# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Boy, I did a great job for awhile.

Then, I took a break.

There are lots of reasons I stopped, but that is a whole other blog post.

(Let's be honest - probably not.)

I have wanted to come back.

I have missed it.

I have missed learning from others.

I have missed the connections.

I knew I had to do this!

I hope this means I am back!!!!

So without further adieu..

Listening: We are about to head out for a family get together in Middle Tennessee for the weekend. I am listening to my son singing as he packs. The daughter is watching Reba.

Loving: I am loving my summer vacation. I have exactly one month until our first day of school. ONE. MONTH.

Thinking: "WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO DO!!!????" I am moving to second grade this fall - in one month (have I mentioned that?), and I have no idea what I am going to do. I have only taught third grade. I am moving rooms, moving teams, moving grades and my brain has been going 200 mph all summer long!!! I am sure many of my posts will be about this!

Wanting: I am wanting lots of things at the time. I want a day where I don't think about school starting. I want time to slow down just a little bit because my oldest starts high school in ONE. MONTH. I want to savor and enjoy each moment that is left.

Needing: I am needing to get my shelf painted in my room. Once that is done, my room will come along much faster! I can't complain. We have NEVER been able to get in our room this early! We are usually the last school to be cleaned. We are usually scrambling about 1-2 weeks before school starts because we were just able to get into the room.

Hoping: That second grade is a good move. I am hoping I am what these kids need. I am hoping I can make a difference. I am hoping I can enjoy every little moment.

So... that is what is CURRENTLY going on in my life.

I am excited about this challenge and can't wait to see what this month holds!

Be sure to check out the other posts at Big Time Literacy each day!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Boy, I did a great job for awhile. Then, I took a break. There are lots of reasons I stopped, but that is a whole other blog post. (Let's be honest - probably not.) I have wanted to come back. I have missed it. I have missed learning from others.

# data[].attributes.headline
Books to Use while Modeling Comprehension

# data[].attributes.subject
Books to Use while Modeling Comprehension

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Modeling comprehension strategies is KEY for readers of ALL ages. That's why reading TO and WITH your child is vital, even if they are in upper elementary school! So much of comprehension is silent, meaning our readers never hear or see it. As I mention in our Reading Comprehension Series, we need to be explicit in thinking out loud to SHOW readers how we comprehend and monitor our comprehension when reading.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Modeling our comprehension out loud may seem quite unnatural to some of us. I know it did for me when I first started teaching. That's why I've compiled these book lists as they can help facilitate modeling comprehension strategies with your child. They are written in a way that you can't help but ask questions, or predict what will come next, just to mention a couple. These books are some favorites that I've used over and over again in the classroom, as a reading tutor, and now as a homeschooling mama.

Even if you don't feel your child needs to work on comprehension, these are HIGH quality texts than can be read and enjoyed together any time.

Books for Teaching Reading Comprehension

If you're new to the teaching of reading comprehension, I highly recommend that you get your hands on some of these books you see below {click here or on the image below} and read the seriously amazing ideas inside. If you are a classroom teacher, most of these books are geared towards you, but homeschooling parents can definitely glean from them, too.

My number one recommendation for homeschooling parents or parents in general is 7 Keys to Comprehension by Susan Zimmermann because it is written without as much teacher jargon. If you're struggling to model your comprehension out loud and wondering where to start, Improving Comprehension with Think-Aloud Strategies by Jeffrey Wilhelm is a great read that explains the reasons behind it and steps you can take to make your think alouds ROCK!

And if you're unsure what comprehension strategies are to begin with, you'll find a quick overview of the different comprehension strategies kids need to understand in our post, Comprehension Strategies: Reading Equals Thinking.

50+ Texts for Modeling Comprehension

In the lists below, find our suggested books for each comprehension strategy!

Now you can take these book lists to the library or book store ~
Just download our printable comprehension book list!

Enjoy!
~Becky

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
50+ Books for Modeling Comprehension Strategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Modeling comprehension strategies is KEY for readers of ALL ages. That's why reading TO and WITH your child is vital, even if they are in upper elementary school! So much of comprehension is silent, meaning our readers never hear or see it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Time after time I hear from teachers and caregivers that they have a child who is great at saying all the words right (decoding), but that they have no clue what they have read. Unfortunately, this is a common problem with our young readers. Generally a great amount of effort is directed to teaching a child to decode words yet the comprehension piece is not addressed with the same vigor. Decoding, comprehending and being fluent are all important pieces of being a strong reader and in my opinion should all be given equal modeling time. This week we are going to look at how you can model comprehension strategies for your child.
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Your support of Growing Book by Book is greatly appreciated.
There are several comprehension strategies that readers can use when reading. These strategies can be modeled for very young children and work equally well for adults. The key is that we model our thinking for each strategy to the learner. When we model, we think aloud while reading to or with the student so that they can hear our thinking about what we are reading. Let's look at what this would sound like as we delve into each comprehension strategy.

Comprehension Strategies

Making Connections

Readers make connections to the text (books, magazines, etc.) using their background knowledge (schema). There are three types of connections: text-to-self (connecting a text to something in your life), text-to-text (connecting a text to another text) and text-to-world (connecting a text to something in the world).
What does it sound like when we are modeling our thinking to a child?
This part of the story reminds me of....

This makes me think of...

Visualizing

Creating a mental picture of the story as you are reading enhances your reading comprehension. I like to tell kids that as you read you turn the words into a movie in your head. Letting children draw pictures about something they have read also helps to develop this strategy
What does it sound like when we are modeling our thinking to a child?
When I close my eyes, I can see...

My mind picture is changing as I read because...

Questioning

Questioning helps to clarify and deepen understanding of text. We often categorize questions into two categories- thin and thick. Thin questions generally have one right answer and can be found by referring directly back to the text. Thick questions generally have more than one right answer and require the reader to use their own thinking plus information found in the text to answer.
What does it sound like when we are modeling our thinking to a child?
I wonder why...

What would happen if...

How can...

Determining Importance

Determining importance involves deciding what information is important and what information isn't essential. This is a key strategy to use when navigating non-fiction text. It's crucial to teach children the features of non-fiction text such as captions, titles, italicized and bold-faced words, graphs, etc. so that they can utilize that information to determine importance.
What does it sound like when we are modeling our thinking to a child?
I think the key idea is...

I'm going to pay special attention to this part because...

I'm going to look through the table of contents and the pictures first to help me get a feel for this text.

Inferring

When we infer, we read between the lines. This can be challenging for students because they have to use the text and their own thinking to develop meaning. Inferring involves predicting, drawing conclusions, finding meaning and using evidence from the text.
What does it sound like when we are modeling our thinking to a child?
When I read_____, I think_____, because_________.

As I read, I'm going to jot down notes of things that I think are important.

Synthesizing

This is probably the most sophisticated of the strategies because your reading and thinking is constantly evolving. You have to summarize, draw conclusions, pull things together and respond. Basically, you are using all of the other comprehension strategies together to shape your understanding.
What does it sound like when we are modeling our thinking to a child?
These are the facts____ and this is what I'm thinking____.

I think the author is trying to...

Reading this passage has or hasn't changed my mind about...

As I read, I'm going to jot down notes of things that I think are important.

