Weekly Editing and Grammar Practice

So, my grade level was having a discussion during our weekly meeting about our 2nd graders' writing. We all seemed to have the same significant concern.

**While we love our daily grammar/editing practice unit and we agreed that the students needed to practice individual sentences, they were not transferring their knowledge into their own writing and editing. They could tell you that a sentence needed a period at the end, but they failed to notice that same need if there was more than one sentence running together. They could find a noun in one short sentence, but again they couldn't find 3 nouns in a short passage. **

So, they asked me to come up a quick once a week opportunity for their students to have text-based grammar and editing practice. They wanted to have a more in-depth supplement to their morning work routine. So, I created a Common Core standards-based editing and grammar program for us to try. 

**The product includes 36 weekly passages with various genres.

**I intentionally left out directions on how the corrections should be made. I know that each teacher has their own requirements. You could require traditional editing marks, or have students just make the corrections with colored pencil. 

**The first nine weeks are spent reviewing the first grade standards. Then, the 2nd grade standards are introduced in nine week sections.

**No spelling errors were included. I didn't want to affect the text's readability. 

If you would like to see a scope and sequence of the standards and get 3 FREE SAMPLE PAGES with answer keys, you may download them {HERE}or on the picture above. You can see the full product on Teachers Pay Teachers by clicking the picture at the top. 

If you have a need like ours, I hope this will be helpful to you in the coming school year! 

Ideas for Making Your Class Newsletter More Interactive

We've all been there! The big field trip has been on your newsletter for 6 weeks at least, but the day before you are still getting emails, texts, phone calls, and notes about when the field trip is taking place. Even though all of the details are available in the newsletter in their child's folder. It can be frustrating! You are left wondering if anyone even reads the information you painstakingly type, print, copy, and send home every week without fail.

If this has ever happened to you, too, here are a few quick and easy and often free suggestions for increasing family engagement with your newsletter. Hopefully, you will find a trick or two that might work for your classroom.  Nothing is one size fits all!

I am old school. I like to send (and receive) a paper copy of newsletters. I see so many classrooms with far more technology options than are available where I live. Some homes don't even have cell reception or internet access. I think it is good to have options for parents. So, here are a few you might want to consider:
-Send an old school style paper copy.
-Email a .pdf file and request receipts for when it has been read.
-Set up a private blog for your classroom and post it there.
-Post it in a private Facebook group.
-Use remind.com to text message families when an updated newsletter has gone home.
-Upload it to edmodo.com
-Send it as an attachment via Class Dojo.

So, what do they do with it once it's in their hands? How can you know if they read it, or at least perused the parts that you NEED them to see?  Here are few ideas for getting a response from families once the newsletter has gone home.

-Add a puzzle, riddle, or math word problem for them to solve as a family, sign, and return to you.

-Add a neat trivia question (possibly related to something you are currently studying). They can research the answer and send you their response.

-Put a conversation starter at the bottom. (As the mother of a boy who always says school was "fine" until I ask him very specific questions, this would come in handy at home.) Some examples could be: Ask your child to tell you about our science lab experiment, our new class pet, today's assembly, our upcoming field trip, etc..

-Ask the families a question about pertinent information contained within the newsletter. (i.e. What time does Field Day begin on Friday?) Maybe you can head off some of those calls/emails/texts at the pass. 

Once they have completed the engagement part, they can submit it for a bribe reward/incentive. You will probably want to switch out your bribes incentives regularly.  If you keep it new and fresh, they will stay more responsive. Sometimes you may want to offer everyone the same prize. Here are a few ideas to help you get started.

-Earn Class Dojo points

-Give out small treats (bubble gum, erasers, suckers, etc.)

-One Night Homework Free passes

-Eat lunch in the classroom

-Extra computer lab time

-Extra recess

-Stuffed Animal Day

-Sit with your friend

-Special snack 

-STEM time

-GoNoodle Dance Party

There are other times when you might want to go for a big individual reward. Anyone who completes the newsletter interaction piece gets their name entered in a drawing for:

-Sit at the teacher's desk all day

-Write with special supplies

-Be the teacher's assistant

-Raffle style drawing for a larger prize: toy, game, school supplies

-Lab assistant during STEM

-First Choice Award: the owner gets first choice during flexible seating, indoor recess, weekly job selection, etc.

**It might be fun to put rewards in envelopes for kids to choose as a surprise.  Throwing in a few zonks could be fun, too.  I have a freebie with picture cards you could print and use {HERE} in my Let's Make a Deal blog post. 

In this struggle, remember that kids are your greatest allies. I have tried every format I knew to reach certain parents with no response. Then, in desperation, I enlisted the child's help. All I had to do was sit with them at lunch or buy them ice cream and those critical forms magically came back! Lesson learned! 

