Last year we really enjoyed using All About Reading Pre-reading and Level 1. My daughter liked Level 1 so much that she begged me to get Level 2 for this year! I'm amazed with the

Take your space unit to the next level with this product all about STARS and constellations! Included: • 2 Classroom Posters (stars and constellations) • 5 Worksheets • 1 Assessment

Many teachers have "tried and true" resources that they pull from year after year. I've been an elementary ESL teacher since 2005 working with grades 1-6. During this time I have used a ton of resources with my students; and my favorites have stuck with me. Even though my "classroom" can change year to year, from pushing-in, co-teaching, to predominantly working with small pull-out groups, these tried and true resources are ones that I wouldn't want to do without. Here's a look at a few of my top favorites... Graphic Organizers This resource is #1 for a reason! I almost always use graphic organizers to teach reading comprehension. I find them to be highly effective because they are not text heavy. Students read with a purpose, then complete an activity that supports that specific reading skill/strategy. No matter my students' level of reading or language proficiency, a simple graphic organizer is what I need to reinforce that skill or strategy! I keep these graphic organizers on my desktop, and when I'm planning my lessons I can quickly pull up the organizers I need, then print and go! Tip: When I print, I reduce the setting to 80% and then trim the sides. Students glue the graphic organizer into their reading notebooks which makes for a great collection of student work and visual reference of student progress and effort. Leveled Books for Reading Instruction I have been very lucky to work in schools that have had awesome book rooms full of guided reading sets. I hope that you have the same access to books in your school. Finding books on my students' levels is one thing, but finding relevant books, especially for my upper elementary beginning ELs, is another. It's a challenge, for sure, but with a good book room I know that I can almost always find what I need. Click here for a free modified guided reading lesson plan template! Don't have a stocked book room? I also order several grade levels of the Scholastic News Magazines. (I think 10 magazines per grade level is the minimum order; that's what I get.) I mostly use grades 1, 2 & 3 with my ELs. With your order, you also have access to the online magazines, which is awesome! You can project to an interactive whiteboard, or have students read on an iPad or computer. These various grade levels make it easy to differentiate text levels. Since I use the magazines for reading instruction, students do not take them home. I keep the magazines organized by grade level and time of year, then I reuse the ones I love, year after year. Reading instruction is a big part of my day, so having access to leveled reading materials is a must! Visual Reading Word Wall Cards I love this resource because of the visuals. and the versatility. When introducing a reading concept, such as "making predictions" or "plot," to beginning or intermediate English learners, a meaningful visual is definitely worth a thousand words! These reading word wall cards provide my students with the visual supports they need as they are learning new concepts in English. I use these cards at my reading table, as a word wall, in anchor charts, as sorting headers, and in my learning objectives that I post on the board. Guided Reading Table Anchor Chart Lesson Objectives Words Their Way for Word Study For ELLs, learning spelling patterns in English is important. I especially like this resource because I can differentiate it according to the needs of my students. First, I assess what my students already know, as far as consonants, short and long vowels, word families, digraphs, etc., then start from there. We systematically work through the sorts building their knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns. A bonus with this resource is that it's another exposure to new vocabulary! Each Monday my students receive their list of words, and each day of the week they have various independent activities to do with their words. Then on Fridays, we finish up with a quick spelling quiz. Click for a free download of Weekly Word Study Activities To start, I set up their notebooks with their weekly Word Study Activities. We do this together the first week or two, so that I know that they understand what's expected. This is a word sort that my newcomers might be working on. And this is a sort that my intermediate ELLs might be working on. After I copy the page, I'll cut the page so that they have about 15 new words per week. My advanced ELLs might have 18 to 20 words. Once my students understand their weekly activities, these Word Study Activities become independent activities during the week while in Reader's Workshop. Students are responsible for completing the weekly work and learning their words. I set them up on Monday with their new words, then quiz them on Friday. It's up to them to do the work Tuesday through Thursday. Vocabulary Mini Office This is a MUST have for my newcomers! When they arrive, this is the first resource I give them. It's basic vocabulary that students use everyday. The Vocabulary Mini Office is kept at their desk to use during independent work time. Whether during Writer's Workshop, Reading or Vocabulary practice, it provides them with access to everyday vocabulary. My newcomers love this resource and they use it often. For my older newcomers I put the pages inside their reading folder. When they practice their writing, they can easily find the vocabulary they need. Daily Language Review I often use this resource as a warm-up activity. With my beginner and intermediate students, this is a group activity we do together. I want them to get used to the format of the questions so I do a lot of guided practice and modeling with this resource. My advanced kiddos do this as a quick independent warm up and then we go over it together. It takes about 5 minutes. Depending on the language level of my groups, I pull pages from either the first, second or third grade book. It also provides a great jumping off point. I can see in which areas of grammar my students need direct instruction, such as contractions, sentence structure, mechanics, etc. It's just a quick warm-up. My students like it and I get good information about them from it. As a teacher of English Language Learners, these are some of my must have resources. When I plan my lessons, these are many of the first resources I grab. They make my instruction consistent, effective and meaningful. Yes, there are other resources that I would not want to do without, and perhaps that would make for a follow up post, but if I were to pick my top resources, these would be them! I'd love to know what some of your favorite resources are! (Affiliate Links Below)

