Kindergarten Whale Tales

Organizing Guided Reading

2014-11-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

Now that are guided reading groups are in full swing, managing all of the materials becomes a bigger challenge. With some many kinders at different levels, differentiating their instruction {and materials} becomes even more critical. I hope you find some of these tips useful in your classroom as much as I do.

The Guided Reading Table

Having a table big enough to comfortably fit all of your students is very important. I love using a table this shape as it keeps me close to all of my little learners. And YES! We use ball chairs in our classroom so "sitting" in their guided reading group is no different.

Lesson Planning Binder

Lesson plans need to be organized as well. Each group has a daily lesson plan behind their tabbed divider. The pocket in the tabbed divider allows me to put a copy of their most current book as well as notecards for letters, letter sounds, and sight words they are working on.

My wonderful teacher friend down the hall created this lesson planning template. You can find some similar templates in her Guided Reading Template Pack. I am able to highlight the standards I want to focus on and am able to jot down quick notes for each student. This way I can see patterns of strengths and weaknesses for each student.

Guided Reading Materials

Each leveled group has their own basket for materials I use. I have found the easiest way to organize is to place each set of materials in a gallon size bag even if it is small. The little stuff tends to get buried at the bottom if I don't. I also placed a cup inside of each basket. This has been a huge help as I have been using more fluency strips with my students as a warm-up. It keeps them super easy to access in a hurry.

On my wall I have attached these organizers. They are by 3M and use the little strips that don't harm walls. Hooray! They surprisingly hold a great deal of weight and materials. Here is where I store all of their fluency mats I use on a daily basis. The mats are bound together so students just need to take a pack and a pointer and are ready to begin groups. These are located on the wall right behind my table which keeps everything in arm's reach.

Guided Reading Tools

Located on a bookshelf right behind my table are more tools I use for guided reading. Some fun pointers and listening phones on the wall keep reading interesting. A slinky is used to stretch out and blend words. The fuzzy sticks were a gift. I sometimes use these around my wrist to help give a visual clue for students who like to ~~interrupt~~ tell me their stories. When my group is done and we are ready to switch, I turn on our cleanup song. Within 3 minutes we are cleaned up and ready to go!

On another shelf that's easy to reach from my table, I store my dry erase supplies. The grey bucket is a dish pan from WalMart. It fits our small boards perfectly. The organizer on top holds all of the erasers (socks and washcloths), markers, and lined whiteboards. All I need to do is place the whole basket on the table and my kinders are able to quickly get what they need.

This unit stores all of the extra supplies like paint bags, letter magnets, and wikki stix. These are supplies that I don't necessarily use on a daily basis, but I still like to have close by.

Assessments & Data

Each student has their own assessment packet that contains our district-wide assessment for each of the Indiana State Standards. Our standards are new this year, so our assessment had to be switched up a bit from the Common Core assessment we had been using. You can find our Common Core Math and Literacy Assessment Packet here. I keep track of their skills on my clipboard and plan for any intervention from that data. It works super smoothly since I can pull from these assessments at anytime during our guided reading groups.

I hope that I was able to give you some ideas for organizing your guided reading groups and materials. I'd love to know what works for you!

A Brief Peek into My Second Home...My Classroom!

2014-09-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

I know most of us feel like this. We spend so much of our day in our classroom, and we want to make it cute, functional, and best for our students as well as ourselves. In the weeks leading up to the first day of school, I spend a great deal of time thinking of how I can change my classroom and what part of the room I'd like to update for the next year. We are so lucky that we can leave things up on our walls. Our awesome custodian will even move all of our tables, chairs, and large items for us. When I got to school this year, my classroom looked like this.

After a "few" days and a little bit of magic, it looked like this.

This is my whole group area with the Smartboard and document camera on top of a student desk that I added chevron contact paper to the top. We love our fish carpet! Whenever we need to be in a circle, I tell them to sit behind a bubble and it works perfectly.

