Summer Stock-Up

Let's face it....we're teachers so do we really take off for summer break? If you're anything like me your brain never stops thinking about things involving the classroom and students and how something could be made better. That's why we are bringing you "Summer Stock Up."  Tons of amazing teachers will be blogging about products that can help you get started back on the right track next school year. There are different categories you can browse through for all different grade levels.

I'm going to introduce you to my brand new product Common Core Reading Strategy Mini Lessons.

I have struggled to get a grasp on how I want my reading block to flow. I tried purchasing some different guided reading packets but nothing was working. I finally decided to come up with my own set of mini lessons. The way this will work in my classroom next year is each morning we start off with a 10-15 minute mini lesson. In the packet there are 15 mini lessons in all. Now this will in no way give you a mini lesson for each day of the year but I don't teach a brand new skill every day. In my class we teach a skill for a week and then even come back to review it later on in the year.

These are the skills covered:
text to self connection 
text to text connection 
text to world connection 
making and adjusting predictions 
making a mental picture or image 
using text features 
problem and solution 
summarizing the text 
main idea and supporting details 
author’s purpose 
cause and effect 
comparing and contrasting texts 
asking questions 
recognizing literary elements 
retelling 

With each lesson you will get:

*a mini lesson statement
*the common core standard it aligns to
*suggested books to use when teaching the lesson
*ideas for how to teach the lesson
*a mini poster
*questions to ask during the lesson
*questions to ask after independent practice
*an organizer to use whole group as you teach the lesson 
*an organizer for students to use during independent practice

During the mini lesson you will read a book to the class from the suggested book list or one of your own choice. Follow the mini lesson provided and discuss the mini poster included for better understanding.

We have a poster maker at my school. I turn the whole group organizer into a poster and laminate and record answers with a dry erase marker. This organizer stays up all week for students to refer back to. If you do not have a poster maker you can still display the organizer on the overhead and record answers that way.

After the whole group mini lesson students will practice the skill during independent reading time. During this time there is an organizer for students to use to record their own thinking. This will help them remember their thoughts when it is time to share what they discovered while reading that day own their own. 

Not sure if this would be something you could use? No problem, head over to my facebook page and pick up a free sample lesson complete with what each mini lesson comes with. This is available in my shop in a 2nd and 1st grade version. The free sample is the 2nd grade version but the only difference is the standard numbers on the top.

Now on to the next product I want to share with you: Polka Dot Phonics Cards

This packet comes with phonics posters that I use to display on the wall behind my guided reading table. That way when a student comes to a word they don't know we find the spelling pattern on one of the cards and they figure the word out on their own (most of the time). They come with 2 per page or 4 per page depending on how much wall space you have.

The next thing (and my favorite) included is a black and white version for students. I copied these on color card stock and gave each student a copy to keep in their Daily 5 bag. They are already familiar with the cards from seeing them on the wall during reading group so this way they have their own copy to refer to when reading independently. I am also considering putting a copy in their desks to use when not at Daily 5. I loved seeing my little ones pull these out last year to help a friend during read to someone. Depending on how many you want on each page it comes with 9 per page and 6 per page. 

So there you have it....two new products to get you started off to a great new school year. Don't forget to head over to my facebook page and pick up that sample mini lesson. From now through June 28th these two products will be 20% off in my TPT shop so if you like the sample make sure you stop by and pick up the entire packet while it's on sale. Click here for Common Core Reading Strategy Mini Lessons {2nd Grade}. Click here for Common Core Reading Strategy Mini Lessons {1st Grade}. Click here for Polka Dot Phonics Cards. If you want to read about more products from other bloggers click on the button below. You can also enter my giveaway below until June 24th and pick one of these products of your choice for free if you win! Thanks for reading! 

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