Maricella Mesa

Maricella Mesa, First Grade, Mariposa Elementary

Spotlight: Classroom Management, Kagan Strategies, Routines and Procedures, PBIS, Leader In Me, Phonics, Eureka Math, and Writing

I taught Preschool in OMSD for 10 years. I am currently in my 6th year of teaching. I taught kindergarten for 5 years and this is my first year teaching first grade. I have my A. A degree in Child Development from Mt. San Antonio College. I have my Bachelors's degree in Liberal Studies from Azusa Pacific University. I am currently working on my Master's degree in Elementary Administration. I have always had a love for teaching ever since I was a child. My goal in life is to educate students in academics but to also help them develop emotionally. I believe in teaching the whole child and giving students the confidence they need to be successful. Mariposa is a "Leader In Me," school that encourages students to be leaders and problem solvers. I want students to know that they can be and do anything they want to do. They will learn, "Practice makes progress, NOT perfection."  In my classroom, students will learn to synergize with their peers, put first things first, and make a plan. They will learn to take responsibility and ownership for their learning. All while feeling loved and appreciated. 

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Classroom Tour

 Checkout my teachergram account on Instagram @marvelous_mrs.mesa

My Classroom Resources

Wonders Slides

In kindergarten, I discovered Wonders slides with links to videos and songs. I cannot remember who I got them from, but it was a part of a kindergarten group on Facebook. 

I loved them so much that I am creating them for my first-grade team. My teammate Jeannie Bundy has shared other unit slides and I have linked them on my slides as well. This is especially helpful if you are suddenly out due to illness or meetings. I use video.link to (use to be safetube) to link videos without the commercials or inappropriate content from youtube. I also add eureka math videos and timers, and music and movement songs. 

Wonders Curriculum Organization Tip

Get dollar tree or 99 cent store buckets and label them for each of your Wonders Units. My buckets are labeled by Unit for HFW and vocabulary cards, leveled readers, and decodable readers. This makes finding materials quickly and helps substitutes find materials easier. 

Laptop Cart Organization Tip

If you are fortunate to have a laptop cart, here's a tip. I got this tip from a fellow teacher on Instagram @aprimarykindoflife 

Use rainbow-colored washi tape and color-code each laptop, charging cord, and location in the cart. This makes it easier for students to find their laptops and charging cords. No more mix-ups and miss-placed laptops. Each laptop is also numbered with the student's number they have in my class.