Though it's helpful to model each strategy separately, it's important to remember that we utilize multiple strategies when reading and that some are more useful than others when navigating text. Spending time modeling these strategies when reading to or with your child will help your child develop their comprehension while reading.

Would you like to read more about helping your child with comprehension strategies? A great resource for parents and teachers is the 7 Keys to Comprehension by Susan Zimmermann. Susan is also the co-author of one of the best and first books on reading comprehension called Mosaic of Thought.

Interested in texts that can be used to model each comprehension strategy? Check out my favorite texts to use to develop each comprehension strategy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Time after time I hear from teachers and caregivers that they have a child who is great atÂ saying allÂ the words right (decoding), but that they have no clue what they have read.Â Unfortunately, this is a common problem with our young readers.Â Generally a great amount of effort is directed to teaching a child to decode words yet the comprehension piece is not addressed with the same vigor.

# data[].attributes.body
Another great K blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We have been having a lot of fun rhyming lately! Here of some of the things I do to help kids learn how to rhyme.

I found these adorable white boards in the Target dollar spot. I made a bunch of these rhyming cards to be used in our word work station. The kids pick a card and then rhyme words that end in -an. Adding the white boards make it extra fun!

Here are some fun rhyming songs on YouTube.

You can find all of the activities in my new rhyming unit on TPT.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have been having a lot of fun rhyming lately! Here of some of the things I do to help kids learn how to rhyme. I found these adorable white boards in the Target dollar spot. I made a bunch of these rhyming cards to be used in our word work station.

# data[].attributes.body
Has great ideas - I am gathering she looped to first at some point. However, still great ideas!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sometimes getting kids to do the little things is the hardest, right? They manage to tackle difficult math problems, write amazing stories, and bust out STEM creations like it's nobody's business. But, neat writing and punctuation? Man, that's hard!

I wanted to share with you a few things that I use to help my kiddos work on these skills.

When I taught Kindergarten I taught handwriting as I introduced and tuaght the alphabet. We continued to practice handwritng throughout the year in various ways.

I used various textures, like writing in salt:

Using these "bumpy" taxtile cards:

We loved using these highway cards from Dr. Jean

Plain old alphabet stamps and smelly markers:

We used many different tools to practice forming the letters in many authentic ways.

When it was time for some more paper and pencil practice, we used these:

They are super simple, yet super effective! I don't believe that children should write the same letter over and over a billion times on a page - we all know that they more they write, the messier it gets! I developed these handwriting pages to just have a few opportunities to practice. I usually have them circle their best attempt too.

There are sentences on each page - they don't necessarily have the focus letter, but are intended to practice all letters in a meaningful way. There is also a small box for an illustration - great way to check comprehension on the sentences :).

This one is tricky, and takes a LOT of practice and reminders! I really love to use Kelley Dolling's Punctuation has Personality pack to reinforce the importance of punctuation.

To continue to practice punctuation and sentence structure, we use scrambled sentences during our Daily 5 Work on Writing Time.

I currently have packets out through January - I hope to get February and March done ASAP!

Another super fun way we practice handwriting and punctuation (other than during our Writers' Workshop time, of course!!) it using Fix Its.

Of course, we all know the best way to practice these skills IS through authentic writing, but sometimes kiddos just need that little bit of extra practice to even start noticing errors. I have used these fix it pages for years BOTH in Kindergarten and First Grade, and the children LOVE THEM!

I created these WAY back in 2011 and have used them consistently ever since. A few years back, I gave these guys an update, so if you already own them, make sure you re-download!

I hang this anchor chart in my room once we have introduced the fix-its. The children refer to it during Daily 5 and Writers' Workshop as well.

This pack worked really well for me towards the mid-to-end part of Kindergarten and all through first grade. I wanted something to support kiddos a little earlier in Kindergarten, so I made this pack as well:

What are your tips and tricks for teaching "the little things?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sometimes getting kids to do the little things is the hardest, right? They manage to tackle difficult math problems, write amazing stories, and bust out STEM creations like it's nobody's business. But, neat writing and punctuation? Man, that's hard! I wanted to share with you a few things that I use to help my kiddos work on these skills.

# data[].attributes.body
This is for first, but may have some ideas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As I'm learning all about a new grade, one thing I wanted to accomplish was a math workshop. Another goal of mine this year, is to work SMARTER, not harder. I'm working on that
balance issue. It is hard to have balance when you are learning a new grade level, but it's a great opportunity for me to have a fresh start.

So, here is what I've come up with for my math block.

15 minutes: calendar journals (I AM working on a first grade calendar, but I really want to test and tweak it this year before I offer it to you. I NEED to know that it works for first grade!)

15-20 minutes: Math warm up, number talks, and whole group math lesson

15-20 minutes: math rotations

Meet with the teacher

Math with technology

Fluency practice

Math boxes

Partner games

We do ONE rotation a day. I WISH I could do more, there just isn't time in the day! However, with this management system, I really only need to change the activities ONCE a month. *insert cheers of joy here*

So let's break it down - each student will visit each center once per week. I would love to incorporate more rotations (ala Daily 5), but I just don't have the 90 minute block to fit it in.

1. Meet with the teacher: aka - MOI. During this time, I will meet with a small group of students to work on what THEY need or to reinforce what we have taught whole group. Sometimes it will be center type activities, sometimes it will be partner games, and sometimes it will be a mix of activities!

2. Math with Technology: we will use our ipads or laptaps (more on this later!)

3. Partner Games: We use the Everyday Math curriculum, and new games are introduced every few units. It's important that the kids play these games because they build on them through the grades. AND, the kids LOVE playing them.

4. Fluency Games: the blue basket houses our fluency games. Right now, we are practicing basic addition facts. Some of these are played with a partner, and others are played independently.

5. Math Boxes: these are what are MOST familiar to me! I had so much fun creating these centers based on what the children need, the common core, and what our math curriculum is working on.

Here is what I have in the drawers for October:

Everything is housed in the green drawers. I love these drawers. I purchased them from Ikea about 3 years ago. The children just grab a drawer and find a quiet workspace in the room. Only one person at a time will work in the drawers. I am letting them manage these on their own. The activities are SO fun, that I know they'll want to try all of them.

I don't have every activity in the drawers right now, some I will use during my small group time.

If you're interested in grabbing these centers, you can find them in my TpT shop.

What questions do you have? Post them below!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As I'm learning all about a new grade, one thing I wanted to accomplish was a math workshop. Another goal of mine this year, is to work SMARTER, not harder. I'm working on that balance issue. It is hard to have balance when you are learning a new grade level, but it's a great opportunity for me to have a fresh start.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over here we are working on Deanna Jump's Zoo unit. All of the animals we create are so darling! This is by far one of my favorites. The first animal we learned about was the hippopotamus. Did you know they can open their mouth 4 feet wide! Oh, the things we learn teaching kindergarten.

After reading non-fiction books about the hippo we completed the question web. This is a great tool to get your kids asking questions and wanting to learn more about a topic. I write down their questions on sticky notes and post them to the web. This was posted on Growing kinders. I love it so much and use it all the time.

I finally made my mystery box from The Inspired Apple. I am excited to use it with my class. I think I will intoduce our next zoo animal with the mystery box.

