The sale goes from May 5th-6th, so you have a couple days to check out and wishlist the items you want to buy when the sale begins. Click the picture below to go straight to my store. Happy Shopping!
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2015
Teacher Appreciation Sale!
This was a "no brainer" for me to throw a sale alongside Teachers Pay Teachers. Feel free to browse through ALL of my products, as they are an ADDITIONAL 20% off. Check out my Products Page for many of my bundles. Great savings through TPT and my own personal sale.
The sale goes from May 5th-6th, so you have a couple days to check out and wishlist the items you want to buy when the sale begins. Click the picture below to go straight to my store. Happy Shopping!
The sale goes from May 5th-6th, so you have a couple days to check out and wishlist the items you want to buy when the sale begins. Click the picture below to go straight to my store. Happy Shopping!
Friday, March 27, 2015
Help Me Celebrate my Store's Milestone!
This past week has been great for 3L + 1T...I reached a personal milestone that I have been working on for quite some time. To thank all of my loyal customers, I am throwing a 10% Off Sale for all of my products. The sale goes from March 28th-30th. Please help me celebrate by picking up some of your wishlist
As for more products, I am so sorry I haven't been able to update the blog in almost 2 months! Yikes. I have many great new products that will get to prepared for the end of the school year...and I hate to say it---next school year as well! Hard to believe we're almost ready for another school year. But for now, enjoy all 110 of my products at a discount.
Again, THANK YOU for all of your purchases, support, and ideas! 3L + 1T would not be here without you! This milestone is the first of many because when I get 100 more sales I will be throwing ANOTHER sale! Help me reach this second milestone by shopping now with this great discount.
As for more products, I am so sorry I haven't been able to update the blog in almost 2 months! Yikes. I have many great new products that will get to prepared for the end of the school year...and I hate to say it---next school year as well! Hard to believe we're almost ready for another school year. But for now, enjoy all 110 of my products at a discount.
Again, THANK YOU for all of your purchases, support, and ideas! 3L + 1T would not be here without you! This milestone is the first of many because when I get 100 more sales I will be throwing ANOTHER sale! Help me reach this second milestone by shopping now with this great discount.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Breakdown of Each Center/Station
Hopefully you got the basis of what my classroom looks like and how it functions during centers/stations from my first post. This post will focus on each of the stations that occur in my classroom. One day, I'll post activities for each of these stations to make life just that much easier for you. Check out a few FREEBIES below to add in your classroom. Enjoy!
Read to Self: At this station, my students are required to stay at their seats to read. If I catch them reading and engaged in their book, I give them a "Hooked on a Book" coupon {FREEBIE}, where the next time they are at the Read to Self station they can read anywhere in the room using pillows, stuffed animals, or the bean bag chair. They really strive for those coupons! One last thing you can incorporate if you want students to have a finished product at this station is a Reading Response Slip. From this, they either tell me what they learned if it is a non-fiction book or give a brief summary of the story/chapters read. This gives them some responsibility during that station for the last 5 minutes and the teacher a sense of whether they are actually reading during that time or not. I also make students stick to one book (this depends on grade level) so they can finish books and not start-stop-and never finish.
Writing: This station is very flexible in my classroom, just one requirement...to write! I come up with a variety of activities for students to do here, and many times it is tied into our reading comprehension/response that we are working on during that week/unit. For example, students may be asked to read 2 short stories/passages and write a paragraph to compare/contrast the two. I have also allowed free writing, incorporated some grammar skills into their writing assignments, or even reading a variety of passages to identify the genre and why it fits there.
Word Work: This station really changed from my second to third grade groups and students only visit this station once a week. In second grade, students are working with stamps, magnetic letters, word families, spelling words, the list goes on and on! In third grade, since students had a good understanding of their phonics skills, I treated it more like a vocabulary station. Students would given an organizer {FREEBIE} to complete items such as the definition, in a sentence, part of speech, picture, & synonym/antonym of the word. By asking students to do this, they are working on ABC order and guide words as well as what is asked on the organizer. Check out my post on Vocabulary.
