Co-teaching Reading in 3rd Grade

It's been about a month since I began the leap from first to third grade, and I am loving it! Last year, I taught high achieving first graders who were almost (if not, just as high) as my third graders. So thankfully....the leap wasn't too difficult. :)

My friend and now co-teacher last year
in my first grade classroom.

Co-teaching with one of my best friends and another energetic, hilarious, engaging teacher has been an amazing experience. We are each other's physical, mental, and emotional help each day...which in the teacher world can be a wonderful thing! Today, I wanted to share a few of the things we have been doing...

Schedule
In our county, 18 is the maximum amount of students allowed in each classroom. Both third grade classes that I work in have about 25 students. Therefore, the school had to hire an extra teacher (me!) to work in both classrooms and provide support. I am teaching only reading. I begin each day with one teacher, and begin after lunch with the other.  The three of us have synced our schedules. This way, I am teaching the same lessons when I am in both classrooms. It is SO nice for the three of us to plan together and bounce ideas off of each other! Here's the layout we have. Grab an editable one here!

Because there are two of us teaching at all times, we try to maximize our time and meet with our students. We teach completely in small group during both reading and math blocks (although I am not with co-teaching with them during math). Each class has been broken up into 6 groups of 4-6 students. There are two groups of six students (groups 1-2 above) who are below grade level in each class. There are three groups of four to five students (groups 4-6 above) who are on-level or above-level. We each keep our groups for two days. Then, we swap groups for the last two days. This gives students the ability to hear the same concept in two different ways.

We basically split the entire room in half when we are teaching. This helps to keep the noise level down and also keeps students from getting confused. This picture was taken from my small group area. If you look across the room, you will see the other teacher's "side". She has the lower groups and is working with a small group while the other group is working at the red pocket chart on the far side of the room. When she is ready to switch, she will simply have those two groups trade spots. My "side" of the room is to the left of this image. We have a table of computers for one group and then a reading area on the floor for the other. My students go through two centers and my small group on this side of the room.

Minilessons

Almost every day, we give a minilesson on a new topic or an important topic that needs review. Both teachers discuss with the students and plan together for these lessons. Here I am leading a minilesson on comparing and contrasting using the book Apples and Oranges: Going Bananas with Pairs. The kids were obsessed with this book! It comes HIGHLY recommended for all grade levels!

Small Group

The main teacher is always "Small Groups 1" and "Centers 1" on our plans above. Each week she begins the week with her lowest performing students and lays a foundation. She ends with her highest students. I am considered "Small Groups 2" and "Centers 2". Each week I start with the highest performing students and end with the lowest performing students. Two small groups are running at the same time. However, we are at opposite sides of the room, so it is not too distracting. :)

During my first two small groups of the week (on- and above-level students), we are reading the novel, Stuart Little. Here are some of our supplies. You can grab them here. My readers are working SO hard on accountable talk and discussion. Some groups are getting really comfortable with it! One little boy even said, "Hey, you can't talk so much! You're suppose to be invisible!"

By the time the kids come and go, our table is a {big ole} mess! 

 Our on-level students still struggle with writing complete sentences and explaining their thoughts. We do LOTS of writing to try to fix this. Here is a prediction that one of my students made before reading chapter 3. It is not a perfect sentence, but she was working oh so hard!

Right now we are only 33 days away from our BIG state assessment that determines promotion of third graders, so our below level groups have been practicing comprehension strategies every.single.day. Yes, we know they need to do practice passages, but they also need to have fun! I introduced these sentence strips from The Teacher Talk as a way to extend our thinking after reading a test prep passage. These are the students who normally struuuuggggle with writing. However, these fun flippy prompts helped them to write quite a bit! I was one proud teacher!

When our below level groups are not doing test prep, test prep, test prep, we have lots of fun! We make inferences and find evidence in the passages. We read stories and determine character traits. We practice past skills with task card games in small group. Basically, the three of us remediate again and again until our little ones catch on!

Centers

My side of the room has two centers: Computer & Text Evidence

The main teacher's side of the room has two centers: Skill Practice & Vocabulary/Reading

Our lowest two groups stay in small group for 30 minutes each and only go to one center per day.

Our higher three groups have 20 minutes of small group and go to two centers day day.

