September's Currently plus Daily 5 Talk

I can't believe it's September already...

I've been cleaning non-stop today ever since I couldn't find the bottom of my boys' closet (the older two share a room). I need to get out. My boys have been asking me to go to the pool one last time. We were one of two families there yesterday! I'm just waiting for the younger two to wake up.     Ah....nap time! 

This weather couldn't be better, but I'd much rather enjoy it on a day off like today (not while I am stuck in school).

I've had my sights set on a reading specialist job recently. It didn't pan out. Yes, I'm a little disappointed, but I'm also thinking that things happen (or don't happen) for a reason. I am not going to give up, and I am perfectly content with where I am this year. My class is great, and I'm excited to do all my favorite first grade things.

I want a maid. With three little kids, this doesn't need any explanation!

I really need to sign up for this 5K race. I'm doing it...after this post!

I started Insanity (these workouts are truly insane). The dred factor is high! My brother looks fantastic from doing these, and that motivates me. I'm going through it, this time "for real". I am on Day 3 today. 

This year, I am a mentor, and it's keeping me on my toes. Last week, I had my plans done on Wed. night so I could sit with my "mentee" and discuss my plans. Yes, it's a bit of a pain to get them done this early, but it's so worth it! 

I need to keep in simple and enjoy the little things in life...enough said about that. 

O.k., so I tried to make "visual" lesson plans for Mrs. Wills Kindergarten's weekly Peek at my Week linky. I am so computer illiterate. I don't know if she uses a table, or excel? I use a Mac, so my options are making a table in Pages or using Numbers (have no clue about Numbers). Oh, well...eventually.

Last week was the first week of school for me, and I started introducing The Daily 5. I've used this for years, but it wasn't after my Daily 5/CAFE online grade class that I started using it the "right" way. Last year, during my class, I restarted everything, and it made such a difference! 

So far, I've introduced 3 Ways to Read a Book (using books used for shared reading), T-Chart for "Read to Self, the lesson on "Good Fit" books (using shoes). We started building stamina on Wed., and we got up to 7 minutes by Friday. You can find a free stamina meter/stopwatch on Smart Exchange (it's awesome). 

This week, I plan to introduce Work on Writing next (according to "The Sisters" this is the new sequence). The students can choose to work at the Writing Station table or at their seats. They will each have a journal, they can use the writing prompt menus (see my store at TPT here)

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and monthly word cards and word charts. If they work at their seats, they will already have a copy of the Writing Prompt menu and September word chart in their writing folders. If they sit at the table, they can find copies of them there. Eventually, I will add a class book (and change this often) and letter writing paper. But, for now, it will kept simple. 

"The Sisters" suggest offering student choice after they've had practice with these first two dailies. Their reasoning it that it's much easier to practice choosing between two dailies than 5. It also builds motivation early on. I'm so glad I just read that, as I was ready to lug out my plan board (to be used until they were used to where to go). Last year, I finally relinquished control over their choices, and when I did, it was amazing. The kids were SO motivated to choose. Yes, I "recommended" dailies at time, but overall, they made fitting choices. 

Later in the week, I will introduce Read to Someone. The order the dailies are introduced, after Work on Writing, doesn't matter. 

I am assessing students' independent reading levels as they practice Read to Self, and guided reading levels will be assessed after that. 

I am really excited to see how my students do with getting to choose this early in the year!!!

During Writing Workshop, we've launched the workshop by learning routines, listening to books about writers (just like them), learning to choose topics and to sketch/label/write-stretching all sounds heard. This week, we will continue working on this, and move our writing topics to be about us. The Personal Narrative unit is coming up next, but these routines/procedures must be in place first. 

Spelling instruction is in its beginning stages. I gave and scored the Primary Spelling Inventory (for Words Their Way), and we are learning our 6 Word Work routines (whole group). We've learned how we get a sort introduced and how to cut and sort. This week, we will learn the rest (Sort and Write, Meet with Teacher, Buddy Sort, Sort and Glue). Anybody else use Words Their Way? I'd love other ideas on games/activities! 

Math is straight EDM, but this year I'm incorporating Math Workshop in the 2nd half of the math hour. We just started with Monster Squeeze, Penny Dice Toss and using counting books. This week, Bunny Hop and Top It will be added. This is my 2nd year using EDM, so I don't consider myself an expert. If you have any math workshop ideas, please send them my way. 

And, I can't end without saying how much the students and I are enjoying Whole Brain Teaching! I thought I'd give it a try this year, and I am so happy with it. I love the "Class, Yes", the rules are fantastic (they really don't argue when I say they aren't making me happy), the Scoreboard is motivating and we love the "Mirrors". This week, I'm introducing the Super Improvers Wall. 

