As teachers, we have benchmark goals for almost everything. "Students should be reading on ___ level by the end of ___ grade," "Students should be reading ___ words per minute," ".... know __ letters/ sounds by __" ".... know addition and subtraction facts to 10, 20...." These goals may be helpful to us as teachers, but do they mean anything to students? The answer is often a resounding no. If students aren't part of the goal-making process, they won't be as invested in their learning. Students Work Harder Towards Goals They Set! When students participate in setting their own goals for learning, they work harder to meet these goals. Here are some more benefits of student goal-setting: They are excited to work towards meeting their goals. What better motivation than getting to choose which areas you want to improve on? Sets a clear focus. It's much easier to focus on organizing one room in your home than say, planning a kitchen ... read more
Body-Spelling Sight Words
Multisensory Sight Word Practice High-frequency sight words are essential to gaining reading fluency. Want to know the best way to practice? Here are some key things to do to make sight words stick: In all of my years teaching and researching about sight word instruction, I've learned that when kids are engaged and using their bodies to learn, they retain so much more information (and this is scientifically proven, too!). Incorporating movement in sight word instruction is so valuable in helping students learn and retain a large sight word vocabulary, which is why I created the Body-Spelling PowerPoints. These PowerPoints allow you to introduce sight words while engaging your students in all 4 learning methods: Plus, they're learning sight words in context, which is so important to ensure comprehension, and getting repetition by seeing the target word multiple times. Each word has 7 activities. See the ... read more
Teaching Different Learning Styles
Ever have students zone out during some parts of a lesson, but stay alert during others? This may be attributed to their learning style or preference. We've all heard it: "Not all kids learn the same way." We know it's true, but do we take action to meet the needs of all of our learners? Read on (or see chart, if you're a visual learner) to learn about the 4 main learning styles in the VARK model and how we can ensure that our instruction is reaching all kinds of learners. What are the Different Learning Styles? A popular theory about learning styles is the VARK model. It stands for Visual, Auditory (Aural), Reading/ Writing, and Kinesthetic modalities for learning (Fleming and Mills, 1992). Each one is associated with a preference for learning that may help retention of information. Visual learners learn by seeing Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening and speaking Reading and Writing learners like to read and take ... read more
Word Wall. Not Wallpaper.
Ever read your students’ writing and see words that you’ve already covered misspelled? In fact, those words are on the word wall and students can easily look up to spell them correctly. So why don’t they?? This may be because often a word wall is just (dare I say it?) CLASS DECOR to kids. They don’t refer to it, or see its value! So today, I want to share some tips on making an effective word wall, that’s more than just wallpaper in your room! First of all, what is a Word Wall? A word wall is a space in your classroom where you display the sight words you've taught your students. Each word is added underneath its first letter as it's introduced. Students are expected to refer to the word wall to help them spell sight words. How to Make your Word Wall Effective Read it often! Every Friday, we walk over to our word wall to add our sight words of the week. We read all the words under the letter we are posting the new word to. For ... read more
5-Minute Sight Word Game
You finished a lesson early, now what?! I know, that very rarely happens. But, indulge me for a minute. So, you have an extra 5 minutes before you have to get ready for lunch/ music/ PE... Hmmm, what can you do? There's not enough time to read a book or have kids write in a journal. So you pause. Harp starts poking his friend. Greg starts a conversation with his neighbor about the bug he squashed on the bus. Suzy starts complaining that she's hungry. Oh, no, you've lost them. You still have a few minutes. Better think of something before someone starts climbing on a desk. What can you do? I've had a few moments like this and I found a great way to use those 5 minutes to keep my students engaged in a meaningful way. Grow a Picture! It's like hangman, but not. I never really liked the idea of drawing a hanging man, but maybe that's just me. Whiteboard Game In this version, kids get to draw a line to build a dot-to-dot picture if they ... read more
5 Ways to Teach Sight Words with Movement
