Guided Reading Time and an Easy Way to Tackle Sentence Structure

We're already on a 2-hour delay tomorrow.  The roads are a complete sheet of ice here in central Ohio.  I mean, really...will this winter ever end?  Oh yeah...Thursday...a high of 50 with a chance of severe weather and tornadoes.  Basically, I should have my Excedrin handy and practice tornado drills.  *Sigh*

Last week I was FINALLY able to meet with my guided reading groups!  And I loved it.  Every second.  It helps so much to break them up according to their level and according to their needs.  There is such value and necessity in guided reading.  You can slow down, speed up, break it down, make them think...

I meet with 5 or 6 different groups throughout the week.  Each group has anywhere from 2-4 students.  I pull books either from our reading series (leveled readers, for those who use Reading Street or another basal that has leveled readers) OR I pull books from our leveled book library in our resource room.  We have two bins with books from F&P - one is fiction, the other nonfiction.

I also do some word reading with our phonics pattern for the week.  Depending on the group, we do anything from practicing decoding them together to rapid word reading.  With my higher kids, we'll flip through them really fast or I'll give a student several cards and have them quickly read through their stack.

We also use some type of graphic organizer to get used to responding to text.  This particular one is from 2nd Grade Stuff, which you can find here.

As I was looking at their writing, I noticed I HAD to address their sentence structure.  So I whipped out my highlighters on a whim...

We went through and talked about how every sentence has to have 2 major parts: who/what it's about, and what happened.  In more formal terms, we talked about subjects and predicates.  I had them highlight the subject in orange and the predicate in yellow.

Then we went back through and fixed our sentences.  It helped them realize if they were missing one or the other!  And surprisingly, if they were missing a part they easily figured out how to fix it and what to write!

What do the rest of my kids do during guided reading?  The Storia app on the iPads...

Read with Someone...

Word Work...

Ok, I *HAVE* to share a special moment that my student teacher had when doing a Scholastic News article on segregation...

See the students standing around her at the rocking chair?  She called them up and told them they weren't allowed to go to our Valentine's Day party.  I wish I could show you the face of the little girl standing closest to her.  She started CRYING.  It was the saddest, sweetest, most genuine cry.  I about cried!  The others were devastated.  She told them the reason the ones sitting on the carpet got to go was because they had blonde hair.  Talk about striking a chord and getting them to understand!  It was one of the most powerful moments I've ever seen.  They got it.  It was amazing.  And boy were they relieved when they were told they were still allowed to go to our party.  ;)

Speaking of parties...I don't know about you, but as a teacher Valentine's Day parties are the worst!  So much sugar, so much excitement, so much chaos.  I truly believe they're worse than Christmas parties.  ;)  But they sure do get creative!

And every party has to end with a little "Just Dance."  ;)

Have a good week my friends!

Craziest Winter EVER!

This is getting silly.  Between all the 1-hour delays, 2-hour delays, and cancellations, this has been the wildest winter I've ever experienced!  And it's snowing right now.  Again.  *Sigh*  Where oh where is spring?  We've only been in school for 6 complete days since before Christmas break.  Six.  It was nice at first, but now we're all panicking about how much learning we're missing out on!  How about you?  Has your school closed or delayed a lot this year?

First of all, I know I'm way late on this, but I'm linking up with Farley for the monthly Currently!  :)

Why does laundry and cleaning a house never end?  Gracious.

And if you're wondering which one is the fib...it's number 2.  :)  I HATE pineapple.  I'm probably the only person on earth, but I just don't like it.  It has a very strange taste to me.  I prefer blueberries, raspberries, Honeycrisp apples, and oranges. 

So what does one do when the weekly schedule is entirely interrupted by snow days and cold days?  Survive.  That's what one does.  I have a student teacher right now and I feel so bad for her because it's taking FOREVER for her to learn the routine and schedule.  Half the time I forget what it's supposed to be!  She's done a fabulous job, though, and has done some great lessons.  Her very first lesson was an art lesson where the kiddos made penguins with all sorts of crafty things.  They loved it and they turned out ADORABLE!

How many times can one redo a Word Wall?  Many, many times.  I used to have it up at the top of the wall, close to the ceiling.  I liked to have bulletin board space for other things.  But I'm just too short and hated getting out the ladder to add words to it.  So I moved it down to a bulletin board.  It actually works much better!