• Computer - We have a program called iReady that is used throughout the school. All students take individualized reading and math lessons on the program during this center.
• Vocabulary/Reading - My novel study groups read their novel, make annotations, and respond to their flippy prompts (blue flaps seen above). When we are not reading a novel, students complete vocabulary activities at this center. Our lower groups do not go to this center because vocabulary is taught explicitly to them in small group
• Skill Practice - This center changes depending on our skill. It is differentiated for the two sets of groups. Sometimes, there are even two separate activities for certain students. This center usually includes writing. Sometimes it has task cards. Overall, it is based on the standard that we are teaching that week.
• Text Evidence - This center is completed only by on and above level students. They are given books or passages and questions. We make sure that they are focusing on finding text evidence and responding in complete sentences with evidence based sentence starters. Paired text passages work very well with students in this center. 

This is a Skill Practice center focused on point of view. Students were researching an animal and then writing about the animal from the animal's point of view. 

That's a little look into our Reading Block! I hope you enjoyed it!

Wordless Wednesday - February 4 - Professional Development

Today linking up with my friend Christina from Miss DeCarbo for Wordless Wednesday! My week has been filled with meetings, sessions, and testing. It has been crazy. BUT on the positive side, I am so excited to say that my first ever Professional Development session is complete! I am so thankful for all of the teachers who provide me with my own "Virtual PD" daily. Blogs and teacher friends are a beautiful thing!

Have a great week!

Trade & Grade: Roll & Write Month Edition

Welcome to our Trade and Grade! This week I was able to use a wonderful product from my friend Cassie at Mrs. Thomas's Class. The kiddos LOVED it! Keep reading to hear all about it!

Roll & Write was a brilliant addition to my writing center this week. It gave students the ability to practice writing narratives, but also kept their attention because it was hands-on and involved many different crazy topics. In the picture above you can see my writing center table. It includes the activity (Roll & Write), a red box full of writing paper, a pencil box full of sharpened pencils, Expo markers and dice for the activity, and center directions. 

We are required to have standards based centers with directions and a learning goal or scale at every center during our reading and math blocks. Each time I plan a center, I simply type up a direction sheet, print it, and put it in a sheet protector or plastic frame. Students refer to it throughout the activity if they need help. During this Roll and Write center, the learning goal said: "I will be able to write a narrative story that includes characters, setting, a problem, and a solution."

I absolutely love this simple low prep center! When you are getting started, you will need the things seen above: paper (or a journal), Expo markers, dice, and printed sheets in sheet protectors (or laminated). Give students some dice, and they will do whatever work you have planned for them!

You could definitely print one page per child and have students color the boxes in with crayons, however, I know we are all teachers who are conscientious of the number of copies we make {or are allowed to make!}. Using sheet protectors and Expo markers helps to keep the copies down! I do not have a color copier at school, so I printed these on some winter-y colored paper to make them bright and inviting. They turned out beautifully in black and white!

Once students get to the center, the directions are quite simple. Just roll the die (We call them number cubes...more on that later...) to choose a character from the first column, then move to the second and do the same, and then move to the third. Once students have rolled three times, they will have the characters, setting, and problem of their narrative. The goal of the activity is for students to determine a solution to the problem and to include that in their writing. I explained this to my students before they began their narratives, so I am interested to grade them this week and see who was able to create their own solutions!

And....finally....They write! This student happened to roll all 6's and was SUPER excited to begin. I had my students write their stories on some simple lined paper, but you can also have them write in their journals or on lined loose leaf paper. It's a flexible center, so that's up to you!

I teach third graders who are on and below grade level. However, they really struggle with writing. Although not every story made sense in its entirety, I was SO beyond proud of their effort and excitement! I truly believe they were excited because of this creative activity. I don't think my students have ever been THIS excited to write! {Happy Teacher Moment}

Overall, here are my favorite aspects of this brilliant and kid friendly writing product:

Low Prep! - Just print it and stick it in a page protector. Seriously. So simple, people! I love when I can give my students fun activities that are easy to reproduce.

Printer Friendly - Each page uses only a small bit of colored ink. Therefore, they look great printed in black and white. Colored paper will make the monthly sheets pop!

Monthly Options - Each month has different options for characters, setting, and problem in the columns. Students will get experience writing about MANY topics. That means, my writing center is already planned for one week each month. My students can work on the monthly prompts that week and still get exposure to other writing activities during the rest of the month. I can also see this activity being great for homework also because it is easy to send home each month.

