Reward Coupons for Big Kids - Adapted for Younger Kids

Although I currently work with younger kids, I can't give up all of the fun, free incentives Reward Coupons for Big Kids offer. With a couple of tweaks I've been able to make many of the Reward Coupons for Big Kids work with my current younger group. 
One coupon is in really big demand right now. It is Read to a Kindie. Students select a book and at a mutually agreed upon time with the kindergarten teacher, my students go and read to them. Can a teacher get any happier than watching a young student clamor  to read to someone? Frankly, I smile just a little bit wider when my student is a struggling reader! "Retro fitting" this free reward for younger kids isn't hard. Here are some tips.
1. We have a mini economy going in my room and I open my 'store' every two weeks. I post the Read to a Kindie coupon on the whiteboard, write a price next to it, interested kids sign up and then pay.
2. I can say to a fifth grader, "Go to the library choose a book you think a kindergartener will like and will take you n less than 8 minutes." That doesn't work with the younger crowd. I help out by selecting several books for them to choose from, keeping in mind my students' reading level.
3. I make the kids practice in class. A lot. Younger kids need coaching on voice volume, how to hold the book and fluency. We talk about what to expect when reading with kindies and how to handle it when they aren't perfect angels. An older child can roll with it when a kindie calls out or gets up to get a drink in the middle of a book. A younger kid does best when actively told what to expect.
4. Most Big Kids can take on reading to a whole class right away, but for younger kids audience size matters. At the beginning of the year I make sure my students are reading one on one with a kindie. If they make a mistake, a kindie won't notice and my students feel safe. By the end of the year they can handle small groups.
5. I require my students to share their experience with the class when they return. Without exception, they are enthusiastic and tell some funny stories about what a kindie did or said. This in turn inspires others to choose this Reward Coupon in the future.

Why does this Reward Coupon works so well with a younger crowd?  There is built in success. A kindie is excited for an older student to come read to them. My younger students are instant celebrities in the hallway! They are confident going in. They know the book. They've been prepped on what kindie might do. Rather than be thrown off by a kids behavior or comment they enjoy the process a lot.

Many of the other Reward Coupons for Big Kids are easily adaptable for younger kids too! Give them a try!

Drawing the Taj Mahal when Learning about India

Integrating elements of world cultures across the curriculum is fun, natural and fairly easy. Teaching an appreciation for different cultures early on will, I believe, have a positive impact in the future. We just finished a unit on India. You can find a list of books I use HERE and a great FREE mini poster to promote cultural appreciation HERE.
A favorite lesson is learning about, then drawing the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal Reading Passage and How to Drawing is engaging for middle elementary students. It has two pieces. First is a reading passage sharing the history of this world treasure presented in two formats. One is ideal for small group instruction and the other is for fluency practice. Some kids read into a whisper phone and others will do it with a partner. Either way this fluency piece promotes smooth, natural reading of a text.
Second, kids get to draw the Taj Mahal with step-by-step instructions. They love the process. I project a photo of the Taj Mahal and post the steps on the whiteboard near by. I model the process using our document camera then let them get started.
The end results show a lot of variety. Some kids add in lots of details, others.... not so much. A couple of kids insisted on using a ruler, which was fine.
I like to do this lesson after we're comfortable with text features. Using vocabulary lifted from the reading passage, kids labeled some of the architectural features - minaret, dome, arch - and eventually added a caption at the bottom. These looked great in the hall.

Drawing the Taj Mahal allows for a different sort of learning experience. It helps us notice and interpret details. It helps us remember stories. Everyone can produce a different end result - and everyone is correct.
If you like the idea of incorporating a literature piece with an art project check out these units as well.
Native American Buffalo "Hide" Craft Project and How To Reading
Famous Immigrant Biographies
Greek God/Goddess Bundle: Mini Biographies, How to Drawings and Crown

