Managing and Setting Reading Goals

  As I finish-up my last week of track-off I've decided that it's time to get my mind back into the classroom. Before we tracked-off I took some pictures of how my first grade kiddos have been keeping track of their reading goals. We started at the beginning of September by creating our goals. After conferring with each one, many of my first graders already knew what area they thought they needed to work towards.Some of my other kiddos needed a little more support in choosing their goal which we based off of small group and intervention data. We utilize several parts of the Daily 5 and I revamped the CAFE wall to meet the needs of my first graders. 

Here is a look at our "CAFE" wall. The skills that my kiddos are currently working towards are listed below each of the headers Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Extend Vocabulary.

After conferring with each of my kiddos to choose their reading goals they each wrote their name on a small sticky note and "stuck" it to their new reading goal.

I wanted to create an easy way to record and manage the activities that my kiddos are working on in small groups and one-on-one conferring to meet their reading goal. I also wanted something that was easy to share with interventionists, parents during conferences, and easy for my kiddos to use. Here is a peek into what we have been using the past month in our classroom. 

You can grab this reading goals management tool in my store now. Click on the image below to view more or to purchase. 

Christmas in July: Day 2

For the next 24 hours you can grab my Fry fluency games on sale in my store. Click on the image below to be taken to my store.

Christmas in July: Day 1

 Happy Sunday funday! It's hard to believe that I'm getting ready to start my fourth week of school. I will post about my new first grade classroom soon. Many of you are getting prepped to begin a new year and I'm here to help with my Christmas in July sale. Each day this week I will offer a "gift". For the next 24 hours my math journal bundles will be on sale.

Click on the pictures below to be taken to my store. 

Math Journal for the Year! Bundles

   I have FINALLY finished up all of my monthly math journals and word problem journals for August-May. Each journal page is aligned to a 2nd grade Common Core standard, but I also use these journals for my higher 1st grade kiddos and struggling 3rd grade kiddos. These journals are NO PREP...just print, cut in half, and staple! I save even more paper when I copy the journals front to back. They are the size of a half page of paper when assembled so they can easily be stored in a math folder, notebook, plastic tote, etc. I know most of you are not even thinking about the next school year yet, but these would be perfect to print now before the August rush in the copy room. You can purchase each journal separate or save over 30% with buying the year bundle. Grab the bundles below by clicking on the images to be taken to my store.

Teacher Appreciation Sale

  I hope your kiddos are extra sweet and special today. There are not enough days in the year to celebrate teachers and all the amazing work they do with each and every kiddo in their classroom so THANK YOU! To help celebrate my entire TPT store is on sale for 28% off! Below is a peek at some key products I will be utilizing for my kiddos to make it to the end of the year. Click on any of the images to be taken to that product in my store.

   My kiddos LOVE close reading. These nonfiction stories include vibrant photographs, vocabulary cards for matching games, comprehension questions to cite text evidence, true/false sort, and more. 

   These literacy and math centers are a perfect end of year review of key skills and allow kiddos to complete in partners or independently. Each center includes a recording sheet for accountability or use for assessment. 

   My kiddos LOVE our Q it Up! listening center stories. You print once, download a free QR Code reader on your iPads and kiddos are listening to stories. There are over 150 stories with 13 different themes of stories. 

   These math journals are perfect for my high flying firsties, second graders, and struggling third graders. We use them as morning work and then review the answers during our math block. No long prep is involved...just print, cut in half, and staple. 

   My struggling kinders are using the activities in this pack to help push their independent decoding skills. The activities are highly engaging and can be completed in small groups, centers, or as assessments. 

   What's more fun than using plastic worms or gummy worms to help build number sense up to ten? These activities will help your kiddos compose and decompose numbers up to ten by manipulating, building, and using puzzles. 

Thank you for everything you do. Click on the image below to be taken directly to my TPT store. 

Digging Deeper to Make Ten

   I don't know about you, but I am so READY for summer. We are getting ready for D-track to go on break next week which means I am so much closer to my summer break.

   Prepping for my kinder intervention kiddos the next two weeks I'm needing some activities to keep the munchkins engaged as well as allowing them to dig deeper into their number sense skills which are lacking. With my last group of kinder kiddos we worked on composing and decomposing numbers up to 10. We used gummy worms and plastic worms in pails with shovels to add some excitement. Oh, boy! Everything just seems to click when you add some props and food of course. My assistant principal was actually in our room for an observation during our Squirmy Wormy number bond activity and she was amazed how engaged the kiddos were from start to finish. 

   I finally put all of the materials together in a pack to create four activities to help your kiddos practice their number sense skills up to 10. They can be used in small groups, in centers, or as RTI intervention. Each contains a teacher direction page, student "I Can" visual posters, recording sheets, and game pieces. Games include...

*Wormy Sorts: Making two groups of objects to equal a number. Play three ways with number tiles (included), a dice, or dry erase marker.
*Slimy Number Bonds: Use enclosed number bond mats and manipulative to make number bonds, Four types of recording sheets are also included for extra practice, homework, or assessment.
*Making Ten Frames: Use picture cards as a Memory game. Two recording sheets are provided.
*Draw it, Build it, Solve it: Kiddos can make number books that allow for three activities per page. They count pictures of worms to see how many more are needed to make ten, color in a ten frame, and complete an equation.

Here is a peek at my kinder kiddos at work with the sorting mats and number bonds. 

   Using gummy worms as manipulative are always a fun way to keep kiddos motivated to show what they know. Plus, we get to eat our math tools at the end!!! Signage is provided in the pack to label cups, buckets, pails, or whatever you have laying around the classroom to hold your manipulative. 

 Recording our findings on one of the four number bonds recording sheets provided in the pack. 

Use the sorting mats with or without the recording sheets.

Click on the image below to grab this Squirmy Wormy pack for your kiddos. 

Animal Mania! Nonfiction Close Reads

  After many requests I have bundled just my nonfiction animal close read texts and activities together from my Warming Up to Winter! unit. I don't know about you, but my kiddos LOVE close reading nonfiction stories. My intervention kiddos already struggle with vocabulary, background knowledge, and comprehension before they come into our off-track session. Close reads allow my kiddos to focus on one short text  and "dig dipper" into it.

   Included in Animal Mania! {14 Close Reading Texts & Activities} are articles about moles, hedgehogs, rabbits, owls, badgers, fox, bear, mouse, pig, horse, hen, geese, cats, and dogs. Each article contains simple text with content specific vocabulary and vibrant photographs. Activities for each nonfiction article also includes vocabulary cards with the word, meaning, and visual representation, note taking recording sheet, comprehension text evidence response sheet, and true/false sort. Here is a peek at the close reading activities.

Nonfiction text with real photographs and fact boxes. 

Large vocabulary cards: Laminate and cut the vocabulary word, picture, and meaning apart. Place in pocket chart for reference or as a sorting game in a center. 

After reading the text kiddos can record their new knowledge on the animal note taking recording sheets. 

Kiddos will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the text by referring back to the article to find the evidence to support their answer. 

Use these true/false sorts as an assessment or as a center to demonstrate if students really understood what they read. Differentiate by place with the animal article for kiddos who may need more support or alone without the article for your high flyers. 

   You can grab Animal Mania! {14 Nonfiction Close Reads & Activities} by clicking on the image below. Happy reading!