Gigantic Pack of Vowel Activities

I just posted a huge unit on TpT. It all started when I first saw some cute short vowel songs. Except that after I read them, and tried to sing them, I realized that I really didn't like the words! Haha. So I changed the lyrics. And then I thought, "Why wouldn't there be long vowel songs, too?" So I made those. And then I made posters, and student pages, and materials for interactive journals and pocket chart cards and all of a sudden, I had 91 pages of vowel goodness.



I tried to incorporate a variety of vocabulary words ... and also different spelling patterns for the long vowel sounds. The graphics are adorable, and I included suggestions for use. All the songs are sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques."

Check it out HERE.

 

 

Close Reading

Last week I presented a professional development session on Close Reading to my own staff. Though I've presented dozens of times before, I was nervous this time. I like to have some knowledge of my audience and their needs, and I felt pretty uninformed. Because I started at my school at the very last minute, I hadn't even met all the teachers! And I was presenting to all teachers, K-5.

I was provided with a partner, who would present with me. That made me even more nervous, because I hadn't met her until two days before the presentation, either! It can be challenging to present as a team, especially the first time.

As it turned out, I needn't have worried at all. It was a great day, great presentation, great audience! I was amazed that my partner and I worked together fabulously, as if we'd done it many times before.

So have you had a chance to learn about Close Reading? Not even sure exactly what it is?

Watch this: VIDEO of Douglas Fisher

Read this: ARTICLE by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

Read this: ARTICLE from ASCD

And if you're hungry for more, order this book:



 

It's a great resource!

Close reading is just what it sounds like: Reading something closely. Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, but a name that matches the strategy is a great start!

When teaching a Close Reading lesson, there are a few components to keep in mind.

1. The lesson should use short passages. Of course the definition of "short" varies, depending on the age of the students. For my kindergartners and first graders, a few sentences can be appropriate, but for older students, it might be a few paragraphs. The text can be something that stands alone, or it can be an excerpt from a longer piece.

2. The text should be complex. The whole point is to help students learn skills and strategies for deep understanding, so the text should be challenging.

3. The teacher should provide limited frontloading. In recent years, there have been times when teachers have been encouraged to spend a lot of time helping students get ready to read. But in a Close Reading, students are expected to do more of the work. There may be texts that require a bit of frontloading, but there shouldn't be too much. Students are learning how to understand text on their own.

4. There should be opportunities for repeated readings. Students should read and re-read and re-read. Each time they read, students will have gained a little more background knowledge from the previous reading, and they will understand more.

5. The teacher should be asking students text-dependent questions. This is all about providing evidence from the text to support their answers, which is what the Common Core Standards are all about.

6. The students should be annotating what they read: highlighters, Post-It notes, circled words, and notes in the margin are all appropriate! This is one piece of the Close Reading lesson that requires some guidelines ahead of time! If students don't know what to highlight, they might highlight everything! I began my close reading lessons with a mini-lesson on how to highlight, especially the idea of one line, not "coloring." If older students will be numbering paragraphs to aid in discussion of a text, they'll need to know how to number paragraphs (in our presentation, a few teachers didn't number the paragraphs correctly, which led to confusion!)

One part of all of this that some teachers expressed a little anxiety about: asking text-dependent questions. I created this handy bookmark/guide that teachers can use to help them generate text-dependent questions. It's perfect for the Common Core!



You can download a copy HERE.

Have a great Monday!

Where Did the Week Go? Rain, Math, Library Mouse, and Essential Questions for Kindergarten!

Last week flew by... I was so ridiculously busy that I barely had time to do anything! It was a "Jamba Juice for dinner one night, and Freebirds for dinner the next night" kind of week! I've got some delicious vegetarian curry simmering on the stove right now. I'm already planning meals so I won't be wandering the aisles of Whole Foods with the "Five O'Clock Crowd," wondering what's for dinner next week!

Yikes!

I had so many meetings last week! A few conferences with parents just to check in, a couple of district meetings regarding evaluations and Common Core Language Arts (one of my FAVORITE topics!) and a grade level planning session with my amazing kindergarten team! I got home so late every night it was nuts. And I was just getting over whatever cold/virus my sweet little students shared with me so it was exhausting.

But that's okay. I'm recovered and ready to go!

Today, I spent some time with my husband and two of my kids, took a drive across the new Bay Bridge...



...had some quality time with Rose Kitty...



... and ran three miles. Funny... I had decided not to run outside today. I love the beautiful streets and trails in my town, but I love the data that the treadmills at the gym provide, too! So I opted for the gym. Good thing...



It started pouring! It just so happened that I was on the treadmill by the window, so I snapped a picture of the pouring rain while I ran. Silly, yes! It's been so long since it rained, I had forgotten what it looked like!

