Plot Center

First, I have gained a few followers lately and plan to have another give away when I reach 50 - just 2 more people! I can't believe I just went public with this blog this summer! I dabbled for a while, but didn't really put myself out there. I am so excited to be connecting with so many great people and learning so much!!!

I have these Frank Schaffer Sequencing Cards and had a brainstorm the other night. I thought they would be great to use in a center to reinforce plot and sequence in both reading and writing. I have the sets of cards separated in baggies and made a sheet to put in the center.

Click on the images to snag your copy of the response sheets. If you don’t have the games, I am sure there are printable cards out there on the internet or other materials you might already have.

I am trying to utilize a few more of the pre-made items I have in my classroom, rather than making and storing new materials. Hopefully this is helpful to someone out there. I might even buy the set with 6 cards to add for differentiation.

The Plot Thickens!

This week we are focusing on plot and retelling during shared reading. Last week we worked on characters, setting, problem, and solution. This fits well with writing narratives in writing.

I plan to read Marley Goes to School by John Grogan.

Abby at the Inspired Apple has a wonderful chart for beginning, middle, and end that is inspiring the chart I plan to create. I love the language she uses and wish I had her artistic talents! She should really start publishing her wonderful work with an educational poster company!

I plan to have students make a flap book to show the B, M, E. Click on the image to grab your copy.

The amazing thing about this blog is that I have access to all of the materials I am creating. I have reworked things that I have already used in the past to put up and have created new things. I can get to them at any point and seem to have a better organizational system via blogging that my binders or filing cabinet. This venue also really helps me to think ahead and I am loving that!

Word Work Linky

I am linking up with Hilary at Rockin' Teacher Materials for a Word Work Linky. She read my mind! I have my word work center mostly up and running and even took pictures to share! This is my motivation to download the pictures and get them up.

I split word work time between sight words (Dolch Words), Words Their Way Word Study, and spelling (based on Dolch Words). I start introducing materials to the students by teaching the kids how to use each material and how to take care of it. We practice by using class names and my rule is that each word must be practiced 3 times. They say the word, spell it, and say it again each time they practice. Here are the materials:

	Letter beads to string on a pipe cleaner. Wikki Sticks/Bend-a-Roos Magnetic Letters
	Magnet Boards Letter stencils Mini-white boards
	Marble/Rainbow Pencils Sign Language ***NEW Color change markers by Crayola I also have printed computer keyboards that I have laminated so the kids can practice “typing” their words.

I store two items for practice in each of the blue buckets on the bottom shelf. When students have word work time, they grab a bucket and go practice their words – either from their sight word list, their spelling notebook, or Words Their Way sort words. I change what I assign the kids to work on. I try to pair up one building activity and one writing activity, and I change them out every other week or so to keep the novelty fresh.

The upper shelf holds our Dolch Sight Word Games. I color-coded the drawers and materials to match the list label on the outside. Some of the games are Battleship, Go Fish, Connect Four, Pig and Stop, Bang (or some variation of it), Roll, Say, Keep, bingo, and probably a few others. A lot of the games came from The School Bell’s Dolch Kit:

Other games have been modified from games I have found. I have a few games from blogs that I need to get printed and laminated to add.

Once I get spelling up and running, I will share whatever I decide to do with that this year. I am thinking of combining our mandatory spelling words (we have 42) with word lists from Words Their Way.

When I work on words during guided reading, I have a few tricks. First, I found a Plexiglas sign holder at Staples for about 6 bucks. I had wanted a whiteboard to use during guided reading to break down words and teach strategies, but was having trouble finding one. I wanted something that stood up, but was small enough to not be in the way. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how well this works!!! It is the perfect size!

I also use letter tiles for making words activities. I covered 4x6 pieces of recycled cardboard with the grippy shelf liner and put the letters we will use on them. The letters do not slip around and I can stack the boards in a basket for the group lesson. No pictures right now.

