Now I Know My ABC's

As a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, I always found it helpful to have a ton of alphabet books on hand. Alphabet books are often appealing to students who are non-readers as they are often wordless.  They were always a great way to get students to learn their letters and corresponding sounds even when I wasn't directly instructing them. Many of these books incorporate letter sounds too, while others incorporate the alphabet into a story of sorts.  I decided today I would share some of my favorites with you. Perhaps some of your favorites will be on the list.  And wouldn't it be great if you learned about a new one right here?  They are not ranked in any particular order...just know that I like them all a lot.

• The Handmade Alphabet- Laura Rankin- Includes sign language
• I Spy- Lucie Micklethwait- Includes famous artwork
• A Fishy Alphabet Story- Joanne and David Wylie- Always inspires a fishy art project to display in the room.
• ABC POP- Rachel Isadora- Includes Pop Art Style Art Work
• A Helpful Alphabet of Friendly Objects- David Updike
• Arlene Alda's  ABC: What Do You See?- Arlene Alda- Love the photographs
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom- Bill Martin Jr.- The colors are so familar and loved by all.
• Matthew A.B.C- Peter Catalanoto- Imagine 25 students named Matthew in your classroom.

Some of these books are not in print anymore but most are still available by some means when you search on Amazon. You can certainly take a closer look there. Do you have a favorite that didn't make the list? I'd love to hear from you below so comment with your favorite ABC title and email address. One lucky winner will win one of my alphabet products listed below from my TPT store.

I've also included a few great products below that specifically teach the alphabet and letter recognition, letter fluency, letter sounds, letter sound fluency, and letter sequence for your emerging readers.  They are truly products that I have used not only in the classroom but in my intervention office.  My students L-O-V-E these products and they are requested again and again with my kindergartners and firsties. Some are commercially available at your Teacher Education Store or Amazon, while others are available on Teachers Pay Teachers in my store.

My latest obsession for my little ones is using alphabet dot to dot pages. You can get individual copies online by just googling alphabet/letter dot to dot pages, many of which are free. You can also order some dot to dot books online and simply tear pages out for your students to use. Often times, you can pick some up at the store but I like ones that use lowercase letters too since the majority of letters students read are lowercase, and they are typically the letters learned last developmentally.

"Five in a Row" is another great activity that I have in my TPT store. I've refined it over the years but it is also loved by my students and a great one to stick in your Sub Folder for those days when you might be absent unexpectedly.  This comes in a letter recognition version and a letter sound version and depending on your students, you will find them both helpful based on their levels. Included you will find a draw deck of cards (or more than one) and your game boards.  Your students try to mark off or highlight five spaces in a row, while learning their letters, matching letters (same cases or opposite cases), and their letter sounds.  

                                                    
                                                       Letter Recognition Five in a Row

Beginning Sounds Five in a Row

We all know how important fluency among various skills is in reading success. I'm not talking about reading with speed here. I'm referring to fluency with letters and letter sounds. The quick recall allows our students to focus on the more advanced skills that are necessary to become a good reader.  DIBELS and Aimsweb (for good or bad) have given us the ability to see how "fluent" our students are quickly and easily in the area of letter recognition and sound recognition. My next product allows the opportunity to work directly on this fluency piece throughout the year but in a game format that is fun for students. Included you will find my "Spin and Say Boards" that are bundled for the whole year.  Also included are corresponding spinners.  Your little people spin the spinner, find the corresponding row on the board, and go to town saying the letters or sounds as quickly as possible. I simply copy these so I have enough for my small intervention group so each student has a set.  Just add a paperclip and pencil and your students are ready to spin.  SO MUCH FUN!

Letter and Sound Fluency- Spin and Say

I can't imagine that if you teach little people that you haven't seen this game yet.  There are a bazillion versions of "Pop" available so I must include the letter version here.  This little box of popcorn will get used again and again. Your students will request this over and over as well. If you do not know this activity, you can thank me later.  But seriously run to your favorite catalog or teacher store NOW! You may get tired of Pop but your students will not!  And beware of the popcorn that says "pop" because all pieces of popcorn will get returned to the draw pile! 

And finally, you know that some of my favorite TPT teacher authors will have some great products for you that are just perfect for teaching those learning their letters and sounds.  So check out the linky below and you will find everything you need to add some more tools to your toolbox.  I wouldn't want you to be bored now would I?  ;)  

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Chapter Books, Puppy, Wednesday Linky, and Win a $10 TPT Gift Card!