Believe it or not, I don't have a bulletin board here and have had to create one using a little bit of double sided sticky tape and duck tape. The wall is HUGE, and I couldn't let it go to waste. Here I put our Whole Brain Teaching posters. That also reminds me that I need to put those up as a freebie in my TpT store. I also have a place for my birthdays at the bottom. I take a picture of students who have birthdays in each month. On the right is a place for student work. I hot glued a clothespin up for each student. Then when they finish a project, I simply clip it up. SOO easy!

Under my gigantic wall, I have a long countertop that is kinder height. It makes the perfect place to put things that are at their fingertips daily. Each of their names is on a removable binder clip which definitely gives my mailboxes a little less wear and tear. Next to that are my math zone practice zone drawers for guided math. They are gradually getting filled up with more and more choices as I introduce and teach each choice. Below the counter are some cupboards and drawers. I had so much fun creating these supply labels for these drawers this summer. Now I won't be opening and closing each drawer because I can't remember where I put the erasers!

The Library

Such a labor of love. It took for.ev.er to sort and label all of the books in my library. But after getting the idea several years ago from my favorite teacher blogger friend, Leslie, from KindergartenWorks I knew I had to make the time. Each book is labeled with a little sticker that matches the basket label. I only put out 8 baskets for them to choose from at a time. The rest I will rotate through to keep things fresh. This year will be our first year using the Fontas and Pinnell reading levels, but I at least have many books labeled and ready to go for independent reading. Hopefully my students this year will like their cozy little library nook.

These are their independent reading baskets for guided reading and our literacy centers are stored below.

If you are familiar with Whole Brain Teaching, you'll recognize our Super Improver Wall. I started using WBT last year after attending a WBT conference, and it has changed my teaching. Each student has a card with their name on it in ten different colors. Each card has a spot for ten stickers. Stickers are given for showing improvement in just about anything. Students also use these pockets to collect "wisdom cards" which are given for following our five rules. Last year I used these pockets for students to put practice cards in as well, but I haven't felt the need to implement that yet this year.

Environmental Print Word Wall

Our kinders get so excited when they see words in our classroom that they can already read. At the beginning of the year, I have students bring in examples of environmental print for our class word wall. They love it! I loved these large letters from Cara Caroll.

That sums up our classroom for the most part. Where do I do guided reading and guided math? Where do students sit? Stay tuned for a future post specifically on those two parts of our day and classroom. I hope you have a wonderful start to your school year!

Beautiful Girl!

2012-06-18T07:52:00.003-07:00

Well, it has been quite a while since I updated my blog (almost a year--eek!), but I have been busy, busy, BUSY! Last year around this time I found out I was expecting another wonderful addition to our family. Since this may be our last little one, I wanted to devote my free time to enjoying my pregnancy and embracing every moment of it.

On February 25, 2012, we welcomed our second beautiful little girl, Teagan Grace, into our family. She was 7 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 inches long. She is quite the little blessing.

Life has been full of fun since then, and I have been enjoying being at home with my two girls. My maternity leave lasted right through the end of school, so I have been able to enjoy an extra long maternity leave and summer vacation.

I will be returning to teaching Kindergarten in the fall and am looking forward to it. I've been pinning a lot of great things on Pinterest this summer and am looking forward to doing some new things in our classroom. Hopefully I will find a spare moment to come back to the blogging world on a regular basis.

I hope everyone has a spectacular summer!

Christmas is Right Around the Corner!

2011-07-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

In July that is! Christmas in July is coming and our TpT store is having a 20% off sale on Monday. Be sure to check it out!

We have a winner!

2011-06-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Kelly! You have won your choice of literacy centers from KindergartenWorks as well as a $5 gift card to Starbucks. Please e-mail me at kindergartenwhaletales@gmail.com to claim your prize. Thank you to all that have supported and followed Kindergarten Whale Tales as well as everyone who entered our giveaway!

First 100 followers....time for a GIVEAWAY!

2011-06-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled at how much I have enjoyed blogging over the past 5 weeks. I am shocked by how quickly I have gained 100+ followers. Thank you so much! To celebrate 100+ followers following this blog, I will be hosting my first giveaway!