Work with Teacher: At this station, I work with individual groups that are working on the same skill or reading at the same level. Many times it will be focused on fluency practice, a specific standard/skill, comprehension practice, and reading strategies. Look out for a post soon in detail about lessons I have created and the order of them.
Listening: This is another station that students only visit once a week. Most of this is done at the computer now that our reading series does not provide a CD for each of the stories from our reading series. On the computer they are completing tasks from a website portal called My Big Campus. Students are to complete games, activities, quizzes, etc. through this program based on the standards we are working on that week/unit. My class also piloting a classroom set of tablets, so I integrated those into this station too.
*Work with Teacher (Additional Teacher): In our school, Title I teachers are licensed teachers so I respected their teaching ability and they created their own lessons. We would co-teach on Mondays during the station time to introduce the learning target for that week. We would also meet at least once a week to discuss what the groups needed to make sure between the two of us we were covering all of their needs. I was really lucky that my Title I teachers were amazing and I trusted what they were doing with my students.
I kept a basket near my Teacher's table so I could quickly get up when my group was reading or working independently to pass the coupons out. Students could choose to use them immediately, but often realized to wait because they would have more time the next time they were at Read to Self.
Check out the Reading Response Slips HERE!
Writing: This station is very flexible in my classroom, just one requirement...to write! I come up with a variety of activities for students to do here, and many times it is tied into our reading comprehension/response that we are working on during that week/unit. For example, students may be asked to read 2 short stories/passages and write a paragraph to compare/contrast the two. I have also allowed free writing, incorporated some grammar skills into their writing assignments, or even reading a variety of passages to identify the genre and why it fits there.
Word Work: This station really changed from my second to third grade groups and students only visit this station once a week. In second grade, students are working with stamps, magnetic letters, word families, spelling words, the list goes on and on! In third grade, since students had a good understanding of their phonics skills, I treated it more like a vocabulary station. Students would given an organizer {FREEBIE} to complete items such as the definition, in a sentence, part of speech, picture, & synonym/antonym of the word. By asking students to do this, they are working on ABC order and guide words as well as what is asked on the organizer. Check out my post on Vocabulary.
Work with Teacher: At this station, I work with individual groups that are working on the same skill or reading at the same level. Many times it will be focused on fluency practice, a specific standard/skill, comprehension practice, and reading strategies. Look out for a post soon in detail about lessons I have created and the order of them.
Listening: This is another station that students only visit once a week. Most of this is done at the computer now that our reading series does not provide a CD for each of the stories from our reading series. On the computer they are completing tasks from a website portal called My Big Campus. Students are to complete games, activities, quizzes, etc. through this program based on the standards we are working on that week/unit. My class also piloting a classroom set of tablets, so I integrated those into this station too.
Give this a chance, especially if you are not planning a lot of time for them. In a few months, my students could complete this independently, quickly, & it would be quality work.
*Work with Teacher (Additional Teacher): In our school, Title I teachers are licensed teachers so I respected their teaching ability and they created their own lessons. We would co-teach on Mondays during the station time to introduce the learning target for that week. We would also meet at least once a week to discuss what the groups needed to make sure between the two of us we were covering all of their needs. I was really lucky that my Title I teachers were amazing and I trusted what they were doing with my students.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Sale. Sale. Sale.
On May 6th AND 7th, Teachers Pay Teachers will be throwing a site-wide sale. Along with their sale, please enjoy an EXTRA 15% sale from my store as well. What a better way to load up for the end of of the school year or even look into next year's organization!?!
Just a FEW of the products that will be on sale for the 2-day sale.
Just a FEW of the products that will be on sale for the 2-day sale.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Teaching Literary Genres
I think teaching literary genres can be really fun, but difficult at times. Thank goodness for Pinterest, bloggers, and the other resources on the internet to give me amazing resources to teach the topic. Check out this website for great PDF versions of a few genre posters.