We are also munching on cheese balls. And I'll have you know this container is almost empty. I am making Deanna Jump's a barrel of monkeys game.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over here we are working on Deanna Jump's Zoo unit. All of the animals we create are so darling! This is by far one of my favorites. The first animal we learned about was the hippopotamus. Did you know they can open their mouth 4 feet wide!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Speaking of reading , I made this spinner as a quick fun way to check comprehension after reading. Instant mini lesson too. Click below to d...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We have such an awesome opportunity to empower students to set goals and celebrate with them when they reach their goals. Most students don't reflect on their own learning naturally. It's not an innate skill that students have when they come to school. Actually, most adults don't have that skill either. It's something that needs to be taught.

This past week, we've done quite a bit of work in our year-long journey of setting goals in second grade.

First, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been implementing Whole Brain Teaching. One of the components is a Super Improver Team. Here's our wall:

Each student has a star and for making improvements, they receive a sticker. When their star has 10 stickers they move up to the next level (blue - learner). They keep going. For every 10 stickers, they move up the levels.

The introduction of the Super Improver Team led to a discussion about how to make improvements and goals setting. What kinds of improvements could students make? What would "count" to get a sticker?

So we started talking about SMART goals. We started with the concept of setting "specific" goals and made this anchor chart of the concept of SPECIFIC. We looked at the word specific in a Frayer Model and looked at some examples and non-examples. That aspect is the most powerful part of the anchor chart. I didn't make it very "pretty", but students got the idea of what they word specific means.

Take a look at more SMART Goal Setting Resources in this blog post.

For our first goal, I decided to focus on behavior. It is a bit more tangible than an academic goal, and students are still learning how to "be" in our classroom, so it's the perfect opportunity to change a few things before they become a habit.

I gave students some ideas on good behavior goals. Basically, I wrote down all the things that have been annoying me, behavior-wise, for the past week. I listed them in a positive light, i.e.: what a student could do, not what they can't do.

I gave students an opportunity to look over the goals with their table groups. Each student chose one goal to work on for the next week.

I put the "Improvements" in page protector sleeves so that I can use them when I conference with a student. I can circle three or four and say something like, "I notice that you could really use some improvement on these. Which one would you like to choose to work on?" That way, there's choice within structure. I can guide what a student chooses, but the student still has choice.

I did add a couple more at the end (on the copy you see above), that aren't necessarily annoying behaviors, but improvements that my quieter students could make. You know, those kids who just sit there, but aren't disruptive!

After students determined what they wanted to work on, I had them write it down. I'm sure there's research on this somewhere, but I've heard that writing down a goal means that you're more likely to accomplish it.

In addition to the more complicated Goal Setting and Data Portfolios I have, I came up with this simple goal setting form that I can tape down to a student's desk and that we can collect over the course of the year.

We set to work writing down our behavior goals. Here are a few student examples.

You can see that some students need a bit of work on choosing ONE goal. I also realized after we did this activity, that the "I will . . . " part of the goal setting form, doesn't always lend itself well to behavior goals, since most behavior goals are an action in and of themselves. They don't always require an additional action statement that tells how you're going to accomplish the goal.

I changed up my form a bit to have a variety of options, including learning and behavior goals and a couple of different formats. Would you like a copy? Click this link SMART Goal Setting Forms or the picture below. Take a look at more SMART Goal Setting Resources in this blog post.

The final part of goal setting that is very important, especially for children is the celebration! Children need to know that there's something waiting for them when they accomplish their goal. Some people have an intrinsic motivator to set and accomplish goals. I'm one of them. But, most people don't. The celebration is a great motivator.

As a class, we brainstormed a variety of celebrations, both big and small. Most celebrations were for our class goals, but a few of these could be for individual goals, too. The idea was to get students excited about accomplishing their goals.

SMART Goal setting isn't just for individuals. I use to all the time to set class goals. We set behavior goals on our ScoreBoard (more positive than negative points), percentage goals on our computerized math program, number goals on how many stars we got for doing homework, etc.

There are a myriad of possibilities for whole group goal setting. Figure out what you want your class to do and set a goal on it.

I've done a few other blog posts on Goal Setting, if you're interested in more information:

Do you set goals in your classroom, either individual or whole class? I'd love to hear how you help students see that their actions are important and make a difference in their lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Goal Setting in Elementary School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have such an awesome opportunity to empower students to set goals and celebrate with them when they reach their goals. Most students don't reflect on their own learning naturally. It's not an innate skill that students have when they come to school. Actually, most adults don't have that skill either.

# data[].attributes.body
Scroll down to the bottom to see Kindergarten Writing Goals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I'm sorry I've been so M.I.A. lately. A big reason for that (besides soaking up some quality time with my girls) is the summer course I've been taking. I'm taking part 2 of my writing specialist right now (I took part 1 in the spring session). It's been a lot of work (so glad I decided against taking 2 courses this summer), but it's been good work. I've spent a lot of time reflecting on HOW I teach writing (which I LOVE), and I'm so excited to bring some of these ideas into the classroom in the Fall.

A large focus of my course has been on differentiating instruction in the writing classroom. One of the ways I already do this is through the creation of personal writing goals for the students. I really started my focus on this at the beginning of last year. During my first writing conference with my students (after our first diagnostic), the student and I decide on a personal writing goal based on their needs (example: organization, word choice, sentence structure, etc.). During subsequent conferences, the student and I evaluate if they have met the goal, and move on to a new goal if they were successful. Around January I decided I needed a more visual way of displaying their writing goals - hence the writing goal clip chart. The one I was using last year was a good fit ... but it wasn't a perfect fit, so I knew I wanted to work on it over the summer.

So, my Personal Writing Goals Clip Chart was born. I will use it in the classroom to help students track their personal goals. They will use a clothespin to do this (do you see my beautiful washi tape clothespins - I made them in true multi-tasking style while watching my daughters' soccer practice). I will write the students' names on the clips in sharpie (but I know some of you prefer to use numbers).

Another great part - this visual will quickly help me see what students to pull for a quick guided writing lesson. All students on the same goal strip can come together for a focused minilesson - discussing their goal in reference to the assignment they are working on.

The writing goal strips can also be used to build a set of success criteria for writing for the whole class. You could start with one or two goal strips, adding a new strip to the chart each time a new goal is taught through a lesson, ending with the full chart by the end of the year. The strips are held together with binder clips / book rings (LOVE the metallic rings I found at Staples), but in the past I have used ribbon to hold the strips together. The binder clips make it easier to change the goal strips.

There are 2 sets of goals included in each resource - one has the common core standard written on each strip, and the other set does not have the standard listed (which I will use in my class). I have sets for all grade levels - K-8. You can preview any of them by clicking on the links:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Differentiation in Writing - Goal-Setting Clip Chart

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I'm sorry I've been so M.I.A. lately. A big reason for that (besides soaking up some quality time with my girls) is the summer course I've been taking. I'm taking part 2 of my writing specialist right now (I took part 1 in the spring session).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Setting GOALS with Students ~ RtI ~ SMILE Goals for Making Progress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
GOAL SETTING FREEBIE! Teach your students how to take ownership of their own learning by setting goals for themselves. The product is designed to boost progress in your classroom and complement your RtI / intervention program.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In my current position as a math interventionist, I work with struggling students in grades K-5. It goes without saying that the students I see in grades 3-5 are at risk for not being successful on the state test they will take in the Spring. I've attended a number of professional development sessions over the past couple of years that stressed the need to have students involved in tracking their own data and setting goals for achievement. This past week, I began the process with my students. This should actually have been done in the fall, but better late than never.