Kids are naturally curious! If you tell them that they won't believe how awesome this week's treat is, they will jump through flaming hoops to find out what it will be. 

During MOST of the year, small incentives will work. However, there are times during the year when families tend to disengage because they are so busy. For me, even my most engaged parents got overwhelmed at the beginning of fall and spring sports season, the winter holiday season, and the end of the year. You may want to "up the ante" with some larger scale incentives during these periods of time. 

Then, there's the elephant in the room. What about those precious ones who are NEVER going to get someone to interact with their newsletter? Here are few suggestions for dealing with those in challenging situations. 

-I am required to submit my newsletter to someone in administration as a part of the communication part of my evaluation. Why not have a "specially selected" messenger or team of messengers? They can share the newsletter and complete the engagement piece with a great role model. Double win! 

-Assign a child to a co-worker, parent volunteer, or school mentor.

-Give select children full credit for completing items that were on the newsletter even if they are taking the responsibility on their own little shoulders: homework done for the week (check), permission slip returned (check), wore class t-shirt to school program (check). NEVER exclude a child from participation in incentives because of circumstances out of their control! Give them credit for stepping up and doing the things within their control. 

I hope some of these ideas are useful to you! If you would like to print these out to keep handy or share with a friend. You can download a printable copy {HERE}. 

Fun with Place Value

Place Value comes in at a close second to subtraction with regrouping on the concepts that are the most difficult to teach to my RTI population. Often, these sweeties need a more concrete/visual/kinesthetic approach to math. So, here are a few of our favorite activities from our place value unit. I hope you find something useful for your classroom!

1. I really needed to make the value of the numbers more visual. Of course, we started out with base ten blocks and the usual stuff, but I wanted a way for them to really "see" and understand numbers in their expanded form. Before we started this, the students were reading numbers like 873 as 8-7-3 NOT eight hundred seventy-three. When they wrote that number in expanded form, they may have written 8+7+3 = 873. So, I whipped up these expanded form cards. We spent a lot of time building and deconstructing numbers. I just printed out this set on 3 different colors of copy paper. This made a HUGE difference with my students. You can grab this set for free {HERE}. 

2. Once we were rockin' and rollin' with reading numbers, understanding basic place value, and modeling numbers in different ways, we did some REAL rockin' and rollin'. We played Place Value Musical Chairs. Each student picked a numeral. We started out with 4 kids and 3 chairs. We cranked up some Christmas music and the game began. When I cut the music off, they had to sit in an empty chair representing the hundreds, tens, and ones of a number and hold up their digit card. The kid who was "out" got to choose if they wanted to ask or answer questions about the number that the other students had created. If they chose to ask, they had to come up with questions to ask the rest of the class about number. If they chose to answer, the group posed questions to them about the number. It was a BIG success! Everyone was involved and engaged! 

3. Once we had a handle on Place Value Musical Chairs, we expanded the game to include 7 kids. When the music ended, 6 kids would create two 3 digit numbers. The kid who was "out" had to compare the numbers and use his/her body to create the >, <, or = symbols. 

4. Last, we played Roll and Compare Place Value by The Primary Techie. The game uses a sound signal for students to roll a die. We used some giant foam dice. Then, the spinner lands on a place to record the number they rolled. They build two 3 digit numbers. Finally, they compare the numbers they have created. This is a great assessment and WAY more fun than a plain worksheet! You can find it on TPT {HERE}. 

These are just a few of my favorite things that are VERY inexpensive or even FREE for teaching place value. I hope you found something useful! 

Number Reversals

Oh my goodness, if I had a nickel for every time a parent has said to me, "He/she still writes some letters and numbers backwards. Does he/she have dyslexia?", I could apply for early retirement! Written letter and number reversals have absolutely nothing to do with dyslexia! So, why do some kids persist in making these reversals?

1. It could be a fine motor skill issue.

2. It could be immaturity or even a later birthday. These skills are often developmental.

3. My personal theory is that practice does not make perfect. Practice can make permanent. Children are learning to write at a very early stage of development now. Handwriting instruction has been terribly neglected since other skills have taken priority over it. Some children have written their letters/numbers backwards for so long that it has become a habit to do so. 

So, what can we do? As an RTI teacher, I see a lot of students with issues like this. My assistant and I have had a great deal of success with a few simple strategies. 

MAKE IT TACTILE!

Try placing salt in the bottom of an empty pencil box or travel soap container. Let them form the letter/number with their fingertip in the salt.

Let them rub a fingertip across fine sandpaper.

Write it in the air. Use your finger as an "air pencil".

Shine it on the wall with laser finger pointers.

Line the kids up. Let them form the letter/number on the back of the kiddo in front of them.

