Hey all! I hope that you are enjoying your last few days of summer. I've had some questions lately from both new and veteran teachers alike about year-long pacing of curriculum. How can you make sure
FREE response to intervention forms and how to use them
Finding great resources to support reading intervention for struggling readers can be challenging. An even bigger challenge is finding inexpensive or free reading interventions that are high quality and fit within your limited budget. The great news is I've already done the work for you (because who has time to
Happy Friday!! Yesterday I talked about different types of lesson planning sheets, and even gave you a copy of my lesson planning sheets. Another thing I used last year was a Strategy Group Planning Sheet for Reading. I came up with the idea towards the middle to end of the year, and I wish I had come up with it earlier. This planning page is a quick reference page that you can either keep in your lesson plan book, or you can keep it in your anecdotal reading records binder (I'll talk about this at a later date). This page will give you a way to plan your strategy/skill groups and what days you want to meet with them. It also has a space for writing down your individual conference schedule. Not only will it help you plan out your week as far as your groups and conferences go, but it will also keep you on track during the week so that nothing gets forgotten. Last year, I only used this template for reading. However, this year I am going to try it with math and writing as well! At the bottom of the post, I've uploaded all 3 templates for you. If these don't fit your needs, just use my idea and create your own! :) How to Use These Templates This coming year I am going to be more intentional about my grouping. Last year I based grouping mainly upon DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) testing (at the beginning of the year) and then my observations of what my students needed. I also based them upon our school's testing system (NWEA- a computer based test given to the students 3 times a year), and Study Island diagnostic information. These were all fine and dandy, but I felt like I was missing something. At the end of the year, as I was considering how I could make grouping even more focused, I came up with the idea to give my kids a 10 question quiz each week in reading, writing, and math which will cover what I taught that week. That way, I can break down their answers and see which kids need help in which areas. Then I will group the students with the same needs together, and I will have my groups for the following week! Ok...don't get scared! I know that sounds like a lot of extra work. But I've found a way to do it a little easier. Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) is friggin awesome! Did you know you can create a survey with multiple choice and short answer questions? I am going to use this survey to create my quizzes each Friday. Students will take the quiz on the computer, and then Google Drive kindly breaks down all the info for me... how sweet! :) I got the idea from one of my favorite math teaching blogs, The Creative Apple. The link is to her series on how to set up Guided Math. This blows my mind. I totally wish I had read this before I started teaching in an elementary classroom. I love the Guided Math system, and definitely plan to implement it this year. Sorry for the tangent... but I just had to share! Anywho, from the info provided by Google Drive, I will then create my strategy/skill groups and also will see what students may need even more help (during an individual conference) than just a strategy group. I will do a whole post later on about how to use the survey document on Google Drive. So, does that kind of give you an idea of how to use these templates? How do you group for instruction? UPDATE: 8/12/14 I have uploaded all of the FREE templates to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. You can now access the same great free templates by clicking here: Ashley Stout's Teachers Pay Teachers Store. I have also had many requests to make the templates editable as these exact templates may not fit everyone's schedules. You can find these templates at my Teachers pay Teachers Store by clicking HERE. Thanks! :) Mahalo for reading, :) Ashley ------------------------------------- P.S. Did you know that I started my own company, Camp Partridge? ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online camps for children and teens ages 10-16 who want to be digital creators and authors! ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online courses for parents struggling with remote learning. ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers resources for your classroom! I would be honored if you would share Camp Partridge with people you know who need or would enjoy our camps and courses! 🧡
These are small group classroom management tips on how to keep the rest of your class on task during centers.
Hey there, teacher bestie! Planning your year has never been easier with the '4th Grade Pacing Guide - Georgia Edition.' I've got you covered with a clear, fun, and super user-friendly roadmap that aligns with Georgia's 4th-grade standards. This guide is like your personal teaching assistant, helping you navigate through the year's essential topics with ease and confidence. Let's make this school year a smooth and successful journey together! This Pacing Guide Includes ALL SUBJECTS: Math, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Science, & Social Studies!