Hi friends! I wanted to share my readers use thinkmarks poster today. This is something my students really enjoy doing during guided reading or even independent reading. This allows them to jot down their idea, but not interrupt me. We have a different focus each month and last month was making predictions, and this month is making connections. We also cover visualizing, and inferencing as well. We cover a ton of things each month, but these are our focus! I just love teaching them. I love read alouds and would do it all day if I could. I wanted to see if I could show them think marks. So I whipped up this chart with them. They were REALLY excited to get some sticky notes - (note to self - I need more little ones, but am too much of a hoarder to share my own) I left out the ones that are blank because we haven't learned those skills yet. So as we learn, I will add more to it. I sent each child to independent reading and read to self that day with one sticky note. All they had to do was use one. I didn't want them using a whole pack because then it is work on writing instead of reading! They were so excited. I had one girl read her same book twice with nothing. I asked why she was reading her book again, and she said " I only have one sticky note, I want to make it a good one". Gosh I love first graders. Here's the thing. In order to use the think mark, you had to be able to explain WHY you chose it. If you chose LOL that is great, but what was so funny about it? If you chose prediction - you had to say what you predicted and if you were correct initially or if you had to revise your thinking. The best part was that there were kids with "C" written on their sticky, and even better * and ?. I let them know if they had those they had to explain. During snack, I had them all take out their book, and we went around to share our think marks. One kiddo said "C" because she didn't know that Penguin babies were with their dads and are 4 feet tall. (I was beaming with pride for her) she said it from her memory - then opened the book to the page to share with everyone. One little boy had a Henry and Mudge book and had an (!) - he said that it was exciting because Henry and Mudge were cracking the code of the lost cookies! HOW CUTE! Kids were using the vocabulary "I made a connection, I predicted, I thought so and so was funny BECAUSE". It was truly amazing to hear their thinking and even my lowest readers were able to put something down - even if it was a favorite part! I will eventually not have every kid share during snack, but not until I know that they have it down for what they are supposed to be doing and explaining. I will have the kids partner up and share so it is over fairly quickly. They want to talk about their books, but need guidance on what they can share!! I decided that once we learn all of our think marks, I will blow this up and put it on my wall. I will also print a smaller one for them to keep in their readers notebook, along with a bookmark with the other side being their reading strategies bookmark. I made this Story Map from this pin . I don't know who it belongs to, but I had a vision of this thing and this was it! Each time we read a story together, we complete this together. I have printed them their own and put it in a sheet protector. They will read their own books and days we don't use sticky notes, I will have them fill out the map and share with a buddy. I want them to be accountable, but like I said I don't want it to be read to self/writing - I also sent this home with parents with a dry erase marker and and sheet protector and said to have them do this after they read to or listen to their child read. This is my focus wall. This is the size of a regular bulletin board - Each day we focus for just five minutes on a couple of these things that we have covered in the month! I use panel wall clips so that the holes are only put in once and I never pull them out - allowing me to use this board for years to come. The kids love going over this board because they know all the answers!!! I only made the make a prediction sheet. The tattooed teacher made the reading strategies posters and the charts and graphs poster pack was free from here. I created these reading strategies along with bookmarks to use during guided reading and for them to use during read to self or independent reading. Click on any picture to snag these babies for only a buck a rooney! An example of one of the posters and the bookmark types. I am also going to use the circles during guided reading. As they use a strategy, they will grab it from their pile and explain what they used. I will put them on popsicle sticks. :) They go with my reading comprehension posters that you can find here for just a dollar! Aly

