Common Core: Main Topic and Key Details

After planning with our first grade teachers for Johnny Appleseed, we decided that we wanted to have our students summarize what they read by identifying the main topic and key details. I wanted kids to put the events on a numbered timeline, so kids could easily transfer this information onto a paragraph frame using ordinal words as transitions. So, I was sure to number each section where they would write the key details in. After using the graphic organizer, students will complete the paragraph frame and then finally rewrite this frame as their published piece. As a motivational tool, teachers decided they would staple an apple to the corner of the completed pieces and reward the students for their efforts.

Teaching Sentence Variety

Here is a very helpful resource to teach your students about sentence variety, just in time for your writing assessment! Fun and interactive writing sorts help take the guessing out of sentence variety. They give you the "I do" for your lesson and allow you to model effective sentence variety as well as ineffective examples. We frequently ask our students to vary the types of sentences they use in their essays, or ask them to revise the types they have already written, but do not have a visual way of showing them what we mean. The sentence variety writing sorts come with 7 paragraphs with low, medium, and high sentence variations. A graphic organizer is also provides to assist with scaffolding. This graphic organizer focuses on 4 main areas of sentence variation: punctuation, transitional phrases, sentence length, and conjunctions. Help your students identify various types of sentence structures. In addition, I've included the answer key for each paragraph; you may choose to use this resource in a center or with your writing interventionist. And finally, the attractive sort sheet makes this engaging learning activity seem more like a game. We used these sorts as the beginning of our writing instruction. Kids literally ran to class saying they couldn't wait to play "the game." I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Take a look at my TPT store to download your copy. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Sentence-Variety-Writing-Sorts

Getting Started with Personal Opinion Essays

This resource addresses Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1c Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition). Common Core asks our students to have an opinion, know how to state it, and give the reasons why a child is for against a certain topic. This resource contains an easy game (P.O.G.) to use for introducing personal opinion and a sort that helps your students understand the difference between no opinion, a weak opinion, and a strong opinion. I don't know about your kids, but ours LOVE games. We played P.O.G. today and kids had a great time collaborating with each other to try to make the strongest argument based on the topics on the cards. It was fun and really easy to play. In addition, it gives a list of personal opinion transitional devices, possible prompts, and mentor texts to use when modeling. We had a lot of fun with this mini-lesson, but best of all, our students were able to demonstrate their understanding in their own essays. Bring on the writing assessment! You can find the entire mini-lesson on my TPT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Getting-Started-with-Personal-Opinion-Essays

Identifying the Topic and Main Idea in Text

Last week, I experienced one of the best common planning sessions with our 2nd grade teachers. I loved that we were able to thoroughly dissect one of our common core standards. The standard is: Common Core State Standard: RI.2.2-Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. We wanted to understand each part of this standard. In the past, we have taught main idea and understanding the topic of a text, but never together in this way. We wanted to make sure our students internalized the importance of putting the two together. I created a graphic organizer for our students to use throughout the week. This graphic organizer will be pasted into their interactive journals. The graphic organizer can be used with any text. By the end of the book, students will be able to write a summary of what the topic is and add the 3 most important things they learned about this topic. I'm very excited to see the end results.

My First Freebie

My first freebie is just about to reach 300 downloads. I'm so excited! You can download it here: Here is a sneak peak:

Let me know what you think.

Identifying Main Idea in Nonfiction

I just updated a resource that helps you teach your students how to identify the main idea using text features.

Then, it guides them into asking questions about their main idea statement and using these questions to identify the relevant details. The resource provides a basic nonfiction paragraph about Rosa Parks. The teacher uses the gradual release model to walk students through the entire process.

Finally, it teaches them how to combine all of these components and write their own summarizing paragraph.

I have also provided detailed notes to help you in your teaching. You choose whether to use the included script or not. The 29-slide powerpoint incorporate the gradual release model and cooperative learning to make this one engaging product. The components of the gradual release model are indicated on the slides. You may use this resource with any nonfiction text. You may purchase the PowerPoint on my TPT site:

The Magnify THIS Challenge!

For the last two days, our kids have been reviewing the magnified moment process. To make it a little more exciting, I created the "Magnify THIS!" Challenge.

Students used the gradual release model to identify a sentence from a paragraph that would make for a great magnified moment. They used the elements of a magnified moment (sensory details, onomatopoeia, amazing adjectives, and vivid verbs) to zoom in and expand on one moment in time.

