So this is my last official day of summer. That picture pretty much sums up how I feel. So.....since school is quickly rapidly approaching I thought I would have a #FlashbackFriday to a great team builder game to use a the beginning of the year. It is called The Best Game....because that is exactly what it is.....THE BEST GAME! You can download the game for FREE at my TPT store by clicking here..... You can read ALL about it on the old blog post, by clicking here..... Now, if you don't believe that it truly is THE BEST GAME......look at the smiles on these kiddo's faces... Or if you want further proof.....check out these reviews. I'm not lying people. You, and your class, should try it this year! Oh....and happy start to the school year!
Are you interested in getting your upper elementary students to spell more words correctly, understand the meaning behind more words and read more words independently? If so....then code based instruction must continue in the classroom. What is code based instruction?? This is when students are taught phonics skills in an explicit and specific sequence. Research tells us, code based instruction is the most effective way to teach students to read and spell. If a student is taught using this approach they will have the skills needed to apply learned patterns when spelling or encountering the unknown word in text. According to international literacy expert and co-author of LETRS, Dr. Carol Tolman, orthographic learning should continue beyond phonics concepts into morphology and etymology. Morphology is the study of morphemes. Morphemes are units of meaning in language (i.e. prefixes, suffixes and root words). Etymology is study of the historical development of words (i.e. identifying if the morpheme is of Greek, Latin or Anglo Saxon origin). Typically instruction on morphemes and etymology would happen at the end of third grade progressing into middle school and beyond, although younger students can easily learn basic morphemes. Dr. Tolman uses the hourglass figure below to clearly illustrate the multiple layers of direct instruction teachers should provide, progressing from phonological skills all the way into etymology. The video is about 20 minutes in length, but well worth the watch if you want to learn more about all of the layers. There is a sort of natural progression of instruction with morphemes. You will notice the progression goes from easier to understand to more difficult concepts that require background knowledge. One might first start with Anglo Saxon and Latin compounds which are free morphemes. A free morpheme is a morpheme that can stand alone and have meaning (i.e. dog and house alone mean one thing, but combined make doghouse, which means something else). Compounds are a great introduction to illustrate word chunks are meaningful. Next, one might progress to inflectional morphemes. Inflectional morphemes change what a word does, but doesn't change its meaning (i.e. ing, ed, etc.). Then, one might progress to irregular past tense plurals (i.e. catches, catch and caught). After that, one might teach common prefixes (un, re, pre, etc.) and then move to less common prefixes (macro, mono, fore, etc.) Next, one might instruct on derivational suffixes, which are suffixes that make a word change a grammar class. For example this means a word can go from being a noun (ex: pore) to being an adjective (ex: porous) by adding a derivational suffix (in this cause -ous). Finally one might teach Greek and Latin roots. Greek roots are not as common as Latin roots and are more scientific and technical. After a prefix, suffix or root word is explicitly taught there needs to be multiple exposures and chances to engage with the learned morpheme. Some great ways to further explore taught morphemes are by creating word webs, thinking of a visual or action that represents the morpheme, word hunts, graphic organizers, cloze activities or playing games. Ready to better instruct on morphology? Prefix, suffix and root word graphic organizers are a great way to deepen understanding of morphemes! Send me morphology graphic organizers!! We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered By ConvertKit > Bottom line--the more students understand about the structure of words, the better they will be at reading them independently, understanding their meaning and how to correctly spell.
We know fluency is important. We know fluent reading is the bridge to comprehension. But.... what can we do to help disfluent readers? To best help a disfluent reader, we must first determine what stage the student is at. This will help us find the best strategy for the reader. Is the student a beginning reader (kindergarten or first grade)? Is the reader one who is making adequate progress? Or, is the reader one who is struggling? Lets look at a beginning reader first. A beginning reader is someone in kindergarten and first grade who is attaching letters to their sounds and blending them into simple words. To improve reading fluency for these students a teacher should: Spend a significant amount of time on accurate text reading Implement a systematic daily practice for learning to read words accurately Model fluent reading. Give students lots of opportunity to read and re-read decodable text Encourage students to read "like they are talking." Now, lets look at a reader who is on-level or making adequate progress. These are students in grades two or higher who are average and making adequate gains. How do we keep the momentum going? How do we maintain their progress? To do this a teacher should use: Choral reading Echo Reading Cloze reading Partner reading Readers' theater Poetry readings Finally, lets look at struggling readers. Disfluent readers need a mixture of what beginning readers and on level students need. The best way for disfluent readers to become more fluent is by reading! These students need: Focus on ACCURATE text reading. Use decodable text Repeated readings Systemic daily practice of reading words accurately Modeled fluent reading Encourage students to read like they are talking LOTS of opportunities to read text (at their level) using choral, cloze, echo and partner reading. If you would like to know how to define fluency and why being a fluent reader important, check out the first post in the series by clicking here. There are a ton of great articles written by reading gurus on the topic of fluency. Check them out by clicking below. Everything You Wanted to Know about Repeated Reading by Timothy Shanahan via Reading Rockets Using Poetry to Teach Reading via Reading Rockets Developing Fluent Readers by Jan Hasbrouck via Reading Rockets I hope you will join us next time to discover ways you can fit daily fluency practice into your schedule!
