re.spon.si.bil.it.y

Daily communication is important between parents and their child about the day's events, and between parents and me, the teacher. I'm sure I am preaching to the crowd! To help keep everyone on the same page and to create a system that is quick and effective for parents, my kinders have a daily folder.

I have a chicka theme running throughout my classroom and made coordinating labels for the front of each folder.

It has different sections to help keep things ready in a pinch and teach organization! I use a bulletin board as my daily model of and students use it to know where papers go on a daily basis.

It has an "empty" pocket. This pocket is designed for papers completed at school, newsletters, flyers, etc. 

I ask parents to empty this section daily, if not weekly, so that the kinders have less to organize and keep track of.

It has a parent-teacher communication sleeve that is clear. This part my kinders are responsible for checking and filing papers, notes, etc. into daily if necessary.

This is a parent's place to get a note to the me, place checks, order forms, etc. I often use this to send home notes, behavior notifications, conference set-ups, confirmations and questions for parents. 

It has a calendar. It helps my kinders learn how to understand concepts of time, including the days of the week. I feel it is my kinders' responsibility to track their behavior at school daily here too. That's what the little boxes are for surrounding each date. It has a book log to keep track of books read at home that I normally print on the reverse side. Great for documentation purposes!

It has a book log to keep track of books read at home. I've updated my logs from "read and record" to "read and respond" (in my new pack -see below) to better fit my kinders' and families' needs. I'm excited about the updated book logs as each month they ask quality questions in parent/kinder friendly ways to help them practice what we're learning in school, at home. And they are Common Core Standards based - this excites me (yes, really!) because I am working hard at becoming super familiar with them for next year's roll-out!

Finally, It has a work section for any work to be completed.

{Click the image to go to the folder labels}

More on Responsibility in the Classroom

social story idea to build classroom routines

creating classroom organization systems

Giving my kinders their own organizational tool helps build re.spon.si.bil.it.y!
How do like to give responsibility to your kinders?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
- Leslie

*Free downloadable Thank You Gift included when you subscribe via email or RSS.

five days, five minutes

In mentoring beginning teachers, I recommend active ways to reach all the different kinds of learners. By taking roughly 3-5 mins. every day you can teach a focus sight word and use songs to accomplish appealing to the non-traditional learners. (That's not to say that's the only word you ever mention or teach in a week, but I'm talking about focus here - so everyone with "no more letter/word of the week" mentality - I'm with you!)


I felt that after my post of using our sight word songs to teach sight words, that I should share how we infuse those songs each day and how we make it work for us.

We use nursery rhyme tunes and familiar tunes to teach - the songs are like 8-20 sec. long so they are super effective! We do a chant everyday that practices them all (24 core) just like you would an abc chart. I add in an extension chant around February since they are ready for a challenge. This expands their daily practice to 47!

Students can also earn a "sight word treat" (one m&m, skittle, jellybean) for finding the word during quiet reading time first thing after they've finished their morning routine. They have to find it in a different book or page than the day before or from their friends sitting close by. My favorite K teacher down the hall likes to use pretzel sticks as treats. I'm not a big sticker or candy person, so this is the time I make the exception - and it's a huge reward for them! I actually have kinders take over this job and they become the sight word checker so I can continue to do the 101 things a new morning brings.

On Mondays I introduce the word by writing in upper/lowercase letters, singing the song, practice and model (at beginning of year) how changing the letters, re-ordering them makes it not the same word anymore. We also model using it orally in a sentence. We repeat the sentence out loud and clap or snap on the word.
If you're just learning the common core standards, this hits: K.RF.1.b-3., K.RF.1.b., K.RF.3.c. 

{Sing to Learn Sight Words}

On Tuesday we review the song as I show each page of a little leveled book that features the word repeatedly. They touch their nose to show me they've found it with their eyes. I then read that page and they clap on the word as I'm reading aloud.
K.RF.1.b-4., K.RF.3.c., K.RF.4

On Wednesdays I use our word wall cards like flash cards for words from this quarter and we practice them all as I flip. They show me "Stop!" in sign language when we cross our new word. We review the song and talk about where it should go on the word wall and why.
K.RF.2.d-1, K.RF.3.c., K.SL.1.e.