They had 10 minutes to write their paragraph. After, kids used a collaborative strategy I came up with called, "Sharing Go 'Round" to share their paragraphs with each person in the group. The group had to decide which paragraph was the best representation of a magnified moment. That student would then represent their group in the Challenge. The writing teacher and I served as the voting panel. The kids loved it! Here are some pictures of our kids in action.

The entire lesson can be found on my TPT page. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Magnify-THIS-Challenge

Word Choice Writing Sorts

Fun and interactive writing sorts help take the guessing out of word choice. We are constantly asking our students to be very specific with the words they choose in their essays, or ask them to revise the ones they have already chosen, but do not have a visual way of showing them what we mean. The word choice writing sorts come with 7 paragraphs with low, medium, and high examples of effective word choice.

I even added the answers to for each paragraph on completed graphic organizers. Also included is a graphic organizer to help students identify various types of words along with the answer key for each paragraph.

An attractive sort sheet makes this engaging learning activity seem more like a game.

Let me know how it works for you. :) TPT: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Word-Choice-Writing-Sorts

-At Family Activities

This week, our Kindergarten teachers will begin using the first grade curriculum. We are planning to begin blending with the -at family. I am really looking forward to seeing our babies read their own books. I wanted our kids to begin writing on the class' anchor charts. So I put together -at family picture cards with primary lines so that students could write the word themselves. Then, teachers will glue these cards onto a class anchor chart and post it for future use.

I also wanted our kids to be able to write sentences using the -at family words as well as the FRY words they already know. So, I put some pictures together with handwriting lines.

And then, to provide a fun review for our students before their spelling test on Friday, I created -at family BINGO cards. Teachers will hold up a picture card without saying the word. Students will put a marker down on the word that matches the picture and try to win BINGO.

The entire activity pack is on my TPT site: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Primary-Reading-at-Family-Activities

Teaching Sentence Variation to 4th Graders

We have just amped up our writing to boost our kids' writing scores as quickly as possible. One of the strategies we came up with is to have four stations in our after school program that will focus on writing. One of the stations is manned by one of our interventionists. He is not a trained teacher, but is willing to help out however we need. So, I came up with an easy-to-manage station for him. He will teach primarily through writing sorts and graphic organizers. I provided basic instructions to follow, and he will portions of the gradual release model each day to engage the kids and motivate them to work independently.

The writing sorts will take on a different focus each week. This week's focus is sentence variation. Although what is listed on the graphic organizer is not the ONLY way to vary sentences, it is a great start, especially for our lowest 4th graders. They can quickly identify and modify any repetitive types of sentences.

They use the graphic organizer at first for the writing sorts. I wrote or adapted seven different paragraphs and incorporated each of the components of an effective sentence. The interventionist will model and guide the kids into identifying what they read in the paragraph.

I included a sort sheet, so that it resembled a game to help keep the kids engaged.

Because our interventionist does not have much experience, I even provided him with the answers for each paragraph, just in case.

Finally, kids will use the graphic organizer to see how varied their sentences are in their own essays and then adjust them if necessary. You can find the entire bundle on my TPT site.

TLC for your TLC

Today I gave a workshop to a group of reading teachers at our school. The focus was the Teacher Led Center. While teaching, some of the original teachers mentioned how far we have come with our differentiated instruction. Four years ago, when all of the changes began at our school, there was no D.I. Then we transitioned to what I call, "pretend D.I," where teachers brought small groups to a kidney table and called on them to read aloud, one at a time. Next, we moved on to shared reading. Students choral read and the teachers shot questions around the circle. Well, we've come a long way, baby! Teachers know how to read their data, group their students, identify resources, and use guided reading strategies in their TLCs. It's pretty exciting. There is always room for improvement though. As a coach, I have the great opportunity to help this process along.

One thing I've noticed is teachers didn't understand how to "read like a detective," a common, Common Core term. Teachers were finding great resources to work with, but didn't understand that they had to plan for their TLC as strategically as they do for whole group instruction. I walked them through how to use their data to identify disconnects in fluency, phonics, and/or comprehension. Then, we discussed how to read through text. We used a form I received and modified of a Close Analytic Read.

If you look at the bottom of the form, you will see that I modified it to include what skill will be taught to address reading deficiencies and what scaffolding will be used so that every child will experience success. And finally, what I think is the most important part, I included a the last section to help teachers know exactly when the students have demonstrated mastery so that they will be able to move on to the next skill or instructional level.