This week my 1st/2nd spilt class is learning to 'Talk Like A Pirate' to learn the /ar/ words. The kids love this connection with learning this sound and word family. Many teachers have been running with the pirate theme and kids love it. If you'd like a copy of the wordsearch, easy version and hard version you can click here to download it at Teachers Notebook and here for TpT. I can't wait to do more with this /ar/ and pirate theme throughout the week.
When I feel that I need more or different math resources than what the school district has provided I really like going to http://www.eduplace.com/ to get ideas and printables for students. When I suggest to other primary grade teachers to check it out, they get a little overwhelmed navigating through the screens. I basically go to the grade level I need and then I really like to check out the "Leveled Practice". I generally select Reteach, Practice, and Homework pages. For many schools and districts this is their adopted math program. However, it's not for ours so it turns in to be a good back up.
I love having my students log on to http://www.spellingcity.com/ once a week. This website's free activities have the kids doing so much with their word list that it becomes more of vocabulary practice than just a spelling review.
I log on and type in my weekly list words. At the end of the "Play A Game" option there is a printable handwriting activity. I'm not a huge stickler about handwriting since we are going toward digital communication in our society. However, I insist they write neatly to be polite. This is the only handwriting practice I have my students do in my class. Once they are finished the handwriting practice, neatly, then they can log on to spellingcity.com in our computer lab. My students put a lot of effort into their neatness so they can log on and not have to do it again.
The website generates a list that can be printed off and saved as a pdf document for future use. There are some other activities that can also be generated, printed off, and saved. It's become part of our weekly schedule and time well spent.
To help kids be accountable for what they listen to I have them fill out comprehension forms. I begin with simple ones at the beginning of the year and then progress to harder ones. Below are pics of what they look like. you can download them here at Teachers Notebook.
If these seem to be too easy for students, I have them write down any words that were new or difficult to them on the back:
This next version is copied off doubled sided and kids really start to comprehend the climax, problem and solution of the story as they break it down using this form:
This past summer our faculty gathered to brainstorm how to incorporate the "Daily Five" into our classrooms. I was apprehensive about where to store all of the book boxes for my students and how would I acquire all the books.
I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't take away too much from the class library. The school purchased the cardboard book storage boxes. I let the kids decorate their own. In the boxes they keep 3 "Accelerated Reader" books and 3 books to "Read For Fun" they can also keep a file folder game and a reading card game we have assembled in class, played and placed in baggies.
Our book boxes are lined up along the floor, within students reach, yet out of the way, like so:
I also gave the kids a cute bookmark, shared by another teacher, to remind kids how to pick out the right book. You can download it here at Teachers Notebook or here at TpT.
Many elementary teachers have mailboxes or cubbies in their classroom to help quickly pass out papers, return work, etc. I've seen teachers organize it in a variety of ways. Purchasing a piece of furniture to make this happen has always been on my 'wish list'. When I would see it listed on "Really Good Stuff" and then noted the price, the item always went to the back of my 'wish list'. In the mean time I have used cardboard replicas that endured one year and plastic stackable letter trays which held up for many year.
When I had leftover grant money, with prior approval to use the grant money as otherwise stated, I started shopping Amazon to see how their prices compared and I found one at half the price I have seen them listed in teacher catalogs. I picked the one with drawas in the bottom because I like to store extra papers that have been passed out.
My fabulous hubby brought it to school and assembled it. The kids in my class thought it was Christmas, and so did I. It's kind of heavy, so when we go year round I'm not sure how I'll manage it, but in the meantime I wish I had bought this years ago. If and when you are ready click here to check it at at Amazon.
Every elementary classroom I've been in, including mine, has a class library. Teachers spend their own money, scholastic points, grant money, donations, etc. building and replenishing their classroom libraries. In the summer of 2010 I took a children's literature class to continue to be a 'highly qualified teacher'. As part of the course we had to read "The Book Whisperer" and I feel in love with this author's philosophies.
One chapter in the book talks about setting up a classroom library by genres rather than levels in order to not detour readers from attempting difficult books. In July I worked around the janitors cleaning my room and reorganized my class library by fiction, non-fiction, fairy tales, fables, etc. I was thrilled about how precise I had placed my books in my classroom for my students to read. I eagerly directed students to choose different books and they were reading and looking, looking and reading many, many books.
In the first few weeks of the 2010 school year I found myself reorganizing the genres as if I were a maticulous librarian. Then, I became frustrated when my kids couldn't out the books back in a genre that I had labeled accordingly. I was driving myself, and my students, insane over how to catalog my class library.
Frustrated, I talked to a fellow teacher who had also read "The Book Whisperer" and was having the same dilema with her class library. We arrived at the same conclusion, the first and second grade kids developmentally cannot make those generalizations. The advanced readers were sometimes able to remember, but not everyone consistently.
I spent every day after school reorganizing my books by leveled readers, for my sanity and so the students could easily grab and organize the books that I have. For the past few years, this has been working quite well. Here's a peek at what it looks like today:
I have my "Accelerated Reader" books as 'blue' for 1st grade level, 'red' for 2nd grade level, and 'green' for 3rd grade level. They have the "Accelerated Reader" label on it's spine to help kids. They are in bins that I purchased at Wal-mart for $3. a bin in the kitchen aisle.
We use these books during our "Read To Test" time. This is the only time when I encourage kids to choose a specific leveled reader so they do not become too frustrated too quickly.
I also have books labeled "Read For Fun". These books do not have an "Accelerated Reading Test" tied to it and they are not organized by level in my class library.
If you'd like to download these leveled readers bin labels, click here at TpT or here for Teachers Notebook.
