Mixed up Sentences

It's finally completed! This product has been in the works for a long time. Mixed Up Sentences for the Year (formerly called pocket chart sentences) now includes all 12 months! 

Right now it's discounted to $5 for the first 5 buyers, AND it's on sale for 20% off until July 27th. Grab it while you can!

Ms. Cuddy is Nutty - Literature Circle Resources

Literature circles are my favorite. Each time I put students in groups to read a "real" book they are SO excited. They talk about the book constantly and then even ask me if they can read their book if they finish their work early. It makes me so happy to have students love reading as much as I do! 

Ms. Cuddy is Nutty is my latest literature circle resource. It includes spelling lists, vocabulary lists, book club pages, and writing prompts to give you exactly what you need to launch this activity in your classroom (even if you haven't read the book)! 

Check it out in my TpT store! It's on sale for 20% off until the end of the week. 

February Pocket Chart Sentences

I can't believe it is already February. Time sure does fly by! 

My February Pocket Chart Sentences unit includes 6 different paragraphs of mixed up sentences with February themes. It is on sale until the end of the week! Click the image to check it out in my shop.

Big Bad Detective Agency Literature Circle

I love reading "real" books with my students! That sounds so weird to say, but teaching from a basal reader makes this even more important. 

I remember when I was in elementary school I hated reading for the longest time. I thought it was so boring to read from the basal reader, round robin, blah blah blah. The stories were boring, and I hated "following along" with the other kids who couldn't read. It was the absolute worst!

This is why I love love love Literature Circles! Students are doing "real" reading and *hopefully* reading something that they enjoy. They can read on their own so they don't have to "follow along" with students who read faster or slower than they do. 

This resource includes 2 spelling lists, a vocabulary list and activities, book club pages, and a writing prompt at the end. Everything you need to get started with this literature circle in your classroom! AND it is on sale for 20% off until the end of the week! Click the image to check it out in my TpT store. 

Test Your Friends

I get sick of hearing my own voice sometimes. I talk all day while teaching, and I do try to get the kiddos talking more with partners and in group discussions, but they still need teacher support and guidance for the most part. We work so hard all the time, it's time for the students to work just as hard, if not harder, than we do!

Well, I was at a training about a year ago where I learned that whoever is asking the most questions is doing the most learning. Guess who asks the most questions in school? The teacher! 

As soon as I heard that I knew I needed to change. I needed to do better. Why not teach the students how to ask really good comprehension questions while reading? 

I do this with all of my students - it just varies by the group. I do this verbally with my struggling readers for most of the year, and boy do they sure love asking questions and choosing someone to answer - just like the teacher! My higher students practice with me a few times and then they are off to complete this on their own. They pick up the routines quickly and then they can usually run this on their own, most of the time anyway. Usually I have them read the book on their own first and write the questions, and then they can choose a partner to partner read the book with and ask the questions they already wrote as they go along. That way they already have the questions written so they are prepared and they know the answer that they need to find. Hopefully, they won't goof around when they are prepared with questions and answers ahead of time!

This is good for any grade level and any text. I have it on sale for 20% off in my TpT store until the end of the week! Click the image to go check it out!

January Mixed Up Sentences

I think mixed up sentences are a great activity for younger students. Well, all students really. They need to figure out what order the words make sense, and which words go at the beginning or end of the sentence. You can even take it a step further by having the students put the sentences in the right order to form a paragraph. 

This product contains 6 sentences about January themes such as Martin Luther King, Jr. day, the 100th day of school, etc. AND it is on sale for 20% off until the end of the week! Click the image to pick this up in my TpT store.