OMG!  I have so much news for you this week. How action packed has it been?  Valentine's Day has gone by but today I'm expecting the sugar buzz will not have worn off yet.  :(  Many of my students had parties and festivities yesterday so I had a few breaks during my intervention schedule.  But I managed to whip up a little Valentine Treat for them.  I bought adorable Valentine "Crazy Straws" at my Dollar Tree.  That store just opened near by and I happen to think it's my favorite dollar store EVER!  The straws came in a pack of 8 for just $1 so this was really reasonable. They looked a little uninviting so I decided to create a little card to slip them into and they came out really cute I think. My plan is to post them in my store as a FREEBIE, so be sure to stop back this weekend to get a copy for your file.  Meanwhile, they were a total hit with my kiddos but so many of them slipped it right into their mouths which didn't sit well with my germophobic self and all the sickness going around our building!  Take a peek and see what you think!

So here is the other HUGE news.  We just put a deposit down on a new Westie puppy.  Our house has been so lonely since we lost Izzy this past September. The plan was to survive the winter without him and get a new pup in Spring so I could have the summer to train him.  This litter will be born in approximately 3 weeks and then will come home with us about 10 weeks later.  Izzy was mine before I got married.  The Hubs is not going to know what hit him. He definitely doesn't realize what spirited puppies Westies are so we are definitely going to have to have a "play book".  Regardless, our house has been so quiet and sad without Izzy so I am looking forward to a new little fur-ball this spring. Stay tuned as there will be lots of pictures!

One more tidbit for the week.  And this is also big news.  My second grade intervention students are now reading CHAPTER BOOKS!  They are really reading about a half year behind and we are focusing on fluency and comprehension.  So I backed them up just a bit as I didn't want them to miss some of those amazing chapter books.  We ventured into book bucket 17 and found FOX AND HIS FRIENDS by Edward Marshall. It's so funny how a book divided into chapters can be such a milestone marker for Early and Emerging Readers.  So Fox, Minnie and Moo, Young Cam Jansen, and more will all be making their debut very soon in intervention.  What are some of your favorites?

Oh...and back the puppy for a second.  We are looking for name suggestions.  Please leave a suggestion for a name for our upcoming little Westie and your email address.  One random person will win a $10 TPT gift card for commenting on my blog with a name suggestion that I love!  

So that's all I have for this Wednesday morning!  Except for one more incredibly link up below. So check out the links from my fellow TPT authors below.  You just may find something that you have to have!

An InLinkz Link-up

TPT Sale!!! Save $$$ and my #1 Best Seller

Happy Hump Day! I can't believe it's February. There is good news and bad news today.  The bad news is that I am sick.....AGAIN.  I'm finding I do not get over things as quickly as I once did. What used to last 2 days now lasts 5.  UGH.  Kids have been absent....close to 10% of our student body was out this week.  And they are coming to school sick and getting sent home. Now the silver lining.  Teachers Pay Teachers is having their big sale this week. It ends tonight at midnight. You can STILL get things on your wishlist for up to 28% off right now.  DO NOT FORGET TO USE THE CODE Lovetpt at check out.  (I have done so and it's pretty annoying!)

So I thought I would share my BEST SELLER with you today.  Take a peek!

Out of close to 175 products in my store, this is the best seller.  Let me tell you why I think it is flying out of my store in droves.

When teaching new readers how to read, we often teach them a handful of reading strategies.  One of those such strategies is called "Skippy Scott".  We teach our students to skip over the word, read to the end of the sentence, and then to "think about what would make sense".  This skill is practiced in isolation using this set of clip cards.  Thinking about what we read and what makes sense is the hardest skill to teach emergent readers as they are so caught up in the logistics and components of reading.  What letter is that, what sound does it make, what does that "e" at the end of the word make the first vowel do again, what is that sight word....I know I've seen it before.  The internal conversation in your emergent reader's head has to be an absolute traffic jam!  (Hopefully....because if not...well that's a whole different blog post!)  This product allows your students to practice this skill in ISOLATION.  This product allows your student to realize that there may be more than one choice, but which word/picture is the best!  This is a critical skill that our students need to practice.

Ex.  The _______ buzzed around the sky.  Answer choices:  butterfly, ladybug, and bee.  All three can fly around the sky.  But when we fine tune and look at the word "buzzed" that really points towards the bee as the best possible answer.  This is when we can teach kids to cross check using other reading strategies and teaching, yes...that makes sense, but does it look right?

Take a closer look at this low prep activity. Simply print, cut, laminate, and add your favorite clothespins, clips, or even dollar spot erasers to cover the right answer!

What's the Missing Word? #1 STORE BEST SELLING PRODUCT

Version #2- What's the Missing Word- STORE SECOND BEST SELLING PRODUCT!