I start of teaching each genre in isolation, as each grade learns a few new genres as each year progresses. You can find amazing videos and teaching chart examples to teaching the units. As for my anchor charts, I like to make 1 chart per genre. I know what you're thinking: "Where do you put them all?!" When I am done teaching all of the genres, I do a review week where students have to start figuring out the differences and identifying them in a larger context. At the beginning of that week, I'll make one anchor chart to keep up for the remainder of the year that has all of the genres and just a short definition/characteristics so students can use it to reference later on.
This past year when I taught 3rd grade, I had students begin the "Traveling Through the Book Genres" packet where they are to read many different books to identify that book on the correct genre page. I had students fill out that particular genre page throughout the week we studied that genre. During our review week, they tied up any lose ends and compared/contrasted two of the genres we studied. My students did a really good job!
I start of teaching each genre in isolation, as each grade learns a few new genres as each year progresses. You can find amazing videos and teaching chart examples to teaching the units. As for my anchor charts, I like to make 1 chart per genre. I know what you're thinking: "Where do you put them all?!" When I am done teaching all of the genres, I do a review week where students have to start figuring out the differences and identifying them in a larger context. At the beginning of that week, I'll make one anchor chart to keep up for the remainder of the year that has all of the genres and just a short definition/characteristics so students can use it to reference later on.
This past year when I taught 3rd grade, I had students begin the "Traveling Through the Book Genres" packet where they are to read many different books to identify that book on the correct genre page. I had students fill out that particular genre page throughout the week we studied that genre. During our review week, they tied up any lose ends and compared/contrasted two of the genres we studied. My students did a really good job!
Click here to see my Teachers Pay Teachers store or get your own booklet here!
Good luck teaching this unit and have fun! There are some amazing books out there! Look for a post soon for some read alouds for each of these genres!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Vocabulary Practice...FREEBIE Included
One skill set I find difficult to teach is vocabulary. I just fill like it is one of those "drill & kill" skills that are not much fun to teach and you unfortunately do not have as much time as you'd like to spend on it everyday. What is even worse is the fact that it is really important!
As I have tried many different types of vocabulary lessons, activities, technology, etc. I still need students to practice. Have I mentioned those awful worksheets the reading series always come with...gag! What a waste of time for students to complete and for me to look over.
I have created a matrix I use with my students weekly. They complete this matrix during their literacy station time. It is amazing for a spiral review, focusing on dictionary skills:
As I have tried many different types of vocabulary lessons, activities, technology, etc. I still need students to practice. Have I mentioned those awful worksheets the reading series always come with...gag! What a waste of time for students to complete and for me to look over.
I have created a matrix I use with my students weekly. They complete this matrix during their literacy station time. It is amazing for a spiral review, focusing on dictionary skills:
- ABC order
- Guide Words
- Parts of Speech (abbreviations as well: v, n, adj)
- antonym/synonym
- Using it in students own language
- Finding the correct definition
- Being able to visualize the word (illustrating
My students complete this task before they come to my small group rotation. Our books will cover those same words, and it is great when students have this background knowledge they have found on their own before meeting with me. As always, you learn more when you figure out the answers yourself rather than someone telling you.
My students seemed to be more alert about the new vocabulary, and they also seem confident in their vocabulary and even dictionary skills. This is a task they knew they needed to complete and sat their independently with their dictionary...too cute! Check out the FREEBIE below to use it in your classroom as well. Good luck!
Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers Store or the FREEBIE here!
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Our Reading is getting HOT, HOT, HOT!
Students are now being asked to do so much more in school. One of those tasks is being responsible for their own growth in terms of data. What I mean by this is understanding if they are making the right amount of gains and showing the growth needed to pass the grade/gain those lifelong skills.
Being a former Title I teacher, I worked with struggling readers. I needed these little, sweet kindergarteners to see their growth so I could continue to motivate them that they were making gains. I started by using a paper thermometer and having them "graph" their growth. I tested their beginning of the year reading level and set a goal (1.5 years growth). Every month I would test them and they would be able to color up the thermometer to show that there reading was getting better. They were so excited when they were able to color. I know some of you are thinking "What happened to the ones who didn't show the growth? Well, it only happened a few times and it was students who did not put their full effort into our time together. It brought great discussion on what we could change to make sure our thermometer grew. Great life lessons.
