Eclectic Educating

Guided Math in the First Grade Classroom

2019-02-03T15:49:00.002-05:00

Hello! It has been awhile since I posted, but I have been getting used to my new school. So far, it has been a fairly easy transition, but has required some tweaks as I navigate a new student body. One particular area of my teaching that I feel I have given a significant amount of attention this year is guided math. This has been a transition in my teaching over the last three or so years. While it can be challenging to introduce at the beginning of the year, particularly in the younger grades, I believe that guided math and small group instruction are worth the extra effort.

To begin, I have used two very different math curriculums at the two schools in which I have taught first grade. In my previous school, we used My Math. My new school uses Singapore Math. One great aspect of guided math is that it can be easily tailored to meet the needs of your students and whatever curriculum your school requires. Essentially, guided math allows the teacher to work with small groups of students while the other students are working on meaningful math tasks. At my previous school I used the following centers:

Math with the Teacher
Math Journals
Technology (Compass Learning app on iPads, which is an assessment driven app)

At my current school, some adjustments had to be made based upon the curriculum requirements. For example, I am required to use the math workbook at my current school. Initially, I wanted to make this a replacement for the math journals I used last year, which my co-teacher and I created personally or were a hodge podge of items found online. If any of you use Singapore Math, you probably understand that it can be a challenging program. I found that my students were struggling to complete the workbook independently due to challenging directions and the high amount of reading required to be successful with this program. As a result, I decided to make workbooks part of the Math with the Teacher center. Additionally, my class did not have a set of ipads to ourselves, so we cannot use them everyday. Therefore my centers this year vary more, but include workbooks with the teacher and 2 separate math activities.

Where do I find my math activities? This year I have been using a lot of counting collections. In this activitiy, students sort objects into groups of tens, and eventually groups of 100 to identify the number of objects in a collection. I also have students record themselves explaining their thinking using the ipad on the Seesaw app. A lot of my information about counting collections has come from Research and Play.

Another resource I use frequency is Reagan Tunstall's Guided Math series. When I was not required to use a workbook, I used this program to help me organize my math with the teacher. Now, I use the activities for independent work stations. I also use a lot of materials from Susan Jones' product and Brown Bag Teacher's centers.

Personally, I have found that three center rotations is more manageable for me. I know several teachers prefer to have more rotations and smaller groups. I find that I am fried by the fourth rotation and often times so are my first graders. As a result, I keep it at three rotations. Less rotations means bigger groups which allows students to work more with each other. I also strongly value independence in my first graders and use a workboard so that students know where they should be at all times. Additionally, I even have a student who rings the bell to signal the transition for centers. Ideally, math workshop would be able to operate without me even there!

(Edited to remove student names on far left. Numbers are workbook pgs.)

Finally, here are some products that help facilitate math workshop. The items presented include affiliate links, but are tried and true recommendations of things I have used personally in my classroom.

Rekenrek - great for building concrete understandings of addition and subtraction.

Number bonds - for practicing addition and subtraction

Differentiated Dice - every math concept is made better with dice! This set has a variety of dice that are perfect for differentiating games.

Clear spinners - Spinners are great for math games - particularly graphing concepts.

How are you using guided math in your classroom?

I'm Moving to First Grade!

2016-07-17T16:43:00.000-04:00

I know it has been awhile...I hope you all didn't forget about me. After 6 years teaching intervention, I am finally getting my own classroom! And...it is in first grade! I am extremely excited, but also very nervous. Please share any and all advice! If that wasn't enough, I am also moving back home to Ohio after three years in New Jersey!

Here is a picture of my classroom the first time I saw it. I love it, but was completely overwhelemed. The first thing I did was tackle the classroom library. I had no idea how much of a book hoarder I was. I have tons of books! I labeled some by level and some by subject.

The Word Wall so far..

Part of the library

I'm slowly developing an idea of how I want everything to run. I am sure there will be plenty of changes along the way, but I am looking forward to the adventure. I've been doing plenty of reading and brushing up on my Daily 5, Writer's Workshop, and guided math. Please share any tips about first grade or the classroom in general! Looking forward to sharing this adventure with you! It's good to be back.

Getting Creative!

2015-04-03T07:43:00.000-04:00

Despite what many might think...guided reading is not the answer to everything in reading intervention! I have a particularly challenging group of first graders this year. They are really struggling. I have been re-evaluating my instruction and making some creative choices!

Now, before you call blasphemy, I still instruct these students with a heavy dose of guided reading in the morning, but in the afternoon we really let loose. Here are some of the things I have been doing with my students:

Poems

We have been doing a weekly poem. This provides a lot of repetition and fluency practice. I have been choosing poems that work on specific sight words to help increase automaticity. The kids really enjoy the rhyming and melodic qualities of the poems. A poem is also significantly less overwhelming than a book and gives struggling students access to grade level content.

This is a great resource for finding sight word poems. They are organized around different sight words and skills, such as breaking words into chunks.

After reading the poem for a couple of days, I remove some of the sight words and have students practice adding them back to the poem. We also take turns reading with the pointer.

Writing
I am a firm believer that writing needs to be incorporated into reading instruction. Sometimes we compose an interactive writing based around the content of that week's poem. Other times, we compose our own poem based upon a template of the week's poem. We have also written cut up sentences and switched with partners.

Phonics Games
I love playing file folder phonics games. My district is heavy into Fundations, but sometimes a scripted program just doesn't get the job done for everyone. Nothing beats a good old fashioned game. Right now we are working on r-controlled vowels. I am starting to see progress!

