If you teach kindergarten through 2nd grade, you know that guided reading is an essential component of literacy instruction. The way I’ve conducted guided reading has changed over the years and some people aren’t fond of the term guided reading, but small-group reading instruction is essential in order to differentiate and meet your students’ needs in reading. Planning for guided reading used to be very time-consuming. I found myself trying to find resources from different places in order to fill the gaps my students had. And sometimes I'd plan a lesson, then notice something else my kids needed while reading, so I'd want to teach that skill but didn't have a resource on hand to help. So I created guided reading warm-ups to help get my kids’ brains ready for reading, remind them of important phonics skills and reading strategies, and have everything I needed for any necessary skills that popped up during small-group ... read more
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Stretching Words Out: Emergent Writing Strategy
It can be daunting for emergent writers to stretch out words, especially long words. Many kindergarten students are very artistic and can add details to their pictures, but when asked to add words, they sometimes hesitate or say they don't know how to, even if they do have some letter-sound knowledge. Writing Warm-Ups To get kids to see that they are able to write some words, I started doing writing "warm-ups" at the beginning of our independent writing sessions, and it has helped many of my students become more risk-takers with spelling. First, kids need to understand what saying a word slowly is. If you tell a student to stretch out a word, they may not understand what you mean. However, if you remind them of Dory in Finding Nemo and show them a clip of her "speaking whale," they'll be sure to quickly learn how to say a word slowly (and they'll likely not want to stop)! Here's an adorable clip: Dory Speaking ... read more
A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Workshop in Kindergarten & First Grade
In terms of both support and resources, writing seems to take a back seat to reading in many districts. Some teachers are given curriculum that's either overwhelming, not developmentally appropriate or nothing at all. So, today I want to go through each component of the Writing Workshop in detail to help you implement it in your classroom. There are many benefits to incorporating Writing Workshop into your classroom, especially in Kindergarten and First Grade! If you are not familiar with this model, Writing Workshop is a method of teaching writing that consists of four main components; a mini-lesson, independent writing time, and sharing, as well as conferring with students about their writing. Its goal is to expose children to different genres, and teach them how to compose a writing piece in each genre, while learning about the writing process. It's a very flexible system that you can use with the resources you have. This ... read more
End Of The Year Student Gift Ideas
It's almost that time of the year. I'm sure many of you have already started counting down the days! While the end of the year is an exciting time for students, it can be a LOT of work for teachers. Between organizing, packing, writing report cards, and classroom management, we still make time to celebrate our students. You don't have to spend a whole lot on end-of-year gifts for your students! But, I know many teachers like to send their students off with a small gift so today, I want to share ten inexpensive end-of-year gift ideas for your students. 1. printable bookmark One inexpensive/no-cost gift idea is to give your students a bookmark to encourage summer reading. I have a free set of ocean-themed bookmarks here! I also have some cute colorful punny bookmarks that match some of my EOY student awards. And of course, what goes better with a bookmark than a BOOK! Scholastic has books for under two dollars ... read more
Books That Are Perfect For The End Of The Year
The end of the school year is a time of mixed emotions. Students have worked hard all year and are almost at the finish line. Some may be excited for their summer vacation, while others may feel anxious to say goodbye. All these emotions can make classroom management a bit of a struggle! However students may be feeling, one way to help them through this transition period is with a good story! Today I wanted to share some book recommendations that are perfect for end-of-the-year read-alouds. I have divided up the books into different categories, but there may be some overlapping themes. School-Focused WHEN IT'S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BY MARIBETH BOELTS A young student is excited for the last day of school. He shares all the different things that he will and will NOT do on the last day of school. The focus is on his behavior. This book is a great way to remind students of classroom expectations while also ... read more
ELEVATE Conference for Kindergarten to Second-grade teachers
Hey, teachers! It's almost the end of the year for most of you and I know you can almost taste the saltiness of the beach air and the sweetness of a piña colada! The summer is a time when you hopefully get to relax, let loose, and have fun! But, it's also a time when you can recharge your teaching passion and fill your teacher cup with new strategies to make next year a bit easier. So I wanted to let you know about an opportunity to do just that! Greg and Jason from The Kindergarten Smorgasboard are hosting an amazing virtual teaching conference this summer, ELEVATE 2022. Read for information on this must-attend event and enter at the bottom of this post for your chance to win a free ticket! What's included with the ELEVATE conference ticket? With your ticket (which you can grab here), you'll have 90-day access to all of the awesome content below, beginning on June 1st! Start with these 3 amazing keynote ... read more