Tickle write it! (My kids LOVE this one!) They use their own finger to form the letter/number on the wrist/forearm area of their other arm.

MAKE IT VISUAL!

I implemented a new resource this year, and absolutely LOVE it! We used this resource on my SMARTboard during our reading warm up time before small groups begin. I purchased this animated PowerPoint from The Primary Techie. Here is a video of her explaining several cool ways to use this program. You can purchase your own copy of this product {HERE}. 

MINIMIZE PENCIL LIFTS!

We noticed that many students who were struggling with b/d and number reversals were writing in a way that had multiple pencil lifts. For example, rather than making a b with one continuous motion, they were writing a "stick" and then adding a "ball". They often forgot the order of those elements. We showed them how to flow write a b and a d. The motion feels completely different. MOST of their errors DISAPPEARED! 

DIRECTIONALITY MATTERS!

Now, that we have addressed their letter reversal issues, we are about to tackle number reversals. I searched high and low on the Teachers Pay Teachers site for number formation products. I found so many that were cute or had great poems. However, if the poem for teaching how to write a 3 says, "Go around the tree and go around again to make a 3!", they can follow those steps and still do it backwards! I needed something that specifically taught directionality. 

Then, I remembered that when I taught first grade nearly 20 years ago, we sang a song about each number. The song didn't teach directionality though, so I tweaked it meet my needs. Each number has specific directions sung to the tune of "HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH". We are going to project the pdf onto my SMARTboard and use our tactile strategies from there. We will also use laser pointers, our fingertips, or the SMARTboard pens to trace and write our numbers as tickets to our small group tables. Here is a sample page from this free resource. 

If you would like to check out this free strategy, grab your copy {HERE}. What strategies work for you? I would love to hear from you!

Officer Buckle and Gloria: Freebie and More

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann is one of my favorite stories. I identify with boring, rule loving Officer Buckle. I also have a soft spot in my heart for German Shepherds. When my husband was just a toddler, his life was saved by a German Shepherd named Champ. His family was visiting family at a lake house. He wandered out of the house while they were busy preparing lunch. They began searching for him everywhere. Then, they heard his little voice saying, "Move, Champ, move!" Champ was blocking him from getting into the lake and pushing him back towards the house. That precious dog refused to get out of his way!

I have a new book study for this classic story in my TPT store. You can check it out {HERE}.

If you have never heard the story of boring Officer Buckle and his charismatic dog, Gloria, you may enjoy this video narrated by the John Lithgow. 

Last, but not least, here is freebie from my book study. I hope this character analysis map will be useful to you. Grab yours {HERE}.

Sounds of C & G Freebies

My RTI sweeties are working our way through learning phonics rules and sounds. Research shows that memorizing sound patterns is one of the best ways to help struggling readers or students with dyslexia. We are about to tackle the hard and soft sounds of the letters c and g.

If these sounds are tricky for your young readers, you might want these 3 freebies. The first one is a song that I have always used for teaching the hard/soft sounds of c and g. I can't for the life of me remember where I first heard it. I have used it since my first year in the classroom. It has always been helpful! I am planning to have my students use a highlighter to look for c/g followed by e, i, or y on the word sort pages before cutting and sorting. I hope these will be useful to you, too. You can download them by clicking {HERE}.

If you need more activities for the sounds of c and g, you might like my latest TPT product. It includes a decodable reader called "Carnival Games", an assessment, a reading/spelling center, and 2 of my students' favorite style card games. One is called "Cinderella's Castle" and practices the hard and soft sounds of c. The other is called "Goldilocks in the Cottage" and practices the hard and soft sounds of g. My kiddos beg to play these games! You can check them out {HERE}.

November's Pinterest Pick 3 Linky

November gives us so many opportunities for thankfulness. On Election Day, we are reminded of our freedoms. On Veterans Day, we are thankful for those who serve or are serving in the military. On Thanksgiving, our hearts nearly burst with counted blessings. 

I am thankful for my sweet friend, Ashley from Just Reed who invited me to link up in November's Pinterest Pick 3 Linky. Here are 3 of my favorite finds for Thanksgiving! 

How stinkin' cute are these scrapbook paper turkeys?!? You could work on patterning, creativity, fine motor skills and NOT have to get out any paint. No paint (or glitter) required makes anything a winner in my book. :)

Click on image to view the original Pinterest link. 

 

These little turkey snacks were just too cute not to share! They would be cheap and easy for some parent volunteers to pull off, too! These would be fun to enjoy while you watch my #3 pick. 

Click on image to view the original Pinterest link. 

Lastly, November would not be complete without reading 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving. I absolutely adore this story. This read aloud version has background music that reminds me of a Charlie Brown cartoon. I am looking forward to seeing the new Peanuts movie this month, too. 

An InLinkz Link-up