No More Pencil Drama!

I don't know how many times I've told my students that I don't want any more pencil drama! Lost and unsharpened pencils are one of my pet peeves. I've tried collecting all pencils and sharpening them myself (too much work). I've tried a student sharpening all of them (time consuming). Then I tried keeping a can with sharpened pencils in it for students to take when needed, but then students started only using my pencils. They became less responsible with sharpening their own pencils. I was always having to refill the can. I've also had students write their student number on their pencils with a Sharpie. That idea helped with lost pencils on the floor. However, we still had pencil drama!

Good news! I have finally solved the pencil drama! Actually, my teacher friend, Abbey Myers, solved it for me. She showed me her idea for pencils. She said she found it somewhere on Pinterest, so I don't know whose original idea this is. Abbey took some decorative Duck Tape and put it
around the top of a pencil, creating a little flag. This flag lets students know that these pencils belong to the teacher, but they can borrow one at any time. I keep about 10 flagged pencils in a can on the counter. Students borrow, but the little flag reminds them that they need to return it at the end of the day.  The Duck Tape brand has super cute patterns and colors from which to choose.

I also have students sharpen their pencils at dismissal time. This helps reduce time wasted in the mornings when they first arrive. I can't count how many times students walked around the room for 5 minutes in the morning trying to sharpen their pencils.

Here's to no more pencil drama!

The Phonics Dance

A few years ago, my fabulous friend and colleague, Madalyn Lanni Ketron, introduced me to the Phonics Dance™. She learned about it during her student teaching in Ohio. After her first performance, I was hooked! For years, I've been searching for a way for students to remember phonics patterns.

The Phonics Dance™ is a quick and easy way for teachers to teach phonics using rhyme, movement, and chants. The Phonics Dance helps develop decoding strategies and build stronger writers. This use of "junking and chunking" word patterns helps students become more fluent readers

My students LOVE doing the Phonics Dance! We do it about four times a week at the beginning of reading. I introduce two chants per week. I call on a different student every day to be our "pointer" during the dance and point to the cards. Even my quietest students get involved. Boy or girl, they ALL enjoy the movement and are highly engaged. When the chart is almost full of cards, I let the pointer choose two or three rows for the class to do.

Some example chants:

s-h, s-h, sh sh sh (point to lips)

a-r, ar ar ar, a-r, ar ar ar, Stick your arm in a jar of stars (make a hook with fingers like a pirate)

During small group reading, I use the chants to help students decode words during guided reading. It works! Students are also able to apply the hunks and chunks patterns to spelling unknown words. The Phonics Dance is great for struggling readers. The movement engages them, and the repetition helps students retain phonics skills.  I also notice growth in student writing and spelling.  THE PHONICS DANCE HAS CHANGED MY READING INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT LEARNING! Check out the photos, links, and video below. I added a link to the official Phonics Dance video. It shows students doing the chants.

www.phonicsdance.com

Purchase Here

I asked our school Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) to purchase the manual and cards. The manual is $45 and the cards are $15 per set. 

Official You Tube Video of the Phonics Dance

Sometimes we come across a certain sound or phonics chunk that is not included in the official Phonics Dance. So I create my own cards to meet our needs. See the two pictures below. I made these.

 

When you see the letter y, there are three sounds you can try: y-y-y, i-i-i, e-e-e

a-n-k, a-n-k, Thaaaaank You!

a-n-k, a-n-k, Thaaaaank You!

Where in the WORLD . . . ?

Do your students get confused about where they live? No matter how many times we go over "What state do we live in?", I always get the wrong answer. Nashville! The United States! Clarksville! At this point, it's a guessing game that my students lose every time. I get it. It's a difficult concept for a seven year old to understand where in the world we live. So to solve this problem, I created these posters to make a flow chart that shows where we live. I  keep it posted in the room and refer to them often. Hopefully this visual will cement the concept. Best of all, it's a FREEBIE on my TPT Store!

FREEBIE, Get Download Here

Use these posters and  arrows to create a flow chart to show where in the world we live. The display shows: city --> state --> country --> continent --> planet --> solar system --> galaxy.

Blank pages are included for you to create your own city, state, country, and continent posters for your place on the planet.

Olive the Other Reindeer Reader's Theater

I searched all over the Pinterest, TPT, and Google to find a Reader's Theater Script for "Olive the Other Reindeer" by Vivian Walsh and J.Otto Seibold. I couldn't find one, so I created my own version. Check it out on my TPT. This holiday book makes a perfect Reader's Theater. The script is for 8-10 parts. Of course, parts can be combined for fewer parts. The script is 3 pages in length. The text level is created for 1st-3rd grades. However, 4th and 5th graders would enjoy performing it as well. Add some adorable props like reindeer antlers and a Santa beard. Your students will LOVE performing this Reader's Theater.  And Don't forget to play "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"!

"Olive, the Other Reindeer" Reader's Theater Script

You Must Follow This Literacy Blog!

I follow a lot of blogs for ideas, materials, and inspiration. However, there is one blog that I subscribe to for researched based information on literacy. While I'm always searching for ways to engage my students, I'm also searching for research-based ways to increase student achievement. His content is up-to-date, references common core, and full of advice on teaching reading.

The blog is called "Shanahan on Literacy" by Timothy Shanahan. His research emphasizes reading-writing relationships, reading assessment, and improving reading achievement. He is past president of the International Reading Association. In 2006, he received a presidential appointment to serve on the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy. He was inducted to the Reading Hall of Fame in 2007. He is a former first-grade teacher.

Some recent blog posts are: "What is the Proper Sequence to Teach Reading Skills", "Planning for Close Reading", and "To Teach Comprehension Strategies or Not to Teach Them". If you are a reading teacher of phonics and/or comprehension in any grade level, I urge you to follow this blog!

Shanahan on Literacy Blog

Group Maker Apps

In my classroom, we do a lot of group work. My students don't have desks. They sit at large rectangular tables with chair pockets. This forms a natural group of 4 or 5 students. The usual way I create partners is by saying "your shoulder partner" (next to you)  or "your face partner" (across from you). Now sometimes,  students get tired of having the same partner/group or  TOO comfortable (super talkative or off task). To shake things up, I've used these two Group Maker apps. The first one is a free online website tool called "Instant Classroom" from Super Teacher Tools. All you have to do is sign up with your email.

The second app, I use on my iPhone called "Team Shake". I like using this one because I'm able to access it quickly. It's not free, but it's worth the 99 cents! It's easy to use, and I can email myself the groups or take a screen shot.

So check out these apps the next time you form your groups. Let me know which one you like best!

Holiday Christmas Activities

The month of December flies by. We still have standards to cover, but I still want to  create opportunities for fun holiday activities.  I created this pack to teach our standards while having some holiday fun. This pack contains 19 pages for only $2! I included addition and subtraction math tasks and word problems with a Holiday twist.

The first page is a cute Christmas Graphic Organizer for students to complete independently.

The first page is a cute Christmas Graphic Organizer for students to complete independently.

There is a writing Graphic Organizer to help students recount Holiday Memories. The Graphic Organizer can be turned into Narrative Writing Paragraph/Piece. 

There are many Math Tasks/ Word Problems.

The last Math Task is connected to making a Handprint Wreath. Students solve the math tasks and create their own Handprint Wreath. Directions and tasks are included.