Teaching With Style: Reading

Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts

This past year I finished teaching a full year of Reading Wonders in First Grade! Phew! It's been a rough learning curve! Luckily for you, I'm creating my unit focus walls to make implementation easy!

 What I've learned along the way is that the weekly tests emphasize concepts that aren't necessarily focused on if you are following the Teacher's Edition book to teach.   I realized my kids were bombing the tests because I was focusing on comprehension, spelling pattern, sight words, and grammar.  Most of those elements are represented on the test, but there are usually 3-4 questions based on the structural analysis and vocabulary.  And some concepts only have one practice book page and no other lessons tied to it! 

One week the structural analysis focus was final stable syllable:  RF.1.3e  Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.

I didn't even know what that was! And I've been teaching lower elementary for over 10 years and have a Reading Specialist certificate!  Luckily, I found out what they were on Pinterest.
http://ateachersobsessions.blogspot.com/2011/10/its-been-awhilehow-about-freebie.html
Via A First Grade Teacher's Passions and Obsessions

A final stable syllable comes at the end of a word (final) and is always pronounced the same way (stable).  Examples are -le (table, apple, single) and -tion (contraction, motion).  

 I also found this video to help introduce the concept to students:
http://www.turtlediary.com/kids-videos/final-stable-syllable.html
Via Turtle Diary
The vocabulary focus that same week was inflectional endings -s, -ed, -ing: L.1.4c  Identify frequently occurring root words (e.g., look) and their inflectional forms (e.g., looks, looked, looking). 

For these lessons, I turned to a favorite blogger, The Teacher Wife! 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Inflectional-Word-Endings-Unit-ed-ing-123498
Via The Teacher Wife on TpT
My students have been practicing writing words with -ing and -ed in their reading notebooks.  We'll do some more activities from this pack throughout the week.  

Luckily, there are some amazing lessons on blogs and TpT that can be used to supplement some of these skills and standards!
 
Don't forget to download my freebie editable newsletters! And if you like them, I would love you forever if you left feedback! <3
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Grade-Reading-Wonders-Editable-Newsletters-Units-1-5-1589630

If you are a Wonders teacher, how has it been going for you?
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Peekapak is a monthly box for children that combines the magic of storytelling with the excitement of hands-on crafts.  Each month, your child receives an original storybook featuring an educational adventure story and all the materials to create two items that are features in the story.

Peekapak offered to send me a complimentary box for my family to try out.  This is what our box looked like when we first opened it up.

The first project was to make storytelling puppets to use while reading the story.  We'll keep these to use with future boxes, too. 

We sat down at our art/homework table in the corner of our kitchen and got to work.  I cut the shapes out and Audrey taped them to the popsicle sticks.  The tape that came in our Peekapak wasn't that sticky, so I swapped it for some Scotch tape in our junk drawer. 

The story was about tangrams.  A wooden set with a page with patterns came in our box.

As we read the story, we got to make the same tangrams as the characters.

Audrey used the retelling sticks to act out the story.

These are the supplies to make a kaleidoscope.

She had a lot of fun decorating her kaleidoscope and looking through it!

This is what we needed to make a parachute drop.  The pattern on the cup is so cute!

All the activities in the box were great for a couple of afternoon projects.  And the best part was that they all can be used more than once.  Even after a few months, she still plays with the tangrams and the kaleidoscope!

Are you interested in trying Peekapak for yourself? You can get $10 off your first month with the code SPECIAL10.
Just click {HERE} to check it out!

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My school, the entire state of Hawaii actually, has adopted the Reading Wonders basal program this year.  My school is in full swing of implementation and we've gone through a little trial and error figuring it out.

The writing component has been the hardest for me.  I feel that my kids need a lot more than what is presented in the book.  We started the year having to teach the program with fidelity, so I started making units to supplement but that aligned.


We also need to have a focus wall.  I wanted to incorporate pocket charts so I'm not putting tons of holes in my boards or holes in my posters and cards.  You can see that I started off by hand writing my spelling cards and the essential question.  I also used the sight word cards that came with my materials, but I didn't like that there wasn't picture support or a sentence for context.

 Here is my focus wall after I made things the way I wanted them.  I still hand write my essential question just because of space.  But I like that element of non-laminateness.  That's a word, right? ;)

I'm happy that I'm able to re-use some of my old materials from 2nd grade, like my schedule cards.

And my jobs chart.

I also put up my 1-4 assessment posters to help introduce our writing rubric.  The kids were able to catch on a lot faster with these visuals of what writing looks like at each level.

