Stacy's Five for Friday and FREEBIE Fun!

I don't know about you, but I am OVER the polar vortex!  It has been such a crazy winter in the Northeast!  The poor kids are crawling out of their skin because they haven't been outside for recess in weeks due to subzero temperatures.  If I run 2 minutes late in the morning, I can't park in the lot because of the gigantic snow/ice mounds that block all of the parking spaces.  It's crazy!  I am in desperate need of a little sunshine and Vitamin D.  It's pretty sad that we were super excited at lunch today because it's going to reach 40 degrees this weekend.  It's been a LOOONNNGGGG winter!

BUT, I knew I could cheer myself up a little bit by linking up with Doodlebug's weekly linky party!  It's always nice to quickly capture and reflect on what I was up to during the week.  

Right now, the teachers in my building are in the midst of report card season which means assessment, assessment, ASSESSMENT!  Last year we moved to a standards-based report card which was a huge improvement from our outdated report card from 1982.  The positive of this reporting form is that it completely aligns to the CCSS however we struggle as a school to complete the needed assessments without taking away from instruction.  We are very fortunate at the primary level that the district provides one-day substitutes every quarter to help teachers administer these tests however, it is a struggle to complete every child in a day.  I would love to hear how other districts and schools tackle the assessment dilemma when using standards-based report cards.  Have you found a system that works?

FREEBIE ALERT!  

Colleen and I have been incredibly fortunate to be part of the fabulous collaborative blog Adventures in Literacy Land.  If you haven't stumbled across this blog or facebook page, we encourage you to stop by!  We have teamed-up with some dynamic teacher-authors who are sharing best practices in the field of literacy every week.  In January, Colleen and I were able to share one of our favorite strategies to use with informational text called "Reading and Analyzing Nonfiction Text" or RAN for short.  RAN has proven to be an effective strategy to use with informational text as it encompasses both before, during, and after reading activities.  In addition, it requires students to use a variety of comprehension strategies including activating schema, confirming thinking, and asking questions.  This strategy can be done as a whole-class lesson, small group intervention, or independently using a graphic organizer.  To learn more about the RAN strategy, check out our blog post in Adventures in Literacy Land!  Grab a little freebie too!

FREEBIE ALERT! 

If you are looking for additional ways to support informational text comprehension, you may also want to check out our post on the 3-2-1 strategy.  This "after reading" strategy can be used in both primary and intermediate grades in whole-class, small group, or one-on-one settings.  This strategy can be especially successful with struggling readers as it helps them comprehend, summarize, and retain information they've read.  To learn more about the 3-2-1 strategy and grab the supporting FREEBIE, check out last month's blog post!

 FREEBIE ALERT! 

This month Colleen and I had a chance to describe why answering and generating improves memory, integration and identification of main ideas, and overall comprehension.  Generating questions, however, does not always come naturally to students.  Some students can generate simple who, what, where, when types of questions, but have difficulty generating the more complex "how and why" questions that require more critical thinking.  A Question Creation Chart or Q-chart is a perfect tool to help students recognize and self-generate a continuum of questions ranging from simple "remember" questions through "understanding" and "evaluative" questions.  This chart is especially useful as it can be used with both literature and informational text.  To read more about how to use a Question Creation chart with your students and to download our FREEBIE, take a look at our blog post on Adventures in Literacy Land! 

I started back at my coursework this month in pursuit of my CAGS in Literacy degree.  TWO MORE CLASSES TO GO!!! I will be so excited at the end of June when I am finally done!  Although the courses have been great and I feel like my knowledge has grown, juggling work, home, and my coursework has been a balancing act!  This course will focus on new assessment research, the impact of the Common Core Standards on assessment, and how RTI instruction and assessment should work together.  I am looking forward to sharing new ideas and best practices based on what I've learned.
 

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! 

A FABULOUS Five for Friday!

Hi Friends!  We hope that you all enjoyed your week!  We are breathing a little easier now that it's Friday!  Today we are linking up with Doodle Bugs to share what we were up to this week!