First, let me give you a rundown of the data we used for this activity. I wanted to use the data that would be the best predictor of success on the STAAR test, so we didn't use classroom grades. There are too many factors involved in classroom grades for them to be a strong predictor for STAAR. Over the course of the year, however, our students have the opportunity to take several assessments that mirror the STAAR test, so these are the assessments I decided to use. Some of these assessments are developed at the district level. We call them DLAs, which stands for District Learning Assessments. We also recently gave a STAAR Benchmark test which, in effect, was a practice STAAR test. Because our DLAs are short (15 questions or so), we felt it was important for our students to experience a test that was the same length and rigor of the test they'll take in April (46-50 questions...don't get me started...). In addition, we have previous STAAR results for our 4th and 5th grade students, if they were in Texas and took the tests. I will reference these tests as I discuss our process.

I started with a story about running a marathon. I explained that a marathon is a 26-mile race and that people take up to a year to train for one. I told the students that in order to train for a marathon you have to set goals and make a plan, and that the goals and plan depend on my starting point.

What if I tell you that right now I can only run 1 mile. If I can only run 1 mile right now, what might be a reasonable goal for me to set for the distance I want to be able to run 2 weeks from now? (I got some pretty interesting answers to this question that were definitely a formative assessment for reasonableness!) Sure! I think if I can run 1 mile right now, I should be able to reach 2 miles in a couple of weeks.

Now, what if I tell you that I'm already running 5 miles four times a week? If I'm already running 5 miles four times a week, I'm a pretty strong runner. What might be a reasonable goal for me to reach in 2 weeks? Seven or eight miles? I think 7 or 8 miles is pretty reasonable. Because I'm already a pretty strong runner, I might make quicker progress.

The point is that you have to look at where you are right now before you can set goals. That's why we're going to take a look at how you've done on some of the tests you've already taken and then set a goal for what you want to score on the next DLA.

Now remember, if I just set a goal-I want to be able to run 2 miles in two weeks-but I don't actually go out and run, I probably won't reach my goal. So we're also going to decide on three action steps you can take to reach your goal. For example, I might say I'm going to run 4 days a week, I'm going to cut down on fast food and eat healthier, and I'm going to get at least 7 hours of sleep at night. Do you see how doing each of those things might help me reach my goal of being able to run 2 miles two weeks from now? Good! Let's get started!

We used a very plain graph, which you can download . I worked graphing skills into the activity by having the students add a title to their graph and figure out and add the missing numbers on the graph scale. Then, I told the students their scores for the previous tests, and they graphed them. I have to tell you that seeing the scores came as quite a shock to some of the kiddos. I think we assume our students know their scores and understand them, but seeing them on the graph was very eye-opening for them. I think some students were also surprised at how flat their bars were, or that their scores were actually going down. I'm happy to report there were no tears.

After graphing their scores, I asked each student to consider what they wanted their goal to be for the next DLA they will take. Some of them wanted to set the goals unrealistically high, so I reminded them of my marathon example. I still think some are a little high, but it will be a learning experience. I used a blue highlighter to mark their goal. Here are a couple of the 5th Graders' graphs. You can see that their goals are quite different.

Monday, we will discuss and decide on specific action steps they can take to reach their goals. The action steps should be very specific, such as:

Practice multiplication facts on FASTT Math 5 times a week

Spend more time and effort on my homework

Slow down and read word problems more carefully and draw pictures to help me visualize the math

Ask my teacher to move my desk so I can focus my attention better

Find a math partner to work with who can help me understand math better

These are just some examples I thought of. I'm sure the students will come up with lots more on Monday. The students are going to write their three action steps on the back of their graphs, and we'll review them every couple of weeks to hold the students accountable.

On Monday the students will also take a closer look at their data from the Benchmark to determine the standards they already know well and those they still need to work on. As we work on each standard over the coming months, we'll revisit the data and they'll be able to see growth.

Once the students take their next DLA, they'll add it to the graph and decide if they need to adjust their goal for the STAAR test.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this process! I think holding students accountable for their own data and achievement can be very powerful and is often underutilized.

You can click to download a copy of the graph,

You might also like these posts:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Setting Goals for Student Achievement - Math Coach's Corner

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In my current position as a math interventionist, I work with struggling students in grades K-5. It goes without saying that the students I see in grades 3-5 are at risk for not being successful on the state test they will take in the Spring.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I just received the most wonderful thing in the mail! My sweet friend Sandy makes these precious Show and Tell Aprons. Now, I have a child size one, too!

They are fabulous for teaching all sorts of things- spelling sight words, recognizing sight words, number facts, sequencing... I love my apron. The kids are crazy about their new apron. We are just starting our Fairy Tale unit- so it's perfect. The children can retell fairy tales in order using the wonderful cards to go with the apron.

The clip art is from Whimsy Workshop- who is another one of my favorite people in the world! We will be using this apron A LOT! After we read and retold Three Billy Goats Gruff, this little sweetie wanted to retell it during free choice time. I think she's pretty happy wearing that apron! (You can see some of my Dr. Seuss friends in the background, too...)

We planted our beans for Jack and the Beanstalk. I got a little carried away watering them- AKA mud. I hope they are going to be fine. Last year, one of my little guys brought in a bean that grew from his beanstalk. I always make some extra in case one or two of the beans aren't "magic."

I love teaching the children about writing details. This week, I put out 5 different beanie baby cats that I had. The children each had to choose one cat to write about but NOT tell anyone which cat they chose. Then, they had to write a description of the cat they picked so others could tell which cat it was, just by the description.

The cat has a pink nose and a pink scarf with white fur and blue eyes and pink whiskers and four white paws and pink nails and I love it.

After the children wrote, I showed their writing on the Elmo up on the Smartboard. We read it together, noticed the beautiful spaces, neat writing on the line, punctuation... Then, I called up another student to choose which cat was written about in the description.

To check if we were right, the children also drew an illustration on the top of the paper.

This is always a favorite activity. We do this quite a few times. I use monster pictures, different balls that I have and ducks. I posted about Ducks and Details here.

This week was all about Dr. Seuss! The children love hearing his stories. We did lots of fun activities! I posted some of my favorites here if you'd like to see them!

One of my little sweeties went on a trip last week to visit her dad who is stationed in Colorado. Along with her books to read, I sent this journal for her to write in to tell about her trip. I loved her story!

It was awesome. I liked the part when we took off. I miss you.

Saturday I went to the movie theater and watched Sponge Bob. It was good.

Sunday I played outside with my friend. We 'rided' on our bike and played on the playground.

Today it is cold outside so I am going to stay inside today.

I helped my dad shovel the whole driveway today.

Yesterday I went to the aquarium and saw sharks. Guess what? The music went 'don don don.'

I saw the Statue of Liberty. (when she was flying home... not the one in Colorado. :)

Finally, here was my sweet moment of the week. I had some of the children use our housekeeping table for writing in the morning. Then, we cleaned up to go to specials. After the children left, and I went back into the room, I noticed that one of my little girls went back and set the table, color coordinated on the place mats... including a fruit bowl! I want to take her home with me!