A few weeks ago I was preparing professional development for first and second year teachers in my school district. New teachers not only need the basics of classroom management, routines, procedures and relationships....but this year they also need training on how to effectively be a remote educator. The first year of teaching is difficult under normal circumstances, but this is no normal year. I feel for these first year teachers as so much extra is being added to their already overflowing plate. To acknowledge the amount of stress each new teacher is facing, I started with a What's On Your Plate? activity. This is a great activity to use with any age (youth all the way to adults)! The purpose of the activity is for participants to honor all of the issues and tasks they have on their mind. We have all heard the analogy, "My plate is really full." Which is a code phrase for, "My brain is so full, I literally can't fit any more in it!" We have all been there. We all know how stressful a full or overflowing plate can be. Whats On Your Plate? gives participants a chance to get all of those thoughts swimming around in their brains out on paper. This activity acknowledges how many responsibilities and commitments everyone has, and then allows them to set those thoughts aside and be fully present for the meeting, class period, activity, etc. See below for materials, instructions and plate example.
A few weeks ago I was preparing professional development for first and second year teachers in my school district. New teachers not only need the basics of classroom management, routines, procedures and relationships....but this year they also need training on how to effectively be a remote educator. The first year of teaching is difficult under normal circumstances, but this is no normal year. I feel for these first year teachers as so much extra is being added to their already overflowing plate. To acknowledge the amount of stress each new teacher is facing, I started with a What's On Your Plate? activity. This is a great activity to use with any age (youth all the way to adults)! The purpose of the activity is for participants to honor all of the issues and tasks they have on their mind. We have all heard the analogy, "My plate is really full." Which is a code phrase for, "My brain is so full, I literally can't fit any more in it!" We have all been there. We all know how stressful a full or overflowing plate can be. Whats On Your Plate? gives participants a chance to get all of those thoughts swimming around in their brains out on paper. This activity acknowledges how many responsibilities and commitments everyone has, and then allows them to set those thoughts aside and be fully present for the meeting, class period, activity, etc. See below for materials, instructions and plate example.
Are you interested in getting your upper elementary students to spell more words correctly, understand the meaning behind more words and read more words independently? If so....then code based instruction must continue in the classroom. What is code based instruction?? This is when students are taught phonics skills in an explicit and specific sequence. Research tells us, code based instruction is the most effective way to teach students to read and spell. If a student is taught using this approach they will have the skills needed to apply learned patterns when spelling or encountering the unknown word in text. According to international literacy expert and co-author of LETRS, Dr. Carol Tolman, orthographic learning should continue beyond phonics concepts into morphology and etymology. Morphology is the study of morphemes. Morphemes are units of meaning in language (i.e. prefixes, suffixes and root words). Etymology is study of the historical development of words (i.e. identifying if the morpheme is of Greek, Latin or Anglo Saxon origin). Typically instruction on morphemes and etymology would happen at the end of third grade progressing into middle school and beyond, although younger students can easily learn basic morphemes. Dr. Tolman uses the hourglass figure below to clearly illustrate the multiple layers of direct instruction teachers should provide, progressing from phonological skills all the way into etymology. The video is about 20 minutes in length, but well worth the watch if you want to learn more about all of the layers. There is a sort of natural progression of instruction with morphemes. You will notice the progression goes from easier to understand to more difficult concepts that require background knowledge. One might first start with Anglo Saxon and Latin compounds which are free morphemes. A free morpheme is a morpheme that can stand alone and have meaning (i.e. dog and house alone mean one thing, but combined make doghouse, which means something else). Compounds are a great introduction to illustrate word chunks are meaningful. Next, one might progress to inflectional morphemes. Inflectional morphemes change what a word does, but doesn't change its meaning (i.e. ing, ed, etc.). Then, one might progress to irregular past tense plurals (i.e. catches, catch and caught). After that, one might teach common prefixes (un, re, pre, etc.) and then move to less common prefixes (macro, mono, fore, etc.) Next, one might instruct on derivational suffixes, which are suffixes that make a word change a grammar class. For example this means a word can go from being a noun (ex: pore) to being an adjective (ex: porous) by adding a derivational suffix (in this cause -ous). Finally one might teach Greek and Latin roots. Greek roots are not as common as Latin roots and are more scientific and technical. After a prefix, suffix or root word is explicitly taught there needs to be multiple exposures and chances to engage with the learned morpheme. Some great ways to further explore taught morphemes are by creating word webs, thinking of a visual or action that represents the morpheme, word hunts, graphic organizers, cloze activities or playing games. Ready to better instruct on morphology? Prefix, suffix and root word graphic organizers are a great way to deepen understanding of morphemes! Send me morphology graphic organizers!! We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered By ConvertKit > Bottom line--the more students understand about the structure of words, the better they will be at reading them independently, understanding their meaning and how to correctly spell.
