Building Fluency with Beach Themed Fluency Tips and Activities

Fluency is one of the 5 Big Ideas in Reading. Fluency is necessary for students to comprehend what they are reading. Students need to read in order to become fluent but we know that struggling readers spend less time reading. They not only struggle with fluency but also with comprehension. Themes help to build fluency as students learn targeted vocabulary that they will use in a variety of activities with multiple exposures.

I created a new unit: "At the Beach Fluency Activities" which scaffolds fluency activities from reading words, phrases, sentences, reading texts, a poem, and readers theater. Each new activity builds on the one before to insure student success. There are assessments for reading words, phrases, sentences, and texts at the K and 1st grade levels and Student Progress Graphs for Repeated Readings. Just click on the picture below to download the Preview file to see all the activities and materials in the unit.

Here is a sample of the Word Fluency Activities. I included Picture/Word Cards for ESL students and Struggling readers to help them build their vocabulary. Here is a sample of Word and Phrase Fluency Cards and Activities. There are 2 Fluency Activities for Pair Work called "Point and Say" and "Fast Match" for both the word and phrase cards.

Once students become fluent at reading the words and phrases, they will read sentences using the same vocabulary. Here is a sample of some of the Sentence Fluency Cards.

Finally, students will read texts, a poem, "Going to the Beach", and a Pair Readers Theater called, "At the Beach".

This unit is great for those teaching summer school, RTI, or End of the Year Summer themed activities. I have also included Common Core Standards, B/W copies, and some Strategies for Reading to improve fluency.

Here is a freebie from my unit: Picture/Sentence Fluency Activity. It is a pair activity where one student holds up a picture and the other student has to find the sentence that describes the picture and read the sentence. Once all the picture and sentence cards are matched the students will switch places.

Just click on the picture below to download your free fluency activity.

If you are looking for more free Beach Resources, Crafts, and Activities just click HERE 

Looking for some more Great Stuff for Teachers? Follow my new Pinterest boards by clicking on the picture below. I also have a new one for parents too. 

                                 

For those of you who have finished the school year, I hope you rest and relax over your summer vacation. I hope for the rest of you your vacation will begin soon. Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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Be an Earth Protector! Free Resources, Projects, and Activities

Earth Day is only a few weeks away and while I was researching my new product, "Why We Need Earth Day" I read some very disturbing facts about how we are harming our earth. Did you know that the average person throws away 4 pounds of garbage a day? Although the United states has only 5% of the world's population it contributes 40% of the waste. I decided to try to turn the negative statistics into some positive action. Although Earth Day is only 1 day a year, there are lots of things we can all do each and every day. They say that politics is local but I believe that helping our earth is local, too.

What We Know:
We know that we need to recycle, reduce, and reuse. That's easier said than done. The recycling rate of the United States is only 28%. We need to do a much better job. We know that recycling, reducing, and reusing saves energy, water, and land as well as decreases the amount of pollution in our air, water, and land. Here are some activities that your students can do with their families and hopefully get your whole community involved.

Take the Shower Challenge
We all like to take long, hot showers. Did you know that the average person uses 12,000 gallons of water a year. We can save water and energy that it takes to heat the water by taking shorter showers.

• Have students time how long it takes them in the shower from turning on the water to shutting it off. They can get another family member to time them. Have them write down the minutes and seconds and share it in class. As a math activity you can have students find who took the longest and shortest shower.
• Then have them try to reduce their shower time each day. Record the time and chart their progress. 
• This would be a fun activity for the whole family!
• This will not only save water and energy but can lower a family's utility bill!

Be an Earth-Friendly Detective:

Have you ever gone around your home or yard to find things that are not earth-friendly? Challenge students to go home and look in each room and outside and make a list of what they see. Were there lights left on in rooms, water dripping from a faucet, or things thrown away that could have been recycled? This is one of the activities in my "Why We Need Earth Day" Packet.

Keep an Earth Log:

Have students keep an Earth Log of what they do each day to recycle, reduce, and reuse. They would probably do a lot more if they had to keep a daily log. Here's my Earth Blog from my packet.

Saving Food Scraps for Composting

Find out if there are places that make compost near you. Apple cores, banana peels, and other food waste can be recycled into compost. Compost makes a rich fertilizer. Special bins can be set up in your school cafeteria to collect these wastes and then can be transported to one of the composting sites. A great science activity would be to learn how to make compost. Click HERE to get a free power point on how to compost with kids.

I found many Earth Day projects on Pinterest. Click HERE to see them. 

I also found some great lessons, projects, and activities at Education World which you can access by clicking on the picture below.

You can also check out my new product, "Why We Need Earth Day"  for Grades 2-3 by clicking on the picture below. There are a variety of reading and writing activities to teach students about the history of Earth Day and what we can do to help our earth. You can download the preview to see sample pages of all the activities in the packet. All the activities are differentiated at the 2nd and 3rd grade levels.

If you are looking for free resources, craft ideas, and free activities for K-1 just click on the picture below.

Finally for all of my followers and viewers I have put my "Be an Earth Detective" and "Earth Log" in a freebie that you can download by clicking on the picture below. Hope your students enjoy it.

Don't forget to check out all my updated Pinterest Boards by clicking HERE. Hope you will find some new ones to follow.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students. I hope we can begin to do more to take care of our earth each and every day.

