TpT Flock 16 Conference

Have you ever been awestruck and overwhelmed at the same time? That is how this past weekend was for me. I had the chance to attend the Western NY TpT Conference in Rochester, NY (my hometown). It was incredible and inspiring. 

The ladies that organized this meet-up... certainly did their homework! The conference was at the Woodcliff Spa and Hotel. Accomadations were simply lovely... just what a bunch of tired teacher-preneurs needed to be rejuvenated! I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to go here for an all day conference?!? 

Breakfast was sponsored by teacherspayteachers headquarters, and they even sent up four staff members from New York City to attend! No detail was left unattended... Check out these adorable centerpieces that were crafted with love for each table! As we arrived, we had to choose a paint swatch that best described our TpT journey... Can you guess which color I chose? 

There were four main sessions and five break-out sessions. Let me tell you... I could NOT write down all the great information the gifted speakers were passing along fast enough! The first break-out session I went to was Tabitha, from Flap Jack Education. 

She was incredible... she taught us all about how to do marketing strictly using your smartphone (an area in which I am gravely lacking)... I have already downloaded some awesome apps like Word Swag, Bit.ly, and Color Story and they're making my life so much easier! 

Next, I attended THE Erin Cobb (Lovin' Lit) and Heidi Babin's (The Doodle Oven) workshop.. Great Layout = Great Payout. These ladies were astounding with their knowledge (who knew Heidi was an artist before becoming a teacher?!?) and their ability to self-reflect, and grow from their mistakes. Hopefully you will be seeing some newly improved resources in my store soon!!! 

Oh, and did you know about the Rule of Thirds?!? I sure didn't... apparently, objects should be placed anywhere these lines intersect to observe the Rule of Thirds! More pleasing to the eye that way... so they say! Thanks Heidi and Erin for that tip, I had no idea!

Have you ever read the Clutter Free Classroom's blog? If you haven't, then you should! Jodi, like the rest of them, is incredible. She gave so many great tips on how to be a more effective blogger. I realize, I am on a steep learning curve, so if you are reading this... I appreciate your patience! 

The day just kept getting better! Up next was Jen Jones from Hello Literacy? She too, is mesmerizing. 

She gave us all great tips on how brand our stores and figure out WHO WE ARE as teacher-authors. She gave us some great homework to do... That I have been mulling over, you know, in all my free time between still being sick 7 months into my pregnancy, chasing around a toddler, laundry, diapers, cooking, TpT, tutoring, volunteering, cleaning... (Oh wait, does cleaning ever happen??? Not sure if it does anymore! My poor family...) 

Finally, I finished the day with a little PD on Facebook! Karen Jones... who happens to be local to Buffalo, our neighbor to the West... did a great job teaching how to use statistical analysis to advertise and grow your business via Facebook. Again, another area of growth for me. Boy, did I set a lot of goals this weekend. 

If nothing else, I met a ton of new people this weekend and learned that we are all on our own journeys. Whether it's in the classroom full time, working on teachers pay teachers full time, being a mommy or anything else... This world of teacherpreneurship is a blessing to us all, and I am thankful to be apart of it! What a gift!

I love this quote by Henry Ford... He certainly knew how to forge through uncharted territory! It came to mind as I was reflecting the next morning on all I had learned... 

Text Based Evidence

Welcome to the second post of Smashing Strategies for Guided Reading, a monthly-link up between 8 teacher bloggers! Each of us will share a guided reading strategy, a teaching tip, and sometimes a freebie! Each month, you’ll have the chance to win a product relevant to each different strategy we blogged about! Time to build up those guided reading resources!  

Teachers everywhere hear "Common Core" and cringe... It can be so intimidating having to teach something new! After attending several workshops, I have yet to drink the cool-aid, so to speak... But I am a fan of teaching kids at an early age to find TEXT BASED EVIDENCE. As a primary school teacher, too often children are merely reading words, not reading for comprehension. You may have heard me rave about my school district before, and the incredible PD they have offered. One of the most beneficial PD workshops I ever attended was when 2nd and 3rd grade teachers sat down and talking about learning gaps... We found out our 2nd graders were not able to find text based evidence when they got to 3rd so it's been a big shift in my guided reading groups!