We recently had our 1st grade Reading Super Bowl!  The students were to read as many books as possible each night (with a limit of 12) and turn in a slip stating how many they read with a parent signature.  The students were divided into teams (the Broncos and Seahawks).  Each day we would tally their books.  The team with the most books read scored a touchdown (6 points).  This was done daily, Monday-Friday.  No late slips were allowed, as each day we tallied the books and put up points.  When we came back Monday, the winners were announced and the whole first grade went to the cafeteria for a Milk and Brownies party.  The losing team had to serve the winning team their milk and brownies and then were able to get their own.  So really, everyone won, but it was a fun lesson on manners and serving others first!  Just a small little reward for the winners.  :)  But the kids LOVED it and LOVED seeing how many books the first graders read in a week!

The last little thing I'm going to share tonight is a fun idea my student teacher did with the kids that correlated with our Weekly Reader.  The issue was about penguins and it taught the students about the heights of different penguins.  She took some butcher paper and had groups design their penguin according to the different types.  The important thing was that she cut the paper so that it was the same height as the penguins that they studied.  When she explained that the actual penguins were the size of their paper ones, they were AMAZED!  It was a great visual.

Have a great Sunday everyone!  My day will be filled with church, lesson planning, cleaning, and our small group!  I'm HOPING for a completely normal week next week!  We'll see!

Slim Down Saturday and Some Math Facts!

Can I admit something?  I'm insanely organized, but sometimes I don't know how to prioritize.  Does that even make sense?  I have lists upon lists, check sheets upon checksheets, and mental lists upon mental lists (those are the worst!).  But I tend to get so overwhelmed sometimes that I end up FORGETTING what I have to do, underestimating the time it takes me to do something, or focusing so hard on something that things get pushed to the backburner.  Sound familiar?

Y'all, my fitness and healthy habits get shoved to the backburner a lot.  Between waking up early to get myself ready, get the kids ready, get to work, get ready for the day, teach 1st graders all day long, work after school, pick up the kids, make dinner, work on TPT, plan lessons, play with the kids, and do household chores...when exactly am I supposed to have time to work out?  And when am I supposed to make healthy lunches to take with me?  I'm so exhausted by time I get home the LAST thing on earth I want to do is cook.

But alas, I've got to just re-prioritize.  I used to work out all. the. time.  That was pre marriage and pre kids.  Does anybody know what I'm talkin' about?  Maybe you do.  If you don't, I'm jealous of all your free time.

So I'm teaming up with Gina over at Third Grade Tidbits for Slim Down Saturdays!  I'm hoping it'll help keep me a little more accountable with taking care of myself (as I sit here with a Mt. Dew trying to get rid of a massive headache.  Flaw #1.).

I'm shocked I lost 4 pounds.  Seriously.  But at the same time, I know what helped.  I made healthy food to take to work, I wasn't snacking all day like I did when I was on break, and I drank water during school (but then bombed when I got home with the whole carbonated beverage thing).  I'm going to try easing out of drinking pop, though.  Whenever I just try to quit, it NEVER goes well.  Baby steps!

So here are some pics of things from around the house that I'm trying to use to help this whole process.

Ok, don't think I'm a whimp.  I normally use 5 lb. weights, but I have a shoulder injury that I'm trying to work through.  I made the mistake of using my 5 lb. weights a week ago and I hurt myself again.  So I bought a lighter set to try and help my muscles ease back into lifting weights.  I got these 3 lb. weights at Target.  And I LOVE pink, so I was happy.  :)

I bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred right before I got pregnant and then put it on the backburner until after I had the baby.  Well, I did it last week and it kicked my butt, but I did it!  And it was tough, but it felt SOOOO good!

Here's my stash of water!  I have it very accessible so that I can easily grab one while in the house or as I'm headed out the door.

More fruits and veggies!  We have clementines, grapes, apples, and bananas in our fruit bowl on the counter.

The last thing I've been doing is this 30-day Squat Challenge that I found on Pinterest.  I'm loving it!!!  And no, none of those people are me...

Here's hoping that I can do a little better next week.  It's possible, I just have to make it a priority!

Before I head to bed, I wanted to share that I ***FINALLY*** finished my math fact fluency pack!  I'm sooooo excited about it!  Remember how it was called, "Banana Split Math Fact Mastery?'  Well yeah, I changed it.  I wanted to come up with a reward system that wasn't food or sweets related.  So I give you...

