Guided Reading Favorites

As we are final our final trimester, I'm working hard to ensure that my Kinders are reading at grade level. Where are your Kinders supposed to be reading at the end of the year? We say a text level 4 is grade level, but we would really like them at a 6.

I see each group for approximately 20 minutes, although I wish it was 30 minutes! I broke down my Guided Reading Group for you with this little visual.

 Of course, this can vary. My lower kids usually need additional Word Work time. Sometimes, I forgo the writing and just do reading. It depends on the group, the lesson, the day. Keep in mind, I have a whole group phonics lesson everyday, as well as word work centers. This is just additional practice in small group, usually tied to the book/ For writing, I also teach that whole group. This is just extra practice, usually focusing on foundational skills. 

It is important to PLAN your lesson. I do lesson plans for each group, using this sheet. You get this sheet FREE in my TPT Store.

This sheet allows me to plan my lesson in advance, as well as take notes during the lesson. You can highlight what strategy they are using and put notes about what they are doing well or future teaching points. Best part, it is editable. You can type in your lesson plans and print. I personally prefer to hand write them in, but I do like to type student names.

In addition to planning, I think it is important to take running records. I LOVE this free form I found from Leveled Literacy Intervention. You can find this, and many, many more FREE goodies HERE.

For my struggling kids, I enjoy using these Beginning Sound Activities for Word Work. There are 10 different activities you can use. For kids who are really struggling, try just focusing on phonemic awareness, no letters. For example, show them pictures for a, b, and c, and ask which one starts with /b/ (make the sound). For some kids, it helps to just focus on the phonemic awareness.

For my on grade level and high kids, we are working on CVC Words, I like to introduce all of these activities during small group, then move them to a Word Work Center. This bundle will last you the rest of the year. You can grab it here

After Word Work, we read a familiar read. This is when I do a Running Record on one student. For my new book, I always give a detailed into, that includes 2 "tricky" words. The "tricky" words may be sight words or it may be vocabulary I don't think they know. 

I am lucky that I have access to Guided Reading books at school. If you do not, check out Tara West on Teacher Pay Teachers. She has bundles of just Guided Reading Books or bundles for the year. I have this set and I really like it.

Finally, for writing, I often have kids write 1-2 sentences that are related to the story. We often take 2 days to do this since I only spend 5 minutes on writing. If we are short on time, we might just write a few sight words or discuss writing foundational skills, such as capitals, spacing, and periods. 

I hope you all have learned a few helpful hints for Guided Reading. If you are looking for more, here are two of my favorite resources.

How to host a successful Christmas book exchange

Hi everyone, it's Cori from Mrs. B's Beehive!  I hope you are all resting on your Christmas break, and recharging your batteries!  Today I wanted to share a fun idea that we do in my classroom every year.

Every year when we get back from Thanksgiving break, I send out this note to my parents:

I ask them each to buy an inexpensive book to share and suggest that they try looking at Walmart or Target.  I try to stress the importance of gender neutrality as well, although I've had a few years where parents don't listen (shocking I know) and bring in a super girly or very boyish book.  When that happens, my kids usually just end up trading books.

I usually buy a couple of extra little books and wrap them, because I'm afraid that someone won't bring their books at the last minute.  I've actually never had someone forget to bring a book tho!  Here is a picture of what it looks like in action.  It's super blurry because it's a couple years old, and also because they move so fast when I say ready, set, go that it's hard to capture the moment! : )

This has been a hit every year, and I hope it's something you can incorporate into your own classroom!  If you would like to download a copy of the letter I use you can click on the link below:

Christmas Book Exchange Letter

Fall Math Freebie

This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small compensation if you purchase the below materials from the affiliate link.

Hello Kinder Friends. I hope you all are starting to enjoy some cooler weather! I have finally gotten to break out my sweaters, but it's still a little to warm for my tall boots and scarves.

Today, I'm here to share with you one of my favorite my games - Roll and Cover.

For this classic game, students roll the dice, count the dots, and cover it. Super simple and kids love to play it over and over again.

You can make it a partner game and have students race to see who can cover their board.

At this time of year, we are working with the numbers 1-10. I didn't want to do two dice and go to twelve, so I made a spinner to go to 10.  I LOVE how the kids are getting extra practice with the ten frames on this game. You can get all the game boards and the spinner FREE HERE.

{When you download it, yours will say spin and cover not roll and cover}

I bought these spinners off of amazon a few years ago. I found that when I stuck them straight into the spinner, they didn't spin very. So instead of directly attaching them to the spinner, I cut a square of leftover laminate, hole punched the middle, and added the spinner.

Then, you just lay the laminate on top of the spinner. It works for ANY SPINNER! 

LOVE IT!!!

You click above to buy 8 spinners to make your own spinners.

Are you looking for more Fall Math Games?

Check out my Fall Math Centers. 

