What a Week! And A Weekly Homework Recording Sheet {Freebie} for Throwback Thursday

OMG! This has been one of the craziest weeks I have had in a long time.

 

First, the hubster went to fix a leaky toilet and found mold in our bathroom. Disgusting! So now we are currently working on redoing our entire bathroom. I'm secretly excited to get an updated bathroom. No more 90's pink and white tile and walls!

 

Then, it is like monsoon season here in Ohio. I'm pretty sure it rained for like a month straight. Our yard flooded multiple times and our basement flooded! :( Luckily, we only had junk on the floor so nothing important got ruined.

 

Also, the hubster has been working tons and I've been stuck at home with the little man for 4 days without internet! It's finally fixed so now I can get back to work on school things. What did we do without internet!?!? I thought I was going to go crazy.

 

Anyways, here is a little something that I have been working on and I'm using it as my throwback Thursday. 

 

I was looking back at how I managed my little one's at-home reading. It worked fine but to be truthful I only looked at the date on their reading log to make sure that they did their homework.

 

For this year, I want to hold them a little more accountable for their reading at home. This homework recording sheet was inspired by my teacher friend at school. It is basically the same one they use in second grade, but I will only have my little ones writing one sentence all year. Where as in second grade they write one more sentence each quarter.

 

On Mondays and Tuesdays, my little ones will be required to read for 10 to 15 minutes then write one sentence about the book they read. Easy Pease Lemon Squeezy.

 

Right now I thought I would have them complete math homework on Wednesdays, but I am pretty sure I am going to change that to something else. I am currently working on something amazing for my classroom that I will add to my TpT store. Which will probably turn into their Wednesday night homework. I just can't finish it until I can get back into the school.

 

Thursdays, I just want my little ones to focus on their spelling/word wall words. I still expect them to practice every night, but this will be their only focus on Thursday nights.

 

I also updated my parent letter that will be sent home the first night when they are required to complete their homework. I think we start school August 21st and I won't send home this homework sheet and the parent letter until September.

 

 

You can click here to get the Homework Recording Sheet.

 

Here is my original post from July 2012

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Reading at Home for Firsties!

The other day I made a July and August checklist hoping to be a little more organized in completing my projects, instead of jumping around from one unfinished project to the next. I'm just so excited that I want to do everything at once! Ahhhhh!

The last couple of days I have been working on getting ready for the first 6 weeks. The first thing I made was a Home Reading Log. I wanted to really keep track of what type of reading my little ones are going to be doing at home. So, I included a spot for the parents to mark which ways they read together and a spot to mark how well their little ones did at the retelling. Hopefully this will work!

I am hopeful that the parents will be honest when marking how well their little one did on the retelling. I made three ways that the parents can evaluate their child.

They can mark:

E - Excellent Retelling

S - Satisfactory Retelling

D - Had Difficulty Retelling

There are 20 spots on the reading log to fill in. Once a student fills up a whole page they will get to place a sticker on an incentive pad that I will have displayed somewhere in the classroom. Once I can get in there to set up I will post pictures!!! Hopefully they finish waxing the floors soon. Eeek!



I also created a parent letter to introduce the home reading log. I tried to explain the different ways they can read together to stress that young readers become confident as readers and fluent by also listening to good readers read. They don't just have to read themselves.

You can get a copy of my Home Reading Log and Parent Letter here as a freebie!

Tell me what you think by leaving me a comment if you take my freebie! I always get excited knowing that other teachers are using my items!

 

 

 

 

ThrowBack Thursday...My Grammar and Punctuation Rule Book

I decided to link up my best TpT Seller, My Grammar and Punctuation Rule Book.

This is one of the best things that I have implemented in my classroom. By using this book I know that I have covered all the grammar and punctuation rules that I need to.

Each week, starting the first week of school, I introduce one new grammar or punctuation rule. The rules start out with the simplest first and then get harder as the weeks go by. There are 25 different rules.

I am also currently working on extension activities to go with my rule book.

So far I have come up with these: Click on the pictures to get your copy!

 

 

 

 

Here is my original post!

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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Grammar and Punctuation Rule Book

I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped today. Thanks to Lifetime Movie Network, I ended up watching 2 movies today. Yikes!! But I can honestly say that today was the first time I laid around and watched t.v. this summer plus I didn't get out of bed until 10:30. Ooops!

Anywho, last night while the Mr. watched the race (Yes, I know embarrassing. He is a NASCAR fan and I am...NOT!!) I worked on my Grammar and Punctuation Rule Book. I am sooooo happy with the way it turned out!

I designated 15 minutes, one day a week, to focus on grammar and punctuation rules. Yea, I know what your thinking...only 15 minutes, one day a week, to teach grammar. Don't worry I'm not crazy. My littles will still be exposed to grammar and punctuation throughout the day at centers, reading groups, writing workshop. This is just an extra supplement.