My writing and Word Work materials for Daily 5 are below this wall.  In the drawers, I have various Word Work materials, such as play dough sight words.

And sight word stamping sheets.

For writing, I have staples and date stamps in the bottom bucket, and word cards in the top bucket.  The kids can practice the words on whiteboards, use them to help get ideas, or use them to help spell correctly.

I'm definitely tweaking things as I go, as I learn more about my students, and as I grow more familiar with the program.  So far, though, this is what has been working for me.  I'm a little slow to get my weekly units up, but that's only because I'm a perfectionist and it takes me forever to create things! So please be patient with me :)

If you are interested in any of the units above, here is where you can find them:
Wonders Unit 1 Focus Wall
Wonders Unit 2 Focus Wall
Schedule Cards
Jobs Chart
Assessment Posters
Wonders Unit 1 Printable Bundle (also available by week if you don't want to commit to the whole bundle at once)
Caitlin's FREE Word Work and Writing Cards
Stephanie's Flash Fluency Bundle


And here's a freebie for all my Wonders peeps - Editable Newsletters! I've only created up to Unit 3 (remember, I have to create as I go) but I'll upload the new templates as soon as I make them for you.  I hope they help you stay organized and connected to your students' parents!


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Welcome to November's Bright Ideas! This month we are rounding up all our best posts into one!


I'm sharing some fun ideas for Guided Reading and small groups!

First up, I love to open my groups with some warm-ups.  Sometimes I use slinkies to practice stretching out the sounds in a word for phonemic awareness.

 Sometimes I do some dictation and have the kids practice writing and then blending CVC words on whiteboard dots that are stuck right on my guided reading table.

Then you'll want to see how I level books and organize my take-home books.

And lastly, kids will need to reference the word wall.  See how I set mine up to be interactive!

Do you use any of these ideas in your classroom? Make sure to check out all the other amazing ideas in the Round Up below!
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Hello there! My Bright Idea for October is all about using these spiffy whiteboard dots for small group instruction! 




A few months ago I was making an OfficeMax run and happened upon these cool adhesive whiteboard dots, called Wall Pops.  They are made to go on a wall in an office or cubicle, but I thought "Hey, those would be cool on my guided group table!" 

So now, every time my students come to my table for either reading or math groups, they bring their marker and little eraser I got in the Target dollar section a few years ago.  

Here we are in reading, doing a little short e dictation warm up before reading our guided book.


In math we are working on number sense as well as basic addition.  I found these laminated ten frames in my room when I moved in this summer and they have been great for subitizing.  We've also been working with Rekenreks, so the kids are getting good at recognizing 5's and 10's.


We are also learning basic facts, including turnaround facts.  The kids loved using dominos and writing the turnaround facts! 
I love that these are quick and easy.  The kids love writing on the tables, making group time a novelty.  I love it when I hear them say, "Yes! Group time!"  You can do so many different activities as quick warm ups with these, the possibilities are endless!

If you liked my Bright Idea, please consider following me on Bloglovin' or Instagram! 

Don't forget to visit my friends in the hop and read all their awesome ideas, too! 
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Today I'm joining some of my favorite bloggers for a fun Back to School Blog Hop! 


I'm here to tell you all about The Daily 5! 

The very first thing you should do is read the book! My first edition has dog ears and writing all over the margins.  It is a well loved book! This past year, those wonderful sisters came out with a second edition and it is all kinds of amazing! I still love the first book and think it's a great first read, but then you should read the second edition to learn how they have updated their thinking and also added in a Daily Math component. 


When I first started teaching, my team and I had students ability grouped for reading center time.  They stayed with their group and rotated through a series of paper pencil centers (sometimes there were manipulatives, too!) when I rang a bell every 12 minutes.  This worked well for me.  The students were compliant and working while my assistant and I read books with each group.  I saw every group for 12 minutes each day and did guided reading with leveled readers from our basal series while my assistant met with every group and worked on the weekly phonics skill with decodable Phonics Library books, also from our basal series.  

Then, I went back to college at night to earn my reading endorsement and I learned about Daily 5.  It incorporates choice, teaches independence, and students are engaged in activities that are actually helping them become better readers, not just quiet students.  

My first year doing D5, I kept my students in their ability groups and rotated them through Daily 5 centers.  I felt that this was a good transition for me.  I didn't change my whole structure, I just changed what my students were doing.  Then, as I read more, went to conferences, and talked with colleagues, I finally got rid of the rotations and recorded student choices on a clipboard.  