Be sure to check out the other best sellers from the stores of some of my favorite TPT sellers below. This for sure is the best time of the year to score the biggest discounts on some of these #1 selling products.

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Getting to Know Me!

I have so many new followers and visitors stopping by my blog these days.  And I'm so glad to see you all here.  I noticed that on Instagram people are telling more about themselves using the hashtag #meetmetpt so I thought I would get on the bandwagon and tell you a little about me! Take a peek and by all means, say hi, leave a comment, follow me, and let me know you were here!

1.  I have been teaching for ages.  The funny thing is that I can't remember if this is my 28th or 29th year.  How weird is that?

2.  I am a self proclaimed music buff!  I'm addicted to my XM/Sirius radio and you will often find me on the 70's on 7!  

3.  I am hoping to find a new litter of Westie Puppies or a Westie rescue this Spring since we lost Izzy this past September at 16.5 years old.  Our house feels so empty without him.

4.  My past job  experiences include waiting on tables and selling bridal gowns!

5.  I didn't get married until I was 41 years old.

6.  My favorite kind of vacation includes a beach, a frosty drink with a paper umbrella in it,  and a stack of good books to read.

7.  I am a third generation teacher...on my mom's side.  I used to go to school and help my grandma set up her classroom each summer.

8.  I have only filled up my gas tank about a dozen times since I got married nine years ago. My hubs loves to do this for me.

9.  I love a great sense of humor with good timing.

10.  February is my favorite month of the school year.  It is so action packed between Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Dental Health Month, President's Day, and Black History Month.  So take a peek below and see what my TPT friends and I have that may be of interest to you for the month of February!

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Great Literacy Idea for Black History Month

Many years ago, I took my kindergarten students on a field trip to our downtown public library.  They had an amazing storytelling program that was not to be missed.  During this particular field trip in February they featured an "African Story Vine" and I thought it was an amazing concept that I could adapt for my classroom,  Ever since that time, I have included it in my February curriculum as a means of sharing some amazing literature with my students.  And if I was not in the classroom teaching, I've convinced a colleague to give it a whirl.

Take a Closer Peek- Click Here

So what is an "African Story Vine"?  A story vine (rope/necklace) was often worn by tribesmen and storytellers as they traveled around from community to community and village to village.  The vine was adorned with objects that represented various stories. These stories were shared aloud with groups of people by moonlight and were passed down from generation to generation.  At that time, I decided this could be an amazing way to share this tradition as well as some amazing literature with my students.

Once I fell in love with this strategy, I decided that this would be a unique product to share over in my TPT store.  I adapted it so you could use it in your classrooms as well because why should I be the only one to have this much fun?  Now, let me tell you some more about how this actually works. Included with this product, you will find a list of some amazing picks to use as read alouds during February. The stories are either African tales, stories with African American characters, or stories about famous African Americans.  You will find included  amazing stories such as "The Snowy Day", "Anansi and the Magic Stick", "Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain", "The Story of Ruby Bridges", "The Other Side","Flossie and the Fox", and so many more.  And if you have some of your own favorites, you can adapt this to include those titles as well.

You will also find a set of tags, one for each story  is included.  Each tag includes a picture that represents the story but students do not know what the title of the book is from looking at the tag.

Each tag should be duplicated on card stock and then attach them to your story vine. I used these cute polka dotted ribbons to attach them, but you can use curling ribbon or even just a paperclip.   Each day, your read aloud (the tag) is picked off the vine by your students. Then that is your story to share on that particular day. You continue this daily until all your tags are removed from the vine. You can discuss the imagery on the tag, how it pertains to the story, and then read the story. Here is what my vine looks like. You can dress up your favorite bookshelf or string your vine along below your dry erase or Interwrite Board.  The vine can have as many of the books as you would like to read during the time designated time period you have chosen.

After reading the story, there is a "journal" in which your students can respond to the story in anyway you see fit.  Your students can write the main idea of the story, a brief reflection, a lesson learned, or any other ideas or concept that works for you. You can adapt this to meet your needs. You can copy this as a packet or as mini booklets as a reproducible cover is included as well.   Here is an example of what the journal pages look like. 

Here's what Emily, a first grade teacher has to say about using this product...

"My first graders have loved choosing tags from our story vine each day throughout February.  When their name is called to make a choice, they are so excited!  It's a time of our day that we all look forward to as we anticipate what new book we will read that day!  As a teacher, I love the follow up portion of it where we can extend our learning from any other part of our day into story time and respond to our reading.  This activity gives my students a broader idea of "Black History Month" and helps us enrich our learning during the month of February."