Have a happy, healthy weekend. Thank you for stopping by!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I just received the most wonderful thing in the mail! My sweet friend Sandy makes these precious Show and Tell Aprons. Now, I have a child size one, too! They are fabulous for teaching all sorts of things- spelling sight words, recognizing sight words, number facts, sequencing... I love my apron.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Browse over 30 educational resources created by kinder-gardening in the official Teachers Pay Teachers store.

# data[].attributes.body
You will LOVE her!!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WOW! I feel like I haven't blogged in a really long time! I have been VERY busy trying to produce pals! I am glad that I decided to take a day to get back to the core of teaching!

Several weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a training offered by the state of Tennessee. The leaders of the early literacy group were phenomenal, and I learned so much about the the skills needed in order to become a strong and skilled reader. This information was great for me (since I am teaching a majority of my kiddos these skills), but it is also great for those looking for what skills to focus on during reading intervention.

I want to begin by showing an illustration of what skills are needed in order to become a skilled reader.

In order to become a skilled reader, a student needs all of these parts of the rope. If any one part of the rope is missing, the rope becomes weaker. Our leader explained the seriousness of having each skill like a multiplication problem. Let's take a look at the word recognition part of the rope:

Let's pretend we are using a rubric of 3 for each one of the skills in word recognition. A 3 means you have mastered the skill, a 0 means you have no mastery of the skill. Let's look at what you would score if you had reached mastery in all 3 skill areas:

(You received a 3 in phonological awareness, a 3 in decoding, and a 3 in sight recognition)

A 27 is a perfect score. Now let's see what would happen if you had a problem recognizing sight words. So, instead of a 3, you scored a 1.

Whoa! So, the fact that you could not recall sight words diminished your over all word recognition score from a 27 to a 9! I can NOT stress the importance of having each of these skills when learning to read.

In this post, we are going to be solely focusing on WORD RECOGNITION.

First. lets take a look at each of the parts of the word recognition portion of the reading rope.

1. Phonological awareness- Can the students HEAR the sounds in a word? Can your students hear rhyme, syllables, and phonemes? This is the important step that needs to be taken before decoding can be effectively taught.

2. Decoding- Do the students understand that there is a relationship between the written word and the spoken word? Do they understand that each letter corresponds to a specific sound? We spend A LOT of time on this in kindergarten!

3. Sight recognition- Can the students recall sight words quickly or do they try to sound out all their words? If you want a game that helps students work on sight word recognition, take a look at this fun way to work on quick recall here.

As you can see in the picture above, these pieces of the rope are braided. They are braided because you need EACH part in order to build firm word recognition skills. If you only have 2 pieces of the rope, can the rope be braided?

Knowing all of these parts of the word recognition rope, I now have a plan of how I am going to teach reading come the fall. Last year, many of my kiddos struggled with hearing all the sounds in a word. I would often see students' written work where they skipped over entire syllables. I have decided that this year, I am going to spend the first SEVERAL weeks just working on phonological awareness. That means I am going to teach letter sounds without teaching them the letter that goes with that letter sound. I really want to focus on having them HEAR the sounds and breaking words down into parts. I think spending more time on breaking words down in the front end will help them to be able to put words together with greater success and ease! How am I going to do this? That is the exciting part!

At the training, our presenters talked about a phonics program called Zoo Phonics. Our county already has a phonics program, but I thought that I might supplement it with Zoo Phonics. In this program, students first learn that there are sounds in words. Each sound, or phoneme, is represented by an animal (remember, no relationship between letters and sounds has been made at this point). I will teach them all the animals and sounds in the first 2 full weeks of school. Once the students have learned each sound, they can start building words with the phonemes that they know. I am planning on using beanie babies to have students build words.

Let's start with CVC words.

I will always use these 3 colors to signify beginning, middle, and end. We will begin by "stretching the word," and then I will let them use the beanie babies to create words. This example shows how the students spelled the word "cap."

This next picture shows onset and rime. It shows students how there is a beginning sound and an ending sound. This is how we begin to show our students the importance of word families.

I think it is great that students can begin to see the relationships between words! When the students start learning about word families, they will begin to see the relationships between those words! They will probably shout out that the ending 2 phonemes are the same!

I love how to teach the silent "e" at the end.

Excuse the lack of an elephant! :) I have not found an elephant beanie baby yet. Also, when a vowel uses the long sound (as in cape) I will put a little hard hat on the animal (probably from a construction stuffed animal) because it has to work twice as hard to say 2 sounds.

As the students show mastery of word building, we can begin to trade out the beanie babies for letters with the animal transposed on top of it.

I believe that this method can help students to learn to listen for each sound in a word. I am excited about using this method to teach reading, and this method helps there to be a seamless transition between phonemic awareness and decoding. When looking at the reading rope graphic, I see how the rope begins at the top with phonemic awareness, then decoding, then sight word recognition. Each skill requires the other skills in order to be skilled in word recognition. It is of vital importance to build each part of the rope. I realized that I spent a lot of time on decoding and sight word recognition, and I spent very little time on phonological awareness. I can't wait to use some of these strategies to help integrate more phonological based lessons in my classroom.

We will continue next week with the Language Comprehension part of the reading rope!

Do you have any word recognition strategies/lessons that you use in your classroom? Let me know!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WOW! I feel like I haven't blogged in a really long time! I have been VERY busy trying to produce pals! I am glad that I decided to take a day to get back to the core of teaching! Several weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a training offered by the state of Tennessee.

# data[].attributes.body
This has great curriculum and videos!

# data[].attributes.headline
Kinder Craze - A Kindergarten Teaching Blog

# data[].attributes.subject
Kinder Craze - A Kindergarten Teaching Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kinder Craze - A Kindergarten Teaching Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The blog that used to be here is now at http://www.deannajump.com/.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A few weeks ago I was contacted by a Party City representative offering me 'Read Across America' themed items to use in my classroom if I was willing to share how I used them on my blog so that other teachers and parents could help join in the celebration!

Party City wants teachers to celebrate the 113th birthday of America's favorite author, Dr. Seuss and the "Hat's Off to Reading" campaign

And just this week I found this waiting for me on my doorstep...

There is still time to grab some of these goodies from Party City to help you celebrate in your classroom!

Party City's Party Kits are an easy and stress-free way for busy teachers and parents to put together a Dr. Seuss celebration! From decorations and serveware featuring all your favorite characters, to costumes and accessories (including the iconic red and white hat)--Don't just throw a party, Throw a Party City Dr. Seuss Party!

I took some pictures of what I received and how I plan to use them so that you have time to do the same in your classrooms (or in your home) before Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2nd! After I use them with my class this week, I plan to add some more pictures to the post!

(***This post was updated on 3/5/17 to include pictures from this year's celebration!***)

To get started these are the things I received:

*Cat in the Hat headbands

*Thing 1/Thing 2 headbands

I have matched some of the items above to popular Dr Seuss books and also added in some additional activities I have done in the past for each book to give you tons of options!

This is a 'staple' book when celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday!

The paper hats are fun to just wear, but I also like to turn them into a 'learning tool' to display something we are working on!

Prior to receiving these hats, I have used a 'Cat in the Hat' template I have found online and/or drawn one myself (in my early teaching years) to do this same activity:

You can give students a word family (ex -at) and have them generate words or have them pick a picture card and then think of words that rhyme with that word.

