Monday Made It

I am so sad. This was my last care-free weekend... AND I took total advantage of it. 

The husband and I spent a lot of time together. We spent so much time together, he'll be happy that I am back to school this week!

I really hope this isn't my last Monday Made It for a while, but I am afraid it might be.

I've been hearing some nasty rumors about new curriculum requirements this year.

Requirements that will likely eat-up most of my free time. Boo!

Venting Alert--->WHY do we pay money hand over fist to publishing companies, if I have to spend my hours supplementing???<---Sorry, I needed to let that out.

Anyway, I'm just a little nervous about the expectations that are surrounded by Common Core. I've been to two workshops regarding Common Core already, and they were NOT helpful at all. They just reminded me of how much more work I'm going to have to do.

We shall see...

Enough of that boring stuff and on to my "Made It's"

1) First, I found a bunch of really cool stuff to spruce up my classroom. I spent a lot of time printing, cutting, laminating, and cutting again, but it was well worth it!

My pile of laminating to cut.

After about three hours, all of it was cut and organized. Ya!

 Here's a list of what is what:

*Binder Covers from the WONDERFUL Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants. They are editable, so I was able to make covers for everything! Yee-haw

*Welcome Pennant from Vickie at Mrs. Plant's Press. It's free and totally cute! Love it!

*CAFE headers for my bulletin board from Rachel at The Tattooed Teacher. I don't have a Wizard of Oz theme but these are so darlin' I couldn't pass them up. Plus, The Wizard of Oz is on the list of Exemplar Texts, that makes it totally relevant. :)

*Visual Directions cue cards for my little guys from Tiffani at Time 4 Kindergarten. These will be good to refer to while they are working.

*Fabulous Firsties Mega Word Work cards - Mrs. Mabe has created a fantastic set of Word Work cards. These will be great for myself and my part-time aid (if I actually get one - Lord help me!) who will be working with my inclusion students. Thanks!

*Abby's Ready to Read unit is fabulous for beginning of the year activities that will carry over throughout the year.

*Writing Station Starter Kit from Teri at A Cupcake For the Teacher. I was so happy to pick this up. It is perfect for independent writing time.

I put together my Writing Station board, and I am so pleased with how it turned out.

I hope my kiddos like it as much as I do!

I hung my Welcome Pennant above my Daily 5 I-Charts.

I've redone my I-Charts so they will be ready for me to fill in with my students responses.

We will complete the   I-charts on large chart paper, and then I'll convert the responses over to these smaller charts. We'll refer to these charts throughout the year. {Especially around the holidays!}

My new CAFE headers

The Visual Directions Cue Cards

Since I will be the reading teacher for a class of Kinders and Firsties, I will need two sets of Daily 5 pocket charts for our three daily rounds. When I first started the Daily 5 about six years ago, I had purchased the Target Dollar Spot pocket charts and used these choice cards. This system works really well for me, so I went out to Target and got some more charts. I hung them under my first set of charts and learned that they are made much smaller then my old charts! Oh no, my cards won't fit. Nothing is easy!

I had to make a new set of smaller cards.

First three rows are the smaller set for my Kinders and the last three rows are the normal sized cards for my Firsties. Click on the picture to pick up the smaller set of cards. 

Also, I had a request for a smaller sized 'Brainstorm Vocabulary' poster printable to fit on a file folder and here it is...

Click on the picture to get the document.

The first part is the large poster board version and the second part is the file folder version.

You'll need to use wittle Post-its.

My sister, Jill, has been very busy, too. She redid her classroom theme and has been working hard at hunting down anything in teal and brown.

She made an adorable frame for pictures.

(Please excuse the cell phone pictures, I had to steal these from her texts to me!)

interchangeable labels for our special days

our wonderful SEVENTH grade model, Molly

She made me a frame, too. I'm so lucky :)

We have also added Kristin's Quiet Creature. I think he looks like a llama.

Can I tell you how much I'm loving TPT's sale? 

I love it this much <------------------------------------------------------------------------>!

My wishlist has gotten a lot smaller with my new purchases. Yippers!

I may not have my own TPT store to promote for the sale, but Jill does. :)

She has some awesome science fair projects available for super cheap.

Here's a link to her store. Click {HERE}

Please go and check out everyone else's Made It"s while you still have time!

Thanks again, Tara!

Y'all have a great week!

Work on Writing

There are many reasons why I love the Daily 5.

Like ...

it's research based,

it builds independence and stamina,

 students work at their own level and pace,

the Sisters are the two coolest teachers ever,

and students are engaged in meaningful work.

Seriously, the list could go on and on.

Today, I wanted to share a little about the Work on Writing portion.

I hold 'Writing Workshop' at another time in the day, but for twenty minutes during any given round of the Daily 5 you might see some of my students quietly and independently writing in their journals.

