Working Smarter, Not Harder

Planning, planning, planning

How do you do lesson plans? 

Erin Condren planner? Handwritten plans? Typed documents? School provided calendar planner? Full format District mandated plans? Planning binders? Online sites? 

Do you work with your team to plan or are you solo? 

This will be my 5th year teaching and I finally found a way that works for me, my team, and that also benefits my students.

I created my Long Range Plans a few years ago for myself and my team as a result of us trying to learn a then new math program, Engage NY or Eureka Math, and implement the Journeys Reading Program. We struggled to visual SEE how things played out just by using the provided curriculum guides and the district pacing maps. 

 <<< WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER!>>> 

We then got to work! Our district gives us credit for a Professional Development day to plan with our PLC, or professional learning community, which includes my 3 teammates. So each year we spend a day (or more) working together on these plans. We chose to focus on one subject at a time and used district and curriculum guides to plan out what was best instruction for our students. Below is the REAL guide we are planning to use and implement this coming year. You'll notice we still use Journeys for reading and Engage NY for math. We do jump around a bit in math because of our district assessments, BUT we also found that some concepts were better placed before/after others for our students needs. 

((Disclaimer: we were given permission to skip around and meet students needs))

Once we have the year at a glance mapped out we start planning out our weeks. We use the district and school calendars to align our days, note when events occur at school etc. My team and I have been working together for 4 years now and I truly believe we are the dream team! They are such amazing teachers and we all work so well together, making this process easier and easier each year.
Each subject is color coded throughout the year. For example, our 2nd grade Journeys books are orange, hence the plans for reading show up as orange. Little things like that make my teacher heart happy. :)
If you'd like to see more and try out these plans for yourself click here

Now, once the year is mapped out and all the weeks are filled in on the Long Range Plans we then use https://www.planbook.com to do weekly planning. This online plabbook is $12 for the whole year! We have each taken turns paying for the years subscription and all have access to it from our computers, phones, and iPads thanks to the easy to use app!
((no this is not a paid post for planbook, just sharing my love for it!))

Once you log in and create an account you are able to do SO MANY different things! Change colors of blocks, fonts, times, classes, it adds a Day counter at the top, so if you're like me you track days to celebrate the 100th day of school! (shown in photo below)

Some of my favorite features are that you can see different views, that being daily and just seeing todays lessons, weekly, monthly and more. I also love that you can "bump" or "extend" lessons and it will shift your plans for you. We all know there are days that you just don't get to do everything you have planned.. so we "bump" it and move on!  Also I LOVE that you can attach resources to the plans (shown below at the bottom). This is so helpful when we all have a document we need to share or show to students. Instead of emailing and all downloading, we just attach to the plans and can pull it up quickly! 

Another favorite feature is that you can add in Common Core Standards! This is so helpful when planning and pacing because we can easily see what standards we have taught already. This is also helpful when we share plans with administrators and within our PLC's to note whats working, what needs to be tweaked etc. You can change the view of the standards to say the entire worded version of each standard, or just the number and abbreviation like we chose to use below.

I also love to print out the weekly spread and attach to my clipboard that I carry daily to keep myself on track. I also have the planbook.com app on my phone and school iPad when needed. This feature also makes it very easy to plan and share information with student teachers as well! 

Because I have used planbook.com for almost 5 years (I was so lucky to stumble on it half way through my first year teaching) that MY FAVORITE FEATURE is how you can transfer plans from one year to the next! IT IS SUCH A TIME SAVER! Most of the past few years our first few days/first weeks in Second grade have stayed the same. So its easy enough to push a button and transfer all of our plans from 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17 or parts of each etc. to this years spread without having to retype anything, reattach documents, and more! 

It may seem redundant to have both the long range plans and planbook.com but we all utilize both documents and its what works for us! Together as a PLC we meet once a week to easily pull copies, talk about whats worked so far, and get ready for the following week- all without having to sit and write lesson plans for the upcoming week without knowing what comes next. If you'd like to read more about our day and how all this planning works in my room click here for a day in 2nd grade

Dear Second Graders...