 So, we really can't complain TOO much about our week because we had an exciting SNOW DAY on Wednesday!  I'm pretty sure the entire state of Massachusetts shut down once again.  My son and I spent a very lazy day watching movies and making Snow Ice Cream for the very first time!  It was so much fun!  I only wish that we had a jar of hot fudge and a can of whipped cream to top off our creation!  Unfortunately, I was too lazy chicken to brave the elements to pick some up at the grocery store.

 Speaking of snow, here is a cute picture of Colleen's class braving the elements at recess this week!  Nothing stops us New Englanders from giving our kids some much-needed exercise during the week!  Kids, throw on your snow pants!  We're going outside!!

 On the other hand, we stayed nice and warm in the Reading Room practicing 'y' as a vowel and 'y' as a suffix this week in our phonics program.  I was so excited to finally take the "Mirror Mirror on the Wall" card game off the shelf to play!  Thank goodness my mother is a habitual coffee drinker as she donated a trash bag of coffee cans to house some of our games.  All the cans neatly line a shelf which make it easy to grab and for teachers to borrow.  If you haven't downloaded this FREEBIE yet, grab it today!

If you are looking for a really fun read aloud next week to celebrate friendship and Valentine's Day,  Colleen and I highly recommend one of our favorite books by mother-daughter team Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton (yes....THE Julie Andrews).  The Very Fairy Princess shares how love and imagination can go a long way towards solving problems, even on Valentine's Day.  This bundle includes two Reading Response letters (boy or girl) and a fun comprehension game that aligns with standards:

RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 

RL. 2.1 Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

GRAB IT THIS WEEK FOR ONLY $1.00!!

Finally, if you are looking for some fabulous ways to promote literacy and increase parent involvement in your classroom or school, our collaborative blog buddies at Adventures in Literacy Land  are sharing some dynamic ideas to improve the home-school-community connection!  

Enjoy your weekend, friends!  

Stacy's Five for Friday FUN!!

 
Happy Friday, friends!  I don't know about you, but I am sooooooo looking forward to the three-day weekend!  It's been a little bit of a crazy week.  I think the full moon is to blame :)
I can't complain too much because our February vacation week is right around the corner!   However, that means we are at the half-way point of the year!  My goodness time flies!  Today we are linking up with Doodle Bug's Five for Friday weekly linky party!

Poor Colleen can't catch a break!  After dragging herself through the week, she finally broke down, went to the doctor and was diagnosed with pneumonia.  UGH!  Not something a beginning teacher needs this time of year!  I know she would appreciate positive thoughts and 'get-wells' so please send some her way!

As for me, I am PSYCHED that we are almost done with the DIBELS January Benchmark!!  I would love feedback from folks about other assessments you use (i.e. AimsWeb, MAP) for benchmark testing because I am struggling with the notion that my struggling readers are missing out on valuable instruction in order for me to assess close to 200 students in my building.  Please don't get me wrong!  I believe periodic assessments are valuable however I am always apprehensive about lost instruction.  So, I'm curious...those of you who use different monitoring tools (other than DIBELS)...how long does it take you to administer a typical sized classroom?

Even though I have been in full-swing DIBELS mode, I was able to squeeze in "Game Day Friday" with my second grade group today.  I pulled out Freezing Syllables from our Winter Literacy Center bundle to practice multisyllabic words.  They absolutely loved it!  It was interesting to watch them struggle a bit working through the syllables but eventually they got it!  Writing the words on their recording sheet also helped!

My second grade groups were also working hard at a new comprehension skills this week.  We focused on asking and answering questions using informational text.  I love using A Year of Many Firsts' What Makes a Good Reader? strategy posters to begin my comprehension lessons.  The posters create almost an anchor chart that I can refer back to as I am teaching or reinforcing strategies.  I also am in LOVE with her Common Core Aligned graphic organizers.  Using the organizer for questioning, my struggling readers did an awesome job working together to create questions about the text.  

Finally, I wanted to share another favorite product that both Colleen and I have been using in our classrooms.  I have been using Text Detectives-Find the Text Evidence from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad with my third grade intervention groups and it has made a WORLD of difference helping them find text evidence to support their answers.  I have one little guy that really struggled with this skill at the beginning of the year, but after presenting this activity to him, he has become much more comfortable proving and supporting his responses.  My kiddos also LOVE the coloring!  Hee Hee!  They don't realize that they're learning too!

