New Year, New Procedures {w/Tickled Pink in Primary}

Returning to school after Winter Break can be challenging. Students have had a few weeks off and probably less structure than you provide. :) Now, is a great time to review rules/procedures and introduce any new ones you'd like to try.

Most schools are facing budget cuts and starting to track how many copies each teachers use. In order to cut down on worksheets for morning work, I have decided to let my students use wipe-off boards. After students come in, unpack their things, do their lunch count, etc. they then head to the rug and get out their wipe-off board supplies. Each kid has their own wipe-off board with their number on the back of the board. I let them do WHATEVER they want as long as it's educational. It's interesting to see what students choose to work on, whether it be something they need to practice or something they just enjoy learning about. When I walk around, I see students drawing pictures and then writing a sentence about it, practicing letters/numbers/sight words, doing math facts, etc. This keeps them busy, engaged, and working from the first few minutes they walk in the door!  

I still have to use some worksheets in centers to hold students accountable for their work. I wanted to start to let my students assess their own work and give me an idea on how they feel about what we are learning. If you've seen some of my past posts, you know that I give all my students a number. Students write their number on the top of pages so I can quickly see who turned in work. Then, they color code it to assess if the activity was easy, just right, or hard.

I like this idea because students get to let me know how the work was for them. I can then differentiate the work if needed. If I see a bunch of green, I know I can move on from that subject, if I see red, I know I need to re-teach. 

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New Year, New Procedures {With The Kindergarten Connection}

While a new calendar year doesn't mean a new school year just yet, it can sometimes feel like it when we return from break!
It's time for some new (or reviewed) procedures to get us back into the routine for a successful second half of our school year!

In my classroom we spend a ton of time in the fall building up our stamina. We work on being able to do things independently for a good amount of time - things such as Daily 5, math workshop, writing workshop, etc. By the time we hit mid October we are usually at about 15 min of stamina, which is great for my kinders!

However, returning from winter break can make the stamina go down again, so I introduce a new way to build it back up with a 10 day stamina challenge! 10 days is a great amount of time for us to build it back up again and get back into the swing of things. I find it to be a great boost for my kids when they return from break.

I use this stamina graph inside a dry erase pocket and usually keep it on our board or under the document camera. We check it out in between rounds of Daily 5 to see how we are doing each day and to set some goals.

There is also a version that is black and white if you want your students to have their own copy - that can be fun for keeping them accountable and learning about graphing too!

It goes up to 30 minutes so that other grade levels can use it, but my kinders usually do best about 15-18, so that is our goal!

Want to use the stamina graph in your own classroom? Grab your own copy HERE.
Happy New Year!

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New Year....New Classroom Procedures {from Aloha to Second}

Woo hoo!  It's a brand new year.  I always feel so refreshed and rejuvenated after the new year.  This could be because I spent some of my break pitching, cleaning, and organizing my apartment.  I know I'm crazy, but don't worry I also watched plenty of Netflix. ;]

 I like to spend this time after break in my classroom reviewing procedures and continue to implement some that I have been using before.  I want to share with you one of the procedures I love using in my room, and I review it first when we get back from long breaks!

I am sure many of you have used or seen an "I'm Done" list - especially on Pinterest.  Well, I am going to share with you my version of the I'm Done list in my classroom.  My favorite part - very little prep and some have NO prep!

I always like to see my kids working, and I get very frustrated if they are just sitting doing nothing or playing around.  So, I find the I'm Done list to be simply amazing!  My students also love using it, mostly because I list all the items on an anchor chart (I gradually introduce each item and explain how to do it throughout the year.  I typically share 1-2 items a week.) and the students get to CHOOSE which activity they want to complete.  I love providing my students with choices; I feel that it allows them to enjoy what they're doing and take pride in their work. 

Here is the list I display in my classroom.  I have it posted at the front so everyone can easily see it and find it.

1.  Practice Sight Words.  

I post our weekly sight words in a pocket chart (love Target!) at the front of the room.  Then, students use white boards and markers to practice writing the words.  They can also use wiki sticks!