Out of the mouths of babes...

First off, let me apologize for not posting since JANUARY, Yikes! 

A quick life update. Since January I have...

1- Submitted ALL components for my National Board Certified Teacher Certification! AH! 

2- celebrated my bachelorette party in beautiful Asheville, NC

3- gotten MARRIED!

4- traveled to St. Lucia on a fabulous honeymoon

Life hasn't changed too much since our May wedding, but I did promise to share my end of year writing project with everyone, so here it is! 

Have you heard of Studentreasures? 

A few years ago my teammate stumbled upon a company, Studentreasures that let you publish your students writing into a book for FREE! I initially thought it was too good to be true. So we decided to order the kits and see what we could make of it...while in the back of my mind I was preparing to have to shell out some money for this hardback beautiful book that my kids worked tirelessly on throughout the spring. 

[Also this is NOT a sponsored post, although I would love to work more with them:)]

Fast forward a few weeks our kit arrived. With my Second Graders I chose to use Option C, the Landscape Primary lined. This has worked out fabulously the last 3 years! 

Included for FREE in our kit is plenty of lined pages and corresponding blank pages for pictures. As well as cover, title, dedication, and author pages. ALSO a sample hard bound book for students to ooohhhh and ahhhh over and excite them about becoming real published authors themselves. A step-by-step guide, replacement pages and materials if needed, parent order forms, and other resources! 

I mean can you believe this is all for FREE?! Yes, I too was still skeptical and thought it was too good to be true... just wait until you see their writing :) 

The Writing Process

To make things simple I always create and copy a draft template for my students to guide their writing prior to them working on the pages from Studentreasures. I've used the same format for each year and students have loved it. The students pages are as follows: 

"Hello my name is ____________. I am almost done with second grade! Here is some advice for you so you can make it through second grade too. My advice for you is _____________________. For example, __________________________________________.

_____________________________________________________.

Good luck in second grade!"

This darling is working on copying his draft onto the final studentreasures paper. I choose to do this at my small group table and preferably 1:1 because the company requests that you use PEN! Now if you're anything like me, I don't like my students to use ink pens unsupervised on these projects because it almost always ends in tears when they mess up and can't erase. There are extra pages provided in the kit, BUT I like to use this a a learning experience in using pen and doing our best work. So we go very slow and take lots of time to complete the pages.

After each student has met with me and copied their writing onto the book paper, I let them use markers and color a picture to match their advice that they wrote. These pages will lay side by side in the book. 

After ALL my students have completed their final copies of writing with a pen and their picture. I box them all up, with my self-created cover and send materials back to Studentreasures. Once you submit materials, it a few weeks until you receive back the hard cover book you've created. 

BUT it is so worth it!!

Below are all the books we've created throughout the years! 

Oh, how I wish I knew about this my first year of teaching. I would have loved to have this book for that group of kids. Since then, I have completed this same concept yearly with each class. I always love reading this to my NEW classes each fall and the incoming students love it! 

You can choose to make this any type of book you'd like! The sample I received one year was all about animals, and each student researched a different animal. My teammate I mentioned earlier, did one about how to have integrity, and their favorite second grade memory. The possibilities are endless! 

Out of the mouths of babes... 

Here is a sample from years past! Some of the advice students come up with is horrifyingly honest. For example, "my advice for you is don't wiggle your paper. This drives Ms. B crazy!" or "my advice for you is don't play with your shoes on the carpet when Ms. B teaches. She will make you take your shoes off." [whoops.... in my justification velcro shoes are SO NOISY!!!!!!] But hey, those examples are some solid second grade survival tips!

Lastly, at the end of each book we make I write a love note to my students and draw a picture. They absolutely love the surprise when they find it. :)

So if you've read this far, you're probably still wondering what the catch is... and if I actually paid any money for these beautiful books. The answer is...

NO! 

I didn't pay a cent for them. No shipping. Nothing. 

