Charts N Chit Chat: Best Practices 4 Teaching

Come SEA what keeps me AFLOAT at TPT!!!

2014-02-26T08:07:00.003-05:00

All this week there has been a building excitement! Sellers from TpT were informed that there are now 3 MILLION Teachers working together on TpT!!! Can you believe that!

So, my blogging group, Owlways Be Inspired got together to talk about how we could best help all 2.99 of you out there in Teacher Land. We decided to blog from the heart and share resources that keep us going....the packs that we fall back on because they are just plain awesome! I am going to be short and sweet because I know you don't have a lot of time if you are like me!

Be sure to go check out my store and see what all you need!

Here are a few of my favorites!

This is my ultimate favorite! I use this all the time to keep track of mastery of common core standards. This helps me with my sanity!

Jen Ross has this AWESOME money pack that I have been pulling from. Money isn't technically on our schedule for another few weeks. <What were they thinking when they did that??> But, I have gone ahead and introduced it and this is the ULTIMATE pack for beginning with money. I don't know what I would do without it.

I think I own every packet that Denise has ever created! I have been following her for years and my kid's even ask 'Is this Denise's?' haha!! The Ready, Set, Print packets that she has in her store are great for warm-ups, content checks, and even sub packets. I honestly couldn't live without them.

Amanda Madden has been one of my favorites for years. I have been purchasing from her for about 10 years now...before TpT was even thought of!! I love this Graph a Week Unit because it has all sorts of bar graphs and they are easy to use.

An InLinkz Link-up

100th Day of School

2014-02-05T16:39:00.003-05:00

I saw 100!! All sorts of hats and posters were everywhere as our Kindergarten team celebrated our 100th day! I took a couple of pictures and thought I would share them with you!

This cute young man was glad to put on his hat to show me how handsome he was. He said, "It's a little crumpled. Sorry!". I think they sort of look like dread locks now!! Thanks to my friend Kelley Dolling for creating this beauty! I wish you could have seen all of the hats as the kids walked down the hallway!!!

This is the great, young Ms. Marbury who just recently got engaged, one of the kindergarten teachers that I work with modeling the latest fashionista style created by another one of our co-workers.

Since she isn't showing it off in this picture, I am including a closeup of her beautiful engagement ring! Her man did a great job picking it out!

I told her that I was going to make her the next greatest "pin-up girl"!! So, get ready to pin her stylin' self.

And I can't forget to show you my favorite project by one of the Kindergartners: it was made with puffy stickers!

Friendly Letters

2013-12-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

It is about time to start friendly letters in my classroom! I've been modeling how to write letters for some time now, so it is about time for my kids to take the plunge and get started themselves! So, I've been working on finding some resources that I can use to help them and I decided to share them with you!

First up is the "Friendly Letter Song"

Next is this great little ditty "Write Me A Letter". Last year when I used this, my kids would sing along! It is on You Tube, but I couldn't get the movie to come up on the blog. Just go check it out for yourself.

Another blogger, Holly at Crisscross Applesauce in first grade has some printables that I use, also. Just click here to go to her site!

Click here to go to Holly's site!

I also found a Friendly Letter Board on Pinterest if you want to go follow it!

I am done scouting the web for Friendly Letter Resources! Ta Ta!!

Jenn

The Thing About November...

2013-11-03T17:55:00.001-05:00

The thing about November is that it really makes you stop and think about what you are thankful for...and it is a time when you can share your thoughts about what you are thankful for (especially now that Facebook is around!). I am so thankful for so many things...I am thankful for my family, friends, the blogging community, and you. Yes you! You give me a reason to write and a reason to share when I'd be just as happy if I crawled back into my shell and sat back and watched life happen. Thank you!

Speaking of watching life happen, I am the world's worse when it comes to schedules. I have a HORRIBLE time following them when it comes to the classroom. So, when I heard about the linky that Susan Jones was linking, I figured I might as well join up.

