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29 August 2014

Freebie Friday - Apples!

 


Can you believe it's almost September?! Most of us are back in school and fall is just around the corner! Grab a snack and check out these awesome apple themed freebies to use this fall!!

By: Mrs. Thompson's Treasures

Color By Sight Words Apples FREEBIE
 
By: Linda Nelson
Apple Games with Number Frames
 
 
By: Julie Gesin
Apples and the Common Core
 
By: Kerri B
Applicious Apple Graph!
By: Keeping It Captivating
Apple Match
 
By: Katherine Shupe
Apple Tree Addition Mats
 
By: Kindergarten With Susie
Apple Happy
 
 
By: 2 Literacy Teachers
Apple, Apples, Apples: CCSS Aligned Leveled Reading Passag
 
*Disclaimer - All of these products are listed as free at the time of this post. Sometimes authors change the price or availability of products. I'm sorry if any of these are no longer free or available.
 
 

26 August 2014

How to Build Fluency in Young Readers




Some kids learn to read and just begin to naturally read with fluency (speed, accuracy, and proper expression). Many kids, however, need some guidance and practice! Here are some things you can do to help build fluency in your young readers!

1. Model, Model, Model: Reading aloud to kids is the first step in building their fluency. Even before kids know the ABC's, they can learn what fluent reading sounds like. Read to your kids every day, even after they can read by themselves.

2. Reader's Theater: Find some scripts at or slightly above the students' reading level. Practice reading and performing the play - lines don't need to memorized, the focus is reading with proper speed and expression.

3. Re-Read & Partner Reading: Rereading short picture books again and again can build fluency and confidence. Even if the student has the words memorized, they are practicing the flow of the words. Reading with a partner is also a great way to get kids reading out loud and working together to build fluency. Students can take turns reading pages, or have a higher level reader read first, and then the lower level reader can repeat.

4. Fluency Strips - These are great for building up fluency as students practice reading short sentences. You can bind sentence strips together with a small ring to put in a literacy center, or you can turn them into a fun interactive notebook!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fluency-Strips-Interactive-Notebook-Sight-Words-CVC-1414604


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fluency-Strips-Interactive-Notebook-Sight-Words-CVC-1414604

You can create your own by typing up some sentences and cutting them into strips, or if you'd like to get some that are already made, you can get my Fluency Strips Interactive Notebook here!


5. Another way to increase fluency and comprehension is to have students interact with the text they are reading. You can do this by asking questions about what the students are reading and have them actually show you in the text where they found the answer or information. This can be an oral activity, or you can use resources that are specifically designed for finding text evidence. Here is an example from a resource I created that has really helped my kids:


If you'd like to try some passages like this, you can get this FREE resource that includes several activities at different levels.

Free Downloads

Above all, make sure students are given tasks that they can be successful at. They will gain confidence, and enjoy learning to read with fluency!

22 August 2014

Freebie Friday - The Alphabet

 
 
Today's freebies are all about learning those ABC's!
I hope you find some useful resources for your kids!
 
By: Mrs. Thompson's Treasures
Alphabet Letters Practice Pages FREE Sample
 
By: The McGrew Crew
Mystery Pictures Capital and Lowercase Letters "F"
 
By: Tweet Music
Alphabet A
 
By: Jason's Online Classroom
Alphabet Animal Letters (FREEBIE)
 
By: Wild About Teaching
Handwriting Galore
 
By: Haley O'Conner
Phonics Charts for Guided Reading and Writing
 
By: Lavinia Pop
Phonics Letter of the Week B {FREE}
 
By: Kindergarten Squared
I Have, Who Has? Alphabet Game
 
Miss Kindergarten Love
File Folder Game- Alphabet Matching
 
*Disclaimer - All of these products are free at the time of this post. Sometimes authors change the price of items. I'm sorry if any of these are no longer free or available!
 

19 August 2014

Ready, Set, Go!

We are in our last week of summer before starting homeschool. I am really excited about this year - I have one in K and one in PreK. I have been setting up our room, getting materials ordered, and planning for the first week!

One thing we started the towards the end of last year that I'm looking forward to continuing this year is our morning notebooks.


They each have their own notebook with several pages in plastic sheet protectors. Each morning they start school by completing the pages in the notebook. We use dry erase markers so we can wipe the pages off and use them over and over!
 

 
What's in their notebooks you ask? Take a look!
 
My preschooler has these pages:
She will trace the date, day of the week, and month,


 
 
And then each day we will fill in the day on the calendar.
 
She'll also have these pages to trace the alphabet and numbers.

 
My first grader will have these pages:

 
 
The kids love doing these in the mornings. They love using the dry erase markers and eraser and having something predictable to start each day. Last year I kept waiting for them to get tired of doing them, but it didn't happen, and they even asked to do them some this summer! So, we'll keep it up for now and see how it goes this year!

As of now, these aren't available anywhere, but there are plenty of pages like this available online. Confessions of a Homeschooler has a great free set (the alphabet tracing pages above are from her) so if you're looking for some, check her website here!
 


08 August 2014

Freebie Friday - Get Set Up & Organized!

 
Today's freebies are all to help you set up and organize your classroom - posters, binder covers, and more!
 
By: A Cupcake for the Teacher
clip it! behavior chart
 
 
By: Innovative Teacher
The Teacher's Ultimate Sign-In Sheet- PDF Version - FREE
 
By: Brooke Hilderbrand
Organizational Binders and Labels for Elementary Teachers
 
By: Primarily Au-some
Editable Teacher Binder (Freebie)
 
By: Little Lovely Leaders
Math Alphabet Posters
 
By: Rachel Lynnette
FREE 8 Reading Strategy Posters!
 
By: Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd
Schedule Cards FREEBIE!
 
By: Amazing Documents
Amazing Classroom Essentials: Classic Design {BUNDLE}
 
 
*Disclaimer - All the products are listed as free at the time of this post. Sometimes authors change the price of their items. I'm sorry if any of these items are no longer free or available!

06 August 2014

It's Almost Here!

Back to school is almost here for us! I am planning on starting up on August 25, which is when the districts around us will start. I'm linking up again with Where the Magic Happens for our "Diggin' Into" series to talk about how we get ready for the beginning of school!

Homeschooling is obviously different than the classroom at the beginning of the year. We don't have to spend time getting to know each other, but there is certainly more complaining about not getting to watch tv and having to do work :-)

I like to build anticipation about how much fun we'll have when school starts, so we're already talking about things we'll learn and stuff we'll get to do. I've ordered my curriculum for my 1st grader

 
and found a few cute items at the Target dollar spot.
 

And we've even done a few "fun" activities to get their fingers and hands ready for writing again!
 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Hundreds-Chart-Mystery-Pictures-1330214
 
We also just moved into a new house a few days ago, so of course one of the rooms I had to set up first was the school room! It's actually just half of the room, and the other half is a play room to keep 2 little sisters occupied while I work with the older 2. It's not much, but it's more space than we have before, so I am very excited! This is the work in progress!
 

I am so excited to be a part of the awesome giveaway for the end of our Diggin Into series. Check out Laura's post to see the great prizes! It starts August 11th, so be sure to check back then to enter!