Do be sure to alter your choices so that there are enough words that rhyme with it to fill the 5 spaces on the hat!

(You can download the egg picture card pictured above FREE later on in the post!)

Here is one we used last year from a hat I drew and copied onto cardstock:

Another fun thing to do for Cat in the Hat is a directed drawing:

You can find AWESOME and FREE directed drawing directions from First Grade Blue Skies for the Cat in the Hat HERE!

Look at how adorable our '2017' drawings came out:

Last year we did some Thing 1 and Thing 2 directed drawings:

I don't have awesome step by step directions for this one because I did it from a picture I had of a thing! We used finger paint to fill in the red and blue, yet I saw a fun idea on Pinterest using a straw to blow the crazy hair onto the paper!

We also did some interactive writing about those crazy Things:

And it made a super cute bulletin board display:

We always seem to be in the middle of our 'how to' writing unit right around Dr. Seuss' birthday, so we talk about the steps on how to make this Cat in the Hat snack:

Here is what you need for them:

***I saw a healthier version on Pinterest using bananas & strawberries which might also work better for food allergies!***

For the life of me I cannot find the picture I took of our cute Cat in the Hat simple craft but will try to explain it:

*1 piece of red crepe paper

*white scraps of paper to make ears

Kids draw a cat face on the plate and color the outside edge ('bumpy part') black. They color the hat the traditional way and glue it onto the cat's head (plate). Add 2 ears and tie a piece of the crepe paper into a bow and glue it to the bottom of the plate.

It comes out SUPER cute!

****Green Eggs and Ham****

Every Dr. Seuss birthday has to have this book...and some green eggs!

For years I made eggs for my kids (add blue food coloring to the yellow eggs- it'll come out better than adding green!) but after a few years of egg allergies in my class I had to think outside the box!

So I started making these green 'eggs' from chocolate!

(I even pack some up for my boys lunches!)

Last year I made them on little pretzels:

(because I could only find 1 bag of white chocolate and didn't have enough for the big eggs!)

Our Cat in the Hat greets my kids with a platter of eggs in the morning:

We also play a green eggs/ham CVC game and spell some CVC words using green eggs throughout the week:

(You'll find this FREE later in the post!)

I also am planning on using some of these green eggs with the Party City goodies I received:

My kids LOVE writing in mini notepads when we do 'read the room' center, so I figured they will love using these Dr Seuss notepads and special pencils to practice sounding out and spelling CVC words:

I am finding my students are having a hard time distinguishing between vowel sounds (especially e and i) so I plan on using the green eggs for some vowel sorts. The Dr Seuss loot bags are perfect for holding the eggs! I used post-its to label my bags (so that I could re-use them again for something else) and will lay out the eggs for them to sort. I will also have them record the words on a printable.

We also use this 'green eggs and ham' CVC word/picture sort throughout the week:

(You'll be able to download this for FREE later on in the post!)

I will admit...I first picked out these Dr Seuss socks for the teachers on my K team to wear but when they arrived they said 'child size' and I didn't think they'd fit us!

BUT...I had a fox rhyming game I have used for years to practice rhyming that I knew would be even more fun with the addition of the socks!

So the foxes get stuffed into the socks...students pull out a fox, ID the picture, draw it and then think of something that rhymes with it and draw a picture. I am also going to encourage them to label their pictures.

(The recording sheet will be FREE later in the post. The foxes can be found HERE.)

****Bartholomew and the Ooobleck****

This books is super long but the kids LOVE listening to it (especially if you change up your voice!).

We always end Dr Seuss week with some oobleck!

It's SUPER easy to make and it's A TON of fun!

I have tried the cornstarch method...NO..too messy...do this one!

This year I remembered to take a video of the 'ooohs' as it turns into oobleck! Turn up the volume and enjoy:

After this I pour off the excess water and then rip pieces off for each of them to play with!

Here are some pictures of us enjoying our oobleck this year:

Here are a few other things that can be done during Dr Seuss week to go with a variety of his books:

We do a lot of pocketchart 'find the hiding___' activities with each theme/season, so I knew we needed a Dr Seuss one!

For this one I used the Dr Seuss cut-outs and some Post-It removable tape to write CVC words (you could use sight words, spelling words, letters, numbers, vocabulary words, etc!)

I cut the cat out of one of the cut-outs...

These cut-outs will be in our pocketchart.

The kids hide their eyes and one person hides the cat behind another cut-out.

The kids ask 'Is the cat hiding behind __(insert CVC words)__?' and the person who hid the cat checks under that word.

If the cat is there, the person who guessed correctly gets to now be the hider.

If it isn't, children continue to be chosen to guess until the cat is found.

I got 2 sets from Party City so I was thinking of also doing a matching activity with them and/or using them as math manipulatives for addition/subtraction!

Speaking of addition/subtraction....

They are SELF-INKING so no need for stamp pads!

You can call off a number sentence for them to solve and/or have them use dice to roll, record and show! All of them ink in 'blue' but there are a few different pictures to choose from!

Here is how we'll use it for subtraction practice:

We used them for subtraction practice on Dr. Seuss' birthday this year as our 'math lesson' for the day:

As a reward at the end of math, each child who used the stamps the right way (aka didn't ink up and down their hands and fingertips!) got to put 1 stamp on their hand!

And as I was writing this post I thought about how 'making 10' is coming up, so it would be fun to use the stampers to show different ways to make 10!

(in both composing and decomposing ways!)

In case you were keeping track of what was in my picture and what I have shared...

The 'Thing' patches are for the 9 teachers on my kindergarten team (it was perfect- the pack had Thing 1 to Thing 9 in it!)

Here is how ADORABLE my kindergarten team looked in our shirts and headbands:

The patches were easy to use...they ironed right on!

At the end of the day we will be gathering all of our classes for a Dr Seuss read-aloud in the gym.

Each child will receive one of the paper hats to wear and will go home with a pencil!

I even have a Cat in the Hat costume I found at a yard sale years ago just in case our principal wants to join in on the fun!

Here are some pictures of our reading celebration at the end of the day:

All 115+ kids sat in a HUGE circle in the gym. One of the teachers read The Cat in the Hat while the rest of us sat inside the circle holding copies of the book so that each child could see the pictures.

A few pages in our PE teacher came strolling in...as The Cat in the Hat!

He acted out parts of the story as added entertainment!

We even found some 'THING' 'patches' online and had each kid wear one all day!

The kids enjoyed it SO MUCH we are planning our next grade-level reading celebration for Friday April 21st- National Kindergarten Day! Stay tuned for the fun we have planned for that day!

I can't wait to share pictures of our fun day and all the fun things we'll be doing!

Here are our treats on the special plates!

Each child got a 'green egg' (chocolate), Lorax cookie, Cat in the Hat fruit kabob and Red Fish, Blue Fish crackers! We also enjoyed THING JUICE!

The Cat in the Hat approved of our treats!

What is THING JUICE?

Simply blue Hawaiian Punch with a special label!

Then there is a squirt of whipped cream on top and some red & blue sprinkles!

As exciting as the snacks were, when they opened the napkins they discovered ALL the characters we had read about all week!