There has been a lot of talk about RTI and how it fits into schedules and I have to confess that I am REALLY worried this week as I begin teaching 2 different RTI groups while trying to put the BALANCE into Balanced Literacy with only 120 minutes to teach literacy. That gives me an hour to do all of my guided reading groups, my read aloud, my shared reading, throw in some social studies and science, teach some phonics, create my anchor charts,oh, and I forgot....writer's workshop. And to think, I stopped biting my fingernails years ago...anyway...here is my schedule.

My Schedule

8:15 Folders are out kids 'Read to Self'

8:30-9:00 RTI

9:00-9:30 Whole Group

9:30-9:45 Small Group

9:45-10:15 2nd RTI Group

10:15-10:45 Small Groups

10:45 Related Arts, except on Friday.

11:30 Clean Up

11:40 Lunch

12:05 Recess

12:30 Math and math activities

2:40 Clean up and get ready for dismissal.

This week I am using Lemonade for Sale by Stuart J. Murphy as my read aloud!

I also wanted to show you what I am using in my classroom this week! I'm not big on visual plans, but how about a visual list?? =)

Here is a fluency pack from none other than the NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE, Missy Squirrels!

This packet was created by Amanda Madden from Teaching Maddeness! We are teaching about producers, consumers, needs, and wants this week.

And, of course I am using my old standby to teach sight words! Lori is awesome!

I don't have any big ideas for a craftivity. Any suggestions? Just leave them in the comment section!

Literacy Anchor Chart Linky

2013-10-29T20:08:00.001-04:00

Hi friends! I thought it would be fun to put together a group of Anchor Charts for Literacy. If you are like me, you are always looking for a great 'hook' to use to teach your students. Here is one that was sent to me by Susan, a 4th grade teacher in North Carolina. Thank you, Susan, for sending this to me!

This type of chart is GREAT to us to pull together the different of a theme or idea and summarize it. A few teachers and I were talking the other day about how our charts aren't as 'pretty' as some charts we see on Pinterest or Blogs. Never fear! There is a time to go back and 'publish' your charts and then there is a time when you forge ahead and go on to the next skill! If you would like to read another post about anchor charts, just click here!

Feel free to join in on this linky! Also, if you aren't a blogger, but you want to share your anchor charts, just email them to me and I'll be glad to share them!

Reactive Attachment Disorder: Confessions of a Mother

2013-10-13T17:24:00.001-04:00

This is my first post in a while...I wish I could tell you that I had been on a yacht in the clear blue ocean or in a cabin up in the mountains enjoying nature. I wish I had a cutesie little graphic at the top so that you could pin this article. Maybe I will make one at some point, but for right now, this is the most I can do.

Instead of spreading cheer to children everywhere, I have been admitting and visiting my child in the children's unit of our local mental health hospital.

Do you know what it is like to have to leave your child in the hands of strangers, knowing that he/she isn't in touch with reality? That he/she is suicidal? That you call to see how he/she is doing you hear the screams from 'the quiet room' <aka the padded room>. That he/she "feels dead"??? That we may have to take him/her to residential care to live indefinitely? What if your child came to visitation without shoes, or most recently, with zip ties for shoe strings because the shoe strings have been taken away because of the threat of self mutilation or death?

I do, and it hasn't been fun. And it has been dreadful for my child. I have gone through all sorts of emotions and feelings, from "How can we continue living like this?" to "How can we not continue living like this?"

What we thought was an episode of "another manic Monday" turned out to be an outreach from a child that is hurting worse than I could ever imagine. Who knew that Reactive Attachment Disorder, or RAD, as it is called looked so much like a Bipolar diagnosis and ADHD?? Who knew that these three diagnoses could look like triplets? I knew he/she had RAD as he/she has had the diagnosis for about 5 years, but no one told me it was the most important. I have read about it, worried about it, and I have asked about it, but I never thought it would be this diagnosis that would dictate the life my child would lead. Or dictate the life my family would have. I am a mom...a teacher...I have three different teaching degrees. How could I miss this? How could I not know? How could I miss the textbook characteristics that are rearing their ugly heads. I could literally go down and check off the list that I am about to link here and nod in agreement with the therapists and physician in charge. HOW DID I MISS THIS?

