Don’t you just hate it when you finally get the hang of a reading or math program, and your district (or admin) decide it’s time to start using something new? I mean you’d think they’d know better than to mess with a teacher’s software… When that happened at my school, we were told to “trust the process” The only problem with that is that while the “process is going on”, we’re in the trenches having to figure out how to make things work. When my school first switched to i-Ready, it took me a while to get the hang of it. But after a few months, I figured out a system that worked well for ME + MY KIDDOS So, if you’re feeling frustrated, just like I was in the beginning, please know that YOU•ARE•NOT•ALONE! Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll have a few new ideas to get you started. The first step is to set up student folders You’ll need a folder for each student, printed iReady labels, and a copy of the iReady student recording sheet. (If you’re interested in a free copy, simply enter your email in the form down below […]
Click through to check out this blog post (and linked podcast episode)to help you find some great new ways to check in with your student readers without distracting them from falling in love with reading.
Grab these FREE fluency passages for your kindergarten and first grade students. They are printable and low-prep! Students will love practicing decoding, comprehension, and fluency skills with these fun and engaging passages. Get 10 activities in this free download! Grab them now
Here are some tips and strategies on how to teach reading fluency in your homeschool or in your classroom literacy centers.
These hands-on, playful, and engaging phonological awareness activities for preschoolers will get them reading ready!
With the Common Core Standards in place, students are being asked more and more to use critical thinking skills to analyze literary and informational text. Inference is a prime example of a critical thinking skill used in classrooms today. Students are asked to read text and analyze it by
Handy free printable leif erikson for kids worksheet and coloring pages to make into readers to learn about famous early explorer!
13 color incentive chart to help motivate your students to do their very best on the I-Ready reading and math lessons! You can print these in color on a poster maker or you can have it printed in black and white at a place like Office Depot for around $3 for an 18x24 inch blueprint size poster. Stud...
Learn about five different biomes as you color and read key facts about with free printable Biome Coloring Pages for Prek-4th graders.
ALL ABOUT EARTH Get ready for a month filled with so many fun activities to teach your kiddos all about our planet Earth . I teach this unit in April so it coincides with Earth Day. I’ve loaded up this blog post post with read aloud book ideas, free videos you can share with your students,
The beginner's guide to Piano! Get started learning the piano with this easy to read chord chart. Ready to start learning? This digital download chord chart is yours at the click of a button. Perfect for students and teachers! Happy learning!! *Please note this is a digital download and NOT a tangible copy that will be sent through the mail. Upon purchase you will receive a PDF file and you may then print as many as you'd like! DETAILS: -Digital image measures 8.5in x 11in perfect for printing on regular printer paper -After purchase check your email for printable PDF file :) -Print as many as you want! -Any further questions? Let me know! **Please feel free to contact me for more information, or if you run in to trouble with the downloading process!** *Not satisfied? Let me know what I can do to help!
Discover 10 fun activities to build pre-reading skills in preschoolers. Develop print awareness, motivation, listening comprehension, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness for early literacy success.
Don’t you just hate it when you finally get the hang of a reading or math program, and your district (or admin) decide it’s time to start using something new? I mean you’d think they’d know better than to mess with a teacher’s software… When that happened at my school, we were told to “trust the process” The only problem with that is that while the “process is going on”, we’re in the trenches having to figure out how to make things work. When my school first switched to i-Ready, it took me a while to get the hang of it. But after a few months, I figured out a system that worked well for ME + MY KIDDOS So, if you’re feeling frustrated, just like I was in the beginning, please know that YOU•ARE•NOT•ALONE! Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll have a few new ideas to get you started. The first step is to set up student folders You’ll need a folder for each student, printed iReady labels, and a copy of the iReady student recording sheet. (If you’re interested in a free copy, simply enter your email in the form down below […]
Upgrade your wall and make your own book art with these bestseller acrylic paint markers that Amazon reviewers swear by! I had been wanting to do a painted…
So you want to become a Nutritarian? You’ve read one of Dr. Fuhrman’s books and you know what the 6 week Aggressive Weight Loss plan entails. Get ready for week #1! This first week was all about survival and acceptance. I’m happy to report that when I weighed myself this morning I had lost 7 ...
Learn to recognize and complete patterns in this Complete The Pattern printable worksheet.
Back to school time and need some 'getting to know you' activity? Ditch those reading interest surveys and try these fun & hands on activites!
These Recess Queen activities and lesson ideas will help your students practice important reading comprehension skills in an engaging way.
5 toddler pre-reading skills every parent should know about! These are the skills to inculcate in your kids BEFORE teaching them to read.
Can I just say I have one of the most creative colleagues ever!! You guys remember Jayme right? She made the cute farm games at the begi...
This 7 minute animal themed HIIT workout for kids improves emotional regulation and reduces meltdowns. Loved by OTs, teachers, and parents alike!
Last September me and my co-workers feeling a bit... spacey. We had just finished a exhausting summer reading program, and we were ready for a simple theme with some crazy fun activities. So we decided to follow our gut and have a spacey month. We decorated with floating stars (fishing line again!), drank a lot of tang, and read some out of this world books (groaaaan). But my favorite story (by about 2,538,000 light years) was Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman. Everyone loves aliens, and everyone loves underpants. However, we've read this story lots of times, so we wanted a way to make it more fun. We decided that underwear was the way to go. And not just any underwear. Underwear that could be whatever color, design, or type you wanted. That's right. We let the kids design their own underwear. I drew up some almost life size coloring sheets, then we printed them off and let the kids go to town. We got some really great underpants. One every talented boy even drew some zombie pants, and another had some awesome stripes. I, of course, had to color some Spiderman briefs. After the storyhour we had some extra coloring sheets, so I left them out on a table so the public could contribute. By the end of the week, all of the coloring sheets were gone, and we had a bunch of new pairs of underwear to hang up next to the others. (I'll let you in on a secret... I think the adults enjoyed coloring just as much as the kids.) And because I know you're jealous, here are some underpants to print out and color whatever way you want!
