Partner Reading Center- Sneak Peek {and a freebie rewind!}

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time in my room and got SO much done!  Final room reveal pics are coming soon but I HAD to share a picture of my partner reading center.

I had one of these when I taught my 1st/2nd split class but, since moving schools and changing to 3rd, I didn't have space in my room for one.  BUT, I just switched classrooms and was able to make a space!

I love partner reading but I think it's easy for students to get off task without materials that help guide their reading and discussion.  These materials do exactly that.  My partner reading area has tasks for students to complete while reading (see #1) to help guide and give purpose to their discussion, explicitly posted expectations (#2), and even books that are specifically designed for 2 students to read together (#3)!

Check it out...

So... here's what's at my partner reading table...

1- this caddy has everything from my "Partner Reading Party" pack in it... comprehension spinners, retelling cards, and fluency reading helpers.  It also has Hot Dots comprehension stories.  This is something new that I think my kiddos will adore!

2- I printed this sign on Vistaprint years ago!  I was so excited to pull it back out and put it up at my area!

3- Loads of books that are perfect for partners to read together...

My kiddos LOVE the "You Read to Me, I'll Read to You" books...

These are so so so fun too... silly song books like this one!  Kids "sing" poems to the tune of well-known songs!

And we LOVE LOVE LOVE "Choose your own adventure" books!

And there are quite a few poetry books like this one that have poems for two voices...

4- Crate seats!  I made these a few summers ago.  This summer I re-covered the boards and stuck some dryer sheets under the fabric.  I store all kinds of goodies in these crates.  One of these has craft supplies and my kiddos love using them to do projects during our free choice activities!

I'm sure my 3rd graders are going to LOVE having this designated area to go to and read with a partner.  The past three years, I've just had the caddy and the book basket available to them but no specific place to go to read.  I think having a sacred space will encourage them to partner read with accountability!  Of course, they can always gather materials and go sit somewhere else to read... but I think they'll love being at this table!

So... you should set up a partner reading area in your room!  To help, I'm going to leave my "Partner Reading Party" on sale for $1 off until Monday.  It's a great pack with loads of engaging activities!

Check them out...

And now for the FREEBIE rewind!

This would be an EXCELLENT way to start out a partner reading area... especially to help guide students as they discuss the books they are reading together.

This is called Flip It! and it's a way to help students structure responses to questions by including the question in the answer.  I have shared this before, so it might look familiar, but I thought it would be a great rewind for a post like this one!

Check it out on TpT and snag it for free!  Please leave feedback if you enjoy it!

How do you encourage accountability during partner reading?  Share your ideas in the comments!

Working in my Room... the BEFORE pics!

So, I moved classrooms at the end of the school year.

My dear friend retired and I loved the layout of her room... it's a mirror image of my room so the sink is in the back and the teacher computer is in the front... YAY!

So, we employed our little helpers and switched rooms.  The last week of school.  It.  Was.  Nuts.

But, I love her forever for doing that for me!

Today I'm headed down to get this thing organized and ready for summer school!

My room looked like this earlier in the week...

That's the front of the room.  I was in earlier this week and painted  the bulletin boards and the black board at the back of the room, which you can see in this picture...

Here's a pic of what the front looked like when I left on Tuesday...

It looks so much better with the bulletin boards painted!  But you can see my bags and junk piled up everywhere.

Time to finish up!

Check back later for new pics!

Also... look what I got on Monday!  This is the newest member of my family.  I call her Lulu!  She's 3 months old and so sweet!  My other cat, Kiki, is slightly less angry with me by now but still won't let me pick her up or pet her!  But, my dogs... they are in love!  :)

Three-fer Thursday... It's BACK! {Goodies to start the year!}

Woot woot!

It's a 3-fer Thursday!

Today you can snag three great products to help you start the year off right at 20% off each!

First up...

"Say it in Style" editable newsletter templates!  This pack is editable in PowerPoint and LITERALLY takes me less than 5 minutes each week to do my newsletter... which I LOVE!

#2...

"Half-sies"!  This is another editable in PowerPoint product that makes sending home quick notes a breeze!  Just add text boxes and print!  I love these for quick little reminders!

And goodie #3 is a "Homework Club"!  Increase your students' motivation to complete homework.  This pack includes a room display, monthly awards, and homework pass rewards!

Enjoy for 20% off! 

Elementary School Departmenalization {Rewind!}

It's that time of year again... we're all planning for back to school and, some of you, are thinking about making a big change... departmentalizing!

I have gotten a few e-mails about this lately so I wanted to re-wind some old blog posts to give you my two cents about departmentalizing in elementary school.

I LOVE it.  Like seriously love.  Like want do teach this way forever kind of love.

I teach only ELA... spelling, grammar, reading, and writing.

This is what the schedule for 3rd grade looks like:

There are 4 of each grade (3, 4, and 5) in my building.  The first hour and a half of the day, all three grade levels rotate through 30 minute specials... PE, music, art, or computers.  So, one whole grade level is at PE at a time.  The same goes for the block of time from 11:45-12:55... all three grades are moving between lunch and recess.  There is a little overlap at recess with more than one grade being outside at a time but only one grade is ever eating lunch at once.