As a mom, my heart is breaking....and I have been told that it will get worse before it gets better. The amount of stress we are feeling as a family is ginormous. But, the good part is, we are facing it as a family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and some close friends have been called on, and are praying. The youngest sibling has grown up so much in the last week and is learning to reinforce 'parental vocabulary' at the few limited visits we have had. Who would have thought that would have to happen? Need to happen?

I have been very careful to protect my child's privacy. I know one day it will be no big deal and we will charge head on into dealing with it with our 'public' friends. But now...it is so new...so deep...that we feel like we need to have that added layer of protection for the child that has no close friends, has no one to hang out with, has no deeply seeded relationships.

If we tell our friends about it will they keep their kids away from mine? Will they warn there children to stay away from 'the teacher's kid'? Will there ever be a deep friendship--a friend that can be called on? A steady, positive influence? Or will we always be worried about the types of friends that are collected? Who will take on the role of care giver when we are not around? Will they be understanding? Forgiving? What will the future look like?

The forgiving...I am going to have to ask for a load of that. I have been told that other teachers admire me for staying so calm in the classroom. I am thankful they have not seen me in action at home. I have punished my child for being mentally ill and didn't realize it. I have made her go to her room. Spanked her. Had to restrain her. Wanted to make her eat broccoli, which she hates. I have chastized her and threatened her because of her grades. I have cried over her homework with her because it was a punishment to me, too. Or at least felt like it. I just had no idea. But what do I do now. How do we go on? What am I going to have to learn and change? Will I get the chance?

Because it is so ingrained in me, I have to think about RAD in the classroom. Have I had a student with RAD before? How did I cope? What happens if I get a student with RAD? Do any of my friends have kids in their rooms that could have RAD? What advice could I offer when I have failed so badly with my own child's progress?

I am at an impasse. I am going to have to relearn behaviors, go to therapy, learn better parenting, learn what to look for. As I close, I will leave you with these links:

Children's Mental Health Disorder Fact Sheet

Reactive Attachment Disorders for Teachers

An Open Letter to Educators

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and More Pumpkins!

2013-09-29T10:50:00.001-04:00

This is the week for teach the pumpkin life cycle in preparation for our field trip visit to a local farm! So, I wanted to take a bit of time to tell you what I am doing:

First off, I am going to be looking at these books:

Gail Gibbons in a no fail read on this subject!

My coworker, Courtney, shared her plans with me and introduced this book, Pumpkin Jack to me! Yay for Courtney. I love team players! Courtney has been a great edition to my team. She is so sweet!

I always try to have a book on hand that all of my kids can read on their own if they want to. This week I chose From Seed to Pumpkin. I think all of my kids can related to this!

I will also be using these little shapes that I got from Amazon. There are 500 in the bag! Surely this will last me through the month as I practice ten frames, place value, and addition with my students! I am going to give them 2 sets of 10 with the option that if all 20 are there at the end, they can choose one of the shapes to take home. I want to deter the 5 finger 'collecting' that goes on with 7 year olds!!

I am learning that You Tube is an AWESOME help in teaching this group of kids. They will pay attention to the videos and can usually tell me what they just saw. It is great to use for shared reading, too, if you find a poem or song with lyrics. I've also learned that if I put my videos here, I can use the link to access You Tube and bypass 'the system'!! Here are a couple that I picked out for this week:

Pumpkin Life Cycle

Spookly the Square Pumpkin

I am also going to be using:

by Robin Sellers at TpT

by Teaching With a Cup of Tea

by Michelle Rist

by Teacher's Clubhouse

by Sunny Days

by Bubbly Blonde

In the non-pumpkin area, I am going to be using these:

My Store

by Lori Rosenberg

by Sunny Days

I hope this helps! Stay tuned for more this week! Oh, and I updated my post that contains all of the math songs from You Tube that I have been using...there are more songs! You might want to check it out!

