Flip Your Small Group Table With Today's Tip:

Find Out How I Use This To Teach Writing:

Click the image above to grab these.

(If you click the image above, it will take you to a set of 30 sheets of 8 1/2" X 11" lined sheets.)

1st: Laminate a blank sheet of construction paper.*
2nd: Attach a sheet of lined dry-erase contact paper to the laminated construction paper.

It looks like there is a bubble of air under the dry erase
paper, but it's only the glare.

 (Leave room at the top for sample letters &/or numbers.)

The red mat has a red cup of dry erase markers and
an eraser.  The orange mat has an orange cup, etc.

3rd: Attach letters and/or numbers to the top with clear tape. 
*Or... you can attach them with a glue stick before you laminate the construction paper. 

Now, each child has their own lined dry erase placemat to use during small group time.

The little dry erase markers and erasers from Target's Dollar Spot finish this off!

 If you want the 8.5" X 11" size,  Click HERE for the link from another source.  

The best part about using these is that you can flip them over if you are doing a cut and paste lesson and the laminated mats keep the glue from getting on the tables.  The mats wash up easily and you won't have any more glue drying on your tables!

So, How Do I Use These To Teach Writing?

1. When using a writing prompt, the teacher writes what the student dictates on the dry-erase paper for the student to copy.

Here is an example of one of my writing prompts. 

While students are illustrating & tracing the prompt, the teachers asks them what they are drawing and writes it on their dry-erase paper for them to copy.

Click on the image above to grab the set of prompts.

2. When a student needs help spelling a word, the teacher can help the student to sound-blend the word on the dry-erase paper and then copy it from there.

I created writing cards to help students build sentences that are a lot cuter than these.Find them by clicking on the image above. 

3. When a student needs to practice letter formation, they can practice on dry-erase paper.

And...

For Whole Group Time:

Cover an old easel with the poster size lined dry-erase contact paper for your morning message or that teachable moment!

Spaghetti & Meatballs:
Leave enough room between the letters in a word for a piece of spaghetti
and enough room between words for a meatball.
I made this from a bamboo skewer & a wooden bead from a craft store. 

Click the image to grab these.

ALL of these ideas allow you to erase and the dry-erase paper may be used again and again! Now, that's sustainable! 

I will post Part 2 of 3 Next week.

Palma :)

You might also like:
Our First Day of Kindergarten Note for Parents

The Royal King of Ing

Number Formation & Chants

See you all next week!

Palma :)

Making FUN Class Books. (Tips & Tricks)

Spicing Up Your Writing Lessons:

I like to use a variety of writing activities: 
Journals (daily), 
Guided Writing (weekly), and 
Writing Prompts (monthly).

I use these Writing Prompt templates to create class books written by my students. Or use them to create seasonal bulletin boards displaying their writing.

                                       

Click the image above.

I meet with my students in a small group setting to create a class book. Here are just some of the templates included in my "Monthly Writing" set:

Click the template.

A great one to use at the beginning and the end of the year.
Click the template.

I always used this one AFTER Thanksgiving.
Click the template.

We integrated math by creating a class graph with the results.
Click the template.

Perfect for celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Click the template.

Each child gets the same template.  You can do this two ways:

Using the writing prompt on the page, you ask the children to create an illustration that will go with their sentence. 

While they are illustrating, you ask the first child to dictate their  sentence, you write the words they need on lined Post-its, and they copy it.

OR:

You can have them use their inventive spelling to complete the sentence on their own or with guidance from you.

You can grab the entire set of 20 writing prompts, many of them integrate science and social studies, by CLICKING HERE.

Tip:  
-I number the pages with each student's classroom number.  
-I glue a numbered class list inside the front cover of the book.  
-Since that list includes their class number, it becomes an instant Table Of Contents!  Students can quickly find their own page in the book by just looking for their class number.
-At the end of the year, it is easy to take the books apart and organize the pages for each child to take home.  I place all of the pages for each child in a folder and glue a cover to it that says, "If you give a kid a pencil..."

Jan. 17: SNEAK PEEK AT THE FREEBIE & PRIZES at my FREE Kindergarten Writing Webinar!

Catch My Writing Webinar & Turn EVERY Child Into A Writer...

 Register now by CLICKING HERE. 

Watch it live to win prizes 

or watch it later when it's convenient for you. 

Click the sign above to register.

... with fun, engaging techniques! 

Did I mention that there will be prizes?

HERE IS A SNEAK PEEK:
EVERYONE gets this set FREE!!!!!

Click the image above to get this set.

You can win this set:

Click the image above to see some of the sets included on this flash drive. 

