Blending In....

Good afternoon all,
It's a cold and rainy day here in good ol' RVA.  Hope you are staying warm and dry, wherever you are!  :)

For the next couple of weeks in Tier II reading, we will be covering consonant blends and digraphs.  My Kindergartners and first graders are working on ch, sh, and th.  I try to cover these immediately after letter identification and letter sound mastery.  My third graders are now working on a number of different beginning and ending blends and digraphs.  We have lots of fun activities to explore these sounds and to practice reading them in context.  First, I have a couple of fun charts for you courtesy of Ladybug's Teacher Files.  Click on the images to download your printables.

Consonant Blends Chart-

Digraphs Chart-

In addition, I found this fantastic center activity on Make Take Teach that I plan on constructing and using in my classroom for years to come.  I am always looking for activities that my students can work on either cooperatively or independently during center time.  My goal this week is to print these out with the color printer and then laminate them for durability.  The students will practice their blends by identifying the picture on the card and filling in the correct blend with a dry erase marker.  Click on the picture to get your very own set of phonics cards!

I can't say enough great things about Make Take Teach.  The phonics lessons are perfect for intervention groups and "regular" classrooms alike.  It also has some awesome St. Patrick's Day  activities available for download right now-  Go check it out!

To all my readers-

Hope you're having a great weekend! Ours is full of basketball and winter soccer playoffs. I promise to post something fun and educational very soon.

Emergent Reader 3 Pack!

Hi all! Just finished creating and uploading a new product for you. This fun set of three easy readers will be great for your kids that are working on mastering sight words. Included in this pack are three titles, covering over TWENTY different sight words! The Dolch words used in these readers include: a, the, give, little, and, you, for, come, look, here, at, this, my, it, is, so, will, you, me, please, here, your, & help.


Hope you enjoy- Head over to my shop to get yourself a copy! Click on the image to take you there. :)

Syl-lab-i-ca-tion

This week in Reading Intervention, we are working on syllabication.  This phonemic awareness activity can be difficult for young students.  My Kindergarteners tend to streeeeeeetch out one syllable words to give them 2 or three syllables!  Maybe it's a southern thing.  :)  We "clap it out" to count our syllables, but this takes practice.  Along with picture flashcards, I use some fun cut and paste activities to reinforce this important skill.  My first graders are getting to be pros at the segmentation, but we will continue to review this to help with their blending skills.

Click on the picture below for a great freebie!  Thanks to Of Primary Importance for this classroom resource.

Happy Heart Day!

Positive Reinforcement Rituals

Hello, all!
Today's post is a topic that is near and dear to my heart- behavior modification.  I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, so naturally this is a subject that I find fascinating.  In the classroom, teachers must model and set expectations of how they want their students to act.  We do this in many ways- we talk about rules, we praise proper behavior and correct negative behavior.  The key is that it must be done swiftly, positively, and consistently.  We create classroom rules posters, keep sticker charts, stock treasure boxes, and give lots of high fives.  But, one of the most effective ways that I keep my students observant of expected behaviors is by using one simple phrase.  Want to hear it?  Here it goes.....

"I really like/love/appreciate the way that (insert child's name here) is (sharing/reading quietly/following directions/capitalizing and punctuating, etc....).  Boy, does that make Mrs. Filas happy!!!!

Children snap right into line, folks.  It's as easy as that- most of the time.  :)  In addition to my magic statement, I am using a new behavior modification system that I adopted this year.  It works great with my small groups and could work well in just about any classroom setting.  And here's a bonus- you can also use this one at home with your own kiddos!

 I have created these punch cards for my classes to monitor their good behavior.  Every day when they come to see me, if they have stayed on task and have been well behaved during our lesson, I will give them one or two punches on their card.  I use a cool hole punch in the shape of a star, and I have a fully stocked treasure chest with lots of goodies- pencils, bookmarks, erasers, little toys, and candy (allergen-free, of course).  My students LIVE for their special day when they finally fill their card, earn their treat, and get a fresh new card.  I always make a point to have them take it home to show their family.  I want the moms and dads to be as proud of their star student as I am!

I have constructed a set of ten different punch cards for use in the classroom, a few of which are shown above.  This project is my latest submission to both Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook, two amazing marketplace websites for teacher-created materials. Please visit either of my storefronts (just click the links above) if you'd like to purchase this item.

I'd love to hear what kind of behavior programs you are using in your classroom or at home.  Please post below if you have an idea to share.  Questions or comments?  Leave those too!  :)

Website of the Week

Teaching grades K-5 means that I have to have a wide range of knowledge about a wide range of subjects.  Not to mention, I have a seventh grader whose studies are quite rigorous. My prayers have been answered today, my friends.

No more frowns when it comes to fractions and decimals...
No more pouting about protons, neutrons, and electrons!

I have found an AMAZING website- this is no joke, y'all!  It's so awesome, 

I hereby name it the "Website of the Week" (and it's only Monday)!

The site is called Study Jams and it is hosted by Scholastic, one of my favorite educational companies on the planet.  You MUST check out the plethora of in-depth math and science lessons on the site.  It is super cool- even for the big kids.  It's highly interactive and engaging for kids of all ages.
In addition, the graphics and navigational tools are very user friendly.  

JACKPOT!!

Love is in the air!