This is one of my favorites!

Sight Word Movement Games
We have been so busy having fun in the gym, that I keep forgetting to take pictures! We have been playing sight word basketball and sight word relay races. They are so simple, but the kids love them. Students must identify a sight word before they shoot the basketball or before they start their leg of the relay. A competitve edge is highly motivating. I carefully select the teams so they are equally matched and each race is very close.. That way no one is too upset or discouraged.

How do you get creative with your struggling students?

Running a School Wide Reading Program

2015-03-05T08:04:00.004-05:00

This year I took over as leader of the school's reading incentive program. It has definitely been a learning experience, but I would like to share some of the things I have learned along the way

Build a Strong Team

Maintaining a program for the entire school requires a lot of manpower. Take all of the help you can get. For something that involves the entire school, you need the entire staff to make it successful. Some might be hesitant at first, but it is important to always emphasize that this is a community effort.

Build Excitement

The key to getting kids motivated to read is building excitement. You need kids to be excited about reading and excited about participating in your program. Which leads me to my next point...

Focus on Non-Monetary Incentives

Kids do NOT need expensive things to get excited. This is about the experience. Really, students should not need to be rewarded for reading, but there is no denying that rewards can be motivating. We have chosen to do a monthly raffle. When students read a certain amount, they get a raffle ticket. This goes into our "gumball" machine. Once a month, I draw 15 winners for some sort of "experience-oriented" prize. Some of our prizes have included: reading outside, free play in the gym, extra computer time, and lunch with the principal. Kids have LOVED this aspect of the program.

Steps are equivalent to a certain amount of hours in our district.

This is one of the ways to really get school-wide support. Initially, a few teachers were hesitant to give out the tickets. It was just one more thing to do. When their students did not win any prizes, though, they quickly changed their minds. Students talk to each other, and momentum grows quicker than you can imagine! Excitement is key! It really is the small things that matter!

A Little Healthy Competition

The key here is a little. Do NOT get carried away! This sort of thing isn't meant to have winners and losers. By being part of a team though, classmates can motivate those students who might be more reluctant readers. For March, we are having a reading tournament. The class that reads the most this month will advance to the next round. The winning class gets a pizza party!

Recognize Student Achievement

Unfortunately, as a first time leader of the reading program, I inherited a purchased program. There are some aspects of the program that I like, but next year I will change more. This first year, I felt I had to follow the program for the most part. One thing I like about the program is that it recognizes student achievement at an assembly. Students get to stand in front of their peers and be recognized for how much they have read. Students really enjoy this.

Set Goals

We set a schoolwide goal for a certain percentage of students to read a certain amount. Halfway through the year, we had a movie and hot chocolate party to celebrate those students that were halfway towards meeting the goal. At the end of the year, we will have some sort of outdoor party.

Like I said, I am no expert, but I have certainly learned a lot this year. This is a big responsibility to take on, but it makes a huge difference to the kids. The key is working together as a school and inspiring kids to read!

Comparing and Contrasting Text in the Digital Age

2015-01-31T15:04:00.000-05:00

These week I am working on a very important standards with my students: Comparing and contrasting two informational texts about the same topic. In the past, I have had students read two informational texts and compare these texts in their reader's notebooks. With the PARCC test looming around the corner, I thought it was time to venture into the 21st century!

I was lucky enough to attend a workshop earlier this month about using the Microsoft suite to update instruction in this digital age. After the workshop, I was itching to give these new tools a try. This is my first attempt!

For this lesson, I used OneNote. Unfortunately, my district only purchased accounts for the teachers and middle schoolers. Elementary students will receive accounts next year. For this reason, I had to make a few adjustments to my plan.

I created an "online binder" for this lesson. Normally I would assign elements from this binder to my students, but since they do not have accounts, I created a page for each students in my "binder."

To begin, students watched a video about how a robot called the VGo is being used in schools. The students had very little background knowledge about this topic, and the video really sparked their interest.

Then, students read two articles using the OneNote app on the iPad. Both of these articles were about how schools are using the VGo robot. Each article had one question that required students to type a response, while also highlighting evidence from the text.

We continued to use our RACE technique! Then, students created a Venn Diagram on the iPads comparing and contrasting the two texts. As the final activity, students answered a short answer question requiring students to analyze the way information was presented in each text, including the text structure. This answer was also constructed using the RACE strategy on the iPads.

Overall, the students were highly engaged in this lesson. They loved using the iPad for every step of this lesson. They're typing skills definitely need some refining. I am going to continue using OneNote for many lessons in the future!

How do you prepare students for reading and analyzing texts on the computer?

The Role of Technology in Intervention Instruction

2015-01-20T17:23:00.000-05:00

Today I am guest blogging over at Learn2Earn! I would love for you to stop by and let me know your thoughts! I am writing about the role of technology in intervention instruction.

How do you use technology in your intervention groups?

Guided Reading with Chapter Books!

2014-12-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

For the past couple of years, I have been a little unsure about using chapter books during my guided reading intervention groups. I was nervous about the interruptions and breaking up the book too much, and I was also worried about being limited in which skills I could teach.

Now that I look back on it, I have no idea why I was so worried! Chapter books were just what my intervention groups needed! I picked two really great books from my grant this fall. My level L group read Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Uranium Unicorns from Uranus. This is a science fiction/graphic novel that my students were obsessed with. My level M group read Oh No! It's Robert! which has a great mystery that my students did not see coming at all!

