Behavioropoly!

I have had MANY requests for the template I used to create my Behavioropoly game. See this post for more information and for links to my inspiration.

On second thought, Google Docs did some weird stuff to my files when I uploaded them, so if the links don't work for you, or if you are mad at Google Docs too, then leave a comment with your email address and I will  email the originals to you. I used Powerpoint and Word so you will need those applications.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Due to the high volume of requests, I am no longer sending this file by email. You can get it from my TPT store here.

Daily 5

A while ago I posted a picture of my Daily 5 chart and I got a lot of comments about it so I thought I'd go into a little more detail now that I have it up and running in the classroom. This is what the board looks like now:

     I normally don't leave spaces between the groups but I had enough room so I went for it. This is just a standard sized poster I bought from the dollar tree, marked the grid, and then laminated. I made and printed the icons on different color card stock. I then wrote the names in using overhead markers so I can easily change the names as groups shift and change. I used the sticky-back velcro in the columns and then attached the other side of the velcro to the icons after I laminated and cut them all out. That took some serious time but they are very sturdy and should hold up for years.

    I touched on this a bit in my earlier post but I will elaborate.... After we have worked on each of the Daily 5's in isolation and built our stamina, I choose who will go where for each round of Daily 5. Gradually they will get more and more choice as I see they are ready for that responsibility. At that point they won't necessarily be spending every round with the same kids.

     I'm including my icons if you'd like to use them yourself. They do vary a bit from the original Daily 5 but still carry the same message.

Buddy Read = Read to Someone

I use Library also as part of Read to Someone, since they go as a group and work together to find Good Fit books.

The Computer and Listening centers both serve as Listen to Reading. When at the computer, the kids are usually on TumbleBooks, BookFlix, or PM Storybooks which our school has subscriptions to.

Read to Self

Reading with me!

Work on Words

Click Here to download my icons.

I promised you the Pigeon!

I know it is waaaay too early for this but the sudden turn in weather has me anticipating my hands-down favorite holiday... Thanksgiving. Last year after using many Mo Willems books as part of an illustration/author study my class decided they wanted to create their own pigeon book. Since it was close to Thanksgiving, we decided to write "The Pigeon Wants to be the Holiday Bird." The kids decided it would be funny if the pigeon wanted to be the Thanksgiving day turkey and we brainstormed all the things he might say to convince the reader to let him be the turkey. Then they used their illustration skills to illustrate each page. I know what you're thinking... this is totally plagiarism... I checked Mo's website and he had all kinds of pigeon stories submitted from students and classes around the country posted on the site. So here's our Thanksgiving pigeon story. Be prepared for LOTS of photos. And if you make it to the end, I'll attach a copy of the blank pages if you want to use them with your class.

 (i did this one...)

(i did this one too...)

Hope you liked it! Click here to download!

Checking In and a Freebie!

Well, the first week ended awkwardly when we got our first snow day...er, "flood day" I should say. After a week of non-stop downpours, the city was flooded and the police advised we close for the day. Oddly, I was sad to miss our first Friday of the school year. I love Friday's because that is the day we meet up with our 4th grade book buddies class. I'm particularly excited because the class we are partnering with has many of my sweet duckies from years past. We will have to put off meeting the buddies until this Friday.

We are chugging along pretty well and making progress with procedures and behavior. Daily 5 is not where I'd like it to be but I always forget how little stamina they have from the get-go. I also have a few kids who are hell bent on "pretend reading." They are purposefully just pretending during read to self practice which requires us to stop after only 2 or 3 minutes. I can tell they probably did the same thing last year anytime they were supposed to do independent reading. It makes me sad that they would rather pretend then actually read but I guess I've got my challenge for the year.

Tomorrow, a letter will be going home to all the second grade families explaining that we will be hiring a new teacher and creating an additional class any day now. It usually takes me a while to get attached to my class but there are a few that I would absolutely hate to loose to a new teacher. I've never been the teacher that instantly loves my class on the first day of school. I don't know why but it takes a while for us to warm up to each other. But after we do, don't you dare steal my sweet ducklings new teacher!

Anyway, here is a letter I send home to parents at the beginning of the year asking for volunteers. I erased my name from the letter and left a blank so you can sign your name if you choose to use it. And for all you Mo Willems fans, be on the lookout for a pigeon-themed class book freebie coming soon :P

Click the picture to download.