That 15 minutes will be used souly for the rule books that I created. I plan on introducing or reviewing a rule, modeling how to write a sentence using the rule, and then my littles will write a sentence of their own and illustrate it.

I did something very similar when I was student teaching 3 years ago (omg, it seems like just yesterday) and I saw great results from it.

Here is what an example page looks like. There are 25 rules total. This is great practice for first graders and can be used as a review for second graders. In the packet, I also included cover pages so that a complete book can be made.

Your littles will be exposed to basic sentence structure, nouns, plural nouns, proper nouns, verbs, contractions, compound words, pronouns, capitalization, punctuation, and MORE!!!

Get it here at my TpT store!!!

I also finished the second 100 HFWs Word Wall Cards in the Bright Stripes.

Get your set here at my TpT store!!!



 

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Yours in Teaching,

Throwback Thursday...Teacher Must Haves

Once again I am linking up with The First Grade Parade for another Throwback Thursday!



As summer projects are in full swing for everyone {expect me :/} I thought it would be a good time to reflect back on my top 5 teacher must haves. When I was looking back at my original post I still agree with everything on my list!

 

So here is the original post from July 24, 2012.

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I've linked up with Life Is Sweet...In Kindergarten's Teacher Must Haves Linky Party.

1. My first must have is Mod Podge!!! I could not live without this stuff. I have gone through almost a whole bottle this summer making things. Here are some of the things that I made with Mod Podge's help. :)

These are wooden cubes I bought at Hobby Lobby. I painted them with purple acrylic paint and then Mod Podged the time numbers onto the wood. The Mod Podge worked as a glue and as a sealer! That's why it is amazing!

I had these boring old plastic drawers and I wanted to make them purdy so I bought some scrapbook paper and Mod Podged the paper to the inside of the drawers! They look so much better. :)

2. My second must have are my Mr. Sketch Markers. I absolutely love them. When I was student teaching some of the teachers bought me a pack as a good-bye gift. I could not live without them now! They are the only markers I use for making my anchor charts.

Oh, I also use them as incentives with my littles. They love that they smell. Sometimes when I'm working one-on-one with a little and they are really struggling to stay focused, I let them smell a marker after they complete a task. It works every time!!!

3.  My third must have is my teacher tool box. Even though I just made it and I really haven't gotten to use it, I know that I can't live without it. I love being organized and I have always said that I would love to be a personal organizer if teaching didn't work out. This tool box is the ultimate way to be organized.

Sorry that the picture looks a little rough.

4. This is a must have that I don't know how teachers have gotten away without using for years. The Elmo is a teacher's best friend. I love that you don't have to make transparencies and that you can just slap your paper or book underneath the camera. I also like that you can take a picture or freeze the work. Every teacher needs one of these!

5. My final teacher must have is my teacher bag. I love using Vera Bradley bags because the prints are gorgeous. I just bought this bag this summer. One of my littles got me a gift card to a boutique in my area and they have all kinds of Vera Bradley bags. I walked into the store knowing that was going to be my purchase and they had a new print that matched my color scheme this year! I was over the moon when I saw this bag!!!

Ok, so I spent allllllll day working in my classroom today! I had to force myself to leave.

My daily 5 board is finished!! Thanks to Kylie from Down Under Teacher for the Daily 5 packet. The colors and the polka dots match my classroom decor. I have the regular 5 choices that "The Sisters" wrote about in their book, but I also have a Read with Teacher choice. The charts hanging below are my rotation cards.

The calendar side isn't finished yet. So far, I have the calendar, days of the week, a hundreds chart, and a days in school counter.

This picture is what is to the right of the Calendar and Daily 5 board. I put up the alphabet line and the word wall alphabet letters.

The table is going to eventually be my listening center. You can't really see it but the CD player and headphones are to the left of the paper organizer.

The blank spaces on the wall, in the corner, is going to be where I hang all the anchor charts that we make together in class. So, it will be plain Jane until school starts.

Here is a close up of the leveled library. I used Erica Bohrer's Leveled Library and Word Wall packets to create my classroom library.

The books on the bottom shelf are in author baskets. I have Mercer Mayer, Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and Jan Brett baskets.



I plan on going back tomorrow to finish my CAFE board because we are having a Daily 5 and CAFE book study in my room on Thursday. What is the most important thing to keep in mind when implementing Daily 5 and CAFE into your classroom? I'd like to hear what you have to say so that I can share with my colleagues.

P.S. I also plan on creating my birthday board and helpers board tomorrow. So come back to check it out!!

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ThrowBack Thursday...My Most Popular Post (Daily 5: Where to Begin)

I have debated all day whether or not to link up in the Throwback Thursday Linky. I wasn't sure I should since I pretty much took 10 months off from blogging. But I figured I would and I'm going to start with my most popular post.

My most popular post is my Daily 5 and CAFE: Where to Begin. I thought now is the perfect time to reflect on this.

