Launching Writer's Workshop on TpT

I've gone and done it! With a little help from my friend! We have a product on Teachers Pay Teachers!

If you've been reading about my Writer's Workshop and you need some help getting started or some forms to help you stay organized... this may be just what you need!

Check it out on Teachers Pay Teachers by clicking here!   And be sure to check out all of my new FREE stuff while you are there too!

Currently August

Another month has slipped by- and another month of summer is almost over! It's back to SCHOOL month! I spent the month of July with great teachers in Killeen ISD. We had fun learning about Balanced Literacy and the TEKS Resource System.
Woo Hoo!

So it's the 1st (or the 3rd) of the month and it's time for my August Currently- thanks be to Farley!

Listening: I don't really watch TV. If the TV is on, I'm usually doing something on my computer. Unless it's terrible reality TV and then I watch it like a train wreck! But without fail, my husband will be on the couch with me, while I'm on my computer and he'll think I'm paying attention. Bless his heart. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to put my computer down and watch bad movies. But alas, last night, I was NOT in fact watching.

Loving: San Antonio in August! HOT, HOT, HOT! This year may be a slight bit cooler? Regardless it will be full of teachers looking for some great ideas for their classroom at the State Curriculum conference. Fire up Texas teachers!

Thinking:  I have been in graduate school for the last three years! I've been fitting the work of it all into the nooks and crannies of my life, but not anymore! I am officially D-O-N-E!  It is such a relief! I can't wait to have some weekends where I don't have anything to do! Sleeping IN instead of getting up to write a paper!  Oh my goodness that sounds amazing.

Wanting:  There is just always so much to get done over the weekend. See above? Sometimes it all just hits me! Saturday was one of those days! I was so overwhelmed and had so much to do. I learned a good lesson though. If I ask my husband, if I give him specific things to do (sweep the floors and dust the living room), he will do it! Just knowing he is working (cleaning) while I am too, makes me feel so much better.  #TEAMWORK

Needing: I am taping my first Webinar!  I am not a fan of my voice recorded or my mug on camera! I am hoping to just get it over with. Notice I am procrastinating this with my Currently right now...
This also means that I have to get dressed and put on makeup this morning- and put on work clothes- and brush my teeth- a lot sooner than I would otherwise be doing!

1st Days: I am starting my new job next week on the 4th! So much to learn. So much to uncover. I'm excited, but as with any new job, I'll be in an overwhelmed state for a while I'm sure. Reminiscent about my time in DC and the "back to school" PD week we pulled off at Wilson High School in 2014! God keeps designing my path and the 2014-2015 school year will be another exciting journey of His design!

Thanks for reading! Wishing you a great August full of things you said you would get done this summer along with some sweet time to relax and prepare for the children who will be coming into your care for SY 14-15!

Cheers!

UPDATE Friday Freebie: Work Station Check Sheet

Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday!

I've written about  Work Boards for managing Literacy Work Stations. Today I am proposing another method for Work Station management where students have more of the control over their own grouping/rotations.

Some teachers manage Work Stations/Centers in their classrooms by allowing students more choice. Rather than grouping them and telling them where and when to rotate, they set up a system of Work Stations, provide all of the materials, and students decide which Station to go to on which day, how long to stay, and who they might work with at that Station. As you can see, it is much less teacher control than other methods, but students in upper grades need to learn how to manage their own learning and this is a great way!

Students simply record when they went to a given station in the week and perhaps write a reflection about their work there. And voila! Want yours for FREE? Head to my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Or THIS one created by

Now, does this pose other manage issues that grouping students yourself and rotating them doesn't?
Of course! Will you possibly curse me if you try it- yes! I will say this is not for the faint of heart, but it can all be taught.  And the lessons on self regulation our students learn in the process is pretty awesome!

Possible Mini-Lessons you will need if using this method:

1.) How many people can be at a Work Station at a time?
2) How long should I stay at Work Station? Do I need to go to all the Work Stations each week?
3) Who do I work well with? Who do I not work well with?
4) What do I do if there is no room at the Work Station where I want to go?

And there are more I'm sure, these are just some of the ones I remember talking with my students about. I also had years where I did both. I started the school year putting kids in groups and rotating them, and in January I transitioned to this method.

So what do you think? How are you going to manage your students in Work Stations this year. It can be done. Remember, less is more and SLOW DOWN, train the troops, it's not a race!