There are two different ways in which I teach finding text based evidence. The first is using sticky notes. In our third day of guided reading (2 read, 1 write) we always write about what we read. I give my students a few short questions to respond to in their Readers Notebooks and then give them a pile of sticky notes. They must go back in the text and pull out the answer record it in "note form" on their sticky note. Finally, they go back to their readers notebook and record in compete thoughts and sentences.

For my more visual learners, I was finding this approach difficult. So, I decided to write my own reading comprehension passages in which they could go back and highlight in different colors showing where they found their answers. 

As much as I hate New York State testing, it is a reality. These passages provide them with  a more authentic way of practicing "finding the answers" for the test as well.

I give my kiddos a bucket of colored markers and let them choose which color they'd like to use (always a treat)! They then proceed to use a different color to find text based evidence for each different question, labeling the highlighted portion with the corresponding question number. 

This also allows for teachable moments about only highlighting pertinent information as well as organizing their thoughts! Crucial skills as they get older!!

These Reading Comprehension Passages have revolutionized my teaching... If you're interested in some freebies... Click on the images below!

I am also giving away my BEST SELLING Reading Comprehension Passages Bundle Guided Reading Levels J-N to one lucky winner! Enter below to win!

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Don't forget to check out all the other teachers that are sharing their own Smashing Strategies for Guided Reading! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Paired Reading Passages

Common Core has mixed connotations in the world of education... regardless, it's a reality and it's important that we keep our students abreast on the standards given by the government. The district I work for is absolutely incredible... I cannot sing praises enough! One great PD they had us do as 2nd grade teachers was sit down with the 3rd grade teachers and figure out where the deficits were coming across the grade levels. In New York, state testing begins as early as 3rd grade.. BLAH! And unfortunately, it comes across as a large stress inducer for the poor little babes subjected to THE TEST. That being said, there were a few things that came to my attention that showed gaps in my teaching in 2nd grade... finding text based evidence (Instructional Shift #4 demanded from Common Core) was a big one and also integrating information from two texts and then writing about the subject knowledgeably (CCLS.ELA.RI.2.9, CCLS.ELA.RI.39, CCLS.ELA.RI.4.9). 

Oh boy... those are big ones! And I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT want to become one of those teachers that started teaching to the test. So I thought about how I could integrate these two DIFFICULT concepts into my 2nd grade classroom as authentically as possible... Then it came to me, Guided Reading! I love teaching reading and I often write my own guided reading passages and questions so that I can focus the short amount of time we have as much as possible. 

So that was the answer! I created passages that not only forced students to go back and look for text based evidence to answer questions, but also were paired fiction & non-fiction topics. 

My friends that really struggle with reading, were not quite developmentally ready for this undertaking of paired passages in second grade. However, my students reading as low as Level K were ready for the challenge! 

As I said, I started by creating a fiction and nonfiction passage about the same topic. Then created multiple choice and short response questions for each one. I then created short response questions that required information from both passages! Synthesizing is such a difficult but crucial skill for kids to learn! High up on that Bloom's Taxonomy, am I right?! 

At the higher levels (Fountas & Pinnell levels M, N & O), I also included a "pre-reading" component where kids would activate their prior knowledge for the nonfiction passages. They were required to make predictions for the fictional passages as well! 

To conclude, the kids were given a venn diagram to compare and contrast the two texts. This again triggers higher level thinking, and invites the kids back to do close reading and find text based evidence in both passages! Phew! Hard work! 

Have any other questions on this topic? Leave them in the comments section below! If not, how do you teach this difficult concept of paired passages to your little guys? I'd love to hear your ideas! 

Making Predictions!

Welcome to the first post of Smashing Strategies for Guided Reading, a monthly-link up between 8 teacher bloggers! Each of us will share a guided reading strategy, a teaching tip, and sometimes a freebie! Each month, you’ll have the chance to win a product relevant to each different strategy we blogged about! Time to build up those guided reading resources!  

Making predictions is such a crucial skill for children to learn. What we discover as we grow is life is full of predictions, especially in reading! I am ALWAYS telling my students, "Good Readers Make Predictions!" 

Before heading to the guided reading table, I always start with a quick shared reading lesson. Gather all the students to the floor and do a read aloud in which I model MAKING PREDICTIONS. 