Every year, this 'daily' (as I like to call the fab five - read to self, read to someone, work on writing, listening to reading, and word work) is a favorite among my students. In fact, I had to start choosing the 'dailies' for my students instead of giving them choice because everyone would only choose writing!

During Work on Writing, students are able to write in their journals on any topic of their choosing. Then, at the end of the round, they can share their stories (the kids favorite part.) When we have our mini-lessons, I'll teach them how to enhance their writing. Just some very brief little 5-7 minute lessons. All of the more difficult longer writing lessons are held during Writing Workshop time.

Work on Writing is a 'daily' that my students can start on Day One of school. At first, it is a beast to keep the kids sitting independently. But as you build their stamina and show them how to solve some troubleshooting problems that may arise, you'll notice your students lasting longer and writing better. It's pretty awesome.

Here are a few examples of one of my student's progress throughout this year:

***It has to be noted that this child is OBSESSED with whales and marine life. It is her passion. She has written about other topics, but for the most part, it's all about those whales!***

Beginning of the year:

Mid Year:

and

Now:

I cannot break some of my really southern kiddos of the "git" problem they have!
We have discussed this a million times!!

 I could have picked a longer piece, but this one cracks me up.

Also, I have other students who can fill pages of their journals in twenty minutes. Their stories are great, too. Typically, the girls love to write about their friends and animals.  The boys like to write about vehicles, their cool toys, or cowboy stuff.

I chose this child's work in particular because she is a struggling student.

The Daily 5 is rad!

Also, I really don't miss creating weekly centers. And the printing of center pieces. And the cutting of said center pieces. Which leads to laminating of them. Then, the cutting, again. Plus, you've got the organizing and storing of these center pieces. Oh ya, the printing of the coordinating work page to go with the center. And, last, the dreaded grading of the center work pages. Yep, don't miss that...

Anywho, if you have read some of my previous Daily 5 posts and there is a document you'd like to have but for some weird reason Scribd is asking you to pay for it, then just shoot me an e-mail and I will send you the document (for free!)

Have a great weekend!

My Daily 5 Day

I have something to confess...

I don't do the Daily 5 exactly the way "The Sisters" write about in their book. Well, let me rephrase that. I launch the Daily 5 exactly like the book says, but the management is where we differ. However, that is what is so great about "The Sisters" they don't want you to do exactly what they say. They want you to make it your own. 

{And thank God for that because I never seem to do what the books say no matter how hard I try.}

Once my little firsties have achieved their 20 minutes of stamina time, we are ready to begin the meat and potatoes of our literacy block!

When I first began using the Daily 5, I had one major thing to consider ...

the reading series. 

How do I integrate the reading series with the Daily 5?

I was required to read each week's basal story, learn the high-frequency words, focus skill, and focus strategy. I was to pull reading groups every day and use the intervention kit with my non-readers.

So, I had to think about what would work best with those requirements and still use the Daily 5 management system. Here's what I came up with:

I've since changed what goes above the pocket charts
and I will update the photo when I start my reading groups.

I decided to spend 40 minutes daily (whole group) covering the most important skills and lessons from the reading series. Then, I would spend about 60 minutes to pull reading groups/strategy groups/book clubs. This 60 minutes is when the Daily 5 would happen.

I split the kids into three groups {these groups are flexible and kids are moved to new groups all of the time based on their needs.} I bought the mini pocket charts from Target's Dollar spot for my three groups. I just color-coded the groups:

Red Group

Blue Group

and Green Group

There are three rounds and one of those rounds is to meet with me. The kids are only doing two of the Daily 5 choices a day.

I've let the kids pull their choices and I've also pulled the choices for the kids. I tend to lean towards pulling the choices for the kids because I would make sure they would do all of the Daily 5 choices in the week. When they pulled the choices they would only pull the same choices all of the time. My writers would always pull Work on Writing. My non-readers would only pull Listening. My chatty ones would only pull Read to Someone. They needed to do them all, especially Read to Self, so that is when I decided to intervene.

My little tray for the cards.

This system totally works for me, and I am still fulfilling my duties of teaching the reading series. Now, if I had my choice I wouldn't need a reading series at all, but that is not the case. {sad!}

I wish I could remember where I got these cards from so I could give the proper credit but I can't. {If it is you, please let me know!}

Daily 5 Pocket Chart Cards 1 Daily 5 Pocket Chart Cards 2 Daily 5 Pocket Chart Cards 3

Pete the Cat and Daily 5

Thanks to some pretty cool people (Deanna Jump & April Larremore @ Chalk Talk) and their recommendations, I am now the proud owner of both Pete the Cat books.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
& Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes

My kiddos absolutely L-O-V-E-D these books! The You-Tube videos are so cute and the kids (let's face it, me too) liked to hear the melody by the author. 
Click {here for the link} & Click {here the second book's link}


Just the most enjoyable way to start the year! The books are short, they have a pattern, they review color and school words, and the positive message is hard to miss.
*I'm in love*


I found some cute ideas to go along with these books on Pinterest. Also, I purchased Deanna Jump's newly revised Pete the Cat Literacy and Math pack from TPT.


