Teach123

Repurposing: Tools for the Classroom

2020-10-03T07:46:00.003-07:00

Teachers are always finding new ways to help their students. Repurposing is a great way to find new tools to help your students. Do you have bulletin board border that has seen better days? Border can be cut up and used as bookmarks. Border is colorful and sturdy which makes it perfect for bookmarks.

Baby hangers are great teacher tools. You can buy a multipack at Dollar Tree. Baby hangers make great teacher tools to hang visuals or small anchor charts.

Pedometers are small, useful teacher tools. Do you have students that have the wiggles? Let the student put on a pedometer and walk X number of steps.

Have you repurposed something for the classroom?

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Organize Books, level books, and freebies

2020-06-22T09:47:00.001-07:00

Do you have a system to organize your books? The longer you teach, the more books you collect, which makes it harder to find a specific book when you need it. I have tried different ways through the year. My current way is to organize my books using multiple systems.

Leveled Books

Some of the books that I use with small group lessons are leveled. I use the Level It app or Book Wizard to find the reading level. I shared tips for leveling books plus freebie on my Leveled Books tips post.

Authors of the Month

There are so many children's book authors and never enough time to read all of their wonderful books. Set up an authors' birthday reading station for free choice time. The choice of books will change each month. You can read more about this and grab a free copy of the birthday center.

Build Community with Books

One way to build a sense of community with your class is to take an inventory of your book collection. Put your books in groups or communities that you students might identify with:

Add the books to the lessons that you teach throughout the year. Students who relate to the characters in the books are more engaged and connected with the lessons. You will love the excitement you see with your students when you take the time to do this. "He looks like me!" "She lives with her Grandma like me!"

Friendship - Idea #1

Friendship is a theme that can be taught at any time of the year.

The Sandwich Swa p is a story written Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. Salma and Lily were best friends until they shared their opinions about their peanut butter sandwich and hummus and pita sandwich. It is a wonderful story about looking at something from a different point of view.

My Buddy by Audrey Osofsky is a story about a boy with muscular dystrophy and his friend, a service dog named Buddy. The story shares all of the ways that a service dog helps his owner.

Fluency Passages

The Fluency Check file in the picture above include passages about the special needs community.

Guide Dogs
Henry Wrinkler - author and actor - dyslexia
Rick Riordan - former teacher and author - son has ADHD and dyslexia
Dav Pilkey - author - ADHD
Dr. Helen Taussig - dyslexia and hearing
Sneha Verma - Special Olympic swimmer - Down Syndrome
Patricia Polacco - author and illustrator - dyslexia
Tourette's Syndrome
Clay Marzo - surfer - ADHD

Writing Letters: Morning Messages - Idea #2

Morning messages are a wonderful way to begin the school day. It is also an easy way to teach letter writing format to your class. You can add stories about writing letters or the post office to your plans.

Dear Juno by Soyung Pak is a story about a boy writing (drawing pictures) to his grandmother in Korea. Children who do not live near their grandparents will be able to relate to this story.

A letter of Amy by Ezra Jack Keats is a story about a boy named Peter. He is going to have a birthday party. He wants to invite his special friend, Amy, to the party so he writes her a letter. He has a problem when he is on his way to mail the letter.

Delivering your mail by Ann Owen is a quick read about mail carriers. The book shows different types of mail carriers in different types of neighborhoods. Facts about mail, the history, and links to learn more are shared at the end.

Morning Messages - options

It can be time consuming to write a morning message each day. Have you tried Easy Morning Messages?

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Back to School Read Alouds and Anxiety

2020-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Do you have favorite books that you read the first week of school each year? The pandemic has impacted our community in multiple ways. Before COVID-19, some of your students may have experienced some type of trauma. After COVID-19, all of your students have experienced stress, change, or trauma. Save your favorite Back to School books for the second or third week of the new year. Social and emotional learning lessons should be the focus at the beginning of this school year.

The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul is a timely story. This is a story about a girl's family and what they experience after hearing bad news on tv. The story tells how a young child can help his or her family and neighbors.

There are always a few students that feel anxious at the beginning of the year. This year you may notice more students experiencing anxiety because of all that has happened recently. Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes is a wonderful book to add to your plans. Your students will be able to easily identify with Wemberly, a character who feels anxious about the first day of school.

Let your class make a Wemberly Worried flipbook after you discuss the story. Bonus: This makes a great bulletin board for Back to School Night.

Do you need for social emotional learning (S.E.L.) read alouds? I have compiled a book list you should check out.

Have you tried a feelings journal with your class? It is a great way to take the pulse of your class. It is included with this file.

Don't forget to check out my Back to School book list.

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Teacher Resource Tips

2020-06-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

In a perfect teaching world, we would have all of the resources we need at our fingertips. Wouldn't that be nice? With a little creativity and effort, you can find, make, or get needed resources.