You as the teacher receive ONE free copy of the students book for your classroom just for completing it. If students/parents would like to purchase a copy, it varies in price pending on regular or deluxe version but is roughly $20. Most of my students parents will splurge and purchase one but are certainly not required to! I will always have a copy in my classroom during the years for students to read and reread. These books are an absolute favorite for our Read to Self Center. 

So what do you have to lose? This process really helps enforce the writing process with my students and showcases their abilities and hilarious advice each year. 

[this post is not sponsored in any way, just sharing the love because I can.]

#paigeinreallife

Where do I even begin?! I could list you off all the excuses I have for not posting on here... but I won't bore you with all that. Let me just say that things have gotten extra crazy for this tired teacher but I've come to a BIG realization.. 

#gametime

Raise your hand if you spend too many hours in your classroom before and after school? 

Raise your hand if you spend wayyyyy too much time on social media browsing everyones AMAZING IDEAS!? 

Raise your hand if you instantly think "ohhhh I NEED this in my classroom" when you see someones post about Target purchases, TPT products, Rae Dunn mugs?!

Raise your hand if you run to every Target/Michaels/Home Goods etc. in town until you find said items that you stalked on social media?! 

Raise your hand if you go buy said things ^^^ and then NEVER find the time to implement them in your real life classroom?! 

Well friends, ME TOO!!!!!!!

#realtalk

I've spent the last few months working on myself from the inside --> out. I've been working towards not impulsively purchasing things because _______ has it, or because _______ posted about it, and actually trying to figure out what MY students need and WHY they need it. 

Y'all its been hard. Like really hard... 

Yes, I want all those Rae Dunn products, yes, I've spent hours going to 3 different Home Goods to still have no luck... BUT guess what, I DON'T EVEN DRINK COFFEE!!!! I wanted the mugs and other things simply because many amazing teachers that I adore on Instagram posts about them, and I want to be just like them. 

Yes, I want all those rainbow task card organizers boxes that everyone finds at Michaels on sale... I finally found them, bought them, and guess what?!! They're sitting in my classroom closet because I just haven't had time to laminate the perfect TPT product I bought, cut it all out, and organize it. #reallife I wanted those organizers because many amazing teachers that I adore on Instagram posts about them, and I want to be just like them. 

Are you catching my drift here? I've spent so much time comparing myself and wanting to be like other teachers that I see on social media that I've lost the teacher that I wanted to be. I want to be the teacher that my kids learn from. The one that supports them daily in learning and life skills. I want them to know they're loved. If they learn anything all year long, I want it to be that they now know how to WORK HARD AND BE KIND. 

#challengeaccepted

This year is only my 4th year teaching, and Ive taken on a very big challenge... this year I started the National Boards Certified Teacher process. People think I am crazy and that I need more experience before pursuing this. Ive gotten plenty of looks at PDs when they ask how young I am, years I've been teaching and more.. my answer is always that "I am always willing to learn and grow as a teacher". I feel that this is the best way for ME to grow as a teacher and learner and, by golly I am going to do it and [hopefully] pass! 

 So far this process is challenging, in an amazing way! I've had to reflect, and reflect, and reflect some more about ME and MY teaching. What am I doing that works, what doesn't work, how can I change this/that? Well first thing I found that wasn't working... that I was comparing myself to others. I would then beat myself up for days over how insert [strategy/tpt product/lesson plan] worked so well for ______ or looked so amazing on _______'s Instagram and/or blog, but didn't work with my kids in my classroom. 

Well, friends its plain and simple... I am not them. I am ME in MY classroom with 21 second graders who are absolutely hilarious, smart, thoughtful, and hardworking. This NBCT process has opened my eyes for the better and I am so thankful! 

#comparisonisthethiefofjoy

Moral of my babble is that I needed to stop comparing myself to others. [Most] people only post the good stuff on social media, no one wants you to see their messy guided reading table, stacks of ungraded papers that you throw in the recycling bin, or their closet full of crap they bought and never implemented. 