During blocks 1 and 2, I have the same class for both blocks because ELA is a double block.  My class goes to math and then sciences/social studies for blocks 1 and 2.

My class comes back at lunch and then I have them for the rest of the day and teach them ELA during blocks 3 and 4.

I have shared this graphic before (it's even got my old blog logo on it!) that visually shows where everyone is during each block:

I love teaching just ELA.  I get to do what I love most and what I am best at teaching.  Our students have SO much consistency because they all get the same message from the three teachers they see each day.

I love that students are constantly up and moving.  Sometimes I hear this as a negative- too many transitions... but kids need that.  I love that students' environments change during the day; they get to positively interact with several teachers and not just their own.

I love that I am part of a tightly interconnected team.  I'm the first to admit that I absolutely LOVED being an island when I taught in a self-contained classroom.  I LOVED being on my own schedule and doing things in my own way and making decisions that only effected my students.

But, with that said, there is nothing better than sharing a responsibility for many students and working with a team that shares that with you.  Departmentalizing has made me more focused in my teaching because I know I only have a set amount of time before the students are moving to their next location.  I love that we all work together to make decisions that are best for everyone!

We are very consistent in our classrooms... we share a "finger management system" where students flash a number signal for requests.

We all use a clip chart too... but ours is on a stick so kids can carry it from class to class to make for a shared behavior management system.

We also have bags that our students carry from class to class so they have the things they need.  Text books are left in the desks in the homeroom so students don't carry those with them.  That makes it much easier!

So, that's it in a really tiny nutshell.  If you wonder anything else, please ask!  I'm happy to share!  Or click the tape below to REWIND to some old posts about departmentalizing.

End of the Year Ideas {and some for next year too... and maybe a FREEBIE!!!}

Today was "Bridge Day"... everyone in the district moved up a grade for a few hours this morning.

I had a room full of 2nd graders... and now... the reality is setting in that the year is almost over!

I LOVE my class this year so so so so so much!  I always love all of my classes, but this group is extra special and I am not excited about seeing them go at the end of the year!

I want to do some things to make the end of the year special for them, so we'll be making a memory book combined with our monthly photos.

I have this pack up for free on TpT.  We do a picture and writing every single month and I hang them in our "baggie quilt" in the hallway...

Each month, the new pic and writing goes in the front so we'll soon be pulling all of these out and putting them in chronological order.  I love this because now every student has a book with a picture and writing sample {just a quick one!} to look back on for every month this school year.  I pulled all of the pages out of a few when I put in the pics for this month and it's AMAZING how much they've grown!

After we organize them in chronological order, I'll bind them into a book... and put some memory book pages in the back that we can work on the last few days of school.  It's a pretty simple memory book but I find my kiddos start getting sloppy when I do really long ones, so we'll try this quick one this year.

I know it's May so it's too late to do the pics and monthly writing now, but please stock this idea away and do it next year!

You can get the memory book for FREE!!!!  Click the pic below!

I also will be passing out awards at the end of the year.  I love doing this ceremony because EVERYONE will get recognized for something... from "Quiet as a..." for that one who is always so silent to "No Dust Bunnies" for your sweetie with a clean desk, there is literally something for everyone in here!  They're quick to complete in PowerPoint and everyone smiles and gets excited waiting to see what they'll be recognized for!

One last thing... did you know TpT is having their TEACHER APPRECIATION SALE Tuesday and Wednesday???  Stock up for next year and save 28%... just use the code "Thank You" at check out to get 10% extra off and save 20% in my store automatically too!

Thanks, Ashley Marquez, for the image!!!

What do you need for next year???  SNAPSHOTS!  Show What You Know!  Guided reading passages!  3rd grade assessments!  Quick and easy newsletters!  Quick and easy parent notes!  Wax Museum organization!  ThoughtMARKS for comprehension!  Writer's Notebooks!

Happy shopping!

Award Winners!

Check out the widget below to see if you are a lucky winner of my Editable Awards pack!

If you missed it, check out the pack by clicking the pic!

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Half-sies {Completely Editable and Quick Note Templates!}

We've all been there...

Planning period.

You have to check homework, call two parents, answer your e-mail, scarf down your snack, and send home a reminder about the party in class tomorrow... not to mention trying to make it to the bathroom!

After the homework, phone calls, e-mails, and the snack, there are 5 minutes left.  And you STILL have to do the reminder note... so the bathroom will have to wait!

Well... not anymore!  Check out "Half-sies".  These are quick and ready to use parent notes... just add text boxes and type... and make it to the bathroom with seconds to spare!

Cute and easy!

They're $1 off for a few days!

End of Year Awards {Giveaway!}

It's almost that time... the End of the Year!  It's crazy... this year has FLOWN by.  I have an amazing class and I'm going to miss them all so so so much!

One thing I do at the end of each year is pass out awards to my students.  I use my pack on TpT, which literally has something for EVERY student!

I'm going to give away TWO copies of the pack!

You must leave a blog comment to enter but can get extra entries by checking out my blog's Facebook page too!

It ends next Friday, May 1!  If you just can't wait, I've got the pack on sale until the end of the giveaway too!

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