Self-Care at School for Busy Teachers

I survived my first two weeks of school! In addition to ALL the things that have to be done in a relatively short amount of time, I’m also struggling with how to fit in self-care when the days are super busy.

So I do what I often do when I’m overwhelmed: make a list. If you work outside the home, and especially if you’re a working mom, you need this list too!

Here are 20 tips for self-care on super busy days:

1 – Think about what you listen to on your morning commute. Can you enjoy NPR’s Morning Edition or listen to a podcast that you enjoy? Or maybe enjoy the silence without any input from the radio or your phone?

2 – Have some kind of daily ritual that you look forward to and that makes you happy. Maybe it’s chatting with a teacher friend in the morning. Maybe it’s enjoying a cup of coffee or tea. Maybe it’s reading a devotional or something inspiring.

3 – Adjust your seating. Can you use a different chair? Add a cushion? Raise or lower the seat? Wherever you spend the most time: make the seating comfortable for you.

4 – Keep a cozy sweater at school. When the air conditioning gets a little too intense (or if the heating is not intense enough during the winter), it helps to have something to warm you up!

5 – Stand up when you’re grading papers or doing computer work. Stand at a counter or figure out some kind of standing desk possibility. Standing up more often helps burn more calories but is also good for your back and your joints.

6 – Keep your teacher workspace decluttered and pretty. Clean it off at least once a day. Develop a good paper organization system so papers don’t pile up on your table. Keep a good supply of pens you enjoy using (my favorite: Flair pens!), sharpened pencils, colorful post-its. LINKS. Keep reminders of things and people you love nearby, whether it’s a note from one of your children, a picture of a pet, pictures of your family, or a reminder of a vacation.

7 – Walk around as much as possible. If you’re on recess or lunch duty, walk around instead of standing still in one place. Walk around your classroom. Walk to places within the school whenever possible instead of calling, messaging or emailing.

8 – Drink water! Yes, you’ll have to use the restroom more often (which also gets more walking into your day), but staying hydrated is so important for physical health and mental focus. Use a large water bottle like Swell or HydroFlask and refill as needed.

9 – Bring a plant to work! Having a plant in your office space or classroom brings life and calmness to your work space.

10 – Another idea is to bring in fresh flowers once a week or so. You can find beautiful, inexpensive selections at Trader Joe’s.

11 – Keep healthy snacks available. Good options: KIND bars, trail mix, popcorn, fruit, or nuts.

12 – Pay attention to how you look and what you wear. Every Sunday, I check the weather forecast for the week and choose some outfits for each day. Wear whatever amount of makeup works for you and develop some kind of easy-care hairstyle.

13 – Fit in some yoga poses throughout the day. Try yoga at your desk!

14 – Read some positive affirmations, especially after lunch when you might be facing a long afternoon. Here are some possibilities:
~I am in charge of my mood.
~I am happy, strong and in control of myself.
~Good things will happen today.
~I will respond with compassion.
~Taking care of myself is important.
~My work matters.

15 – Recognize when you need a break and take one. You might not be able to leave your classroom, but even moving across the room to another spot can help you reset. End a small group a few minutes earlier than planned and take a couple of minutes for yourself before moving on to the next task. If you have an assistant, leave them in charge while you walk to the restroom or into another teacher’s classroom for a mental break.

16 – Make a playlist of songs that motivate you or inspire you. If you make the songs school-appropriate, this can be a great way to motivate and inspire your students too!

17 – Another music option – music that calms and soothes. No need to explain how this one also makes a positive difference for your students!

18 – Have some cue to remind you to take deep breaths. Inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of four. This immediately calms you down and helps you refocus.

19 – Think of three things that you are grateful for. This could be students that make you feel successful, teacher friends, the fact that you don’t have a meeting after school today. Or it could be things that are bigger and more meaningful to you such as good health, your family, or a pet.

20 – Plan a delicious dinner you will make or pick up to go!

I hope you find some ideas here for taking care of you! You matter and your work matters.

Resources for Social Studies and Science

Social Studies and Science are often kids’ favorite subjects. And why not? They offer opportunities to interact with other kids and to do more hands-on projects. Here are lots of great resources for getting started with Social Studies and Science instruction.

At the beginning of the year, it’s helpful to teach your students some of the attitudes and work habits that will be most helpful for them (and you!) during these blocks of time.

GROWTH MINDSET RESOURCES:

Starting either subject with growth mindset resources is a helpful place to start. I’ve mentioned Angela Watson’s growth mindset resource from Teachers Pay Teachers in another post. Here’s a link to that resource if you want to try it out.