Give yourself a break!!! Stop comparing yourself to people on social media, or that "perfect" teacher down the hall. Do whats best for you and your students. Thats it. End of story. #youareenough You are an amazing teacher, you make a difference daily in students lives for the better, and you are doing a great job!

#reallifeupdate

If you did read all the way to the end of this post, bless your heart, thank you! I hope my words can help you in some way. Heres what Ive been up to the past few months! 

We bought our first house!  

Soon to be Mrs. Barber!  

My first Disney Wine and Dine Half-Marathon! 

Classroom Reveal 2016-2017

Classroom Reveal 2016-2017

This is now my 4th year teaching, and I finally feel like I *somewhat* know what I am doing most of the time. I am no longer in the survival mode and drowning in the exhaustion from my first year, and after a few years of tweaking I have finally figured out a layout and system for my classroom that works! 

I love, love, love my classroom this year and its thanks to so many other bloggers and teacher friends for sharing their ideas. Hope you enjoy!

This is my favorite place to teach at and we spend most of our day on our class carpet for mini lessons. I am in *LOVE* with how these blackboards turned out with the fabric border. Since last year I had a vision of sprucing up my blackboards and I am so glad I did!

On the left, the green side, I have my reading focus board. The Journeys focus wall display is from Teaching Kids 1st and it is perfect. Each section is on a ring and can easily be changed throughout the year. It will soon be a students job to change the focus board information. 

On the right, the pink side, I have my Whole Brain teaching 5 rules, my morning message and anchor chart display, Whole Brain teaching scoreboard, and my "I'm done.. Now what" bubbles. My computer cart is kept to the right side and I frequently use my laptop that is connected to the smart board with my students. 

To the left of my smart board is my library. The pink books are sorted by level. Currently levels A-O are out in their corresponding bins. The blue and green Really Good Stuff bins below are sorted by genre and/or author. These are just about half of my library collection... I am slightly obsessed with children's books. Throughout the years, I have come to realize that having TOO MUCH choice with the little ones can be overwhelming. So I now have a rotation schedule with the genre buckets, and plan to rotate with seasons, holidays, etc.


Our tent is from Target and both my kids and I are obsessed with it. It fits perfectly next to our library and currently everyone is anxiously waiting for our tent to be "open". Our class pet lives in our tent now too!

My letter labels are from Brown Bag Teacher, and the small white labels are perfect for these baskets, and from Ladybug's Teacher Files.

Next to our tent is our bookshelf display with all of my favorite read aloud for the current unit/season/month etc. Right now these are all my favorite back to school books! The laundry basket to the left is full of big books! 

This is my math focus wall where I keep my Math Workshop rotation board that I adapted from Teaching Kids 1st and my Reflex Math Wall of Fame. You can read more about my Math Workshop here or about how I LOVE Reflex math here. Below the bulletin board is my cubbies that are filled with math manipulatives, centers, and more. The labels are adapted from Brown Bag Teachers Word Wall Labels.

These blue book bins are again labeled using the same labels... can you tell that I like consistency and things to be uniform? HAHA! Each student is assigned a number and they are allowed to choose 6 books for their book boxes, from Really Good Stuff. I utilize book boxes daily during read to self, free time, and more. The big blue box is filled with books that I use for listening to reading. These are all books on CD. 

 If we keep traveling around past the book bins, you get to our writing center table. This space is perfect for little writers! In the white drawers I keep different types of paper. In the black milk crate there are file folders with students numbers on it, where they can "file" their work. This is similar to a mailbox system. If they want to take their writing home they can, if not they will file it under their number and I will look at it periodically. The rolling drawer cart holds lots and lots of math games that we utilize during our workshop time. 

On the back wall, there is our number line, and our Chevron Numbers from Amy Lemons that students use for number words. Additionally, this space is also our word wall, holds our mailbox/cubbies, and four computers. 

 Are you still with me?!?! Were almost done! This is the opposite corner and holds my file cabinet, word work drawers, refrigerator, and social studies focus wall. I was SO excited to find these dry erase maps from the Target Dollar spot this summer. 

