Guided Reading Organization

Well, as promised, I am back with how I organize my Guided Reading Groups.  This is key to how I plan and prepare my reading group materials.  And, of course, the use of binders!  :) .

Today, our local Walmart had a Teacher Appreciation event.  The first 300 teachers received a reusable bag with coupons and a few "goodies" to help us start the year off.  It was very thoughtful of them to remember teachers as we begin to think about our Back to School needs.  While I was there, I picked up the materials to start organizing my reading groups for this school year!

Here is a picture of what I picked up:

Items from Walmart plus book and materials for reading group.

So, to organize my Guided Reading Groups, I start with the binder.  I have found the tab dividers with pockets work best for me.  You are welcome to choose the regular tab dividers if that works better for you.  Put the tab dividers into the 3 ring binder.  The one pictured is a one inch white binder with clear sleeve on the outside.  Once I have the dividers inside the binder, I am ready to put my materials in the pockets.

Since we are talking about materials I use for reading groups, let's visit what materials I use during my reading time!  Reading a-z is an incredible website!  They have an amazing selection of stories ranging from levels aa to z.  I am fortunate that my district gets us a subscription to this site for the year.  It is sooo worth the money!  Before the district purchased this for me, I bought my own subscription!  The resources are excellent!

Click this link to go to their site for a preview of what they have to offer!  They also have a FREE trial!  Reading a-z

For my reading groups, I print out and put together the books for each member of my group.  I also print and copy enough of the Comprehension quiz that goes along with the story for each group member.  This can be a little time consuming.  If you have a trusted volunteer, they will have no problem doing this for you!  I allow myself one day a week to stay late and make my copies for the next week.  This is when I prepare my materials.

Ok.  So I have the books made and the Comprehension quiz copied.  I put one copy of the book and all of the comprehension pages in my tab divider pocket.  On the inside of each book is a list of vocabulary words students can work on to help them read the story.  I write these out on flashcards.  These also go in the pocket.

Now I have the rest of the student books.  What do I do with them?  Well, I have purchased two pocket folders in different colors.  Each color is a different reading group.  I mark on the outside of each folder the group number.  If you use names for your groups, the names would go on the outside of the folder.

When I open the folders, I place the student books on the right side pocket.  On the right side, I put the month and list the students names who are in the group for that time.  Sometimes, the names will change as the kids learn and grow!  I make the changes as needed.  On the pocket on the left, I write the title of the book we are reading and what level it is.  Each month, I write the new names in the group.  However, I continue to list the books I use.  This helps me to not repeat a story for the same group.

I am almost ready to begin working with my groups!  The materials they need are ready to go.  The last piece to my organization is a log.  I like to keep a log of what I did with each group each day I work with them.  This helps when I have parents ask about what their child is working on or another staff member wants to know what a particular child is struggling with.  It provides me with another level of documentation.  Below is the form I created that I use:

Guided Reading Log Here!

In my binder, each reading group (tab) will have several copies of this log.  I fill out this log as the children are doing a picture walk at the beginning of the group time.  As we work through the story, I will jot notes where I find space when I want to remember something they did well on or what they struggled with.  I really like having the check boxes at the bottom.  These keep me accountable for making sure I work on the various parts of reading, especially, vocabulary!

Below is a picture of one I have filled out for a made up group.  Our focus is on Vocabulary.

I usually spend a week per story with the groups.  At the end of the week, the can add their story to their book boxes or take them home to read to their parents.  Parents love to hear their children read to them and see how much they grow!

It is my hope this helps you organize your Guided Reading time for a successful year!

4 Years...Where have I been?!

Wow!  4 years have passed since I last blogged!  Where have I been and why so long?  Well, that's a loaded question!  I have still been here but in a kind of "frump".  Since the last post, I have switched classrooms and even buildings!  Still teaching first grade!  :)

Well, I am hoping to be more diligent with my posts.  I was encouraged this summer by a fellow colleague.  She was very encouraging about ideas I have and asked me to share them.  So, in the coming posts, I hope to share some of these teaching and organization tips.

Don't know about you, but my summer is flying fast.  It is July already and stores are getting out their Back to School stuff already.  Yes, I confess.  When I see the crayons hit the shelves, I get a little excited about the start of a new school year.  Looking through the teacher catalogs becomes a favorite past time. This is the time to start taking inventory of what you have and what you need for the coming year.

One such item I use each year for my organization is the binder!  I love how binders keep papers neatly kept.  Tomorrow, I hope to show how I organize my Guided Reading time using a binder and 2-pocket folders.  So, for now...To Be Continued!  Stay tuned!