Then, I moved to Lanai and had a large class of 28 students.  These students were used to reading groups the old way I used to run them.  I tried to incorporate choice, but we had to stop D5 all the time because students were off task, talking, walking around the room.  No matter how many times I gathered them back to the carpet, went over our T-chart, and practiced the wrong vs. right way to do things, we just weren't building the stamina I needed in order to meet with groups.  So, I went back to the rotations.  

I made these cards so students knew what to do.  You can get them in my TpT store here.

Then last year, I had a much smaller class, only 17.  I decided to reintroduce choice.  I used Ladybug's Teacher Files freebie cards and made a new one for Respond to Reading.  You can grab those freebies from this blog post.

Students had a little piece of paper in their book boxes where they checked off which activity they chose.  They had to do them all throughout the week, so this helped for accountability.  I was also checking off their choices, so I knew if they were telling the truth about having done listening already :) 
Click the image to grab this FREEBIE!

This year, I've moved down to 1st grade and we've had a slow start.  We've already done our Read to Self t-chart and have 3 minutes of stamina built up.  We'll keep plugging along and then introduce Work on Writing next.  

So, my tip to you for starting with the Daily 5 - start small! Do what works for you! Don't feel like you have to change your entire reading instruction if you are not ready.  Change what your students are doing and get rid of all the worksheets that aren't helping them grow as readers.  Teach them how to independently read, write what they want to write, listen to fluent reading on audiobooks, and make words and work on spelling patterns.  These activities will teach them to be better readers.  When you are ready to add choice, do it! Students will learn to intrinsically work hard.  They will WANT to read! My students would tell me on a daily basis that reading was their favorite time of the day.  And by the end of the year, the novelty of the iPods had worn off and most of them just wanted to read their books.  It made my heart happy.

If you want to learn more about D5, a couple of summers ago I did a Daily 5 blog hop.  You can go to my TpT store to grab a bookmark with urls of all the blog posts and also pick up a stamina chart.  And I know the awesome bloggers at Freebielicious did a blog hop this summer for the second edition.  You can start at A Differentiated Kindergarten.

And now, head on over to Miss Squirrel's blog to find out her Back to School tip and how she sets up community supplies! 

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I'm linking up with First Grade in Foxwell Forest today to talk to you about the Daily 5!  This month's linky is all about word work.

If you are new to The Daily Five, make sure to get the book and read it first.  These blog hops are great for getting ideas of how teachers implement the structure in their rooms, but without the foundations that are explained in the book, you may get confused.  The book is short and is an easy read.  You won't regret it!

On to Word Work!

Like I shared last week, I use Ladybug's Teacher Files free Daily 5 choice signs.  When I call student names off my list to see which choice they want, almost all of them look at the signs to help them make a decision.  I am so glad I put them up! 

In my old school in Portland, my classroom had this big shelf unit.  The bottom cubbies were full of word work activities.

The kids who chose Word Work would choose their materials and practice making their weekly spelling words.  The available materials were:
  • Magnetic letters
  • Bend-a-roos (like wiki sticks)
  • Letter stamps
  • Black beans
The thing I did not like about this set up was that these activities were very open, so my large class (33) or third graders would often get off task and end up playing with the materials.  And since there was not a recording sheet or anything to turn in, I didn't feel that there was urgency to complete the task.

Last year I decided to make my Word Work activities a bit more intentional and less open ended.  I bought 3 shallow tubs from the dollar section at Target, then made some chalkboard labels with contact paper (get the DIY tutorial here).
Via Classroom DIY

I decided to have 3 centers up for 2 weeks each.  I only allow 6 students to choose Word Work each day, just to keep the area as crazy-free as possible.  With 3 centers, there can be 2 kids per center each round.  With keeping the centers there for 2 weeks, this ensures that each kid does each activity a couple of times.  

The activities I use are usually from my blogging friends.  Sometimes they are freebies, sometimes parts of paid products.  Sometimes they go with the phonics skill we are working on, and sometimes they have a comprehension component.  I don't just stick to words, I use Word Work to kind of encompass any reading skill that my kids as a whole need to work on.  

Right now, I am using my Halloween Compound Words.  This addresses standard L.2.4d.

The Bubbly Blonde's vowel center that is a part of her It's Birthday Time literacy center pack.  This addresses standard RF.2.3a.

And Surfin' Through Second's main idea center that is a part of her Sunshine and Rainbows literacy pack.  It addresses standard RL.2.2.


I'd love to hear how you have adapted Word Work to make it useful for you and your students!



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