Colleen (from her bed) and I wish all of you a wonderful weekend!  Rejuvenate, relax, and do something fun!!

First week back! Five For Friday link up :)

Well friends, the first week back after winter break is OVER! 

Honestly, I was a little worried going back to work this week... I thought it would all drag on and be hard to jump back into routine, but if I'm being honest this week flew by. AND... I think my kids grew up or something over vacation because they all seem a little bit more like 2nd graders. :)

Today, we're linking up a little late with Doodle Bugs for their oh so popular Five For Friday posts. We just love these!

Awhile back, I wrote about making some changes to my literacy block because my students just aren't a group that are able to be put in groups based on ability and have a timer set to move around in rotations. I was inspired by Teaching With Love and Laughter and completely re-worked my literacy time and it has worked really well so far for my class! With any new routines/procedures, it took my class and I a bit of transitional time to get used to the way it would all work but now that we've gotten used to it, the kids are working through meaningful literacy activities and are given the opportunity to make choices about their learning.

I set my materials up as you see in the picture above. In the word work drawers I keep activities that are working with the skill aligned with our Fundations unit for that week. In the spelling drawers I keep task cards (Thanks, Amy Lemons), poems containing our spelling words and extra menu choices. The work on writing bin contains the students' writing folders and an assignment for the week. What I love most about this system is that the students have the time to work through their activities and don't have to leave a center if they haven't finished by the time a 15:00 timer goes off. It also gives me the ability to work with more of my guided reading groups each day because I am spending less time managing different groups of students who are at the same ability level but behaviorally shouldn't be working together. Win, win situation if you ask me! :)

Apparently, most of the 1st grade teachers in my school have class pets. Imagine my students' disappointment when they walked into the classroom and saw no pet! How devastating! (ha) I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when we voted on marble jar prizes and ended up at "class pet"... I told them it would take a couple of times filling the jar and then tried to use just about every other positive reinforcement strategy I had up my sleeve rather than fill that marble jar... because honestly being a first year teacher is no easy job and I just wasn't sure I was up for the responsibility of a class pet yet.

Fast forward to December vacation when I received many generous holiday gifts from students and parents in my classroom. One of my little munchkins even purchased me a FISH TANK! .... Okay, okay kiddies... I'll take the hint. I gave in and purchased us a cute little goldfish and so, this week after quite the vote on what to name the fish, among options such as Lady Gaga, Old Man Jenkles, Geometry, and Goldy, we landed on Mr. Bubbles.

Now the man at the fish store told me the #1 reason fish die in classrooms is because they are overfed. I told my students the #1 reason Mr. Bubbles would get very sick is because it's too loud. Well that was a magical on-the-spot statement because now when I ring the bell, someone will say "guys it's too loud for Mr. Bubbles" and suddenly there is silence. Whatever works right?

"Dear Mom and Dad, This week in school we got a class pet goldfish named Bubbles. He blows bubbles when he's happy. I love him because of his tail and he also kisses me."

My favorite thing was watching all the students write about Mr. Bubbles in their Friday letters. This one just brought the worlds' biggest smile to my face... and then I actually laughed out loud when I took Mr. Bubbles' portraits before leaving work on Friday and he gave me some kisses, too!! :)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Rungs-Of-Reading

Last year I had the amazing opportunity to do missions work in the Dominican Republic not only once but twice! One of my very favorite things about the missions trips is the ability to make connections and relationships with people from different countries and places in the world. I met Daniela during the first of my trips, was so excited to be reunited during the second and we maintained a friendship via facebook/messenger since I have left the Dominican. Recently, Daniela came to America and during her time here spent a weekend with my family.

This was her first time seeing SNOW!!! How stinkin cool is that!? I mean I think I would prefer the beach, but seeing someone experience snow for the first time was amazing! I've also had this song from Frozen stuck in my head since I saw the movie the first time 3 weeks ago. (You should click and listen while reading the rest of this post). I was continually singing it around the house, in the car etc and really wanted to build a snowman. No Americans would build snowmen and play in the snow with me.....

