Compliment Clips

There are so many different versions of this.  I had seen compliment chains on-line several years ago and thought they were a  great idea, but wanted to simplify it just a bit.  I wanted something that my Star of the Day could easily add the compliments to for me.  These are any compliments our class receives from other teachers or staff throughout the day.  Anyone besides myself, because I should be giving LOTS of compliments during the day.  Anyhow, I was at my favorite store, Target, and found a bright red flower pot and also spotted some colorful clothespins, and it sparked the idea of compliment clips.  We add a clothespin for each compliment, and on the 10th clip they get an extra 10 min. of recess.  They work extra hard for compliments and they are super proud of themselves when they receive one. 

Story Snapshot

I decided to create a Story Snapshot pocket chart as a visual reminder for students of the key elements of the stories we're reading in class.  I have incorporated the Ice-Cream Scoop Skills/Strategies that I posted a picture of earlier.  I ran off an extra set to use in my pocket chart. I think it's so important to make connections as much as possible.The genre signs are the same signs I have hanging from my genre tree in my Book Nook.  I LOVE them.  They are so bright and colorful.  I purchased them from Really Good Stuff.  The images on the Theme signs I found on-line a long time ago and I'm still trying to locate the site because her posters are great.  I will add a link if I happen to come across it. The themes included are- Be a Good Friend, Be Yourself, Kindness, Responsibility, Sharing, Teamwork, and Try New Things. At the bottom of the chart is my Making Words Station.  I try to choose a word that connects to the story of the week.  Each week I change out the letters and they use the form below.

 

 

 

Click the image above to get the FREEBIE. 

 

Small Moments

We are continuing to work on Small Moment Stories from Lucy Calkin's Units of Study.  We are having a great time storytelling. This is a picture of an anchor chart we created. We are taking large watermelon topics and pulling out the "small moment" seeds. They wrote their small moment ideas on post-its and we discussed whether their topics were watermelon or seed topics. After several read alouds and sharing stories from my own life, they are finally starting to see the importance of zooming into that smaller moment. This also gets them away from writing stories that are merely lists and moves them towards writing stories about a moment in time.

 

Transition Words

We are still working on Small Moment Stories.  We talk about transition words daily as they come up in both our reading and writing.  We talk about how transition words connect our thoughts and make our writing sound smoother and better.  My students LOVE songs!  We have songs for just about everything.  If there isn't a song, then we make one up.  This is our transition word song and the list of transition words that my students keep in their Writing Folders.

Click on the images below for the free printables.

Thank You!!!

I wanted to thank everyone for commenting and stopping by my blog. I was really intimidated by blogging, but knew I really wanted to give it a go. So a huge thank you to everyone for your support!!! My friends ask, "Where in the world do you find time to do it?" Have I mentioned that I have a teenager and a 2 year old? Well, I could say it's in between algebra homework, hide and seek, potty training, and Little Einsteins, but honestly it usually ends up being when it's more like this in the house.

 

Wiggle Words

I must have vocabulary on my mind today. I'm always looking for ways for my students to make connections, so I created this Wiggle Words Station. For each of their vocabulary words they do the following: (1) Write the word on the mouth (2) Write the definition (3) T-T: Make a connection to the text. How is the word used in the story? (4) T-S: Make a connection to their own lives. (5) Illustrate
I usually run it 2-sided because we generally have 6 vocabulary words that go along with our story of the week in Reading.  The vocabulary words used in the example below are from the book, Arthur Writes a Story by Marc Brown.
 *** This handout is available at my teacher store. You can click on the image to head to my teacher store. 

Vocabulary Voyage

My students use this form in stations to practice their vocabulary words. We call it our Vocabulary Voyage station. I usually run it off and keep it in our station crate.  Each week they use the same form, but with different words. 

Click on the image below to get a copy of this printable.

Spelling Wizards

I send this form halfway through the week with those students that need additional practice with their spelling words.  Anyone that did not pass the prior week's spelling test, is also responsible for completing the form.  They return it to me on Friday, and  I usually give color changing pencils or stickers when it is turned in completed.  I've found that it really helps improve their grades on Spelling Tests and it holds them more accountable.

 Click on the image below for your free copy.