Back to School Product Swap!

This summer has FLOWN by! Seriously, where has the time gone??? I feel like it was just yesterday that I was waving off my first set of firsties! But, believe it or not, it's already time to go back to school. Luckily, TeachersPayTeachers loves all of us. The BTS 2014 sale is this Monday & Tuesday! Are you ready? I know I am! I have a bunch of wish list items ready to be purchased.

My sweet friends Alisha from Missing Tooth Grins and Katie from Simply Creative in KY decided to get together for a mini product swap. We wanted to give ya'll a closer look at some of our brand new products!

I have the wonderful pleasure of looking through Katie's Let's Talk About It: Teaching Students How to Talk About Text. People, it's amazing! This pack has so many different resources to help you help your students discuss their reading. True Common Core, my friends. Discuss, discuss, discuss.

First off, please just look at all that color! I mean, really! Who doesn't love color?!?! This is just pure teacher happiness! This is the whole pack printed and ready to teach with!

 

Okay, now let's take a look at the inside of this pack.
Katie includes:

1. Lesson Ideas about using sticky notes, summarizing, learning to take turns, and making conversations meaningful using various resources. 

2. Stop & Jot and Text Talker anchor charts

3. Five Phrase Posters

4. Text Talk Bingo

5. Talking Sticks

6. Text Talker Bookmarks

7. Discussion Cards for chapter books, picture books, and nonfiction texts.

Katie includes so many different options in this resource. I used it in camp this summer and it was perfect for all grade levels! I loved using it and being able to really talk with the kids about what they were reading. It was quick and easy because I had questions at my fingertips and engaging ways for the kids to interact and question each other. 

(Here's a little behind the scenes action)

Those clothespins are the "Talking Sticks" that are included. Just print, laminate for durability, and attach to a popsicle stick with hot glue. BUT, I had to change it up a bit. I didn't have popsicle sticks, so I decided to use some white plastic clothes pins (super cheap at Publix!). This turned out to be super useful...more about that to come!

 Katie includes all the posters full size like this one. However, to save paper and make it easy for Small Group storage, she also includes them 4-to-a-page, which I LOVE!

 It's as simple as printing, laminating, whole punching, and adding a binder clip to the corner. 

 Here are some different ways to use this engaging reading resource...

I laid out all the clothespins for the kids. If they wanted to ask a question about what they were reading or to talk about something, they would just grab a pin.

 I am oh so glad I used the clothespins. It worked like a charm when reading with my group of 4-5th graders. Have a question while reading? Just grab a clip and attach it to your question or evidence. This way, I knew that the kids wanted to talk without any talking! It also helped because I was able to notice when students were actively reading and when they weren't. Without interrupting them, I was able to know what they were thinking about. (Katie, this is brilliant!) 

I also used these clips with a struggling reader who is repeating first grade. She needed a lot of prompting and support, but the hands on process of clipping the actual question prompt to her evidence really helped.

(She goes, "That reminds me of when my mom says that to me when I'm annoying her!")

HA! Kids tell all!

Here is the same student using the "Talking Sticks" and the bookmark. Get this bookmark as an exclusive freebie from Katie's pack here. It is fabulous! It was a great reminder for this student when she would start to get distracted. We would read her bookmark together and review how to be a great "Text Talker". This refocused her quickly and without any problems.

These colorful cards are the heart of the Text Talker product. Katie has included SO MANY questions for you to ask students. I laminated them and put them on binder clips so that they are easy to flip through and take off. I had students ask each other these questions in my 4-5th grade group. Here, the student was telling me that this picture was important because it shows the friendship between the man and his monkey after the man's paralyzing car accident. 

I also had students lead the discussion with the question cards. The older kids loved being a teacher. They were eager to add to each other's conversation and were obsessed about clipping those pins to their papers! Katie includes 3 different card sets: Chapter Books, Picture Books, and Non-Fiction Texts. You are good to go!

I love that the cards are small enough to sit right next to the student. This entire resource is so student and teacher friendly! Whether you want to lead the conversation or you want the students to, these cards are a great addition to your classroom.

Oh and these cards that I mentioned before, these are my ultimate favorite! Look at that adorable Melonheadz clipart!! Perfect size for little kiddie hands!

Freebie anyone?!?!

So, after seeing all these pictures, you will definitely want to stop by to check out Katie's adorable freebie. She has uploaded this as a sample of her Text Talker product. These bookmarks will be a perfect addition to your classroom! And if you like what you see (I mean, why wouldn't you!?!) check out her entire Text Talker resource.

 Also, you can enter our giveaway below! The winner will get all three products for free! Just in time for Back to School! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by! Check out two more of our new products by hopping over to my sweet friends' blogs below.

Read about the adorable Back to School Snapshots with Katie!

Check out my newest close reading passages with Alisha!