Last time we were together we took a moment to truly understand the meaning of heart words. Not sure what a heart word is? Click here to read the previous post in this series High Frequency Words Part 2: Heart Words. Furthermore, if you want to know the difference between sight words and high frequency words, click here. This will take you to the first post in the High Frequency Words series: High Frequency Words What Are They? For now we are going to spend some time on making those tricky high frequency words sticky for kids! Follow the steps below to help kids master heart words. AND...if you haven't already checked out Linda Farrell's model for teaching heart words, I highly recommend it. You can find it by going to Readster's website, or by clicking here. Step 1: Teach the phonetically regular part of the word (To make these tricky words not so overwhelming, fold heart words in with regular phonics instruction based on the pattern you are teaching. For example they and their can be introduced when teaching the digraph /th/. Step 2: Point out the part of the word that makes the word a heart word--the part that is not phonetically spelled correctly. In following example, the teacher would make sure to put a heart above the e in the word "the" since the e doesn't do what it is supposed to. It is really important that the teacher spends some time dialoging with students about why she/he is placing a heart there. There is no need to place a heart above the digraph th because the th is doing what it is supposed to do. Step 3: Use multisensory techniques to reinforce these tricky words. Some multi-sensory options are sky writing, arm tapping, rainbow writing or finger writing in sand, shaving cream, sugar or on a bumpy surface, etc. The chart below names and describes some easy and effective multisensory techniques teachers can use with heart words. Most involve little prep! Click the link at the bottom of this post and grab the PDF of these techniques for free! :) It isn't necessary to use multi-sensory techniques with regularly spelled high frequency words....just the heart words. Adding multi-modal to these irregularly spelled words helps our brains remember and map the words. The words that aren't irregularly spelled don't need multi-sensory techniques as all of the letters do what they are supposed to. If a student is struggling with reading a regular high frequency word prompt him or her to remember the sounds the letter(s) make. Step 4: Give students lots of exposure to these tricky words! Read aloud and independent reading is a great time to point out some of these words, or pre-teach them. If you are looking for a great resource to get these tricky words mastered, check out the resource below! This heart word bundle has everything from flashcards to games! Low prep and super engaging! Whoop! Next up......regular high frequency words! Ready to help your students master heart words? Try these multisensory techniques to help with those tricky words! Send me multisensory ways to master heart words! We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Built with ConvertKit
Happy Monday everyone! It was sure nice being able to turn back those clocks this weekend to get an extra hour of sleep! I do love my beauty rest..... Last week during one of my small groups I tried out a strategy for previewing text...and I loved it! The strategy is called T.H.I.E.V.E.S and was posted (free) to TPT by Andrea McEvoy! It is an awesome resource to use to get your students ready for a close reading of text. I so wish I could claim this as my own.....because it is seriously great! One the first side the acronym T.H.I.E.V.E.S shows students how they should preview informational text by using THIEVES. Students preview the title, headings, introduction, first sentences, visuals, vocabulary and the end of the text. By looking closesly at theses components of the passage....students are getting a feel for what the text will be about. On the back side of the paper, students write what they have found while previewing the text. I am telling you this form was great!! I absolutely loved it....and it was FREE! Thank you Andrea McEvoy!
We know fluency is important. We know fluent reading is the bridge to comprehension. But.... what can we do to help disfluent readers? To best help a disfluent reader, we must first determine what stage the student is at. This will help us find the best strategy for the reader. Is the student a beginning reader (kindergarten or first grade)? Is the reader one who is making adequate progress? Or, is the reader one who is struggling? Lets look at a beginning reader first. A beginning reader is someone in kindergarten and first grade who is attaching letters to their sounds and blending them into simple words. To improve reading fluency for these students a teacher should: Spend a significant amount of time on accurate text reading Implement a systematic daily practice for learning to read words accurately Model fluent reading. Give students lots of opportunity to read and re-read decodable text Encourage students to read "like they are talking." Now, lets look at a reader who is on-level or making adequate progress. These are students in grades two or higher who are average and making adequate gains. How do we keep the momentum going? How do we maintain their progress? To do this a teacher should use: Choral reading Echo Reading Cloze reading Partner reading Readers' theater Poetry readings Finally, lets look at struggling readers. Disfluent readers need a mixture of what beginning readers and on level students need. The best way for disfluent readers to become more fluent is by reading! These students need: Focus on ACCURATE text reading. Use decodable text Repeated readings Systemic daily practice of reading words accurately Modeled fluent reading Encourage students to read like they are talking LOTS of opportunities to read text (at their level) using choral, cloze, echo and partner reading. If you would like to know how to define fluency and why being a fluent reader important, check out the first post in the series by clicking here. There are a ton of great articles written by reading gurus on the topic of fluency. Check them out by clicking below. Everything You Wanted to Know about Repeated Reading by Timothy Shanahan via Reading Rockets Using Poetry to Teach Reading via Reading Rockets Developing Fluent Readers by Jan Hasbrouck via Reading Rockets I hope you will join us next time to discover ways you can fit daily fluency practice into your schedule!