Interactive Notebooks in Second Grade

2013-09-28T18:46:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone! It's been a week or so since I've blogged....life has been busy in 2nd grade! I just wanted to show you really quick what all we have been up to. It seems like we have an interactive notebook for every subject these days! We are super interactive in my room! Here are some pictures of some of what we have been doing!

I have found that if you are new at doing interactive notebooks (I have used it some, but not fully like I am this year) that it is easy to start out with word sorts and reading strategies. So, if you are new at this, you can get started pretty easily! I hope these help you!

Oh, and be sure to follow me on Pinterest! I'll be pinning lots of other great ideas on there!

Why do we teach nonsense words? (Freebie)

2013-09-22T14:38:00.000-04:00

If you have ever wondered why we teach nonsense words, then this is a great post for you! Most teachers think that nonsense words are used ONLY to reinforce vowel sounds, but, this isn't the whole reason! We teach nonsense words because those nonsense words turn into nonsense syllables that we can put together to make larger, multi-syllabic words. Just take any word with 3 or more syllables and you ill find that it is full of nonsense words! I TRULY think this is a way to get kids to quit being afraid that they are going to say a word wrong. I've seen a big increase in reading sense I started showing how to put all of these smaller chunks together! Here is a freebie I made to do this week. I thought I'd share it with you! Just click on the pic to go to Google Docs

While I've got you here, I want to give a shout out to Tessa from Tales From Outside the Classroom. She and I were talking about nouns, so I grabbed her noun pack for my class. It is sensational!!! I've put a pic of the cover here along with a link to her pack

Thanks, Tessa!

Math Read Alouds

2013-09-19T21:03:00.001-04:00

If you have been following along you know that I am adding Math back into my teaching repertoire. In doing this, I am looking for ways to expand our horizons and show my kids that numbers don't have to just be taught or seen during math. So...in my big hunt for math literature, I added several books to my classroom library!

This is such a cute book! Since we've been working on even and odd numbers and equal shares, this book hit home the concept of how important equal shares are. Since the rancher doesn't know how to do equal shares, and his neighbor agrees with everything he says, they both end up with a mixture of livestock. And someone ends up with more cattle than they started with. But all is well that ends well because they end up getting hitched. The picture of the wedding cake clenched it for my girls...they have reread it several times. I guess it is the math equivalent of a second grade romance book!

Even Steven and Odd Todd are grade level favorites...especially since we have a 'craftivity' that goes along with it. I'll be posting about it soon! But, I wanted to share with you that this book isCHEAP right now so you may want to grab it while you can. Typically when they get this cheap they end up going out of print.

My kids LOVE the book More or Less because of the illustrations. We've been working on greater than, less than, and equal to, so this is right up their alley!!

Here are the forms I used. I'll include more next time! Enjoy!

Math Sing-a-Longs

2013-09-16T18:29:00.000-04:00

Here are some songs that I ran across that I am using with my kids during math to work on counting. Feel free to book mark this post as I plan to add songs to it frequently!

Compass Craft--Link is repaired!

2013-09-10T19:47:00.003-04:00

Right now we are studying cardinal directions, so I decided to have a little compass fun!! This is my first ever 'original' craftivity and the kids are loving it. We made it and then used the iPad and Apple TV <or you can use a cell phone> to download a compass app. We practiced which direction we would need to go to find the cafeteria, office, and library. It didn't take us long to make them either...and the best part...kids were teaching other kids!!

Poetry for the Classroom

2013-09-08T19:44:00.000-04:00

This week I am starting my poetry notebooks so I wanted to share some of the books in which I get ideas from. I usually have kids cut out the poem <I type it or if it is fairly easy to copy, I just go ahead and copy it. They paste it into their notebook and then illustrate it. Usually we go back during shared reading and look for words with certain vowel sounds or I have them use different colors of crayons to circle sight words. I try to change things up! And of course, there is the rhythm and rhyme theme to most of them. And added plus is that the kids can use them in buddy reading because they all have the same poems!

