Reading Strategies to Help Build Reading Confidence

Reading Strategy Number 3~ Circle It to Show You Know It

If you missed the other reading strategies link directly to it from here. This is a link to my site Teaching Resources for the Classroom.

3. Circle It to Show You Know It! it s fun practical reading strategy that I created to use with readers who need to develop confidence. It can be used with any level of reader. I find that many readers know words but do not have confidence in their ability to read the words when presented with a book or a page full of words. The photo is an example of a passage from a Magic Tree House book that I am using with a student.

I copy a page from a book I know the reader likes for educational purposes. I ask the reader to circle each world that he can read. If you pick the just right text most of the words will be circled. Just right texts are texts that the reader know 94% of the words. Here is poster with the Goldilocks Rule and the Five Finger Rule for picking texts. This is easy to teach to children.

The children love Circle It to Show You Know It!. It is visual reminder of what they do know. I put the percentage here so you could see it. I don't do this on the reader's page. For most of the children just seeing what they know is a huge revelation to them. Their faces light up. This strategy would work for adult education as well. The written page suddenly becomes less scary and more like "Hey I can do this!" I have had children carry these around and show their families and friends. Sometimes I think we should frame their sheet. If you use this strategy in your classroom or home school drop and tell me how it worked for your reader. Do you think this is an effective strategy? I welcome your comments below! 2 more strategies are on the way.

Freebie for Place Value

My Freebie for the week for Classroom Freebies is a quick math center to practice place value, expanded form and base ten counting. You can get it here on Google Drive.

All the best,
Sarah

Technology In with New and Out with the Old?

There have been times in my teaching career when I have embraced technology and other times when I just wanted to do things the old way, the familiar way. We have all been there. When a cash register stops working in a store and one helper after another is called to fix it and I think just get out a piece of paper already. Add up my total, get the tax percentage and let me pay and get out of here...oh that won't work because I'm paying with a debit card none of that old fashioned cash for me. I just have to wait it out with all the other folks who are contemplating switching lines or checking their watches or should I say their smartphones. Technology is here to stay and is moving at the speed of light it seems. I am always seeking a balance between using the tried and true methods and the new technologies. My goal is to give each learner what he or she needs to truly grasp a skill. Most of the time that is a combination of methods and media.

This summer I'm tutoring from my home. I work with the children on math and reading. I often use the ipad while tutoring. In the photo below one of the children I tutor is using a math app for learning adding mulitple numbers. This app is Hungry Fish and it is a popular app with the children I teach.

In this photo my student is still using the ipad. She is using the app Splash Math but there is also something else in this photo. She is using manipulatives at the same time. I could tell that she needed something concrete as well as conceptual. You see that she is also wearing a hat and a robe. These come from a costume box I have so children can become a character and role play a context from a story. It turns out that mixing the old with the new was the best solution for this learner.

What ways have you mixed the old and new in your classroom to help a child learn? Leave a comment below and tell us what is working in your teaching setting. I would like to invite you to check out a new Pinterest Board that I created called Technology Resources in the Classroom. I'm spending time looking for resources that you can use.

Technology in the Classroom Check out the New Board

I'm so excited about my new Pinterest Board that I have to share it with you all. This is a snip of the cover for my new board on Pinterest. The cover is from edutopia.org The board is Technology in the Classroom. I have structured the board to so it is easy to use. Each pin is labelled with a grade level range or TTS which stands for Teacher Time Saver! I'm really thrilled that this board has grown to 200 followers in 4 days. I have recruited some fellow pinners to help me with the board. My goal is to provide a variety of resources from mp3 songs, power points, white board activities down to purposeful integration of technology. I love the quote on my cover board. We need to form a relationship with technology that makes it ordinary but the learning and thinking is extraordinary. In my classroom I truly want the children to view technology as a facilitator something that helps them along the way but they are the thinker,the learner and the dreamer! I'm going to share a couple of pins each day this week from my new board. Just go to the board and click through!

A sweet song freebie by Educasong! This is an mp3 file.