Look around your house, visit yard sales or garage sales. Silicone candy molds or ice molds can be a used in the classroom. This pineapple mold can be used with Play-doh to make patterns, counting, or a compound word center.

Back to School Read Alouds

2020-05-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Do you have favorite read alouds that you share with your class each year? I have some favorites and am always looking for new ones to add to my collection.

Students love the Black Lagoon series by Mike Thaler. Best of all there are books about many of the members of the school community that you introduce your class to at the beginning of the school year. Here are a few examples (affiliate link):

During the first month of school, I recommend reading The Substitute Teacher from the Black Lagoon. Discuss with your students what your expectations are when you are not at school. This will ensure a smooth day for your substitute and students.

At some point in the year, you may get a new student. Keep a copy of the forms, newsletters, and other handouts that you are sending home to parents the first week of school NOW, so you can send them home with the new student. It also helps if you have a supply box with basic supply and an extra desk set up ready to go. You do not usually get advanced notice before your new student arrives. Once you have welcomed your student and he or she is settled in your class, you can read the book, New Kid from the Black Lagoon.

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Struggling Readers: Reading Intervention, Online Games, and FREE Fluency Passages

2018-07-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Using technology with your intervention groups is a win-win! Read Naturally is a program that can be used as an intervention and to differentiate your reading instruction. Each student reads stories at his or her reading level. You can use the data sheet in the picture above to document reading strategies and other important information.

Following Directions & Listening Activity FREEBIE

2018-07-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Listening and following verbal or oral directions is an important skill that many students lack. You may relate to Charlie Brown's teacher after going over step-by-step directions.

Students often hear the sound the teacher's voice is making, but fail to tune into the meaning of the words. When students aren't actively listening, they miss important information that can impact their academic AND behavior in the classroom.

One way you can help your students practice active listening so they will follow directions is with a fun activity called Listen and Draw.

Listen and Draw is a great activity to do with your class at the beginning of the year when you are teaching class procedures. Include these with your plans after breaks as a warmup plus a good reminder about practicing listening and following directions. Grab a free copy of FREE Listen & Draw - Following Directions Activity.

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3 Tips to Solve Pencil Problems in the Classroom

2018-06-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Pencils can be a source of frustration and a waste of class time. Think about how many hours in a school year students spent trying to find, borrow, or sharpen a pencil when you are ready to begin a lesson. Why is this topic not covered in undergrad classes?

Pencil Problem #1: The pencil that doesn't sharpen or the tip keeps breaking off.

Different brands of pencils sharpen different ways. If your school allows it, write a specific brand of pencil on your school supply list. Non-teachers don't realize how much the brand of a pencil makes in the day-to-day life of a student and teacher. My favorite brand is Ticonderoga.

5 tips to help with Teachers' Stress

2018-06-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

What do Tom Cruise and teacher stress have in common?

Click for song: Danger Zone

Teaching is a stressful job. Back to school, the day after Halloween, and parent-teacher conference week are times when you can almost feel the stress in the air of a school. It was during one of these anxiety-inducing times that I began humming the Danger Zone. Do you do that, too? Sometimes when life is a little crazy, rather than get bogged down with feeling overwhelmed, I step back and look at the situation a little differently.

Student Motivation Activity: #Real World

2018-05-25T11:35:00.006-07:00

How many times have you heard, "when will I use this?" when you introduce a new skill to your class? When you hear this, you know a change of mindset is in order so your students will be encouraged to do their best.

Showing your students #RealWorld application for the skills you are teaching will increase their motivation.

Behavior Management Tool - Take a Break form

2018-04-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Do you have a student that has extra energy, has trouble focusing, or a short attention span? Sometimes a short break from the classroom can help. A change in scenery and movement can help the student focus better when he or she returns.

What do you do if you don't have any errands to send your student on?

This is when it pays to be prepared. Ahead of time ask a co-worker if you can send a student from time-to-time that needs a quick break. You will send an envelope with a note with the student so the co-worker is aware of what is happening.

Do you have more than one student that needs to take a break? Copy forms on colorful paper and put each form in a different envelope.

Your co-worker will circle yes or no letting you know if your student entered their room without being disruptive. There is also room that your co-worker can add comments.

Don't forget to add a pen to the envelope. Your teacher friend may be in the middle of lesson and not have a pen handy.

Keep this form for parent-teacher conferences.

Class Break Form

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Leveled Book List, fairy tales, April birthdays of Children's Authors

2018-04-17T16:31:00.001-07:00

Hans Christian Andersen's birthday is April 2nd. He is the author of many fairy tales. April is the perfect month to integrate fairy tales with your other Spring lessons.

Include The Ugly Duckling with your pond life lessons. Science and literature is a perfect combination!