Using Google Forms for an easy anecdotal notes template Do you take anecdotal notes in your classroom? This phrase used to absolutely terrify me. My administration would constantly be telling us to take anecdotal notes for every subject and behavior… but I was stumped how to do this. How was I supposed to teach, manage […]
It's that time of year again... We've got just a few short weeks left with our kiddos. Let's be honest though, we're all tired. More like exhausted. Summer
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This Digital Google Sheets Teacher Planner is EASY to use and includes COMPLETELY editable and includes different weekly templates. As well as Dated Monthly Calendars from June 2024 - July 2025 and Curriculum/Pacing Guide Template Pages for Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies - which are both again COMPLETELY editable. This planner is less expensive than most yearly planners and it will last you FOREVER - you will receive FREE YEARLY UPDATES. There is also a Landing Page to aide in navigation and Google Sheets Instructions Page. Included in this Planner: Blank (editable) Weekly Planning Page (can be duplicated for all weeks you need - as explained and taught in the directions page) Blank (editable) Weekly Planning Page across 2 pages for more space Landing Page (editable) : Access any template page with the click of a button. Google Sheets Instructions Page (editable) - Includes tips on how to use Google Sheets Dated Monthly Calendars from June 2024 - July 2025 (editable) Curriculum/Pacing Guide Template Pages for Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies (editable) Notes Lists on the side of all planning pages and monthly pages (with boxes that check) How Do I Use It? - Make sure you have access to Google Sheets - Just download the product and it will be added to your drive - Find the templates that work best for you, delete the ones you don't like and edit the planner to best meet your needs! If you have any questions please reach out to me at [email protected]
Do you have elementary students in your homeschool? If so, you will find this FREE Elementary Reading & Writing Bundle so helpful! It’s full of useful homeschool printables for writing and reading assessment as well as reading comprehension. This limited time freebie will end on 4/26 so you will want to be sure to grab the...
Writing in math is more important now than ever before. This post shows 6 ways to get your students writing in math on a daily basis.
FREE 5th grade literacy pacing guide! This free 5th grade ELA pacing guide includes reading, writing, and language skills.
This Must Do May Do System is the HACK to your rotating reading centers! Have smooth-running groups and effective independent work time.
Depth of Knowledge frameworks can be useful for planning curriculum, designing assessments, or making judgments about student reading, writing, and math.
Procedural writing or "How-to" is one of my favorite units! Read this post to discover some fantastic mentor texts to use in your classroom!
Happy Summer Break, friends! I hope this post finds you well, breathing deeply, and enjoying some time to refresh and relax. Of course, in between all this relaxing, you *might* be considering next year. You may not (kudos to you!) but if you are, I wanted to share how I begin training my 1st grade...
My daughter has dyslexia. It took years for us to figure out why she struggled so much in reading and writing. It was so painful to watch her self-esteem deteriorate. This was especially disheartening to me since I was her teacher. In the last couple of years I have learned so much about students with
Guided reading groups are so important. I have always cherished this time to reach a small group of students that are grouped at the same reading level. Not to mention this gives me time to sit down and not be on my feet! I make sure to do small groups EVERY day no matter what. In …
Guided reading groups are one of the most complex areas of planning and instruction. I've narrowed the focus to upper elementary reading.
A blog about reading and writing, and sharing ideas about literacy and RTI for your classroom/ reading, writing, & RTI resources
Learn about spiraling standards in the classroom, and why it is a more effective way of teaching. Learn five tips for incorporating spiraling into your own classroom.
First of all, I'm home today with the FLU. Yuck. Double yuck. All last week, I had no fewer than 4 kiddos gone each day. I Lysoled, I Cloroxed, I Purelled... But I, too, have been attacked by the flu bug. I'm hoping a little R&R will let me be back in the classroom tomorrow! I thought this would be a good chance for me to post a couple freebies that hopefully will help some of you all with assessments (particularly as we reach the end of second quarter - and grading/comments loom overhead)! First, this freebie is a guided reading rubric to assess your students on a range of key skills and behaviors. And here's a freebie rubric to assess your kiddos as they use the Daily 5. You can click on either image to download from Google Drive, or hit up my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking {here}. I am currently at 79 followers - just 21 more till the big 100! I plan to do a big giveaway here when I hit that mark, so if you or anyone you know might be interested in donating a product for the giveaway, please let me know by clicking {here}. I'm linking up with Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies! Happy Monday!
Gain some ideas for how to use small group instruction in the middle and high school classroom. Learn more in this blog post.