Student Guest Reader

Meet Sam. Sam was my Guest Reader last week. He read The Amazing Bone by William Steig to our class. He read it fluently, added in voices for the characters and did not stumble on some pretty sophisticated vocabulary.  My cuties were a fantastic audience and when Sam was done with the story they all clapped.
Several years ago Sam was MY student - and he really struggled with reading. He tried SO hard. I gave that boy extra time, lessons and attention. His parents worked with him every night. Although he wanted to unlock the reading magic so badly, it hadn't clicked for him - yet.
Sometimes kids simply need more time than others. Sam is now, several years later, a Harry Potter enthusiast, one of the top readers in his grade and a solid student. He stops by my room a couple of days a week before heading home to chat. He talks about the books he's reading and what's going on in his life. Isn't witnessing this kind of academic growth and making a real friendship connection with a child what teaching is all about?
Do you have guest readers? I always have. Usually it is a student's parent or grandparent who comes in at the end of the day and shares a book. Sam remembered this - and asked if HE could be a guest reader sometime. We picked out a book, he took it home, practiced on his younger sibling and the next day said he was ready. Why had I not thought of this before?? Inviting a student to guest read was a win-win experience.
It was a win for my class - Many recognized him from seeing him in the hall or when he dropped by before heading home and felt like a friend was reading to them. They got to watch a kid, not much older, be a great reader. It was new and different. It was a win for Sam - he took on a leadership role and walked away with a great sense of satisfaction. Recalling his struggle many years ago, I took a video and some pics and sent them to his mom. The smile on his face when he was finished was priceless. You may want to invite a student guest reader too!

Reinforcing Genre with Book Club Flyers

Throughout the year I've maintained a genre wall. We talk about genre all the time during the daily read aloud and mini lesson.  It feels at times, however, no matter how many times I've refer to our wall chart, it doesn't sink in well. While most can identify fiction vs. non-fiction, picking apart different sorts of fiction can be tricky.
On the day before break I had a roomful of antsy kids. What do to to keep them engaged and learning? I pulled out my book order stash and integrated them into my literacy block. I want to see how well they could identify genre on their own. I explained their three options prior to letting them loose cutting, sorting and gluing:

Giving kids the freedom to create their own book sort allowed them to 'buy into' the project.  The kids took all sorts of approaches for the 'create your own genre sort' option. One was Harry Potter vs. other chapter books I'd consider reading....
It allowed for differentiation, collaboration and independent thought.

No matter the genre they chose, regardless of their reading level and confidence - those cuties were actively talking about books. There were so many teachable moments that arose. Book blurbs aren't just for the back of books. Kevin Henkes wrote that too?! Is the Who Would Win series fiction or non-fiction?

During the 30 minute activity I was easily able support both those struggling with the basic concept of fiction vs. non-fiction and those who pushed themselves to go beyond. I referred to my genre bulletin board over and over when kids had questions. It was also great to see kids using it independently and talking to friends about the genre of a specific book. 

I also love bringing out book orders during my math block:
We round prices, estimate the total of a wish list, put books in order according to price, add prices, subtract items. It's fun, engaging and real world thinking.

Book club flyers arrive in my mailbox on a fairly regular basis. I don't send home the orders as often as I once did, but they remain a valuable resource for incorporating real life skills in the classroom. On occasion I'll pick up additional grade level or focus flyers from the community table so I have a variety of flyers on hand.
Yes, the room was a disaster when we were finished but it was engaging and worthwhile. The clean up was quick and we got through the afternoon prior to a break with authentic learning in place.

Read to Self Anchor Chart

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This is a quick follow up post to this one. Voila! It's my Read to Self anchor chart complete with photos of my students doing Read to Self the way I have trained them.
While the kids are practicing their stamina I get out my cell phone and take photos of what Read to Self looks like. I have yet to figure out the way to turn the sound off when I snap the picture. Unfortunately that can cause them to look at me. No worries - I just do the quiet signal and they get back to the task. Kids love to see themselves 'in action' and it is a super easy way to reinforce expectations.

Introducing and Reinforcing Read to Self

No matter how many other tasks I'm required to do the first week of school, I make introducing Read to Self a priority. I want to get the process started early and begin establishing expectations. Plus, those kids need to get reading! I use end of year testing data to get a sense of each students' reading level and prior to the start of school I phone each of my new families to find out what sort of books those kids like. Using all that info, I become a personal librarian and populate each student's book bin with books I feel will be a good fit. Building stamina begins on day 1!

I have yet to find a better explanation outside of the Daily 5 book to introduce Read to Self. I follow The Sisters process closely. My kids' favorite part is being a "star" in the example/non-example process! I make an anchor chart and put it on the wall. Prior to each session we go over expectations. Many kids have not had so much freedom selecting where and what they'll read. What a treat to watch kids get excited about choosing a book and finding the perfect spot!

This year I have a room full of wiggle worms, therefore I'm spending a bit more time than I have in the past actively monitoring the group while they build stamina. Although it has delayed starting one-on-one conferencing, I feel this is time well spent. Nipping issues and bad habits now will help the rest of the year will go smoothly.