The Ugly Duckling (retold - original version is a higher reading level) Guided Reading level - G

Read fractured fairy tales and compare texts. Let students write their own version of one of the fairy tales that you share.

The Emperor's New Clothes - Guided Reading Level - L
Principal's New Clothes: fractured fairy tale

Guided Reading Level - K

Grab a copy of the Happy Birthday author forms from my February file.

The Princess and the Pea - Guided Reading level - O
The Princess and the Pizza - Guided Reading level - N
The Princess Pigtoria and the Pea - Guided Reading level - N

Martin Waddell was born on April 10th. Some of his books that you might be familiar with are:

Farmer Duck - Guided Reading level - J
Can't you sleep little bear? Guided Reading level - L
Let's go home little bear - Guided Reading level - J

Let's go home little bear would be a good text to compare to Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Eileen Christelow was born on April 22nd. You probably have a copy or two of one of her Five Little Monkeys books.

Five Little Monkeys play hide-and-seek

Her book, Where's the Big Bad Wolf, would be a nice addition to a fairy tale unit. Police Detective Phineas T. Doggedly is looking for the Big Bad Wolf after the pigs' house of straw and house of sticks was blown down.

Where's the Big Bad Wolf?

Guided Reading level - L

Amy Hest was born on April 28th. She is the author of books about ducks and weather. Perfect topics for your April lessons.

In the Rain with Baby Duck

Guided Reading level - J

Off to School, Baby Duck

Guided Reading level - I

Looking for new fairy tale ideas? I just added a fairy tale themed file. Students read the directions and either color the pictures or draw a picture. Then write about the picture.

FREE Fairy Tale - Read & Follow Directions: Princess & the Pea

Grab a copy of the FREE April leveled book list.

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Fairy Tales Inquiry, Reading Comprehension, and Classroom Management

2018-04-13T15:25:00.001-07:00

If you follow me on social media, you know I love books. I love to mail boxes of books to teachers that follow my Facebook page. I love to read books to children and read books in my free time. My house looks like I could open a book store. Can you relate?

Fairy tales is my favorite genre to read to students. These books can be read at any time of the school year. Before you begin a fairy tale unit, set up a table or center with a few objects like the ones in the picture above. I'm sure your students will spot it as soon as they walk in your classroom. Tell your class the objects are clues about the new unit they will begin studying. Ask them to look at the objects to see if they can figure out the objects have in common. What is the theme? This is a great way to build interest in a unit and an easy inquiry lesson. You will hear your students brainstorming with each other if you wait until later in the day to introduce the new unit.

Through the years, I read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka during the first week of school to my students. It is the perfect story to share before discussing conflict resolution, tattling, and other behavior expectations. It is helpful to share this story at the beginning of the year before one of your students want to report an issue. You can remind your student that just like Alexander T. Wolf and the 3 pigs had different points of view, you need to hear both points of view.

Three Billy Goats Gruff is a fun story to act out. Give your students some materials to construct their own bridge. Let them draw and write about their construction in their journals. It might inspire their future career path.

Beanie babies can be a classroom management tools when you are reading a fairy tale. Give a beanie baby to a student that is a good listener. After you read a few pages, let the student pass the beanie baby to another good listener.

Integrate this story with the following lessons:

Word family: -ig
Farm unit
Skip counting: by 3's

Read*Color*Write and Read*Draw*Write printables can be used as reading comprehension quick checks. You can read the feedbacks from other files with this format to see why busy teachers love these.

Fairy tale themed quick comprehension checks.

Would you like to try a sample?

FREE Fairy Tale - Princess & the Pea

Read & Follow Direction comprehension check

Read * Color * Write

Read * Draw * Write

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Famous African Americans: Book List, Word Work and Word Wall

2018-02-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

What's on your bookshelf? Do you have a front facing bookshelf like the one in the picture? I found this one at a thrift store. Most of my schools have had one like this. Use this shelf to feature weekly or monthly themes. Your students will be more engaged with reading when you change books frequently.

February is Black History or African American History month. You can easily incorporate lessons about the contributions by famous African American into your plans.

Girls and boys enjoy reading about Bessie Coleman. She was the first African American to earn a pilot's license. Many classrooms have a word wall. Have you set up a separate word wall for the themes or units that you are teaching? For this word wall, I like to add a picture of the book cover next to the word. Before I read a book to my class, I will choose a few words from the book to discuss.

Whole Group:
Discuss vocabulary words (word cards) - meaning of words, how these words might apply to the book, and use word in a sentence.
Read: Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger to your class.

Word Work - Compound Words:
Hold up "tailspin" word card
Students will write it on dry erase board
Students will draw a line dividing 2 words
Students will think and write other compound words with "tail"

A fabric map like the one in the picture above is an easy way to connect social studies to your read alouds. Students can find the setting of the book on the map.

