Flash Freebie and Special Congrats to a Super Blogger Buddy!

Read and click on the linked Monthly Writing Prompt Menu Picture below to get my latest TPT creation for FREE!!! It's a flash freebie, so you never know how long it will be free before I remember to go back on TPT and slap a price on it.

I am starting to work on school "stuff" now that we are in mid-July. My school doesn't begin officially until the end of August, but after teaching summer school last week, I can't stop thinking about this upcoming school year. I just finished rereading Pathways to the Common Core by Lucy Caulkins. It's a little dry for my taste, but filled with some excellent information about CCSS!

 I am impatiently waiting these two books to arrive: 
  and 


  I love, love, love Daily 5 and CAFE-they are great approaches to literacy and classroom management backed by such great research and they make such sense. As one of the Daily 5 activities, my students work on writing daily (once routines are up and running). This past year, I created some writing prompt menus to help provide some support when they wrote independently. After teaching my students what they were, the importance of them, why we are using them, how to use them and modeled/practiced with them until I was using them in my sleep, these writing prompt menus were utilized by them daily. 

This is how I used them:
1. I used gradual release of responsibility model to teach my students how to use them ("I Do", "We Do", "You Do").
2. I laminated a set of monthly writing prompt menus and placed them in the writing station. Later on in the year, I copied one for everyone, and they put them in their writing folders so they would always have one (didn't have to walk to get one if need be).
3. At the conclusion of each round of Daily 5, we'd have our check-in. Any student who worked on their writing lined up with their writing. As soon as one other student was ready to listen, the first author read what he/she wrote. The class gave immediate positive feedback, and I helped each student set goals for the next time they are working on writing. We didn't wait for everyone to get cleaned up before the sharing began. Wow...such motivation to get everyone cleaned up, though! No one wanted to miss this-it was really quite adorable.

Of course, you could use them in any way you want too :)! Now, go on and click below to go to my store and get this packet for FREE! 

 Now, onto other news...

My friend, Wendy, from Read With Me ABC just got to the 100 follower mark, and she is having an awesome giveaway. Just click on the image to check out her cute and informative blog and to enter this amazing giveaway. I'm giving away my Nonfiction Text Features Notebook. 

I am also super excited to be nominated for the Leibster Blog Award by Jess and Kheila at Two Friends in First.  I'm running out of time now...my kids are asking me to go to the pool. I will be back tomorrow with my Leibster info.