7 Habits of Happy Kids

One of the books I read this summer was the book called, The Leader In Me, by Stephen and Sean Covey.  This book was very inspiring as I think about this upcoming school year! I highly recommend this book to anyone in the teaching profession who wishes to make long-lasting impressions on the kids in their care.  There are so many things I took away from the book that I will be implementing into my classroom this school year.  One of those ideas was inspirational quotes and the other idea is having a data binder that the students are responsible for so they are aware of their progress in Reading and Math, especially.  I have created several pages for a data binder that I plan to use this school year.  It will be available at my TpT store soon!  I am very excited to use it this year.

 

 Click the image above to be directed to their website.

The book tells of so many schools that have really turned their school around by looking for the leader in each child who enters the doors of the school.  He also talks about how to teach leadership to the students.

As I was reading this book, I was amazed at how many things I was already doing, just not in a "leadership" way!  How easy is it going to be to implement the leadership aspect to what I already do!  One such thing is my Data Wall.  Last year, I used the Data we gathered as a class and put it on a wall in our classroom.  The kids loved seeing their progress over the year.  I also kept a data folder for each child.  However, they were not tracking the data, I was.  This year, they will be using the data to meet their goals.  Goals are another thing that I have been doing.  This year, students will be helping to come up with their own goals to achieve!  As you can tell, I am really jazzed about getting my students to become the leaders I know they can be!

 

 

Summer!........Where has it Gone?

It is hard to believe that it is now July, almost August.  Where have I been?  Well, I have enjoyed just being a mom this summer.  My oldest finished Kindergarten at the end of the school year last year.  He is very excited about being in first grade!

I thought I would start with what we have been doing this summer!

In June, after my classroom was packed and a professional development day was completed, my attention turned to my two little boys.  We started by having "Shape Week".

The first day was "Circle Day".  We did everything related to circles.  We had donuts for breakfast.  Lunch consisted of:  Spagettio's, grapes, soda pop (a rarity for them...but they have bubbles!)

For fun, we went outside, blew up balloons and tried to race them from one end of the driveway to the other.  It was a very windy day, so this did not work as well as hoped.  Fun all the same!  We also blew bubbles and watched how far they would travel.

The next day was "Triangle Day".  This was our most fun day!

We had PBJ's cut into triangles, Dorito's, pinapple tidbits as some of the things that were triangle in shape that day.  

It was kinda rainy, so we did an art project inside.  These will hang in the playroom when it is finished.  They turned out GREAT!  I got a pack of 2 canvases at our local Pat Catan's craft/art store for around $7.00 and 4 small bottles of acrylic paints in red, yellow, blue, and green.  I got paint brushes at Pat Catan's as well.  I taped off the canvases to make the triangles.  The boys helped me by telling me where to put the painter's tape to make the triangle.  Here are some pictures of the work in progress:

 They were so proud of their finished products!

The next week, we had "Space Week!"  We learned about the planets and the sun.  We talked about people get to space.  One of the things we did was to watch the Magic School Bus video, "Gets Lost in Space".  We also talked about the moon and how the moon orbits the Earth.  Below is a  picture of the boys making craters on the moon!  I put flour in a pie pan.  We used mini marshmallows to drop into the flour making a crater.  They tried using different forces with the marshmallows and found out that the harder they threw them, the deeper the crater!

 We, then, took the fun outside!  I found these water rockets at our local discount grocery store, Marc's.  They had a ball shooting the rockets into "outer space!"

 A few days later, we received our first Green Kid Craft box!  This box was all that it was cracked up to be!  Each kit contained EVERYTHING that was needed to do the activity.  I chose the "sibling" option when I ordered, so they sent enough for both boys to do the activities.  Well worth the money!  They asked when the next box would arrive, which was recently.  We will be building robots!  I don't have pictures of the boys doing the activities because I was having so much fun with them I forgot to take pictures!  LOL  I will try to get some pictures of the kids doing activities from the next box!

Click HERE to go to the Green Kid Crafts site!  They have other kits to choose from as well!

Next time, I will fill you in on some reading I have done this summer!

DATA Walls

In my last post, I said I would bring you what I do for my DATA Wall at school.  Well, here it is!

The first color graphs are bar graphs of our reading levels at the beginning of the year (top) and the end of the first 9 weeks (bottom).  Next week, I will have the graph up for the end of the second 9 weeks grading period.  The graph has the number of students going up the side and the Guided Reading Level across the bottom of the graph.