1st Grade English Worksheets are a great way to get your little ones off to a great start in reading. Worksheets are fun and perfect for little learners. We have all kinds of fun themes to keep them interested. Help them with reading comprehension, spelling, word sounds and more. Print all all of our worksheets […]
Pencil Names - Name Building Practice Printable comes with eight editable pages, containing two pencils. Each pencil has pieces for two letter names up to nine letter names. Getting Pencil Names - Name Building Practice Printable
If you're looking for free printables for teaching at home, at school, or online, you've hit the TREASURE TROVE of freebies from This Reading Mama!
Establishing consistent accountability when using the workshop approach to teaching and learning may seem daunting at first. After all, your students are producing, and consuming an immense amount of content during workshop on a daily basis…far more than you can (and want) to grade. The good news is, you don’t have to grade every activity. I know what you’re thinking…”If I stop grading every single thing…there won’t be enough accountability.” The reality is, there are other far more efficient ways to establish accountability and boost meaningful student growth. One of these ways is routine student self-reflection. If you’re ready to bring more student reflection to your classroom, these tips can help you establish routines that maintain consistent accountability in your workshop classroom. Creating Rubrics Together A foundational rubric will help you and your students create a common language that can make ongoing assessment more meaningful and fluid in your classroom. Begin by pulling the rubric your district requires you to use, or write a rubric that communicates your parameters for each level of understanding in your classroom. Rewrite this rubric in your own student-friendly language so you can share these parameters with your class. Making a slide or poster for each level on your rubric so it is easier for students to digest may be helpful. Set aside time in your schedule each day to create a one-week series of work sessions when you and your students can rewrite the rubric again as a class using language that is actually produced by your students. You may opt to: Have all slides/posters on display simultaneously while students rotate to stations where they work in groups to make meaning of each level of understanding. Students can then write their interpretations on the slides/posters, which can be aggregated on the final day. Display one slide/poster each day and host a class conversation that facilitates meaning-making for each level of understanding. Record student ideas as you work toward a common, and final definition for each level of understanding. At the end of these series of work sessions, you and your students will have a rubric that is unpacked by them, rewritten by them, and ready to be used by them. Working together as a class to write a final rubric that will be adopted as the foundation makes conversations about assessments more meaningful and productive. Rubric Drawers Once your class rubric is created, you can make it easy for students to consistently reflect on their work by submitting any assignments to “rubric drawers” that are marked with the definitions for each level of understanding. This built-in practice of self-reflection builds students’ intrinsic motivation to reach higher and produce quality work. If you notice your students have a tendency to submit work to the “wrong” drawer, this signals they need a follow up lesson on the type of work quality required to achieve each level of understanding. Using exemplars (examples of each level of understanding from a particular subject area or activity) can help students build a stronger definition for what work quality looks like. As students build their ability to accurately assess themselves, you can also have them attach a short note of justification for their self-scoring. This will provide insight about any misconceptions they may have about their work or the rubric levels your class has written. If you want to track the score students give themselves on an activity, provide a special pen or stamp that allows them to mark their score before placing it in the drawer. In addition, you can have students submit work with the help of a partner. Once an activity is complete, a student can briefly confer with their assigned partner to get feedback, and make a decision about which drawer a piece should be submitted. This provides an additional layer of motivation for students to reach higher, as they know a peer will be reviewing their work quality. Reflection Letters Another routine that can boost student growth through self-assessment is the writing of reflection letters on a routine basis. Students thrive when they know they have an important role in their assessment process, and will be eager to read your response. Begin by creating a prompt that asks students to reflect specifically on different areas of the assignment that will support their goal setting and goal progress. Also direct students to refer to their rubric to self-assess, and provide justification for their assessment as part of their reflection process. This routine will remind students the importance of keeping the rubric in mind as they complete their work each week, which will foster stronger performance. Set aside time to read these reflection letters and write brief responses which may include your own score using the same rubric, and comments that support your scoring. This written dialogue further emphasizes the value you place on student work and growth. If you find the need to differentiate this letter writing process to support the unique needs of students in your classroom. Here are some differentiation ideas: Have students dictate as you record their reflection. Have students circle their score on a rubric and mark evidence with color-coding or sticky notes. Provide sentence frames to scaffold independence. Self Assessment & Reflection In Your Classroom Ready to give self-reflection a try in your own classroom? Here are a few editable tools to help you get started. Once you’ve established student self-reflection routines in your classroom, stop by and share your experience. I look forward to hearing about the growth your students make, and the freedom you feel from teaching in a workshop classroom where accountability and engagement are off the charts.
If you have been following our blog, you might have seen our post about our favorite teacher hack, earlier finisher packets! If you missed it, don’t worry, I will sum it up real quick for you. Essentially, despite teaching different grade, Emmy and I realized we were both having the same Issue. Kid
Ready to learn about the second largest country in the world? Grab these printable Canada Coloring Pages to learn about Canadian wildlife, Mounties,hockey, and more!
Get ready to discover cute dinosaur bookmark sets! We've got two sets: vibrant, colorful dinosaurs and line-drawn dinos for coloring fun.
What are Bossy R Words? R-Controlled Vowels are often referred to as the "Bossy R" because the r bosses the vowel to change its sound. The vowel and the
I just love teaching children the alphabet. Here is a great way