Engaging for Students - Like I said before, dice are magic. We are actually supposed to call them "Number Cubes" in my district because dice apparently refers to gambling. But people still go back to saying "Dice". Silly if you ask me! Anyway, kids love them, so why not use them to make writing more fun!?!

Automatic Differentiation - Each student is going to write differently. As long as they use their characters, setting, problem, and solution, they are completing the assignment. Therefore, my struggling writers will have exposure to including all four things in a short story, while the students who are excelling can write longer narratives with more details and structure. 

If you are thinking about trying this activity in your own classroom, I highly recommend it! My students were engaged the entire time and giggling about their crazy combinations! Roll & Write is the perfect addition to any writing center because it allows for choices, adds manipulatives to make writing more hands-on, and can truly change up your writing routine.

We cannot wait to finish our stories next week! As a teacher, I am interested to see how my students' writing improves as we continue to use these monthly Roll & Write activities over the next few months. I truly believe it will help the kids to become comfortable with writing narratives and including all of the necessary components in their writing.

If you are interested in grabbing this set for yourself, check it out here!

An InLinkz Link-up

What A Pair! {Using Paired Texts to Compare and Contrast}

I have be crazy busy with my new job back in the classroom {more to come on that soon}, but I wanted to share this fun set with you today! Last week, our skill was to compare and contrast two texts. In third grade, students are asked to compare and contrast the major points in two texts about the same topic. My two coworkers and I were searching for products to use, but we weren't finding anything that worked for us...

Fast forward to the weekend. I decided to create a passage to go along with the book Officer Buckle and Gloria. We wanted the students to be engaged in the topic {dogs}, so we used a fun fiction book that they would giggle at. :) In the past, I have read Officer Buckle and Gloria to kindergarteners and first graders, so I was slightly worried. I didn't know for sure if my third graders would think it was funny. OH was I wrong! They were laughing and asking to see the flipping dog picture again and again.

Reading two texts can be time consuming, but "Just Do It!".
With my on level groups, I read Officer Buckle and Gloria aloud and then students read the paired passage silently. With my below level groups, I read the book aloud, but the students read some of the passage and I read some of the passage. With my lower below level groups (many are already in RtI or receiving services), I read both texts aloud. In one of my classes, I read the book aloud whole group which saved a bit of time. Yes, it takes a long time, but there's no other way to expose them to two texts before discussing and responding.

Discussing the texts
After reading, we started discussing each text separately. I asked students to retell aloud using major details, and we talked a little bit about each character. I prepped students for the questions to come by showing them similarities and differences in the structure of the text: fiction/nonfiction, text features, real pictures/illustrations, paragraphs, etc. We also looked at similarities and differences between the characters/subject in both texts.

My school is big on accountable talk right now, so we made sure to answer questions in complete sentences with sentence starters. My friend Katie from Simply Creative in KY, has a great pack that helps remind us to use accountable talk. You can check it out here.

Responding to the Text
In order to hit two standards at once, I added response questions AND compare/contrast questions to the passage. My on level groups only did the compare and contrast questions with me, because they are able to answer text-dependent questions on their own. My below level groups were guided through everything. {A picture of both handouts is shown below.}

We compared and contrasted the text structure and the topic (dogs, worms, trees, apple pies, bumblebees) in each set of paired texts. Students then explained which book they enjoyed reading most and why.

It wasn't the easiest skill for my struggling readers, however, it did make them think. And think HARD! They were prepared for their practice assessment on Friday, and did very well. {Celebrate Small Moments!!!} Pretty soon, the service dog passage was turned into a whole pack!

Click here to grab yours or see a larger preview!

Here are the five passages included. 

These are the five books that I used to pair with the nonfiction passages. But, any fiction book on the same topic as the passage will work just fine! :) They are not included in this pack, so check out your local library or head over to Amazon. {Amazon Prime is my weakness!}

At the top of each passage in the pack, you will see a Paired Text Suggestion and a line for students to write the name of the paired book (see picture above). This helps students to see that they are focusing on TWO texts not just one.

There are also two response pages included with full answer keys. Some answers may be different if you choose a different children's book than the suggested one. Any fiction book on the same topic will do!

I hope you enjoyed this mini preview! If you are like me and focused on standards, standards, standards, then I hope this little pack helps to narrow down your planning for LAFS.RI.3.9 or CCSS.RI.3.9! Click here to see a larger preview!

Have a great week!

Confer App: a note taking and data collection app for teachers!

