September Dive Into Reading

Hey everyone!
I would like to formally introduce you to my friend Sarah! Sarah and I are great friends and we have created an amazing product for you! Last year, when I came back from maternity leave I was a mess in so many ways. One of the big ways was that I never felt successful as a teacher. I feel like I was barely keeping my head above the water. I needed something to use in my classroom for reading so I could just print the lesson plans, any vocabulary words, and the crafts and be DONE! This is how Dive Into Reading began. 

We are creating all of these units for every grade but bare with us. We are starting with first grade and then up to fifth grade. What does each unit entail?

I wanted to add some pictures as well you get a really good idea of what comes in each unit!

****This unit will be posted on Wednesday, June 15th****

We are so proud of this that we are actually giving away the entire first unit! 

Sign up below!

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Evaluations 2.0

Hey ya'll!

I'm so excited to show you slight improvements to my original post about Evaluations. If you want to read the previous post click here. 

I made some minor changes to the system. As I've become a better teacher, my products have become slightly better. The concept itself remained the same. I still found it extremely useful to keep them as circles and to have an evaluation on each side. One side showed me their score and one showed me what they felt that they were like with their work. This is just a few ways that I tweaked it over the years.

1. I laminated all the circles and the had a parent volunteer cut them for me.

2. I punched a hole in them.

3. I used binder rings instead

4. I used command hooks on the desk to hold them in place.

5. I wrote the students letter on the front. We never lost one again.

6. I put them on Astrobright paper. (Obsessed...what teacher isn't?)

I am hopeful that some of these helped you with the many questions you had about the evaluations.

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Linky Party

Doodle Bugs Teaching

Woohoo! I've joined my first link party. This one is all about everything you've done for the week. Let me tell you...It was a LOT this week!

We took my 11 month old to Georgia to see my in laws and then to Chattanooga. 

 We went to the Georgia Aquarium and the Tennessee Aquarium. I loved both but that is a whole different story.

We also went to Rock City and Ruby Falls which is quite amazing. Have you seen Ruby Falls? It's a waterfall in the middle of the mountain. It was pretty cool!

Sarah and I finished our 3rd book for Dive Into Reading. They are mini-lessons and interactive read aloud lesson plans along with lots of other really awesome things but that will be posted about by next Wednesday so check back for that!

 Last but not least, I started Guided Math for fifth grade since I will be teaching fifth next year. So far I am about 4 lessons in (out of 11) and I absolutely love it. It's engaging, it's hands on, it's interactive journals. Each lesson has Whole Group Lesson, Small Group Lesson, Remediation, On-level, and Above Level lessons, 2 pages of Classwork (we are a district where you must have places to practice to your work), an exit slip, and 2 pages of home-learning. I'm really proud of how much I've accomplished since Monday!

Fifth Grade Reading homework

Hey everyone! I'm super excited for this one. This is all about reading homework!

Let me start off with I despise reading logs. I really do. Anyone can fake a reading log or cheat on it or even forge their parents signatures. I wanted something to hold my students accountable. Years ago I created a folder and the kids had to fill it in but since I never read the books I was never able to hold them accountable with the correct answers. Well guess what...I found an amazing solution!!! (Where are the cheer cannons?!?! None?...oh ok.)

When I last taught intermediate, we had all these books come off adoption so I got them all! YES! However, we weren't allowed to use them for guided reading anymore. So I never did anything with them until now. 

I decided to create a weekly reading book. The take home reading folders are quite simple even though they sound kind of difficult. On the left side of the folder is the book,  and on the right side is the daily questions. It is only about 3-4 questions a day and by Friday the whole weekly reading packet will be done. 

How do I sort this out?

1. there are 3 different color folders.

-Orange [below level]

-Green [On level]

-Purple [Above Level]

Each color (all 6-10 students) have the EXACT same book. That way I won't have to keep checking and asking myself-who read what book? However, I do have a check list to make sure I don't repeat any books...you know...just in case.

Every Friday I collect the folders take out the books and the questions and as always, I check for correct answers and not completion. I don't believe in checking just for completion. (Why give the kids work if you aren't even going to see if they know how to do the particular skill?) That is an entirely different story.

On Monday, I call the group colors up to me in the morning and I give them their folders back, along with the new questions and the new book. They have the responsibility of putting it in the correct part of their folder because come on...they are fifth graders. 

It's a really simple process and it works out great! 

Questions you may have:

What books am I using?

-Old Harcourt series

-Our Journeys series (old basal from district that is off adoption)

-Reading A-Z

Where do I get the questions from: 

-Typically, I don't really like multiple choice so I create open ended questions and the students have to use the RACE acronym to answer the questions.

Can I sell the questions?

-I have no problem selling the questions, but I don't know if a lot of people have the exact same books as me and I have yet to find them on Amazon. If I sell them it'd be like a dollar for all 3 levels. Would anyone be interested in the questions?

A Teacher's Portfolio...

So it's been no secret that I have been actively looking to transfer schools. I live an hour from where I work and I have an 8 month old that I can't wait to see at the end of the day. I needed something closer. Not wanted...needed. A year ago I wouldn't have cared about the drive but now I need to be near my baby. That means interviews. Ugh. Let me tell you that I feel like interviews are so impersonal. You talk to a principal for 30 minutes while they rattle off questions. Do they really get to know you? Probably not. I needed a way for people to know me. I'm a *bright* person. I don't just mean in smarts. I attract attention wherever I go. No joke. I wanted a way for that to transfer into my interview...but how?

I went back to my college days...make a portfolio. I did. Let me tell you...it's beautiful. No really- it's gorgeous. I'm in love with it and it's me. It's a sneak peek into my classroom. It allows the principal to see what my classroom looks like without even being there. (Insert love eye emoji)

What did I start with?

1. My resume. Honestly- I splurged and bought one from etsy. Her name is TheResumeMaker. 

2. Then I included all of the committees or clubs that I've been chair of or been involved with. Of course I put them in chronological order.

3. I put a copy of my certificate. I worked hard for my certificate so you better believe I put that in there.

4. I took pictures of my reading centers and included that. I also gave descriptions of the reading centers.

5. Also, I included my examples of math centers. I had a few pages on this in my portfolio.

6. Parent communication is so important. I had a page just of parent communication. If you're looking for the stuff in the pictures- the newsletter is from learning in wonderland, the app is from Remind 101. I have to look up the small sheet but I use them all the time!!!

7. I included all of my pieces of positive behavior. The little fuzzy ideas came from Seusstastic's Mel D. The rest were created by me.

8. This was a great way for me to show students progress without bringing a ton of stuff with me. The rainbow words are Jen Jones from Hello Litercy, and the rainbow math is from my store.

The data binder is full of all the information of my kids. I the informal reading running record is from Deanna Jump.

I am hopeful that you got some ideas for your portfolio. I posted this on TeachersPayTeachers Right here!!! I posted on a video of this on my instagram.

Let me know if you want a copy of this!