How to Incorporate ELA Skills in the K-1st Science Classroom

If you teach K-2nd, you know that you have a certain amount of minutes dedicated to each subject. Yet the increasing rigor in the standards require kinder teachers to have their class reading by the end of the year. So, we find ways to incorporate ELA skills into content areas while still teaching content area standards. How can we do this successfully?

1. Find grade level text that talks about what you're teaching. Some good resources are reading a to z. While most of their readers don't directly meet the standards, I have had luck finding books there that can be used for certain lessons. This, this, and this science predictable readers meet the Texas kinder TEKS. They include a predictable reader and a video that reads the book aloud to be used for a shared reading. These will soon be a part of a bundle.

Whichever resource you choose, you can have it available after your unit is complete. It can be put in your science center, or in children's book boxes, depending on what their independent reading level is.

2. Follow a 5E lesson plan. (Engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate). If you follow this format for math and science, you will more than likely have to find text to go with the "explain" portion of your lesson. Sometimes you'll be able to fit it in to the "elaborate" portion as well! In the "explain" or"elaborate" portion of your lesson you can also incorporate a written response, which brings me to my next point...

3. Incorporate a written response or reflection at some point in your lesson. If you're doing a science experiment that day, you could have them write their prediction right before you've told them the experiment and they're excited about it. If you've just explored hands on materials for a lesson you're teaching, take the time to have them reflect. First they tell their impressions to a buddy (as a pre-writing activity). Then have them go to their seat and quietly reflect in their science notebook about their findings.

This blog post was written by Teacherof20, TpT seller, blogger, and SAHM to two great kids!

Polar Bear Close Read

Friends~Do you LOVE close reads?  I sure do and so do my students.  Next week,  we will be studying the Polar Bear and I know they are going to be crazy about them!  They also love QR codes so I thought I would mix the two up.  I created a Polar Bear Close Read for our listening center.  

It was so simple to do.  I printed out my FREE Polar Bear Close Read and then mounted it to a file folder upside down.  (I wanted the tab at the bottom.)  Now my students can open the folder and read the text or scan the code to have it read to them by me!  I also added my Close Reading Boomarks.  I really like when my students use the bookmarks because they help them pick apart the text.  Because I laminated the folder, my students can use expo markers to write on the text to help them pinpoint important information.  They can also answer the comprehension questions on the back.  

Watch this quick tutorial showing how I put this close read listening center together for my students. 

One wipe and they are clean for the next student to use!

Plus, it saves tons on copies!  

You can grab a FREE copy of the file by clicking the image below!  

We will also be making life size models of polar bear paws!  Check them out! They are fascinating!
Click the image above to read more about our Polar Bear Study!

Guided Reading - Organization and Support Tools

Hi everyone!

We have about two and a half months left of school. We're working hard in our guided reading groups, so students can progress as much as possible with their reading by the end of the school year.

I'm always trying to make the time I spend with my reading groups as effective as possible. That means I have to have materials organized and easily accessible. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite tools that I've found helpful for teaching guided reading groups and organizing the materials we use.

I use The Next Step in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson. It includes detailed lesson plans for leveled readers (Fountas and Pinnell levels).

The lessons last for 20-25 minutes. I keep the materials and tools we use on a bookshelf that's right behind my guided reading table.

The teachers at my school have access to guided reading books that they check out from our school library. I keep the guided reading books in labeled bins in my classroom.

The bins sit on the bookshelf that's right behind my desk. It's perfect for easy access. The bins are extra wide. They can even hold oversized books that I sometimes use for guided reading. They come with clear plastic dividers. I'm able to keep the books separated by reading group or reading level. They come in a variety of colors. You can find them at Really Good Stuff®.

I work on high-frequency word practice with some of my reading groups. Sometimes the students write on white boards. 

Sometimes they make the words using magnet boards.

These are the 6" x 9" size. They're a perfect size for students. They don't take up much room, especially when I'm working with 6 students in a group. The ones I use are magnetic. I'm able to use them for making words. I use the larger size (9" x 12" for demonstrations).

I also find it useful to have larger magnetic boards.

They come in handy when students are making more than one word at a time. The white boards and magnet boards come from Lakeshore®.

I keep the magnet letters in plastic boxes.

These I use only for guided reading activities. It's especially helpful that the compartments are labeled and are large enough that the letters come out easily. They're all lowercase letters. All the consonant letters are blue and the vowels are red. It's exactly what I need when working with vowel sound spellings. It came as a kit. You can find them at Really Good Stuff®.

These are Reusable Dry Erase Pockets.