 And last but not least.. my favorite space of the room! I love small group time and it is a staple in my classroom. 

I transformed the board behind the table this year, as it use to be a black chalkboard and I used white board paint and I am so pleased with how it turned out! I keep my "I can" statements, calendar, days in school, schedule, and reading strategy cards on the whiteboard. To the right of my table is a bookshelf full of resources including Journeys Guided Reading books, my teacher toolbox, and an older set of Rigby Guided Reading books. To the left of my table is my small while cube shelves, and on the wall is my Phonics Dance display. 

Well thats it friends! I hope you enjoyed the tour of my room. Any questions, please comment or email me. I'd love to hear and see how you all set up your room too! 

A Day in 2nd Grade!

Welcome to 2nd grade! We have a jam-packed day but we always find room for some fun. 

 8:55-9:10- Arrive + Morning Journals

At 8:30 students are allowed to go from carpool, buses etc. and grab breakfast. They then eat and wait until the first bell rings. Before entering our room all backpacks and jackets are put away and students know to come in quietly, drop off their homework folders in the turn in bin and get started working. I get to stay at the door and greet them all individually as they come in, this is one of my favorite parts of the day! It really can set the tone and mood for the littles. On the smart board I have a morning message and a prompt for each day. 

Below is an example of what would be on the board for students to read and write about. This particular week we were reading a story in out Journeys book about how to make a kite, so this tied into our learning! 

 

9:10-9:25- Morning Meeting

Once students start finishing, they are given the chance to either draw a picture to their writing or come to the carpet and practice sight word cards with a partner. They know that once they see me coming to the carpet that they need to clean up and find their spot. 

Yes, I display a morning message on the smart board, but I also do a WEEKLY morning message that we edit daily as a class. This is honestly one of my favorite things and incorporates so many skills! The kids love it, and by about Christmas time students can "be the teacher" and run this on their own. It's AMAZING! I started this my first year teaching (now I'm in year 4!), and it's just something I can't get rid of and refuse to switch to using technology. I originally found it from Fabulous in First, and modify it to fit the needs of my class. 

Source; Fabulous in First

Every Friday after school, I write a message on anchor chart paper in preparation for the coming week. I purposely spell things wrong, misuse punctuation, leave blanks, and incorporate spelling words and/or chunks for the following week. Using a weekly message saves SO MUCH TIME and it also gives students practice with editing and revising, as well as models the friendly letter template. {insert all the heart eyes here because I love it so much}

Here is the weekly breakdown:

Monday- fix all the mistakes (I use sticky notes or white tape to cover up and write overtop with a marker) 

Tuesday- circle/identify capital letters

Wednesday- circle/identify punctuation marks

Thursday- circle/identify weekly spelling words and/or chunks (to start out we do sight words) 

Friday- {THE BEST DAY} we circle the heading, greeting, body, and closing of the letter. Students take turns and its a BIG, I mean BIG deal who gets chosen to circle the body. 

9:25-10:10- Shared Reading

At our school we use the Journeys Reading program and we have copies of the text for each student. For this block of time we pass out a text to everyone and I work of the weekly skill with them as we read aloud, work with buddies, and learn all about the stories for the week. 

10:15-11:00- Special Area

Students rotate daily to 4 different special areas. Library, P.E. Arts/Humanities, and Computers. 

11:05-12:10- Reading Workshop/Centers 

{DISCLAIMER: I love, love, love teaching reading and guided reading. It is my happy place} 

I won't elaborate too much on how I run centers, if you'd like to learn more, 

check out my post here. 

12:15-12:40- Lunch

AKA the only time I get to {MAYBE} sit down and if I'm lucky I get to go to the bathroom!

12:45-1:00- Writing 

Journeys has a writing pacing guide and supplemental resources that are GREAT for writing! We do a lot of modeling, peer editing and sharing, as well as small group work on specific skills. 

1:00- 2:30- Math RTI + Workshop

I've grown to love this time of day! Mostly because I switched things up last year and did all small group Guided Math. You can read all about how it works here. 