2.  Tie Shoes

This is a skill my kindergarten students are still struggling with.  So, they go over and grab a shoe from the basket and practice!

3.  Drawer Games

I love the drawer games!  I have a container of drawers and each drawer is labeled for each table.  Students grab the activity out of the drawer that matches the table they sit at.  Then, they take the activity to the table and play the learning game.  You can see one of the games below.  They are either games I have created or purchased off TpT.  I rotate the games for each table every week - so I only have to switch out the games every 3 weeks!

4. Ipads

Well, this is pretty simple.  I am fortunate enough to have 2 iPads and 4 tablets in my room.  Students can use these to play learning games on!  They love it. :]

5.  Read

Students may go to the class library and read a book.  They may read look books or a book at his/her level.  They love sitting in my beach chairs and reading a good book. 

6.  Writing Center

Students really enjoy the writing center. I have two stools set up at my writing center.  Students sit on the stools, grab a paper, and write a story using some of the words on the poster.  They LOVE writing new words and they feel like superstars when they spell them correctly.  You can see I have a basket of materials - pink highlighter, pencils, crayons, stickers, and red pens.  They can also use the stickers to write stories.  There are different paper options they can choose from.  When we have indoor recess, my kids fight over going to this.  The prep is easy too!  I made all my boards for each month, so all I have to do is change them out each year. 

I hope you found something useful to use in your classroom!  Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by. :]

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How to Fit Running Records Into Your Reading Groups

Happy new year teaching friends! If you are busy setting lots of new year's resolutions for yourself and your classroom, then this next series of blog posts is definitely for you! We will be sharing some tips and ideas for classroom management and procedures to help you revamp your teaching for the new year.

Maybe your school/district requires you to take regular running records of your students or maybe you are just looking for a tool to help better guide your reading instruction. In either case fitting assessment in always seems to be a struggle especially when your small groups may only last about 10-15 minutes in kindergarten!

So here is how I manage to collect a running record from every student at least once a week. Crazy right? I promise you it can be done, and the more you do it the faster and better you get, all while really understanding your students as readers better.

First I should begin by sharing that my literacy block is structured based on the Daily 5/CAFE model from the 2 sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. 

I schedule 1 1/2 hours a day for my literacy block which is made up of 3 thirty minute rotations.  Each rotation consists of a 10 minute mini lesson and then 20 minutes of students completing one of the Daily 5 choices.  While students Read to Self, Read to Someone, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading, or complete Word Work, I do 2 different things. First I pull a small group to work on a specific strategy or skill that all students need, and send them off to practice while they complete their daily 5 choice. Then I conference with 2-3 students individually. Here is a visual of the planning sheet I use for my literacy block:

You can grab a FREE blank copy here if you'd like to use it for your class. 

Once I have this structure in place it is SO easy to collect running records from my students that I actually start each individual conference with a running record. I have time to do about 30-36 individual conferences a week so with 18 students that means I usually meet with my lowest readers an 2-3 times each week to make sure they are getting the support they need and the more fluent readers meet with me just once per week. Now I will say that running records in kindergarten are a bit easier because most students are at a level A-C when I start them in leveled books, but I quickly have students reading up to level H-J and sometimes beyond so it can be done!

So what will you need?
First knowledge of how to take running records. If you need a crash course, here is a link from the Reading A-Z website with the basics. Otherwise ask a literacy coach/reading specialist in your building and I am sure they'd be happy to help.

Next, a blank running record form. Of course you could use books that have running record forms that accompany them, but these can be limited and hard to find.  Plus as you get better, I find it is actually easier to just use a blank form with whatever leveled book the child is reading. You can grab blank forms here.

Last, spend time looking at the record and figuring out what each child needs to move them forward in their reading. We use a form to analyze student work as a grade level every week which helps our team share ideas and get help with our students' needs.

 I've found that since I started conducting regular running records with my students I really know and understand their reading needs better which has helped me to really accelerate their growth.  I hope you'll give it a try and find it worthwhile to try out in your classroom!

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