2 winners will win a free year of ESGI:

Click the image above to get $40 off of your 1st year + a 60 day FREE trial!

Here is the info on the webinar:

I'll see you all on Jan. 17! 
1:00 Pacific time
Register now 
and watch it when it's convenient for you. 

Only 3 Days Left To Grab Your 5 Month Trial, ESGI Discount Code, & Enter To Win Their Pot of Gold!

And I have even more questions to answer about writing in K:

But first, here is the link to get your 5 month free trial, ESGI discount code for $40 off of your first year, AND get entered in their Pot of Gold drawing!  

CLICK HERE!

Now, for a little Q & A:

Donna, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin stated -Mine isn't so much a question as it is a frustration in trying to fit in into my schedule.

I get it, that’s why integration is the key to success. So, while you are teaching science, such as “Sink & Float”, I would include a writing prompt such as the one below. Here, students illustrate something that sinks and something that floats and they complete the sentences. And there are lots of other writing prompts that integrate curriculum in the set from the webinar that is pictured below this sample.

And, students can write about national symbols, (social studies), about an addition or subtraction sentence (math), or even about the weather (science).

Click the image to grab this set. 

Kristin, from San Francisco, California asked -How do I get them to write independently? How do I move them through each stage of their writing?

Model, make it super easy so they are successful, and then celebrate them!

Model writing every day in a whole group setting.

Make it super easy by having them glue framed words onto paper to create a sentence, have them copy your sentence, or use my Instant Writing to make composing sentence easy and FUN.

Click the image to grab this Instant Writing set. 

Celebrate them by allowing them to share their writing in a small group (and later in a whole group) setting where the audience finds one thing they liked or enjoyed about their writing. 

I used the Writers’ Workshop model to teach writing one day each week and we practiced writing the other four days for about 25 min each day. 

If you want students to write independently, they must enjoy it. So, after using my Instant Writing lessons for about 6 days, I set it up as a center and students loved going to that center to write independently. 

As far as writing independently during a whole group writing lesson, once they have moved from copying my sentence or copying most of my sentence and completing it with their own words, I made sure that there was lots of help available for them in the form of sight word charts, a word wall, and “students you can ask for help” if needed. 

In terms of moving them through the stages of writing, I used ESGI to record where each child was based on the criteria I chose while creating my own custom test. Then, all I had to do was refer to the data to see which students need specific skills and I met with them in small groups to address the needed skills. 

Click the image to get the ESGI discount code.

Brittany, from Las Vegas, Nevada asked -How do I get a certificate of completion for these webinars?  I attended one prior and didn't get anything to use for my eval.

ESGI will email you your certificate within 1 week of the webinar, so you should get it via email by Wednesday, April 5. As for the prior webinar, contact ESGI and, if you registered for that webinar, they should have a record of it and they will take care of you. You can reach them through their website at esgisoftware.com and while you are there, register for your FREE 60 day trial which will be upgraded within a week to a 5 month FREE trial, you will qualify for $40 off your 1st year, and get an entry in their Pot of Gold drawing. But you must register before April 10. You can use this link: 

https://www.esgisoftware.com/sign-up/?promo=KFUN

CLICK THE GREEN HEART!

Pam, from Bangor, Maine asked -How do you share information with parents about their child's writing?  

Before I started using ESGI, I shared information with parents at our fall and spring conferences. But after changing my teacher-life with ESGI all I had to do was click on “Print Parent Letter” and voila, there was a user-friendly letter in English or Spanish which clearly reported which skills their child had mastered and which skills had not been mastered for this reporting period. The best part was that I could customize the letter to include specific skills or time periods and it was so much easier to read and understand than the report card! I could also print out a set of flashcards for each student that included all of the skills not mastered for each individual child! 

Here is a sample of what they looked like:

Click the parent letter. bit.ly/ESGICODE

Beth, from Tarrytown, New York asked -How do you support young writers that struggle with fine motor control not with the formation of ideas? Execution vs. creativity.

Sometimes, you just have to say, “Let’s not worry about neatness or mechanics today.” That’s OK, really, because even a professional writer sometimes just has to get their ideas down on paper and there will always be time for editing or re-writing later. So let’s not correct everything during the brainstorming lessons. Take time later for correcting, guiding, and using that teachable moment to reinforce skills in a private, friendly way so kids gain confidence and are more willing to take risks and use more challenging words. Otherwise, you will spend your year getting simple writing like, “I like my mom,” because they will be intimidated and afraid to use more challenging words. 

And, to encourage neatness and accuracy during the final draft lessons, ask students to come up to you to show you their best letter, word, or sentence. They will be so proud to share that with you and it will raise their level of awareness about the appearance of their final product. 