Friday Freebie: Work Station/Work Board Icons

It's that time of year... time to think about how your going to do things for the 2014-2015 school year. 2015? For real? I spent two days this week with Killeen ISD 3rd grade teachers and they were a great bunch.  They asked for this Friday FREEBIE!

In my classroom, I liked having a high level of teacher control when it came to Work Stations, at least to start the year! I wanted to put my students in groups (mixed ability) mind you, and I wanted to tell those groups which work station to go to!  I was in control, and I liked it that way.

Part of that control however, was letting kids know the "plan for the week" and I did that via a Work Board.  You can read more about Work Boards and management of what Fountas and Pinnell call Centers, in their book Guided Reading, and you can even get icons in their text, however they are black and white, and kind of boring in today's day and age... sorry F&P!

If you want to show your students the Work Station rotation (which stations they will be going to each day, feel free to use my FREE icons! There are much cuter ones out there I'm sure, but I never claimed to be cute, only trying to be helpful.

One thing you will notice, there are LOT of Independent Reading icons. That's because it is the first Work Station every day for every student! That's how important Independent Reading is for kids in our classrooms.  Kids just read at their desks, but one group of kids might read in the classroom library one day a week and that can have a different icon on the Work Board.

Here's what my Work Board looks like all put together! Enjoy!

The names of students moves to the right each day, but the icons stay the same, so by the end of the week the students who started in the number one position will have completed all Stations. Don't forget to check out my other posts about Stations to see what kids are DOING when they work in Stations.

Go to my TpT now for your FRIDAY FREEBIE!  There are Work Board Icons for K-2 and Work Board Icons for 3-5.

Friday Freebie: Shopping for Books

Don't we all love to shop! I was shopping just last night and came home with some new books to add to my TBR (To Be Read) stack. I was reminded that we shop for books the same way we shop for shoes, only shopping for books sometimes makes me happier, believe it or not!? If you don't remember how to teach kids how to shop for books- read here!

Shopping is fun, and that means that kids may spend their time shopping instead of reading. That's a problem! So we need to post a schedule for book shopping in our classroom.

Kids will shop when it is THEIR day to shop.  They can shop first thing in the morning, after recess, before math, they will find the time. Worse case scenario, they will shop during Independent Reading time that day.

They will be able to select 3-5 books/magazines/articles that you have available in the classroom library.  And voila- kids will always have material to read during Independent Reading/Reader's Workshop and you don't have to worry about kids shopping instead of reading.

Want to make this schedule? Want to do it fast? Download your copy in my TpT store (where everything is FREE).

Happy Shopping!
PS- If you haven't been in a bookstore or library lately... you need to go! It is good for a reader's soul!

Thumbs Up Thursday

It's Thumbs Up Thursday from Leach Teach!  And today I have a fantastic website for use in Shared Reading/Close Reading in your classroom!  (tweentribune.com) Project these articles or copy/paste into Word and print for your students to read. 

Enjoy!  

Write About It Wednesday: Did-It Dots

I asked my best friend (and one of the best teachers I know) to be a guest blogger this week! She has shared a great Writer's Workshop strategy with us! 

Keep reading... 

As a teacher who has worked with young writers (K-3) for the past 10 years, I have gained some insight into how to motivate and acknowledge kids in this area. Although I'm always looking for new tips & techniques I can use to enhance my Writing Workshop, I have come to realize that no matter the curriculum or content I'm presenting to my students, it's the way kids feel about their abilities that encourages them to learn something new. (Amen Rachel!)

In my classroom, celebrating the efforts of young writers is a daily practice during Writer's Workshop. Compliments and words of praise go a long way and help children begin to recognize their own strengths (and areas for continued growth) as writers.

One of the strategies I utilize to celebrate and acknowledge every effort my students make is called, Did-It Dots. I purchase little, plain, colored circle stickers to place on student papers during the independent writing time of my Writer’s Workshop. I use these stickers to acknowledge the writing techniques or strategies that I have introduced during my mini-lesson. I walk around the classroom and look for examples of students trying the concepts we are working on as a class or the various personal goals my students have set for themselves.

When I see evidence of their effort to try something and focus on the new learning, I simply place a little circle sticker on their paper. As I do this, I say, "You did it! You ________." (I state what I notice they did.) My students have been trained to respond with, "I did it! I _______!" (Repeating what I said about their writing.) I find it important for my students to understand how proud I am of all they are learning, but also how important it is for them to see their accomplishments themselves. 