Is your schedule hectic this month? Begin your day with morning messages about African Americans. There is a sample in the preview file that you can try.

I compiled a list of books that have African and African American characters. You can get a FREE copy of the booklist.

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE.
Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Staff Morale Boosters & Random Acts of Kindness + Freebie

2018-01-24T18:43:00.002-08:00

The end of January is the best time to plan a few morale boosters. Cold and flu season, dreary weather, and upcoming tests can impact the school's climate.

Add a staff morale booster to your faculty meeting. A Sunshine Committee or principal can organize this activity.

You will need prizes. Parents and local businesses are good sources to ask for prizes. There is a parent note that you can send home asking for donations in this FREE download.

Next, put the prizes in bags so staff members cannot see the prizes.

Ask staff members to write their name on a piece of paper and put it in a basket when they arrive for the faculty meeting.
Take a white elephant approach to the prizes. Example, if you have six prizes, the first winner can choose a prize. The second winner can steal the first winner's prize or select a new prize. If he or she steals a prize, the first winner will select a new prize. To save time, you may want to set a limit for how many times a prize can be stolen. This is one of the few times when people do not want to be chosen first because it is fun to steal another person's prize.

Did one of your teammates get "that class"? A little treat or note in the mailbox can make a big difference. I found this sound effects box at the clearance section at Marshall's this week. Wouldn't that be a fun attention getter?

A warm drink is a perfect random act of kindness for this time of the year. Drop of the supplies in the faculty lounge with a note and soon you will see smiles on your colleagues faces.

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE.
Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

February Compound Words, Inquiry Lesson and a FREEBIE

2018-01-18T09:35:00.000-08:00

February is the perfect month to incorporate compound words with your lessons. "Groundhog" and "mailbox" are two seasonal words that students will see in February lessons.

Do you incorporate inquiry activities with your lesson plans? If you have some stuffed animals like the ones in the picture, you could use them for an inquiry lesson. This is an activity for students with prior knowledge of compound words.

Set the stuffed animals on a small table where you will teach the lesson later in the day. Stuffed animals are a kid magnet. Great tool for building interest and getting your students' interest. Your students will notice the stuffed animals as soon as they walk in the classroom. Tell your class that they can look but not touch your "little friends".

If you save this lesson until the afternoon, your students will begin the inquiry process on their own. At recess and lunch, you may overhear your students trying to figure out how something that they play with could be used by a teacher for a lesson. What are they studying (skills) that is like the animals? How are the animals alike?

Ask you students to jot down their ideas about how the animals are alike in their journals or a white board when you begin the lesson. Next, put your class in small groups and let them discuss their thoughts with each other.

Let one person from each group share the findings of the group. Then write the names of the stuffed animals on your white board or a chart tablet. Tell them to LOOK at the words to see if the WORDS have something in common. Discuss with their group. Let one person from each group share the findings of the group again.

TEACHER TIP:
"Hummingbird" was not one of the first few words that I wrote on the list. Some of my classes in the past have confused a 2 syllable word with a compound word. With a lesson like this, some students will begin to count syllables when they see the list and assume syllables is how the words are alike. That works until they get to the word "hummingbird". Going through this process solves the syllable-compound word problem.

After the lesson, you can continue using the stuffed animals:

Team mascots
Classroom management tool: pass out a stuffed animal who is working quietly, turned in high quality work, listening attentively during lessons, or any other behavior you want to reward.
Tell your students that they will pretend to become one of the stuffed animal. Then your students will:

Name the animal character - i.e. Bessie Bluebird, Gideon Groundhog, Buddy Bumblebee,Huxley Hummingbird, Sachi Seahorse, and Liona Ladybug
Write pen pal letters to the animal characters

If you don't have stuffed animals or have the time to gather them, you can do the same type of lesson with books. The following books have a compound word in the title:
You can click on the (affiliate) link for more information

Heartprints by P.K. Hallinan
Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn M. Branley
Cleversticks by Bernard Ashley
Scooby-Doo! Valentine's Day Dognapping by Gail Herman
Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller
Underground Homes by Jeff Bauer
Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin
Harriet Tubman by Susan Washburn Buckley
Titus's Troublesome Tooth by Linda Jennings
Uptown by Bryan Collier
Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards
The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine

Give your students extra practice with compound words. Students can either look for compound words in books (like the books above) or you can give students a topic and see how many compound words they can make about the topic. The picture above are compound words about Valentine's Day.

If you want to make the making words more hands on and engaging for your students, cut the cover of a folder in 3 parts. To do this flip folder activity:

Students lift the first flap and write the first word of the compound word.
Close the first flap.
Lift the second flap and write the second word of the compound word.
Close the second flap.
Lift the third flap and write the compound word.
Close the third flap.
Go to the next line and continue making compound words.
Write a sentence using at least one of the compound above.