Say hello to the end of the school year! This time of year is always full of so many emotions. It is stressful and chaotic with wrapping up instruction, benchmark assessments and finalizing grades. Whew....so much! It is also fun and filled with excitement as you celebrate the learning and growth with your students. PLUS who can forget all of the end of the year celebrations---ice cream parties, field day, yearbook signing, graduation assemblies, etc. In my intervention group we always end with an ice cream party with LOTS of toppings and then the students have a chance to play games, or play outside. It isn't anything fancy or a lot of work, but a great capstone for the end of the year. I also hand out student awards to celebrate the growth students have had in my classroom. I like to include a special treat with my awards--so candy themed awards are a go to! Each student receives a certificate and then a candy bar that corresponds to the certificate. For example a Milky Way because the student is "out of this world" or a Snickers because he or she always tells funny jokes. I have also done drink awards, which is basically the same as the candy awards. Instead of receiving candy, the student receives a drink that corresponds to the certificate. For example a Fanta for being fantastic, or Dr. Pepper because they pepped up the class all year. Hop on over to Mind Sparks on TPT where you can nab these fun certificates, and alleviate some of the stress in planning an end of the year celebration! Just click here, or the images above! If you don't have a ton of time to purchase treats, or your wallet is looking a little thin....generic certificates are fun as well. Lets face it--it is just nice to be given a certificate...it makes you feel important and special! Click the image below or click here to download the black and white generic set for free! How do you celebrate students at the end of the year? I am always looking for more ideas!
Just as anticipated the MTSS Symposium was AMAZING! I was able to see Anita Archer....not once....but TWICE. Regrettably I didn't get a picture with her. I (and my teacher friends that attended with me) decided it would be a tad creepy. The first time I saw Anita she was presenting on reading foundation skills and the second time I saw her she was presenting on increasing middle and high school engagement. Both sessions were equally informative and entertaining, but it was Anita Archer we are talking about, so I don't expect anything less! At the conference I also saw Jan Hasbrouck, Deborah Glaser and representatives from MiBLSi (Michigan’s Statewide MTSS Project). Dr. Hasbrouck presented on how to use your reading assessments to inform instruction. She is just as engaging as Anita Archer and always presents excellent information. Dr. Glaser was a real treat as her presentation was on various hands on writing and reading routines one can use to help struggling readers. Last but not least, representatives from Michigan’s Statewide MTSS project came and presented on the function and impact data coaching can have in your district. I would go into further detail, but I am planning a blog post over each of the sessions I attended. The information was so great---I just have to share it! So stay tuned for future posts! This past week, my school finished up AimsWeb testing....which is awesome for a data nerd like myself. Now that the data is in....I can finally start forming my Tier 2 and Tier 3 groups! Typically my reading intervention classes consist of helping students with decoding and fluency...but this year our kiddos are quite a bit higher and I will mostly be working on comprehension. This is a very encouraging data trend to have :). I have decided to use interactive notebooks with my students (like I did with my summer school kids) and I can't wait! In case you haven't heard about interactive notebooks---they are personalized textbooks or a working portfolio of notes, classwork and even quizzes and tests. Interactive notebooks are a great organizational tool for students and a perfect way for students to review reading strategies. I have decided to organize the interactive notebooks my students use by sectioning the notebook off into key comprehension strategies that are proven to increase comprehension: story mapping, questioning, meta-cognition (thinking about thinking), making predictions, inferencing, vocabulary, main idea, text structure, and drawing conclusions. So far I have only made the story mapping pages for the story map section.....hopefully I get the rest of the pages done before my Tier 3 kiddos start!! Pictured above is an easy (and cheap) way to organize the interactive notebooks---write on small sticky notes and place on the first page for each section in the notebook. Use tape to secure the sticky note to the page for extra durability. Above is one example of a story map you can use with your students. I always have my kiddos label each page with a number, the title of the story and the author. \ Here is yet another example of s story map you can use with your students. Students can draw a picture on the outside of the tab or make a bulleted list. Flip the tab open, and have students fill in more descriptive information. This story map foldable for the interactive notebook is perfect for transitioning into writing a summary. Students can fill out the foldable and then use the writing stems on the foldable to help them with the summary. If you have struggling students use a differentiated story map with easy to understand vocabulary and less sections. Last but not least here are a few more tips that I am going to make sure and tell my students for their interactive notebooks. Date and number each page Keep a table of contents No doodling that doesn't relate to classroom notes Notebook will only be used in my classroom No tearing out pages Always write title and author at the top of the page The left side will be used for students--this is where they will keep their diagrams, cartoons, drawings, poems, foldables, etc. The right side will belong to me (the teacher) for guided notes, comments to students and graded tests and quizzes. If you are interested in these interactive pages...visit my TPT store! I hope to have the rest of the pages done soon! :) Have a great Monday tomorrow!