So last week... a few highlights...

Math journals... we have been working on shapes, and I created this little activity for my students to glue into their math journals. Specifically, we've focused on standard K.G.A.2 for the kinders and 1.G.A.1 for the first graders. For this journal page, I created a little "lift-the-flap" activity. Students listed defining attributes on the front, and then drew objects from the world that were the same shape underneath each flap. They loved those little flaps! Magical!



This is a picture of the supplies that I keep handy when I'm working with small groups during guided reading. I also squeeze a little guided writing into that time, and sometimes we create a small book together. A friend had asked for a picture of my basket o'goodies, so I thought I'd share here, too!



In that basket: scissors, glue, pencils, markers, highlighters, crayons, twistables, and paper. Also in there is a white board that I can use and some little handwriting "write and wipe" notebooks that I picked up at Target last year for a dollar each. Money well spent!

And a great moment from last week... my youngest daughter re-created the tissue box/meet the author box from Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk.



 

Just like in the story, I put a sign on the door of the classroom that said, "Meet the Author Today," and I left out some tiny books, tiny pencils (golf pencils and a few short ones I had saved for this!) and the box.



I tucked a little mirror inside the box, just like Sam did.

And when my students came in the door that morning? What happened, you want to know? Well, they went absolutely nuts! They peeked into the box over and over again all week long, and they never stopped looking for Sam. I just love that they feel so connected to a book!

And the last little thing today...

I created a set of Essential Questions for the Kindergarten Common Core Standards! They are pretty adorable, if I do say so myself! I spend a long time getting every little graphic just perfect!



The set has a question for every single standard, and the strands are color-coded. And to save space in our classrooms, the questions are just the right size for posting in pocket charts! A giant blank wall won't be necessary!

Click on the cover page above, or click here to get your copy!

Have a great week, friends! If all else fails... remember that a smoothie from Jamba makes a great, quick dinner!

 

Common Core Math: The Calendar

I just finished this big pack of goodies for primary classrooms. Calendar activities are still an effective way to teach Common Core skills. The only thing... some of our old calendar routines need a little tweaking!



 

I created this file full of printables that you can use during your calendar time. Instructions are included, and the activities are Common Core aligned. Even my good friend who is a *pro* at innovative calendar activities found some new ideas! Click HERE to get your copy!

Have a great week! Tomorrow is our ninth day of school!

Tons of Ten Frames

Okay, I admit it. I can be ridiculous.

Here is a perfect example.

I created a gigantic set of ten frames...one for every month in the school year, plus some extra thematic ones, plus one with a cute Pete-ish cat, plus one for Earth Day, plus one Cat-in-a-Hat-ish, plus one with a beach theme, plus more. Seriously?! Yep, I'm afraid so.

I made two versions of each theme, too. The first version has two ten frames on a page. Each page is meant to be cut in half (I included a dotted line for cutting.) The second version has two ten frames on a page. This one is to use for numbers to twenty! It should not be cut in half, but used as is!



I will be doing lots and lots of lessons with ten frames this year. They are perfect for teaching Common Core math standards for kindergarten and first grade. Hungry for more?



OMG. That Brown Bear-themed one is definitely one of my favorites! You can bet we will start the lesson with some quick color review, a little oral language, and some reading!



I like classroom materials that can do double duty. Pattern isn't included in the Common Core State Standards, but I've heard several experts say that it's assumed. Children will still need practice with pattern at every grade level. So, on the rainy day ten frames, I included boots lined up in a pattern. Take advantage of a quick opportunity to discover the pattern and count by twos with your students!



I made sure to several generic ten frames in this pack, like this colorful one. This would be good for any day of the year!

What about manipulatives, you ask? Well, how about buttons for the Pete frames? Tiny pumpkin erasers for the Halloween frames? There's a beach ten frame that is just begging to be used with shells! But really, any small object will work just fine. Try Unifix cubes, pompoms, pattern blocks, glass beads, tiny base ten blocks, paper clips, foam pieces (like the kind they sell in giant tubs at Michael's), erasers, tiny die cut papers or even construction paper squares. So many possibilities!

Fun With Contractions

My class is so, so crazy about everything Pete the Cat! I have several kids who wear "Pete the Cat" shoes all the time, and on the occasional day when I wear my red Converse, WATCH OUT! Their excitement cannot be contained!

So when I was putting together some goodies for working with contractions, I decided to use graphics that hint at the Pete the Cat theme. Most people will look at the word cards I've made and think, "Hmmm... shoes."

But my class completely freaked out! "Pete the Cat words!!!"

At any rate, reading and writing contractions are one of the skills that we've always taught, and they are on the Common Core State Standards (unlike some of those skills that have mysteriously disappeared!) My students use these cards over and over for matching and sorting.And they are available on TpT. Click below!