Then we head to our guided reading table... One great book I love to use for teaching this strategy is Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. It's a book about a lazy bear and a tricky hare... full of illustrations and a plot that leads itself to making predictions for beginners!  If you don't have this book or time to go to the library, check out this free read-aloud of Tops and Bottoms on youtube by clicking on the image below!

Meanwhile, meet our friend Paige...Our little helper Predicting Paige makes the road to predicting a LITTLE more tangible for young learners! 

 I briefly introduce Paige as I model making prediction during shared reading but where she really comes alive is at the guided reading table! Each child is given a Predicting Paige trade card that includes her caption, describing what it means to make predictions! Then each child is given a small stack of sticky notes and a pencil. For 2-3 minutes, we discuss how good readers make predictions by looking for clues. We take pictures walks through the book together; we look at the title of the book, and discuss how the back of the book can give us clues before we even start to read! 

Each child is given a leveled guided reading book , according to their Fountas & Pinnell reading level (as you can see from the pictures, each group is reading a different book) and then start recording predictions on each page using their sticky notes. The children are given instructions to make a prediction before they read each page. After the prediction is recorded, they read to find out if it was correct! We talk about how we don't always find the answer to our predictions immediately; sometimes we have to keep reading to find out! I rotate around the table for 10-12 minutes, listening to each child read individually as well as conversing about their predictions. This helps me gauge how each child is coming along with the new strategy. 

As we wrap up, I pass out this Predicting with Paige sheet below, and encourage them to find the two predictions they were MOST PROUD of during their reading. They record the clues they found, the predictions they made and rationale behind it. After that, they record whether or not their prediction was correct! 

*Note after we do this in guided reading for three days, I give this same sheet to my students during their Daily 5 rotations to complete during "read to self" and "listen to reading." This provides accountability in their centers, as well as a quick assessment for me to see how they're working with this strategy on an independent level! 

If you are interested... click on the freebie image to download your own copy of Predicting Paige to use in your classroom! 

If Predicting Paige seems like something of interest to you... enter this giveaway to win the COMPLETE Guided Reading Crew & Their Strategies, Too package! It includes 11 different characters; each character has a specific strategy he/she is associated with! 

*Inferring Izzie

*Connections Carter

*Questioning Quinton

*Schema Sophie

*Background Knowledge Brayden

*Retelling Reagan

*Author's Purpose Ada

*Predicting Paige

*Cause & Effect Chloe

*Summarizing Sebastian

*Visualizing Violet

Your students will fall in love with these silly characters, and hopefully the graphic organizers that go with each will help eliminate prep-time for you guided reading groups! These characters can be used for shared reading, guided reading or independent reading! Print out the trading cards to send home for parents as resources, or leave in your students reading bins! 

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Want to get some more ideas for guided reading? Check out these other blog posts! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for reading... don't forget to come back next month for more guided reading strategies, teaching tips and giveaways!

And the Winners Are...

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to EVERYONE that participated and followed along with my Milestone Celebration Giveaway! I am still in shock of how my little store has grown! 

And now for our WINNERS... Drum-roll please!!!!! 

$100 Amazon Gift Card - Kathleen

$50 TpT Gift Card - Michelle S.

$25 Usborne Books Gift Card - Crystal N.

The Ultimate Guided Reading Bundle - Tamara S

Thanks to everyone who participated, and check back often for more teaching tips, freebies and giveaways! Happy Tuesday! 

Milestone Celebration Giveaway

Hello my friends! So sorry it's been a while... more details to come on that topic later!!

                                  
BIG NEWS! I hit a TpT milestone last month!!! Yahoo! It's been such an incredible journey this past year and a half.  When I began my maternity leave, it was with mixed emotions. I missed teaching so much, my poor husband... there were many tears, but at the same time I wanted to be home with my baby! Teachers Pay Teachers has been able to give me the best of both worlds this past year and a half. For that, I am so grateful!

To celebrate this milestone, I am doing a HUGE giveaway! I will be giving away multiple gift cards as well as my GROWING reading comprehension bundle currently valued at over $116.00!!!  It starts tonight and goes through Sunday Jan 31st! Click on the link below to register!! 

                                    

To add to the fun, I will also be having a week long FLASH FREEBIE of one of my best selling products for the next week as well!!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks so much to my faithful followers and new comers alike! Oh, and good luck! Who doesn't love a free gift card?!?!