The second week of school I brought out the Read to Self Habit Sort for Lower Elementary (I actually printed out a couple of the Upper Elementary version too for differentiation.) I recently revamped it and am excited about the improvements and additional pieces. In addition to a new font, it also includes a second page with the same habits but in a larger font for wall anchor charts or on a whiteboard. I expect my students to recreate the sort in their Reader's Notebook after we do it whole group. As each element is introduced we do the other sorts included in this BUNDLE

The third week I copied and send home Read to Self Routine Homework! I do love this. The half page includes specific questions for an adult to ask the child about Read to Self. Students get to become the experts at home, further reinforcing expectations. The notes I get back from parents range from "Jace understands what to do." to "Kaelyn has never been so excited about reading before! Thank you!" to "It's good to get a glimpse into the class." The sheets include homework for the other Daily 5 elements as well.

The fourth week things run pretty smoothly. It is at that point I get out my camera and start taking photos of the kids who are doing exactly what I expect. I print the photos and post them around our Read to Self anchor chart. This keeps it fresh and kids are always hoping to have their picture added throughout the year. It's such a simple way to reinforce the habits and recognize children at any reading level loving books. One piece of advice - kids start to ham it up when they see a camera. If a child suddenly changes what they were doing to smile, I whisper "I take photos of kids who are working hard." then circle back.

Ironically, one of the favorite photos I've taken for this purpose was of a girl with a furrowed brow and a down-turned mouth. She was leaning her head in her hand, her book just inches from her face. When I posted that one, the girl called out, "That is a terrible picture of me!"
"What book are you reading now?"
"Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes"
"What was going on in the story when we did Read to Self today?"
"Sadako is very sick. They had to put her in the hospital."
"Did you know I took this photo?"
She shook her head no.
"That is why I wanted to show it. Your worry for the main character is on your face. You know how scared you are by the way you hold your head. You didn't know I was right next to you because you were so focused on Sadako's story. This is what being lost in a book looks like! I LOVE this picture!"
I just about started to cry when all the other kids cheered for her.....

Building a Classroom Library - 10 Ways to Get Books for FREE

I bet you're reading this because you know access to a wide variety of age-appropriate, attractive books can open the world of reading and learning to a child. Some lucky teachers walk into schools where there is a Reader's Workshop/Daily 5 instruction model in place and have a classroom library ready to go. Most of us don't though - and most of use have limited (read that as no) funds to purchase books. How did I get literally thousands of books for my classroom library for FREE? Read on. Here are 10 ways I started and grew my classroom library collection for FREE. You can do it too.

1. Tap into your friend circle.
Tell all your friends you're looking to grow your classroom library. Let them know if they clean out their kid's book collection you'll save them a trip to the donation center. One friend told her family members at their weekend BBQ. I ended up with a great variety of picture books the next day.
2. Tap into your friends' friends.
Post on facebook. This gets the word out fast and to an audience larger than your immediate social circle.
"Hey your town friends. I'm actively looking for books to add to my your grade level classroom library! Do have any unwanted picture books or chapter books? It would be a win-win-win if you give them to me! You win by getting rid of books taking up shelf space. I win by giving my students easy access to great literature. The books win in the hands of kids who want to read and learn. They get a new life. If you ,or anyone you know, in the your town area has recently cleaned out their child's book shelf please message me.
After writing a similar post on my Facebook page four years ago, my friend from church reposted it with the comment "I'm collecting for this on Sunday! Clean out your shelves!" I end up with seven boxes of books!
3. Get to know your neighbors.
Along the lines mentioned above, ask your (or nearby) neighborhood association if you can post on the community website or be included in their newsletter. The side benefit is you get to meet new neighbors!
4. Love the Goodwill
Gift certificates to Goodwill are GOLDEN
When I spend money on classroom books this is usually where I spend it. I have found so many high quality, barely used books here I've lost track how much of my collection is thanks to Goodwill! At 25 to 50 cents each, you can't get a better bang for your buck. But we want FREE! In your newsletters periodically ask parents to donate Goodwill gift certificates to your room. Another option is to ask if a parent will purchase a collection you set aside. Goodwill is a great place to get hardback books.