And my boys lucked out too because they had this fun Dr Seuss inspired breakfast and lunch too:

(Sometimes it's REALLY great to be the kid of a teacher mom!)

At the end of the day each of my kiddos took home a goodie bag filled with a pencil, notepad, stamp and special cut-out thanks to Party City:

Some other fun things we did included:

And although the door on this year's celebration is now closed,

you can still get ready for next year's celebration...

Since I feel SUPER honored to have been gifted all these WONDERFUL things from Party City, I think it is only fair I 'pay it forward' and gift my readers with some things they can use during 'Read Across America' week, so click HERE:

To find all the recording sheets shown in this post, as well as the green eggs and ham center pieces!

It was a SUPER FUN celebration from beginning to end!

and a day I know my kindergarteners are sure to never forget!

Some of the other bloggers that received materials from Party City are sharing what they are doing to!

Be sure to check back to find links to their posts:

Stories & Songs In Second:

Hope you have a super fun week!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A few weeks ago I was contacted by a Party City representative offering me 'Read Across America' themed items to use in my classroom if I was willing to share how I used them on my blog so that other teachers and parents could help join in the celebration!

# data[].attributes.headline
Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten

# data[].attributes.subject
Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The blog that used to be here is now at http://www.livelovelaughkindergarten.com/.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The blog that used to be here is now at http://www.livelovelaughkindergarten.com/.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Free weblog publishing tool from Google, for sharing text, photos and video.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I am a Kindergarten Teacher, wife to an amazing man, mom, vegetarian, lover of nature, and the creator of Kindergarten Planet on TpT!  I love to share ideas!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A place for me to share new ideas and what is going on in my Kindergarten classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hey Friends! What a wet summer it is here in Oklahoma! I just love to lay on the couch and read when it rains! I have been doing a lot of reading and reflecting. I am joining up with Mary at Sharing Kindergarten, Crystal at Kreative in Kinder and Kelly at Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten. We knew that this is a teacher's time to reflect and work through their classroom procedures and management. So we are all posting about Centers.

I just love it when my students are at Centers. It allows them to not only get hands on enrichment but it also allows them to move their little bodies around! It also allows me to differentiate to their different needs and abilities. I also love that I am about to work with small groups during this time.

Every summer I reread two books. No teacher can do centers the exact same, it would be silly to expect that. My teaching partner is fabulous. We teach almost identically. However; our centers procedures are completely different. So saying that. I read these two books, and this is what I took from them.

To keep a classroom full of 20 5-year-olds you are going to have to have a little bit of organization, and a pinch of magic! When I do centers, I have 10 different things going on at once, so there HAS to be organization. If you ask my husband, (Or anyone else for that matter) he will tell you I am the most unorganized person ever! But in my classroom, although it is messy, and stacks of papers all over my desk. My centers are organized and the best part, is the kids keep it organized.

Part One: How to keep all my pieces together.

I don't know about you, but at the end of last year, I had a huge dishtub FULL of random center pieces. It was a MESS. How in the world was I going to keep these guys organized, especially since I have centers for about 30 different themes?! I went out and bought 10 binders, and enough page protectors and tabs to last me a life time. I sat down and first sorted all my center pieces by month, then sorted each month by theme. And into the binders they went.

Part 2: Where do you keep it all?

I am SOOO lucky that I have these gorgeous shelves in my classroom. (Nevermind that they are exposed at all times) If you notice, there are ten columns of cubbies. And each column has three cubbies at the bottom for my kiddos backpacks and two on top filled with white crates. These are my special monthly crates that I spent all last summer buying 2 from every Dollar General in the 4 state area. The top row houses all my center binders and games and manipulitives (And in the February is all my extra Valentines and Our Elf is in the December box). The bottom row is all of our books for the month. Easy to keep track of where my centers are at all times. If I find a random turkey in the middle of March, I can easily pull out one tub and put that Tom back where he belongs.

Part 3: How do you organize what the kids are using?

Each week I have 4 tubs, they are always the same activity but with a different theme and skill. I have them stacked nicely on the counter. Always the same place. The kids have learned very quickly where they are, and are very independent

IS there a way that you are going to be organizing your centers this year? Please let me know!! I am going to be back later with some management strategies

Want to check out some more ideas for Centers?! Head on over to see Mary, Crystal and Kelly's posts on centers! They have some GREAT ideas!!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hey Friends! What a wet summer it is here in Oklahoma! I just love to lay on the couch and read when it rains! I have been doing a lot of reading and reflecting. I am joining up with Mary at Sharing Kindergarten, Crystal at Kreative in Kinder and Kelly at Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
FLASHBACK to my first year teaching:

The thought of center time raised my blood pressure.

I was flat out scared to give my children even a small bit of control in my room.

It was 100% MY FEAR and 0% developmentally okay.

Looking back, why did I think that 4 year olds in PreK could do this
and my own 5 year olds could not?

So I finally, reluctantly did center time
THE THIRD WEEK OF SCHOOL.
{Shame and embarrassment is my emotion of admitting that...}
How did my first round of centers go?

Those kids were most likely so happy I stopped talking to them and let them play
they would have done just about anything!

My second year teaching we went to open choice centers the first day of school.

And every year after my first year...
center time was a huge part of the first day of school.

In fact, center time went from being my most fearful time of the day
to my absolutely favorite time of day.

I am also blessed to be a presenter for SDE
and one of my most popular topics...

Each time I present on this topic I get to take attendee questions
and try to get in their minds to help them even more.
So here is my
10 Steps for Center Success to get you and

your students on the road to a successful center time as well.

When you are teaching your student all about Kindergarten

don't be scared to let them go to centers from the start.

You are teaching them about procedures, expectation, and routines.

We all know this is going to be their favorite time of day.

The need to know why they are working so hard...

We have a saying in my room,
"Work hard to play hard."
All my preK students expect to play in Kindergarten.

Many will ask for when they get to play.
This is extremely important for them.
Your job as the leader in the classroom is to
plan for how to make center time work in your classroom

and how to set up your students for success.

Here is a picture of the chart I made for my classroom.

To make this you will need:

- a large, firm piece of poster board

-construction paper strips and circles

I select all the centers pieces I need in my classroom
and print out only those pieces.
Here is an image of all the center pieces I printed out.

I lay them visual centers cards out on the poster board,
then cut out little paper circles and
glue them down to the card before I laminate the pieces.
{The circle let my students know how many friends can be at that center at a time.
If a clip is on the circle,
they can grab the clip.
If the circle is empty, that clip is out.

I only have to do this one time for several years,
so it is worth the effort.

Now I have to make the clothes pin to match.

When I cut out the colored circles,
I also cut out strips of the same paper to glue to the clothes pins.

I clip a clothes pin onto a basket to hold it up and
use Mod Podge to glue down the paper and seal it.
I usually have to remake these clips year after year.
The Mod Podge helps keep the paper on the clip amazingly,
but my little ones usually ruin the hinge part of the clips before anything else happens.
I also make several extra clips in each color so if a colored clip breaks,
I can easily replace it with some extra ones I have stashed away.

Since I put the colored paper on both sides of each clip,
attaching them to a basket is a huge help and time saver
while the glue is drying.

Lastly, I use Velcro pieces to attach the visual center card to the board.

WHY?