(Yes, I used the same spinner for the 1 more/1 less game!)

I often get asked where I found my plastic pumpkins. I got them at Target a few years ago. I did find that they do have similar ones on Amazon, but as cute as they are, they are 7.99 for only 25!

Thanksgiving CVC Freebie

Hello Kinder Tribe friends!  It's Cori from Mrs. B's Beehive with a quick and simple freebie you can use with your students in November! 

Use this resource in a center, or as a whole group activity to help assess your students on their blending skills!

Cut up the turkey cards, and have your students match the words to the pictures.

Then have your students write the words on the corresponding turkey recording sheet:

Quick and easy assessment for this very busy time in the school year!  You can grab this freebie here:

Turkey CVC Word Match-Up

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Favorite Fall Books

Hey friends!  It's Amanda from Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten here with you today!

Do you have any favorite books that you love to teach for fall?  I do!  And I love using them to teach a standard that is really difficult for my kindergarten kiddos.

I love using The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves to teach the standard R.L.K.9 (With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories).

My students really struggle with this standard, especially at the beginning of the year, but when I use these books to start us out the concept becomes easier to grasp.

I start by reading both books multiple times.  My students LOVE to help me read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by saying the sounds the different items make and doing motions with them.

Then after my students are familiar with both stories we do a retelling of each story and put story cards in order.

Once we have the pictures in order, we start to compare and contrast the books.  I ask the students what they noticed was the same and different in the stories.  Then as they tell me we make a Venn Diagram with the pictures.  It is quick and easy activity and covers multiple standards.

Would you like to have some of these picture cards to do this activity with your class?  Just click here to grab them for FREE!

Fine Motor in Kindergarten

Hi everyone! It's Kelly from My Fabulous Class. I imagine many of you are settling back into school...and I know a few of you are STILL enjoying summer! We are on our third week. At the beginning of the year, I like to assess students on some basic fine motor skills. Can they do the basic skills of writing, gluing, and cutting? What about picking up small items? I have two FREE activities to help you assess these fine motor skills.

First up, cutting. These are HARD lines for kids to cut. I like to talk about taking "small bites" with the scissors. I model big bites, which is opening the scissors all of the way, and small bites, which is only opening them a little. After students cut it all up, I have them glue it on construction paper to have a display, but you could just as easily have students recycle the strips.

I LOVE these little glue dot apples. It's hard to see from the picture, but there are actually 3 sizes of sequins! Squeezing a dot of glue onto a dot is a pretty challenging fine motor skill. We talk about the different using the "right amount" of pressure when you squeeze. I model too little pressure and too much pressure before I have students practice. Then, you add in the fine motor skill of picking up tiny sequins, and wow, you'll be able to quickly assess a student's fine motor skills.

You can get both of these activities FREE HERE.

Now, you may be wondering, what do I do if my student has poor fine motor skills? Check out these posts.

This post is full of FREE ideas with play dough, dabbers, tweezers, and more. 

This is another great post with clothespins and pipe cleaners. I hope this helps you all!

Meet the Teacher- Back to School

 Hey tribe! It's Jill from Chevron and Centers.

 The 2016-2017 school year is quickly approaching! I report back to school on August 4th. I will get to meet my new kinders on August 8th. I am not ready for summer to be over but I must admit I am excited to see their little faces!

 I always love giving my kiddos a few things at Meet the Teacher. A few years ago I found the Ready Confetti poem on Pinterest and it is a big hit my with kiddos! It is so much fun hearing then tell me about how they put the confetti under their pillows and didn't worry at all about the first day of kindergarten.

My Walmart finally had the bubble wands on clearance..whoop whoop! I made these Bubbling with excitement tags to go with them. I also found this adorable quote on Pinterest to put on a bag of goldfish. It may be my new favorite idea!

I couldn't resist HA!

If you would like to grab the tags just click on the picture below! What are some of your favorite things to do for Meet the Teacher? 

I hope you all have AmAzInG  2016-2017 school year!!! Much love!

Getting Ready for Back to School: Homework Folders

Happy Summer, Kindertribe!

It is a little weird talking about back to school for me, seeing as my last year ended only 2 weeks ago! Although I know the end of the year is super stressful, the beginning of a new one is even more so.

There are a few things I do at the end of the year to help the transition into the new one go smoothly. We have to take down and pack up EVERYTHING, so for a good two weeks before the kids come, I am working on setting up my classroom so it is ready for the first day (and ya know...the whole year). The LAST thing I want to do is the “Charlie Work” tasks that need to get done.

I teach at a Pre-K through 8th grade school, so in those last few days where everyone is checked out, I always borrow a few middle school helpers to get the little tasks done (and done right- something the kinder babies can’t help with). Sharpening pencils, sorting out shiny new crayons, and fixing broken rekenreks are a few tasks they have helped me with, but none are as helpful as them preparing my back-to- school packets and homework folders.