I'll be back in a day or so to answer even more questions. 

Making Guided Reading Work: A Simple Plan

Here is my Simple Guide to Guided Reading:

First, you have to set up your Guided Reading Table:

Children love routines. It makes them feel safe and comfortable. But they also seek novelty and their motivation to learn is peeked when we present information in different ways. That said, I like to keep my Guided Reading routine the same each week, but each day I toss in some fun, new ideas.

Since Guided Reading is taught through small group instruction, and is designed to provide differentiated teaching that supports students in developing reading proficiency, I begin by assessing my students (see more on assessment below)and meeting with them in small, homogeneous groups. These groups are flexible and change as often as needed.

So what does a typical Guided Routine look like?

Basically, I like to plan my small group lessons around these concepts:

Monday: Alphabet Work: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and letter recognition.

Tuesday: Sight Word Work: Reading and spelling sight words (I limit my lessons to one or two sight words.)

Wednesday: Reading Strategy Work:  Discussing and practice reading strategies such as blending, segmenting, stretching out words, etc.

Thursday: Comprehension Work: Practicing comprehension strategies such as digging deeper, looking for evidence, and re-telling stories.

Friday: Writing Work: Practicing writing by completing the writing prompt that relates to the story or topic that week. 

How to bring novelty into your weekly Guided Reading routine?

Monday: Alphabet Work: (Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and letter recognition)

We might focus on initial sounds by placing a cube on each image that begins with a particular letter. 

We might use clear and colored spoons to practice word families or onset rimes. This cute idea came from Heidi's blog:  http://blog.heidisongs.com

And we reinforce letter recognition by using alphabet pin cards, laminated letter tracing cards, and bingo markers that help us practice letter formation . 

Tuesday: Sight Word Work: (1 or 2 Sight Words) 

Click the image to grab the set of Pocket-Lockets. 

We create Sight Word charts where students use the sight word in a sentence, the teacher writes the sentence, and the student gets to sign their sentence.

We use my Pocket-Lockets set to create a pocket watch or a locket by spelling a particular sight word with letter squares. Students get to wear their pocket watch or locket home. 

And we use choral reading to read our Sight Word Mini Books together.

We use laminated Dragonflies in First's cute  iPhone templates to copy sight words or write a sentence using a sight word with dry-erase pens.

Wednesday: Reading Strategy Work: (Reading Strategies) 

Click the image to grab this cute, FREE set of posters. 

We use multiple copies of small trade books, phonetic books, or familiar literature books to practice reading decoding strategies together. We discuss the strategies found on these FREE posters from Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten and share how we used them to read. 

Students also practice partner reading their book during this time. 

Thursday: Comprehension Work: (Comprehension Strategies)

Students use their trade books, phonetic books, or familiar literature books to discuss new vocabulary, look for evidence in the illustrations or text, and re-tell parts of the story. Concepts of print, such as identifying characters, the setting, the problem, the solution, or sequencing parts of the story are also addressed. 

Friday: Writing Work: (Writing Component)

Click the image to grab the American Symbol Flag Writing Template. 

Students respond to a writing prompt that relates to that week's story or a concept of print, such as the characters, the setting, etc. I use my Writing Prompts every Friday. We also used my Career Writing templates after reading about community helpers and my American Symbol Flag template after reading about our national symbols. 

A Word About Assessments:

I have used ESGI for the past 8 years and it has saved me hundreds of hours assessing my students and using the amazing data to drive my instruction and RTI. It's easy, provides you with so much useful information about your students, and you students will LOVE it so much they will actually beg you to test them! Really!

Click the image above to grab your FREE trial!
Remember to enter your code: KFUN.

You can learn more by grabbing your FREE 60 day trial (no credit card necessary) by CLICKING HERE. Add the promo code KFUN when you grab this FREE trial and you will automatically qualify for a $40 discount off of your 1st year! This is a GREAT company. They won't try to trick you into enrolling for a year. Use their built-in tests or create your own to meet your own school's assessments. After you try it, you will love it.

There you have it! I keep the routine the same, but I change out the way I teach each lesson or the materials I use. Sometimes I dress the part wearing a wig and windshield wiper sunglasses if we are discussing the letter W. And sometimes we will play an Onset Rime Hopscotch game. Keep it fresh and new!

Leave a comment and let us know about some great ideas YOU have for making Guided Reading fun!

How To Make Every Student A Writer:

And I mean EVERY student!

This method is great to develop oral language and give your students a foundation for composing a sentence. I used it with my English Language Learners as well as my fluent English Language students and they loved it. The best part is that once you have taught this method a few times in a small group setting, you can turn it into a fun writing center.