.... but Daniela would! I would just like to point out that Daniela and I built this snowman, went sledding, made snow angels and had a snowball fight dressed in the outfits we wore to church (pictured above). My sister and my mentor from church joined in the fun after some begging, too.

It was magical.

Speaking of magical... Stacy and I are loving being a part of twenty royal bloggers with a specific interest in literacy (reading specialists, reading coaches, classroom teachers, etc.) that have come together for a collaborative effort to share information on best practices in literacy, keep you abreast of current trends, and provide you with excellent teaching resources at Adventures in Literacy Land!

Check it out at http://adventuresinliteracyland.blogspot.com/

Last but not least, we can't wait to participate in the Loving Literacy Blog Hop hosted by Carla at The Comprehension Connection. The hop will take place the weekend of January 31-February 2nd and you'll be able to connect with tons of literacy loving bloggers and read all about why we love literacy, about our favorite books, and some teaching instructions while gathering with TONS of freebies! We're so excited to be a part of such a fun blogging community! 

How was your first week back at school?

December Five for Friday FUN!

Five more days....five more days....five more days!  Is everyone else chanting this in their head like me as I'm instructing my little friends?  Wow!  What a crazy week!  One down...one more to go!  Although my kiddos were a little "off" this week, we were still able to buckle down and get a few fun things done in the Reading Room.  Today I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for her weekly linky party to share what I've been up to!

 If you ever have a chance to see A Christmas Story the musical...GO!  I kept going back and forth about taking my little guy but stumbled upon some half-price tickets online so decided to take him.  Although our seats were in the nose-bleed section, we really enjoyed the acting, singing, and dancing.  It was really cool that the majority of the actors/actresses in the show were children.  Incredible talent!!  Logan was GLUED during each scene!  It really put us in the mood for Christmas!

 I have ONE MORE WEEK until my CAGS in Literacy class is over!  WHOOOOO HOOOO!  This month has been really stressful balancing life while pursuing a second degree.  I really enjoy my coursework but between work, holiday shopping, and caring for my family, I was SPENT this December.  Last week I went into a panic realizing that I did not have a single photo appropriate for the annual Christmas card.  Well, thank goodness I have a VERY talented blog partner that is a WHIZ with the camera!  THANK YOU Colleen for taking such beautiful pictures of my family!  She really captured everyone's personality, didn't she? 

 Since today was "Game Day Friday", my second grade groups got to play games that reinforced what we have been working on in our Fundations program.  This week we have been practicing suffix/inflectional endings using our Picking the Biggest Apples bundle.  This 27 page bundle includes 64 word cards, Board Game, SCOOT Spelling, Roll the Die Game and WEEK of reinforcing activities. I knew the Roll the Die game was a HIT, when one of my students said, "This game is awesome!  Can we play next week?"  Of course we can!!

 Speaking of next week, I'm probably going to pull out our new Grade 2 Winter Literacy Centers for us to play.  It will be like a “Snow Day” when my students practice their decoding skills playing the games and activities included in this bundle! This 30 page bundle includes FIVE literacy games and activities that are perfect for an ELA student center, small group RTI intervention, or whole-class activity.  Since winter has arrived early in New England, this bundle will be perfect as the temperature plummets!!  It was 19 degrees this morning!  19!!!

And finally, tomorrow brings the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.  As you are wrapping presents, finishing up last minute holiday shopping, or baking cookies, please say a prayer for those families hurting this weekend as the memories flood back of that horrible day. 

 

Have a blessed weekend, friends.  Hug your family and friends a little tighter and let your light shine so brightly that others can see their way out of the dark.

Oh Five For Friday how we've missed you!

Hi friends! It's been way too long since I've written on this little 'ol blog of ours.

Here's why... Stacy and I lead CRAZY lives. Being a first year teacher is insane. It's absolutely the most joyful job I've ever had the opportunity to do but I honestly feel like I could work all day every day and STILL not be done with everything. Stacy just started another course towards her CAGS degree (because she's amazing) and so she's super busy with that, too.