Students used this graphic organizer to analyze the characters.

Using chapter books has given my students wonderful opportunities for cumulative review. We were able to practice several different skills at once. Choosing rich, complicated texts is key, though. These two chapter books had complex characters that provided several opportunities for meaningful analysis. The books also had interesting plots with problems, solutions, humor, and fantastic illustrations.

Students used their reader's notebooks to keep track of problem and solutions encountered throughout the story, as well as cause and effect relationships.

We also continued to work on our written response questions. The chapter books gave us so many more opportunities for deep, meaningful questions! My students are getting better with the RACE strategy as well!

Keeping track of all the vocabulary, comprehension questions, skills, etc. can be complicated in these long chapter books. So...I made my own template! I am all about templates! Click on the image above for your own copy of the template!

At first my students were very nervous about reading the chapter books. Some of them even said they couldn't! Most students said they ended up loving the chapter books. They couldn't wait to read what happened next!

What are some of your favorite chapter books to use in guided reading?

The Old with the New

2014-12-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

With PARCC looming around the corner, it seems like we are being asked to do more with less. How are we supposed to prepare our students for the complicated technology tasks they will be asked to complete without the proper equipment? This post is about my attempts to prepare my students for a high tech test with limited resources.

Recently, I have become obsessed with an app called Good Reader. The name of this app doesn't lie, the app really does help your students become good readers! I have been using this app to familiarize my students with several components of digital reading.

How to read using a screen
How to zoom in/out
How to turn the pages
How to read articles (columns, directionality, etc.)
How to mark up the text digitally

I started by selecting a text from EBSCOhost. I added the text to my Dropbox. Then, I had students open the file on an iPad in Good Reader. Students read the text carefully, and we discussed the text. Students were able to use the "post-it" feature to record the definitions of new vocabulary words. We previewed the words and recorded the definitions in the app. Then, students were able to access these notes as they read.

With this first text, I wanted to focus primarily on written response. The acronym my district uses is RACE.

Restate the question

Answer the question

Cite the text

Edit your answer

I wanted to start with the very basics. While all of this new technology is awesome, we also need to remember the basics. Rome was not built in a day. I wanted to take my students to the very beginning of written response. We are building from the ground up.

I began by having students record the question in their reader's notebooks. (Yes, in the future I hope to do all of this on computers, but...baby steps!) Then, my students went back into the text and used Good Reader to highlight or underline where the answer was found. Next, we began constructing our response using the RACE method.

Students then went back into the text and also highlighted/underlined evidence from the text to support their answer. When finished, students had to proofread their answer. All in all, this one question took a very long time. To me it was worth it. Quality over quantity in my book. Slowly, we will continue to transition the whole process to the computer. While I don't have a lot of fancy equipment, one little app on the iPad made a world of difference.

How do you prepare students for PARCC's written response?

Currently December!

2014-12-01T20:37:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe that it is already December! That could be because it is 60 degrees outside... I put up my Christmas decorations and started listening to my Christmas playlists, though. These last three and half weeks before Christmas are going to be fast and furious! The start of a new month also means time for Farley's Currently!

Listening

The holiday season means Hallmark movies to me. Some of them are surprisingly good, and some of them are surprisingly bad. I watch them all, though. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. It's my guilty pleasure!

Loving

I went back to my hometown for the Thanksgiving holiday. While I was there, I found a wedding dress! I love it! It is very light and flowy. My mom described it as sort of Grecian.

Thinking

I am pretty sure I will get observed again before Christmas. With four observations a year, they really have to crank them out. My last one was in September, so I know it will happen any day now! I always play these up more in my mind. They are never as big of a deal as I expect.

Wanting

I do not love the cold. I like snow. Not cold. While I know 60 degrees in December is completely unnatural, I still loved it today.

Needing

There are a lot of decisions to make when wedding planning. I have picked my colors - golden yellow and slate gray. I have a pretty good idea what I want for bridesmaid dresses, I just want to go check them out in person first. I am trying not to pick something too expensive, but there are not a lot of good, inexpensive choices!

Giving

To be festive, I am giving my Snowman Summary Graphic Organizer. Summaries are more fun with a snowman, right?!

I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to!

iPad Apps for Reading!

2014-11-08T14:08:00.001-05:00

This week I gave a presentation on iPad apps at my district. It was a great experience, but very nerve-wracking! Now, I am more than happy to share the apps I use with all of you!

Here is a link to the prezi if you would like to see the entire presentation!

Good Reader

This app is my favorite. It allows students to mark up the text in a variety of ways. Some ways that I use the app include having students tag notes for vocabulary definitions, use the online dictionary feature, highlight important parts or evidence for questions, and underlining. The possibilities are endless, really. This app works very well with Dropbox. I place articles in my school Dropbox account, and then students are able to access the texts. Then, students save an annotated copy of the text back into the Dropbox account so that I can review student work. I honestly cannot say enough things about how awesome this app is.

Record of Reading

I've mentioned this app before. It really simplifies running records. You don't need to prepare copies in advance. You can even take a picture of the text to keep track of the words as students are reading. There is also an option to record the student's voice as they are reading. Most of the scoring calculations are done for you as well. Then, you can send the record to your email or other storage system.

Fluency

This is a great app if you like reader's theater. With this one, students can read scripts you have prepared for them, or students can write their own scripts and upload them into the app. Then, students can record themselves reading the scripts and submit the recording to the teacher. This app requires you to have Dropbox for the scripts and the recordings. The scripts also must be saved as .txt files, but that can be done in Microsoft Word.