 A student is chosen to post it. We repeat with cookies (sight words written on the back) and use them at our "house" literacy center.

On Thursdays we skywrite the word while singing, try it again with our eyes closed, and sometimes trace the word/another one onto a friend's back and they have to guess which word it is. At the beginning of the year we even put a foot into the air to skywrite the letters as they follow my large strokes on the white board. At this point in the school year I also model how knowing this word easily helps them learn more words (and I use word families or bits of it to model).
K.L.1.a-4., K.L.1.f-2., K.L.2.d., K.RF.2.e-4., K.RF.3.c.
 
On Fridays we form the letters with our bodies while singing the song. This one is my favorite! Five days, five minutes - many words in one year - check!

More Language Arts

playdough make the best word work center
guided reading - guided setup
kindergarten word work manipulative ideas
developing phonemic awareness
.com - a guided reading story
Injecting Rhyming into Your Day

How do you like to productive in small five minute time chunks?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
- Leslie

*Free downloadable Thank You Gift included when you subscribe via email or RSS.

daunting once, beautiful now - classroom library organization made simple

One of the most daunting tasks I've ever taken on in organizing my classroom was approaching my classroom library. I knew that I didn't want to have all of my books out at once, but needed to come up with a kinder-friendly system that allowed me to rotate books as needed. While this seemed daunting to start, it is now the easiest system to upkeep (add my new books to) and I never have to worry about my books getting mixed up with others because they are uniquely labeled!

Pictures were the solution I needed for my beginning readers and add a little tape, velcro, some paint stirrers, strong baskets and voila!

I have 16 baskets out at one time here which my kinders access every morning during quiet reading time. It is part of our procedures that we learn to return the baskets with the picture label showing outward. Oh, the things we have to teach sometimes... You can see that if I choose to care (and I do!) some of my basket labels will need to be re-printed and laminated this summer as they have been ruffled through many kinder hands over the past five years.

Each basket has two velcro squares and all of my labels have matching velcro squares. Velcro allows me to easily change out the front labels whenever I desire.

I have over 50 different categories for my book collection now, so the remaining ones are tucked away in my closet in a system that allows me to maximize space. I simply printed the same pictures onto paint sticks and use those to stick out from the books to separate each category. Now, if I could only remember to rotate books out more often!

These themed labels have really helped me out in the long run and to minimize the daunting task of labeling every book, my favorite kinder teacher down the hall had parents help organize her library by sending one basket and set of labels home to get the ball rolling. Hopefully having these as a tool ready to go - you'll find this project less daunting! Here they are FREE - enjoy! Click the photo to download the book basket labels and book labels. Print as many as needed to label your collection!

Book & Basket Labels - Themes

Here is a way to keep yourself and your extra labels organized for the future and the next time your Scholastic order comes in! Grab a binder, ziploc bags and you're ready to print and be organized! Click the photo to download the organization sheets.

If you download these and like what you see leave us a note! Happy organizing!

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
- Leslie

*Free downloadable Thank You Gift included when you subscribe via email or RSS.

guided reading - space planning

Anyone else feel like organizing never stops? Once you start organizing something, it spills over or borrows a container from something else which inevitably directs your organization destination to never-stops-ville. Okay, so I'm probably being dramatic, and I do love being (or at least feeling) organized, but sometimes I have to make myself stop because it can be a never ending cycle.

I shared previously about how I organized my guided reading paperwork all into one binder and if you haven't read guided reading: guided setup - I'd say go for it! Then come on back here to read about how I've chosen to organize the rest of my space to make guided reading go as smoothly as possible. The photo above shows my guided reading space. My main components are: kidney table (lowered as far to the ground as possible), large floor pillows, my binder, and my organizational space (magnetic front side of my desk and underneath).