I get a lot of emails asking about my schedule at school. Since last year was my first year teaching 5th grade Reading/ELA using a guided group model, I tried a lot of different schedules. I changed it around quite a bit, but I finally got it down to an art by the end of the school year. I modeled it after my guided math schedule that I followed when I taught 4th grade math. Let's get a few things out there... I teach reading, writing, and grammar. This year, our writing will be incorporated into our reading. I'll tell you a little more about that later. My grammar instruction is usually about 30 minutes each day. I have NOT included it here since it's not really part of my literacy block. I have about and hour and half for my literacy block each day. I ALWAYS finish the day with binder work and a read aloud of some sort. Most of the time, it is a novel that we are reading together. The binder work is when the students take a few minutes to organize their binder, fill out any necessary forms to be turned in, and finish anything not completed. I have learned a little through trial and practice and will post a blog post soon where I REVEAL ALL about my literacy binders.... the good, bad, and ugly! Mondays: Mondays are one of my two whole group days. I use this day to distribute my homework for the week, have the kids write the entire week in their agenda, go over my expectations for the homework, introduce our vocabulary/spelling words, have a big whole group lesson for our weekly skills, and conduct individual reading conferences with students on my conferring list while they read to self for about 25 minutes. Individual reading conferences is something I want to get better about doing. I did it last year, but not near as much as I wanted to. I will also be using some of this time to complete running records on my students. I purchased the Progress Monitoring packet from Hello Literacy that I plan to use to progress monitor my students. We use FAST reading and math as a school level, but I am wanting to progress monitor some of my students myself so they can track their progress in their goals section in their literacy binder. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays: These three days are spent reviewing our homework from the previous night, having a short 15-25 minute mini-lesson about our weekly skill, and meeting with small groups for three rotations. What I do in small group really depends on what our skill is for the week. We may do some reading response, close reading activity, or vocabulary instruction. During my three rotations, my students are reading to self, word work, work on writing, or reading to someone. This year, our work on writing will look VERY different. Writing will now be incorporated into reading. What does this mean for my classroom? A lot of their writing will be connected to their reading in some way. This is new to me, so I'm not sure exactly how this will look. All I know is that our writing test is now incorporated into our reading test. Fridays: Last year, my students completed a weekly assessment that went along with our weekly skill from the week. I downloaded the reading passages from here {FREE} and created my own questions to go along with them. A lot of times, I used 3-4 from those already listed, but I added a lot of my own that required the students to go back to the text to support their answer with evidence. By the end of the school year, this was something my students were experts at. However, this year is going to be different. I am still going to assess my students, but I am going to try to vary the way I do it. One of the #1 feedback comments I received at the end of the year from my students was that they would have liked more projects. So, I am going to try and incorporate more book reports {in a fun way} and other ways to assess my students. I'm going to focus on doing more showing rather than telling. Don't get me wrong, I am still going to assess my students with paper and pencil, but I am going to try and limit it to no more than every OTHER week. I believe that by the end of the school year, the students became very bored with our weekly assessments (ahhh... shucks!). BTW- the kiddos commented that their two favorite activities were our Hatchet projects and my text structure unit. Say what? Text structure? I thought that was very interesting! Hopefully this has helped you see how to incorporate components of the Daily 5 into your intermediate literacy block. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below.
Grammar and Writing are daunting subjects for many homeschoolers to teach. Most of us want a guide, an expert, someone to help us. I’m definitely a fan of literature-based homeschooling, but …
Reading Response activities will likely form a major part of your reading programme, whether you are running guided reading groups, a daily 5 system,
Editable scope and sequence templates are available as printable or digital (Google). There are a variety of options. The templates are fully editable. It includes: Square options for each subject (language arts, reading, writing, grammar, word work, vocabulary, math, science, social studies) Vertical options for a combination of subjects. Vertical options for each subject for across the grade levels: (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Thank you for visiting my store! Pam Rockin Resources
These RAP reading response posters will help students answer in complete sentences. This strategy is helpful for verbal and written answers. This strategy guides students to understand the question asked and provides a framework for the answer.In Language Arts the RAP strategy is beneficial in sho...
That’s a wrap! Review, summarize, unify key points, link and set-up for next level learning with these cool lesson closure activities
I spent the last few months updating the manual. I have lots of experience, but I want to make sure that How to Be a Resource Specialist is current and useful! I have added information on collaborating, IEP meetings, data, and have added new classroom activities. This manual is designed for you to read through, highlight, and pull no-prep activities immediately! I have been purposeful in discussing areas in which the new resource specialist can use advice and answers. Special Education has been an interesting and rewarding career. I often say I have had the best job in town! But it can be sooooo stressful for newer teachers(and even veteran teachers), and How to Be a Resource Specialist may help with answering some questions, planning IEP meetings, and helping all students access school and learning!
It can be very overwhelming, especially for my struggling readers, to focus on using multiple reading comprehension strategies with a piece of text. For this reason, I always take time in at least the first
Structuring a guided reading lesson can seem overwhelming. This 20 minute guided reading lesson breaks down the details and makes it manageable for you!