My favorite sources are these. They were published many years ago, but they are still available on Amazon. You can also get them on the Heinemann website but they usually cost more.

Runners up:

Hope this helps you get some ideas. There are a lot of poems here! No wonder my bookshelves at school are sagging!! Take care and have a great week!

Friendship: Cynthia Rylant, Teacher's Cauldron, and Yvonne Crawford

2013-09-01T17:57:00.003-04:00

How are you all doing out there? We finally got our 3rd teacher and have cut our grade level size into a third for each of us! Hallelujah! Let's hope this gets us on the right path so that we can roll along in the right direction!

I had planned to get started with this last week but with switching kids, finishing up testing, etc., I just decided to wait. So, now...I know what I will be doing for the next 2 weeks. Good ole <I can teach this with my eyes closed> Henry and Mudge! You can always rely on Cynthia Rylant's books in a pinch! So, I bet you are wondering why I want to rely on an old standard?

click here

I am going to be using this freebie by another good friend, Jen of The Teacher's Cauldron. It is already prepped and ready to go from last week!

After being departmentalized for the last few years and only teaching literacy/science/social studies, I am going back to a self-contained setting and will be teaching all subjects! So, I am having to get back into the math mode.

My friend Lyndsey had this on her blog and it made me cackle! THIS is exactly how I feel!

I know that I am going to be using an interactive notebook that was created by my friend Yvonne Crawford. She is so awesome. Her work amazes me because I expect her to be more of a literacy person because she can speak a kajillion languages...so as she keeps rolling this math out, I just sit in awe!

My friend, Missy Squirrels, introduced me to this book. Does anyone use this? Should I get it to help with my math lessons and centers? Please let me know if you have any information about this! I am trying to decide what to do!

More later!

Consonants and Vowels

2013-08-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

Hope all is well in your world. I wanted to share this vowel/consonant activity that we are doing in my class this week. I started out having the kids copy it down on paper folded into rectangles, but my kids write so big that I decided to switch to this cute little form.

I plan to follow it up by having my kids cut out the different sections and glue them into booklets. They will finish up the booklet by drawing their friends on the different pages. I think it will turn out cute. I got the idea from the CCSS vocabulary that we are supposed to teach. According to my school's support teacher, the kids should be familiar with the 'teacher' vocabulary so that they understand what we are referring to...in this case they should be familiar with the definition for 'consonant' and 'vowel'. I use these posters to help document my teaching--it is a good reminder for the class as a whole, too!

I have prepared sets for different grade levels! Take a look! In case you are wondering, I got the vocabulary from readtennessee.org. Just click on the pic to go check out the vocabulary posters.

Hope you can use them! Have a good day!

Duck Dynasty: Duck Calls and Syllables

2013-08-27T19:36:00.001-04:00

This week in my class we are using our names for all sorts of things...how many letters, how many vowels, how many consonants, and how me syllables.

I taught my kids how to use their 'duck bill' to find how many syllables are in their name...all they had to do was hold their lips together like a duck and instead of quacking, we buzzed out our names while the other hand was pressed against our voice box so that we could feel the vibrations. Each new vibration was a new syllable. Worked like a charm!

Here is a quick little freebie for you. Give those duck bills a try and see how it works for you. Let me know!

Back to School in Second Grade Day 10

2013-08-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

Well, we are off to a rip-roaring and populated second grade year. Must have been something in the water! There is a possibility that we will get a new teacher--we are still waiting...and growing older....Stay tuned!

We have been using a great back to school packet by The Bubble Blond Teacher that the kids are loving. It is great to use right now because I am so busy doing Back to School assessments.

Click here to buy it!

This is what I am using to do some of my assessing with. It is FULL of different types of assessments so I anticipate using it all year.

Our focus right now is Problem Solving on your OWN!