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Hooray For Spring! Free Resources, Great Books and Crafts Ideas, and A Freebie

Hard to believe that spring is right around the corner. I'm sure most of you are so ready for some warm weather and all the beauty that spring brings. I'm leaving for my Spring vacation in a few days so this will probably be my last post for awhile. I have put together some great resources for you to check out to help you with your spring classroom activities.

Do you have a favorite spring book for your read alouds? If you are looking for a great list just click on the picture below.

You can also find a great list at Scholastic by clicking HERE

If you are looking for some great Spring poetry books, ideas, spring plays, and free poetry just click on the picture below.

Looking for some fun crafts crafts to make with your students like the one below? Just click on the picture to access this one and lots more.

Looking for some free resources and activities? You can find some fun facts about spring by clicking on the picture below. There are lots of other links to free resources at the bottom of the post.

If you are looking for some free printable spring worksheets just click on the picture below.

You can also find some other free activities by clicking on the picture below.

Finally you will find lots of links to power points about spring and other resources by clicking on the picture below.

                             

I have been very busy creating a new "What Happens In Spring?" Thematic Unit for K-2. It is designed to teach students about the signs of spring through reading and writing activities. All the Reading and Writing Activities are differentiated at the K, 1st, and 2nd Grade levels. It has an original Shared Reading Book: "What Happens in Spring?, Picture/Word Cards, and Word Wall Words.

 

There are 3 Guided Reading Books at the Early Emergent and Emergent Level. There is also a Spring Science Journal where students observe and write about what is happening outside.

You can check out all the materials and activities in this packet by clicking on the picture below and downloading the Preview file. There are 2 free activities with the Preview file.

Finally a freebie for all of my followers and viewers. This is something new I made to help your students become more fluent with their reading and spring vocabulary. Just click on the picture below to download your free packet. Hope you leave some nice feedback.

Looking for some great new Pinterest Boards to follow? Just click HERE

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students. I hope you will take time to relax and spend time with family and friends over your spring break. I'm so excited to be spending mine with my children and grand children on our yearly ski vacation. 

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March is for Making Words and Sentences

I had such nice feedback on my Valentine's Day Edition of Making Words and Sentences freebie that I decided to check out all the observances, holidays, and events in March. I couldn't believe the list I found! Did you know that March 1st is National Pig Day? How about National Potato Chip Day on March 14th?
Here is a list of the observances I came up with for March.

National Pig Day: March 1st

Peanut Butter and Jelly Day: March 2nd

Read Across America Day: March 3rd

Newspaper in Education: March 3rd-7th

Iditarod Sled Dog Race: 1st Sunday in March

Johnny Appleseed Day: March 11th

Popcorn Lovers Day: 2nd Thursday in March

National Potato Chip Day: March 14th

St. Patrick’s Day: March 17th

Let’s Play Basketball: NCAA College Tournament: Middle of March

Word Poetry Day: March 21st

Irish American Heritage Month

Music in Our Schools Month

National Kite Month: Begins March 29th

Women’s History Month

So I put them all together in one packet called, "March Edition of Making Words and Sentences and Word Sorts".  I added Word Sorts where students would sort the words they made into different categories. These would be great to use for contests, pair work, morning work, extra practice with sentence writing and grammar, or center activities. Here is the preview of the packet which you can access by clicking on the picture below.

For 1st grades they can sort words into Sight Words and Short Vowel Sound Words. There are also word sorts for Short Vowel Sounds and Long Vowel Sounds and Singular and Plural Nouns.

 There are also 3 category sorts like the one below:

When I came across "Popcorn Lover's Day" I had to include it. Why not include making popcorn with Making Words and Sentences.

 You might also be interested in my "It's Popcorn Time" Packet for K-1 which you can access my clicking on the picture below.

Of course I have a freebie for all of my followers and viewers. It includes instructions, Making Words and Sentences for "Catch a Leprechaun" and Sentence Writing Pages. Just click on the picture below to download your freebie. Hope you and your students enjoy!

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students. March is just around the corner!

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Winter Olympics: Free Resources and Activities

I'm so excited about the Winter Olympics starting this week. I have been busy trying to put together some great free resources for you. Since the Olympics last for 17 days you will have lots of opportunities to include some fun activities for your students. I just uploaded my new Winter Olympic packet. It is designed to teach students about the Traditions and Symbols of the Olympics, 7 Winter Olympic Events, and Scott Hamilton who was a Gold Medal Figure Skating Champion, through Reading and Writing Activities.

If you download the Preview file you will get a free Winter Olympic Scavenger Hunt to get students motivated about the games. Just click on the picture above or below.

To get lots of up to date information about the events, athletes, mascots, and more visit the official Sochi Olympic website by clicking on the image below.

Another great website for free resources and activities is Scholastic. Just click on the the image below.

You can find some fun crafts at No Time for Flashcards by clicking on the image below.

Education World is another great site with free resources and ideas. Just click below to check it out.

If you are looking for free lessons then Teacher First is a great place to look. Just click HERE

I also have a freebie for all of my followers and viewers. It includes a Reading Text about the city of  Sochi and the 3 Mascots of the 2014 Olympic Games. Then students will find Proper Nouns, Adjectives, and Plural Nouns from the text and write them on their recording sheet. Just click on the picture below to download your free activity.

Hope you enjoy the Winter Olympics and find some great resources and activities to do with your students.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

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What do you like most about the Winter Olympics?