Do you struggle to plan and differentiate your SMALL GROUP GUIDED READING? This was a huge problem for me until I found a great solution. Now it is as easy as pie and my favorite thing to prep! Grouping my Students Yesterday I was so excited to get something checked off of my bucket list for back to school. I actually planned out my small group guided reading units for my incoming first graders. Yes, you read that correctly. Every year the kindergarten teachers give their students the DRA or Diagnostic Reading Assessment before they leave for the summer. Using that information, I created some dynamic grouping for the Fall. One thing I have noticed after teaching first grade for 18 years is that the students stay pretty close to that level when they come back in August. Of course, I will retest them and change them, but that is exactly why my grouping is called "dynamic"...it will change. Based on the DRA, I just add the names to sticky notes. This is a made-up page because I can't reveal who my new children will be, it is always a surprise for them in August. I wanted you to see how easily I group them. I am not wasting any time next year, I want to read with them in a small group as soon as I establish good routines. Organization of Materials So after 18 years of teaching, I feel I have finally mastered this process. It took me longer than I wanted but I got to my final goal. As a teacher, you already have to plan lessons for all of your core subject areas. On top of that, you are then differentiating small groups of students and making more lesson plans for them. When I get to the small group planning, I'm exhausted. I usually have about 5 different groups with 3-5 lessons for each group each week. That is a lot of extra planning. So I got smart this year and did a lot of reading and researching on each reading level. I wanted to see what was expected in the reading process. Then, I created 30 lessons for each level with little to no prep at all. Just copying a few pages and I was ready to go. Today I will show you what it looks like for the Level D Binder. Let's Peek Inside my Small Group Guided Reading Binder Here is a picture of the binder. Inside it is split into 4 sections. Teacher Tools: Pre-Assessment, Post-Assessment, Teacher Data Tracking 30 Typed Lesson Plans that are ready to go. Student Activity Pages- black and white ready to be copied Comprehension Activities that you can add to each lesson when needed. The ONLY thing not included are the books! Lesson Plans So here is where I begin. I like to prep only 5 lessons at a time because children grow and change quickly. Also, I'm kind of taking a guess in the beginning. If I'm off, 5 lessons won't be too long. Here is a picture of 5 Level D lessons. There is some repetition however, the main activities change amongst the days. You can copy them and staple them for each group but I don't. You can see the binder on the left and the stapled packet on the right. I put all of my lesson plans in clear sleeves and keep them right in the binder. Now they are no prep. At the bottom, I place a sticky note in the "book & comprehension focus section" where I add what will be done if I choose to do so. Simple and effective. Student Work For the students, I prep a packet for them. On the left, you can see a set of packets with ____'s Guided Reading Journal. I copy five lessons and staple them. So you could see what is inside, I laid out one packet. The first 3 pages are vowels, strategies, chunks, digraphs, etc. Whatever is discussed at this level. During our lessons, we refer to these pages for singing and saying the sounds that they make. At the bottom are the 5 activity pages. In addition, there are three cut and glue activities. I pre-cut them and put the lesson that they go with. You can see my sticky note #5. Yesterday, after I knew my levels, I went to school and copied my packets for 5 different groups. It literally took my 10-15 minutes. In addition to the black and white posters, I also made colorful teaching posters for each level. I laminated these and keep them in the binder to use when I meet with the children. Choosing Books After I copied my packets, I went to my leveled reading bin and pulled the books I wanted to use. For each level, I choose two books to work with, one fiction and one non-fiction. We have a leveled book collection but we also have a membership to Reading A-Z. Sometimes, as I get to know my students, I print paper books so we can highlight, chunk and write in them. This is especially important for my lower levels. Comprehension Next, I printed the comprehension pages. Here is a peek at all the strategies that are included for Level D. I also include colorful posters to go with the strategies for teaching purposes. Finally, I copy the pre and post-assessment as well as the data tracking sheets. I three-hole punch them and keep them in my box on a clipboard. While I am working with the students or after working, I fill out the data form. So here is a peek at what my bin looks like when I'm finished. Watch a Video to see all the pieces in a box! Once I have filled out the entire tracking sheet, I add it to my Data Binder. I made this fun cover which you can grab for free today and use in your own classroom! I found these amazing number tabs at Office Max. I use them to separate my students. I give each first grade a number. Once the Guided Reading Notes are complete, I put them behind their number. I also add the pre & post assessment too. When it comes time for progress reports or conferences, I have everything on each child separated out. Here is a picture of it altogether. My container, binder, posters, books, and student activity packets. At the table, I like to keep these things handy. I have a mini easel I bought at Meijers for my reading strategy cards, pencils, pointers, glue sticks, scissors, and some fun comprehension dice. So that's it. I never have to write a full lesson plan for small group guided reading again! I already did it for you. I was able to prep all 5 boxes last night in a half hour. Remember that freebie I promised, well here it is! I also included these fun little Guided Reading Group Labels 1-8. DATA BINDER COVER & LABELS. I have levels A-O done. CLICK HERE to check them out! Thanks for reading, I hope you were able to grab a few housekeeping ideas for your guided reading! As always, love what you do and do what you love!
You are probably familiar with Kahoot as a review game, but my favorite way to use this website is a BLIND Kahoot. The game structure is the same only instead of reviewing a concept, you use it to introduce it! Check this out as a way to mix up your lesson plans, introduce content, and engage your students!