I sit or kneel on this memory foam seat cushion that I snagged as a freebie. I've decided that as long as I'm young enough to be on the floor, I'll choose to do so. When I'm sitting, to my left I have a white basket that tucks under the table when not in use. I store my groups' books here for the entire week. (I took this picture late in the week so you only see a few. 

Plus, I have a student teacher and she is storing her portion in the green basket seen above.) I use the green thingy as a divider - two groups in the front side by side, and two in the back. It works to stash all my books in and carry back to my classroom from the literacy library.

My literacy centers are grouped heterogeneously. This way all students have the opportunity to see good modeling, work with different personalities and learn by teaching each other. So to call groups, I simply ring a bell (I have three to choose from) and quietly call out the names of the kinders I need to see. 

These seriously change on a weekly basis! In the same container, I keep a set of dry erase markers, erasers (baby socks) and  flashlights.

This magnetic container was going to be trash before I rescued it! I finally feel like I have figured out how to use it best in my classroom and love it! It holds my highlighters (to highlight my students to take a running record on), my white boards (I wanted really small ones and these came from Dollar Tree), a pad of paper to write myself reminders to place on my desk for later, and these items seen in more detail below...

Our reading & retelling bookmarks (free) - each student has their own laminated one that they keep in their book pockets but I keep a stack to use with my higher levels to ensure we are focusing on comprehension. We pick a part to talk about, or often they use these to prompt discussion with a partner.

When they forget to return their books that they took home the night before, they grab a bookmark-like slip (I find that different sized paper helps grab an adult's attention) and they write the title of the book they forgot and sign it. 

They seem to like having the help of a reminder, and I need them to put in a little bit of work as the other kinders are signing out their new books. Sometimes I use a bookmark to give a little direction when they take these books home, like assigning a sight word to practice writing.

My kinders transport their books to and from home everyday in what I lovingly refer to as their "book pcokets." These poly, double sided pocket-like envelopes are a score in being sturdy enough for backpacks and keeping our books safe. We have parents sign a permission slip along with sending home strategies and questions to ask before a kinder can take home these books.

Parents seem to enjoy filling out the simple book log with it and being able to comment about their child's reading. The compilation picture of our book pockets came from our  "What to Say When Your Child is Reading to You" package.

On our bookshelf (close to the kidney table) we keep these baskets of books with our previously read books. At the beginning of our GR times when they were all reading A's and B's (or 1's and 2's) students would have to read our new book three times. Of course they all finish at different times! 

So to afford me more time to listen/guide those not done yet, the first child done simply would get our book basket and re-read our previously read and familiar texts. Then I could stop everyone and do a wrap-up piece of our lesson. 

Now our books are a bit longer, and students are allowed to finish (after generally only 2 readings) and then leave after they have signed out their new book and returned their previous book. I am just sure to do all of my lesson pieces before and during which really fits the needs of my readers. They are mentally "done" after all of the work they do (because really my job is to just ask questions of them as they read) and enjoy this self-paced ending to our lessons. 

They know which book is checked out because it is the only one with their name on it in the front pocket. They return these to the pockets in their books and write their names on their new cards.

 

Of course, we always find books that don't have a card, so I keep plenty of blanks tucked behind my notepad.

I keep our larger pointers, word windows and digraph reminder magnet close by. Students can use a pointer during their second and third read through. These are kept on the edge of our space so all students can access them as needed.

Smaller, star pointers and pencils are also kept towards the edgs for students to grab as needed. They are independent in getting the materials they need to check out books, allowing me to continue reading with whoever needs it. And of course, our reading strategies! My favorite thing about these is that they grow with the kinders over the months and develop as they do. I created these posters to be magnetic so that I can put on them on the table, discuss them and use them as prompts. They also come in different sizes for different needs. You can always get it all in the Guided Reading Pack too! 

More Guided Reading

kindergarten small group reading materials
segmenting and blending hand motions
breaking handwriting down
guided reading strategy checklist
developing phonemic awareness
kindergarten word work manipulative ideas

What's something that helps keep you organized for guided reading?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
- Leslie

*Free downloadable Thank You Gift included when you subscribe via email or RSS.

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