Let's Make Compound Words can be found here.

Do your students need more practice? Let's Edit: Compound Words is an activity that students practice identifying compound words, grammar and writing skills. This is perfect for morning work or homework. You can get a free copy of a Valentine themed page in the preview file here.

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE.
Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Handwriting, Numbers, and Valentine's Day

2018-01-05T14:54:00.001-08:00

Once upon in the world of teaching, students were sent to the chalkboard to practice what they were studying. Writing on the chalkboard was a useful tool. Teachers could watch students work math problems before they began their assignments. Mini reteach lessons would happen before students began their assignment. Students learned from other students when they watched other students work on the chalkboard. One fringe benefit of sending students to the chalkboard that teachers may not have realized was the handwriting benefit. Students use different muscles when they write on a vertical surface.

INDEPENDENT HANDWRITING CENTER

You can set up a handwriting center with your easel. Students can pull up a chair and practice writing word wall words, spelling words, numbers, or math facts. Students are writing on a vertical surface and practicing academic skills at the same time. Win! Win!

Do you incorporate music with your lessons? You can use songs like the one in the picture above as a brain break or part of a math lesson. Want to involve your students a little more? Either cut out hearts or use ones like the felt ones in the picture above. I found them at the Target Dollar Spot.

Glue small hearts or put stickers on each big heart.

You can put the hearts on a ring to store them or flip through the ring of hearts when your class sings the song.

You can also pass out the hearts to ten volunteers and let them stand in front of the class holding a heart. Each time the class sings the number on their heart, students will lift their heart.

Students can trace the songs for handwriting practice. You can get a FREE copy the song plus the heart number flipbook.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE.
Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

GOT STRESS? Not enough time in your day?

2018-01-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

Are you feeling stressed? Do you feel like there is never enough time in your day?

The expression, "don't work harder, work smarter", can help with alleviate some of your stress. One of the tasks that took up a lot of my prep time each was writing morning messages. I saw the impact of a quality message and its impact on my students' academic achievement. Unfortunately, I was guilty of not always writing the best quality message when time was limited.

One of my favorite ways to begin my day is with morning messages. But, morning messages are TIME CONSUMING to write each day. I have done it a variety of ways through the years. I began my morning message system when I was preparing for my maternity leave. You can read about the system HERE. At that time, I was writing my morning messages on chart tablet paper each day. I didn't want my long term sub to have to do that each day. I wanted to simplify things for her. When I returned I continued this system because I really liked it. The system is a HUGE TEACHER TIME SAVER!

Each class is a little different - with different needs. With this system, there are task cards like the ones in the picture above that you can use to differentiate or extend the morning message.

There are a variety of morning message files available for grades Kindergarten - 3rd grade. Some are seasonal and others have a topic or skill theme. There are several files that are free so you can check out the system with your class.

Phonics / Early Readers:

Early Readers #1 (20 messages)

Digraph - CH (10 messages)

Digraph - SH (10 messages)

Digraph Bundle - CH, SH (20 messages)

Diphthong - OY - FREE

Themed packets:

Back to School - K/1 (10 messages)
Back to School - 2/3 (10 messages)
Fall Fun - K (can be used in September, October, and November) (10 messages)
Fall Fun - K/1 (can be used in September, October, and November) (10 messages)
Fall Fun - 1st (can be used in September, October, and November) (10 messages)
Martin Luther King Jr.
Winter Olympics - FREE
Black History Month (10 messages)
Chinese New Year - FREE
Father's Day FREE
Cinco de Mayo - FREE
Memorial Day - FREE
Summer
Time (Combo with task cards)
Time
Money (plus game, passages)
Spiders (plus QR Code, Reading Response) - FREE
Sharks (plus Reading Passage, Digraph Activity) - FREE
February (plus Leap Day, Time, Skip Counting) - FREE
Henry & Mudge - FREE

Each of the grade level packets include ten morning messages.
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade

By request, I bundled my September - May grade level packets (links above) into bundles with 90 messages.
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade

By request, I bundled two grade levels together. There are 10 messages of each grade level in these packets (20 messages per packet).

Kindergarten - 1st grade
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May

1st and 2nd grade
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May

2nd and 3rd grade
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May

By request, I am adding more grade level packets for teachers who do morning message daily. You can follow my store or Facebook page if you want to be notified when I add more of these packets. I am selling Volume 2 (10 messages) separately and as a combo with Volume 1 (10 messages) so teachers have the option of having 20 messages. Below are the ones I've finished so far.

Kindergarten
April - Volume 2 (10 messages)
April - Combo (20 messages)

1st Grade
April - Volume 2 (10 messages)
April - Combo (20 messages)

2nd Grade
April - Volume 2 (10 messages)
April - Combo (20 messages)

Morning Messages are also included with my Sub Plans:

Sub Resource Binder

Ocean

Teacher from the Black Lagoon

Early Reader - K/1

March - K/1 - this file includes more than just sub plans.