The next set of charts are for Sight Words.  We use the "trick words" from the Wilson Fundations program as our sight words for each nine weeks. The charts have the number of words going up the side of the graph and the dates of each attempt throughout the nine weeks to have everyone master the list of words.  We put a small star sticker for the number of students who get all the words on the list correct.  As you can see, we have improved each time we "test" our knowledge.  

Not pictured here is our Addition timed test chart.  Each week, we test our knowledge of our addition facts.  We started with the 0's and 1's.  We are now working on our 2's.  The chart lists each student down the side.  Across the top of the chart is 0's, 1's, etc.  As the students pass each test, they put a sticker beside their name in the space for the test they took.

This DATA Wall has REALLY been a great help to me as I track the progress of my students throughout the year.  The students are always checking it and talking about how they want to see more stickers the next time they take the "test".

I started my DATA Wall by doing "Getting to Know You" graphs.  We graphed our class by Boys and Girls, Favorite School Subject, Favorite Season, etc.  The students learned quickly how to read graphs, how to use the information to know about each other, that DATA is another word for "Information", and much more.  After we got to know one another and started into the "meat" of our school year, our DATA Wall changed to more of what is pictured above.  Sometimes we add a short term graph or chart up for something special we are working on.

I highly recommend incorporating a DATA Wall into your classroom if you can.  It really helps me focus on the things most needed to be mastered by my class.  To help you get started, I have created a beginners packet available on my TpT store.  Below is a picture with a link to it.

 

Click here to go to my TpT store!

 I would love to hear how you use a DATA Wall in your classroom!  Have a great week!

 

Snow Day!!! and a FREEBIE!

Today was yet another WONDERFUL snow day!  My kindergartener is finally understanding the joy of snow days as well!  We spent the morning putting Lego's together.  I have decided that Lego's and I have a mutual love/hate relationship! 

Tomorrow, it will be back to school!  I must admit, I'm a little excited about seeing my "kiddos" again!  This is the end of the grading period and am excited to see how much they have progressed!  I use a DATA WALL in my room and have seen growth in those areas but it isn't the same as working with them one on one.

I will try to post more about my DATA WALL in a future post.  

Today, I wanted to share a FREEBIE with you.  My class is learning about number bonds and fact families in their Math time right now.  The FREEBIE are some activities I plan to do with them this week.  So, I just grouped them together and put them in my TpT store as a FREEBIE for you!  Click on the image below to take you to the FREEBIE.  (I just love that word!)

Looking Back...

It's Christmas break!  Christmas wrappings are all done.  Shopping is completed.  (Thankfully, nothing needed returned!)  Now, my sights get set on the new year coming and reflections of the past year go through my mind.  

I am embarrassed that I have not blogged since July!  Where has the time gone?!!  I had wanted to include some pictures of my classroom this year.  I have gone with a Disney "Mickey Mouse" theme and have really enjoyed it!  My class has been having fun with all our Mickey Mouse things.  I will try to fill you in on them as I blog.  First, here are some pictures of the back of the classroom.   

I have absolutely LOVED using the tens frames to count how many days of school.  The kiddos add a dot sticker for each day of school.  We use this for counting by 10's, answering "How many more are needed?" questions. The numbers above the windows go to 20.  So many times I see the kids looking up and using it like a number line when adding and subtracting.  I am definitely using this theme again next year!  

As a visual, for those students who need it, I purchased a stuffed Mickey Mouse and a receiving blanket.  Mickey goes down "for a nap" during their work times and other times when silence is expected.  It has really helped remind those that need the reminder that they are to be quiet.  So many times, I hear the students reminding each other, "Shh.  Mickey's sleeping."  Love it!

I will touch base again with more great ideas!  Bye for now!

Summer Heat and More!

I must say...again....that I am really enjoying being just a mom this summer!  Those of you who teach understand this completely!  This isn't to say that I haven't been working on things for the upcoming school year.  I have been (have you seen my TpT store lately?!). 

Anyway, today was one of the hottest days we have had this summer.  At least, that is the way it felt when walking outside.  I was standing still outside at one point and I had sweat dripping into my eye!  Ugh!

After I posted my latest activity pack on TpT (CVC Hands-on Activities), I took the boys outside for some "fun in the sun"!  Here are a couple of pics from their fun on the slip-n-slide!

 I was hoping to post some pictures of ideas I have for this school year.  However, I am not ready with them yet.  Last week, the custodians at my school gave me an opportunity to come in and organize.  I am switching classrooms.  I'm staying in the same grade but changing classrooms to be closer to the other First Grade teachers.  I was so thankful for the opportunity to get in and organize, sort, pitch the things I have.  It felt good to give everything a "home".  I didn't get decorating done.  That will be for later.  Just a hint:  Mickey Mouse!  How fun!  Here are a couple of pictures of what my classroom looks like.