I so excited to share my newest TPT product! This little gem is called Extended Paragraph Frames.....and here it is in all it's glory! ha! These Extended Paragraph Frames are actually a jazzed up version of one of my more popular products-- Paragraph Writing Frames (text structure edition) and Paragraph Writing Frames (summarizing edition), If you haven't heard about paragraph frames (sometimes they are also referred to as framed paragraphs)...you are missing out! Allow me to explain...... Paragraph Frames are perfect to support students who have difficulty writing strong paragraphs. Framed paragraphs guide students (in any subject) by providing them with a sentence outline and transitional phrases. Students simply have to fill in the blanks with their own thoughts!! There is a great little article on paragraph frames on Reading Rockets....check it out by clicking here. Below is an example of what a writing frame would look like... I highly recommend using paragraph frames for the struggling or beginning writer! They are super simple to use and can go with any text in any subject area--simply print off a frame and have a student fill in the blanks. Once the student has completed the frame, he or she can transfer the frame to a piece of notebook paper---and voila....a strong paragraph!! I have my paragraph frames laminated and hanging in my room.....and kids just grab them when they are ready to write! Recently I have started pushing my students to further develop their writing. They have the basics down, but I wanted them to cite textual evidence, offer insight and provide details. I knew what I wanted---yet my struggling babies still needed some support. Then one day I had a buyer request for me to make a "more advanced version" of my frameser!! And that little suggestion solved all my problems......I an push my students and make a happy buyer! GENIUS! I have experienced so much success with basic paragraph frames---so I knew this would work! Thus the Extended Paragraph Frames were born! Click here to download an extended paragraph frame freebie! (or click picture!) Just in case you were wondering how extended paragraph frames are different than regular paragraph frames......well....here ya go! Extended paragraph frames will: lengthen students sentences demonstrate how to cite textual evidence provide students with a way to be more descriptive encourage students to ad their own insight, understanding and opinions I hope you all enjoy the freebie....and happy writing!
Slap words is a fun and engaging game to review various concepts with students. The best part is they don’t even know they are reviewing because they are having so much fun! This Slap Words game reviews two-sound and three-sound blends in words. All two-sound blend patterns are used (bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fr, ft, gl, gr, ld, lf, lk, lm, lp, lt, mp, nd, nk, nt, pl, pr, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, tr, tw), In addition all three-sound blends are used (scr, shr, spr, squ, str, thr) Included: Directions, 150 Slap Cards (two varities--30 cards with three-sound blends, and 120 cards with two-sound blends) Supplies: 2 sets of cards, empty table top Players: 2+ Directions: 1. Print and cut out the cards. (laminating is optional) 2. Keep a set of cards for the caller (this set is optional to cut—you just need it for assisting the caller with calling out the words) 3. Spread cards out over empty tabletop/desk 4. Caller (teacher or student) calls out a word (make sure to notate which word was called—so you don’t have repeats) 5. Students race to see who can slap the word the fastest. 6. First student to slap the correct word called---keeps the card. 7. The student that has the most cards at the end of the game wins! **I just have students slap the words (gently) with their hands....but for a fun twist you can use a flyswatter or other "swatting" tool.
Man oh man, am I feeling refreshed! Here in Kansas, the weather was gorgeous!!! I guess Mother Nature finally wanted to cooperate.....or perhaps she was tired of listening to all of the Kansans complain! Anyway, I spent my relaxing weekend gardening, planting shrubs, working on TPT products and baking the world's best cookies!! These little round joys of delight are called Hootycreeks. They. Are. AMAZING! They have cranberries, oats and pecans in them....so I like to pretend they are healthy. And I may or may not eat them for breakfast.... Besides eating my body weight in cookies, I worked on ELA exit slips for my kiddos. If you don't currently use exit slips.....you totally should! Exit slips provide an extremely quick (what teacher doesn't like quick??) way to see if your students are comprehending what they have read. This strategy is perfect for giving you (the teacher) immediate feedback and it will also help you students by providing them a way to think about what they have learned. And as a bonus....exit slips work perfect for all text types! Here is what the front side of the exit slips looks like: The exit slip uses a simple 3, 2, 1 strategy. When you are ready to wrap up your lesson spend 3 to 5 minutes and have students write 3 things they learned, 2 new words they discovered and 1 remaining question they have. The back side looks like this: On the back side you can ask students a specific question about the lesson, or choose from the list of questions below. You can get this FABULOUS exit slips strategy for FREE at my TPT store. Just click on the picture below!! Hope you all had a great weekend!!! :) Katie