I used these thermometers with my 2nd and 3rd grade students. I tested them at the beginning of the year, explained what level they needed to be at the end of the year to move to the next grade and they set their own goal. Some went a few levels above the grade level expectation and some even went a level or 2 below expectation. As long as they picked a hard enough goal, I was okay with either. I wanted them to feel like they were pushing themselves and feel the responsibility of selecting their own goal.
Every year, I place them on a back wall so they can see their growth as a reminder that they are making their reading HOT, HOT, HOT! This brought motivation to many students and would push themselves extra hard during testing time to make sure they reached the next level. One year, my entire class met their personal goal by the end of the year. How exciting!
Being a former Title I teacher, I worked with struggling readers. I needed these little, sweet kindergarteners to see their growth so I could continue to motivate them that they were making gains. I started by using a paper thermometer and having them "graph" their growth. I tested their beginning of the year reading level and set a goal (1.5 years growth). Every month I would test them and they would be able to color up the thermometer to show that there reading was getting better. They were so excited when they were able to color. I know some of you are thinking "What happened to the ones who didn't show the growth? Well, it only happened a few times and it was students who did not put their full effort into our time together. It brought great discussion on what we could change to make sure our thermometer grew. Great life lessons.
I used these thermometers with my 2nd and 3rd grade students. I tested them at the beginning of the year, explained what level they needed to be at the end of the year to move to the next grade and they set their own goal. Some went a few levels above the grade level expectation and some even went a level or 2 below expectation. As long as they picked a hard enough goal, I was okay with either. I wanted them to feel like they were pushing themselves and feel the responsibility of selecting their own goal.
Every year, I place them on a back wall so they can see their growth as a reminder that they are making their reading HOT, HOT, HOT! This brought motivation to many students and would push themselves extra hard during testing time to make sure they reached the next level. One year, my entire class met their personal goal by the end of the year. How exciting!
I "looped" up with the same group from 2nd to 3rd grade, and they knew exactly what this was on the first day of school. They were so excited to make a new goal for that school year!
In the middle of the year, you can see how students would color up the thermometer after I tested their new reading level.
I know many classroom sizes are small or are limited in the amount of wall space they have. I have created a few different sizes for multiple uses. You can make a data folder or binder for each student with other subjects they might track. This product would also be great for other subject areas as well! Click the picture below to purchase the product.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Is it Spring Yet?
A big shout out to a fellow blogger, Mrs. Herring's First Grade News, for her wonderful fonts! Check out her super, cute fonts in my newest product.
I have been overly excited to start thinking about spring...flowers, sunshine, light weight clothing, and flip flops! Ah, I am getting a little stir crazy just thinking about it already. So what better way to start thinking about spring than to create some spring related products.
My students always love to have activities that deal with plants and flowers. When teaching plant related items, it is important that students know the parts of a plant. This activity allows students to be "hands on" to reconstruct a plant, label, and even tell the responsibilities of the parts identified.
Another follow up activity I do with my students is grow our own plants! Sometimes I'll do this around Earth Day so I can use reusable baby food jars to show recycling as well! My students love growing their own plants. I incorporate math (graphing) and reading elements into the lessons as well. I have asked students to compare and contrast plants using Venn Diagrams. I have also asked them to write a compare/contrast paragraph to end the unit.
I have been overly excited to start thinking about spring...flowers, sunshine, light weight clothing, and flip flops! Ah, I am getting a little stir crazy just thinking about it already. So what better way to start thinking about spring than to create some spring related products.
My students always love to have activities that deal with plants and flowers. When teaching plant related items, it is important that students know the parts of a plant. This activity allows students to be "hands on" to reconstruct a plant, label, and even tell the responsibilities of the parts identified.
Check out this product and many more at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
We also like doing a constant seed collection during the entire unit. Students will bring in all kinds, and I mean...all kinds of seeds to share with the class. We post them to a giant piece of paper to keep up so students can look and explore at the differences between them all.
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