Sunday, September 9, 2012

Focus Wall and a Freebie!

Hey bloggy friends!  Long time, no see!  Let me tell you, getting into the groove of this year has been C-R-A-Z-Y!  After 3 weeks of gathering baseline data from a boatload of assessments (Metropolitan, Reading Street Baseline Test, Fluency checks, 18-page math assessment, Houghton-Mifflin word checks, and AIMSWeb), I think I'm finally ready to roll and get this year started!  Baseline data is so important (like, uber-important!), but I'm SO glad when it's all over and I get to actually TEACH!  I feel like I know so much about my students now and know where to go.

By the way, I was going to update my blog one night a couple weeks ago, but right as I sat down to start (literally...not joking...) my dog bit me!!!!  She's a chiweenie and the sweetest thing ever.  I think between my 15-month-old, moving into a new home, and me going back to work, the poor thing was depressed and lashed out.  It was my fault because she guarding a toy and I went in behind her (big no-no) and tried to grab it.  She bit my forearm.  It bruised immediately and she gave me a nice little puncture wound that bled for 4 hours.  The next day I made a trip to Urgent Care to get a tetanus shot and get it cleaned up.  Fun stuff.  The health department came to our home last week to check on her and she's in the clear!  :)  Soooo....there's been my last 2 weeks....on top of starting school!  :P

I wanted to share a couple pictures of my focus wall this year.  This is the first year I've done one.  I put up our spelling words, vocabulary words, high-frequency words (in addition to on our word wall), amazing words, reading comprehension skill, and reading strategy skill.  It's SO helpful to have those things in plain view for the students to reference.  I purposely do NOT have the actual comprehension skill answered on my posters because I like the students to come to those conclusions on their own or through discussion, instead of seeing it on a poster already given to them.  For example, for 3rd grade, the main idea of "Penguin Chick" is that penguins do a lot to take care of their young.  I won't put that on my "Main Idea" poster.  Instead, I'll give another example that's completely clear of the story.  Then they can see an example and apply it to what their reading.  I hope that makes sense.  So if you're one who uses my Reading Street packets and ever wondered why I do that, there's your answer.  :)

Ok, here are some pics.  I honestly don't have a lot of bulletin boards, so I have to squeeze stuff in all over the place.  :P  This is actually a blackboard/marker board that I covered with material.  My pocket chart and Job Jar have large magnets on the back, so they just stick right up there.  I hot-glued vinyl sleeve pockets for my Focus Wall posters.  Each week I can just slide the new papers in and out!  It's so much better than using sticky-tack every week.  So much quicker!


Here's a close-up of my posters.


This is a great pocket chart I got from Really Good Stuff.  It's magnetic and the perfect size!


Last, but not least, I created a little freebie for you!  I made these to include in one of my 3rd grade Reading Street packets and thought I'd share them.  :)  They're Character Profiles.  I made a boy and girl one, so enjoy!  :)  Just click on them to download and print.




Have a GREAT week!  :) :) :)

23 comments:

  1. Cute freebie! I was unable to download it because Google Drive says I need permission to download it.

    If you don't mind can you email it to me, as a PDF, to crhdouglas@gmail.com

    THANKS for sharing!

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  2. When I try to open it, it says I don't have permission. What am I doing wrong?

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  3. Ha, I just realized I forgot to change the share settings when I uploaded it. I just checked my e-mail and had a bajillion requests to download! :P You should be able to download it now. Please let me know if it's still giving you issues, but the settings should be fixed now. :) Thanks!

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  4. I was only able to download the girl version. The boy version didn't seem clickable.

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  5. I still can't get the boy version to work. It's really cute though! And, I LOVE finding blogs of teachers who use Rdg. St. Thanks.
    veronicam81000@yahoo.com

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  6. Thanks for sharing! That's the skill we're working on this week.

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  7. Thanks for fixing it :) Can't wait to use it.

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  8. I absolutely love your Focus Wall posters- have you created those? If so, could you tell me where I can find them..

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  9. Renee - I did create my Focus Wall posters. :) I actually have them for sale in my TpT shop if you're interested! Those are part of my Reading Street packets, but I also have a "Reading Comprehension Poster Pack", "Reading Strategy Poster Pack", and "Grammar Skills Poster Pack" that just have posters like the ones you see. They fit more with any reading curriculum. :)

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  10. Hello! I was able to download the boy but not the girl. It only shows a line at the top of the document. :o(

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  11. Please re-post the girl. These are so cute! I couldn't get the girl page to open up. Thanks!

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  12. Sorry about the girl profile everyone...I will repost it when I get home this evening. Thank you for your patience! :)

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  13. Hi!
    These are so cute! For some reason, the boy version is not printing (or showing) in full size. Any way you can fix this? Or is there something I can do?
    Thank you!!

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  14. Uggg...I am SO sorry that these documents are having so many issues! I've re-uploaded them again, so I hope they work now. So sorry! :( Hopefully they are good to go...

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  15. Your classroom is awesome! I love the clear pockets for the Focus Wall! That would make it really easy to change. I'll have to remember that. Thanks for the cute boy and girl character profiles.

    Stacy
    Live Love Laugh and Teach!

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  16. I know this is an old post but just wanted to say Thank you for the worksheets. Just what I was looking for to introduce character analysis to my girl. As a homeschooling mom on a serious budget, freebies like this are a lifesaver.

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  17. Adorable...These are perfect for my upcoming lesson! Thank YOU!

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  18. I am unable to to upload the boy. Is it possible to get it in an email?
    Karoline.Roome@mcsd.org

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  19. Thank you so much for sharing! I was able to download. These character profiles are adorable!

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  20. Hi! Thank you for sharing :)
    I'm having trouble downloading it, my only option is to pin it to pinterest.

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