A fellow interventionist at one of our district's elementary schools, peaked my interest with a book she is reading. Okay, I have got to be honest---she could peak my interest with anything!! I truly respect her expertise! Seriously, she is truly is amazing when it comes to anything education! Anyway, the book is called The Decoding Solution by Scholastic. I haven't read it yet, but --by golly I have it ordered! After reading a summary about the book, I gathered the book stresses the importance of teaching rimes. I found two things particularly interesting. First, the data researchers collected after implementing the teaching of rimes was phenomenal! According to the data, teaching rimes (or word families) for ten minutes daily improved students reading levels by up to 2 grades! After learning the most common word families, students were more capable when decoding an unfamiliar word. Secondly, research was done on kids of all ages. As an upper level interventionist it is rather difficult to find strategies, materials and resources to help struggling readers. Most intervention materials are "babyish" or too young for my fifth and sixth graders. They literally look at me like, "You have GOT to be KIDDING me!!" So, for this to be tried out on older kids and proven successful, ordering this book was a no-brainer! Once my mind started thinking about word families and rimes, it couldn't stop. Alllllll weekend long I was researching activities and ways to teach rimes. I am sure my husband was thrilled! haha :) I found a lot of free resources on the web. Check out the following links: Scholastic (48 page resource on word families--with activities and games) ning.com (Upper level multi-syllabic word families) Teacher Created Materials (28 page resource) Utah Government ( list of high frequency rimes) FCCR (41 page packet on onset and rimes) Time to Rhyme (12 page rime packet) Or, if you want to order the The Decoding Solution, you can order it by clicking the title. It is $23.00 not including shipping and handling. Now that I am obsessed with word families....I have begun to make some of my own games. I only have one game made using the most common rimes that start with "a". The game is called Rhyme Time. Feel free to check it out or purchase on my TPT store! I am planning on making a game for all of the major rimes.....I will let you know when that is done! Enjoy your Monday! Katie
I so excited to share my newest TPT product! This little gem is called Extended Paragraph Frames.....and here it is in all it's glory! ha! These Extended Paragraph Frames are actually a jazzed up version of one of my more popular products-- Paragraph Writing Frames (text structure edition) and Paragraph Writing Frames (summarizing edition), If you haven't heard about paragraph frames (sometimes they are also referred to as framed paragraphs)...you are missing out! Allow me to explain...... Paragraph Frames are perfect to support students who have difficulty writing strong paragraphs. Framed paragraphs guide students (in any subject) by providing them with a sentence outline and transitional phrases. Students simply have to fill in the blanks with their own thoughts!! There is a great little article on paragraph frames on Reading Rockets....check it out by clicking here. Below is an example of what a writing frame would look like... I highly recommend using paragraph frames for the struggling or beginning writer! They are super simple to use and can go with any text in any subject area--simply print off a frame and have a student fill in the blanks. Once the student has completed the frame, he or she can transfer the frame to a piece of notebook paper---and voila....a strong paragraph!! I have my paragraph frames laminated and hanging in my room.....and kids just grab them when they are ready to write! Recently I have started pushing my students to further develop their writing. They have the basics down, but I wanted them to cite textual evidence, offer insight and provide details. I knew what I wanted---yet my struggling babies still needed some support. Then one day I had a buyer request for me to make a "more advanced version" of my frameser!! And that little suggestion solved all my problems......I an push my students and make a happy buyer! GENIUS! I have experienced so much success with basic paragraph frames---so I knew this would work! Thus the Extended Paragraph Frames were born! Click here to download an extended paragraph frame freebie! (or click picture!) Just in case you were wondering how extended paragraph frames are different than regular paragraph frames......well....here ya go! Extended paragraph frames will: lengthen students sentences demonstrate how to cite textual evidence provide students with a way to be more descriptive encourage students to ad their own insight, understanding and opinions I hope you all enjoy the freebie....and happy writing!
I so excited to share my newest TPT product! This little gem is called Extended Paragraph Frames.....and here it is in all it's glory! ha! These Extended Paragraph Frames are actually a jazzed up version of one of my more popular products-- Paragraph Writing Frames (text structure edition) and Paragraph Writing Frames (summarizing edition), If you haven't heard about paragraph frames (sometimes they are also referred to as framed paragraphs)...you are missing out! Allow me to explain...... Paragraph Frames are perfect to support students who have difficulty writing strong paragraphs. Framed paragraphs guide students (in any subject) by providing them with a sentence outline and transitional phrases. Students simply have to fill in the blanks with their own thoughts!! There is a great little article on paragraph frames on Reading Rockets....check it out by clicking here. Below is an example of what a writing frame would look like... I highly recommend using paragraph frames for the struggling or beginning writer! They are super simple to use and can go with any text in any subject area--simply print off a frame and have a student fill in the blanks. Once the student has completed the frame, he or she can transfer the frame to a piece of notebook paper---and voila....a strong paragraph!! I have my paragraph frames laminated and hanging in my room.....and kids just grab them when they are ready to write! Recently I have started pushing my students to further develop their writing. They have the basics down, but I wanted them to cite textual evidence, offer insight and provide details. I knew what I wanted---yet my struggling babies still needed some support. Then one day I had a buyer request for me to make a "more advanced version" of my frameser!! And that little suggestion solved all my problems......I an push my students and make a happy buyer! GENIUS! I have experienced so much success with basic paragraph frames---so I knew this would work! Thus the Extended Paragraph Frames were born! Click here to download an extended paragraph frame freebie! (or click picture!) Just in case you were wondering how extended paragraph frames are different than regular paragraph frames......well....here ya go! Extended paragraph frames will: lengthen students sentences demonstrate how to cite textual evidence provide students with a way to be more descriptive encourage students to ad their own insight, understanding and opinions I hope you all enjoy the freebie....and happy writing!