Here is my original post from August 2012.

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Some of my colleagues and I met at school today to discuss Daily 5 and CAFE. No one at our school has implemented the management system before and several of us are going to try this coming year.

We met in my room so that everyone could see how I had set up my Daily 5 and CAFE boards. Even though I have been at the school for 2 years, this is going to be my first year as a permanent resident!!! Yay! I love that I got to share all the research and items I had found and made with everyone!

I thought since it went well at school today and I hopefully helped everyone understand it better, that I should do a post about it for other newbie Daily 5 and CAFE users.

Here it is....

First, I shared my set up of the Daily 5 board. I posted earlier that I purchased the headers from Kylie at Down Under Teacher.

Up at the top I have the choice Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Word Work. Down below I have Listen to Reading, Read with Teacher, and Work on Writing. The Read with Teacher choice is not an original choice in the Daily 5 book by the"The Sisters". However, down below you will see why I think it is important to include that choice.

This is a close up of how I'm going to have the rotation work in my classroom. I only have enough time for three rotations. Each little will have a clip with their name on it for each chain. Sorry I haven't done that yet. I will post a picture later that shows exactly what I mean.

When my littles walk into the classroom each morning, one of their morning procedures will be to make their Daily 5 choices. However, one choice will possibly be chosen for them. If I plan on meeting with a guided reading group or a strategy group, their clip will already by on the Read with Teacher. So that little will really only have two other choices to make.

I am also going to require that each little picks Read to Self once per day. So really some littles might have just one choice to make for that day.


Here is my CAFE board...

I haven't had a chance to put up the goal papers for the post-it notes yet, but they will be up. This board is behind my reading table so that it can be referred to during guided and strategy groups.

Here is a close up (Sorry for the glare.) ...

Ok, now here is the best part and what my colleagues all wanted copies of. I have spent hours and hours and hours thinking and planning, thinking again and planning again on how to begin the Daily 5 and CAFE process. I'm not going to lie, I have shed some tears trying to figure this out. At one point I felt like giving up, but I didn't and I am soooooooooo glad that I didn't!

First, using the Daily 5 and CAFE book, I planned out a possible schedule as to what it would look like in my classroom. I wanted to still use guided reading groups because it is part of the reading program in my district so I had to think of a way to use guided reading and strategy groups.

Everyday of the week I will give three mini lesson each day. But the instruction I give to my small groups will look different daily.

On Mondays and Fridays, I plan on having strategy groups and student conferences.

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday, I plan on have guided reading groups.

Some of my littles might get small group instruction more days than others because I might have a little in a guided reading group and a strategy group. Remember, strategy groups are to used to provide instruction to littles that need extra coaching on a specific goal and strategy. During a strategy group, each little will be reading their own "just right" book. Whereas, my guided reading groups every little will be reading the same book and at their "just right" or instructional level. Whew, hopefully that makes sense. :/

Click here to get a copy of my general Daily 5 and CAFE schedule.

The next item that I created and shared today was my Where to Begin Mini Lessons. For me, the hardest part was trying to figure out how I was going to start the process in my classroom. (This is where I shed the tears :(.) I have created a general plan of my first series of mini lessons. Once I get into the classroom I may find that this is not going to work. But it is a STARTING PLACE, and I love having something in front of me to look at and know that I always have a back up.

Click here for the Where to Begin Mini Lessons.

I'd like to give a shout-out to Jessica Meacham for sharing her frontloading mini lessons. They have greatly helped me develop my own plans.

I would love for you to follow me and leave me a comment if you use anything that I created. I love knowing that I have helped others!

These items are unofficial adaptations of the Daily 5 and CAFE Strategies management system by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser. This freebie is not endorsed by the 2 Sisters. Visit http://www.thedailycafe.com for official resources.

 

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Now to reflect on this...

 

I made 3 major changes over the course of the year.

 

I successfully completed my first year of Daily 5...by my standards at least. I definitely had to change some things to meet the needs of my students and my self.

 

First off, the first 6 weeks of introduction were a success. My littles loved Daily 5 and even went back to their kindergarten teachers and told them all about what they were doing in first grade. It made my day!

 

However, over time I did change some things. Eventually I weeded out Listen to Reading. I just didn't have the resources available to make this as meaningful as it should be. I definitely recommend having more that one CD player.

 

I also stopped the strategy lessons after the first month. It just didn't fit into my plans and I couldn't keep up with everything. So this was a fail on my part. Next year I am just going to stick with guided reading groups.

 

Another change I made was to make the Daily 5 choice for my students. They didn't mind a bit and actually like the excitement or wondering what choice they get to go to next. Next year I am going to start off the year with making the choices for my students.

 

I'm still by no means perfect at implementing the Daily 5 but I do what is best for myself and my littles, and I think that is what makes a great teacher. FLEXIBILITY and flexible I am!