So are your wheels turning yet?  I think this is a great way to incorporate some great stories into your month and to provide meaningful information about Black History Month in a great context.  After all, reading aloud a great book to my students is one of my favorite things to do....especially when it's a tried and true home run. Hop on over to my TPT store and take a closer look at this packet.  I really think you will love it and the concept as much as Emily and I do.  

Taryn's African Story Vine- Just Perfect for February!

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Keeping Things Fresh

I'm really excited this week as my Kindergarten Intervention Kiddos are making great progress on hearing similarities and differences with sounds.  When I get stuck on how to teach a skill, I turn to a spinner game because I've never met a kid who doesn't love a spinner game.

I used to buy the spinners that you could attach to a game board. However, now I'm a fan of the paperclip and a pencil.  To do this, just place the end of the paperclip in the center of the circle. Secure it in it's spot by putting a pencil point inside the edge.  Then your students can give a flick and the paperclip will rotate around the pencil like a spinner.  This is way more economical than my previous purchases.  Plus, the little organizer in me loves that the game boards store flat, which is not the case when attaching a spinner.

So let me show you what we played today.

This is my Beginning Sounds/Super Sound Spinner activity. My kinders were engaged, enthusiastic, and did really well with this activity.  (I did have to tell them what a "kettle" was because don't we all just microwave these days?)  If you would like to take a closer look at this just click below!

Super Sound Spinners- Take a Closer Look!

What format do your students love?  I'm always looking for a great new idea or format to introduce my students to in order to keep things FRESH!  Take a peek below to see the timely activities my TPT colleagues recommend and perhaps you will find a fresh new idea for your classroom.

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Linky Party- And Check Out My Magnetic Letter Move Around

Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year.  Things have been chaotic since the new year began. The Hubs and I had a vacation over the break. In fact, I extended the break by taking the last week off of school and we headed to Barbados.  It was so nice to get my toes in the sand, read some great books for pleasure, hit up the spa, get some sun, and just relax!  Here is my view from our room.  How can you get sick of this right?

Ahhhh... wish I was there now. But back at home,  all has broken loose. I'm back at work, deep in the thick of it. I procrastinated on my observation because I was sick in November and my observation/evaluation is on tap for this week. You know how that goes. Monday was my 

pre-observation and I had the required walk through right after that with my first group of intervention kiddos.  Wednesday is the day for my observation.  I decided to have my principal watch my adorable 2nd graders who participate in Orton Gillingham.  My schedule is jam packed for the 30 minute observation and I'm having difficulty deciding what to cut, add, and maneuver.  Why this increases anxiety after 28 years of teaching is just beyond me.  Why do we do this to ourselves?

So, what's new in my TPT store? I'm so excited for a revamp of my favorite activity of all time.  It is a "Magnetic Move Around" activity that is truly a most versatile activity. You can use this for K-4 students, and just work on different skills that are appropriate for the particular grade levels.  

K students- make simple sight words

1st Graders- sight words, CVC words, add endings, change out a beginning, middle, or end sound for new word

2nd Graders- sight words, CVC, blends/digraphs, vowel teams, add prefix/suffix

3rd-a4th Graders-  prefix, suffix, multi-syllabic words

All you need is your favorite set of magnetic letters. I love the color coded ones that are blue and red so students can visually see that each word has at least one vowel in it.I am not kidding you when I tell you my students LOVE this activity.  They are amazingly great at this and ask for it repeatedly.  So I made it into monthly products.  However, currently it is getting a face lift and update and so it is available in a growing bundle format.  So if you are interested in this type of activity, now is the time to grab it at it's best price. You can now get twelve months worth for the price of less than three months individually purchased.  You can see a few sample pages below for January, February, and March!  Simply post the phrase found at the top of your page with magnetic letters on your magnetic surface.  Have students sit around you on the floor near your magnetic board with their recording sheet on a clipboard and armed with a pencil.  Each student can come up and make a word while everyone records it on their sheet. There is a second sheet so you can continue the activity on the back.  And if you prefer, there are letter cards that you may use and duplicate for your students in case you do not have magnetic letters for each of your students.  But definitely, my favorite way to begin this is to use it in a whole group!

And if I can tell you that in your absence, your substitute teacher will love this.  It is often an item I leave for my sub and if you have the same sub often, so that's a double bonus!  Simple and minimal prep plus high student engagement equals happy subs and happy teachers!  

As always, Wednesday is my Link Up Day. So be sure to check out what my other TPT friends have posted for you below as well. I'm certain you can find something useful for this time of the school year!  

Until Next Time,

An InLinkz Link-up