I so excited to share my newest TPT product! This little gem is called Extended Paragraph Frames.....and here it is in all it's glory! ha! These Extended Paragraph Frames are actually a jazzed up version of one of my more popular products-- Paragraph Writing Frames (text structure edition) and Paragraph Writing Frames (summarizing edition), If you haven't heard about paragraph frames (sometimes they are also referred to as framed paragraphs)...you are missing out! Allow me to explain...... Paragraph Frames are perfect to support students who have difficulty writing strong paragraphs. Framed paragraphs guide students (in any subject) by providing them with a sentence outline and transitional phrases. Students simply have to fill in the blanks with their own thoughts!! There is a great little article on paragraph frames on Reading Rockets....check it out by clicking here. Below is an example of what a writing frame would look like... I highly recommend using paragraph frames for the struggling or beginning writer! They are super simple to use and can go with any text in any subject area--simply print off a frame and have a student fill in the blanks. Once the student has completed the frame, he or she can transfer the frame to a piece of notebook paper---and voila....a strong paragraph!! I have my paragraph frames laminated and hanging in my room.....and kids just grab them when they are ready to write! Recently I have started pushing my students to further develop their writing. They have the basics down, but I wanted them to cite textual evidence, offer insight and provide details. I knew what I wanted---yet my struggling babies still needed some support. Then one day I had a buyer request for me to make a "more advanced version" of my frameser!! And that little suggestion solved all my problems......I an push my students and make a happy buyer! GENIUS! I have experienced so much success with basic paragraph frames---so I knew this would work! Thus the Extended Paragraph Frames were born! Click here to download an extended paragraph frame freebie! (or click picture!) Just in case you were wondering how extended paragraph frames are different than regular paragraph frames......well....here ya go! Extended paragraph frames will: lengthen students sentences demonstrate how to cite textual evidence provide students with a way to be more descriptive encourage students to ad their own insight, understanding and opinions I hope you all enjoy the freebie....and happy writing!
When the back to school season hits, many teachers quickly forget about the importance of taking care of themselves. Educators are SO BUSY getting their classroom ready, creating routines, thinking about schedules, new curriculum, old curriculum, standards, data..... All of that back to school brain busyness results in personal care getting put on the back burner. So, this is just a friendly reminder that it is okay to make yourself a priority. It isn't selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself and make yourself happy. It is necessary. If you are constantly giving your all to everyone and everything, you will eventually burn out. Your cup will be empty and you will have nothing left to give. Take a moment and read through the 50 self care actions you can take to nurture yourself. Pick your favorites, or try all of them! If it takes you scheduling personal care time on your calendar--then DO IT! If you are interested in tips on how to create a plan to keep you mentally healthy this school year, check out the Teacher Self Care. This post gives four great tips on how to create a self-care plan. Another way to stay emotionally aware is by doing to a self-check using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid. Check out this post which give great reflective questions for each level of Maslow's pyramid. Click the image below, where you can download the self care printable. If you know of someone (spouse, friend, colleague, student) that needs self care--SHARE IT!
Happy Fourth of July! I do hope everyone is enjoying the holiday and PARTYING LIKE IT IS 1776! :) Partying like it is 1776....get it? haha.....I would love to take ownership over that little gem, but I found it on Pinterest. Today I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It linky party! I am slowly but surely adding more variations of my Slap Words game. Today, I finished the consonant blend variety..... This game includes practice with two-sound consonant blends and three sound blends. The two sound consonant blend game cards include: bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fr, ft, gl, gr, ld, lf, lk, lm, lp, lt, mp, nd, nk, nt, pl, pr, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, tr, and tw. The three-sound blend game cards include: scr, shr, spl, spr, squ, str and thr. An example of the game cards are pictured below. For each blend there are four cards, totaling 150 cards in the game pack. This means lots of time having fun reading words with two-sound or three-sound blends! Slap Words Blend Edition is super easy to set up and very engaging for students! Directions for the game are listed below---it is as simple as that!! I hope everyone enjoys their day!
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Weight-inclusive personal stylist Dacy Gillespie shares her tips on swapping patriarchal fashion rules for mindfulness to create a wardrobe that is practical, ethical and most importantly, makes you feel good.
This is a great activity that teaches how to build classroom community and mindfulness in the classroom. It's perfect for a variety of ages.
Are you ready to enter another giveaway?? How about win another prize?? Well, I thought I would spread the word about Reading and Writing Redhead's 200 follower giveaway. Help her celebrate this fantastic milestone by clicking on the picture above. This adorable pic will take you to her blog where you can enter for a chance to win! Best of luck to you all. :) In other news I am really excited about a product I just posted to TPT!! As you all know this summer I am super into interactive notebooks. Thus, I just finished making an interactive notebook resource for 5th grade that teaches morphology (prefixes, suffixes and root words) for the ENTIRE YEAR!! The pack includes a 5th grade morphology list of prefixes, suffixes and roots based off of research by Timothy Rasinski, Nancy Padak, Rick M. Newton and Evangeline Newton. Hello---these people are reading GODS! This list was taken (as a free resource) from Teacher Created Materials, which publishes and sponsors work from the researchers listed above. Click the picture below, which will take you to the website. They have a free section--where you can find all sorts of goodies for every grade level. :) In addition to the 3 lists, the pack includes foldables for interactive notebooks, word work wheels, mobile word wall, directions for use, plan of instruction and suggested activities to practice prefixes, suffixes and root words. Why should you teach students morphology?? Well...... teaching morphology (Latin and Greek prefixes and suffixes) is tremendously important for multiple reasons: 1. Most academic words (math and science) are derived from Latin and Greek . 2. The majority of Multi-Syllabic words contain Latin and Greek prefixes, suffixes and roots. 3. Understanding Latin and Greek affixes will provide students with a deeper understanding of newly acquired vocabulary. 4. Over 60% of the words students encounter will have recognizable word parts. Basically I am pretty jacked about it!! This week, I plan to bust out grades 2-8!! Whoop...whoop! I can't wait to use these with my kiddos for next year!!! Have a great evening everyone! Katie