Our custodians do a great job over the summer months getting the classrooms looking GREAT!  I love the freshly waxed floors, clean boards, and hint of fresh paint in the hallways.

Check back tomorrow.  I hope to post some ideas from my newest item in my TpT store! This will happen as long as the weather holds.  When we have severe weather, I get "kicked" off the internet.  See you soon!

Great Book!

Back again!  As promised, I wanted to share a new book that I found while vacationing in Tennessee.  It is called, The Numberlys,  by William Joyce and Christina Ellis.

This imaginative story is about a group of characters who lived in a world of numbers.  Nothing had a name.  Everything had a number.  There are 5 "Numberlys" who decide that something more is needed.  They set off on their own to make numbers better.  At first their efforts are not so good.  However, after much effort, they create letters.  They end up creating the letters of the alphabet.  From here, the letters combine to make words.  These words name things and the world is a better place.

This creative story has so many different uses.  It is great for separating the difference between letters and numbers.  I plan to use it to show that "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."  Many times students want to give up so quickly.  If they stick with it, they can accomplish so much.  The building where I teach is economically low.  Families really have a difficult time making ends meet.  Yet the kids come to school each day ready to learn and meet the challenges of the day.  I hope this book will be an encouragement to them.

Just a little side note, William Joyce does Olympic curling and has written and illustrated other titles such as The Man in the Moon; the Guardians series; and the #1 New York Times - bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

In the next couple of days, I hope to share with you some Back to School pics and ideas I will be doing this upcoming school year.



Needed Vacation!!!

Hello, again!  Has it really been since January since I posted something?!  I will have to do much better!  I have been hard at work on my TpT store creating things for the beginning of the school year.  As always, it is a work in progress.

This summer, I have thoroughly enjoyed just being a mom!  It is fun to play with the boys in the yard and watch them grow into newer and "older" games.  We have now transitioned from just kicking the ball around to soccer moves!  The boys are climbing everything under the sun!  Not just the play set but trees, the mulch pile, and anything else higher than the ground.

We took a vacation recently to the Great Smokey Mountains.  This is one of my all time favorite places to go!  We stayed in Pigeon Forge and, of course, had to do some shopping!  As fun as this is, my favorite place is Cades Cove!  It is so peaceful and serene.  Being there helps me put things in perspective.  In all the chaos of teaching, being a mother and wife, and running to various appointments and meetings, there exists a place that is calm, slow, and natural.  Below are some pictures of our last visit.  Maybe you can get a glimpse of the tranquility of this beloved place.  While we were at Cades Cove, we saw 6 bear!  The one in the picture was the closest I have ever been to one in the wild.  Enjoy!





Wouldn't this make a good writing prompt?!

Tomorrow I hope to post about a picture book I found while in Tennessee as well as some new things I have added to my TpT store in preparation for the new school year!

Snow Day Fun!

Like many of you, today was a snow day!  I enjoy these days as I just get to be a mom!  My two little boys are full of energy and keep things active at home.  They are ages 5 and 3 (soon to be).  Today, I decided it was a good day to try some Snow Ice Cream!  Below is the recipe and some pictures of our adventure.  It was really tasty and fun to make!

Snow Ice Cream:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

*Mix together in a bowl

Add:  4 cups fresh clean snow

We added strawberries for more flavor!

This is the finished product!  I think our next variety will be using chocolate milk and adding peanuts and minimarshmallows for a Rocky Road ice cream from show!

The boys also had fun making a Purdy puppet.  This is a penguin paper bag puppet that I put together to compliment a series of mini books I created and have for sale on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Below are some pictures of the bag puppets.  They really turned out cute!

I have created 3 stories about Purdy the Penguin so far with more stories coming!  They are Happy New Year, Purdy!, Purdy's Valentine, and Purdy Goes to the Winter Games.  All of these sets contain a bag puppet pattern, mini book/story to print and color, comprehension pages at two levels, grammar/phonics practice, color word page, and game.

 Click here to check out my TpT store and find samples from these sets.

 

Wow!  Has it really been that long since I last blogged?!  Where has the time gone?  As you can probably guess or maybe experience for yourself, life gets a little hectic with 2 toddlers, teaching first grade and the many other "hats" we wear!

If your students are like mine, this time of year begins the tattling.  Ugh!  I found a book I am going to read to my class this week and thought I would share it with you.  It is called, "A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue" by Julia Cook.