Sometimes I use word strategies that apply to a given book and sometimes I use a book that has a sequence of building words that gets the kids to think about how changing letters changes the sounds in the word. I will have to find the book at school to add the title.

Now that I am thinking about it, I have a few more things to share. Maybe I will add a few more posts later, but I think this is enough for today. I hope someone finds some useful ideas here!

I’m Honored!

Barbara at Grade ONEderful nominated me for the Blog on Fire award! Thank you SO MUCH, Barbara!  It has made my Sunday night!

        

The rules for this award are:

*Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post

*Share 7 things about yourself

*Pass this award along to 10 recently discovered blogs

Here are the seven things about myself:

1. I have taught for 11 years in 4 school and 4 grade levels! My former building principal and my current building principal (in different districts) are married.

2. I have degrees in Special Education, Elementary Education, and Reading.

3. My husband and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary on Wednesday.

4. I love to do anything crafty!  Right now, I am really into quilting.  I am planning some Christmas gifts and just need the time to sew them.

5. I grew up on a small family grain farm and married a dairy farmer.

6. I am a television junky and rarely exercise – even though I would like to be in better shape.

7. I love to cook when I have time, but rarely use recipes.  I really should write recipes down when I make them!

Here are my recently discovered blogs. I added a few more than needed  Some are new to blogland and some are just new to me.  Take a look!

       

      

   

   

Whew!  That was a lot of work!

Thanks again Barbara!

Open House Time!

Our Open House is really late for us this year, but it is coming up this week.  My Open House routine has developed into a really elaborate show of sorts.  We always have 35 minutes to talk to parents and tell them about our classroom and curriculum.  Talk about nerve-wracking!!!  I have created some routines to take the pressure off myself.

First, I create a slide show of pictures from the first couple weeks using Picasa.  I use songs from Disney movies and Jack Johnston’s soundtrack for Curious George as background music.  This gives the parents a bit of entertainment while we are waiting to get started.  It also helps to cut down on impromptu conferences.  I have the show set up on a few student computers so that it keeps running after my presentation.

At their seats, students leave their toolboxes, journal, and a letter to their parents.  Parents have a folder waiting for them with an overview of their tasks and the evening.  They write a letter back to their child, read the journal, and write about their child on a “brag” sheet.  I love handing these sheets back to parents at the end of the year. This year, I made magnets to holder student work and a business card with my contact information on Vista Print.  Actually, I bought them last year and now have to dig through my cupboard to find them!

During the presentation, I have a slideshow on the Promethean Board.  I really focus on reading because that is where I seems to get the most questions throughout the year.  I talk about guided reading and “levels”, as parents tend to focus on the numbers. I try to address areas where I get a lot of communication during the year in hopes that I can spend less time answering e-mails and returning calls, and more time planning and teaching.  We have a very comprehensive communication packet that has been tweaked every year and answers virtually every question a parent can have.

I also have signups for field trips, conferences, celebration treats, and conferences.  I have yet to figure out the best way to do this.  Last year I put the conference signup on the Promethean Board and ended up making a ton of phone calls because the parents moved all of the lines and times around.  I could not for the life of me figure out who signed up for when!  It was amusing to see how difficult using the board was! I usually spread the signup sheets around the room.  It never seems fair to all the parents.  This year I might put the signups outside in the hallway to give people room to move around the room.  I easily have 40-50 people (including grandparents), and then kids in the room!

Parents have a brochure with places to write down everything they signup for.  My contact information is on the back. Unfortunately, the brochure is not included in the freebies below.

My students are also “trained” as tour guides.  They plan what they want to show their parents.  I include things to see in the brochure.  Students wear a badge or tour guide hat and get so excited about showing their family around the room! If we make the hat, I just staple the badge to a sentence strip after they are decorated.

This has worked out pretty well the past few years!  I will take pictures as I get things set up for the big night!  How does your school “do” Open House?

Click below for printables!