The lucky winner will be chosen on Monday evening (June 13th) when I return from my Vegas vacation! This lucky winner will receive their choice of one of KindergartenWorks' fabulous literacy centers and a $5 gift card to Starbucks! These literacy centers are created by my favorite teacher friend who I am blessed to work with daily. She helped me to implement some of these centers in my classroom this year and the results were incredible. After helping me to start a TpT store, a blog, and answer my crazy oddball questions every day, she also graciously offered to be part of my first giveaway. She's amazing! There are many ways to enter. Just make sure to leave a comment on this post telling what you have done to enter:

*(one entry) Follow Kindergarten Whale Tales and KindergartenWorks.
*(one entry) Follow Kindergarten Whale Tales on TpT.
*(one entry) Add KindergartenWorks to your fav. shops on TeachersNotebook.com
. (You will need to register and click on one of the products. Then click "Add to your fav. shops" on the right. Check out this site, too. It's kind of like TpT.)
*(one entry) Blog about this giveaway. (You may use the image above if you would like.)
*(one entry) Grab each of our blog buttons.
*(one entry) Add us both to your blog feed.

Thank you so much for your support and good luck!

My Word Walls

2011-06-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

I'm joing Ms. M's linky party as my very first time as a participant! Yahoo! Even though it's the end of the year and I already took one of them down, I decided to put all the words back up just to take a picture for this. Here is my sight word "popcorn" word wall. We learn songs to learn how to spell each of these words over the course of the year. Then they go up on our wall. I also put the students' names on this wall but have taken them down already. There are magnets on the back for when I was in my old room that had a magnetic white board. I had to improvise this year and had to use those sticky clips instead to make the words moveable. That way my thinkers can take the words down to work with them if they need to.

We also have a sight word popcorn game that we play with these words that I have blogged about below. I plan on sprucing it up a bit more with a colored background next year. With moving classrooms this year, it was not a top priority.

My other word wall is on the opposite end of the room on our closet doors and is an environmental print word wall.

At the beginning of the year, many kinder thinkers are nervous because they don't know how to read. I help them to ease the transition into reading and help them to see themselves as readers through a unit on environmental print. For this activity, students are sent home with a baggie and are asked to bring back 5 environmental print words that they cut from boxes, magazines, wrappers, and newspapers. Since they can read these words, they begin to see themselves as readers.

Then we spend some time figure out what letter to put each item underneath. They love this word wall especially in the beginning of the year. They also use it throughout the year when they are finding words around our room to write down during our read the room write the room center.

So there are my word walls. I'm looking forward to checking out some other blogs who link up for Ms. M's ward wall linky party!

Thank you! Thank you!

2011-05-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked over at my blog roll and saw my name. Yippee! It's my first giveaway (officially) that I have won from a blog. Thanks to What's the Buzz in 1st and Stepping Into First Grade, I have won some awesome character units.

Be sure to check out their units on TpT. They're great! I will be actually giving them to my wonderful husband as he teaches 1st grade and these will be perfect for his guided reading groups next year. (Maybe I can even convince him to start his own blog this summer!)

I also wanted to say thank you to a wonderful teacher blogger from Florida who gave away this AMAZING sea life canopy on her blog a couple months ago. Believe me, my kids are crazy about this canopy and love to tell others how it came all the way to Indiana from Florida! My wonderful teacher friend (KindergartenWorks) won it and gave it to me. How wonderful is that! I felt very special that day that this showed up in my classroom. I can't wait to find a good spot to put it in my room next year. So thanks again, Leslie!

Seriously though, you teacher bloggers are INCREDIBLE! I have been so inspired by all of you this school year. Your dedication to the teaching profession is a breath of fresh air (even though I am very blessed to work with a wonderful staff). So thank you to everyone for your ideas and your excitement shared through your blogs.

