A stampede of fun with back to school time!

It's almost time for the first day of school and I feel like I am anticipating Christmas!  I love, love, love the excitement of a new year and meeting all of my sweet, new kiddos and seeing their smiling faces, well, hopefully they're smiling. 

This year I moved back home to the Ft. Worth, TX, area and was blessed to get hired in Aledo ISD teaching kindergarten.  Before this new adventure of setting up a new classroom started, I went to Zambia (Africa) to work on a medical mission trip.  There were over 250 members on our team from Zambia and the US combined.  Together we served over 14,000 Zambian people in medical care in the areas of dental, optometry, lab testing, wound care, gynecology, and diagnosing illnesses and proving medicine. Our team also enjoyed a safari on one of our last two days in Africa.  Look how close I got to the elelphants and giraffes!

Victoria Falls was another site we were able to enjoy!

As soon as I returned from Africa, I immediately started working on my classroom for my new busy bees.  Buzz on in and check it out!

 The view from the front of the classroom

 Our turn-in basket with some literacy friends

This is our "Happy BEE-day!" wall.  I created little cupcakes for each month.  The students' pictures go under their cupcake month.

 My  document camera and laptop are housed here so I added a little Coder Elementary spirit.

 Our little tables are color coded.  This is the red table all set for Meet the Teacher.

Each table has a bee basket for materials with a matching color bow, a trash bucket that matches, and I include scissors of the same color.  I hot glue google eyes onto the scissors so that students learn how to cut correctly.  The eyes should always be looking at you if they're being help the correct way.

 For Meet the Teacher, I place an information sheet, our class handbook, the ABC's of Kindergarten, a parent check-list to make sure they see everything they need to see or fill out all that needs to be filled out, and a bag of pretzels that say "Thanks for "bee"ing here!"

  

Here is where our Math Tubs materials are stored.

I love these cabinets!  I store all of my literacy materials in them and below are my cuties' cubbies, backpack hooks, and book boxes for Daily Five.

I love my little Beanie Baby strategies.  Last year's class really embraced these strategies so I am definitely using them again.  These are in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

 This is an art area with our art supplies, marker caddy, and paint drying rack.  To the right is the writing area where Writer's Workshop materials are stored and Daily Five Work on Writing materials are stored.  I love, love, love, Daily Five and Writer's Workshop.  I have written many posts about each of these.  Click below to learn more!

Writer's Workshop

Daily Five

Balanced Literacy

 This is my small group area.  I teach reading, math, and writing in a small group setting.  It makes me more aware of what each student knows and allows me to differentiate my instruction for them.  I got this awesome tabletop easel funded through Donors Choose.  I have had over 30 projects funded through them.  My stools open up for storage.  They're from IKEA.  

Behind my table you can find all of the organization for my small group instruction.  I keep my group's materials stored in the drawers numbered 1-6.

I collect data in my Student Data binder and write my plans for small groups in there.  My Lesson Plans are kept in this binder.  I keep supplies in this little organized drawer shelf.

This shelf holds my guided reading books that I use for reading groups, my Sub Tub for emergency plans, and my baskets to hold assessment paper work for reading, math, and report cards.

I stay organized for each day with my daily cart.  At the end of each week I place all of the materials needed for the next week in the correct drawer.

My Word Wall ~ I use Phonics Dance to learn letters and these are the matching signs for each letter's dance.

My whole group area

My Math Stations check in area ~ You can find these for free on my website.

My library area

 My Listen to Reading area for Daily Five includes a CD player in the bee hive for two children to listen to and the little baskets will store my TAG readers that were funded through Donors Choose. 

Our picture books are sorted by theme and labeled in baskets that have matching stickers that are on the back of each book for that basket.

I also have leveled readers in our library.

 Puppies and kittens!

My Working on Words cart for Daily Five

Our Smart Board

Thanks for taking a look!  Buzz back soon!!

Balanced Literacy in Kindergarten

What is balanced literacy? 

The term “balanced literacy” is not new. It has been used to describe literacy programs that balance reading and writing to children, reading and writing with children, and reading and writing by children.

 The components of a 'balanced literacy' approach are: The read aloud, guided reading, shared reading, interactive writing, shared writing, writing workshop and word study."

Using balanced literacy in your classroom allows even the youngest learners to be immersed into literacy.  There is a lot of research backing the method of balanced literacy.  Some of the research says, "Balanced reading instruction continues to be the major deterrent against reading failure (Adams, 1990; Hiebert, Pearson,Taylor, Richardson, & Paris, 1998; Snow et al., 1998).  Balanced literacy is even supported by many of the countries' leaders in literacy including Marie Clay, Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, Patricia Cunningham, and Ralph Fletch, Lucy Caulkins, and Richard Allignton.

 But how do we implement ALL of the components EVERYDAY?

Here is my schedule in my classroom that allows me to fit it all in.  I highlighted each component of Balanced Literacy.

