Creating Mental Images is one of my favorite units to teach. It gives readers a chance to interact with the text in a way that's personal to them. We begin our unit with very simple poems and stories and gradually add stories which require them to use their schema and background knowledge to conjure up an image. My Neighbor's Dog is Purple is a great poem to use to begin this unit. Not only is it very simple and fun, but it also shows readers that Mental Images can change as you read. I read ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/mental images
Mental Images and Zoo
This is the lesson that I posted about last year. We will be doing it this week so I thought I'd go ahead and post it again. I read the first part of Jack Prelutsky's poem and then stop and have them draw their mental images. Here's a close up of their cutie patootie dogs. Then, I read the last part. They LOVE finding out that it is a crocodile! Close up of their crocodiles. This poem is so much fun and it also leads to lots of good discussion and opportunities for ... continue reading...
Throwback Thursday! Mental Images with a Freebie
Happy 4th of July! I am linking up with my sweet friend, Cara's Throwback Thursday post. I posted this last year and I thought I would bring it back to the top. This is a great poem to read at the beginning of the year when you are teaching your littles that Great Readers create images in their mind when they are reading to help them understand what they are reading. Okay, admit it! You know this made you want to bite into a big juicy apple! :) This is such ... continue reading...
Mental Images free download
This is such a fun poem! I love, love it! It is great for mental images and inferring (for a beginning lesson). This poem is from the book, Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? and Other Disasters: Poems Lee Bennett Hopkins (Author), Wolf Erlbruch (Illustrator) I created a response sheet for this poem and My Neighbor's Dog is Purple. (see yesterday's post). Just click on the picture to download. Okay y'all! ... continue reading...
Debbie Miller: Professional Growth
Thank you Amanda at One Extra Degree for hosting today's Linky!!! Cute graphic courtesy of Miss Amy Lemons! Today I'm linking up with Amanda to share some of my favorite professional development resources. If you've followed my blog or attended one of my presentations then you know that I LOVE Debbie Miller. Reading one of her books is so easy because if truly feels like you are having a conversation with an old friend. Reading with Meaning is the first ... continue reading...
Let’s Talk About Books! Reading with Meaning
Thanks to everyone who linked up. I'm enjoying reading all of the wonderful posts. Congratulations to Kelly McCarthy for winning the giveaway last week! This week I chose one of my favorite PD books of all time to talk about. If you've followed my blog or attended one of my presentations then you know that I LOVE Debbie Miller. Reading one of her books is so easy because if truly feels like you are having a conversation with an old friend. Reading with Meaning is the first book I ... 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...
CHIT-CHAT! This n that!
This is another poem that I use at the beginning of our Mental Images unit. I read the poem the first time for enjoyment and then I read it slowly a few times while the kids drew their Mental Image. Our dragonflies... these turned out beautiful. I forgot to take a picture of their writing. Our story elements chart. Going Buggy Glyph. I've had a lot of emails asking me about my schedule and how I ... continue reading...
Common Core Standards Organization and Wishy Washy!
I've had a lot of questions about how I organize my Common Core Standards and Essential Questions. I display them on posters which are hot glued to ribbon. The standards are attached with velcro so that they are easy to change in and out. (Please excuse the bad picture above. The standards shown are from the 1st grade set. Notice that the clipart images match the standard and that the essential question clipart also matches. This helps the little ones who can't read understand the ... continue reading...
The Gruffalo Lesson Plans | Reading Comprehension for K-2
The Gruffalo lesson plans for K-2. Engaging 5-day lesson plans with differentiated reading response, vocabulary, sentence study, and a craft for this fun story! The Gruffalo A clever mouse outsmarts some woodland animals who want to eat him with the story of a Gruffalo. Little does he know, a Gruffalo is real and loves to eat mice. Your students will love this award-winning story! Through our engaging lesson plans students will strengthen their reading comprehension skills and have fun ... continue reading...
Inferring with Primary Students: The Case of the Missing Toy Sack
Inferring with Primary Students: Christmas Inference Detectives Activities for Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring with Primary Students: Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring is an important comprehension skill for young readers to have and I love giving them lots of practice with this skill. We infer each week with the story we are reading, but I also like to give them opportunities to infer outside of the text. Inferring is just putting clues together and using that voice inside ... continue reading...
Oceans of Fun!
I got up bright and early this morning and drove 2 hrs. in search of the perfect wedding dress for my daughter Taylor. SUCCESS! But, I'm one tired mamma so this is going to be a super quick post! We just started our ocean unit. Nothing gets boys excited more than sharks! (okay...maybe dinosaurs...but they still LOVE sharks too). We used interactive writing to label the parts of a shark. Comparing sharks and whales. Schema Chart Writing ... 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...
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...
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...