The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 3}

Whew!  This chapter was looooong (49 pages!) and it was jam-packed FULL of detailed resources for Pre-A and Emergent readers.  This was so applicable for me because this is exactly where most of my kinder-babies are for much of the school year. 

Here are some of my thoughts on Chapter 3:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I loved the "Frequently Asked Questions" section at the end of the chapter.  What an awesome way to touch on a variety of topics, several of which I actually was thinking about as I read through the chapter.  Makes me wish I could watch Jan Richardson in action!  What a master teacher!!  

I had an AHA! moment when I read her answer of how she starts to teach fluency by framing two to three word phrases in the books her Level C students read.  Brilliant!  I highlighted, circled, and arrowed this in my book so that I don't forget to use it next year!!

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

I already have a good grasp on the progression of skills that she talked about in this chapter.  I move through the concepts in the same order she presented.  BUT...reading this chapter have given me so much motivation to implement this 15-20 minute approach into my guided reading time.  I LOVE how she simplified each step and gave various, specific examples of what the time might look like.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

I want to re-visit my list of sight words.  The order in which I teach sight words matches my reading curriculum, but doesn't match the Dolch sight word list that I use for assessment purposes.  This confuses me every year and I've known for a while that I wanted to organize it all, but reading this chapter has solidified for me that it is a MUST!  It's on my summer to-do list!!  

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I have time in my day for pulling small groups.  This may seem obvious for some of you, but it took me several years to find a literacy station system that worked for me.  I now know that I HAVE the time I need to pull groups of students, and this book is helping to prepare me with the tools I need to lead them well!

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I'm pretty sure that I need to purchase or make an alphabet book for my littles who come in knowing less than 40 upper- and lowercase letters.  I LOVE how detailed Jan Richardson was as she walked us through exactly how to use the alphabet books to teach letters and sounds and WHY they are so important.  It's a must!  I need this for next year!

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!  Our book study host this week is Pam from Mrs. P's Specialties.  CLICK HERE to head over to her blog to read her thoughts on Chapter 3 and snag a great freebie!  You can join our linky there or at the end of this post.

Have a wonderful Monday!

An InLinkz Link-up

Five for Friday {June 27}

Well, hello Friday.  It's been an awesome day here and a week filled with oodles of summer fun!

1.  The weather this week started out disappointing -- rain, cool for summer, and suuuuper humid.  We watched Trey's baseball game on Monday night with umbrellas and rain coats handy.  It ended up only sprinkling a bit, but the sky was very gray and looked like it might open up at any second!

2. Tuesday was still humid, and a bit foggy, but we were determined to fit in some summer family fun this week.  We live only a few miles from the shores of Lake Michigan and there is a sand dune there that we had wanted to climb for a while now.  We headed out there after lunch to climb the 239 steps to the top and take in the awesome view of the lake.  It was foggy, but beautiful!  AND I even got to snap a selfie of myself and the hubby!  The sun cleared up before we left and we got to dip our toes in the lake.  Pure Michigan at it's finest.

3. I had been looking forward to Thursday evening since the beginning of June!  I hosted a Favorite Things party.  Six girls I love from school came to take part in the fun!  And FUN we had!!!  OH. MY.  SO much laughter and love in this group.  I can't even say how blessed I feel to be part of this awesome, talented group of women!  It is such a gift to work with some of my very best friends.  We had a blast.  I'll post more details about the party next week!

 4. Today has been a perfect summer day from the moment I woke up.  The weather couldn't be better and we had a whole day with nothing planned!  We ended up heading out to another sand dune a bit farther from home (about 30 minutes) and climbed the 282 steps to the top of that one for another breathtaking view.  i-Phone photos don't do it justice!  

 Beautiful.  Amazing.  Perfect.  Such a good day.

 5. And now...this.  One major benefit to hosting parties at your house?  You get to keep the leftover drink that your friend brings!!  I'm enjoying a glass of DELICIOUS white peach sangria while I blog tonight. :)

Happy weekend, friends!!!

A Summer Project: Update my Calendar Wall!

It's always nice to go into summer with a project.  Right???

Well, this summer I have Calendar Walls on the brain!  Mine is in need of an update.  I have things on mine that I don't really use, and mine is missing things that I'd like to use!  Clearly, I need to update!

This is what my calendar wall/bulletin board looked like last school year.  Actually, it has looked like this for the past several years.  I need a change.

I use this AMAZING resource for calendar time in my classroom.