Good morning! I wanted to share my post from our collaborative blog, The Primary Pack. Enjoy!

Today, I must cut right to the chase because I am beyond excited about this new find! I was at a conference in Jacksonville, Florida right before Thanksgiving listening to a 2nd grade teacher talk about differentiation. It was a great presentation, but to be honest, I was thinking "I already do most of these things in my own classroom". That was until I heard her mention "this new DATA COLLECTION APP". My ears perked up! My eyes flew from my notebook to her face. We are in the age of data, data, data. This is perfection!

Really? I can just add my students into this app and log all of my annotations right on my iPhone? NO WAY. Wait what? I can take pictures of their work and add them to each student's personalized file? This was too good to be true.

But it IS true! It's called Confer. I may seem a little too excited about this, but let me tell you - It is worth it! It's available in the iTunes App Store or through Google Play for Android.

There are currently two versions of Confer. Confer (regular) is the full price version. It is $24.99, which may be more than you are used to paying for an app...however, think of it as a portable, digital, never-ending, never full data binder. I don't know about you, but I would pay lots of money for that.

The Confer lite edition is the free one that you can download quickly. Test it out for yourself! However, if you have more than 10 kids in your class (most of us) and you teach more than 2 subjects (most of us), this may not be ideal. Confer lite allows you to store two subjects with 10 students per subject. It also only allows for 5 notes per student.

Take it from me and download Confer lite. You will love it. Now for a closer look...

You can organize all of your information into three major sections: Subjects, Students, and Notes. Once you create an account, add subjects by using the + in the top right corner. Then add students to the subject. Once you add your class list once, you don't ever have to retype their names! To take notes on each student, just click on their names and then click the + in the top right corner.

A sort feature is at the bottom of most screens in the Confer app. My absolute favorite sorting feature is the options for student sorting. Look at the middle picture in the image above. I can always sort by first or last name, but I can also sort by the date, tag, strength, teaching point, next step, level, group, and flag! CRAZY AMAZING. 

I can literally add my students and their levels and simply click sort by level. Ta-da! Reading groups done. Then, if I want to teach a small group lesson on inferences, I can click sort by teaching point or next step and ta-da: focus group is chosen for me. No more flipping though pages and pages of charts! I can also flag students green, yellow, or red in certain subjects or topics, and then group them by flag color so that I can easily see where each student is. Here is a picture from Confer's website that displays the flagged students in each topic.

Once your students are added, adding notes is a breeze!

This next feature sold me instantly! Click on a student, take a picture of their work, and it's stamped with the date and a comment. Easy peasy and PERFECT for parent-teacher conferences, data chats with administration, and RtI meetings.

And just when you thought Confer had wow-ed you...it can export! Yes! Just click the arrow on the far right bottom of the screen to export a file from the app. There are many different options for you to choose from!

Fonts by KG Fonts & Hello Fonts, Graphics by Pretty Grafix & Ashley Hughes

I am SO excited to use this app full time in the classroom starting in January. It will help me to be efficient with my time and to keep everything in one place. I love that I can check Confer at home in my bed or while I'm talking with a concerned parent on the phone. In these data-driven times, we teachers must find ways that truly work to manage our time wisely and help our students achieve their fullest potential. I hope this little tutorial will help you this year! 

Check out a more in depth tutorial on the app or website. For more information and a video from David Lowe, the creator of Confer and a NBCT, click here. Happy data collecting!

Unwrap a Gift from Me!

Are you in need of some low-prep activities to get your students through the holiday season? Check out my newest close reading passages! They are perfect for small group, guided reading, weekly homework, and thematic units. All you have to do is simply download and print! If you are not familiar with close reading you can read more about it in my Close Reading Mini Series.

I'm excited to be a part of The Primary Gal's Unwrap a Gift Linky Party. There are so many engaging gifts for you from some of my favorite teachers. Keep reading for a closer look and be sure to unwrap your gift at the end of this post! 

I have two sets of holiday close reads: European traditions (7 passages) & Asian traditions (6 passages). Each passage is written at an appropriate text complexity level for 2-3rd grade according to the Common Core State Standards. However, it totally depends on your students. I often used similar close reads with my high first graders, and I have a friend who uses them with her struggling fourth graders. There are two different versions of most handouts within each set. Instant differentiation!