Here are some of my favorite picture books to introduce the concept of growth mindset:

*Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan – the story of Michael Jordan (written by his mom!) and his determination to get better at playing basketball.

*The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett & Gary Rubenstein – a fun book about a girl who is afraid to make mistakes until she actually makes one and finds that it’s not so bad after all!

*The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires –
a fun book about a girl seeking the build the “most magnificent thing” for her dog and repeatedly failing at it. A great book about the value of making mistakes and learning from them.

*What Do You Do With a Problem?
*What Do You Do With an Idea?
*What Do You Do With a Chance?
All of these books are written by the same author, Kobi Yamada. They each have a great story and interesting illustrations, but the messages they teach are the most powerful. Kids love these books.

*Mistakes That Worked
*Accidents May Happen
Both of these books by Charlotte Foltz Jones tell short stories about different inventions that were not intended to turn out the way they did. Mistakes can lead to something even better than what you intended!

*The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken – similar to the books above, even smudgy messes can turn into artistic masterpieces!

*Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty – a fun book with a great message about never giving up

*Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson – I love this true story about a boy with a disability who overcame challenges and pursued his dreams.

*Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall – another cute picture book about overcoming fear and trying something new.

*When Sophie Thinks She Can’t . . . by Molly Bang – a good little story about a girl deciding she just isn’t smart and how a teacher helps her overcome that thinking.

*I Can’t Do That, YET by Esther Pia Cordova – this book teaches the importance of the word YET.

*Nadia, the Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still by Karlin Gray – a great story about Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci. This book is similar to Salt in His Shoes with regard to showing kids that the “greatest of all time” did not start out that way!

*Kid Scientists: True Tales of Childhood from Science Superstars by David Stabler – a great book with a diverse group of scientists who overcame challenges as children.

One thing to keep in mind when you’re teaching any subject is that representation matters! Do whatever you can do to show your students that scientists, mathematicians, artists are not just white. Look for representation from people of color in the books you choose to share, the posters you display, the websites you use.

SCIENCE & STEM CHALLENGES:

A very popular STEM challenge to start the year is Saving Fred! But if your students have already saved Fred in previous years, here are some other fun STEM challenges to start the year:

*The Marshmallow Challenge

*Building hurricane houses

*Cup stacking challenge

*Help Harry

*Build an index card tower

SUPER HELPFUL WEBSITES:

*Mystery Science
*Mystery Doug
*Wonderopolis
*Online Labs in Biology
*National Geographic Kids
*Sheppard Software online games
*PBS Learning Media Zoom
*SciJinks weather site
*SAS Curriculum Pathways
*Curriki
*CK12
*Timeline presentations
*911 Memorial
*Generation Genius
*Sock Monkey Science
*Crash Course Kids
*Study Jams

FOR FUN, INTERACTIVE REVIEW:
*Kahoot
*Quizlet
*Quizizz

SITES FOR CONTENT AREA READING:
*NewsELA
*ReadWorks
*Common Lit

TEACHING SOCIAL JUSTICE:
*Learning for Justice
*Do Something
*Current Events Classroom
*Educolor resources

SITES FOR PRIMARY SOURCES IN SOCIAL STUDIES:
*National Archives
*Docs Teach
*Spartacus Educational
*Fordham University resources
*Yale’s Avalon Project
*LIFE Magazine Photo Archive
*Library of Congress (LOC) resources
*Mount Vernon collection
*Colonial Williamsburg collection

CURRENT EVENTS FOR KIDS:
*DOGO News
*Time for Kids
*CNN 10

I hope that some of these resources will be helpful to you! Please comment or email with your own suggestions!

12 Tips to Rest & Reset After the First Week of School

I just finished my first week of school and I. Am. Exhausted. How about you?

Thankfully, Labor Day weekend came to my rescue. But even if you don’t have a long weekend to recover, here are some tips to help you rest and reset for another busy week.

1 – Make a list of all the things that went well this past week. It’s so easy to focus on all the things we need to do or finish or change. But we rarely take the time to think about all that went well. You could list things that went well in your classroom but also think about making a list of all the things that went well outside of school. Did you go to bed on time? Keep up with laundry? Pack a healthy lunch every day? Work out every day? Be proud of yourself for everything you did well!

2- Get some sleep. Go to bed earlier, sleep later, take a nap. Sleep when you feel the need to sleep. You will be much more productive during your waking hours if you get the sleep you need.