How To Plan a Writing Celebration in Writing Workshop
You finished your writing unit and kids worked hard to plan, write, revise, and edit their stories. You worked hard conducting mini-lessons, conferencing, and guiding kids to become better writers. The writing unit is over and you're about to start a new genre. But, wait! Celebrate all of that hard work with a writing celebration! A writing celebration is not just a way to acknowledge the hard work that went into writing the current pieces, but it's also a way to remind kids of everything they learned, as well as motivate kids for the next genre (unless it's your EOY writing celebration)! Kids love to share and celebrate and knowing they'll partake in a culminating event helps to motivate them throughout the unit. What to include in your Writing celebration At the end of your writing unit, have an author's celebration, or publishing party. Each celebration can be different and they don't have to be complex. The basic ... read more
Discover New Mentor Texts for Your How-to Writing Unit
Procedural writing or "How-to" is one of my favorite units to teach during Writers' Workshop! There are so many fun ways to introduce the unit that will engage students. One of the best ways to help students during any writing unit, however, is the use of mentor texts. Mentor texts provide concrete examples of great writing and are motivating! Like I've said before, kids love to emulate authors they admire. In this post, I’ll share some great picture books to use as mentor texts for how-to writing in your classroom, along with a few mini-lesson ideas. This post includes affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage if you purchase through the links, at no cost to you. View my entire Amazon list of Mentor Texts for How-to Writing here. How to be a Cat by nikki mcclure The book is quite simplistic, only featuring one word per page. The story is about a young kitten who is learning how to be a cat. This is a ... read more
The best books for Teaching sequencing and retelling
Recently on my blog, I discussed the importance of teaching sequencing with teaching tips and activity ideas. One of my tips for teaching sequencing was to practice with simple texts. Texts that have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Today, I wanted to share 16 of my favorite books for teaching sequencing. When making this list, I tried to have a balance between relatively newer books and some classics that will most likely be in your school library. Missing from this list are Jan Brett (The Mitten) and Laura Numeroff (If You Give…) as their books are among the first that come to mind when thinking about sequencing books. You are most likely using these books for your sequencing lessons already as they are fantastic. I have a Sequencing and Story Retell Pack for Laura Numeroff Books in my shop. Some of Jan Brett's books, as well as many listed below, are included in my Sequencing and Story Retell Pop-ups and Pocket ... read more
Story Sequencing and Retelling With Pop-up Scenes
If you teach pre-K, kindergarten, or first grade, you know how important retelling a story is. Language, comprehension, story vocabulary....there are so many skills covered when students practice retelling! One of our favorite ways to retell stories was acting it out, whether using pieces on a pocket or with popsicle stick puppets. Both of these are always a lot of fun, BUT they take time to plan, make, and organize. Sooooo, I revolutionized the "worksheet" into . . . Story Sequence Pop-ups! These are All-in-One sequencing pages where kids can: Cut out the story piecesAct out the story with the backgroundRetell the storyGlue to sequence the events ALL ON ONE PAGE! Having everything on one page helps by: Saving spaceSaving paperLess confusing- sometimes kids have difficulty managing more than one pageMaking it more fun! Kids can pop-up the background for a built-in "puppet theater. Here's how the Story ... read more
6 Ways to Boost Students’ Confidence for Guided Reading
Some kids LOVE when they get called for guided reading. They may cheer, get their book baggie, and skip over to you with a smile. But, some kids dread it and drag their feet across the room to your table. If lack of confidence is the culprit for their lack of motivation, then you'll want to read this post. I'll share 6 ways to boost your students' confidence to get them ready for a great guided reading session! FOLLOW THE SAME ROUTINES AND EXPECTATIONS If students know what to expect during your guided reading session, they'll feel more confident about participating. Read this post for my warm-up routine and this one for the components of a guided reading lesson. START WITH A REREAD, OR EASY TEXT Sometimes students may give up easily when approaching a challenging text. Start by having them reread familiar text. They'll feel successful at reading and be more willing to take risks with difficult texts. They can ... read more
21 Ways to Motivate Kindergarten and First-Grade Students to Read
Do you have students who don't love to read? Most students in kindergarten and first grade love being read to and looking through pictures in books, but it may be a different story when they're asked to read. Reading is an important part of school and life, but not all kids love it. Luckily, there are some simple ways to get your kids excited about reading. Here are 21 of them! Make sure to comment with your own ideas as well. Create a Motivating Environment Library Grand Opening (or Re-opening)- Place crepe paper around your library and set a date for a grand opening. They will be bursting at the seams to get their little hands on those colorful, enticing books!Make library cards- In anticipation of your grand opening, give kids a template to create their own library cards. By the way, this is a great place to add rules for using the library, mmhmmm.Create a cozy, inviting reading corner in your classroom to make ... read more