Phonics Genius

I really love this app for reviewing various phonics skills. Students can practice different phonics patterns with flashcards or in a game format. The app can be customized many different ways. You can have audio with the flashcards for teaching, audio only clicking on the word, or no audio. For students with phonics gaps in my intervention groups, this is a life saver.

Recording Lite

This is just a simple recording app. I use this app to have students self-assess their oral reading. They record themselves reading and then use a rubric to assess themselves. I later assess the students on the same recording, and together we discuss areas of strength and weakness.

Dropbox

This is just a great app for transferring files between your laptop or desktop and the iPad. I tried Google Drive and One Drive, which are good, but more apps seem to be designed around Dropbox. I have found it much more useful than the other cloud storage apps.

What are some of your favorite apps for reading instruction?

November Currently!

2014-11-02T08:45:00.001-05:00

November is officially here! What a wonderful month! Thanksgiving, time to spend with family, daylights saving time (some plus, some minus there...), and a whole lot of food! It's also time to link up with Farley's Currently!

Listening

I just decided this morning to start watching Gilmore Girls over from the beginning on Netflix. I have a feeling that this is going to destroy any chance of productivity. It is such a great show, though!

Loving

Because of the teacher's convention in NJ, I have Thursday and Friday off this week. We have professional development the other three days, though. That is a lot of learning for one week!

Thinking

I am going on a nice, scenic hike in Pennsylvania today. Right now I am looking out the window. The trees are blowing like crazy. I hope I don't blow away down the trail! We are hoping to catch some nice views of the fall leaves. The Internet claims this is the best time.

Wanting

I am actually leading one of the professional development sessions this week. I am really nervous! I have never lead professional development on my own before! My session is about some iPad apps. I will post more in depth later this week.

Needing

Is it really possible to have enough coffee on the weekends? I am enjoying as much pumpkin spice coffee as possible before it is no longer festive! The stores and commercials have already switched to Christmas! TOO EARLY.

Reading

I can't believe my marathon is only 21 short days away! In preparation, I am reading Once Upon a Runner. The character is definitely a little more intense about running than me, but it is interesting to get into the mindset of competitive runners.

What is everyone else up to?

Quit Sounding Out!

2014-10-24T18:35:00.001-04:00

I don't know about your students, but my little first graders are addicted to sounding out. Fundations is a beautiful thing, but it can become very tedious when students try to "tap out" every single word in the book. I am working very hard to get my students to use other word attack strategies. I made the anchor chart above to help remind my first graders of their strategies. The pictures and colors help all my students, but especially my ELL students.

1. Look at the picture

2. What would make sense?

3. Look at the beginning letter.

4. Skip it, and then go back.

5. Look for chunks you know.

It usually isn't too difficult to get students to use the picture and the beginning letter. Occasionally students forget to match the beginning letter with the picture. We do a lot of activities match new vocabulary words to pictures on the SMARTboard to practice thinking about the beginning letter. The more advanced the books become, the better able students are able to use chunks. The words in the C-D level books are not really made up of too many parts. We do start to think about digraphs, though.

I find the most powerful strategies to be skipping then going back and thinking what makes sense. These are often the most difficult to get students to use. Students are often reluctant to skip words, thinking they aren't "allowed to do that." Once they finally get the hang of it, this is often students' favorite strategy.

To get students to understand how to use these strategies, we do plenty of guided reading with lots of time spent whisper reading. Most importantly, I explicitly model how I think aloud when I problem solve during reading. With each book, I will pretend I don't know a word. Then, we will use our anchor chart to select strategies for me to try. During this modeling, I love using the document camera and SMARTboard.

I am sure plenty of you are familiar with Reading A-Z. They have awesome projectable books for the SMARTboard. You can use a variety of tools to markup the text right there on the board for students. This is also a powerful way preview vocabulary during picture walks. Again, giving students the chance to work on matching beginning letters with what makes sense.

If you would like a copy of the anchor chart, please click the link here. It works well printed as an anchor chart or displayed on a SMARTboard. Enjoy!

What are your students favorite word attack strategies?

The Power of Interactive Writing!

2014-10-11T16:29:00.000-04:00

These past couple of weeks I have been incorporating an often neglected strategy into my intervention groups...interactive writing! In interactive writing, the teacher shares the pen with the students, and they compose the text together. Students are involved in the process of deciding what to write, how to write it, and the actual writing of the piece.

The video above is a great example of an interactive writing lesson. It was produced by the New Jersey Department of Education. The teacher does a wonderful job of sharing the pen with the students. Through this process, she is really able to reinforce a variety of phonics concepts as well as concepts of print.

I was inspired to incorporate more interactive writing into my intervention groups.

My kindergarten students composed a message about Fall. It was in response to a poem we read through shared reading. This message was actually written by all three of my groups. Each group decided what they wanted to contribute. The title was added by the last group. My first group is the lowest. They wrote the first two sentences. You can see that we wrote the words together. They often made the first letter or last letter, since those are skills we are working on. Then, my other groups attempted to write entire words by themselves. This was our first piece, and we still have some work to do. The students were extremely excited about getting a chance to write. They were all desperate for a turn!

I also tried interactive writing with my third graders. I used a laminated piece of chart paper so that it was easy to correct our mistakes We wrote a nonfiction summary together. I wrote the main idea, and they wrote the supporting details. While we were focusing on the skill of summarizing, this also provided a great opportunity to review phonics skills, capitals, and punctuation. I was surprised how many times they forgot their capitals and periods!