Not that I want to start with the negative, but this may come in handy for you. These two were pushing and shoving in the line...they were at the end, mind you....and could not work out their issue by themselves. So, in my room, if you can't work together as friends, I will FORCE you to become friends! These two spent about 15 minutes holding hands while trying to work together, getting water, and cleaning up. Needless to say, at the end of that 15 minutes they were fast friends and ready to be rid of each other. I haven't had any more pushing and shoving either!! The wonderful thing about it---no parent can be mad at me for doing something ridiculous. At least not too ridiculous.

Right now our second grade classrooms are departmentalized. I teach half a day's worth of literacy to two different blocks of students. My partner teaches all of the math. Because of our enrollment, we may be adding a third teacher and if we do, we will all be teaching every subject. So, I am really interested in looking at this book. From what I read, the curriculum spirals. So...anticipating that I may need to problem solve on my own, I am looking ahead!

We have already had a case of lice this year and hopefully it is the last! I am trying to figure out if I am brave enough to buy this new book from David Shannon of No, David! and David Goes To School fame. My kids have read both of these books until the pages are falling a part, so it is time for me to re-order them.

Available on August 27, 2013

Again, I am trying to problem solve on my own, so I am using Lice Logic hairspray. The scent keeps the critters away! Again, I am problem solving!

Oh!! Remember that I am looking for pictures of anchor charts! Feel free to email them to me at jennh13 <dot> aol.com. Include your name and state for posting! For those of you that have sent me charts, I will begin posting them soon, so be on the look out! I can't wait for you to be pinned!!!

More later!

Tools For School--Classroom Printables

2013-08-21T21:42:00.005-04:00

I have just a sec, so I wanted to share this offer I got this in an email so I thought I would share it with you!

Have you been to the new teacher store, Tools for Schools? There are lots of materials available there from teachers all over the world, including yours truly!!! Be sure to go follow me there! They also have a great group of boards on Pinterest!

I had over 561 emails that I had to read, so as I read I fulled information that I thought other teachers might enjoy. Here is a treat for you as you go into the weekend!

Classroom Management--Line Up Song

2013-08-19T07:50:00.004-04:00

Last week I tried something new...a line up song. I chose a slow Jim Brickman-type song which kept my Speedy Gonzales's from being too speedy but was quick enough to get my snails moving. I played the song and gave them that time to clean up their areas and line up the door. It worked! They were quiet, in line, and my room wasn't a diaster. AND, I had gotten them lined up in less than 4 minutes. I am pretty proud!
Do you do the same thing? If you do, I would love to know which songs you use so that I can put them into my Spotify folder.

Speaking of Spotify, have you been there? It is awesome!!!

There is also a blog called Classroom DJ if you want some specific music for specific things!

Also, don't forget me during the Teachers Pay Teachers Back to School Sale! Just click on the button to go my store!

or click here!

Wanted: Pictures of All Types of Anchor Charts and Public Records!

2013-08-15T18:02:00.000-04:00

Wanted: Pictures of All Types of Anchor Charts and Public Records!

This includes procedural charts and charts for all subjects! If you would like your chart featured on the Charts N Chit Chat, just email the picture of the chart along with your first name and the state you live in to me!

Hint: Pictures that are already on nice backgrounds will be featured first. This can be done on Microsoft Word or Power Point and cropped in Microsoft Paint! There are lots of tutorials on the web that will help you do this...just search for the program of your choice and go for it!! I can't wait to see what you send me! Please make sure that your chart is done neatly!

Send emails to jennh13<dot>aol.com!

Just think....when your chart is featured on the blog, thousands of teachers will be pinning you, and using your chart to teach their students! You have the chance to help change education in our country! Go for it!

Hangin' Tough

2013-08-13T20:40:00.005-04:00

I'll go ahead and worn ya...there is not a stitch of academia in this blog post tonight. I was a blank slate, so I'm going to go retro tonight....and I hate even calling it that, because these guys are from my time period. I remember going to their concert and my ears ringing for 3 days afterwards! Thanks to Missy Squirrels for giving me this idea, even though she didn't know she gave it to me.