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE.
Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

FREE Early Finisher Reteach Digraph Sight Words High Frequency Words

2017-12-29T09:41:00.001-08:00

Is "ck" a digraph? I was recently working on a new file that includes digraph printables. When I was shopping for digraph clipart, I noticed that some of the files included "ck" clipart.

I was taught that a digraph was two letters that make a new sound. You do not hear the individual sound of "c" or "h" with a "ch" digraph. The two letters make a new sound.

Teacher Facebook groups are good sources for new and veteran teachers. One of my FB groups includes teachers from different location and wide variety of experiences. The "ck" question seemed like the perfect topic for this group. Sure enough, there was more than one definition for a digraph.

Melissa Lee Bates, a member of the group, shared the second definition. She said this definition is from Saxon Phonics curriculum. Using this definition, "ck" would be digraph.

When you are grading students' work, do you find that some of your students need more practice? In a perfect world, you would pull this student and that student for specific skill work to fill in the gaps. Time to pull materials, time to meet with students, and other issues get in the way when you are in the trenches.

You can set up a early finisher, reteach center or personalize your morning work. If you are like me, you need to clean out your files. Does a teacher really need 12 copies of a specific worksheet? Purge your files for your New Years professional resolution. After purging your files, sort the pages by skills that students typically need to extra practice. Make files by skills (short vowels, long vowels, digraphs, addition, addition with regrouping, etc.) and add pages to the files. You will have more than one type of worksheet in each file.

Students will select an assignment from the skill file that he or she needs to work on. This is an easy way to differentiate your morning work or early finishers. To provide extra motivation for your students:

Let students choose the worksheet from the file.
Set up the center with special supplies like gel pens, 64 count crayons, smelly markers, etc.

Would you like some freebies to set up your reteach center? These printables also work great with your early finishers.

FREE Sight Words and Digraphs

FREE Reading Comprehension

FREE Consonant Blends - TR

FREE Pre-Primer Reading
FREE R-Controlled Vowels
FREE Handwriting
FREE Reading Response
FREE Phonemic Awareness

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Sight Words and FREEBIE

2017-12-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

Whether your school uses Dolch, Fry, or another list of words, your students will spend part of their day studying sight words. Sight word knowledge impacts students' reading achievement.

Recent research has shown the importance of handwriting. The process of writing engages parts of the brain which enhances memorization. This is true for all ages which is why college students are encouraged to take notes by hand rather than typing them on their laptop.

Tracing vs. Writing
Should students trace letters? Tracing letters provides some benefit such as providing a correct model for letter formation. Tracing is good activity when handwriting is the goal. It does not maximize students' learning potential when reading. Students need to write the letters in order to stimulate the different parts of the brain.

Is Handwriting Important?
When I began teaching, handwriting was taught as a teacher directed lesson each day. This was back in the days of the ball and stick method. We did not have a longer school day. To utilize our time effectively, we incorporated other skills with our handwriting lesson. We integrated sight words and facts from our current science or social studies unit into the sentences students were copying.

Why was so much time devoted to handwriting if students already know how to write letters? Conservatively speaking, a 15 minute per day was 75 minutes per week spent on handwriting instruction is a statement of the importance our school placed on this topic. We noticed that students as a whole scored lower in the written part of the standardized test. The test scores of bright, capable students did not reflected their knowledge. Over the course of the school year, teachers became familiar with their students' handwriting. This familiarity with students' handwriting became like a shorthand. Teachers and parents could read the students' handwriting, but it was difficult for an outsider to read some of the letters.

The person grading the written portion of the standardized test had a limited time to grade each test. The grader default was NOT to "assume the best" when he or she could not read the students' handwriting.

Once parents understood that handwriting could impact test scores, they were supportive, which meant neater homework.

Keep in mind this was in the early 1990's when children spent more time writing. Ironically, many schools quit teaching handwriting at the time when children began spending more time on technology and less on writing.

You can read more about how writing enhances learning at the following links:

Integration is key to this! You can easily set up a handwriting center which also includes writing with a simple activity like the picture above or the picture at the top of the post. Students practice tracing letters which is important for learning correct letter formation. Plus, students will write the sight words and sentences.

Make your center more engaging by letting your students use a variety of school supplies such as colored pencil, thin markers, or gel pens.

Would you like to try a free sample?

FREE Sight Words & Digraph

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Christmas Dig Deeper with these Early Finisher Lessons

2017-12-04T14:48:00.002-08:00

Do you have a student that is hard to reach? When I get to the bottom of my teacher toolbox, I usually have one of my Dr. Phil moments. "How's it workin' for ya?". When traditional methods haven't worked, it is time to think outside of the box.

