TIME FLIES

Time really does fly! I cannot believe that I haven't updated my blog since the beginning of the school year!!  This has been a crazy, busy year indeed!

This past school year was my second year as an Intervention Teacher.  I thoroughly enjoyed using the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention kits with 1st-4th graders this year.  I love this program!  Seeing how much the students can grow in their reading ability is awesome!

                          

I used the Orange, Green, Blue, and Red kits this year.  

This year was also my second year as a member of my campus Leadership Team. This was an eye-opening experience to see the school as a whole campus with so many moving parts, rather than just looking at one grade level.  I learned a great deal about Leadership, and I really enjoyed the experience!  My favorite part was being able to help students and teachers navigate through the RTI process.  We implemented grade level RTI meetings every six weeks so we could touch base on our struggling students, and discuss needs and intervention.

Overall, it was a good year!  My personal time was very busy outside of school spending more time with my children and the creation of Little Frog Ranch.  Next school year brings some incredibly exciting changes, so another blog post will be coming soon!  (I promise!)

Happy Summer!

BTS READY

My Intervention classroom is ready for Back to School 2017!  Check it out!

When you first enter the room, there are 2 tables for meetings, or for when other teachers need a space for working with individual students or small groups.

I set up a green screen for teachers and students to create fun videos!

My desk, data, and conference area.  I conference with teachers a great deal, so it helps to have a designated space!

My small group table.

I inherited this short preschool table, but my seat crates fit perfectly!

View from the door.  I'm not really fond of the room divider placement, but it will allow for different groups to work in the room with less distractions.  

 

A new addition to my room are the Dr. Seuss "READ" letters made by Redesign by Yaya.  Find them on Facebook!  These letters are just so cute!

MORE BTS 2017

More Back to School pictures!  I am getting a lot done in my classroom, though I am so grateful that we're getting more classroom prep time this year during our week of Staff Development.  I can always use more time!  Day 3 was spent on bulletin boards, unpacking, and organizing!

Every year I take the "empty box" picture!  I think I used less boxes this year, so that's a good thing!

This area still needs some work, but I discovered something awesome about the cubbies!

These Target fabric cubes fit perfectly!  I bought 6 to organize my materials.  I'll have a bin for multiplication, addition/subtraction, and so on!  I will label them to make it easier to find what I'm looking for.  When planning Interventions for K-5th grades, you just never know what you might need!  I am looking forward to organizing this area!

  I found the pink and blue fadeless bulletin board paper on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  It really brightens up the room!  The Dr. Seuss ABC border is so cute!  

BTS 2017

  Going back to school in August is always a challenge.  Summer is over and I have inevitably moved into a new classroom.  This makes seven moves in seven years in the same building.  This year I am moving into an awesome room though.  It has plenty of storage, a sink, closet, and even a restroom!  First, I had to deal with the left over issues from the previous occupants (PreK classroom, Dyslexia/GT combined classroom).  Then I can start unpacking all of my stuff, which is really a lot!  Aside from my own materials, I have school materials that will be useful in K-5th grade Intervention groups.  I also have a plethora of materials from my United Way After School Reading Camp.  There is stuff everywhere!

Unfortunately for me, the carpet was not cleaned yet when I arrived.  So everything had to be moved off the carpet onto the small tiled area, which had already been waxed.

I made great progress on Day 2.  I started on my classroom library.  I have a small rug to go in front.  When I need to work with one student, the rest can sit here and read.  The metal shelving with the blue buckets holds more books!  (The door behind the metal shelving is for the restroom of the adjacent Pre-K classroom which we will not use.)  These books are intended for my after school Reading program, but hopefully now more kids will enjoy them during the day as well.  

Almost finished....

I inherited this Pre-K table, which must stay in the room.  My seat crates fit perfectly with it!

I LOVE the wall cabinets!  I do have a lot to sort through, but I still have time.

A two-stall restoom for us!!!  (with some Pre-K furniture stored in there as well.)

Time for a break!

GUIDED READING

Summer Reading Alert: 

The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading: An Assess-Decide-Guide Framework for Supporting Every Reader

by Jan Richardson

I've been thinking a great deal about how to improve Guided Reading.  I think over time, it's easy to cut corners and not plan ahead for such an important component of Reading Instruction.  I believe that Reading Instruction without Guided Reading in the primary grades is not effective. Guided Reading is the time to work with kids at their own levels.  Guided Reading is when you see the most growth in a child's Reading ability.  It is absolutely vital to developing good readers!

The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading is easy to read and easy to follow.  It is organized by Reading level, with Pre-A having its own section.  Kinder teachers are often overlooked in regards to Guided Reading training, but this book is a must-read for every Kinder teacher through 3rd grade Reading teacher.  Our 3rd grade teachers tend to skip traditional Guided Reading groups, but with fewer 3rd graders able to read on grade level these days, it is an important component that needs to be put back into practice.  

This book includes lesson plan guides, strategies, and many resources for understanding, planning, and implementing Guided Reading in the classroom.  I used my highlighter and post-it note tabs frequently as I read through it, and I will continue to use and reference this book for some time to come!

As for Lesson Plan templates, I have been using the Guided Reading Lessons Plans from JD's Rockin' Readers, and I highly recommend those.  They are easy to use, easy to plan with.  The ones included in The Next Step Forward are also good, and have a little more to do.  I find that keeping these lesson plan copies are great documentation for RTI.  Our RTI committee can be strict in their request for data showing interventions, and these Guided Reading Lesson Plan templates have been wonderful to show in RTI meetings.  I keep notes in each section, or at the end to document struggles and growth. 

If you are a Kinder to 3rd grade Reading teacher, Reading Specialist, or Reading Intervention Teacher, I highly recommend getting your own copy of The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading.  I'm also really looking forward to getting my hands on the new Fountas and Pinnell Classroom, but that's a topic for another time (it's AWESOME!!!).

Happy Reading!

AWESOME

I can't believe it's the last day of school with students! Where has this year gone!!  More on that later....  Today was a very busy, exhausting day.  Then I came home to a beautiful box!  My new Erin Condren Life Planner!

 Why thank you, I will enjoy!

 Lots of goodies!  I am especially excited about the labels!  They will make my planner very organized and color coded!

Flamingos remind me of the San Diego Zoo!  

I am so excited to start using this!  I have one more day of school and then I'm going to spend some time setting this up!  I even bought the stand so it won't get buried on my desk!

SPRING BREAK

Spring Break has been so wonderful this year!  I stayed home and was able to get a lot of things done, though I still have plenty more to do.  Guess some things will stay on my To-Do list until summer.  Oh well.  I found a few memes to describe how I'm feeling...

One more day left.  Hope it goes by very slowly!