I have sound box templates inserted into one side and analogy charts inserted into the other side. They save me so much time. I never have to run off extra copies, because they're reusable. Students can easily write and erase their answers. My students love when we do sound boxes and analogy charts. I think it's because they can use the markers, and they have fun erasing the pockets. It definitely keeps them engaged in the activities.

An assortment of pens and erasers are a must for our guided reading lessons. 

I place the caddy on the table. I can distribute and collect materials quickly. They're kept all together in one convenient place. The caddy fits all that we use. It's sturdy and durable. The ones I use are in primary colors. Lakeshore® has them in a variety of bright colors. 

What do you use during your guided reading groups? How do you organize them? I'd love to hear about any ideas or tips. 

Snowman Day Activities and a FREEBIE!!

Hi guys!
This is Laura from Where the Magic Happens and  I hope everyone is keeping warm and cozy during this crazy winter weather…

Speaking of winter

You know how our kids get all antsy when they can go outside and  get some energy out?

Well

If you know me, you know very well that I am always very intentional with every instructional activity that I design. However I always try to sneak in some fun because

let’s be real

having fun and learning at the same time is pretty awesome!

Have you ever read the book “Snowzilla” by Janet Lawler?

This is the story of a little girl who, with the help of her family, builds a gigantic snowman. The story goes on and on until the little  girl has to blog, text, email… to save her Snowzilla. I love this story because our kids can connect to it. I also love how the community works together to achieve a goal.

{Click HERE to get from my TPT store} 

This great Snowzilla mini-unit has these activities:

This is a great activity that can be done in a small guided reading group before you introduce the book. It can also be done independently in a literacy center to review and practice new vocabulary learned.
In this activity, the students put the puzzles together in a pocket chart. After the puzzles are put together, the students complete one of the three sheets provided. Each sheet is differentiated, from easiest to most challenging.

Oh and don’t forget!

Direct vocabulary instruction can be implemented using a research-based six-step process. {The Marzano Way!}
The six steps of the vocabulary instruction process are:
1.Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
2.Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
3.Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the term or phrase.
4.Engage students in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.
5.Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
6.Involve students in games that allow them to play with terms.

The activities in this section are designed to review the concepts of verbs, nouns, and adjectives.
I like the idea of “zooming in” in the evidence to look for language patterns… when our students look at characters, key details, settings, etc., their comprehension of any text is greater.
These activities can be done in a small guided reading group or independently (if your students have the command and strategies to problem solve unknown words).

These pages are designed specifically for a small guided reading group.
Young children need a lot of practice zooming in on the text and illustrations to locate evidence and then articulating their discoveries orally and in written words or pictures.
As with any type of writing, children will gain a better understanding of how to craft an effective response if they can watch you do it first. Then, based on this experience, work with students to develop a shared criteria so that they can self –assess their own response.
Each sheet is differentiated, from easiest to most challenging.

Who doesn't need some opinion writing to match standard W.1.1!

And my most favorite activity: How to build a snowman.
Ingredients
3 cups of baking soda
½ cup of white (inexpensive) hair conditioner
This amount makes about 4 snowmen
Mix all ingredients in a big bowl, and voila!
Use googly eyes, a toothpick broken in half for the arms, whole cloves for the buttons, and strips of felt for the scarf.
After making Snowzilla, guide your students through the “how-to writing.” Your kids will love this activity, and your classroom will smell glorious!
Because I heart you all, I am posting the how-to writing for free here! Click on the picture to download. I hope you and your kiddos love this activity as much as we do in room 208!

 Click HERE to grab this how-to writing for FREE!

Thank you for stopping by and happy winter!
Love and blessings,

I Need More Books for Guided Reading!

Whether just looking for some new texts instead of using the same old boring ones or simply not having enough, it seems like no matter the reason, we as teachers are always looking for new guided reading resources! Another issue is actually planning for all those guided reading groups each day...

First a little background on guided reading- I know pretty much everyone knows what it is, but just to review!

I love guided reading- you can see so much growth from those daily interactions in a small group. I also like being super prepared and planned as much in advance as I can, so I decided to make my guided reading life easier. I'm now always prepared and ready to teach each day...ahead of time! I created passages for Levels A-M (as aligned to F&P leveling system). Each passage also includes a lesson plan that I follow when using the passage. Each one has a running record too which is a fabulous component to use as a formative assessment on a regular basis. I always know if my little readers are ready to move on up or if they need to focus on the same level a little longer. 

I love these passages because my little readers get SUPER excited about the fun graphics & stories as well as the pride they feel in actually reading the texts. They are always ready to read the next story and asking for more!