Also, thanks to my followers. I'm getting close to 100 and will be doing a little giveaway. =)

Kindergarten Memories

2011-05-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

We all have our own memories of kindergarten. Maybe it's about who we played with or what our favorite snack was or even what little boy chased us on the playground! Either way, I'm sure most of us have positive memories or our year in kindergarten. I get so excited knowing (or hoping!) that I am a part of my students' memories as well. To help them remember cute little things later in life, I created a Kindergarten Memory Book for their end-of-year gift. I hope they will treasure it in the years to come. My thinkers are excited every time we get to work on this book because it's all about themselves!

I hope that you will snag a copy of our Kindergarten or First Grade Memory Book for your own classroom as well.

Leave me a comment about your favorite memory of kindergarten!

Our butterflies are emerging...

2011-05-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

but I'm not ready to let them go yet! Literally speaking, our classroom butterflies have begun to emerge from their chrysalises. My thinkers are so intrigued that it's difficult to get them to do much else. I hope we get to watch one the moment it emerges in the next couple days when its wings are crumpled.

Here's one of my little thinkers working hard at recording his data in his butterfly science observation book. He was so excited to report that his butterfly emerged!

My own little butterflies (my thinkers) have really shown me their true colors the past two days during our end of the year testing. I am blown away with how much they have grown this year! With one child in particular I got a little choked up and it brought tears of joy to my eyes (not joking!). She asked what was wrong and I explained to her that sometimes teachers (like mommies) cry when they are happy and proud! She beemed the biggest smile. THAT is why I'm a teacher! Even though I know they are more than ready for 1st grade, I'm going to have a hard time letting them go.

I know they will feel the same way as they let their butterflies go next week.

A Metamorphosis

2011-05-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

There was an ecstatic BUZZ going around our classroom this morning! (It could have been the appearance of the mobile SMARTBoard, but I think it was all about the caterpillars today.) Something "magical" had happened to our sweet little caterpillars overnight. They pupated and are in their own chrysalis!

Last year, my wonderful teacher friend I am blessed to work every day with at KindergartenWorks got me started in growing butterflies in our classroom. (Be sure to check out her post about this awesome experience in her classroom as well. Our kindergarten thinkers are so cute when they get to talking and realize that they are studying the EXACT same thing too...haha!) It is truly magical watching this through their eyes. My thinkers have really enjoyed taking care of their little friends and trying to guess when they will change. While some of their guesses may be a little off the wall (May 35th?), most of them have really been using what they learned in our nonfiction study of butterflies to give a pretty accurate prediction.

My thinkers have really gotten a "kick" out of recording their observations in their butterfly observation books that I created for them to use during this study. They have really felt like scientists and are eager to write down their observations when a significant change has occurred. Be sure to check this out to use in your classroom as well:

I can't wait until I get to see their cute little expressions as they watch their butterflies emerge. A few days after they emerge, each student gets to release their butterfly. Even though it is CRAZY to get a picture with each of the students holding theirs (or what they whole-heartedly think is theirs), it is such a great memory to preserve for them.

This is one of my favorite units to do with my soon-to-be 1st grade thinkers before I let them go for summer vacation. I can't think of a better way to end the year!

Dollar Well Spent

2011-05-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you have probably seen these hanging out in the dollar section of your nearest Target, but if you haven't, go get a couple now. This is the best dollar I have spent in a while. My kindergarten thinkers have been getting a little bored with their same old games in one of their centers, so I wanted to introduce a new option for them as we wrap up the year. They LOVE this popcorn sight word game. I have included all of their sight word (popcorn words) in this game and have thrown in a few new words as well for a challenge. I literally have thinkers jumping up and down in excitement for this game. Hil.ar.i.ous! While my blog and TeachersPayTeachers site gets up and running, I'd love to offer you this game for FREE!

New Blogger!

2011-05-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hello blogging world! After many months of checking out some super fabulous teaching blogs, I've decided to add my own. I'm excited to share some of my own creations as well as sharing how I have used some of the fantastic ideas I have found from other bloggers.

Now I just need to figure out how to center by header and make it bigger. Oh the joys of blogging!