Sight word fluency is so important, yet many kids struggle to build and retain a strong sight word vocabulary, despite a variety of approaches. Today, I want to share with you some really great tips on helping your students to master sight words! Have you tried incorporating movement into your sight word instruction? Movement is scientifically proven to be linked with increased academic performance! Here is a list of research that supports this statement. Not only does movement engage and motivate students, it also increases brain activity and helps kids retain information. Read this blog post to learn more about using movement and other teaching methods to reach all learners. Incorporating Movement in Sight Word Instruction Here are 5 easy ways to incorporate movement when teaching sight words: Sky-write Students can point to the enlarged word on a whiteboard and "finger-trace" in the air with outstretched arms. Stand and ... read more
Word Study Strategies
Have you ever had a student ace a spelling test, but misspell those same words the very next week? This happens all too frequently, and the reason may be the focus of spelling instruction. In traditional spelling, students are given a list of words to practice throughout the week. They're tested on those words at the end of the week. The focus is on learning to spell those specific words. Word study is different. What is Word Study? The key to word study is focusing on word patterns, rather than memorization of a list of words. When kids learn word patterns, they're able to construct and deconstruct words based on their parts. They can apply this knowledge to many new words, not only a specific list of words. A spelling list can be used to teach a word pattern, but a student is expected to not only spell the words on the list correctly, but similar words as well. Because of this, spelling tests aren't necessarily limited to the ... read more
Motivating Reluctant Learners
Johnny looooved math. He'd come every day to our math lesson with enthusiasm, ready to take on any numerical challenges I had for him.Then it would be reading time. Johnny's face and demeanor immediately changed. He pretended to look for his reader's notebook in his desk, then went to the bathroom for 10 minutes, followed by a trip to the water fountain. By the time he got to work, the period was over. Do you have a 'Johnny' in your class? Maybe you have a student who just puts her head down when it’s math or writing time. I had a student who groaned when she heard the words ‘Writer’s workshop.’ When students refuse to put effort into something they find difficult, it can be so challenging and frustrating. We want to help them, but we need them to put in some work too. I feel your pain. It’s Normal! It’s normal to avoid tasks that ‘hurt.’ I can’t count how many times I’ve passed by my ever-overstuffed pantry and told myself I’d ... read more
Mini-Lessons for Mañana Iguana
I love when I find a great book that I can use for multiple Writer's Workshop mini-lessons! Mañana Iguana by Ann Whitford Paul is one of these books. It's a version of The Little Red Hen with a Mexican twist. The main character is an iguana and she wants to throw a fiesta, but the Conejo, Tortuga, and Culebra (Rabbit, Turtle, Snake) are too lazy to help. After they aren't invited to the party as a consequence, they decide to clean up for the iguana while she sleeps, and the next day they're repaid by having the leftovers. It's such a cute book, and the kids love it. In fact, it's my daughter's current favorite book and I probably have it memorized from all the times I've read it over the past 2 weeks! Besides being a fun story to read, there are so many skills you can teach from it! Here are a few: Compare and Contrast- the obvious skill to practice with this book, as it's a version of a classic! I included a Venn diagram with ... read more
End of Year Class Management: Engaged till the Last Day!
Are your kids extra fidgety, tattly, or just not putting any effort into their work anymore? The energy of summer approaching can make end of year class management challenging at times. Some can't wait for it, and some don't want it to come. Well, I want to share what I do every year that can help you maintain (or regain) your students' behavior, effort, and your sanity! Have a..... GARAGE SALE! Our last month of school here in NY is June, so on the last day of May, I let kids know they will earn Tejeda Bucks throughout the month of June. On the last week of school, I have a garage sale where they can use their hard-earned bucks. They're really motivated to earn these fancy bucks- behavior and effort get right back on track! Want to see my Tejeda Bucks? Have fun with these! I included dollar bill templates you can use in your freebie (scroll down)! Just add a picture of your face, print on green paper, and try all the hairstyles you've ... read more