We're sorry friends! We've missed you! But be sad no longer, because we're back with a late Five For Friday. We love linking up with Doodle Bugs!

1. Let me let you in on a little secret of mine... I'm obsessed with the sky. For those who know me, it's no secret. I'm constantly telling my friends to look up and I'm always in awe of the way that it is continuously changing. These pictures are from a night that I stopped my car on my commute home from work to watch my God finish painting. Man it was stunning. I tend to make stopping my car to watch the sunset a habit... and it's an incentive I use for myself to get out of the building at a reasonable time!! 

2. For awhile now, I've been venting (almost daily) to Stacy about how my literacy block is just NOT working for my students. I'm learning that with this particular group of friends, putting them in groups and setting a timer for them to move in rotations sounded ideal but is not realistic. There are way too many students that are reading at the same level but behaviorally can not be in groups with one another... it becomes quite the management craze and I'm just not able to fully work with my reading groups the way I've desired to. SO... I was searching the internet, processing with Stacy and inspired by Teaching With Love and Laughter and I woke up at 5am on a SATURDAY to put together a work/choice chart for my class. I'm currently creating must do and may do options and I plan to begin implementing this choice Daily 5 (ish) literacy time on Monday. I feel really good about it but I'll keep y'all updated. Any advice on a choice based literacy block vs. a structured group time or reading groups in general? I'd love to hear what you all do!

3. I purchased Amy Lemons' Let's Be Thankful! {Literacy and Thanksgiving Book Activities} for my second graders next week but tried some of it out while I was babysitting this weekend. I read “The Best Thanksgiving Ever” by Teddy Slater and Ethan Long to the kiddies and then we created turkeys with our hand prints and wrote on each turkey what we were thankful for. Some of my favorites from these guys... "chicken nuggets" and "the color blue". Nothing beats the cuteness of these munchkins. I created the model for my students too! Perfection. Ps. Amy Lemons is amazing and so is this bundle of activities.  

 4. In both 2nd Grade and The Reading Room, we've had the opportunity to use one of our favorite products, The Old Wild West. This bundle makes learning the concept of closed syllable exceptions /glued SO much fun! This 20 page bundle contains a Board Game, Card Game, The SCOOT Stampede, 48 word cards, 16 task cards and WEEK of reinforcing student printables! These games and activies are perfect for an ELA student center, partner work, small group RTI intervention, or whole class activity. I was actually playing the SCOOT game with my class when the principal and superintendent walked in [cue minor heart attack]. Everyone loved it! You may be able to tell that we are slightly completely obsessed with Melonheadz graphics and her Wild West bundle was PERFECTION for this awesome pack.  

I promise you it is child, principal, superintendent AND teacher approved!! 

Click the image above to grab your copy too!

5. Last but certainly not least, Stacy and some of the Kindergarten teachers at her school had the opportunity to use another of our favorite products, our November Literacy Centers. We, once again were just head over heels with the cuteness of Melonheadz and inspired to created that your pre-k/ kindergarten students will love! Students will have a blast practicing early literacy skills while playing the games and activities! This 30 page bundle includes THREE early literacy games, printables, and guided reading book. These activities are perfect for an ELA student center, small group RTI intervention, or whole-class activity.

Click the picture above to grab your own set at 50% OFF THROUGH THANKSGIVING!!

So there you have it! A random selection of 5 things from two overly busy teachers! Thanks for sticking with us through all that! We really do love reading all about your lives and teaching though so leave some comments in the comment section for us to stop by your blog too! 

Ps: When's Thanksgiving Break start for y'all? We get out Wednesday at 11:40 and I actually can't wait!  

Five for Friday, Brain Breaks, Problem Detective Club, Fall Fun, and Super Sleuths Blog Hop!

Happy Fraturday, friends! We were a tiny bit late to the Five for Friday party but think about it this way... just when you think your blog stalking is over from the Friday link ups, we show up! Dadadaaaaaa RUNGS OF READING! 