This wonderful book is about a boy who tattles all the time.  Other students begin to not want to sit with him in the cafeteria, play with him on the playground, or be his friend.  One night he has a dream that he really did come down with a disease called "tattle tongue" which turned his tongue yellow with purple spots.  The tattle fairy taught him the difference between a tattle and warning someone of danger.  The tattle fairy teaches him some rules about tattling to use the next time he wants to tattle.

This book is very well written and gives some good guidelines for kids to follow when it comes to warning vs. tattling.

I also want to share the exciting news that I have finished my Morning Work packet for the second nine weeks.  It is Common Core aligned.  You can find it at my TpT store.  This packet picks up right where the first nine weeks leaves off.  I am very excited about how it turned out.  In the coming weeks, I will be working on the 3rd nine weeks packet.  My students have done well with the first packet and have really learned from the content and practice.

Click here to check out this packet.

I will try to blog more often and get you some pictures of things my kiddos are doing.  Have a super week!

School's In!

Wow!  I can't believe how time has flown by!  School is back in session now.  We are still reviewing rules and procedures.  I have a GREAT group of first graders.  They are beginning to settle in.  For some, that means they are ready to learn.  For others, that means it is time to see what they can get away with!

One of the first books I read to the class is a book called, Lacy Walker Nonstop Talker by Christianne C. Jones.  This is a cute story about a little owl named Lacy.  She likes to talk and talk and talk.  One morning, she wakes up and is unable to talk or even whisper.  She realizes her friend is really pretty funny, she receives a gold star for listening, and she is able to learn more when she listens.  At home, she had time to hear a couple bedtime stories instead of just one.  The next morning, Lacy wakes up and can talk again.  She is glad she can talk again but decides to try and listen more.  After reading this book, we had a class discussion on the importance of listening in class.

I recommend this book for the beginning of the school year!  Students enjoy the illustrations as well.

This year, we are going to be bucket fillers.  Many of you may already do this in your classroom.  I just found out about this fantastic book and how to use it in the classroom.  My class has really embraced this idea of everyone having an invisible bucket that can be filled or dipped into.  Last week, we spent most of the time identifying how to fill someone's bucket.  This week, we will be putting it into action.

Have a super "bucket filling"  week!

Oops!

Ugh!  I found a typing error in the last post, tried to fix it and couldn't.  It should say "if" you use discount code BTS13.  So sorry for the error.  That's what I get for typing fast and in a hurry!

Sale! Sale! Sale!

What a sale!  Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE Back to School Sale!  Everything in my store will be 20% off tomorrow!  You can get even more savings is you use the discount code BTS13 when checking out!  Wow!  This is a must for all teachers or homeschooling parent out there. 

I have been busy in my classroom this week as well as preparing to send my oldest to preschool!  It is hard to believe that he is starting his school "career"!  (Sniff, Sniff)  I hope to have some pictures of my classroom for you this coming week as it looks now!

Vistaprint Treasures!

Time is ticking quickly by!  School for some is next week.  Our school starts the day after Labor Day!  It allows us a little more time to prepare and get ready!

One of the things I enjoy during the summer is to get items from Vistaprint!  I have used Vistaprint to print many things over the past 5 or more years!  Their products are good quality and have met the needs I've had.  This year is no different.  Below is a picture of what I've ordered for the start of this year.  It is a sampling.

Click here to check out what else Vistaprint has.



In this picture, you can see my Back to School Brochure in a monkey theme.  I also have a magnet in monkey theme with my contact information.  They had the same design for the pens.  I like to put my name on them.  It keeps them from walking away when I have a substitute or if someone borrows my pens!  (Just a little idea!)  Another item in the picture is a note pad.  The content on the note pad is for a student time out in another classroom.

The other thing pictured is our year of sight words/"trick words" (for those familiar with Fundations by Wilson Learning).  All the words are printed on a rack card which has a glossy finish. Parents can check off the words using a dry erase marker as their child reads the word to them.  This is a quick and easy way for parents to practice these words with their child.  I put these in my Back to School/Meet the Teacher night packet with my brochure, magnet and a bag of unpopped popcorn.  I'll try to get a picture of the finished packet next week for you to see.  Below are some close up pictures of the note pad and the rack card.

This year, I ordered the rack cards for the whole district first grade to give to the parents.  In the past, I have also ordered their small self-inking stamps that say things like, "Completed together in class", "Mrs. Schneider", "Confidential", and "This is STAR work!"  Last year, I ordered loyalty cards with option of 10 punches for my reward system.  When students were on purple 10 times, they were able to visit the treasure box.  There are so many possibilities with the products that are available.  I hope you have fun shopping!