3 – Get as much fresh air as possible. Spend some time outside, take a walk, sit on a porch or a deck. Just take time to breathe and enjoy looking at nature.

4 – Develop a self-care plan for the upcoming week. Can you get up 15 minutes earlier and enjoy some time to yourself in the morning? Can you plan to go to bed extra early one night next week? Can you plan your workouts or trips to the gym or barre studio? Can you do any meal prep to make healthy eating an easier option during the week? Can you plan what days you might work later and what days you might leave school earlier?

5 – Similar to a self-care plan, can you come up with a morning routine that makes you happy? Even spending just a few minutes stretching, meditating, reading or praying can impact your mood and outlook for the day.

6 – Say no. If someone wants you to do something you do not want to do, just say no. Or readjust their request to something that you feel like you can do or that you want to do. Now is not the time to meet everyone else’s needs. You need to take care of yourself!

7 – Spend time with people you love and who lift your spirits.

8 – Go see a movie, watch TV, or catch up on favorite Netflix shows. Allow yourself to zone out.

9 – Read a great book that has nothing to do with school or with education. Get lost in another world!

10 – Reach out to friends you haven’t seen in a while. A text message counts!

11 – Get a manicure, a pedicure (or both!), a massage, or take a bubble bath.

12 – Enjoy some meditation and/or prayer time.

I hope these tips have given you some ideas for how to refocus and get some mental and physical rest. Your work matters and you matter! Take care of yourself.

Do you want more guidance with resetting your classroom? I’m creating a mini-course with more step-by-step tips. Sign up for the waiting list HERE and I will notify you when it’s ready! (Signing up does not obligate you in any way.)

Beginning of Year Picture Books

This post was updated on 8-9-22 with some new titles! Here’s the link.

One of the best first weeks of school activities is to read aloud to your students. The first week, especially, can be unpredictable in terms of planning and knowing how long everything will take when your students are new to your classroom. Having plenty of picture books ready to go is a great use of time when you find yourself with a few minutes.

Besides being a great use of time, I find reading aloud helps bond our class together as a community. Reading books together and having a chance to discuss them builds verbal skills, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and empathy. Plus it’s just plain fun and relaxing. All kids love it, especially when the teacher is engaged and enthusiastic about the book being read.

Here are some of my favorite beginning of the year picture books. I’ve also included a suggestion for discussion with most of the books. This is not to say that you need to read every one of these books! Pick and choose what might fit you and your class, and what might be available.

NERVES ON FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

~First Day Jitters – a classic story for talking about feelings of nervousness at the beginning of the year

~Wemberly Worried – talk about nerves on the first days of school

~We Don’t Eat Our Classmates – another cute story for talking about first day nerves

~School’s First Day of School – another story about first day nerves, but told from the school’s perspective

~The Kissing Hand – a fun book about carrying your family’s love with you everywhere you go. Even upper elementary kids love this book!

HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER – BUILDING CLASSROOM COMMUNITY:

~The Day You Begin – a great book for highlighting individuality and looking for common ground. You could follow this up with a “find a classmate who . . .” type scavenger hunt

~The Colors of Us – talk about similarities and differences

~Each Kindness – talk about the importance of kindness and anti-bullying

~Mr. Peabody’s Apples – talk about gossip & the negative effects

~Ira Sleeps Over – talk about what we need to feel “safe” in our classroom.

~Amazing Grace – talk about believing in yourself; not discouraging others’ dreams or ideas; stereotypes about who can/cannot do certain things

~I Walk with Vanessa – talk about standing up for each other

~All Are Welcome – talk about inclusion and diversity

~The Rabbit Listened – talk about the importance of listening & being a friend

~The Teacher from the Black Lagoon – a good book to read before having students write about what they need from their teacher this year

~Do Unto Otters – talk about using good manners

~My Mouth is a Volcano – fun book about self-control, specifically with blurting out!

~One Green Apple – talk about ways we can include everyone and not allow anyone to feel like an “outsider” in our classroom

~Mr. Lincoln’s Way – talk about bullying & how differences make us special

GROWTH MINDSET:

~The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes – talk about growth mindset

~Your Fantastic Elastic Brain – talk about growth mindset

~Mistakes That Worked and Accidents May Happen– talk about making mistakes and learning from them

IMPORTANCE OF NAMES:

~The Name Jar – talk about the importance of names and the importance of pronouncing each other’s names correctly

~Alma & How She Got Her Name – same discussion as The Name Jar, but this is a newer book and may be one that students have not heard before. This would also fit well with the name origin “Homework” with Chrysanthemum below.

~My Name is Sangoel – talk about the importance of names and the importance of of pronouncing everyone’s names correctly.

~Chrysanthemum – talk about bullying & the importance of names. Optional homework: find out how you were given your name and the meaning of your name if your family knows that information! Then share those stories in class. Please be aware that this could be a difficult activity for some students. Don’t require kids to share if they are uncomfortable.

HOPES, DREAMS & GOALS:

~The Dot – talk about how you might “make a mark” – what are your hopes and dreams, both for this year and for the future?

~Miss Rumphius – talk about how you make the world more beautiful by being a teacher; ask students to talk with each other about some of their goals and dreams

~Ish – talk about believing in yourself & your dreams

~Only One You – talk about individuality and individual gifts

~Giant Steps to Change the World – talk about steps anyone can take to make the world a better place. It uses real-life examples, which is inspiring.

~What Do You Do with an Idea? – talk about the importance of acting on your ideas and turning them into something important

~What Do You Do With a Problem? – talk about not backing away from solving problems

~What Do You Do With a Chance? – talk about having courage and taking chances

~Salt in His Shoes – talk about setting goals; good book for writing about student goals for the year

~The Bad Seed – talk about how to make positive changes in yourself

~Jabari Jumps – talk about having courage, overcoming fears and giving hard things a try

~Junkyard Wonders – talk about different gifts and supporting each other’s goals

SETTING UP READING WORKSHOP/READING BLOCK:

~Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind – great book for kicking off independent reading and reading workshop; talk about the importance of finding the right book

~Thank You, Mr. Falker – talk about challenges, bullying, the importance of teachers(!); good book for writing about reading memories & setting reading goals

~Aunt Chip & the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair – talk about the importance of reading

~A Quiet Place – talk about the importance of reading and of the need for quiet when settling in to read

~Biblioburro & That Book Woman – talk about value of libraries & how lucky we are to have access to books

SETTING UP WRITING WORKSHOP/WRITING BLOCK:
~Author – talk about collecting ideas for writing

~Amelia’s Notebook – talk about keeping a notebook & using writing as a way think through your feelings; a funny book that makes this point without being “teacher-ish”

~Max’s Logbook – similar to the Amelia book, but about a boy who begins writing about science experiments, and moves on to writing about other topics; introduces topic of writing notebooks

~Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street – how to turn “nothing” observations into stories

Last year, I implemented #classroombookaday in my classroom with terrific results. Here is a link to the post which explains more.

You can download my list of picture books HERE!

Getting Math Block Started

My favorite way to begin math block at the beginning of the year involves focusing on fun math activities, building students’ confidence, and learning about growth mindset, all in the same task. Dr. Jo Boaler of Stanford University has done amazing work in this area. Her website is youcubed.org. I especially love the Week of Inspirational Math activities, which can be found HERE.

As of right now, there are four sets of Week of Inspirational Math tasks (since 2015), but the 2019 set will be posted soon. You could use one week’s activities as is, or you could check out different years’ activities and put your own combination together. The videos and activities are engaging and students get very excited about math, which is always a great way to begin!

Before jumping into academic content, I also like to set up my math block time with some common expectations. Teaching students to work together and talk about math is an important goal for me from day one. I found this activity on Sara Van Der Werf’s site and I want to try it this year. She describes using it in middle school and high school classrooms, but I think it could be easily adapted for elementary school as well. I’ll let you know how it goes!

I like to survey my students about their attitudes toward math at the beginning of the year. I like to use this survey from Donna at Math Coach’s Corner.

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I am a big fan of reading aloud to kids! So it will be no surprise to find that I love using picture books in math as well.

Here are some of my favorite math read-aloud books:

~One Hundred Hungry Ants — a great introduction to multiplication arrays
~Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream: A Mathematical Story – another good introduction to concept of multiplication.
~Each Orange Had Eight Slices — this book helps model the associative property of multiplication. A good follow-up would be for students to write their own multiplication stories.
~Six Dinner Sid — a cute story about a cat who visits six homes, eats six meals a day, and has six different owners. A twist in the plot causes a change in Sid’s life! Kids enjoy this book and it can be used for multiplication stories as well.
~One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale – a story with a great lesson and illustration of concept of doubling.
~Snowflake Bentley – another great story which can lead to mulitplcation stories using multiples of three and six.
~365 Penguins – another fun book with lots of possibilities for problem solving.
~Sea Squares – introduces the concept of square numbers
~The Doorbell Rang – my all-time favorite book for introducing (or reminding) students of what is happening when we divide numbers.
~A Remainder of One – a good book for showing division with arrays.
~The Great Divide: A Mathematical Marathon – another book with great possibilities for division stories and using halving as a strategy.
~The Warlord’s Puzzle – introduces tangram puzzles and can also be used for fractional parts.
~Grandfather Tang’s Story – same as The Warlord’s Puzzle
~Full House: An Introduction to Fractions – a fun story that introduces fraction concepts.
~The Wishing Club – in this book, four children wish upon a star but are granted wishes in fractional parts that follow a pattern. Several extension activities are listed at the end of the book.
~The Lion’s Share – a great story with a message and lots of fraction concepts, along with multiplication and division. If you ever read the Aesop fable of the lion and the mouse, you will want to use this book during math.
~The Greedy Triangle – a great review or introduction to various geometric shapes. Plus, if Marilyn Burns wrote it, you can count on it being a great math resource!
~Perimeter, Area & Volume: A Monster Book of Dimensions – this book is new to me, but I plan to use it this year to help review area and perimeter and then introduce volume.
~Sir Cumference Math Adventure stories – kids love these! There are a variety of concepts covered in different books.
~The Librarian Who Measured the Earth – a wonderful biography of Greek philosopher Eratosthenes who did accurately measure the globe’s circumference.
~G is for Googol – a Math Alphabet Book – a variety of math concepts are introduced in this fun alphabet book.
~any books by Greg Tang – these are fun and engaging.
~Round Trip – kids LOVE this book. I always use it during a geometry unit. It is illustrated in black and white. You basically read the story all the way through, then turn the book upside down and read the rest of the story. I know that’s confusing! Here’s the blurb from Publisher’s Weekly:

“A visual stunner….The format is wonderfully inventive–once the traveler arrives in the city, the book is flipped over and read back to the beginning, with the black-and-white pictures taking on new meanings….Sure to delight and fascinate.”–Publishers Weekly.

*Donna at Math Coach’s Corner has an awesome site with engaging math resources that are easy to implement. HERE is her post about structuring math workshop and her tips for getting started.

*Curriculum Corner is another website with specific lessons for getting your math block started. You can easily modify these lessons to fit your class’s needs.

*Achieve the Core is another good site with Common Core-aligned resources. I like to use their mini-assessments throughout the year as quick checks on specific standards. HERE is a link to their assessments, which can be filtered by grade level.

*Some sites with fun games for your math block:
~NC Department of Public Instruction’s math site HERE. Click on your grade level and find games aligned to standards.
~K-5 Math Teaching Resources
~Curriculum Corner Math – Grades 4-6 resources

*Some of my favorite books about best practices in math instruction:
~Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You’d Had: Ideas & Strategies from Vibrant Classrooms by Tracy Zager
~Mindset Mathematics by Jo Boaler and other authors
~anything by Marilyn Burns

*Some of my go-to math websites:
3 Act Math Tasks
Estimation 180
Table Talk Math
Math for Love
Math Coach’s Corner
Not Just White Dude Mathematicians. I have nothing against “white dudes”, but it’s great for students to see that mathematicians look like them or their friends! Representation matters.
Robert Kaplinsky
Numberless math problems
3 Read Math Problem protocol
Open Middle
Number Rock math videos
Math Antics math videos
Flocabulary math videos
Marilyn Burns
Sara Van Der Werf
K-5 Math Teaching Resources
Curriculum Corner Math

I hope you found a few ideas to try this year! Let me know what you tried and liked and please share your own ideas!

Getting Started with Writing Workshop & Word Study

At the beginning of the year, teachers are establishing routines and helping students to feel comfortable and independent in the classroom.

WRITING:

Predictable routines and independence are especially important in the teaching of writing.

I love this visual from Two Writing Teachers about how writing workshop should look:

Source: Two Writing Teachers

Even if you don’t have a full hour for writing instruction, notice that students should be doing their own writing for most of the block.

There is a lot more to say about teaching writing, but this post will focus on getting the writing workshop started.

In the blog post from Two Writing Teachers, they talk about how to explicity teach your students the different parts of the workshop and what is expected during that time.

When minilessons follow a predictable structure every day, students know what to expect. They know how to come to the meeting area, how to turn and talk (and to whom), how to stay focused during the lesson, and how to transition to independent writing time.

You can build independent writing stamina in the same ways you build independent reading stamina. Talk about the importance of stamina, what to do when you feel “stuck,” what they can write about when they are “done” or waiting for a conference. On the first day, start with a small amount of independent writing time, then build up gradually from there.

Teach your students to work with a partner during partner time. This is where they will share their writing with each other and give each other feedback. A good way to start this is to model a partner share with a student so your whole class can see what it should look like and sound like. I usually start the year by assigning partners, but they don’t stay with the same partner all year. Change them up frequently so that everyone can give and receive different feedback.

The last few minutes are for sharing and reflection. You might have a student share something they did in their writing that day. It’s especially nice when partners suggest their writing partner’s work should be shared with the class! You also might take a few minutes for students to reflect or self-assess their writing work for the day instead of sharing publicly.

*Curriculum Corner also has some great resources for getting started with writing workshop HERE.

*I recently discovered this blog – Amanda Write Now. I really like her quick and easy lessons for implementing writing workshop in the classroom. I plan to try her lessons this year. Two things I especially love about her site: the short videos that she creates for some lessons and the anchor charts. The charts themselves could remain on display all year long to be referred to frequently.

*A fun writing option for the beginning of the year is to write an I AM poem. There are lots of templates for this on Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers, but HERE is the template I have used many times.

This can be modified in many ways. You might have students just write one stanza, for instance. I have changed the “I hear” and “I see” to things that are real instead of imaginary. Do whatever fits your class.

*Another good option is to write a bio poem.

*There are many great picture book read-alouds to help start writing workshop. Here are a few of my favorites:
~Author
~Amelia’s Notebook
~Wallace’s Lists
~Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street
~Something Beautiful
~Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
~The Best Story
~Q & A a Day for Kids
~My Weird Writing Tips
~Kid Authors: True Tales of Childhood from Famous Writers

*For all things writing, Jennifer Serravallo’s Writing Strategies Book is a great go-to resource.

WORD STUDY:

*This has always been a tricky one for me. My district does not have any specific recommended resource so we tend to just try random things. Not the most efficient way to teach word study. Another issue with word study is that it tends to fall “off the radar” when teachers get busy and need more time for reading or writing.

But continuing to develop decoding skills, understanding spelling patterns and building vocabulary are all so important. So what are some things that work?

*Equipped for Reading Success by David Kilpatrick – I saw this book mentioned in a Facebook teacher group. I have a master’s degree in literacy instruction so I am well aware of the need to ensure that phonemic awareness skills and phonics skills are effectively taught in the earliest grades.

Unfortunately, those skills have been de-emphasized for many years, resulting in kids being in fifth grade and still not having the skills needed to decode multi-syllabic words.

When I got the book and read it this summer, it emphasized what I already knew. BUT — it includes an assessment that can be used with any student who is having difficulty and it gives a step-by-step intervention plan for helping those students develop the skills they need.

You might be familiar with the PAST assessment – that is the assessment that is used in this book.

This year I plan to use this book and its guidelines for working with any of my fifth graders who are lacking these necessary skills. I’ll post about this as I try it out!

*Words Their Way – this is a great resource that I have seen mentioned over and over as one of the most effective resources for spelling patterns and word study.

This book also includes an assessment that is given to students as a “spelling test”. Then you go through the student tests and assign points for certain parts of the word that are spelled correctly, along with whole words that are spelled correctly. The assessment part is kind of tedious, but it gives great information.

When you finish, the students are grouped according to different levels of spelling understanding. There are books available with different spelling patterns lists and different activities you can do with the lists. But you can also do the entire program with the main book. If you have ever seen or heard anything about “word sorting”, it is probably referring to this book.

*I’ll write more about vocabulary in another post, but here are some great resources:
~Red Hot Root Words
~Wordly Wise
~Vocabulary Curriculum on Teachers Pay Teachers
~Greek & Latin Root Words, Prefixes & Suffixes on Teachers Pay Teachers

*Teaching grammar and writing conventions are other topics for Word Study. We used Patterns of Power last year and I really like how it teaches grammar and conventions, but in an authentic way. It uses children’s literature as examples and talks about the importance of getting students to look back at their own writing and apply what they’ve learned.

Some fun read-aloud books for word study:
~Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!
~Eats MORE, Shoots & Leaves: Why, ALL Punctuation Marks Matter!
~The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes!
~Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts!
~Nouns & Verbs Have a Field Day
~Punctuation Takes a Vacation
~Exclamation Mark
~Semicolons, Cupcakes & Cucumbers
~parts of speech books by Ruth Heller
~parts of speech books by Brian P. Cleary

I hope you found a few ideas to try this year! Please share your own tips!

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