We are required to give homework nightly, so I try to have it be as meaningful as possible. My homework folders are very important, and I see them as a way to teach my students responsibility and problem solving. They are responsible  for bringing them back and forth daily, and putting them in the proper bin upon arrival. They are full of helpful information that they are used to seeing in class, so they (and their parents) are able to use them as a tool to help with homework and other learning.

We have a very transient population, so I use name labels on the front so I can change them out easily when new students arrive. I use the poly folders from Target, and as long as the kid isn’t too rough on it, they last longer than the whole year (even toted around in backpacks).

I saw this idea on a blog years ago (forgot who- sorry!), but I label the sides of the folder to reinforce left and right.

I like to keep very open lines of communication with parents, so I like to have my contact info easily accessible. I make labels with all the ways they can contact me and stick them right on. I also want my students to know an emergency number they can call, so I have parents write their number in, and seeing it daily really helps them remember it!

My kids definitely aren't babied by me, so I do hope they have some self-sufficiency when working at home. In a page protector, I put some “homework helpers” for them to reference if they need help. Each folder contains an alphabet chart, mini word wall, number chart, 100 chart, shapes, and symbols. We use these tools in  class, it only makes sense to have them at home, too. You can grab this homework helper here. 

These folders are my first line of communication between parents, and are a way to prepare my kids for the rigors of the grades to come. Getting them set up is an easy thing to do while Netflixing, and will save you a ton of time and frustration as the year begins. 

Scrapbook Paper in the Classroom

Am I the only one with a scrapbooking paper OBSESSION?!? Yesterday, I made my weekly trip to Michael's. Yes, I go weekly in the summer. I never want to miss anything. Now that their Camp Creativity classes have started, I will be there multiple times a week! My girls LOVE to get their crafty on, like their mama.I was pretty excited when I saw their open stock scrapbook paper was ON SALE. Don't forget, they offer an additional 15% off for teachers..

I remember seeing a post awhile back from my friend Jennifer at Crayons and Cuties in Kindergarten about making games on scrapbook paper so I decided to give it a try. I made this simple upper and lower case letter matching game. You can get it FREE HERE. You will need 9 pieces of scrapbook paper for this one. I would not recommend giving the kids all of the pieces at once. That would be a BIG memory game.

I also made a simple number and ten frame game. I liked it so much, I printed it on different themed paper for the entire year.  The scrapbook paper stops the paper from being see through, so kids can't cheat. Be sure to laminate them for durability. You can get this game FREE HERE. You can use these cards all year to differentiate math skills. Check out the different memory games I play with these cards on my blog HERE. 

One quick tip- make sure when trim the paper to fit in your printer, you trim off the side with the price printed.

 I wanted to try making die-cut letters out of scrapbook paper. Honestly, it is much easier to cut these with my Cricut Expression, but in a crunch, you can hand cut them. I highly recommend these Fiscar scissors. I typed the letters with KG The Last Time Bubble. You can get it free for personal use HERE. 

Until next time,

What Worked Well Wednesday Linky- Staying Organized This Summer

Hello, teacher friends. It's Kelly from My Fabulous Class. I hope you all are enjoying your summer or will be very soon. Today, I am talking about staying organized with your materials in the summer. Actually, this home organizational system can really help you store your teaching printables all year long.

I am  a pinning addict. Seriously. It's out of control. The problem is, I pin amazing winter ideas in May then forget about them by January. I also like to add products to my TPT Wishlist and then I forget about them.

I like the idea of printing things when I find them, but if I print a winter theme activity in June, I end up with piles like this all over my house. It drives my husband crazy. Plus, the papers can get ruined if I don't laminate right away. In the summer, this becomes a HUGE problem because I do print like crazy, but I can't take it into my classroom right away.

I decided to solve this problem with a file carrying case, hanging file folders, and ziplock bags. I bought all of this at Wal-mart but I am sure Amazon has better deals. I labeled the file folders for the months Aug-May, sight words, word work, and math. I have some additional folders that I can add labels to, as needed.

I found this cute beginning sounds center FREE on TPT. I laminated it, cut it, and bagged it. It is ready to go in August. If my August folder gets to full, I might move this to my beginning sounds folder.

I found these FREE Ten Frames for Counting the Days in School LAST YEAR. I was just going through my Back to School Board and found them. They are now printed an in my August folder.

I found this amazing activity HERE on Pinterest. I haven't had time to laminate it, so I just placed it in the January folder. If you are wondering how I can afford to print so much color, I have two words for you - HP Instaink. BEST INVESTMENT EVER.

When you close it up, you have a simple carrying case that you take to school when you need to. It does not take up much space at home and keeps you organized.

What has worked well for you lately? Be sure to link up below. Looking for great ideas that have worked well for other teachers? Read these great posts.

An InLinkz Link-up