Informational Writing and the Debut of My Guided Reading Binder!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!  Hallelujah!

This week we've been working on our informational writing.  I am LOVING this unit, and so are my kiddos!  We've spent all week exploring features of informational text and diving into the world of nonfiction.  They are so excited to start writing their books!  Getting my firsties to understand that an informational book is more than just a couple sentences is pretty tough.  So we made a web/bubble map.  It is the start of a 5-sentence paragraph!  They put their topic in the middle and then 5 facts about it in the different extending bubbles.

My girls are writing all about puppies, flowers, swimming, and all things girly.  My boys however...all things boy, that's for sure!

For this sweet little fella, I had to majorly scaffold for him.  He is one that really has a hard time picking things up.  He had his idea, but couldn't quite comprehend anything beyond his topic.  I wrote down some questions/phrases in his bubbles to help guide his thinking.

I will continue to share things as we progress through this unit!  I'm so excited I can hardly take it!

I want to take a minute to introduce you to my good friend, Stephanie.  She has just opened a store on TPT and she is working her tail off!  I know a LOT of you use my Reading Street products.  I would LOVE to do the kindergarten units, but I don't have the time or energy.  Grades 1-3 are keeping me plenty busy!  Stephanie asked if she would be stepping on my toes if she created kindergarten packets for RS.  I said, "Heck no!  PLEASE go right ahead!  Then I won't have to worry about it!"  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE creating stuff for Reading Street, but it's soooo time-consuming.  Stephanie is SO talented and funny!  She has a creative mind and enthusiasm for her kinders.  If you love my RS products, I HIGHLY encourage you to check out her store.  You will not be disappointed!  I mean, if I taught kindergarten, I would totally be using her stuff in 2 seconds flat.  It is adorable, it's practical, and it's meaningful.  It will make your planning so much easier!  She is creating as she goes and will eventually have packs to correlate with all of the Reading Street stories.  So check it out and follow her so that you can be informed as she keeps adding!!!!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO STEPHANIE'S STORE!

One last note, I know many of you have been DYING to get your hands on my guided reading plans.  I had e-mail after e-mail, comment after comment, Q&A after Q&A asking if I would please share my template.  The wait is over, friends!  I finally got it done!  You can snag it in my TPT shop!!!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!  Don't work too hard!  ;)

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

Homework

I'm teaming up again this week with The Applicious Teacher to talk about HOMEWORK!

I have such mixed feelings about homework, but this is what works well for my classroom.  Fortunately, I work in a district with pretty good parental involvement.  That means I usually have 95% or better turn in their homework.  In all honesty, I think if there weren't such great parental support I wouldn't even assign homework.  It's one of those things that you just have to gauge and see.  Who knows...I may have a year where homework isn't effective or necessary.

BUT, here's what I've found works best for me.

I assign WEEKLY homework.  I send it home on Monday and it's due back mostly on Friday.  The reason I assign it weekly, instead of nightly, is because it makes grading/checking easier for me.  I can take the weekend to look over it if I need to and get it back in a timely manner.  I used to do nightly homework and HATED IT.  Plus, the main reason I do weekly homework is because it's better for the students and families.  Between music lessons, sporting events, dance class, etc., some nights are just crazy and hectic for families.  I have a MUCH better turn-in rate by doing it weekly.  I used to have kids miss nightly homework all the time because of busy schedules.  But doing it weekly has allowed them to do it at a pace that works for them.  Like I said, I get about 95% (or better!) turning in their homework.  If parents have questions, they know they can e-mail me and I'll get back to them pretty much right away (that's why it's nice to have my e-mail connected to my phone).  I send home an explanatory packet at the beginning of the school year that pretty much answers all their questions.  I rarely have homework questions in all honesty. 

I give each kid a homework folder that they bring to and from school every day.  I stuff them with homework on Mondays and then send it back on the day it's due in the same folder.  These are folders that our 2nd grade team uses and they are AWESOME!  I've been using them for 2 years now and they're amazing. I haven't had to replace a single one and I've NEVER had one rip or tear.  You can click on the picture to go to the site.

The first thing that goes in is math homework.  We used to use Everyday Math.  I would staple the Homelinks together that we would be covering that week and they would be due on Friday.  This year we are switching to My Math and I plan to do the same thing. (By the way...SOOO excited about My Math!)

Then I put in spelling homework.  It's a front and back sheet that I created that goes along with Reading Street.  It's also due on Friday.  I don't necessarily like the workbook pages, so that's why I created my own homework.  It has 3 activities.  The first activity is always Rainbow Words where the kids write their words 3x with a different colored crayon each time.  The second activity varies per unit.  It's anything from Word Shapes to an Unscramble.  The third activity is always a practice test that they can do with a family member.  

I have 1st and 3rd grade homework available in my TPT shop.  I may work on 2nd grade this year if there's interest, but I guarantee it won't be done by the beginning of the year.  :(  Too much on my plate right now and these bad boys take a long time to create!  :(  Once again, just click on the pics to find them in my TPT shop!

         

Finally, I put in a reading log half-sheet.  I put them in on Wednesdays and they're due the following Wednesday.  It's just a signature sheet for parents to sign.  They're due on Wednesdays for 2 reasons.

1.  It spreads out my grading/checking a little more.

2.  It gives families a chance to read over the weekends.  :)

That's basically how I do homework in my 1st grade classroom!  :)  It's very easy and I have it down to an organized system that really works for me.

The last thing I'd like to share with you is a new seller I think you should check out.  She is a 2nd grade teacher in my building and she's wonderful!  She has the sweetest dog that she brings in occasionally to visit her students and they LOVE it!  She has taken some GREAT pictures of her dog and mixed them with her love of reading and literature.  If you love dogs or have a dog-themed classroom, you'll love her!  She's got more stuff in the works, so you'll want to keep checking back.  :)  Click on the picture to go to her "'Paws' to Read!" set!

I mean, really, how cute is that?!?!?!?!?!  Here's the link to her store:  Michele Rankin

Have a great week, everyone!  If you're closing in on the new school year, good luck as you prepare!

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!  :) :) :)