Sometimes it can be a challenge to organize your curriculum in a way that is easy to use. Deedee Wills and I have been working on reorganizing and updating our writing workshop units. I prefer to keep my units in these 2" binders. You can find the spine labels at the end of this post. I will walk you through a unit to show you how it's organized. Each unit starts with a unit overview. You can also easily see the standards that are addressed in the unit. A writing continuum ... continue reading...
Search Results for: label/informational texts
Zoo Animals | Chit Chat Messages & Close Reading
Zoo Animals unit packed full of resources! Engaging and fun activities. Chit Chat messages, close reading passages, crafts, and more! Zoo Animals Teaching about zoo animals is seriously one of the best times EVER! The littles get super excited and stay so engaged in learning. It can be hard to keep their attention at this time of the year, but it sure helps when they are having fun! I just completely updated this whole unit so it's ready to go for your upcoming zoo unit. Find it by ... continue reading...
Leonardo the Terrible Monster Reading Lesson Plans for K-1
Leonardo the Terrible Monster reading comprehension lesson plans with student response activities. Print and teach lessons to engage your students in reading! Leonardo the Terrible Monster This story by Mo Willems is one of my favorite stories to read, especially in October around Halloween. If you are not familiar with this book, it is about a monster named Leonardo. Leonardo is not a scary monster, no matter how hard he tries! He does some research and thinks he finds the perfect little ... continue reading...
Engaging Readers: Getting it ORGANIZED!
Hey There! Happy Hump day! We've had a few questions about how we organize our new Engaging Readers units so I thought I'd do a quick blog post to show you! These are the supplies I used to organize mine. I used a 1" binder sheet protectors Binder pocket (one pocket holds all four books) ziploc baggies Clear packing tape Printables for the spine and fronts of sheet protectors click HERE to get yours. First, I put our cutie patootie cover (thanks to ... continue reading...
Common Core Standards Organization and Wishy Washy!
I've had a lot of questions about how I organize my Common Core Standards and Essential Questions. I display them on posters which are hot glued to ribbon. The standards are attached with velcro so that they are easy to change in and out. (Please excuse the bad picture above. The standards shown are from the 1st grade set. Notice that the clipart images match the standard and that the essential question clipart also matches. This helps the little ones who can't read understand the ... continue reading...
Oceans of Fun!
I got up bright and early this morning and drove 2 hrs. in search of the perfect wedding dress for my daughter Taylor. SUCCESS! But, I'm one tired mamma so this is going to be a super quick post! We just started our ocean unit. Nothing gets boys excited more than sharks! (okay...maybe dinosaurs...but they still LOVE sharks too). We used interactive writing to label the parts of a shark. Comparing sharks and whales. Schema Chart Writing ... continue reading...
Inferring with Primary Students: The Case of the Missing Toy Sack
Inferring with Primary Students: Christmas Inference Detectives Activities for Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring with Primary Students: Kindergarten and First-Grade Inferring is an important comprehension skill for young readers to have and I love giving them lots of practice with this skill. We infer each week with the story we are reading, but I also like to give them opportunities to infer outside of the text. Inferring is just putting clues together and using that voice inside ... continue reading...
Guiding Readers Questions and Answers
Last November Deedee and I had a conversation about her desire to do more with the books she was using for Read Alouds. Her kids loved many of the books she was reading to them, and they wanted to hear them again and again. She felt that she had a great foundation with writer's workshop (more on that later) but she wanted deeper connections and interactions with the texts that she was reading to her class. So we created Guiding Readers. What are Guiding Readers? Guiding Readers started ... continue reading...
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again | K-2 Lesson Plans
After the Fall (Humpty Dumpty) reading comprehension lesson plans. Students respond to literature while developing reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and grammar. After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again This story is so great! I love that it teaches us the lesson to get back up after a difficult time. In the book, Humpty Dumpty becomes afraid of heights after he falls from the wall. He finds himself back up the ladder and something pretty amazing happens... he ... continue reading...
Engaging Reading Activities (With a FREE File)
Engaging reading activities for kindergarten and first grade! See how we improve reading comprehension through various reading comprehension strategies. FREE sample file too! This is a guest post from Deedee Wills. We are so excited about our Engaging Readers units... you can tell because I. Can't. Stop. Talking. About. It. Engaging Reading Activities: How did it start? Around last November I had a conversation with Deanna Jump about wanting to do more responding to literature with ... continue reading...
Reading Comprehension: Engaging Readers: YEAR LONG BUNDLE NO PREP
Reading units that are differentiated for kindergarten and first-grade. No Prep Print and Go Lesson Planning made easy! Engaging Readers Read Aloud Lessons Aligned to CCS and TEKS. Reading, Phonics, Comprehension, Word Work and More! NOTE: This isn't a packet of worksheets. These are actual Lessons that guide you through the process of using Read Alouds to teach the standards for Reading and ... continue reading...
Guided Reading Lesson Plans | Be an Expert! (FREE Download too!)
Guided Reading Lesson Plan template and free download. Reading levels in kindergarten and first grade to create guided reading lesson plans with free books! Are you wanting to master guided reading, but feel a wee bit overwhelmed? I get it! Guided Reading is just one more thing you have on your plate.. or do you? Are you currently conducting guided reading lessons in your classroom? I am sometimes surprised to hear that some emergent classrooms do not. Don't ... continue reading...
Let’s Talk Turkey!
Turkey Trouble reading comprehension activity for kindergarten and first grade. Anchor Chart, retelling, and craft too! Vocabulary study too! Turkey Trouble reading comprehension activity: Informational Text The week before Thanksgiving is a great time to learn about turkeys! We pair fiction and nonfiction texts to keep the kids engaged so that the pre-holiday crazies don't trot in. :) To get started we had the kids record their schema on the Turkey Trouble recording sheet. Then, ... continue reading...
Guiding Reading Planning & Instruction
In my classroom, I used a combination of whole group instruction (close reading, shared reading) and guided reading to teach reading. With whole group instruction you focus your teaching towards the ability of your more proficient students' ability. Then you scaffold and support those students who need it. However, guided reading allows you to tailor your instruction to fit the needs of each individual student. You bring your reading lessons to THEIR instructional level. This is just ... continue reading...
Close Reading Passages for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grade
Fall themed close reading passages to teach your primary students how to annotate a text. Your students will love this color-coded method using DOTS! Close Reading Passages Close reading is all about reading to uncover the text to deepen comprehension. Students engage with the text and focus on the information the text provides. With these close reading passages, students will dive into the text and learn about some fun Fall topics. Read about how you can use this resource in your ... continue reading...