A Little Poetry!

I think I have found the perfect way to incorporate a little more poetry into the curriculum!  Well, maybe not the perfect way but definitely a great way.  I've been doing this for about the last 23 years and it's very easy to do.  You just need a few supplies and you will be including poetry on a regular basis.

All you need are two half gallon milk cartons, uncooked rice, wrapping paper (seasonal), 6 poems printed, and some tape.  It's really quite simple.

This sneak peak will definitely tempt you to find out more.  For complete directions and details....download my FREE directions in my TPT store.  You will be amazed at how simple this is and how much your students will enjoy. 

 How to Make a Poetry Cube

Until Next Time,

Bossy R Activities

Well Good Morning!  I was having some technical difficulties but I think my blog is back in working order. And by technical difficulties, let me say I am tech challenged and I'm just getting used to this blogging world!  It's a three day weekend for most as it's Memorial Day Weekend. I find myself with all of my personal days left since I haven't been able to take them....so I am off all next week.  That should give me a good taste of summer. I'm sticking close to home with my pup but I have lots of lunch dates and spa treatments set up so I'm totally looking forward to it.  As an intervention teacher, I feel less guilty about taking the days as there are so many special events going on this time of year that it would be touch and go for seeing kiddos anyway.  Good thing I left a pile of laminating for my sub to cut out in my absence.

Anyway, I've just joined a group of fabulous bloggers and am involved in a Collaborative Blog called "Fabulous Freebies for Teachers".  We are a group of 20 bloggers and will be providing posts and products for you to read and see via a blog and Facebook.  And be sure to note the word FREEBIES.  Who doesn't love a great freebie right?

So this year I had the opportunity to be trained in Orton Gillingham phonics and have to say I love it.  I came out of college during the Whole Language movement and was never really trained in a formal Phonics approach. I surprised myself by loving what it did for some of my intervention kiddos who have been struggling for ages.  Orton is definitely a multi-sensory approach to learning.  And I have enjoyed supplementing it with many learning centers to reinforce the skills taught.  Below you read about my latest product which is free to you from my TPT store.  Here is the link!
Bossy R Spinner Game

There are two ways to play this activity.  The first is to simply spin the spinner and generate a word with the correct er, ir, or ur spelling. The first to fill either the er, ir, or ur column is the winner. The second way is to pick a card, read it, and record it in the correct column.  Either way, this is great practice in reading the Bossy r words.

If you are itching for more Bossy R activities, I also have an item in my store called "Poke and Peek".  You simply use a golf tee, pencil, or straw and poke through the hole of the correct spelling.  This is a fun format for the students, as you circle the back side of the correct hole and it is self checking for your students.  Here is the link for that product:
Bossy R Poke and Peek

Poke and Peek

So best wishes for a fabulous end of the school year and summer. I wish you lots of rest, relaxation, and tons of fun during your time off. We certainly deserve it.

Until next time,

And the Answer Is...How I Use Exit Tickets

So how do you make sure that your students have actually learned what you taught them during a given period of time?  As you may already know, I am an intervention teacher for students struggling and going through the RtI process.  This year I teach both reading and math and am working with first through third graders.  (That fluctuates depending on the year!)

One of my favorite parts of my day has to be when I see my firsties!  I was a first grade teacher and this just feels like "coming home" to me.  There is definitely something magical about the first grade year and in my opinion, it happens in small group work.  The firsties come to you in September and can't read and they leave reading and loving literature!

So one of my favorite ways to ensure they have learned a skill is to let them "show what they know" by means of an exit ticket.  I have created my first exit ticket product and I want to explain to you how this product came to be!

Remember walking across your college campus or through the uptown area?  For me that seems like eons ago!  I remember seeing telephone poles in highly traveled areas and seeing advertisements stapled to the poles, advertising roommates needed, couches for sale, or to come see a band at a particular bar.  These advertisements often had tabs that could be torn off for you to take a phone number or to serve as a reminder.  That right there was my inspiration for my new Short Vowel Exit Slips.


When working on a short vowel as a skill, in a group or in isolation, I decided that before my students leave the table, they can show what they know.  Using my exit tickets, they can choose a tab, read it, and tear it off.  Quite simply, with a group of five students at my table, it takes all of about a minute to throw this task into the mix.  It's a simple, fun way to evaluate if your kids "get it" and a great routine to get the kids into the habit of doing .  If you are anything like me, it's all about the routine! (The poor hubs!  He doesn't know what hit him!)

So if this sounds intriguing or like a routine that you would like to add into your mix, please stop by my store and take a peek!  The format is simple on purpose, not distracting, and my students love it!

Until Next Time,

I'm a Little OCD....Is it a Teacher Thing?

Happy Mid-February to you.  I've been missing in action but am back for this evening. I've been spending so much time working on new products for my store and well...it's February.  That means tons and tons....and tons of testing for us. Plus, I've spent tons of time on paperwork and getting some of my intervention kiddoes through the RtI process. That conversation is definitely for a different day! 

So today I thought I would share one of my favorite topics for you, ORGANIZATION!  Perhaps you do the same thing, or you organize a bit differently.  As I mentioned earlier, I have moved into a gargantuan space this year from a previous closet...literally a closet.  Now I have this room and a huge closet. I spent much time trying to figure out how to best organize all of my materials so I can reach in, grab, and go.  I'm always on the run and have very little prep time so quick and easy is the name of my game.  Plus I must know where to get my hands on what I'm looking for very easily.  Sound familiar?  I'm sure!  :)

I purchased large shoe boxes, suitable for boots to store my materials.  I do not use the lids.  I simply label the side of the box with a cute label, describing the main skill that the materials cover.  Below you will see my "Sight Word Bin."  Here's a peek:



Let me tell you about just some of these items that have become favorites of mine in the sight word department. Starting at the top left and going counterclockwise:
*Lakeshore Sandpaper sight words- I have 3 sets of these and they are a quick and easy way to incorporate some multisensory learning into the day.  I like the font, the size, and they come in several colors.  I have red, blue, and green.
*Shout out to a fellow TPT seller-Miss Giraffe and her Secret Sight Words. They are "the bomb".  My kiddoes use magnetic letters with them and fill in the sight word.  Sometimes we do them together, and other times in small group or individually.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/SECRET-Sight-Words-1342385
*Jenga-  I took an old game of Jenga and permanent marker and wrote a Fry Word on each block.  Students now have to read the word once they pull out the block.  This is highly coveted!
*Really Good Stuff- Sight Word Bracelets- My kiddoes can bring their bracelet back, read all the words on it, and trade it in for a new one!  Yes....a few were lost but that's to be expected.
*Reading Power Towers- each Pringle can is filled with mini cups that have sight words written on them.  The kiddoes read and stack, and it's always a hoot when they knock them over!  This was a Pinterest find.  I've made 3 sets of them, with increasing difficulty.

*Keyboarding Folders- You can have students write with a dry erase on the top part of the folder, and type the word on the keyboard.  This was found online but the author didn't label it so my apologies to the creator of this reproducible.
*Color Words- I simply cut the letters on the Ellison Cut Out machine to spell the color words, out of the corresponding colored paper.  All letters go into the bag.  Students can first sort the letters by color, then spell the color words.  Or if you want a quick and easy version...stop by my store and check out a prepared version. I just dropped the price! :) 
 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Color-Word-Spelling-Scramble-GAME-607839

Whew!  That's only one bin.  There are more where that came from!

Until Next Time,