5. Hit the road.
Visit garage sales and yard sales
Here are two things to know:
1- there are A LOT of kids' books out there.
2 - the owners WANT to get rid of their stuff as fast as possible.
Take advantage of both by going later in the day. When you find books that interest you tell the homeowner that you are a teacher looking to build your classroom library. Be bold and ask if the books don't sell by the end of the day would they give them to you? More often than not, the homeowner has said take it all - now - please - and you won't need to come back! This is how I got the entire The Magic Tree House series for free.
It is also possible you have friends or a student's parent who spends their weekends at yard sales so more legwork for you. If you tell that person what you are looking for s/he may text you pictures asking "Is this what you want?"
6. Reach out to former students
Dig out that old parent email list and ask if their family has any books they could donate. Offering to have the former student fill out and attach the donation book plates adds a personal touch. Two things usually happen with this method. First, the books are usually grade level appropriate since kids will remember what they liked to read when they were at a specific grade level. Second, books will usually be delivered right to your classroom door!
7. Check out Craigslist
Every so often I'll search for 'kids books' or 'childrens' books' on Craigslist to see what comes up. Send a message to get more info about what's being offered. A few things about Craigslist. One, you'll have to act pretty fast. Two, if you're not comfortable with Craigslist don't do it. Use common sense. Three, this method is hit or miss, but the payoff can be big. Through Craigslist I met a family whose business is buying and cleaning out abandoned storage lockers. They now call me to pick up the children's books recovered.
8. Good old book orders
This is how I started building my library collection. The thrill of turning in the points, choosing the free books and then opening the box! Given the online process these days, this is an easy one. Click here to see how one teacher has the whole process streamlined and maximizes getting the free books. Wow!
9. Amazon wishlist
Start an Amazon wishlist for books you really want. Let parents know about your wishlist!
10. The librarian is your friend!
Each year my school librarian purges books that haven't been checked out after a certain amount of time. A coffee every so often can work magic because guess who she notifies first when those books are up for grabs? A side benefit to befriending your librarian is s/he may ask for your input or recommendation on new purchases. Those books may not end up housed in your classroom, yet you'll know where to find them when needed!

As you go through this process you'll find that people want to help you. Most empathize with the challenges teachers face. Quality literature is out there for FREE. Yes, you'll get books that are inappropriate, trashed and just plain junk. But you'll also get books to proudly share with your classroom.
Here is my BONUS tip - don't start this process alone. Collaborate with a few other like-minded teacher friends at different grade levels. You're going to get duplicate books, books better suited for older or younger readers. Working as a team means you'll get more books to work with and find homes for them faster.
Do you have other strategies to share? Please leave a comment below!

Morning Messages for Independent Readers

Starting the day with a Morning Message is key in many classroom. While a fill-in-the-blank style Morning Message may be ideal for beginning and emergent readers, teachers working with independent readers have a tricky job. How do you keep the Morning Message fresh and engaging without going crazy coming up with a new idea each day?

I've found that third graders and up benefit from reading fun facts and contributing to a related chart. I keep a collection on my desks of cool facts and ideas to use over year after year. They include a main idea and some details for support. Using these cards makes it easy. During the school year I keep a list of subjects I think kids will find interesting. It's an ongoing process that takes just a moment to record.

Our cleaning crew only washes our whiteboards on weekends so I get a head start and write my message before leaving the night before. I DELIBERATELY make errors in my short message related to skills I've recently introduced or want to review. Next to the message I create some sort of graph or chart related to our day or make it a way to interact with the message.

In my room I greet students at the door. It is expected each one will read the message, contribute to the chart then sign up for our Daily 5 or Literacy rotations (discussed here) first thing.
After attendance and lunch count we conduct our Morning Meeting. As we review our Morning Message we identify errors then discuss WHY they are errors and correct them. A student leader then uses the pointer as we all read in unison. In 8 short minutes I've modeled editing skills, discussed grammar literacy skills and context and got in a bit of fluency practice. This process is valuable!

Keeping a list of topics to cover each year makes crafting a meaningful Morning Message for your independent readers a snap. You could keep your ideas on index cards on a ring. I'm sharing my Morning Message Idea Collection at my TpT store. If you're looking for ways to get Morning Meeting started check out my blog post here.

I'd love to hear how you keep your Morning Message engaging for your BIG KIDS. What sorts of strategies to you use to keep from getting burned out?

The Pointer Collection: A Variety of Tools for Tracking Text

To beat the heat this summer I'll be sharing things I plan to change or tweak in my room. Today I've been thinking about my readers and a simple way to help them.
A while back I started a collaborative Pinterest board called Pointers and Trackers Kids Want to Use.

I went through those pins the other day and it's a great collection of ideas. I teach a grade when most of my cuties are newly independent readers. Here's the rub. Most of them think pointers or text trackers aren't cool. Well that's not cool because I know they will still benefit from tracking!
Last year I kept it simple. Each kid got to decorate a popsicle stick to keep in their Book Bin. I found many kids used it because they made it. When the novelty wore off kids were allowed to trade if they wanted. This made it interesting again. I'm looking to my board to start collecting fun pointers to use during Guided Reading.
Here are the ideas I like a lot.
witch finger

Popsicle stick

drink stirrer

easy readers

Laser fingers

A few years back I bought a bunch of witch fingers at the dollar store. I gave them to the kids at the end of the year. Here are the contents of one of my student's book bin. You can see the finger.