Are you looking for a fun activity for your students to do in the last few weeks of school? How about something that is easy to manage, adaptable and engaging for kids? If your answer isn't yes....then you are crazy! Do you want to know what it is??? Well, it is called the Reading Challenge--- Ice Cream style, and you can download it for free at my TPT store by clicking here!! By the end of the year, my kids need something different to keep them engaged during the last weeks of school. I usually have wrapped up the introduction of new skills, yet am still wanting my students to practice what they have learned, their fluency and various reading strategies. So, on the last week of school I introduce my students to the reading challenge--ice cream style! Students have an entire week to work on the challenge. I simply design various reading tasks I want students to complete and what a student can earn by accomplishing it. Each task gives them the opportunity to earn a spoon, bowl, banana, ice cream scoops and toppings. On the first day, I explain the challenge to my students, and answer all of their questions (they usually have LOTS). I explain they have the whole week to get as much done as they can and want. If a student wants to only earn ice cream, and no toppings--that is their choice. If a student doesn't like bananas--fine, don't work toward the banana. This challenge is student choice--they can decide where to start and what they want to earn. Most all of my kids go for the WHOLE BANANA SPLIT! Then, in a central location, I set out all of the materials needed to complete the tasks. Students are able to get what they need (if it is available) when they want to complete the task. If something isn't available, students are instructed to pick another activity---but I make sure to have plenty of copies and a variety of choices! In order to keep it organized I tell students that once they have completed a task, I must see the work and initial their sheet right away. This gives me the opportunity to grade their work quickly and stay organized. By highlighting and initialing what students have completed, the students know what they have earned and it motivates them to keep working! Then---on the last day of school---we party! I collect all of the students sheets and doll out the ice cream and toppings they have earned. As we are eating ice cream, we listen to music and play games. Its is loads of fun!! In the freebie I have included a blank form--which enables you to come up with your own tasks. I have also included a list of ideas you can use for reading tasks. Obviously this isn't an all-inclusive list...but sometimes it is nice to have some alternate ideas to spur on thinking! I hope you enjoy the freebie, and happy end of the school year!
Apparently I was feeling crafty this week because I learned to "french braid" my hair. I would post pictures.....but my husband informed me that I needed A LOT more practice. Thanks babe. :( Although I am not too proud of my hair.....I am proud of my VERY FIRST chalkboard sign! I did this baby freehand, without using printables. I know....I am crazy, right? A friend of ours was going to throw out this chalkboard....but (luckily) we snatched it up before it made it to the trash. I am not going to lie---it hung on our wall blank for about two months. I was actually scared to make a sign---because I wanted it to be PERFECT. Uhhhh hello........chalk is able to erase. What dummy I am. Anyway...once I got up the courage to attempt a chalk design, I did my research first. Also known as: Pinterest. That is the modern day encyclopedia, right? Check out my Chalk Talk board---that is where I pinned a lot of ideas, tips and tricks. I started the process by finding a quote I wanted to use. This sign is in my kitchen, so I knew this quote would be perfect. Next I planned out how I was going write my text using paper and pencil. This is where Pinterest became my best friend. There are tons of pins on font ideas, lettering, shading, best font combos,etc. Once I had down my design I practiced, practiced, practiced. Next I measured the size of my chalk canvas . I had 26 inches to work with, which I divided into seven rows for my seven rows of text. It is difficult to see....but that is why I used the blue painter's tape. On the painter's tape, I measured and drew seven sections, that way I would know if I was making some text too large...which would make me run out of room at the end. When I had my spacing down, I knew (eek!) I was ready to start. I taped all of my practice drawings around the outside of the chalkboard.....easy to see and remind me what I was going to do. Then.....I just went for it! Here are my tips on creating a successful chalkboard sign: Mix fonts (bold with skinny, scripts with serif, tall with short, thick with skinny, etc.) Having contrasting fonts makes your eyes happy! Embellish--this means add doodles---like arrows, banners, symbols, dividers, etc. Again--this adds visual appeal. Research--hit up pinterest or google and get ideas. There are a TON out there! Plan ahead--this might not be the best for everyone, but it saved me time. Grab a piece of paper and plan your fonts, your doodles, spacing, etc. Practice--again not for everyone--but saved me time because I knew what I was doing once I started with my chalk. Have fun--be artistic and creative! If you make a mistake---erase it, or turn it into something great! If you want to become a professional ....check out this book: The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering . A friend of mine read it, and apparently it is amazing! Did you know you can also sign up for online classes? Another friend of mine (I guess I have a lot of friends that chalk art) took a class from Hand Lettered Design. Check out their website.....they have free downloads, tips and tricks!
I’m very good at coming up with story “sparks” – too good, in fact – but I always find it a trial to develop those ideas into fully-fledged stories. One technique I use is to create mind-maps. I thought I would share my genre mind maps in case they can help you in your hour…
Synopsis Expand/Collapse Synopsis Experience the unforgettable, heartbreaking love story set in post-World War II North Carolina about a young socialite and the boy who once stole her heart -- one of PBS's "Great American Reads". Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story-it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again... At thirty-one, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle...