She and I were 'talking' on Facebook tonight and I couldn't think of anything to blog about and she said, 'Just blog about something you do that is unique'. In my head, I thought, "I'm just barely hanging in there because I am so tired.' Well...I just decided to have some fun tonight and I've enjoyed my walk down Memory Lane. Oh, the memories...So, here I am...barely hanging in there.

I feel like this is about what I am doing tonight...I'm Hangin' Tough. It's a new year....new kids....new <and increased> responsibities and expectations.

So....I'm just going to do it all step by step.

Trying to teach my kids to whisper when they really seem to be yelling when they read out loud.

Everything I do I do for the good of my class, just like you.

My plan is to make sure they have all of the skills that they need to become successful.

The tough part is making sure that I am teaching everything thorough enough.

By the way, did I tell you that our school board is going to be discussing raise that was proposed by our union, but they say they don't have any money??? hhahaha Dirty Dawgs!!

But, no matter.

Pretty soon, I'll <Oh, just another 175 days> be singing along with this.....

But, I want you all to know that I have faith in you and what you are doing this year!

And tonight.....welll....tonight I'm just gonna crash! So tired....

Keep on Smilin'!!

Thought I Would Share..

2013-08-11T16:51:00.002-04:00

Just thought I'd share these with you. I am going really low-key with my job chart this year. My room has so much going on with it, that I decided I didn't need anything really froofy! But, I couldn't help doing them with a gliggery background from The Bubbly Blonde! There are enough jobs for 18 students. All you have to do is click on one of the pics and download for FREE!

Teacher's Notebook Back to School Sale

2013-08-10T17:44:00.001-04:00

Teacher's Notebook has kicked off their Back to School Sale today!! I forgot to mention it in my last post. Feel free to visit my store and browse!! You can also enter my giveaway! All of my items are 40% off!!

Made It Through The First Week

2013-08-09T17:36:00.002-04:00

Whew! Has it been a week. I have 26 second graders right now. It is looking like we may get another teacher, but until our enrollment period is up, we just do the best we can. Out of that 26, 8 are native Spanish speakers and another 11 received RTI services. My work is cut out for me!!

Below is a little bit of joy that brought into my life....a 'real' treasure box that I got at Hobby Lobby. This is how I 'rewarded' myself for teaching my 20th year of school. It seems like just yesterday that I was furiously trying to organize my <then> Montessori classroom! My kids are pretty impressed with it and asked me if I went scuba diving and found it! hehe

This is a book that I shared with you a few weeks ago. It was recommended during our Common Core training. It has assessments for all grades <even up into high school> and I am using a phonics screener to assess my students. The theory behind it is that students read at a different phonics stage than they are able to spell, so to adequately meet their needs we have to know what type of patterns, blends, digraphs, etc. they are able to read and this information, in turn, will help us determine which phonics levels meet their needs in spelling.

click here for more info!

This is the first page of the phonics screener...it simply assesses letter names and letter sounds and progresses to the different vowel sounds, nonsense words, short vowels, long vowels, affixes, and multi-syllabic words.

We got this freebie from TpT to send home to our parents in the hopes of gaining more info about our kids. All you have to do is click on the pic to go and grab it!

click here for more info!

I am also going to be using these next week! Just click on them to get more info!

Have a great weekend!

Behavior Folder Printables

2013-08-04T15:00:00.002-04:00

I just finished working on these and thought that I would share them with you. We use a color scheme for our behavior chart like many of you do. I think the difference in what we do in my grade level is that we mark behavior colors in the morning and afternoon so that we can track behavior patterns. We also have a number code system that we can use to communicate with parents to let them know what issues were dealt with that day. I hope you can use this! I left the dates and area for rules blank so that you could fill them in if you wanted to use the printables! Enjoy! Just click on the pics to go download this freebie!