It's 147 pages of fun!!!!  You must check it out!  CLICK HERE to see it in my TPT shop!  I really think you and your students will love it!

I'll be back in a couple days to share things from last week!  :)  Enjoy your Sunday!

Happy 2014!

Can you believe it's 2014?!?!  Holy cow!  What a year 2013 was and I can hardly wait to see all that 2014 brings.  I'm linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade to bring you my January Currently!

When do you all head back to school?  The teachers and students head back on Monday.  That is, if we have school.  This is a picture of our forecast for next week:

A windchill of NEGATIVE 46!?!?!  I have NEVER experienced cold like that in my life.  With those windchills and the chance of snow, we may only end up going to school one or two days next week.  I can't say I wouldn't be just a little excited.  ;)

Last Saturday I had the chance to meet up with some sweet Ohio bloggers in Columbus for lunch and a little shopping!  Seriously, such an amazing group of women.  I feel so honored to know them!

Starting with the front row (LtoR): Jenny from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad, me, Christina from Sugar and Spice

Back row (LtoR): Julie from First Grade Critter Cafe, Emily from Curious Firsties, Jennie from JD's Rockin Readers, Lisa from Fourth and Ten, and Sarah from Primarily Au-Some

I just love getting together with other bloggers because the discussion is so rich!  It's amazing the friendships that develop through blogging and TPT!

If you don't follow me on Instagram, my IG name is sarahlynnkirby.  Today I posted a picture of some CUTE finds at Five Below!  For those who haven't been or don't know what it is, it's like a Dollar Store, except it's a little more expensive because everything is $5 and under! ;)

One last thing before I get back to work on my latest product.  Check it out!  I'm designing a math fact fluency program for first graders!  I have plans to make one for K and 2 as well in the future.  It features math fact sheets for timed tests with both 20 problems and 50 problems so you can choose which one to use.  It's Common Core aligned, so it deals with sums up to 10 and subtraction from up to 10.  It's designed as an incentive program so the kids are motivated to reach their goals.  With each level they pass, they earn the parts to a banana split!!!! :)  Keep your eyes peeled...I'm planning to have this up ASAP, no later than Sunday.  :)

Happy New Year!!!!

Remember Sandy Hook

A year ago this Saturday.  One of the most painful days for teachers across the country.  Even more painful for the families, teachers, students, and town of Newtown, Connecticut.  Why would anyone take the life of an innocent child?  It makes no sense.  It's horribly gut-wrenching.  

I remember briefly hearing something about it at school that day.  I only knew because I checked the news websites during my planning period.  Then when I got home and watched TV, I saw the horrible images of what happened while I was at school teaching my students.

I don't know about all of you, but my mind shifted towards the safety of my own school.  I realized we were just as vulnerable as high schools (where up until this point, most school shootings took place).  My room is the first one outside of the office.  The one with windows that face the front doors of the school.  I would lay awake at night thinking of how I would handle things, should someone open fire in my building.  As a newer mommy, my heart ached even more as I thought about my own child at the time.  Now I have 2 children and the thought hurts even more.  If someone ever hurt my babies, I don't know what I would do.

Have you seen this video?  Get tissues ready.

There's something sweeping across teacher blogs at the moment.  The mayor of Newtown, Connecticut encouraged people to commit Random Acts of Kindness on the anniversary of the school shooting - this coming Saturday.  As educators who's heart strings have been pulled, we are stepping up to promote the mayor's amazing idea.  In the words of the mom in the video above, evil did not win.

Will you join people across the nation to take part in Random Acts of Kindness?  Maybe it's paying for the car behind you in the drive thru.  Maybe it's taking a plate of cookies to your neighbor.  Maybe it's shoveling snow for an elderly couple.  Maybe it's leaving a $5 in a stocking at a store for someone's surprise when they buy it and take it home.  My family and I are going to leave a special treat in the mailbox for our mail carrier. :)  It doesn't have to be anything huge.  Just overcome evil with good.  :)

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children.  We honor their memory with our service.  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

Let's join together as a community of teachers, bloggers and FRIENDS to spread the word about this movement to honor Sandy Hook.  Let's not only commit to committing acts of kindness on December 14th, but let's commit to committing acts of kindness on December 15th and in the spring and the summer.  Let's commit do kindness for Sandy Hook.