I have really enjoyed chatting with teachers on Twitter lately about DOK (Depth of Knowledge) levels. Part of what I teach in my college class to

I really love to teach guided reading groups. It is always interesting and you really get to see how every student is unique in how they learn and process all the information. I like to see them make progress and move up reading levels and also REALLY comprehend what they are reading on another level. Amazing. I know many teachers may have struggled with this question before like I have...What do I do with those high readers? In second grade they are just not quite ready to start literature circles, but the daily small group guided reading is too slow and boring for them. I try to do something in between. I still want to meet with them to make sure we aren't missing an important piece of their reading instruction, but I also want them to become independent and really connect with their reading. Here are a few ideas that I have used for those readers that are really ready to move beyond the small group guided reading. I create a reading passport for these students. We put their picture on the front. Every time they finish a book, they add the title to their passport. In the passport, they can keep track of how many fiction and nonfiction books they read. This passport can be used for all levels! Reading Passport I meet with the group to introduce their book and have the discussions about predictions, unusual vocabulary, and any connections we might have. Then they go on their own to read as a group to the assigned chapter and complete a portion of their Book Club Notes. We always discuss ahead of time what the expectation is and what portion of the notes I will be looking for at our next meeting. They love the independence and take this very seriously! Book Club Notes I also like to provide something more for some of my other groups that are working above level, but not ready for this much independence. I just continue with our regular guided reading groups, but have them use a small bookmark to add their thinking and summarizing. I have a fiction or nonficiton bookmark. I add this to their book bag and they complete a portion at a time and bring it back to group for our discussions. Reading Groups Book Mark (Fiction) Reading Groups Bookmark (nonfiction) Sometimes I need a few reminders about asking those higher order thinking questions...for all my groups! I like to keep this list of question starters in my guided reading binder to help me remember to push them to think about their thinking! Higher Order Thinking Questions I can't wait to really get to work in my guided reading groups! 

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As summer winds down, I reflect on what I've learned this summer through the workshops I've attended, the books I've read, and all the great conversations I've had with professionals. This quote has had me thinking quite a bit. It comes from Disruptive Thinking: Why How We Read Matters by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst. What they state is absolutely true. Students need to find relevance in what they are doing right now. So let's backtrack a little... I have always been about purpose. I look at what I'm teaching and ensure that what we are doing serves a purpose. And I share that with students. Understanding why we are doing something is very important to me. Interest is also imperative. I have always tried to make sure that I am matching the books I choose to the interest of my students. Interest surveys, conversations, and book selection time have always been informative to me. But relevance. This is something much deeper. It is something you are connected to. It is something that MATTERS. Well...and when I think about it...do I really read anything that isn't relevant to me? Nope. Not really. So what do I do now? I've been thinking a lot about it and my first step is to just ask my first graders. What issues or problems matter to you? So I added it to my interest survey (click to grab for free): From there...I will need to get creative. They are new readers. And some of them may share some big issues and some students may not. But I need to be prepared to help them make connections to what matters to them and the books we are reading. And I am up for the challenge because Beers and Probst state that: "If they are to undertake anything significant in the future, it will be because they have learned the importance of significant work early on in their schooling." This statement says a lot. We need our students out there doing significant work. We need them to have a voice. So we need to help them find that voice...even at a young age. Em

This worksheet is for Elementary school students at Beginner level who learn reading and their vocabulary is not too big. The worksheet is good for developing Reading and Writing skills.There are 8 exercises with short "e and o " sounds. - ESL worksheets

What exactly does it mean to read fluently?