Good morning, sweethearts!!!  It's a special week here at school.  The kids are very excited about exchanging Valentines with their classmates on Thursday.  I love when everybody feels the love!  I've found a sweet little activity that is great for Valentine's Day or any other day of the year.  I wanted to share it with you so you could use it this week- What a great way to celebrate the children's friendships!  It would also be a great get-to-know-you game for the beginning of the year.  Thanks to A Year of Many Firsts for this free download!

Firstie Math Review

Happy weekend, all!  Many of us are preparing for benchmarks and mid-year assessments now that February is here.  I wanted to share a very comprehensive, very wonderful math freebie to use with your little ones.  Thanks to Positively Learning for sharing this mega-file!!

It's Rhyme Time!

This week in Intervention, we have been working on rhyming sounds. We have done lots of picture matching and auditory discrimination exercises. In addition, we have recorded many, many pairs of rhyming words. We are really getting the hang of listening for those similar ending sounds.

One of my favorite activities this week has been "Wild About Rhymes."  Click on the image to download this FANTASTIC freebie!

Mouse Multiplication Freebie

Hello, friends!  Just got finished working on a fun little activity for my fourth graders who REALLY need some help getting those multiplication facts memorized.  This game could be used for independent work, cooperative learning, or for center time in grades 3, 4, and 5.  You will need two dice for each print out.  Hope you and your kiddos enjoy!

Word Problem of the Day

My little corner of the world-

I am really enjoying my new position as an interventionist at Carver Elementary.  We have a student population that is striving to meet county and state standards, but has significant obstacles.  In most elementary schools in the county, there is one interventionist that serves students who have not met benchmark scores.  At our school, we have four.  This also, unfortunately, means that we are very short on space.  I see many groups of students each week ranging from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade.  Luckily, the most I have at any one time is six students.  I like to keep my groups small so that they can receive the one on one attention they need.

I share a classroom with two other teachers- yes, that's three of us in total... And we are all conducting groups simultaneously.  It can be very challenging, but at the same time, I really like collaborating with my fellow teachers.  Here's my corner of Room 3!  :)

It's a tight fit, but I like to think of it more as "cozy"....   :)

My new favorite website for Preschoolers and Kindergartners...

For those of us that teach Kindergarten, we know how monotonous it can be to teach the letters and sounds of the alphabet.  I am always looking for fun and entertaining ways to spice things up.  A colleague of mine directed me to this fabulous website, and now I want to share it with you.  I present to you the STORYBOTS!!!

Adorable, right?!

This fantastic educational site has a song for every letter of the alphabet.  Each one is so engaging- your students will sing, dance, and laugh... They'll ask you to play it again and again.  This was a great find!!  They even have a "make your own video" link where you can upload a picture and become a storybot yourself!  For all the parents out there, you can also download an app to monitor and reward your child's behavior with the "beep and boop" game.  It's genius!

The Race to Recertify

Guess what time it is, folks?  That's right- it's time for recertification!  I have been teaching for about twenty years now, and each time this task rolls around, it sends me into a tizzy.  When I was in the classroom full time and had access to teacher workshops, staff development, and mentoring opportunities, it wasn't hard to accumulate recert points.  But since I have been out of the classroom and home with my boys, or working part time in my intervention role, I have had no other option but to take college courses to meet my requirements.

We all know that taking college courses is not easy when we are raising children, managing a home, AND teaching kids in the classroom.  It's pricey, it's time consuming, and it's inconvenient. Since I have my Masters' Degree in the state of Virginia, I am only required to take two 3 credit college courses to meet my 180 point minimum.  I have taken college courses before where I was required to drive to the college campus and attend night classes (yawwwwwwwwn....).  It was a bit overwhelming and exhausting to say the least.  Then I found out about the Professional Development Institute through the University of San Diego.  What a life saver!  I was able to take courses for college credit at a reasonable price.  Sometimes they even offer sales on tuition (luckily I caught one).  They have quite a few courses to choose from and they are not ridiculously time consuming or difficult.  I took a phonics course and a class on real world math that was fantastic.  Both courses gave me hands-on activities and ideas that I could use in my classroom.

They also mailed my transcripts super quickly so I could get the ball rolling and send my stuff in to the Virginia DOE.  I'm hoping to get my shiny new teaching license within the next few weeks.  I'm not a paid actor, and this is not an advertisement.  :)  Just wanted to give PDI a shout-out and share some info for those of you who might be in the same position. Thank goodness for online learning!

See you in five years, central office!!! 

Emergent Reader: We Like to Go!

In my kindergarten and first grade reading intervention groups, I use the Intervention Station curriculum.  My classroom partner, Jamie, and I follow the scope and sequence of this program carefully, but we love to spice it up with activities from our favorite teacher websites like TpT, Teachers' Notebook, and Pinterest.

Not only do we teach our kiddos important phonics skills, we also focus heavily on sight word recognition.  This week I have created an emergent reader to cover sight words: we, like, to, and go.  Hope you enjoy this freebie!

Will the Groundhog see his shadow??

I don't know about my readers, but I am already looking forward to Spring.  Although the weather has been pretty mild, I am not a big fan of winter.  February is officially here and it is time for lots of fun classroom activities and special holidays (including Mrs. Filas' birthday)!

For the start of February, here is a terrific groundhog packet (courtesy of acupcakefortheteacher) that is sure to please your students...