Close reading is all about developing a true understanding of the text. Therefore, I make sure that students are rereading many times. One passage will last us 3 days to a full week! Students reread the passages silently, aloud, and to partners. Then, they annotate by highlighting or circling unknown words, numbering paragraphs, and underlining answers in the text. You can have students use any annotation marks that you like (although I recommend no more than about 3 at a time - see the close reading blog series above for in depth information).

After reading, students will respond to text-dependent questions. I ask students to go back to the text and underline or highlight their answers. They are also required to write the number of the question beside the sentence in the text. This is a wonderful skill to start early on! It works wonders on standardized tests! Each passage in my close reading sets has two different sets of response questions which is great for differentiation in class.

I hope you enjoy your holiday season! Click the image below to UNWRAP YOUR GIFT!

Head over to The Primary Gal to unwrap more gifts!

New Look & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am beyond excited to share this little blog's brand new look! Thank you SO SO much to Bobbi at Ready to Blog Designs. She is a gem! If you need a great blog designer who is very reasonable and amazing to work with, I highly recommend Bobbi!

I started this blogging/creating/TeachersPayTeachers journey this past April during my first year of teaching. I had been *obsessed* with teaching blogs during undergrad and always thought to myself, "When I have my classroom, I am going to go broke!". I never thought I would be so blessed by this blogging/TPT community. I am beyond thankful for all of the new support and friendships that have grown from this!

Once I started teaching, I felt myself being pulled toward certain products on TPT and certain styles of teaching on teacher blogs. You know those few that you just keep going back to? Those few teachers make you want to spend hours making adorable anchor charts and laminating all types of activities! Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorites with you! {Stick around for a fun giveaway!}

My ultimate goal is to reach each individual student. This is a tough task, and I am by no means a teacher superstar. However, I do try my best to differentiate and enrich as much as possible. I give two spelling tests each week, print two (sometimes three) separate sets of homework each night, and teach reading and math in small group. So, when I stumbled upon the blog by Miss DeCarbo back in the day, I was amazed at those little first graders and their amazing writing abilities! They blew me away! And I kept reading. Ever since that day, I have made sure that I was in tune with everything Christina had to say. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out her Wordless Wednesday Linky Party! It is one of my favorites. A few teachers at my school are loving all things DeCarbo - check out this little one's hard work! Thank you, Christina, for being my first grade writing guru.

Sight Word Fluency Passages for Reading Intervention by Miss DeCarbo

The no prep printable queen of The Moffatt Girls, is another one of my favorite teacher authors. As I read her blog, I think "Please let me be that awesome of a mom/teacher/homeschooler/blogger/author one day!" Annie does it all! Her No Prep math and literacy packs are brilliant for Sub Tubs, independent work, and extra practice. I used her Word Work Bundle this summer while teaching deaf and hard of hearing students. It was great for the 1st and 2nd graders who need repetition by sight because they are not able to hear letter sounds. Thank you, Annie, for inspiring me by teaching your two sweet girls with such engaging activities!

Word Work Bundle by The Moffat Girls

If you know me well, you know that I am in love with {ALL} the products from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd. Let's just say I've bought almost all of her new products this school year, and I am not even in a classroom full time. What does that tell you? She is amazing. Her style is so unique, I just look at a product and can tell you if it is hers. Thank you, Ashley, for being so sweet, personable, and happy to help!

Blo(r)ganizer Binder by Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd

Ever since high school, I have been a bit crazy about color coding my planner. I used to have a highlighter for each subject just for my planner. Each day, the order of the colors would rotate. When I finished an assignment, I would highlight over the listing with that specific matching color. OCD? Maybe. Organized and wonderful? Definitely! You can only imagine my excitement when I learned about the genius behind A Modern Teacher! Oh. My. Word. April creates adorable customizable planners that are updated yearly! You heard that right...updated YEARLY. That means, once you buy the planner, you have a new one each year! I just can't get enough of mine.

Teacher Lesson Planner by A Modern Teacher

These ladies have changed my life for the better! They inspired me to put my creativity to the test to help my students stay engaged and succeed in all that they do. I am extremely grateful for the collaboration that has come about from TeacherPayTeachers. It makes me smile daily.

Today, I am pleased to announce this fun giveaway brought to you by the amazing teacher-authors listed above. Christina, Annie, Ashley, and April - I cannot thank you enough! Enter to win the amazing products listed below! Giveaway ends Monday at midnight.

Fonts by KG Fonts

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Teaching!