The passages lead to great discussions about the texts. They enjoy writing and drawing their responses to each question. I have passages that can be used at any time of year as well as seasonally themed passages. Guided reading always feels fresh and new each day with the variety of texts!

If you are looking for more guided reading resources or simply leveled text that you can send home, you can check out all the passages packs I have in my store. I have a lot of savings bundles if you have a variety of levels that you work with like me. Check them out here or by clicking the image below!

Happy Reading!

Amanda & Aylin

Guided Reading ~ 3 Tools to add to your Student's Toolkit

Hello again,  It's Christina from Hanging Around In Primary.  I am honoured to be blogging once again here at Who's Who and Who's New.  This time I want to share with you 3 tools that I put in the hands of my students to increase engagement during my Guided Reading sessions.

1.  Reading Phone/Whisper Phones

Many years ago I was introduced to these phones at a reading workshop at our board office.  I was hooked on them from the moment I saw how they worked.   When I was teaching my small group of firsties this is what I would hear every..single..lesson!: "he is reading to loud!"  "I can't hear myself"  "can you read quieter!"

Enter the reading phones - you can't read with a loud voice into them because you will hurt your ears. Students immediately lower their voices and use a whisper voice.  Now everyone can sit at the same table and read to themselves without complaint.  Yeah!  The only thing I need to say now is not to lick the phone or put your mouth on it ....ewww!  Thank goodness for lysol wipes.

2.  Finger lights

I LOVE finger lights for tracking text.  They are a 4 for a $1.00 at the Dollar Store and worth every penny.  When students are reading they slip on a finger light to track the text.  They can light up each word so they know exactly where they are on the page.  These lights have worked wonders for my students who are still struggling with word awareness.

 3.  Whiteboards

If you have been to my blog before you will know about my fondness for whiteboards.  I use them all.the.time. During Guided Reading we would use them for pre and post reading activities. I love that they allow me to save paper.  There is way too much paper floating around the classroom as it is. I often snap a photo of a response I want to save and place it in their digital portfolio on Seesaw.

I hope you will consider adding these things to your student's tool kits for Guided Reading.  You WILL notice an increase in engagement and it will make your job a lot easier!

Share this post with your friends ~ Pin the image below to refer to later.

Are you interested in learning more about how I teach Guided Reading and what's in my Teacher Tool Kit?  Head over to my blog to find a companion post to this one.  Click below to head over to my blog.  See you there!

Until next time,

Guided Reading in Kindergarten

Hi!  It's Kay again from Sommer's Lion Pride with some Kindergarten guided reading tips!

I am currently rereading The Next Step in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson to better prepare and plan for the year.  Here are some guided reading tips to get it up and running in your Kindergarten classroom, my take-aways from Chapter 1, which is all about preparation.

#1 - First and foremost, don’t rush it!

Before you can begin to pull small groups to your table for specific lessons, you have to make sure that your class is able to work independently for 30-60 minutes.  You will also need to introduce students to all of your literacy centers.  And that takes time.

We all know how our Kinders come into the classroom on that first day of school!  These little ones just aren’t ready to work independently yet for any length of time.  So ease into it!

Jan Richardson says that you should spend 6 weeks teaching routines and procedures.  During this time, you will gradually release responsibility to the students, as they work their way up to more sustained independent work.

#2 - Map out a plan to introduce your literacy centers to your students.

In the book you will find a week-by-week plan for introducing literacy centers during the first 6 weeks.  Jan recommends that you pull 1 group at a time, show them how to use a center, and give them a chance to work with it, while the rest of the class is working in groups with an activity that requires little direction from teacher.

As you introduce the literacy centers, don’t forget to teach your students all of the procedures and routines that go with each literacy activity.

#3 - Decide how you will manage centers during guided reading.

Here are some questions that you need to answer before getting started.

********************************************************************
How will you group your students?  (I will explore this more in my next blog post on Sommer's Lion Pride.)

Do students choose their own literacy activities?  Or are they assigned?  Will you have a chart of some kind that shows that?

What signal will you use when it is time to stop working, clean up, and rotate?  What do the students do when you give them the signal?

How do students move to the centers?  How do they access the materials for the centers?  Who is in charge of getting the materials?

What is the expected noise level during literacy centers/guided reading?

What should students do when they encounter a problem?

What happens if a students is being disruptive and not working cooperatively?

How will you organize your guided reading materials?

#4 - Here are some ideas for literacy centers at the beginning of the year.

I try to keep it simple!  Lots of opportunities to work with letters!

#5 - Use a timer!

This will keep you on schedule.  I have a few timers around my classroom so that I can always find one to set!