I really love calendar time.  It's a short time that packs a big punch!  We cover oodles of math concepts during this time -- some that are common core and some that aren't.  The kids know what to expect when they get ready for calendar each day and the variety of skills we discuss keeps everyone interested.  I want a useful, engaging space for this daily activity.

I'm scouring Pinterest and some of my favorite blogs and am finding lots of fun ideas.  Like this colorful board by Miss Kindergarten.

I love the idea of using base ten blocks to count the days.  This came from Ramblings of a First Grade Teacher.  I do have a hundreds chart pocket chart that I use now, and will continue to use, but I like this visual too.

This doesn't have everything I need, but I love how clear and colorful it is.  And the days of the week on rings with hooks.  Love that!

This calendar wall comes from Learning with Mrs. Parker.  Ten-frames are definitely on my list of musts for my new calendar wall.

I'm still in early thinking stages.  There are a few things I know I will include, and a lot is still up in the air!  

Do you love your calendar wall?  Please share!

Are you going to be updating your calendar wall this summer too?  Please share!

Do you have a different summer project in the works?  Please share!

Let's talk about it!

IN OTHER NEWS....I just started a separate Instagram account for ABCs and Polka Dots and all things teacher-related!  I didn't love mixing my professional stuff with my personal stuff in my other account, so please come on over and follow me on IG!  My user name is abcsandpolkadots.  I'd love to connect with you there!!

The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 2}

I just love having time to read during the summer.  I have three books going right now, one of them being this one, and I love being able to get in some professional reading while still having time for personal reading.

I love the way I am really able to envision my classroom and students as I read this book.  Jan Richardson paints such a clear picture of how to implement her strategies in your classroom.  Even better is when I realize that I am already doing so many of the things she recommends.  Makes it seem so doable to implement a few new things for next year!

Here are some of my thoughts on chapter 2:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I was really challenged by the emphasis she puts on assessment.  I wasn't surprised by it, because I know that assessment is critical for really knowing your students academically and meeting them right where they are to focus on just what they need.  I do focus on regular assessment, but I know I can do more.  This chapter caused me to re-think how I spend the few spare moments I have each day, and to consider how I can make assessments more fluid in my classroom.

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

I am so fortunate in my school to have a major emphasis placed on reading instruction.  To that end, we have reading specialists and para-professionals that work with teachers in a push-in program.  We are able to break our 50-ish Kindergarten students into 6 leveled groups to focus on specific, targeted reading instruction.  We meet for 25 minutes, 4 days per week.  This time is critical to our students' overall reading progress and I am so thankful for it!  Within this approach, our bottom 30% of students are assessed frequently and their growth is monitored closely.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

I want to re-think my system of organizing assessment materials.  I used to use a binder with a section for each student.  The past few years I've used a file box with a file for each student.  I also have used an electronic file and spreadsheet system.  There are great things about each of these, but I'd like to find a way to record information so that I can easily test specific skills and measure growth for my students.  Please comment if you have a system that works great for you!!

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I already use several of the assessments mentioned for emergent and early readers.

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I've never done a dictated sentence assessment with my students.  Of course I look at my students' writing closely and am able to get a good idea of how comfortable they are with hearing the sounds they need for words and getting them onto paper, but this assessment is more specific with every child writing the same thing.  I like that it would give me an easy way to quickly see what I should be focusing on in my writing mini-lessons or what I could pull small groups to work on.  The sentences suggested in the book for Kindergarten seemed difficult and I would probably simplify them.  But, it's a great starting point and something I plan to implement next year.

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!  Our book study host this week is Jennifer from Rowdy in First Grade.  Click the link to head over to her blog to read her thoughts on Chapter 2 and snag a great freebie!  You can join our linky there or at the end of this post.

Have a wonderful Monday!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Five for Friday {June 20}

It's Friday!  Isn't it funny how, during the school year, we just want our weeks to SPEED UP ALREADY....and now, during the summer, I just need it to SSSLLLOOOWWW DDDOOOWWWNNN.  Seriously.  We're already two weeks into summer!  They have been awesome and relaxing and happy and easy.  Bliss.

Sooooo, here's what we've been up to!

1. My kids' school posted the class lists for next year this week and my daughter was SO excited to get the same Kindergarten teacher that my son had a couple years ago.  We love Mrs. Bos and her elephant-themed classroom.  Rowan wanted to send her a card.  She's practicing how to draw elephants.  She says it's the only animal she's not good at drawing and she wants to master it before September!  Ha!