Some friends are pulled out of the classroom for RTI with interventionists for 30 minutes daily. When they are finished they come back and jump right into their group work/center. 

Rotation board found here

2:35-2:55- Wellness 

FINALLY play time! 

3:00-3:30- Science/Social Studies Centers

These are something new I tried this year. The group I had learned best in small group, and honestly I think it was the best thing we could have done, they LOVED it! {do you see a trend? we love workshop/centers} 

I have a file with a timer that I put on the smart board that shows the day, and where each color group goes for their center for that particular day. Because our time is short, only 30 minutes, students spend 15 minutes at their assigned center and then two groups spend 15 minutes with me going over a skill or conducting an experiment in small groups. When the timer goes off we switch and I meet wth the last two groups. {BLOG POST ON ALL THIS COMING SOON} 

 We use FOSS resources for science as well as Lakeshore Learning centers for both Social Studies and Science. The reading/vocabulary center is always buddy reading from our library on specific content, and friends work to complete a response sheet together. 

3:35-3:45- Pack up + Closing meeting

When it is time to go, students go out and get their things and record their Class Dojo Points on their daily calendar. They are responsible for packing their things, completing their classroom job, and getting to the carpet as soon as they can. Once everyone is ready, we discuss how our day went, what we did great and what we may need to work on tomorrow. I write these down on my art cart/board and we use them as reminders for the next day. If there is time left, we read a few pages from Magic Tree House. It is always a crowd favorite!! 

3:45- Dismissal 

We do dismissal a little different then other schools, or at least different then others that I have worked at and been to. But I like it this way! 

Walkers/bike riders are called first. I wait at the door and ALL of my friends are hugged and loved prior to leaving. Following that the car riders are dismissed and again,  I hug each one as they leave! Last the kids who are left are bus riders. They line up in order of bus "color". Our buses always {well almost always} pull into the lot in the same order so they are easy to find. I then walk all of my friends out to each of their buses, and you guessed it... Each of them gets a hug before they leave too! The extra little details I learn and personal connections I get to make as they leave are so special. The extra few minutes do take time, but they make a difference! 

WOW! You made it through our day! I hope you enjoyed second grade. Feel free to comment if you have questions or email if needed. I would love to hear how your day goes with your friends! 

Reading Centers that Work!

Are you looking for new ideas for the last few weeks of school? Already thinking ahead for next year? 

I have lots of ideas, successes, failures, and things I'd love to share with you all! 

A little background to preface this post.. 

This is only my 3rd year teaching, I have changed how I do my reading workshop block each year trying to find what works for my kid. I also have been lucky enough to have 2 Donors Choose projects funded that provided me with LOTS of the materials I will talk about in this post. I may be bias but Lakeshore Learning is THE BEST!

Getting Started

Our literacy block is smack dab in-between special area and lunch time, so I have roughly an hour and 10 minutes to see my guided reading groups, my intervention group, and have students at centers. 

I have 20 students this year, and it has worked really nicely to have buddies at each center. Center options are: 

- word work 

- phonics

- big books 

- listen to reading (computers)

- work on writing

- read to self (x2)

- read to someone

- poetry

- listen to reading (iPads) 

I have 10 different centers and students will be at their center for the entire reading block. I know, you think I am crazy.... that is a LONG time to be at one place... You're kids have got to be bored...

Let me tell you why this has worked for ME.. 

1. No transition time is wasted

2. Students are able to start and complete work within the time frame

3. Disruptions are very minimal versus when I used rotations

Now within the hour + students are being pulled for a variety of groups. I meet with three guided reading groups M/W/F and 4 groups on T/TH at my table. I am also blessed to work in a school where within our literacy block we have 3 on hand interventionists who are pulling and meeting with various students. With that said, students who are coming and going don't have to figure out what center to go to next, they aren't missing a rotation at any center, and they can come and go QUIETLY without disruptions. 

Now to the fun stuff! Here is a break down of what each of my centers look like, and how they work. 

DISCLAIMER- I took these photos recently, so some things are "loved on" and not in the best condition with 20 odd days and counting until the end of the year! 