This worksheet contains 5 different Reading Comprehension for Grade 1. The concepts are about “My online class, “My computer”, “My online school”, “My online assessment”, and “My dance class”. Download: Reading Comprehension on Online classes for Grade 1

This beginner level English reading is all about music! First paragraph is about a teenager who is in a rock band loves to play various instruments, the second

Close reading is an essential skill for middle school and high school English Language Arts. Students need to be able to decipher complex texts, and this strategy will help students take their literary analysis to a deeper level during reading workshop. It will also help facilitate writing worksho

In today's post, I'll share 10 quick, meaningful “follow-up” activities that you can use in your guided reading lessons - all materials are FREE!

This is an anecdote in a chatty style. The author hates listening to people going on about their dreams. Nevertheless, she has chosen to share this one with you!;-)) WARNING: DO NOT use this with a silly class, as it is about wanting a pee (wanting to use the toilet). - ESL worksheets

What reading strategies do students need to know? Find out here and keep track with a free chart!

In today's post, I'll explain the differences between shared reading and a readaloud!

When revising, many students spend hours re-reading and highlighting, when a more efficient strategy would be to use flashcards. Here is how...

Index > English > Grade 1 #MamaLovePrint #Prepositions #Prepositionr #LearningPrepositions #PrepositionsWorksheet #Prepositions #InO...

So weve got a bunch of kids, right? They all love different kinds of stories - some are all about adventures, while some cant get enough of those fairy tales.

Problem: I would love to study poetry with my class but I'm not sure how to go about it. Solution: Read on! Here is a way to structure a week-long study of poetry: Preparation -

It's about time, teachers, ... for Hat HOTS. While this volcano hat is very nice, it's not exactly what I had in mind for HOTS - Higher Order Thinking Skills. It is so fun and rewarding to challenge your children to use HOTS when studying hats. I'm referring, of course, to Bloom's Taxonomy. Following are a few of the ways I exercise their brain power. Analysis Using my hat cards, I challenge the students to sort them in various ways: men's hats/women's hats/unisex safety/decorative/job identification historic/modern day similarities baseball cap, baby's bonnet, & cowboy hat = protection from the sun wizard's hat, witch's hat, & magician's hat = magic makers Pilgrim's hat & Santa's hat = holiday head gear jester's hat, crown, & knight's helmet = medieval hat wear My enrichment students are asked to create their own sorts. Then I require them to write about their thinking. I up the ante for G/T students by asking them to create 3 to 5 different sorts with descriptions of their sorting properties. Evaluation Again using the hat cards, I challenge my students to make lists of hat opposites. Examples: astronaut's helmet and diving helmet mortar board and dunce's cap bridal veil and top hat Students pick 2 cards and tell why the hats may go together. Examples: Top hat and fancy lady's hat - they might go to the symphony together football hat and stocking cap - you could find them both at a football game in November Creation Make "Hat Words." We start by generating a list of -at words. Then we turn them into 'Hat Words" and write clues to their meaning. Examples: Hatmosphere - What do you call the blanket of air surrounding a hat? Hatlas - What do you call a book of maps that show you where head coverings may be found? Hattack - What do you call it when a hat tackles you? Hattic - What is the room at the very top of a hat building? As you can tell, my students and I really get into hats. So throw your hat in the ring and join me in teaching a hats unit. My unit, Hats! Hats! Hooray for Hats!, is available on TpT and TN. There are 55 pages to this unit, which includes printables, manipulatives, centers, and activities. It even contains my original poem. Be sure to get it's companion product, Hat Idioms Book. Check it out because it is FREE and is being used by upper elementary and even middle school teachers. Until next time,...

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Looking for easy, classroom-proven, science of reading-aligned comprehension resources? This article has all you need to teach comprehension.

This is a visual for how students work their way up the Reading Ladder. Kindergarten is working within the levels 1 and 2 throughout the year. When working with your child, please focus on these skills so that they have a solid reading foundation. Success is earned and needs to be worked for. Thank you to Katelyn's Learning Studio for this amazing resource.

Looking to improve your English language level? Our comprehensive guide will help you identify where you are & how to reach a higher CEFR level.