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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Guided Reading Binder

I was working on a guided reading binder this week with a good teacher friend.  We were going over what should be in the binders.  She told me I needed to do a blog post about it....so here it is!
I use my binder in guided reading EVERY DAY!  I am lost without it!  I keep everything in there and keep it organized so I can find student data when needed.  Here is how I do it...

First, you need a HUGE binder.  By the end of the year it will be FULL of running records and data.  Also, if I have to look at that binder and use it every day...it might as well be cute. So... I made this binder cover page and some dividers.
Get the other dividers here:

In the front of my binder I always have my guided reading schedule...so I know what groups I need to meet with that day as well as my lesson plans for my groups.  These are the forms I use:


We also send home books to read in a book bag.  I keep track of the books they take home as well as the date they take it home and return it.  If I am ever short a book, I can look at this chart and know exactly who still has it.  This is the checkout form I use:

Next, I have a separate tabbed divider for each student in my class.  This is where I put all of their running records.  An easy way to keep track of their progress and the stories/levels they have completed is with the running record summary sheet.  I have one of these for each student.  I add it to the front of their section of running records so I can find it easily.
Some other information you might want to add to your binder is a yearly data sheet that shows their reading level progress.  I often refer to this in planning meetings as well as parent conferences to discuss student progress. 


I also like to have this graph for each student. It is a great visual for students and parents about where they are reading and where they need to be reading each nine weeks.  I like to keep it in a separate folder to show parents at conference time.

If you are new to guided reading, these cheat sheets might be helpful to keep in your binder as well.  They have a quick breakdown of guided reading expectations. 


I hope you find some of this useful!




Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Reader's Notebook

This year I am planning on using a reader's notebook. I found a lot of GREAT ideas from other teachers.  I made a few things of my own to add to the notebook and I also plan to add some things that I have used in the past.  I think it will be great for them to have all of their learning in one place to refer to.  I have added an example of how I am going to start the year with my reader's notebooks.  I hope to write more posts about the notebooks as we add to them throughout the year! 


I plan to have the students decorate and personalize their journals first.  Here is an example of mine!  I used this awesome website: www.festisite.com to create a word shape.  So fun!

I plan to have the students write-  I read because... and then add their words to one of the sites below to create their word bubble for the cover of their journals.
These sites are great:
www.festisite.com
www.wordle.com
www.tagxedo.com


I am also going to have the students glue a little introduction and goals page at the beginning of the journal.  I plan to meet with them during groups to add some things to their goals page. Here's what it looks like...click the title to get the download.

 


One of our first lessons for the year will be how to pick a just right book.  I am going to have them add this hand to their journals as a reminder.  I found it on Pinterest....here's the link! 
This would  be the perfect time to teach the Daily 5 lesson about Good-Fit books. I would have the students add their notes on this page about IPICK. If we don't have the time (or patience) to take notes, we might just add this little cheat sheet to their notebooks!

During the first weeks, we will be adding this little flip book to the notebook.  They can list what genre's/author's/topics they are interested in reading. (this would be good to add to writer's workshop  for writing ideas...I have to remember that!)


I am adding a genre breakdown page for them to refer to....we will get to discuss that frequently throughout the year!
(This resource was found here: http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/  MANY great resources on this site...check it out!)


I created this genre graph/bingo page for them to keep track of the genre's they are reading. I used this last year.  The class really liked it!

I hope some of this helps you out and gives you some ideas to get started!

Here are a few other sites I found that have great suggestions for reader's notebooks.  Enjoy!








Monday, July 16, 2012

Back To School Treat Bags!

I have been working hard to prepare for a great new school year.  (When I say working hard, I really mean searching Pinterest daily while laying on the couch.;)  Anyway, I love all the cute back to school treat bags and notes that other teachers have created for their students on the first day.  I wanted to do that too and share them here with you! I found quite a few pictures on Pinterest, but not a lot of printables to use with the ideas.  So I created some of them on my own. (Click on the title of the note to get the download.)  I hope you can use something from here for your own class!  Have a great first day of school!


Love this one...a great snack for the kids on the first day too.  I folded the note and stapled it to the ziplock bag.  So fast and easy! ( I also made a round note that you can punch and tie with ribbon to make it super cute. Click HERE for the round note.)



I love this one also!  Just add Lucky Charms cereal!

A bag of Starburst!  Yum!


I love the cute owl.  You could just put this on their desks with a pencil, or I made it with a bag of M&M's candy.


Add a pack of gum, or a bag of bubble gum!


A bag of gummy bears!


Add a glow in the dark bracelet or a highlighter!



I found sample pictures of  most of these ideas on Pinterest or examples at these websites: