Sunday, February 14, 2016

9 Ideas For Your Buddy Reading Center

9 Ideas For Your Buddy Reading Center




Buddy Reading Center has always been a consistent center each week. We want our little ones to read, read, read as much as they can daily, so I never switch this one out. With all the planning that is required for all subject matters, it can be nice to have centers that are familiar and don't require model practice with the teacher sometimes. However, you don't want your students to get 'bored' when it's their day to visit this center. Here are some ideas to jazz up Buddy Reading:

1. Pointers: Ah, this is one of THE most favorite teacher tools that kids love to get their hands on! Perhaps, you let your kids use these in the Big Book Center (if you have one), but why not let them use them in Buddy Reading, too? How about a mini hand pointer that is just the right size with a regular size book? These can be found in teacher resource stores or Amazon. Or you can make your own with a small wooden dowel and trinket to glue at the end.




2. Story Characters: This depends if you invest in these guys. I have always collected the little plush characters that go with many of my favorite stories: Max and the Wild Things, June B. Jones, Elmer, Frog and Toad, Mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and many more! During read-alouds, if I have a character doll, I allow a student to hold him or her during the reading. And if the books ever end up in a center basket, I put the character(s) in if I have it/them.

                 


3. Timers: Students need to get comfortable with timed readings, so let them practice with their buddy. Leave an hourglass sand timer (or electronic if you want to teach them how to use it) and a fluency passage page in the center basket. The students can read to each other while the other 'times'. I always model how they can watch the timer, yet take their eyes away to help their buddy if he/she gets stuck on a word and needs help.



4. Highlighter Tape: Highlighter tape is another fun teacher tool that will make a center fun for kids! I let the students use this when they practice timed readings with me as a whole group. I tear off 3 pieces and place them at the top of their reading fluency page. At the end of the first timed reading, they can place the tape on the last word they read. Then, they will continue to do the same for the second and third timed readings. This is a good visual for kids to see how practice in reading the same text repeatedly helps them to become faster more fluent readers, too! Students can use this special colored tape for timed readings in your Buddy Reading center. Also, you can provide it for any other tasks you may give for the center that week (examples: highlight all words with short i, or whenever they come across a given sight word).



5. Puppets: Provide puppets to act out a story or a reader's theatre. Also, your reading curriculum may offer character cut-out printables in the resource section of your teacher's guide. I often place a student reading textbook in the Buddy Reading center with props and character puppets I cut, colored, laminated, and attached to craft sticks.

Provide an alligator puppet to accompany the book Sometimes, by Keith Baker
Little Bear's Friend, by Else Holmelund Minarik

Harcourt Trophies printables for Little Bear and Emily



6. Games: Puzzles and Games is a fun center to have in your center rotation schedule, but you can also place games in your Buddy Reading center. Allow the students to play a game once before they dive into the text you have left for them to read. I create game boards that incorporate words that they will be reading in the text. All kids love playing games and it gets them familiar with the words they will come across in the story, to make for more fluent reading. Here's an example of a game board that includes words that will be in a story that focuses on short a CVC words.

This game can be played before reading 'What Do I See?', a decodable short a book.


Another example would be Roll and Read. Pull some words, phrases, or sentences from the text, and write a number 1-6 beside it. (One idea is to do this on note cards.) When a student rolls the dice, he/she must read from the text beside that number. Here is an example of my Roll and Read activity that comes in my short vowel Decodable Books with printables.

This activity provides practice reading text from my decodable book, 'Look!

7. Flashcards: Include a set of flashcards for the students to read before they read the text. You want these flashcards to contain words from the story they are about to read during center time. You can easily make flashcards with index cards and markers.

Flashcards are included in my decodable book, 'What Do I See?', and other short vowel decodable books


8. Task Cards: Students should know what is expected of them during center time and a good way to do that is to provide task cards. I invested in a set of Debbie Diller's literacy work station task cards. Each card gives clear student-friendly directions with illustrations. Tasks include the following: 1. I read. You read. 2. I read a page. You be my echo. 3. We read together. 4. We read. We act it out. 5. I read. You retell. 6. I read. You listen. 7. We read a book together. We plan a book talk. 8. Sit beside each other. Take turns reading the pages. These cards can be found on Amazon and include task cards for many centers.




9. Reading Hats: We all wear many hats. Why not wear one when we are readers? I have found little visors from the Dollar Store that the kids enjoy wearing. Check out the Target dollar bins, too! You can place cowboy hats, Dr. Seuss red/white striped hats, or even festive holiday headbands in your center.



The next time your students sit side by side, knee to knee, shoulder to shoulder, I hope they enjoy one of these activities during Buddy Reading center time!

My short vowel Decodable Books and Printables include several activities that can be used in your Buddy Reading center. The fluency reading pages, games, and books are perfect for practicing sight words and short a, e, i, o, and u CVC words. You can find them in my store!
















Buy the Bundle for all 5 vowels and save!




You can also find center signs in my store:










Friday, January 8, 2016

Center Rotations

Center Rotation

Teachers, we all know how very important and valuable center time is! It gives the students a chance for independent practice on newly learned skills, as well as spiraling previous learned content. The students are engaged in meaningful activities, while YOU, the teacher, can pull small groups. I have spent a lot of time and energy researching the best practice to incorporate centers into my daily curriculum. I've taken directions that didn't work for my classroom, so I didn't stop until I got it right. One of the most challenging tasks about centers is the planning and rotation schedule.

I have a system for ALL students to visit each center before I change out the activities for the next time. My students work in pairs (2 to a center is more manageable and no confusion when it comes to taking turns!) I also pair my students together based on their levels. This is important because there are a few times a week when center time is with the teacher. Students at a similar level allows me to focus and meet their small group instructional needs.

Here is an example of what my daily center chart looks like:





First, let me explain how I display this. I print out and laminate student name cards (I've actually used the children's photos rather than names) and center cards (with visuals). I attach a small round magnet to the back of each name and center. (You could set this up in a pocket chart, too. I just prefer the magnets because its easy to manipulate and slide the name cards down, as I will explain shortly.) I set this up exactly the way it looks on a section of my white board, leaving a significant space between the first 4 pairs of students and 2nd 4 pairs of students. 

Notice the spacing between the first 4 pairs of students and the second 4 pairs. I will refer to this as the top half and bottom half of the center rotation chart. That is intentional and gives me a visual as I rotate. You will have to pair your students and divide that number in half to create a top and bottom schedule for your class. Each day, the students visit 2 centers, for about 10-15 minutes each. At the start of center time, I tell each pair the centers they are going to, and if they forget, they can glance up at the chart. Now, notice where I placed my 'Meet the Teacher' center cards...on this particular day, Travis, Jayla, Mark, and Robert are meeting me in small group for Center 1. I've arranged their names on the center chart because they are on a similar level for small group instruction. The same is true for the students who will visit me for the second center time period. 

Now, notice where I placed 'Big Book' center...it is on the top half of my chart for Center 2, and placed in the bottom half of the chart for Center 1. You want to make sure that a particular center is placed once in Center 1 for one half, and once in Center 2 for the other half. This is so you only have a single pair visiting that center during that time. I did this for all other centers in this example (Math, Pocket Chart, ABC, Games). 

Okay! Center time is over, and you carry on with the rest of your curriculum for the day. Class is dismissed and it's time to prepare for tomorrow. Let me explain how to rotate your center schedule for the next day. Please note: you will only rotate the students' names, NOT the centers! Here is Day 2 with an explanation below:







You will be moving each pair of students DOWN for each half. Start with the top half of your chart first (the first 4 pairs of students in my example). The easiest way to do this is to move the last pair on this half (Brielle & Brooklyn) off to the side. Then, push Krysten & Taylor's names down to where Brielle & Brooklyn used to be. Push Ethan & Justin down to where Krysten & Taylor used to be. Push Travis & Jayla down to where Ethan & Justin used to be. Now put Brielle and Brooklyn at the top. Repeat this same exact procedure for the bottom half of your chart. Ta-da! All students will be visiting new centers the next day. 

Continue to do this each day until all students have completed all centers that you had planned for the week (more or less depending on your class size). You will know this has been accomplished when your students who were originally at the tops of each chart, are now at the bottom. (For example, once Travis & Jayla and Chay & Destin are at the bottoms of their charts, I know it's time to switch out my center activities for the next day.)

This center rotation works because each of your students will visit all the centers you have planned for the week (the number of days your centers will be in rotation before you change out activities will vary based on how many kids are in your class). 

I must say...having your 'Read with Teacher' dispersed throughout your top and bottom halves can get tricky so that you are meeting with groups based on differentiated needs for small group instruction. You may have to really put some time into how you can make that work for YOUR students. There is always the option to not have 'Read the Teacher' an assigned center, and just pull groups randomly. However, that would mean those students will miss out on not completing that center for this particular rotation. 

This center could also become confusing if you have an uneven number of students in your class, or if you have more pairs of students in your top half of your chart than your bottom. With an uneven number of students, I have always had one trio in my center rotation. As for an uneven number of pairs of students (example: 5 pairs of students in top half of the center rotation chart and 4 in the bottom), I create blank name cards. So, if I had 5 pairs of students in the top half, I would have 5 pairs of students in the bottom half (2 of those name cards would just be blank). This keeps the center rotation running smoothly and in order. 

I hope my center rotation schedule was easy to follow!! Once I put this system into place, my center time of day became BEAUTIFUL! My students have always looked forward to this part of the day and enjoy visiting each center. Of course, it takes lots of instruction, modeling, and practice to perfect center procedures. But once that is established, you have the opportunity to work with your small groups while the rest of your class is engaged and learning with their center buddies. 



If you are interested in the center signs you saw in my examples, you can find them in my TPT store. I have full size, 2 to a page, 4 to a page, or 6 to a page so you can choose the size you need. 

Centers include: Magnets, ABC, Blocks, Computer, Listening, Library, Big Book, Pocket Chart, Math, Read the Room, Writing, Buddy Reading, Smartboard, Art, Games, Write the Room, Read with Teacher, Follow the Directions, Grammar, Phonics, Poetry, Social Studies, Tablet, Play-dough



My center signs are great to label the centers in your room, label baskets that contain center materials, and for your center rotation display chart. These 24 center signs are also available in black and white for all sizes!
This label is 1/4 size. 


This label is 1/2 size. 


This size is perfect for your center rotation display. 

Perfect fit to your pocket chart!
The Center Signs can be found at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Center-Signs-2292858



Saturday, December 19, 2015

5 Ways to Use Your Word Wall



5 Ways to Use Your Word Wall




    A Word Wall makes your room literacy-rich! The children refer to it often and it plays a huge part in building   
    children’s vocabulary. It’s always up, never comes down. It only continues to grow with words over the course of 
    the school year. Here are a handful of ways to make good use out of your Word Wall:


   
      1.  Missing Word
      The teacher will say (or show) a sentence with a missing word. The students will use the word       
      wall to find the Word Wall word you left out. They can write the word in a journal or on a marker board. Tell           
      them it’s mandatory that the word is spelled correctly!!

2.  Word Wall Story
     For this activity, students should use as many words from the word wall to create a story.  To modify, you can ask     
     the students to create sentences with a given number of word wall words. 

     3.  Guess my Word Wall Word
This activity is fun for the students. The teacher gives clues about a given word while the students try to figure out the mystery word. The children may work independently or with a partner, writing on paper or a marker board. The teacher may give clues such as: rhymes with _____, has _____# of syllables, has _____ # of letters, begins with the letter _____, means (definition), or is a (part of speech). 

This activity can be done during center time. For this center, you will need to provide: a paper with a chart to record word wall words, a pencil and clipboard to write on, and a single dice (tip: place dice in a clear Tupperware so it doesn’t roll all over the classroom). If there is more than one student in a center, they should take turns rolling the dice. If it lands on 3, the students should find a word on the word wall with 3 letters, and record in the chart. Whichever number gets the column filled first is the winner! I always printed the chart double-sided, so if they finish the game before center time is over, they can play it again! (I have allowed the students to use my giant foam dice to keep it fun!)


These are a variety of tasks that can be completed during center time. The teacher will post task cards that are to be completed. The tasks require students to complete lists of words that can be found on the word wall, such as: words with short vowels, words with silent e, words that are in the same word family, words that have 1 syllable. I believe we should always hold students accountable for center work, so paper should be provided for students to create their lists each given task. 




If you like the center activity ideas for #4 or #5, you can download the Word Wall Dice chart and/or Word Wall Center Activity Task Cards with accountability sheets in my TPT store. There are 16 task cards that can be printed with 4 to a page (4 pages total) or each task can be printed on it’s own page. Whichever way you choose, I recommend printing on colored paper/cardstock and laminating it. Or you can place it in a page protector to post. The accountability sheets are also created with four to a page to conserve paper. 



These Word Wall Activities can be found at: 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Word-Wall-2264936

The Word Wall Dice chart can be found at:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Word-Wall-2264942




Sunday, December 13, 2015

Love Note

Love Note

End-of-the-day Love Notes have been a positive behavior motivator since I student taught Kindergarten long, long ago. I used these sweet notes in my Kinder and first grade classrooms, as well as pre-school classes. They work LIKE A CHARM!



The students all want to go home with them. They get to prove to their parents just how special they were that day AND get a little treat. I was always okay with sending students home with candy. I've handed this love note over with a Dum-Dum while other years I've given 2 gummy bears.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, I explain why I've chosen a particular student to receive the Love Note. If you have a student struggling with an academic subject or behavior, and he/she is making progress...put the spotlight on him/her to give that boost of confidence or motivation to keep up the good work. Try it!!

Friday, December 11, 2015

Desk Fairy Notes

Let's face it! The majority of our students have a tough time keeping their bedrooms clean at home, so it's no surprise they keep messy desks at school!


Check out my Desk Fairy Notes!


I have always been a fan of the Desk Fairy, who visits my classroom once a week, picks out a clean and neat desk, and leaves a special surprise! These free printables are perfect to brighten up a deserving student's day, while motivating others to maintain a clean desk with hopes of getting visited by the desk fairy the next time. 


Perhaps your desk fairy visits once a week, or more or less frequently (up to you!). This note was left with some confetti and a new pencil, but glitter and any other trinket (Dollar Tree and Oriental Trading are good spots to find cheap goodies) will do the job!