I bet you all have ideas too. Are you interesting in joining my board? The rules are fairly simple. Pin no more than two related ideas a day. Follow the board then leave me a note either in the comments below or on my TpT thread with your Pinterest name.
Check it out some ideas may spark your creativity.
I also welcome any ideas you may want to share on how to integrate pointers and trackers in your routine so it isn't a battle.

Things to (heart): Book Bins that last

Do you use Book Bins in your classroom? Critical to implementing Reader's Workshop/Daily 5 , finding durable book bins is a must -  and that should be an easy task, right? Yet, it's not. Book Bins take substantial abuse. In many classrooms, by the end of the year, cardboard and many plastic versions are held together by duct tape and looking really bad.

I'm very picky about my Book Bins. My criteria is (1) they have to be easy for smaller hands to manage (2) they have to be tall enough so the books don't fall out (3) they must be clear so it's easy to see what is inside and (4) they need to be sturdy enough to last for many years.

Here is my recommendation for the best Book Bins. Head on over to The Container Store and get these.

My entire classroom set of bins is five years old. Yes, five. Five separate voracious readers have toted and manhandled each one of these for nine months each. My enthusiastic cuties have not been kind to them. They have been plunked on the floor, accidentally kicked or tripped over, and roughly hauled from the shelf. Think of the stories each of those bins could tell...

 Medium size Multi-Purpose Bins.

 Only ONE in five years has a crack - and frankly it's not bad enough to replace.

 Each kid has their own bin. Setting it up was a bit of an investment @$5 each. But they are DURABLE and adaptable to any classroom theme.

I did wait to buy mine on sale but The Container Store as a teacher discount program you could look into. Any other long lasting book bin recommendations out there?

Student-Created Anchor Charts with Reward Coupons for Big Kids

The process of integrating a Reading Workshop approach (a la Daily 5) with our new basal series has been interesting, challenging - and sort of fun too. Now, at the half year point, the concepts and skills are circling back for the second (and for some, a third) time.
To freshen things up, I've introduced my class to a new Rewards Coupon for Big Kids. It's called "Create Learning Poster For Wall" and it has been a hit! You only need a piece of chart paper and a set of markers.

Typically two kids choose this reward and the task is to make educational anchor charts to share and post. I give them the idea and they are expected to complete it in about 15 minutes. They share their poster and love it when I refer to it in class. This is a win-win. The kids are making learning concrete, and it brightens the room.

Main Idea and Key Details

Root Words

Student-created anchor charts do not always have the style I would choose, but the kids 'own' it and they love it. I'll add other student-created anchor charts using Rewards Coupon for Big Kids They make everyone happy.

Signing up for Reading Rotations: How to Keep Your Sanity

Since embracing the Reading Workshop Literacy Block format I've tried a LOT of systems to manage the whole process of signing up kids for literacy rotations. The management systems I tried held students accountable, but they just about put me over the edge. Calling out each student's name and waiting for a response... Signing up on the SMARTboard.... Moving clothes pins to posters... I tried it. I really did. All variations of it.  It was time consuming and tedious. Are you with me?

I'm happy to share the system that (finally!) works in my classroom.
At our school, the first bell rings at 8:00. This is what my whiteboard looks like. It's empty except for the students' names I've put under Teacher Time. I do this before leaving the day prior.

I greet kids at the door and as they trickle in they know to sign up for rotations. Some days I have three and some days I have four.  Based on where their name is 'locked' in Teacher Time, they decide where to sign up for the other blocks.
Here are the two tricky parts:
1. If I have three rotations, one Teacher Time has two groups at once. An assistant takes one in the hall at the same time I'm working in the room.
2. If a rotation  has a star in front that indicates work is done on the laptops. I have access to 8 laptops. So.... only 8 kids can sign up in that block.

Announcements are over at 8:20. This is what my board looks like. My Lit Block is ready to rock and roll!

Following my strategy reading lesson I show and explain what the required work is for each rotation. As we progress through the Lit Block a student erases the rotation as it is complete. Students know where to go next because now it's at the top.

At the beginning of the year it took roughly three days of modeling and practice before they could do it independently. Now they are masters. Students participate. Classmates help classmates if there is an issue. The cuties know what they should be doing!
Finally a Lit Block rotation system that works for me.The kids do the work and I just supervise. Love that!