Here are some ways to spread the word:

Feel free to use the image above and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and wherever you can.  Email it to all of your co-workers, friends and family.  Spread the word.  December 14th is a day to remember and honor Sandy Hook with simple acts of kindness.  

As you share on social media, please use the hashtag #love4SH to spread the word and fuel a movement.

I'm Back!!!!

Hey everyone!  I'm officially back!  It has been FOREVER since I have blogged!  My goodness!  There is SO much I want to share with you all, so let's get started with a little "Currently" from Oh Boy 4th Grade!  :)

For tonight there are three exciting things I want to share with you:

1.  Part of the reason I've been absent for a couple months is this guy!

 

He was born on Monday, November 4th.  Everything went so smoothly and I'm already back to myself!  I had a repeat c-section and this one was SO much easier and quicker to recover from!  Now our little family is complete.  :)

2.  A couple weeks before I had Sawyer, I found out I was selected to present at the I Teach 1st Conference in Las Vegas this summer!!!!!  I was totally thrilled and blown away!  I will be presenting on Wednesday, July 9th from 1:15-2:30.  My session is titled, "Tracking and Utilizing Data in the Elementary Classroom" and I hope you'll join me if you happen to go this summer!  I'm so pumped to meet lots of new people and attend different session of my friends!  Here's the link for the conference if you're interested: http://www.sde.com/iteach1st2014/

3.  The last little bit I want to share with you is that I have recently started updating my 2nd grade Reading Street files to cover the 2013 edition!  A sweet buyer gave me some guidance and I've slowly started updating them.  Unit 3 is entirely done!  If you've already purchased the file you'll just need to download it again from your purchases.  I'm going to start working on Unit 4 after I finish this blog post in hopes of getting that unit almost done (if not entirely done) before the sale tomorrow!  I'll upload the stories individually as I go along and then update the Complete Pack.  If I DON'T get them all done tonight, you can always purchase the Complete Packs during the sale and just download the revised file once I get it done.  :)  I hope that makes sense!

Don't forget about the big sale tomorrow and Tuesday at TPT!  My cart is STOCKED!  :)  I'll be back more often now!  I'm so excited to get back to blogging!  I hope you'll join me on this journey.  :)

My TPT shop

Positive Points Monday

Hey friends!

I'm trucking through my last college course for my reading endorsement and I'm so close to being finished.  Don't you love how good it feels to check something off your list?  What an amazing feeling...I can't wait!  :)

Last week was actually somewhat decent...besides a slight mental breakdown on Friday with being overwhelmed.  ;)  So here are my positive points from school last week:

1.  My kids did really well on their weekly assessments!  If you teach 1st grade, you might experience the same thing.  The first week or two is really rough because the kids aren't used to having to study and take tests.  Boy does it show!  The parents freak out because they think their kid is behind.  The students freak out because they just didn't know what to expect.  The teachers freak out because they think their class is really low.  But after everyone settles in after a couple of weeks you start to see a more accurate picture.  Parents calm down.  Kids get the hang of it.

2.  I got all of my lesson plan templates pretty much set up and ready to roll.  Now that I have a good idea of my schedule and all my pull-outs, I was finally able to settle on what each week would look like and how much time I have (or rather DON'T have, but that's another story) to teach everything.

3.  I have to tutor a student in my class for 40 hours as part of my last course for my reading endorsement.  We got 5 more hours knocked out last week at school!  AND, the best part is that he is doing SO well.  It's AMAZING to see how far he has come!  I couldn't be any prouder of his accomplishments.  I have proved to myself that narrowing down the individual struggles of a student and attacking them is far more influential than tossing the kids a couple new strategies here and there without really focusing on the lacking skill.  At the same time, it has made me slightly more frustrated because I wish I could do that with ALL of my students.  Alas, time is not on our side.  ;)

It really helps me to focus on the good things that happen throughout the week at my job.  This year is SO different and SO stressful and I have to keep looking for these things daily, otherwise I think I'd completely lose it.  I've come close a few times, but remembering the good helps offset the bad a little bit.

Let me ask you a question, compared to other years, how does this year compare?  Is it one of your best years?  Just like normal?  Definitely not the best year, but could be worse?  Or the worst of your career?  I'm trying to keep this post positive, but I really want to know if it's just me that's going through one of those slumps in her career or if this is something that's facing all of us.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  :)

Praying you all have a great week!  :)

Blessings...