Here's what we have done so far:

I used Deanna's Bubble Mat anchor chart ideas and them added the essential question, "What is Character?" We added the bubbles and talked about what they thought character means. It was nice to discuss a character with positive qualities and how my students should try to be positive as well. We all would much rather hang out with Pete than Little Rabbit Foo-Foo!

Then we made our own Pete the Cat's. I loved to see how well each child could follow directions, his/her fine motor skills, and her/his reading ability with this activity. Some little cuties would spend all of their time on Pete and then spend 2 seconds adding the words and not even read it was mixed up.


Here are two average papers:

AND here's the paper from my little sweetie who wants me to call her "Palm Tree."

I love the eyebrow whisker!


It always amazes me how young they are at the beginning of the year!


Daily 5:


For those of you new to Daily 5 or frightened to use the management system here's my Day  6 update:


So, I didn't get a chance to begin the Daily five on the first day of school, but I did begin the first week. We begin with Read to Self. We talked about the three ways to read a book and completed the I-chart together.

We modeled what it won't/will look like a few times. Then, I picked their spots around the room, and we worked on building our stamina for 3 minutes. It took about 4 tries and then we finally did it.
*You WILL get some students who think the rules don't apply to them. You want to nip that in the bud right away!*


Also, the most important thing for you to do is to sit at your Reading Table (alone with your own book) and BACK OFF! Read your book and sneakily look around the room for any rule breakers. The second you hear a rule breaker bring EVERYONE to the rug and model the incorrect/correct way because they need the reminder. After a few times of not meeting their goal and having to stop and come to the rug, most of the kids are annoyed and will speak up about trying harder to meet the goal.


After we met our goal, we had share time. We shared our favorite parts of books. Then, we were done for the day.


The next day, we reviewed the I-chart, incorrect/correct modeled what it looked like, and added a minute to our goal. The same thing will happen again about the rule breakers. So, we stop. Come to the rug. Review the I-chart. Model and try again.
Also, we discussed where the appropriate places to sit in the room are.

Please don't laugh at my AWFUL drawings!

The next day was the same routine, bumping it up a minute. Also, we discussed the I PICK method for shopping for new books. I let them pick their spots on their own, too! Read to Self still took a few tries before we hit our goal. Don't expect perfection right away. It takes practice to build that muscle memory!!


After another successful day, we added shopping for new books into our routine. I showed them where to put their old books (3) and had them pick three new books from my library. It took some time, but I really wanted them to be excited about their book choices. We bumped it up a minute and practiced until we met our goal.


Today, we added Work on Writing into the mix. We started with the I-chart.

I love the comment: "Doing teacher stuff."

We incorrect/correct modeled what it would look like (just like Read to Self.) Then, I placed them around the room and practiced for three minutes. We had to stop twice, due to talking, and then we made our three minute goal.


Tomorrow, we will discuss what our writing tools are and how important it is to have the things we need before we begin Work on Writing. And, of course, bump it up a minute.


Make sure to chart their results!

It's hard to see but there is 3 minutes filled in for Work on Writing.

Sorry this post is soooooo long. 
I hope you find it helpful. :)

The Daily 5

I've said this before and I'll say it again, "The Daily 5 has changed my professional career." The Daily 5 is a reading management system created by The Sisters, Gail and Joan.

If you haven't read the book, you must give it a try.

No more Sundays spent creating, cutting, copying, and coloring literacy centers for the up-coming week. When you follow the Daily 5, the students work on the same five stations every week. They are Read to Self, Read to Someone, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading, and Word Work. Students are working at their ability level, while the teacher can pull reading groups and individual conferences.

During my reading block, I do three rounds of the Daily 5. Each round is about 20 minutes and 5 minutes in between each round is spent sharing. I love sharing time because it provides the kids a time to talk and it makes them accountable for their learning.

 Here's part of my Focus Wall. I use three small pocket charts as a place for the kids to put their choices during our Daily 5 instruction time. I usually pull three reading groups during the three rounds.

I like to leave their Stamina Charts up all year as a reminder of their accomplishments. Also, it helps to refer to the charts when their behavior is slipping.

I post the I-charts we created at the beginning of the year near our guided reading table. These are also referred to when students need reminding.

Here's my CAFE menu bulletin board. I had handwritten the strategies on the board, but I replaced them today with the cute ones Brooke made at Primary Perspective. Thanks Brooke!

The Daily 5 is a lot of hard work in the beginning, but the pay-off comes when your principal enters your classroom and NO ONE looks up because they are too busy working!

I purchased these little trays at the Target Dollar Spot a few years ago and they work perfectly to house my Daily 5 Cards.