I was also surprised how excited they were to be participating in the actual writing. I know many teachers feel this takes up too much time with the older students, but I believe it was a valuable experience. While one student was writing, the other students were writing in their reader's notebooks. There was never any down time. Students were always engaged. They also couldn't wait to get their hands on that dry erase marker! They kept commenting on how they were "playing teacher." While it took more time than just writing students' ideas myself, the payoff was well worth it!

How do you incorporate interactive writing into your teaching?

October Currently!

2014-10-02T06:42:00.002-04:00

October is here! One of my absolute favorite months of the year! I love the fall colors and all of the delicious fall treats!

A new month means time to link up with Farley's Currently!

Listening

It might not be the most excited thing, but I always start the morning with the local news. Around these crowded parts, it is always good to check out the traffic before the morning commute!

Loving

My first observation is already over! Since I had spent most of September testing, I only had one week of teaching my new students under my belt before I got observed. It was kindergarten, too! I think everything went well and I am glad to have it done. Today is my post conference. Fingers crossed!

Thinking

Can you keep a secret? The other reading specialist and I are going to dress up as Echo the Owl from Fundations for Halloween. It is going to AWESOME, but we want it to be a surprise. Now, we just have to actually get it together...

Wanting

One of the tough parts of being a reading specialist is all of the unknown and the lack of control. My schedule changes each year. We are still trying to finish up my schedule, even though I have started teaching already in some rooms!

Needing

I really need to get moving on putting up my fall decorations. I love all of the fun decorations for this time of year. I just have to make sure I don't go overboard. You might say I have a bit of an obsession with fall...

Treat!

I just finished tweaking the lesson plan template for my upper elementary guided reading groups. It is a fillable pdf. I hope you find it useful!

Can't wait to see what everyone else is up to!

How Do You Get Them Ready to Read?

2014-09-20T17:02:00.001-04:00

Now that I am finally finishing up testing and rejoining the world of teaching, I wanted to share how to start off the year with those little kindergarteners before you jump into full blown reading. There are many foundational skills that lay the groundwork for reading later in the year. These ideas can be done whole group, but I use them in my small group guided reading.

First and foremost, it is crucial that students have an understanding of their letters and sounds before they can become successful readers. Since my district uses Fundations, I made a set of matching cards to review letters and sounds with my students. I believe consistency is key. As the year goes on, I slowly wean the students away from the keywords on the cards. At the beginning of the year, the keywords are very helpful as a bridge between the letters and their sounds.

I try to add a tactile component by having students write their letters in paint. (sealed in a ziploc - I am doing this in someone else's classroom after all!) I might tell them the letter name or give them the sound and have them determine the corresponding letter. This is a popular activity with my students.

It is also important that students begin to develop a strong phonological awareness. We practice separate words spoken orally into phonemes. I use magnetic boards as elkonin boxes. In the future, students will use this skill in writing and also the reverse for sounding out words.

Before students begin reading, they need to understand the difference between letters and words. One word students will definitely need to know is their name. Hopefully many already know the letters in their name. We practice putting the letters together to make this special word. We also discuss capital letters.

Shared reading is crucial in kindergarten. We use this activity to go over the concepts of print. We circle words and letters, underline sight words, discuss punctuation, practice one-to-one correspondence, and work on correct phrasing. I use a magic wand because it is cheaper than a teacher pointer and still gets the job done. At first, I do a lot of modeling, but then students begin leading the activity. As we practice through choral reading, students begin to identify many words through repetition.

I also use interactive writing with my students. We write a sentence (often related to the shared reading) together on a sentence strip. As we write, we talk about capital letters, punctuation, spacing between words, and other concepts of print. Then, I cut the sentence up. We put the sentence back together as a group and continue to review these concepts of print.

These are all great activities to get your students ready to read. It is important to have a strong foundation for success in the future!

How do you get your students ready to read?

September Currently!

2014-09-01T10:31:00.001-04:00

Well, it is finally here. It is September. I know many of you are already back in school, but now it is officially time for the east coast to head back to school! A new month also means Farley's Currently!

Listening

I love sitting out on the patio of our new apartment. This morning I saw a fox come out of the brush while I was drinking my coffee. We have seen a family of turkeys in the past. It is funny how you can live off a major state route and see this kind of wildlife!

Loving

I just found out on Thursday that my grant proposal to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation was accepted! The Basic Skills program at my school will be getting its own set of leveled readers! We were approved for $3,000!

Thinking

We start school this week! I am both excited and nervous. It is funny how you can still get those first day jitters year after year. Each year is so different that you never know what to expect!

Wanting

To go along with that last one, who doesn't want to have a great school year?! Here is hoping for a productive, meaningful year of learning and growth!

Needing

One of the hardest parts of going back to school is getting back on schedule. No more staying up late and sleeping in. The first week is always the hardest. I tried to slowly ease myself back in last week. I hope that helps. Thank goodness for coffee.

3 Trips

Oops! Didn't read the directions on this one. Oh well! Artistic freedom, right? I had such an awesome summer this year. I was blessed to be able to take many trips. I went to Las Vegas as a tag-along during my boyfriend's business trip. (No, it wasn't during the TPT conference. :-/ ) Then, I got to go on a cruise to the Caribbean with my boyfriend's family. We went to the Grand Cayman Islands, Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel. It was amazing. Then, my sister got married. I made a couple of trips back to my home in Ohio for the wedding, shower, and bachelorette. It was a busy summer to say the least!

