, Math with Someone, or Math Writing) they will then take the dry erase marker and make an X above their choice, on their row.  The X helps my OCD students that would spend the whole time coloring their square in, but still helps them to know which Daily 3 they have already done.  I will be adding this to our jobs at the end of the day, for someone to erase the X's. We are on year around (which I love), and we will be rotating rooms the following year (which I am not loving as much), so I needed something that was easy to store but still would get the job done. 

I hope that this will help! I will keep you posted on what works best for me. Happy Learning!