It starts with oral language as the student creates a sentence using the 3 cards they chose from a stack.

Here is how "Instant Writng" works:

You can create your own "Instant Writing" kit or you can purchase my "ready-to-go" kit on my TpT Store. Here is how you can make your own:

1. Collect pictures (from magazines, old workbooks, or a web site that offers free images) of "characters" like people and animals. (You will need 6 pictures for each child in your small group.)

This is the noun page that your run on pink paper.

2. Collect pictures of people or animals doing specific activities like running, swimming, singing, & dancing. (You will need 6 pictures for each child in your small group.)

This is the verb page that you run on green.

3. Collect pictures of places like a barn, a school, a store, or a park.  You can also include pictures of things like a mailbox, a bed, or a swing. (You will need 6 pictures for each child in your small group.)

4. Label all of the pictures. You might want to type up labels with a lined font so children can copy each label correctly.

This is the 2nd noun page that includes places and things.You run this on blue paper.

5. Glue your collection of "characters" to pink construction paper squares leaving a 1/2" pink edge all around each picture. Do the same thing with the "activity" pictures, but glue those to green construction paper. Last, glue the "places" or "things" to blue construction paper. 

If you use my "Instant Writing" kit, you copy the pages labeled "pink" on pink Xerox paper, the ones labeled "green" on green Xerox paper, and the ones labeled "blue" on blue Xerox paper. 

The "Instant Writing" kit includes the writing template, tons of graphics to copy on pink, green, and blue paper, and the "helping words" page. 

Each student will need one of the white templates in the kit or you can also use a sheet of lined paper with an area at the top for a picture. That is where your students can glue one pink, green, and blue card in that order. 

You will also need a list of "helping words" which is included in my Instant Writing kit. I run one copy for each child in my small group on yellow card stock and laminate it so we can use them all year long. These include the words they will need to complete their sentence like "the, that, a, my, on, by, under, over, near, around, through,...". I included an image of the "helping words" page below. Scroll down to see it.

The Procedure:

In a small group setting (of 4-6 students) give each child 1 pink, 1 green, and 1 blue page. Each page has 6 images on it. They should cut apart the pictures on each page and put them into a sandwich size zipper bag. (If you are using your hand-made kit, give each child 6 pink, 6 green, and 6 blue pictures to put into their zipper bags.)  They will also need one white page for writing and a yellow "helping words" page.

This is my small group table.
I was in the middle of attaching lined dry-erase contact paper to each laminated sheet of construction paper.
The dry erase paper allows me to write words for students to copy and easily erase.
They can also write on it, practice their printing, or work on a math problem and then erase it.

Have each students reach into their zipper bag and pull out one pink, one green, and one blue card and glue them to their white writing page in that order. (The white writing page in the Instant Writing kit is labeled with the color names.)

Choosing one pink, one green, and one blue card.

Help each child to tell you what each pictures is and have them verbally create a sentence using those three pictures.  For example, if a child has a pink card with a cat on it, a green card of a girl singing, and a blue card of a kitchen, he/she might say, "The cat, sang in the kitchen." Or... "My cat is singing near the kitchen." There are so many ways to use each set of cards. Have fun and encourage them to create silly sentences like, "The black cat will sing to the kitchen!" 

You can see that I wrote the word "The" for her
using a capital "T" and then, I wrote it with a
lowercase "t" so she could use it in the middle
of her sentence.

Once they have settled on their sentence ask them which article (A, the, that, my, etc.) they wish to use and circle that word on their yellow "extra words" card so they can copy it. Then, they copy their pink labeled card.

This is the "extra words" card that I copy on yellow card stock
 and laminate one for each student in my small group. When they
need a word, I just circle it with a dry erase pen.

Next they write their verb from their green card. If they wish to change the tense, you just write the new word on the back of their card for them to copy. 

Last, they decide which "helping words" they need to add the last blue card to their sentence. You ask them if their character did that activity in, near, by, on, over, etc. the last noun. Use the "helping words" chart or write the extra words on a lined Post-it so it can be easily copied.

At the end, sing this little chant which came from one of Heidi's teaching CDs which you can find at heidisongs.com: "I'm done, I'm done, oops, I forgot! I have to write a period, I have to make a dot."

Then, your students reads their sentence to the group and they get to press the Easy Button!

Available at Staples Stores in English and Spanish.

Do this for 6 days (at least once a week for 6 weeks) before setting this up as a writing center. 

You can send these pages home, bind them in a book that they can take home after 6 weeks to read to their parents, or post them on medical file clips on your bulletin board.

You can keep adding pages to these clips all year long.