Now, I can't wait to find out what everyone else has been up to! Happy back to school everyone!

Meet the Teacher!

2014-08-12T16:26:00.002-04:00

With back to school around the corner (or now for some!), what a great time to "meet the teacher!" I am linking up with Stephanie from Falling into First for her Meet the Teacher linkup.

I am Amy, a 26 year old Basic Skill teacher in South Jersey. This will be my fifth year teaching. I taught Title 1 intervention in Ohio for three years. Then, I moved to New Jersey last year and taught Basic Skills. Through it all, I have taught Science, Reading, and Math intervention for grades K-5. Last year, I also coached track for the first time ever and loved it.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Coffee - black. Running. Peanut butter. Bananas. Reading. Traveling. Free Samples. Fall. Did I mention coffee?

IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

My career aptitude test in high school said I should be a secret agent. I am the nosiest person on the planet. I love to watch Dateline. I like to think I would have made a pretty good detective. Luckily I chose a less dangerous profession. That doesn't mean I don't use my expert eavesdropping skills. :)

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Organized. Active. Go-getter.

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________, SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"Let's buy more programs!"

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Paul Newman. An amazing actor and philanthropist.

Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

Flying. I hate driving. If I could just fly everywhere, it would be a dream come true.

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

Definitely a morning person. During the school year, I wake up at 5 am to get a good run in before settling in for breakfast and heading to work.

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

I love using games to help reinforce phonics patterns. I am especially proud of this product because I made my own clipart!

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU!

I am training for my first full marathon this November! Let's hope I live to tell the tale.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me. Now head on over and check out the other teacher bloggers!

August Currently!

2014-08-02T15:10:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that it is already August. Summer always flies right by! Luckily, I still have another month! The start of a new month means it's time for Farley's Currently!

Listening

It is a lovely rainy day in New Jersey today. Sometimes it's nice to stay inside and be lazy on a Saturday. It is the perfect day for a warm drink and a good movie.

Loving

Tomorrow I am leaving on a cruise! I am really excited! Some of our stops include Belize and Cozumel. I am also looking forward to seeing some Mayan ruins and my first attempt at scuba diving!

Thinking

Since I am leaving for vacation, I want to make sure my maid of honor speech is finished for the most part before I go. My sister's wedding is the weekend after we get back from the cruise. I think the speech is mostly ready. It just needs some tweaking. I just hope I don't get too nervous and mess it up!

Wanting

Don't get me wrong, I love teaching. I also love relaxing and sleeping in! I feel like I get to catch up on everything during the summer. I have time to see family and friends, and I have to squeeze in all those appointments like the doctor and dentist that I put off during the school year.

Needing

Before I leave on the cruise, I need to pack! I am always afraid I am going to forget something. The liquid requirements for flying are also really annoying.

1st Day

I am lucky enough to still have another month of summer! That is one of the perks of going until the end of June. I am going to really try and savor this last month. Times always goes so quickly during the summer!

I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to!

Pull Out vs. Push In Intervention

2014-07-09T10:29:00.000-04:00

Today I am posting about an issue that is very near and dear to my heart: pull out vs. push in intervention. Throughout my four years as a reading specialist, I have done both forms of intervention. This post centers around my experiences and opinions of these two structures of intervention with some insight from other professionals.

Pull Out:
First, let me share my opinion on pull out intervention. For my first three years as a reading specialist, I primarily pulled out my students. This was a decision made by administration.

Pros:

For the most part, I had control of the environment. We had plenty of space with few distractions in the room. Many of the students receiving intervention services struggle with attention. The quiet environment separated from the busy classroom helped my students focus. Students were able to attend to concepts they might have missed in the classroom.
I had the resources I needed at hand. I had room to put up anchor charts and a dry erase board. There was space for sets of leveled readers, notebooks, and a variety of other supplies. I never had to worry if I had left a supply behind. I also did not need to buy additional sets of supplies to store in multiple rooms.
A change of environment is refreshing. Students enjoyed leaving their classroom and going to a new place. The movement is also beneficial.

Cons:

Travel time. Students must travel from their classroom to the intervention room. (In my case, however, it has never been more than 2-5 minutes.)
Some students might feel embarrassed leaving the classroom. (In my experience, we have had all the students go to different locations for reading groups and services at their level. When we did this, we eliminated the stigma because all the students were going somewhere. It might be to intervention or to a higher level group with another grade level teacher.)
Less time with the classroom teacher. The intervention teacher must find time outside the intervention block to communicate with the classroom teacher. (However, when I push in, my schedule is so packed that there is not time to communicate with the classroom teacher during that time, anyways.)

Push In

While I have done push in intervention all four years I have been a reading specialist, I used this form of intervention primarily this past school year. Once again, this was a decision made by administration.

Pros:

Less time lost during transitions. When I switch groups, the students are able to come to me quickly because I am already in the classroom. Time is still lost in my schedule, however, because I have to travel to the different rooms. I don't doubt that I travel faster than the students, though!
The intervention teacher is able to interact more with the teacher in the classroom. He or she is able to witness the teacher's instructional style first hand.
A more united front is presented for behavioral issues. It is very easy to use the same behavioral system. (Ex. Change clip, flip card, etc.)

