One of the kids favorite Guided Reading activities is using the magnetic wand and Stretchy the Word Snake mat to segment and blend the sounds in words. First, we push a chip in each box as we say the sound. Then, we wave the wand over the boxes as we say the word. There is a short video on my Facebook page that shows this in action. You can read more about elkonin boxes HERE You can order magnetic wands on Amazon by clicking on the picture below. To differentiate ... continue reading...
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Phoneme Segmentation! Make and Take Freebie and Book Talk Tuesday
Segmenting words is an important skill that we work on throughout the year. Kids need a variety of hands on ways to work on this skill in order to make it more concrete. We use a variety of manipulatives to work on phoneme segmentation. Building words with unifix cubes as we say each sound, stretching the words with a slinky, sliding a pony bead for each sound and using our stretchy the word stretcher (as seen above). To make the word stretchers you need the template (below) ... continue reading...
Working with Words
I use the Stretchy the Word Snake mat during my Guided Reading Groups. We build words in the boxes and use the little cars (look closely under the letter m and you will see one) to drive slowly as we say each sound. They we drive our cars faster as we blend the word together. The kids love this activity. Note: if you are building a word like ship...the digraph /sh/ goes in one box because it makes one sound. Once we've done this lesson several times I place the materials in our ... 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...
15 Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Videos for Kindergarten
Phonological and Phonemic awareness videos for kindergarten. Syllables, CVC words, vowels, digraphs, and more! Fun and engaging videos for your classroom! Phonological & Phonemic Awareness Videos 15 fun videos your kindergarten students will love! These phonological and phonemic awareness videos make great "attention-getters" when you're teaching a new skill. They are also perfect for a quick movement break throughout your day that supports learning! #1 The Big Pig Song: ... continue reading...
Printable & Digital Guided Reading Books for Kindergarten & First Grade
Guided Reading Books available in printable and digital format for K/1. Leveled readers with lesson plans, running records, word work activities, and more! Guided Reading Books Small-group guided reading is our time to truly work closely with students in the hopes of creating fluent readers. Students work on high-frequency words, establish reading strategies, and write sentences, all while becoming confident readers. However, sometimes our resources are limited. The biggest problem we seem ... continue reading...
Palm Tree Directions
I'm working on answering the questions that I've been asked. Several of you have asked how I make the palm trees that are in my room. If you click on the picture you can download the directions. I have to say that they are SUPER easy to make and I Love how they look in my room. In this tree you will notice our friend Stretchy the snake. He watches the kids during Reader's and Writer's Workshop to make sure they are sssssssstretching their words! :) You can take a tour of my classroom by ... continue reading...
How to Make a Palm Tree
Happy Summer Friends! Last Friday was our last day of school and like all of you I'm already thinking about next year. :) I brought home my palm trees because they were getting a little raggedy and they needed a makeover. So I thought I'd take step by step pictures for those of you on how to make a palm tree. To start you will need: an umbrella (I used my husband's golf umbrella because I wanted the tree to be pretty big)...SHHH don't tell him! carpet roll approx. 20 paper grocery ... continue reading...
Guided Reading Part Two
Hey Y'all, If you are reading this then that means you not only survived Halloween at school with your Littles, you also survived the DAY AFTER Halloween. Worst day ever to try and teach! YIKES! A few weeks ago I did a post about Guided Reading and I promised to come back and answer your questions. I received quite a few of them so this will be spread out over several posts. You can check the bags out HERE I will ... 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...
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...
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...
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...