I don't open the year with all the centers open.
I usually open with just 6 TABLE centers.
{My tables are color coded so they would be the
Yellow Table, Orange Table, Red Table, Purple Table, Blue Table, and Green Table.}

I like to be able to add and take away centers as needed.

After I have a plan on how to manage center time,
I have to model exactly what I expect to see from my little ones during this time.
1. I model how to go to centers.
I show them the right way and the wrong way.

I also explain WHY we have these rules.
2. I model how to change from center to center.
In my room, we return to the clip chart.

Then we put our current clip back to its home,

then we chose another colored clip.

I also model how to clean up each station as they go.
3. I model how to complete centers.
I expect them to clean up after themselves.
I also give my students time to model for me.
They show me what I expect.

And if we ever have a few friend join our class,

we model all over again.

Honestly, it is a good idea to model expectations and procedures as often as needed.

If you find yourself reminding several friends how to do something during center time,

it might be a good time to remind everyone.

After you set them up for success and model,

LET THEM GO try centers.

You don't know what you forgot to tell them

or maybe how awesome they will do with centers

until you let them go.

I bet you will be impressed with
how great they do with the independence
you have given them.

And the ability to play.

As you let your little ones go to centers,

I like to start off the year standing close to the clip chart to help them exchange clips.
But my eagle eyes are all over the room.
I like to see who clean up,

shares their toys with others,

walks away from situations,

and even who prefers to play with who.

I can usually identify leaders in the room easily during this time.

I can also identify pushovers and bullies.

{I say that nicely.

I need to know who doesn't know how to stand up for themselves yet

and those who will take over for them.

These are areas I need to work on with friends in the room.}
Sometimes I discover friendships I never would have expected.
And I always find out who can play with anyone and who no one wants to play with.

I should say this.

I am blessed beyond measure to have a TA in my classroom most of the day.
But I do not socialize with them while we have students in the classroom.
I am too busy WATCHING and LEARNING.

I ask my aid to do the same thing.

She usually hangs out around the tables during this time to keep students at the right color table

{table colors match clip colors}

or she sends them to me to change out their clips.

If my students do something wrong,

I calmly remind them or show them what I want them to do,

and ask them to try it again.

If I see someone doing something I think is AMAZING,

I ask them to try that again for everyone else to see.

It is how they learn.

And if center time doesn't go great the first time you do it,

guess what my advice to you would be?

Tell your class in a nice way what was good or not good

and ask them to TRY IT AGAIN with you.

Remember how I said I start centers

at the beginning of the year with colored tables only?

Well, I also have a LOFT in my classroom and

an art center and lots of other stations my students

want to get into.

Once we can handle transitioning from center to another,

I know we are ready for a new center.

So I open each fun station one at a time station to another

When we open the loft up,

I give the directions for that station.

Then I make sure each student gets to go to that station before anyone goes twice.

I keep a class list with me to make sure.

I make sure each student does the right thing in that station.

Once we have learned that center,

we move on to another center like sensory table or art.

My students know a new center will be opened as their behavior

and ability to follow the rules continues.
I also let my students choose which fun station they want to open next.
I can not and will not clean up after 20 students.

It is not my job to be their mothers

{not that I clean up after my own 5 year old... I do not.}

if you don't clean up a center then it will be closed tomorrow.

It is amazing how clean they can make a station if they really want to play it tomorrow.

When your students ROCK center time,

And they will do an awesome job,

so act like they just won The Noble Peace Prize.

Even if everything is going crazy, pick the one thing you loved seeing ...

You will see more of it.

Have you noticed all my centers have been play centers?
Yep.
You have to let them play.

Play is how they learn.

I start center time off with only play centers.

They can play with math manipulatives and learning items

but PLAY should be in their classroom.

I always start to add " work centers " around the third or forth week of school.

I make them fun and interactive so they never mind going to them.

I also give my class 6 work stations a week,

but buffer them with FUN centers so my class

can and does PLAY every day.

If you need some ideas for centers,

I do a weekly blog post dedicated to centers called

Need some more center help?

Check out these posts by some of my friends.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Steps to Center Success - Sharing Kindergarten

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
FLASHBACK to my first year teaching: The thought of center time raised my blood pressure. I was flat out scared to give my children even a small bit of control in my room. It was 100% MY FEAR and 0% developmentally okay. Looking back, why did I think that 4 year olds in PreK could ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Centers To Create Learning Experiences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Literacy centers have always been my students' favorite part of the day. I am always sad when I talk to teachers and they say they d...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten shared Kindergarten Reading Comprehension Stories that are so much fun for emergent readers! Students read a text with CVC words and sight words while using the tracking dots to point to the words as they read. Students color a star or symbol at the top of the page each time they read.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I am joining the Pinterest Pick 3 Linky hosted by Lisa over at PAWSitively Teaching and Marissa over at Inspired Owl's Corner! Every month on the 3rd, bloggers can link up their top 3 Pinterest picks of the month.

This month I am pinning three ideas that I would like to incorporate into my classroom this upcoming year. I tried to keep things simple, I;m not trying to recreate my entire classroom but I'm open to trying some new things. Hopefully these ideas give you a little inspirations as well.

Flexible seating is all the rage right now and I try not to jump on educational bandwagons for no reason (i.e. I'm kinda over the whole light box in the classroom deal). But flexible seating is something I have used in my classroom from day one, I just never gave it a name. Theses DIY stability ball chairs are going to be a perfect addition to try out without spending loads of money, Check back for the results later!

The more I read about Kagan Structures, the more I am so eager to use them in my classroom! I have loved reading posts over on the Primary Press about how she uses them in her classroom.

Confession, I am the WORST at birthdays. I always prep cute little gifts, I have a big birthday hat and crown, and an adorable chair decoration. And then,,,, I forget. I am the queen of forgetting birthdays; not a title I am proud of. Add in the fact that I often have kids moving in and out of my classroom over the year and it's game over trying to remember. Hopefully this cute display will help and I can easily update with new student photos when needed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I am joining the Pinterest Pick 3 Linky hosted by Lisa over at PAWSitively Teaching and Marissa over at Inspired Owl's Corner! Every month on the 3rd, bloggers can link up their top 3 Pinterest picks of the month. This month I am pinning three ideas that I would like to incorporate into my classroom this upcoming year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I am a male kindergarten teacher in  in Nashville, TN.   I love all things teaching and creating and GLITTER! www.thekindergartensmorgasboard.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Classroom design has become a major topic of conversation (and controversy!) so today I'm excited to reveal my 2017-2018 classroom with our simple, kid friendly design! In our classroom, you'll...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Classroom design has become a major topic of conversation (and controversy!) so today I'm excited to reveal my 2017-2018 classroom with our simple, kid friendly design! In our classroom, you'll...

# data[].attributes.body
Free online textbooks, flashcards, practice and real world examples.

# data[].attributes.body
Academic resource for text and curriculum.

# data[].attributes.body
Activities and materials include all of the following:

o support the lesson objectives;o are challenging;o sustain students’ attention;

o elicit a variety of thinking;o provide time for reflection;o are relevant to students’ lives;o provide opportunities for student-to-student interaction;

o induce student curiosity and suspense;

o provide students with choices;o incorporate multimedia and technology; and

o incorporate resources beyond the school curriculum texts (e.g., teacher-made materials, manipulatives, resources from museums, cultural centers, etc.).