You can make free Bingo Boards for your classroom. I plan to share more with you this week. If you have a favorite technology idea from a blog, your classroom, an article or a pin please share it in the comments and I will check it out for our board. This board is for everyone that is using technology in their classroom and for those that are just beginning!
Technology in the Classroom

Remember the Christmas in July Linky Party 2013 starts this Friday, July 19th. I look forward to seeing everything that you will link up.
Look for this button for the link-up.
Fern Smith won the Getting Ready for Christmas in July Contest. She won a $10 Target Gift Card, Xacto Decorative Edge Stickers and a surprise!

Christmas in July Contest Free Prizes/Fern Smith

  I'm having a Christmas in July Linky Party starting July 19 through July 31. The linky button is being designed as I write. I will also be having a big ole contest with some great gifts for my blogger friends. The gift will be sent out in the mail! I love getting mail and especially packages in the mail. Prizes will include a 25.00 gift card to Target, some gifts that teachers will like and some other surprises. I especially hope you will plan to link up to my party. The Christmas in July Linky Party is strictly fun. I welcome many different kinds of link ups. Maybe you want to share a freebie holiday center you have created, a picture of you in your tacky Christmas Sweater or maybe your dog in his tacky sweater, or perhaps a recipe that we could all enjoy. My goal is for this to be a fun laid back party.
This contest is a get my feet wet contest for me! Yep you heard me. Getting my feet wet and inviting you all to join in the fun for the big party!
3 prizes will be mailed out to one lucky winner. You will get the neat X-acto set of 4 Scissors with Decorative Edges. I love these...just a little snipping and you have made the world a lot cuter. The winner will also get a 10.00 Target Gift Card and one mystery gift. I can promise you that you will love getting this package. It would cheer my heart if you would be willing to share this contest. I'm looking forward to the big party!

Fern Smith is our winner for this contest! Congratualations!

Throwback Thursday and Cat in a Hat

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!

Hi All I'm glad to be participating in The First Grade Parade: Throwback Thursday with Cara. I am sharing a fun game I made to go with the celebration of that famous guy. Should we say his name???... It doesn't bring up scary thoughts like the guy in Harry Potter....Val...Val...Vald....nope I just won't say it. Anyway kids love this cat and it isn't scary at all. I hope you can use this in your classroom!
Please come back and visit I'm hosting my first linky party "Christmas in July" and a contest for a some great prizes. I would love to have a lot of bloggy friends to join the fun!


I blogged about this is February 2013.

Well friends I am just totally crazy about what I have created for you all this week! Dr. Seuss' Birthday is coming up very soon and I wanted to celebrate with some new Math Centers. There is a missing addend match up game with 32 cards and 16 matches, a missing addend worksheet and a two digit addition worksheet for your class celebration! Everything is ready for you. You need to print, cut and copy! It is that simple.
Get your Cat with a A Hat Activities here!

Despicable Me Review and Despicable Me Party

We saw this movie on July 3rd and I couldn't be happier with the sequel. It was as fun and delightful as the first one. This one was actually fluffier than the first one. Love is in the air for Dru this time. I won't spoil it. You will have to see for yourself. The movie has enough villain action to keep the plot moving but the minions almost steal the show this time. We are still in love with Agnes and the it's so fluffy.. The girls are growing up and I love the way Dru faces some of the same challenges that we have have to deal with as parents. I'm sure we look almost as ridiculous as he does. At least our kids would say so.




I found this pin that features everything you need to have Despicable Me Party. I may have to find some kids and have a party.


Here is the website for all the party goodies from Fabulously Smitten.

I wish the movie would have been rated G. It seems that even Pixar can't resist throwing a "What the ____" in the movie. Of course the blank is blank but it was obvious in the movie and really unnecessary. I'm assuming some of the PG rating was for the action and peril in the story. All and all it is a lovable movie and brought smiles to everyone's face. This will definitely be on my list of I can watch again and again movies! Go, see and laugh! I can't wait to see what the minions are going to be up to in their feature movie.