P.S. -- Do you think the exclamation marks make it obvious that she is too excited for words??!?  As a teacher, though, I would LOVE to get a note like this in the mail!  I know Mrs. Bos will love it too.

 2. Trey has been busy, busy, busy this week with sports camps, birthday parties, and play dates.  Today, Rowan joined me for some errands and I treated her to lunch.  She talked my ear off!  Ha!  But, I absolutely love this time with her.

She asked if we could take a selfie when we got home. :)

 3.  I'm using some creative juices as I plan a Favorite Things party for next week.  Looking forward to a super fun time with some fun friends from work.  Have you hosted one or been to one?  I'm so excited for it!

4. Thank goodness for perler beads!  We LOVE these things at our house!  They keep both kids so busy!  And quiet.  Quiet is a good thing. :)

5. Baseball.  Of course.  It's been such a fun first season of little league for Trey.  Only one more week to go!

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 1}

I am enjoying my first week of summer break and what better way to kick off summer than by diving right into a book that has been on my to-read list for months??  Guided reading has been one element that I feel I can improve in my classroom, so when Jennifer from Teaching with Grace announced this summer book study, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.  I ordered the book right away, and have been patiently waiting to get started.

Each week as we read through the book, we'll be using these questions to guide our discussion:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I really loved Jan Richardson's ideas for implementing literacy work stations at the start of the year.  I have used a similar approach the past two years, since beginning the Debbie Diller style of literacy work stations in my classroom...but I love the idea of introducing one new activity per week, in a small-group setting, and then snowballing from there.  One activity per week until all activities have been introduced.  I think I'll be trying that with my new group of Kindergarteners in the fall.

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

I have a great system for literacy work stations.  It includes many of the components listed in this chapter.  I love, love, love it!  It produces independent thinkers and workers, and gets results!  My kids have been so successful with sight words and reading the past couple years, and I know that this system is part of the reason.  To read more about literacy work stations in my room, CLICK HERE or HERE.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

This is such a simple thing, but I need to figure out a system for letting students know when they shouldn't bother me.  One of my colleagues wears a Hawaiian lei, and someone I used to work with wore a funny hat.  Over the summer, I have to figure out something that will work for me!

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

Because I already run literacy work stations in my classroom, I have oodles of resources for the types of literacy stations that Jan Richardson writes about in this first chapter.  I'm looking forward to reorganizing my supplies before the fall, and adding in some new things as well.

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

One work station that I would love to implement next year is an interactive poetry/song station.  I love the idea of my students manipulating the pieces/words, and working on fluency using repetitive text and patterns.

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!  Click the image to head over to Jennifer's blog to read her thoughts on chapter 1 and enter a great giveaway.  You can join the linky there or at the end of my post.

Have a fabulous Monday!!

Five for Friday {June 13}

Hello, hello!  Isn't today a glorious Friday?  My first Friday of summer break, and it's just plain wonderful!  

Freedom!  Relaxation!  JOY!

Of course I LOVE my job and my Kinder-babies, but summer is just pure bliss through and through.

I didn't do a Five for Friday last week, so I have a few school things to share and also a few non-school things.  Two weeks worth!

1. We spent lots of time as scientists during our last week of school.  We discussed habitats...

...and we made friends with some big, juicy earthworms!  Most all the kids LOVED them....and I ALWAYS love these slimy, wriggly guys!

Someday I'll have to write a post about all the fun things we do during "Worm Week", but not today... :)

2. We finished off our last week popping a balloon every day.  One of the activities was movie day, and the class enjoyed a special snack during a movie.

 3. Friday, June 6th was our last day of school.  Here are my kids, ready to go!  Last day of pre-school and 1st grade!

 We had a staff lunch after our half-day of school.  Love these ladies that I am lucky enough to work with!

 4. I went into school on Monday of this week to tie up a few loose ends and prepare my classroom for summer.  I'll be in many times over the summer, but there are several things that I have to do to "check out" at the end of the year.  I took care of those things and got my class list for next year!

Rowan came with me (wearing her bumblebee antennae...) and enjoyed reading book after book from my reading corner.  

5. The rest of our week consisted of a driveway bonfire with our awesome neighbors and our first s'mores of the summer, 

 driveway basketball, 

 planting flowers, 

 summer haircuts (4 inches off for Rowan!), 

 family bike rides, 

 and little league for Trey.

Loving every minute!!  

Happy weekend, friends!