Time in the schedule is like money, there is less of it each year. You have to spend time and money wisely. When I began teaching - long ago when there was more time and money - teachers had more time to include activities that were creative and thought outside the box. As more expectations were added to my plate, I found myself doing fewer of these lessons.

One inside recess day, I gave my kindergarten students die cut letters. I told them that they could flip, arrange, move the letter on the piece of paper that I gave them to create something new. They would finish the sentence "This used to be the letter __, but now it is ___". This activity turned on the switch for one of my students. He had trouble learning his letters with the traditional methods. Once he began to see letters as pictures in his mind, he was able to quickly identify the letters. This thinking outside the box lesson was exactly what he was needing.

Time is an issue. Punching out letters with a die cut is not doable for teachers. I made some lessons using some seasonal things, which is much more time friendly than punching out letters. Collect the seasonal items and use them year after year. I found the mini stockings at Dollar Tree.

You can set this up as a early finisher center or activity. Students love the lessons. You will love how the lessons make your students dig deeper in their thinking.

Want to differentiate the lessons? There are task cards included that you use to differentiate your expectations.

Christmas Brain Trainer

Winter Brain Trainer

Christmas & Winter Bundle

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Christmas and Winter themed Break Break + FREE party kit

2017-12-01T07:35:00.002-08:00

Are you students restless, having trouble focusing, and paying attention? Try to include more brain breaks throughout your day. A few minutes here and there can make a huge difference.

By this time of the year, you may want to try some new brain breaks. This also works well as an inside recess activity.

Dollar Tree has small Christmas and winter theme pillows like the ones in the tub in the picture. You can put your students in small groups (the number of holiday pillows) or use one holiday pillow with your entire class.

Use the pillow to play "hot potato". To play the game:

Students sit in a circle or circles
One person begins the game holding a pillow
Music is played - holiday music will make it more fun
Students pass the pillow to the person on the right, each person continues passing the pillow until the music stops.
The person holding the pillow when the music stops is out of the game.
That person out of the game hands the pillow to the person on his/her right and the music begins again.
Continue until there is only one person who is the winner.

You can train a student to be the person in charge of the music.

Do you have students that do not celebrate holidays this year? No problem, Dollar Tree has a snowman pillow.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Christmas-party-kit-2236324

This Brain Break activity can be used for inside recess or at holiday parties. I have a FREE winter party kit. Click on the picture below if you would like to check out all of the ideas and get a FREE copy.

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Mornings: The First 30 minutes at School + FREE Morning Work

2017-11-30T15:35:00.002-08:00

One of the hardest things for me to figure out as a new teacher was planning for the un-plannable. A parent that has a quick question, a call from the office, or a student throws up. It seemed like so many of these un-plannables happened during the first 30 minutes of school.

The un-plannables have a way of throwing off the rhythm of a teacher and all of the students. I had always been a morning person until I began experiencing the unplannables. I would get all of my ducks in a row and then "BAM!" something would happen that would knock them all down.

I knew I needed to find morning work that students could begin independently and hopefully last 10-15 minutes. The key word is independent. Sixteen of my twenty years of experience has been in either a kindergarten or first grade classroom. Independent isn't exactly a kindergartener or first graders middle name, you know what I mean?

Morning messages are my favorite way to begin the day. Messages include skills that are a review and a stretch for students. The variety of skills is important because classes will always include students that have a range in skill that is larger than we would prefer.

Students begin their morning message after they put away their backpacks and other morning tasks. They will complete as much of the message as they can independently. My favorite "I" word.

After taking attendance, lunch count, and dealing with unplannables, I go over the message with my class. Although students know they do not have to finish the message during the work time, I do expect them to try their best to answer as much of it as they can.

Students may not be able to answer everything. We will go over the message together at the end of the work time. Something that seems hard today will seem "easy peasy" another day. All it takes is a little practice.

Messages review important skills. You will find skills that may be introduced earlier than you teach them or above grade level. This is why I think my students bloomed when I began using this method of morning messages.

Skills are reviewed day in and day out. We went over the message together at the end of our morning work time. Students could correct their message if they made a mistake. That immediate feedback is important.

A mini lesson is like a t.v. commercial. Students retain information from commercials because they are short and repeated. It is so effective that companies spend millions of dollars and Congress passed the Children's Television Act which regulates the minutes of commercials during children's programming.

You will be surprised when you see some of your lowest performing students begin to bloom when you incorporate morning messages. When I wrote messages on chart tablet or on the white board, I found that:

There were days that I forgot to write a message. Oops! There goes the schedule.
My messages were not always the best quality.
My students were looking at MY message but did not have THEIR own copy of the message which meant more off task behavior.
Students did not have a copy of the message for fluency homework.
It was crazy time in my class when the unplannables happened at the beginning of the day.

