End of October- Wednesday Linky

Happy last week of September.  It's hard to believe that time is going by so quickly. I'm certain you are gearing up for all the fun that October has to offer.  This week we are focusing mainly on literacy and math centers to use in October.  Here are a few of my favorites that you might want to take a check out for your classroom!

120 Chart Puzzle- Fill in the Missing Numbers +/- 1 and 10

This next one is my number one seller in my TPT store. It is perfect for so many reasons.  Not only are you teaching kids to pick the word that makes the most sense, you are helping them learn this reading strategy....when reading a word and it doesn't make sense, go back and fix it.  I have two different versions of this clip card.  Definitely, check this one out.  You won't regret it.

Context Clue Clip Cards- My #1 Best Seller!

Finally, this super fun format can be found throughout my store in a variety of different phonics sets as well as "Math Riddle Sets.  These are really fun for kids and not only teach inferring by beginning sounds as well.  Be sure to take a peek!

Beginning Sound Inference Riddles

Please be sure to check out more great products posted by some of my TPT friends.  Such great variety from so many great teacher authors are just waiting for you to take a peek!  And sellers...be sure to link up to three centers!  

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

It's Officially Fall

Tomorrow marks the first official day of Fall.  Here's hoping the weather decides to catch up soon. Sixty degrees, slightly cool. leaves changing colors, and that Fall aroma in the air.  It sure seems like we go straight from hot summer to freezing winter these days. So if you love Fall as much as I do, take a minute to post or check out the following products on TPT by some of my favorite Teacher Authors.  You are bound to find something here that you can use in your own classroom.  Have a great rest of the week!

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Spread a Little Sunshine- Sunshine Committee

Do you have a SUNSHINE COMMITTEE at your school?  This is my second year being in charge of The Sunshine Committee at our school.  And if your school is anything like ours, we can get caught up in the small details of our job and it can take a toll on the staff.  So it's become my personal mission to increase the FUN FACTOR in our building and spread some cheer when needed on a regular basis.

So here is how our Sunshine Committee works in our building. All staff are invited to participate and contribute $25 per school year and I have to say that the majority of our staff participates.  We recognize and contribute to showers, get well flowers, family illnesses, and try to incorporate staff events to increase our fun factor.  Last year we had a Chili Cook Off which was a huge success and this September we had a Staff Restroom Decorating Contest.  We have several staff restrooms throughout our building and most are in the grade level wings.  The idea came to me when visiting a staff restroom that had a cozy corner set up with some decorations and I thought this was a great idea.  After all, it is the only place where we can get a moment of silence during our day.  Here is the flyer that I posted on all of the restroom doors and waited for everyone to think I was crazy!  I sat back and waited while I hoped people would participate.

Most grade levels did participate which was great.  Those that did participate truly impressed me. Here are some pictures showing the results of our contest.

Fourth Grade Teachers went the philosophical route and hung framed art work, quotes, lights, and adorable fluffy pom poms from the ceiling!

Second Grade was the grade level that inspired the whole contest by setting up this cute corner.

Our First Grade team went for the seasonal approach and I think the candy bowl right outside the restroom was a bribe but I'm not sure!

And our Kindergarten Team just took it over the top! This was the winning restroom. Take a peek!

So a good contest always needs a winning prize and although they were declared the winners, the prize will be awarded at our next staff meeting.  What could it possibly be I bet you are wondering. Don't tell...

The Golden Plunger Award!

So do you have a Sunshine Committee in your building?  What do they plan for your staff?  I would love to hear from you so comment below!

Until Next Time,

What a Weekend...

Well I hope this entry finds that you are enjoying your Labor Day Weekend.  While I have been back to school for a few weeks, I know many more of my friends are heading back to school now.  I am just now announcing the update and new look of my blog, Taryn's Unique Learning.(http://www.tarynsuniquelearning.com/)

Wednesday Linky #3

Kindly accept my apologies for the technical fiasco that I have had going on my site.  This has led me through a great adventure of updating my website and I am now the proud owner of www.tarynsuniquelearning.com!  My own domain and I just think that's totally cool! My new and improved blog has had a fabulous update by the incredible Alexis at Laugh, Eat, Learn Designs.  She is amazing, patient, and personable as we worked through the issues I was having.  We are about 95% of the way there across my sites but I couldn't hold out any longer. SO WELCOME BACK OR JUST PLAIN WELCOME IF IT'S YOUR FIRST VISIT!  I hope you won't be a stranger!

So back to where we left off when I had just started my Wednesday Linky...so #3 is up and ready for your links!

