Last November Deedee and I had a conversation about her desire to do more with the books she was using for Read Alouds. Her kids loved many of the books she was reading to them, and they wanted to hear them again and again. She felt that she had a great foundation with writer's workshop (more on that later) but she wanted deeper connections and interactions with the texts that she was reading to her class. So we created Guiding Readers. What are Guiding Readers? Guiding Readers started ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/Guiding Readers units
Guiding Readers Units: Planning Made EASY!
We are so excited about the feedback that we are getting about these units. We designed them around the same type of format as our Math Units and Writing Units and many teachers have told us that we've cut their planning time WAY down, that their kids are really mastering the standards and developing a love for reading and writing and we are beyond thrilled! That's what it's all about. We developed our Guiding Readers Units, Math Units and Writing Units with these goals in mind: We want to ... continue reading...
Guiding Math: A Workshop Model for Teaching
I love student-centered, problem-based learning so when Deedee and I sat down to design our Guiding Kinders and Guiding Firstie Math units, I knew the activities would have to be hands-on! Guided Math Workshop Model Our lessons follow the workshop format. Each lesson has five components. 1. Fluency This part of the lesson is a warm-up that will help our students build their fluency in various math skills. It will usually involve flash cards and the focus is on speed and ... continue reading...
February Guiding Readers Book List
Happy Thursday, Y'all! We've had a lot of requests for the February Guiding Readers Book List! Each month will usually include 4 books but for February we are including a 5th book for our friends who aren't Americans and don't study Abraham Lincoln. :) I'm including the Amazon links below as well as the links to 4 of the books online. I'm including the online books so that you can preview them. You will still want to purchase the books or check them out from the library if you don't ... continue reading...
How to Start Teaching Writer’s Workshop in Kindergarten & First Grade
Do you struggle with how to get started? Writer's Workshop in kindergarten and first grade classrooms is one of the most powerful components. In Writing Workshop in kindergarten and first grade, students are encoding words that come from their thoughts and feelings, which is a much easier skill than decoding. Successful writers become successful readers! So, how do you get started? The answer is simple. Just jump right in!! I usually start at the beginning of the ... continue reading...
Guiding Reading Planning & Instruction
In my classroom, I used a combination of whole group instruction (close reading, shared reading) and guided reading to teach reading. With whole group instruction you focus your teaching towards the ability of your more proficient students' ability. Then you scaffold and support those students who need it. However, guided reading allows you to tailor your instruction to fit the needs of each individual student. You bring your reading lessons to THEIR instructional level. This is just ... continue reading...
Kindergarten Lesson Plans | Instant, Yet Powerful Lesson Plans… Just Print and Teach!
Kindergarten lesson plans made easy just print and teach! Free file too! Common Core reading lesson plans and writing plans, plus math lessons too! Here are a few things I know about teachers. They want the absolute BEST for their students. They want to employ "Best Practices" in their classrooms. They. Are. Overwhelmed! Occasionally, they want to go home before 5 pm after school AND they would like to spend their weekends with their families instead of planning. Does ... continue reading...
FREE Spine Labels for Binders: Getting Organized!
This is a throwback post that I did awhile back about getting our Guiding Readers units organized. Since this post, I've had quite a few requests to make matching spine labels for the Writing and Math units. So HERE YOU GO! Sorry, it took me so long! We also have a Free Year-Long Curriculum Map for Kindergarten and First Grade. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to grab the map and spines) If you want to read the throw back post carry on! If not, Happy Organizing. ... continue reading...
Engaging Readers: Getting it ORGANIZED!
Hey There! Happy Hump day! We've had a few questions about how we organize our new Engaging Readers units so I thought I'd do a quick blog post to show you! These are the supplies I used to organize mine. I used a 1" binder sheet protectors Binder pocket (one pocket holds all four books) ziploc baggies Clear packing tape Printables for the spine and fronts of sheet protectors click HERE to get yours. First, I put our cutie patootie cover (thanks to ... continue reading...
Tacky the Penguin Lesson Plans (plus a free download)
January is such a fun time! Some of my favorite activities center around January themes! Several years ago my friend Deedee Wills and I sat down and discussed some of our favorite January read alouds. Deedee mentioned that she felt as if she was skimming the surface with her read aloud and that she was looking for ways to make her instruction more intentional. She felt like she was bouncing from one idea to another and not going deep enough. Does this sound like you? What we came up ... continue reading...
Creepy Underwear Lesson Plans
A Creepy Pair of Underwear is Aaron Reynold's new book, and I am so excited! Jasper, the rabbit, is back in this story and this time his creepy underwear is scaring him. Just look at these illustrations! Guiding Readers = Close Reading As soon as I saw this book, I knew we were going to have to make another Guiding Readers unit for it. Don't worry! We have it all planned out for you. We have included book questions, just like we did in our Three Bears Unit and our Little Red Hen ... continue reading...
Engaging Reading Activities (With a FREE File)
Engaging reading activities for kindergarten and first grade! See how we improve reading comprehension through various reading comprehension strategies. FREE sample file too! This is a guest post from Deedee Wills. We are so excited about our Engaging Readers units... you can tell because I. Can't. Stop. Talking. About. It. Engaging Reading Activities: How did it start? Around last November I had a conversation with Deanna Jump about wanting to do more responding to literature with ... continue reading...
Reading Rubrics for the Primary Grades
These reading rubrics for primary grades are great for kindergarten and first-grade reading! These assessments and scoring guides are great for guiding your lessons in reading comprehension. If you've used our Engaging Readers units then you probably already use the Rubrics that come with each unit, but questions about assessments are one of our most commonly asked questions so we will talk about that in this blog post. Reading Rubrics for Primary Grades: Reading ... continue reading...
Leonardo the Terrible Monster Reading Lesson Plans for K-1
Leonardo the Terrible Monster reading comprehension lesson plans with student response activities. Print and teach lessons to engage your students in reading! Leonardo the Terrible Monster This story by Mo Willems is one of my favorite stories to read, especially in October around Halloween. If you are not familiar with this book, it is about a monster named Leonardo. Leonardo is not a scary monster, no matter how hard he tries! He does some research and thinks he finds the perfect little ... continue reading...
Making Read Alouds Come to Life: Creepy Carrots
Teacher read alouds are just as important as giving students time to read independently. Read alouds take the student's focus away from having to decode the words and gives students a chance to really hone in and focus on the meaning of the story. I love it when I read a story to children, and they love it so much that they beg me to READ IT AGAIN! It's so important to reread books to children and give them time to: Hear you thinking ... continue reading...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 10
- Next Page »