Check out what we've been up to in 2nd grade, the Reading Room and life in general and leave some comments so we can come check out your little section of the interwebs as well :) 

My class this year is a chatty bunch of munchkins with a whole lot of energy. I've found that brain breaks are the best way to make it through our long days with maintained engagement. My class' favorite is from Ice Age 4-Continental Drift. The kids literally chant the words and have the whole dance memorized. I think we might even perform it sometime for the school... they're pretty good! 

Side note: did anyone else notice the full moon and the insane energy that came into school with the children today? Just wondering... Miss McBride loves brain breaks! :)  

 

As for an update on life... you know from reading this little ol blog of ours that I LOVE fall. I especially love New England fall. It's so beautiful and the colors keep me in constant awe and amazement. This past weekend, my sweet sister was home from college for Columbus Day and it was so nice to spend time with her. On Saturday we set out with a friend of ours to go pumpkin picking. Long story short, we didn't find a pumpkin patch... whooops! But we did find a beautiful spot next to a little pond for some pictures. And we did get to go apple picking the following day with our parents. I just love the colors in this picture. And I sure love my sister!! :)

Stacy, on the other hand... did find a pumpkin patch :) 

My family got to take one of our favorite October day-trips to Wildwood Farms to go pumpkin picking.  The farm sits on top of a mountain and has the most spectacular views of New England foliage.  Although it was cloudy that day, we had so much fun in the quiet countryside, picking the perfect pumpkin, feeding carrots to the horses, and enjoying time as a family.  We even convinced my step-sons to join us which made it even more special!

One of our favorite blogs to follow is Lyndsey's A Year of Many Firsts.  A few weeks ago, I purchased her We Are Problem Detectives Problem/Solution packet.  I FINALLY got a chance to use it in the Reading Room with my 2nd grade group!  They ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!  The lesson is super fun and super motivating!  On Day 1, I introduced the secret envelope that I found in my mailbox that morning...they totally ate it up!  Inside the secret envelope was a letter from the Problem Detective Club and Case Files that we needed to solve!  We worked together to identify the problem in each case file and brainstormed solutions.  I provided cues and support and wrote student responses on chart paper for us to reference.

On Day 2, I decided to pair up students to see if they could read a case file on their own and work together to identify the problem and solution.  I told them that we would be mailing these off to the Problem Detective Club for their approval....you should have SEEN their faces!  It was hysterical!  I was so excited to see how engaged they were in the lesson as they were working.  You could hear a PIN drop in the room...it was so quiet.  While they were working, I provided support and cues to groups that needed it.  Interestingly, they could easily identify the problem.  It was the solution that some partnerships had difficulty with.  Similar to my observation on Day 1, they often explained WHY the problem occurred rather than ways to fix it.

I can't WAIT for Monday when I reveal a second mystery envelope from the Problem Detective Club with their Certificates of Membership!  Now that we are all members of the club, I will continue working on problem/solution during guided reading, moving more towards independent application.

And FINALLY, speaking of detectives, we can't WAIT for the Super Sleuths Blog Hop to begin next week!!  28 Reading Specialist/Literacy Coaches will share best practices in literacy, 28 FREE products, and a chance to win one of SIX TpT gift certificates!  Mark your calendar and "like" our facebook page for more details and daily updates!  Here is a sneak peek at who will be participating!  I'll bet you recognize a few faces!

Have a wonderful week, friends!!! 

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1. Comprehension Connection

2. Dont Let the Teacher Stay Up Late

3. The Reading Tutor/ OG

4. Learning Fundamentals

5. Reading and Writing Redhead

6. Ms. Ds Literacy Lab

7. Conversations in Literacy

8. Teacher Mom of Three

9. A Day in the Life of a Title 1 Teacher

10. Luckeyfrog"s Lilypad

11. Curious Firsties

12. All Four Reading

13. Thinking Out Loud

14. Ms. Jordan Reads

15. Big Time Literacy

16. Read with Me ABC

17. Teaching With Nancy

18. This Little Piggy Reads

19. The Literacy Minute

20. Book Units Teacher

21. Reading Toward the Stars

22. The Literacy Garden

23. Im Lovin Lit

24. Ripper Resources

25. Teachers Take-Out

26. Sweet Integrations

27. Reading is Elementary

28. The Rungs of Reading