Word Work

Word Work Center labels found here

Work work is a student favorite because there are so many choices! Students can choose from various activities including word tiles, magnetic letters, play doh, puzzles, rainbow write, write the room, word eggs, and more! 

Magnetic Letters

Word Eggs

Letter Tiles from Lakeshore 

Students are instructed to practice their phonics chunk and or their spelling words within each of these drawers within the word work center. 

Play Doh 

Puzzles from the Dollar Spot at Target

Phonics

 My phonics center is housed within two bins that I keep in cubbies. These bins have a variety of games that I switch out about every 2-3 weeks.

                      

                          Compound word match up

                      

                          long vowels and digraphs 

Students work with their buddy to correctly sort the games for phonics. We use these magnetic boards to help them sort.

Big Books

The big book center is exactly what it sounds like. Students choose a big book to read either with their buddy or alone. They can read lots of different stories and also have the option to choose a "reading response sheet" and reflect on their reading. 

Listening to Reading (Computers)

We are lucky to have 4 computers in our room and these students are on a variety of sites that allow listening to reading. Some of my favorites are Tumble Books and Book Flix. 

Work on Writing

Our writing center is just like every other and has lots of options! 

I have 3 drawers filled with different types of paper; lined paper, plain paper, and construction paper. Students are allowed to choose whatever they'd like. On top of our drawers are a variety of writing prompts on binder rings. Additionally, students can pick a writing prompt from the Writing Activity Pockets. 

The hanging files are for housing student work. I have 21 files numbered within the crate. After students create something at the writing center they have 2 choices. 

1. They can put the writing in their cubby to take home

2.  put it in their file for me to look at

The writing pieces that live in the hanging file are great to show progress throughout the year, reflect on what we need to work on, use for goal setting, etc. I meet with my students at various points in the year to choose pieces that they are proud of and what they want to send to 3rd grade or keep and send home once I have seen it. 

These Activity Pockets are THE BEST! They have a variety of prompts, vocabulary on the back, and 3 levels on each pocket to fit the differentiation needs for students. They are also from Lakeshore! 

 Read to Self and Read to Someone

 My students keep books of their choosing in their numbered book box. They also all have a green folder in their box that allows them to keep a reading log, and a few copies of reading response papers for when they need. While at read to self, I require students to complete a reading response paper. For example, students could complete a paper to showcase their knowledge of beginning, middle, and end. They could also choose to use a response paper for main idea, etc. Additionally, students are allowed to take their book box and sit wherever they'd like during these two centers. I also have a rule that students are allowed to choose 3 books of their choosing, plus 3 books that are "just right books" from their appropriate reading level from my library. My class library is separated into two sections; one with genre and another with level (A-P). Each student knows their current reading level. 

Poetry

 Poetry is another favorite center! And let me tell you I LOVE poetry too. We use Just a Primary Girls Poetry Bundle. Students have to unscramble and sort whichever poem they choose, read it at a whisper or with a buddy. Students also then have a few choices, they can;
- circle the rhyming words with their dry erase markers
- copy the poem into their reading notebook
- scramble and complete again
- clean up and grab a new poem.
There are roughly 20+ poems to choose from so there is plenty of choice.

Listen to Reading (iPods/iPads)

My final center is listening to reading which involves both iPods and iPads. We have 4 shuffle iPods and 2 iPads that are used within literacy workshop. Our shuffle iPods have about 20+ stories that I took the CDs from and added them to the ipods. Students are to grab an iPod, and matching book, and listen to the story. 

Also, on iPads students are allowed to choose from a certain group of apps for our workshop time. My love for these apps will have to be shared in another post :) Below are just a few that we love! 

Literably 

Brain Pop Jr. 

Story Creator

Word Sort

Read to Me

WOW! If you made it through this entire post- THANK YOU! I hope you enjoyed learning about my classroom. I would love to hear some of your ideas on how you run your classroom literacy block. 

Check back soon to see how I run my guided reading groups and for my favorite reading apps!