I don't use Did-It Dots every day during Writer’s Workshop because overuse seems to diminish the excitement of this strategy. If you find yourself needing to rejuvenate this idea (maybe you already do something similar), I have adapted Did-It Dots by using a hole-punch instead of the stickers. Children get excited to see their papers look like Swiss-cheese by the time we get ready to publish their stories.

No matter what strategies you use to celebrate writers, always remember that building positive self-awareness in little learners can last a lifetime. Opportunities to acknowledge every effort kids make will help your learning environment flourish! Starting small will soon have you saying, "I did it" too!

Rachel Huntley

Kindergarten Teacher: Charlotte Public Schools

Red Cedar Writing Project Fellow and Teacher Consultant

Techie Tuesday

Check it out! A teacher in Killeen told me about this today! You should know about it too. Check often... new books every month! I just got TWO ebooks for free! Ready to download to my NOOK!

How did I now know about this?


What are you waiting for! Go check out BookBub!

Friday Freebie: Writing Menu

I was working with teachers yesterday and told them I'd post this. I said next week, but I have lots of other goodies to post next week so I'm posting it now instead!

You can thank Killeen ISD for asking for this! I hope many teachers are able to use it in their classroom!

I've posted about the use of menus before, and this is a Writing Menu.  Menus in Work Stations/Literacy Centers helps the teacher NOT have to create "new" things in a Station each week.

Rather, a teacher can post this menu, and put the materials at the Station and voila....it takes care of itself!  Get your Fluency Menu and a Spelling Menu too.

You can get your Writing Menu in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. Cheers!

Happy Friday FREEBIE!

ME Bags

Another day... and more teachers. I really love teachers! They are just like the kids they teach. I had Kindergarten right up front today! A talkative bunch (aren't all Kinder kiddos) but on topic- and excited to learn (so Kindergarten). Well.... as I was sharing an idea one of them asked a question... "Do you have that on your blog?" I didn't. So I said I would. And here goes...

We were learning about Writer's Workshop today and one of the beliefs of a Writer's Workshop teacher is that kids write on topics of their own choosing! Easier said than done, especially if all of their school life they have been TOLD what to write about. So early in the school year, Writer's Workshop teachers spend time helping kids figure out what kinds of stories they can write. One way to do this is with...

Me Bags

Me Bags? What? Hold on to your hat- this is the simplest idea ever! Teacher- you go buy some gift bags at the dollar store- or some paper bags from the grocery store if you can still find a store that has those!

Maybe you read the book by Mem Fox too! It's a story about a little boy who has friends in the retirement home near his house who have lost their memories. So he goes around his house to find things that will help them get their memories back.  It works! And each object he brings them has a memory/story attached to it. That's what you'll encourage your students to do.  Go around their house to collect those memories.

You'll make a plan for which kids will take a bag home which night.
Grace, Isaiah, Austin, Simon- Friday (take bag home) Monday (bag due back to school)
Sarah, Jessica, Rodolfo, and Reagan- Monday (take bag home) Wednesday (bag due back at school)
Miranda, Taylor, Brandon, Jai'Lyn- Tuesday (take bag home) Thursday (bag due back at school)
Etc.

Kids will take the bag home with this note attached and possibly this recording sheet of the contents.
When the bag comes back to school- they will have time to share the contents of their bag.
This is a picture of my grandma who lives in Mexico.
This is a picture of my horse.
These are my ballet shoes.
This is my basketball trophy.
This is my favorite video game.
Etc.

I of course bring a bag in myself first- each item in my bag has a story/memory attached to it.  The button reminds me of my Michigan State memories. The Poky Little Puppy- is a favorite book from when I was little- so it has "when I was little" stories! And another item is money from our trip to the Bahamas last summer! Objects can have memories attached.  What's going in your teacher Me Bag?


Why would we do this you ask? Because all of the things that come out of that bag are attached to ideas for stories (personal narratives) that kids could write! When they say (get a good annoying voice ready), "I don't know what to write about!" You say... oh YES you do!  The list of items from their Me Bag, that are written on the recording sheet that sheet is inside of their Writing Folder. See more about writing folders here.

Ta-Da! Topics of their own choosing- their first 10 stories are waiting for them because of Me Bags. And you can get the sheet right HERE! Happy writing!