Send home the message for fluency homework. Perfect when you have an assembly, field trip, or other activities that prevent you from meeting with your reading groups.

Would you like to try a week's worth of FREE leveled morning messages? Click here and let me know on TPT what you think.

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Behavior and Work Habit Tips - Winter theme

2017-11-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

A change in weather can change your students' behavior and work habits. When that happens, it is time to try something new.

Do your students ask you questions about something you just finished explaining in step-by-step detail? When you notice this happening, change how you ask for your students' attention.

Most of the attention getters that teachers typically use are verbal. Try using a noise maker like a train whistle when your class has seasonal wiggles. You can find whistles like the ones in the picture at stores like Dollar Tree, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby.

Your class may become talkative during the change in climate. Try planning more partner or group activities. Yes, they are still talking, but you are choosing the topic of their discussions. You can pick partners or groups using seasonal shapes like the snowflakes in the picture above. Each shape represents one group or partner set. Cut the shape into the same number of students you plan to have in each group. Pass out the pieces and give your students time to find their partners or group members. Extra bonus with this activity is it works as a wiggle break.

Have you lost some of the pieces to a set of calendar numbers or small shapes? You can repurpose them into a classroom management tool. Put the pieces in a bag or box. Let your students draw one out of the bag or box before you begin a lesson. You can use the shapes and calendar numbers when you want to form cooperative groups: (example)

Green trees will meet in the library corner.
Snowflake #1-6 will meet near the computer center.
Mittens will meet by the math center.

Change in season means a change in work habits. You may find more incomplete assignments and work turned in that is less-than-the-best quality work. You can motivate your students with this quick and easy way to showcase top quality work. A string of twine with clothes pins is the quickest way to do this. You can add this in your classroom or hallway.

There is something magical about Scratch 'n sniff stickers. Add one to the papers you display and all of your students will want to have their assignment featured there.

What do you do when the seasons change your students' behavior?

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Glue Tips & Freebie

2017-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Procedures, procedures, procedures . . . it seems like there are so many rules, procedures, and expectations to teach at the beginning of the year. You will thank me later if you add glue to your "to do" list. One year I skipped teaching glue procedures and expectations at the beginning of the year. I had moved from first grade to third grade that year so I didn't think it was necessary. Wrong - - - very wrong! The first assignment that involved glue was a big mess. Take the time to show your students your expectations.

How do you open the glue?
How do you close the glue?
How much glue do you use?
Where do you store the glue?

Have you seen this video by Tricia Fuglestad? It is a great video to show at the beginning of the year. It covers all of the common glue issues that happen in the classroom. It is only 3:30 minutes and well worth the time.

You can prevent clogged glue tips by rubbing a little bit of petroleum jelly inside the tips. The quickest way to do this:

Sit at your teacher table.
You will need a pair of pliers, jar of petroleum jelly, and Q-tips.
Call one group of students at a time. Each student will bring a bottle of glue.
You will take off the glue tip with pliers.
Students will take a Q-tip and dip it in the petroleum jelly.
Students will rub the petroleum jelly inside the glue tip.
Students will put the glue tip back on the glue bottle and close it.

It is helpful to let primary students practice glue skills before they need to use glue with an assignment. Colorful glue is helpful when practicing this skill. You can make cheap colorful glue with food coloring. I use glue from the year before for this project. It is easier to mix if there is only half a bottle of glue. I used 10 drops of blue food coloring in the bottle below.

You can easily see the glue when it is colorful. When white glue dries it is clear.

In the FREE assignment above, your students can practice putting dots in the boxes. You can also have your students put a dot of glue where he or she began writing the numbers. Great way to reinforce writing skills.

Have you heard the news? My friends and I are hosting a Stock Your Classroom giveaway. We realize that teachers spend too much personal money on their classrooms. Each of us are giving away different school supplies so make sure you visit each blog.

I am giving away a gallon of glue and small glue bottles. Small glue bottles are great for small hands. I also like to use them in centers.

Gallon of glue

Small glue bottles

There are two ways to enter my giveaway:

Sign up for my newsletter. Already get my newsletters? No problem. Whether you sign up now or you signed up earlier, you can tell me the email address that you used on the rafflecopter below.
Follow me on Pinterest. Already follow me on Pinterest? No problem. Whether you follow me now or you followed me earlier, you can tell your Pinterest URL.

Enter the giveaway October 1-5.
I will email the winner and announce the winner on my FB page on October 6th. The winner has 48 hours to answer my email. If no response, I will choose a new winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit my friends who are also giving away much needed school supplies and sharing teacher tips.

Fern @Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas- giving away markers
Megan @Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade - giving away Flair pens
Amy @Learning Lessons with Amy Labrasciano - giving away crayons

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