Cons:

More distractions. This will depend greatly on class size. With classrooms of 30 children, I had to deal with the distractions of other reading groups, centers, and general classroom interruptions. At some points, I was even distracted hearing other teachers lead their groups! I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the students.
Time wasted putting materials away and setting them up. Once again, this depends on your situation. I was required to store my materials on a shelf and then set up on a group of student desks. I had to clear the students' desks, set up a foldable board, and set up any other reading materials. Then, I had to clean all of these up. This time had to be scheduled into my overall schedule. Time that could have been used for instruction.

As I write this, I realize that these are my opinions based upon my experiences. Other teachers will have different experiences based upon the structure of their schools and classrooms. This past school year, I found that of all my groups, the group that I pulled out grew significantly more than any of my other reading groups.

I find it very interesting that many of the popular names in education advocate for push in, including the well known Richard Allington, but when I looked at popular teaching forums, such as Pro Teacher, the majority of teachers seemed to be in favor of pull out.

After my research, I think this fact illustrates the problem. There is a disconnect between administration and teachers. While teachers should always do what they believe is best for their students, the structure of the school plays a crucial role in the success or failure of the intervention system. Most of the success stories I have heard for push in intervention centered around a strong school wide approach.

As a result, I believe that until all school systems are run exactly the same (which will never happen!), the model that works best for one school will not work best for all. Many factors determine whether push in or pull out is best for your students and your school.

What are your thoughts on pull out vs. push in intervention?

July Currently!

2014-07-01T11:09:00.000-04:00

I almost forgot it was July this morning, until I stepped outside and felt that July heat! The summer is flying by! The beginning of a new month means time for Farley's Currently!

Listening

Back in the day, I was a HUGE Boy Meets World Fan. As soon as I heard they were making a spin off this summer, (Girls Meets World) I knew I had to watch it. I am watching the first two episodes online right now. It is pretty similar to the original, which I like. They are a little over the top goofy, but sometimes you need that. Mr. Feeny even made a small cameo in the first episode!

Loving

Summer vacation is amazing! It is a little hard to believe that it has only been one week! So far, I have been catching up on all the doctors appointments I put off during the year. It has been nice turning off that alarm, though! I am looking forward to many upcoming summer plans!

Thinking

Last week I went to Las Vegas for the first time. I had a great time, but it was so hot! 100+ is out of control! I liked seeing the strip, but gambling wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I guess I just don't enjoy throwing my money away! Now, maybe if I actually won, it would be another story!

Wanting

Like many places in the U.S. this year, we pretty much skipped Spring weather. It just jumped to insanely hot. 90 degree weather just isn't for me. The humidity is the real killer, though. I wish it would just stay in the 70s all the time!

Needing

My sister is getting married in August. As the maid of honor, I am planning the shower and bachelorette party, which are both this month. The bachelorette party includes a few winery tours in Lexington, Kentucky and is pretty much all planned. The shower invitations have been sent, the location set, and the menu planned. I just need to work on the decorations.

4th Plans

For the long weekend, I have a good friend visiting all the way from Ohio! I am really excited! I am trying to plan out all the Jersey/Philadelphia must sees for her. We also have to go to a holiday parade and fireworks! She comes on Thursday, and I can't wait!

I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to!

Comparing and Contrasting Informational Text!

2014-06-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

Comparing and contrasting two texts is a key skill presented in the Common Core Standards, both in literature and informational text. For information texts, students must be able to compare and contrast two texts on the same topic. For literature, students must be able to compare two texts by the same author.

This lesson focuses on comparing two informational texts. With my third graders, I differentiate the levels of the texts for each guided reading group, but keep the essential elements and focus of the lesson the same. I have a majority of boys in these reading groups, so I tried to pick some really high interest science texts. I chose one set that focused on hurricanes, and one set that focused on volcanoes.

For the beginning of the lesson, I introduced the concepts to the students. We discussed what students already knew about hurricanes and volcanoes. I showed short clips on Teacher Tube to spark student interest as well. We also went through the key vocabulary in the glossary. I purposefully chose texts filled with rich text features.

The lesson went on with my normal structure of guided reading. Students continued to practice using their word attack strategies, (See more on those here!)as I went around and listened/assisted each student. When finished, we discussed the key information in the texts, especially the text features. Since it takes a lot of time to read two texts for a comparison, I took this time to review a variety of skills taught throughout the year during our discussion. These skills included cause and effect, text features, main idea and supporting details, and genre.

Once finished with our discussion, we created a Venn diagram in our reader’s notebooks comparing and contrasting the two texts. To keep my students on track, I gave them a specific focus for their Venn diagram. They were comparing and contrasting the two texts, but they needed to include the genres, important content, and text features. In this way, I was continuing my cumulative review.

Then, we had one last skill to practice: using evidence from the text. We are continually working on our written responses. For each set of texts, I came up with a written response question that would require students to use evidence from both texts. This is a skill they will need to master for next year’s PARCC assessments. Students had little experience with this, and we will definitely need to revisit this skill.

Overall, this lesson gave students a great opportunity to review and practice a wide variety of skills, perfect for the end of the school year.

How do you incorporate cumulative review into your instruction?

June Currently!

2014-06-01T17:10:00.002-04:00

It is June! Can you believe it?! Summer is so close, I can taste it! The beginning of June also means...it is time for Farley's Currently!

Listening

I am loving the weather this weekend - mid to upper 70s. It is perfect for sitting on the patio at our new apartment.

Loving

I planted some herbs last weekend, and they are actually starting to sprout! I am beyond excited! I planted some basil, cilantro, and thyme. I can't wait to use them in my cooking this summer. If you look really closely, you might see the sprouts in the first picture!