O.k., that's enough out of me for now. Have a super week!!!

-Jen

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. 

Farley's April Currently, a Freebie and Laugh

Wow! I can't believe it's April already! In Central PA we are still donning our winter apparel, but hopefully warmer weather will be here by the end of the week.  I am fortunate to have the day off, but my summer break doesn't start until June 18th!!! I am on-time for the April Currently, and I added a writing freebie below. I don't know if you've seen the awkward family photos email that circulated a few years back(I'm sure you did). If you're like me, and you find that kind of stuff amusing, scroll below to see an awkward Easter morning photo of my boys-it's hilarious. 

Click this link to be a part of Farley's Currently for April:

I still can't believe I ran into my friend this morning! She lives in NC, and we haven't seen each other for about 5 years. We were hired together, we talked and we just hit it off. Well, our lives took separate turns, and we fell out of touch. When I saw her, I looked at her face and knew it was her. I kind of "whisper-talked" her name just in case it wasn't her, but it was. So, we reconnected and she's even thinking of moving back here to teach. 

Logan's Run (Autism Awareness) is this weekend. Our school's amazing autism support teacher organized a team to run. I happen to be one of the brave souls who signed up. I don't even run!!! I like to spin and do other things, but not run. This is one of those things to cross off my bucket list, so I'm doing it. Maybe I'll get out there tonight to practice.

Here is the freebie I promised. Just click on the image below. These are not fancy, but they have worked wonders in my first grade class. During our Daily 5 time, the students can use these when they go to the writing station. They just pick one up, take their notebook and go. I made my first one back in January, and when a student first used it, I was like, "Wow! These really work!". They've been using them ever since. After each round of Daily 5, we gather for a quick check-in. Anyone who has written can  share their work with the class. Nine times out of ten, their topic was taken from one of these menus. Quick, easy and, most of all, effective...that's my style!!!

And, last but not least, here is the awesome Easter picture of my 3 boys. At least the older two were actually getting along AND looking at the camera. My youngest, Nicholas, was just all-out grumpy. He even chucked his Peter Rabbit on the ground a few times. I was thinking, "Good times ahead since church won't be starting for 45 more minutes....". 

Thanks for reading!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post! Time sure does fly. 

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my online Daily 5/CAFE class that was about to begin. The fourth week is about to begin, and it's going by so quickly. We just finished a study on The Daily Five book, and The CAFE Book will be the focus for the remaining weeks. I first got interested in The Daily Five when the book was first published (2006). It was during the summer, and I was starting to think about the next school year. Centers/stations (whatever you want to call them) always held value for me, but I could just never quite get them to work the way I envisioned them to. Well, after reading a little book blurb about The Daily Five, from an Amazon email of recommended books, I knew I had to get this book! I ordered it immediately, and when it came, I read it cover to cover in no time.

Throughout the years, I implemented The Daily 5 the way I thought it should be implemented. I even ran a book club on this book with colleagues. But, something just never clicked. It wasn't until the latest read through this book, along with numerous discussions and assignments for my current course, that I had the "Ah-ha" moment. 

I finally relinquished control and gave my students choice over what Daily 5 tasks they wanted to do. Up until a few weeks ago, I still held control over what literacy task they did (and the order that they did them in). After reading current research that backs up the importance of student choice (within structure), I finally decided to give the choice over to my students. After explaining the new way of doing things, they were super excited. 

Students look forward to doing their "dailies", they are much more motivated and they are tying their work to their individual reading/ writing goals. I believe this time is much more productive, as I can meet with a few reading groups a day and not be interrupted or have students off-task. 

In the near future, I plan to post more of what I learn from this course, along with tips on how to implement both of these structures in any classroom. 

Currently January

It's that time again to do Farley's Currently for January. I love reading other people's "Currently" lists. 

I just opened up my TPT store with a little freebie to use in a writing station. Since my goal is to simplify, I did just that with my writing station. I put away all of the little writing activities I had out because I was getting frustrated...frustrated that my kids weren't doing "real" writing. The only things I have out are their Writing Station Journals and the January Writing Prompt Menu I created (my freebie). I explained more about the menu in my store, on the 2nd page of the menu. My students' writing has much improved, and so has their motivation since they know they will have the opportunity to read their writing during our "check-ins"

Monday begins the Daily 5/CAFE grad class I am in. Some of you contacted me to find out how to get into the class/to find out more information. If you look at uiuonline.edu (University of Iowa), you should be able to find information. There will be a new session opening up soon. You can also go onto the Daily 5/CAFE site-that's where I first found out about it. And, the cost was so reasonable...$400-something!!! You can't beat that for a grad class!!! I am super excited.

If you do check out, and download, my freebie, please leave some feedback. I'd like to know if anyone used it/liked it.