Some of us feel as if we've been back at work for awhile already and others are just now heading back after the Labor Day Weekend. I myself, am in Fall Mode and the temperatures have become cooler here in Ohio and so my thoughts are heading towards October and Halloween. It is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. And so I have a lot of great products to share with you!

First, I will share my latest!  This Number Bond Activity has just been posted. It includes 60 Number Bond Task Cards and a recording sheet that is optional.  To prepare, simply print, cut, laminate, and add a dry erase marker.

<a title="Pumpkin Number Bonds #1-20" href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Number-Bond-Task-Cards-2769391">Pumpkin Number Bonds #1-20</a>

Linky #5- Fall Assessments

So 'tis the season for all things ASSESSMENT.  As an intervention teacher, I spend much of the first several few weeks of school assessing students in our building in order to determine who will be on my Fall Caseload.  So as a teacher who loves early literacy, I have to say that one of my favorite assessments is Marie Clay's "Hearing Sounds in Words- Dictation" Assessment which is part of "The Observation Survey".  If you teach emergent readers, this in my opinion is the Mac-Daddy of assessments and I've used it for over 20 years without fail, regardless of whether or not my teaching position was as a classroom teacher or intervention teacher.

Here is how it works.  The teacher dictates a sentence early in the Fall that says, "The bus is coming. It will stop here to let me get on."  There is a scoring sheet that goes along with this dictation and it accounts for thirty-seven sounds which the child can write from this sentence.  If you want to know specifics of the task, simply google "Observation Survey" and you will find specifics.  But this is the key that I want to share with you.  After my firsties have taken this assessment, I grade them, and put them in order from the highest scores (37) down to the lowest score (possible 0).  I record student names as noted below in the picture along with the scores from this assessment.  Simply scan down the scores and look for the largest gap possible between the numbers that is closest to the bottom of the list.  Here is the break point, and the students below that gap are the students that you will want to recommend for intervention services, pull them daily for instruction in your class, begin progress monitoring for all literacy tasks immediately, and keep very close tabs on them in your classroom.

Now that I have shared my favorite assessment, feel free to link up to three of your favorite assessment product below to share with others.  Can't wait to take a peek at your favorites!

Until Next Time,
Taryn

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Linky #4

I absolutely love Fall. I'm just waiting for Ohio weather to catch up with this sentiment.  I have been back in school since Mid August and it's been quite an eventful few weeks since I last blogged. I've had an incredible amount of technical difficulties on my blog and am now finally back up and running with my fresh and beautiful new design, thanks to the Amazing Alexis Sanchez at Laugh Eat Learn Designs and Candy's One of a Kind Designs, a dear friend and colleague who made all of my puppy art work. It's a bit bittersweet event for me however, as we lost our sixteen year old mascot and dog, Westie Izzy, He had both Congestive Heart Failure and Bladder Cancer, not to mention an amazing fighting spirit.  He had medical issues about seventeen months ago and trucked on through for an additional year plus, giving me another summer to stay home with him and just give him lots of hugs, love, and French Fry treats! He truly brought me such happiness and is already sorely missed by myself and The Hubs.  So the fact that my blog design is complete this week, immediately after we lost him, with his sweet face smeared all over the design, is somewhat of a tribute, and I will gladly continue to be referred to as "The Teacher with the Cute White Dog" which is just fine by me!

OK...no more tears for now! Back to Fall.  Hoping the weather will cool down so I thought if I start creating for my favorite season and holiday, it will follow suit.  Halloween is just so incredibly fun for kids and was a favorite of mine as a kid.  While I have many great Halloween products and more still being created, I wanted to share my favorite with you.  It's tried and true and stinking adorable, if I say so myself. You simply print on card stock, cut into thirds, laminate, and your students will love this.

Letter Match and Sound Correspondence

I will be linking more below and am inviting my friends to link up their favorite Fall/Halloween products as well.

So thanks for stopping by today. And to catch up with me on other social media platforms, just stop by the top of my page and you can find all the links there for Pinterest, Facebook, Bloglovin', and my new guilty pleasure, Instagram!  

Until Next Time,

Taryn

An InLinkz Link-up

I'm Going In...And I Am Not Ready!

So today is the day. The first day back to sort out my mess of an office. I am an intervention specialist who has not been back to school since my office has been moved. And I must say, my stuff was just dumped there.  It is stacked up high on the tables, I only have open shelving and no hidden storage, and I'm even overflowing into the hallway. I have been moved several times in the last several years and now I'm moving into a closet. Well half a closet really. It is my own space although I will be sharing the other side of the curtain with a new staff member but my side of the room is truly my own space.

Until Next Time,
Taryn