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Showing posts with the label ELA

Great Idea - Use ELA Notebooks to Differentiate in the Classroom

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The range of strengths and weaknesses in a typical classroom can be quite difficult.  If you aren't careful, your students will generate so much paper (to grade and file!) that you won't be able to manage it.  Here's my suggestion:  Have an ELA Notebook for each child.  Nothing fancy - I'm currently using "fast-teacher-made-special" notebooks, consisting of a long piece of bright construction paper folded in half and stapled as the cover for 20-ish pieces of notebook paper.  When I taught 2nd grade, we used handwriting paper for the first quarter as a support/transition from 1st grade, and this was a fast way to help keep track of the loose papers for each subject. Credits: Mr. Magician , KG Fonts , Hello Fonts I know... it's really not going to hold a lot, so I encourage the kiddos to draw a line, date the entry, and then do their work, which can run over (neatly) to the page after that.  Typically, these journals last everyone for a month or so, and...

ELA CCSS Resources for Grades 3,4,and 5

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Whoo-woo!  I'm so super excited to share this with y'all - I have been bursting to tell you for weeks, but it had to be kept very hush, hush.  You know... I can keep a secret.  :)  Anywhoo... I've been working (again) on these Comprehension Strategy Sheets for Literature Standards, Grades 3-5 !  I keep coming up with more ideas that I just. have. to. add.  I began this project because it was such a challenge to find targeted informal assessments to use for remediation and enrichment options, as well as to inform parents of the standards covered in Common Core.  This pack includes graphic organizers and response sheets for all grades 3-5 RL standards. Here's a peek inside! Now more than 100 pages!! What teachers are saying: "Excellent bundle of resources, thanks!" "Great resource for literature response aligned to each standard. Thank you!" "A very practical resource that can be used to implement the common core." ...

Sabbatical Update, Informational Text, and Organized Lunches

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Summer is in full swing, so it's back to school time at our house.  (Remember, I've been teaching at a year round school !)  Except, I'm on sabbatical - er, I mean, unemployed  self-employed.  OK, here's the truth -  I'm only on sabbatical in my head.  On paper, I'm unemployed; the state of NC does not allow teachers to take unpaid leave unless we're serving our country or taking care of someone who is ill.  After 14 years in the classroom, I need a change of pace for the sake of my health.  I love teaching, and will return (one day!)  For now, I'm kind of reveling in the idea that back to school means my own kiddos go.  It's been over 10 years since I've had a quiet house, and I'm loving it! {source} Since I am not currently employed, I decided to spend more time creating and tweaking the teaching resources I've been working on for years.  Here's the most recent creation (over 6 months in the making!)  Comprehension Strat...

Sparkles and the Dreaded To-Do List

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I'm enjoying a bit of time away from school - it's one of my guilty pleasures that I have time off in strange spots of the calendar since I'm at a year-round school .  My daughter is on the same schedule I am, and we've been having girl time, painting nails: Check out the SPARKLES!  We'll see how long this lasts...  ;) watching movies: Love it!!  :) and taking naps: Source Also, I've been trying to tackle the dreaded To-Do list.  Really.  Not a whole lot has been accomplished from that list, but I'm making headway.  Here are links to a couple of TPT  projects that have been sitting in my "To Be Continued" folder for a lo-o-o-ng time...  Feels good to check something off the list.  Enjoy!! If you like the the Shades of Grey Chevron Papers I used, you can get your own here : And a quick confession for y'all... Source

Amazing Resources, Part 5 - ELA Edition!!

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Ok, y'all.  It's been quite a while since I've shared some of the resources available for teachers to help with ELA instruction, so here are today's Amazing Resources ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.K12Reader.com  - Ummm, ok.  I love this site!  I have been visiting the  Reading Comprehension section for 2nd grade  a lot lately.  This has been uber helpful for helping my green beans in a slightly more interesting way than just using tons of worksheets/test-prep workbooks.  I project the page on the SmartBoard, and we read, find evidence, and discuss our reasoning together. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   HarperCollins Children's Book Printables - Go ahead and check out this site!!  It has so many cute printables to go along with children's books. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.ReadToMeLV.com  - Lo...

ELA Review Task Cards Freebie, and Author's Purpose

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Happy Monday, y'all!  Here's  a quick  "Mini-Pack" of 12 Task Cards , covering these ELA standards from CCSS:   RF.2.3a, RF.2.3d, RF.2.3f, L.2.4 a,L.2.4d, & L.2.4e. Click the picture to download from  TpT ! Also, I finished my Author's Purpose Task Cards for CCSS RI.2.6.  Click on the picture for more information...