More Word Study Games~Freebies!

Since the first set of word study games I posted seemed to be popular, here are the games for the next four Words Their Way lessons. Of course you don't have to use these with Words Their Way if you don't use that program. Enjoy!

Click Here to download!


UPDATE:  I have had many requests for these games so I will be uploading them to TPT. Click HERE to go to my store.

Free For All Friday!

I'd like to share some games I made for word study with my tutoring students this summer. The lesson number correlates to the Words Their Way program. This freebie has 4 games and they are perfect to paste together and laminate, turn into a file folder game, or to keep in a binder. Click the link below the image to download all 4 games featuring vowels e and i. Also, don't forget to check out all the other great freebies at Blog Hoppin'!

Get it here!

UPDATE -  I have had many requests for these games so I have started to upload them to TPT. Click HERE to go to my store.

Thinking Partners Freebie!

One thing I think is mucho importante is developing good oral communication in the classroom. At the start of the year, I train the kids in how to be good thinking partners. I have them pair up and tell each other about something they did over the summer or weekend. The partner has to be able to summarize and retell what their partner did to their partner's satisfaction. I know this seems like a big DUH but I went to a Ron Nash workshop a while back and it was made super clear that the students needed many many many many many opportunities to have this kind of discussion with non-academic content before we expect them to have meaningful discussions about what they are learning. It really does make a difference, I promise!

Usually, I have the "turn to your elbow buddy" or use the partner wheel approach to finding thinking partners, but I wanted another mode for finding good thinking partners so I made this variation of Paula Rutherford's Feathered Friends or Clock Buddies. Students will take their paper around the classroom and ask classmate's to be their thinking partners for specific days. So if Johnny wanted to be partners with Sally, and they both had their Monday box available, Johnny would write Sally's name on his paper and Sally would write Johnny's name on her paper. It would go like this until everyone has every box filled. If it is done right, there should be no overlaps or duplicates. From then on, all I have to do is say, "Today children, I'd like you to sit with your Friday thinking partner on the carpet."

Click here to download

More Behavior Management and Freebie!

Here is a tool I use in my classroom to "randomly" partner my students up for activities. I love giving students the opportunity to choose their own partners but there are always a few who just can't work together well but insist on doing it anyway. I also pass out cards and find the match to find their partner from time to time. But sometimes you need a quick way to ensure that your students are paired up academically or according to behavior. Soooo.... I created the partner wheel.

My nice laminated ones are still at school, so you will have to do with this one straight out of the printer and use your imagination. So basically there are two wheels with 12 pie pieces each (I usually have 24 students). Layer them and use a brass fastener to attach them in the center of the wheel so that both wheels can turn freely.

The most basic way to use these is to write the names of any students you DO NOT want to be working together on the same wheel (he he). To find partners, simply turn the wheels until the names line up. In 5 years of using this, the students have never figured out that they won't be able to be partners with students on the same wheel as them (he he he).

I usually make multiple wheels. I like to make one for reading with higher readers paired with lower readers for certain activities. I print them on cardstock, laminate them, and write the names with overhead marker so I can erase and change names as students come and go.

Click Here to get your free partner wheel templates

Word Work Wednesday

Anyone else use this?

In my experience, everyone who uses Words Their Way has "their own way" of organizing materials and procedures. I started mid-year and luckily a teammate had all the word cards and quizzes made. Otherwise I may have gone bananas. Most people have students use a composition book to keep track of their word study... BUT I decided it was a waste. Think about it. Kids get new words each week, right? Well there are about 35 weeks of school where I live. So if all they use their journal for is to write the rules, sort them, and possibly glue them in.... that's like 35 pages using fronts and backs.

Another problem we have is that many students don't show up to school with pencils much less a composition book. So I decided to create a printable word study journal that could be customized for each spelling group. After giving the spelling inventory and deciding where to start each group, I would take out the unneeded lessons, copy, and use the binding machine to put it together. For example, if I want to start a group at the beginning of the Within Word Pattern, I will take out lessons 1-22 and copy starting at lesson 23. For students starting at lesson 1, I would take out the extra lessons from the back that we wouldn't get to.

Click HERE to download from my TPT store

I know there's nothing super special about it, but I think it will save me a lot of time, and hope I can for you too!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Shoe-tastic giveaway! Anyone can enter!