Thinking

Our school is having a 5k this weekend! I am really excited! My coworker has been doing the Couch to 5k program, and this will be her first 5k. I am going to push her son in the stroller and take it easy while I run. I am mostly there to support her and the kids.

Wanting

I am jealous of everyone out there on summer vacation. We go until June 20th. The last week is half days for students, with the second half of the day as professional development for teachers. Thank you snow days for the extra days!

Needing

I need a haircut. I don't do long hair. I usually keep my hair as a bob, so once it starts flipping out the reverse direction at the end, I know it's time. Last weekend I got desperate and trimmed my own bangs. Thank you youtube videos for your help!

Summer Bucket List

My sister is getting married in August, so that is going to take up a large chunk of my summer. I just want to successfully pull off the shower and bachelorette. So much planning! I also start marathon training in July. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Lastly, I am traveling a lot this summer! I will be back in the midwest for my sister's wedding festivities. I am also heading to Las Vegas at the end of this month and then a cruise in the beginning of August!

Can't wait to hear what everyone else is up to!

Running Records on the iPad!

2014-05-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

Teachers do not have a lot of extra time to spare. We are always looking for more efficient ways of doing things. I recently discovered the amazing ability to take running records on the iPad. We know how important running records are for analyzing our students' reading abilities. Now you can complete them quickly, without wasting time calculating scores. And...you can reduce paper waste!

The app is called Record of Reading. It is published by Clemson University. Now for the best part...it is FREE! Even if you aren't sure if you can give up the paper and pencil quite yet, there is no harm in trying something that is free!

The app opens your standard running record form. You type in the basic information, such as the student's name, age, the title of the book, and the reading level. You have the option of recording the child as they read for future reference. Then, you start the timer once the student begins reading.

As the student reads, you mark their errors and self-corrections. I chose to use a stylus, but you could also just use your finger. You then tap the column for either error or self-correction and mark whether it was meaning, syntax, or visual. (Since this is a higher level text, I did not use the check marks for every single word, but you certainly can make the checks.) When finished, you type in how many words the student read total. The app then calculates the students accuracy rate, self-correction rate, and words per minute. There is also a section to give a fluency score and write comments. Within the app, you save the running record and can send it to yourself as either a JPEG or pdf.

To add a comprehension component, I had my students write a summary of the text in their reader's notebooks. I scanned these summaries and merged them with the pdf of the running record. Maybe in the future, I can have students type on the computer. I just don't have enough computers right now!

Overall, this app cut down on a lot of calculation time. It also cut back on paper waste. My district is pushing very hard to reduce paper usage. I love using the app and would recommend it to anyone! (And, no! I wasn't paid for this post! :)

How have you used technology to save time and paper?

Currently May!

2014-05-03T07:28:00.000-04:00

April went unbelievably fast for me! It was chock full of activities! I am grateful that I made it to May! May is my favorite month of the year. It is warm out consistently, my birthday, and teacher appreciation. It's just an all around good time. It also means time to link up with Farley for her currently!

Listening

Our new neighbors don't ever sleep. They wake up at 4 am, and they are up past midnight! They are really nice, but I don't know how they do it. They are older gentlemen, and I think only one of them works. Maybe they take a lot of naps?

Loving

We just moved apartments, and I am in love. We are in a great little complex. We have a small little patio, a much nicer kitchen, a "den," and a garage that backs right up the apartment. We also have fancy new washer and dryer machines. The community center in the development is great, too. I just bought a yoga mat so I can go to the weekly yoga classes!

Thinking

Last week I ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon in D.C. It was amazing. I had an awesome time. I stayed with my sister just outside of the city. I set a new personal record for myself coming in at 2 hours and 2 minutes! I loved the beautiful scenery and great cheering sections. The best part...instead of a medal, you get a Tiffany's necklace!

Wanting

Now that we have a patio, I want to get some pretty plants to make everything look nice. I think that will be today's activity. I don't really know much about taking care of plants, so wish me luck!

Needing

We have WAY more space than we used to, so we need to fill it up with some great decorations. After the flowers, I think I will be making my way to Home Goods. No complaints here! Just pray I still have some money left in my bank account when I leave!

Surprise!

If you have not heard of The Twenty-Something Teacher, you need to check her out. I love her blog! She includes insight into teaching as well as other areas of her life. She also has a great section where she features teachers. I love her!

Can't wait to hear what is going on with all of you!

Play Ball!

2014-04-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

With opening day last week, I tried to spice up my after-school tutoring with a little baseball fun! We have been reviewing double digit addition with regrouping for a couple of weeks. The students are moving away from the base ten blocks towards the standard algorithm. I am really pleased with the progress they have been making!

I have been using games to help make the addition practice a little bit more fun and meaningful. The latest game we played was baseball themed. It was a big hit!

Students play in teams. They are given a double digit addition problem to solve. Students must solve the problem correctly in order to move a base on the baseball diamond. You can give students points for each base or stay true to baseball and score only homeruns. My students were not familiar with the scoring in baseball, so I just gave them a point for each base.

Students had a score sheet to record their points on. They also had a hundreds chart to help check each other's work. We had a great time practicing trading! (If you would like a copy of the game, you can buy one at my TPT store!)

Some other activities we have been doing to keep double digit addition fresh and fun are...

1. Roll-a-Problem!

Students take turns rolling dice to create double digit addition problems.

2. Relay Race

In teams, students use dry erase boards to race to solve double digit addition problems with regrouping.

How do you keep things fun and interesting when you are reviewing the same skill repeatedly?