7:40 - Announcements
7:45 - Morning Meeting and Buzz Book (Morning Message)
8:15 - Guided Reading Group 1 and Daily Five

8:30 - Mini-lesson 1 (Phonics and Shared Reading)

8:45 - Guided Reading Group 2 and Daily Five

9:00 - Mini-lesson 3 (Sight word focus/word wall)

9:15 - Guided Reading Group 3 and Daily Five
9:30 - Recess
9:55 - Science

*Read Alouds and Notebooks are used frequently

10:15 - Guided Reading Group 4 and Daily Five
10:47 - Lunch
11:17 - Read Aloud

11:30 - Writer's Workshop
12:15 - Specials
1:00 - Math

*Read Alouds and Notebooks are used frequently
2:10 - Centers

*Reading with friends, word work, and independent writing are used daily
2:30 - Pack up
2:35 - Dismissal

Wowzers!  What a literacy-filled day!

I created this little helpful handout for you to see the components of Balanced Literacy in a table form.

Now I am not claiming to be an expert, but I have figured out a few tips and tricks to making sure it all fits in each day.

1.  Stay on schedule ~ There are so many, many, many parts to our busy day at school.  I make frequently check the clock so that we don't run over on any part of our day and miss another.  Sure, there are times we are doing big projects or there are special events to attend to, but most days should be routine.  This helps me and the little cuties in my classroom.  I also keep a picture schedule in my classroom.

(Grab these schedule cards for free by clicking here.)

2.  Be prepared ~ This is a MUST for being successful in implementing Balanced Literacy.  (It's a MUST in being an effective teacher so our cuties can be successful.)  I prepare everything the day before I leave and place everything in a bucket next to my rocking chair in my whole group area, and I mean everything - every google eye, every pair or dice, every piece of paper.  I will waste precious time if I am pulling things out of my cabinets when I should be instructing.

I plan out each reading group the day before as well and store all of the materials in this blue cart right behind my small group table.  Each small group has a drawer to hold the materials that are needed.

3.  Collaborate ~ There is just simply TOO much to do alone.  Talk with your grade level teammates about how they do things and share materials and ideas.

 What does each component look like?

There is so much that goes into each part of Balanced Literacy, so I am just going to break down a few of them for you today.

Guided Reading

Guided reading is one component of a balanced literacy program that allows teachers to meet the needs of all students – regardless of their level of proficiency – so they become stronger, more confident readers.   Through this strategy, students are met right where they are in ability.  Because they’re with students who are on their level, they’re much less likely to feel anxious or embarrassed about how they measure up to the skills other students.  

This is so important.

One component that makes this so successful is the teacher works in a small group setting.   That way, students quickly learn workable strategies to process and construct meaning of words. This is what drives balanced literacy instruction. As their reading skills strengthen they gradually move on to more difficult reading with concentrated teacher guidance.

I created this lesson plan to help organize and plan for reading groups.  

I teach 4 groups a day, but I have 6 reading groups.  Some groups don't meet with me everyday.  Meet with your lowest readers DAILY.

When I am teaching a guided reading group, my other students are in their Daily Five choices.  The five "dailies" are Word Work, Work on Writing, Read to Self, Read to a Friend, and Listen to Reading.  This is an idea that was started my Gail Boushey and Joan Moser and implements many parts of balanced literacy.  I have written many posts about implementing it into my classroom and have a video about it.  It shows me checking in my students before a reading group and their independence while working in the Daily Five choices.

Much of my Daily Five knowledge came from attending a workshop presented by the authors.  

I have also learned a lot from reading the book, collaborating with teachers, and Pinterest.

Writer's Workshop

Writer's Workshop is an interdisciplinary writing technique which can build students' fluency in writing through continuous, repeated exposure to the process of writing.

Teachers can introduce elements of Writer's Workshop at any elementary grade. Ideally, however, the process begins in Kindergarten.

The three parts to writer's workshop include a mini-lesson in which the teacher models writing and uses mentor texts to show good writing, independent writing and conferences, and share time.

The mini-lesson is simply a short lesson modeling writing.  I have a writing folder just like my students' folders and I think out loud and model what to do with the folder and how to write a new piece or continue an old piece.

During independent writing, students are writing independently in a writing partnership while I am in a conference with a small group.  When students are with their writing partner they are working independently, but using the partner for help as needed.  Each partnership uses a writer's toolkit.

You can read more about our writer's toolkits here.

I schedule my writing conferences on this chart.  Each student comes on the same day every week.

 

During the conference time I help students edit their work and type them up if they're ready to publish.  When students publish, they illustrate their typed books with our publishing tools, dedicate their books, and make a cover.

We also set goals in writer's conferences.

During share time, the students who have earned the share bears for working hard during independent writing time get to share their current piece of writing, no matter where they are in the process.  When students share their piece, I place it under the document camera and the student reads their story aloud.  Then we ask the listeners for two "stars" and one "wish" about the writing piece.  Then we check completed sentences and make sure they're "smiley sentences".

I learned a lot about writer's workshop from a training by Lucy Caulkins.

 There is so much more to Balanced Literacy, but this is a start to helping you "balance" it all.

There are a lot of freebies on my website for balanced literacy.