Communication Book

I have a returning student this year who I arrived in my class in term three last year. He is high needs and requires a lot of one on one support, motivating and structure. I'm fortunate that his parents are super supportive and work with me to achieve the best learning outcomes for their child. We communicate regularly, often after school when they come to collect him. We had discussed the possibility of establishing a communication book for the days where contact and communication between us is not possible. A communication book would allow his parents to inform me of any at-home issues he may be having, whilst enabling me to provide them with a quick overview  This will better prepare me for the day and thus making him more comfortable and settled within the room. 

In the past I have noticed that communication books are one of those funny things that can turn a chance to establish positive rapport with a parent or carer into a tedious daily tasks. With this in mind I wanted something simple that was was quick and easy to use. I would also like him to participate in filling in the book so as to develop his autonomy over his learning and behaviour. So I created the layout below. I have printed and bound this in an A5 size that that it fits easily into his home reading folder.

If you'd like to download a free copy please visit my Teachers Pay Teacher store here. 

Oh, and one last thing- 

Don't forget to take the time to sit down and explain the purpose and structure of your communication book to the parents. Such an obvious step but I've been guilty of overlooking it in the past.  :)

Beck xx

Plain and Simple Desk Strips (NSW Foundation Font)

At the beginning of 2015 I planned my classroom decor meticulously. It was my first time teaching Kindergarten and Year One from the start of the year and I was determined to fill my room with beautiful things. I loved my classroom (and I still do) however as the year progressed I began to realise the significant impact that the decor that I used had on my students learning. I had a number of male students in Year One who were very easily distracted and had some difficulty scanning. This made it hard for them to use some anchor charts and their desk strips as there was simply too much happening on them. For this reason I have created my own (very simple, very plain desk strip).

I've included the four things that my students need prompting for the most: letters (capital and lower case), consonant digraphs, word endings and numbers.  If you would like to download your own copy for free click here. 

Beck xx

2016 Classroom Planning

I've been thinking about how easy it is to get out of control when it comes to making purchases for your classroom (out of your own pocket) and since we have recently purchased a house I am spending more time than ever thinking about how I can provide my students with tools for their learning…. whilst not breaking the bank (or stressing out my other half!).

As I began my L3 training last year one of the first things that I noticed at the core of all planning and programming was the setting of learning intentions & goals. I was constantly asking myself what do I want my students to learn and how am I going to get them there.

This got me thinking that although cute labels and pretty manila folders make me ridiculously happy, do they really help or motivate my students to learn? In some instances, they do! But not always. So this year, as I've wandered around Officeworks, K-Mart, Aldi and Ikea I've constantly asked myself…. is this necessary? Will this help my students achieve their goals? If the answer is no, nine times out of ten I will put it back.

I am fortunate enough to teach a composite K/1 class in a small school, meaning that I have already taught my year one students for a whole year. I know them, their learning preferences and their strengths and weaknesses. I know what motivates them and what engages them. This gives me a big advantage when I am planning and organising my classroom for the new year ahead. And because these students have had me for a year already I really like to change the classroom around, give them something new and exciting to return to in their second year with me.

So there's my two cents worth on classroom purchases. Now on to the more exciting part- my classroom wish list for 2016. Some of these things I have already purchased (or my school has) and some of them I hope to pick up along the way. I've don't my best to include links in the titles to each item.

1. Ikea Childrens Tent ($19.99)

I have a few kids in my class who need their own 'space' to sit quietly away from noise and distractions. I had considered buying a tee pee last year however I don't have a very big classroom and I didn't want anything too imposing. This tent is perfect for little people as it doesn't take up to much space, whilst still providing students with somewhere to be on their own. K-mart also have cheap children's tents if you don't have access to an Ikea. 

2.  Kmart Woven Storage Container (small $5, large $8)

These storage container are available in small and large. I recently removed my desk from the classroom (more on that in another post) and transferred all my desk items to a large storage cupboard in my classroom. To keep things in the cupboard organised I purchased a range of these containers in small and large. I chose grey as they'll be tucked away in the cupboard. They're available in grey, orange, aqua and white.

3. Kmart Stool (available online for $12)

I actually got mine on sale for $8 each. I have set up a listening post in my classroom for 2016 and I needed a smaller seating option than our usual chairs. Originally I had planned to use milk crates and sew cushions for them, however they are surprisingly hard to get a hold of these days! When I went to buy these I wanted aqua but they only had two left. My OCD need to have four the same colour outweighed my love of aqua so I went with yellow. These fit perfectly around one desk, which suits my space poor classroom. 

4. Kmart ABC Self Ink Stamps ($5)

Are you sensing a theme here with Kmart? I'm sure any L3 teacher that has seen these at Kmart threw them in their trolley (I say trolley, because really, who can fit their Kmart goodies in a basket?) straight away! There are a million and one independent activities that these could be used for and for only $5 a set they are an awesome investment. I've already considered that when they run out I'll just throw some ink pads into the set and off we go again. 

5. Kmart 3-Tier Bathroom Trolley ($19) or Ikea Raskog Utility Cart ($29.99)

I have both of these. The Raskog I bought when they originally came out for my office at home and I love it. I considered using it at school but I just didn't want to part with it. So it was happy days for me when I came across something very similar at Kmart. The Kmart bathroom trolley is listed in the online store for $19 however I purchased mine for $12 in store. I am going to use it to store classroom materials that are used on a daily basis (glue, pencils, scissors etc). This is something that I desperately needed. Last year I found myself wasting too much time searching for materials in different places. Not to mention the time my students and I wasted packing up and tidying work areas. So this will hopefully jump start a more organised, less time wasting system!

6. Fluffy/ Novelty Pens (various prices)

I've been slowly collecting different fluffy and novelty pens to go along with Fun Friday L3 activities. On Fridays my students can select a novelty pen to complete their writing with. This is in response the general lag that I noticed every Friday, where everyone (including myself!) was just a bit weary and a little less motivated. I'm hoping these pens will excite my students enough to engage them in independent writing on Fridays and hold of the Friday slow down. 

These are just a few of the bits and pieces that I have collected for my 2016 classroom. I've also been fortunate enough to have received a large number of toys and books from friends and family who answered a Facebook callout for unwanted bits and pieces. This not only saves my school and myself money, it also gives my returning students some new bits and pieces to engage with.

(Oh and I did fall of the frugal wagon once or twice, a few fluro manila folders could possibly have found their way into my trolley).

Happy shopping and planning!

Beck xx

L3 Guided Reading Planner (beginning of the year).

It's been a long time between posts! As I slowly begin getting organised (who am I kidding, my classroom is more than half way set up) I thought I would share what my guided reading pro forma looks like at the beginning of the year. I'll be using the pro forma below for my kindergarten students who are reading Magenta and Red level texts. Click here to access a free download of this pro forma via Teachers Pay Teachers.

Familiar Read: This is the text that students have read in their previous guided reading lesson. Once they have read this text with me a second time it goes into their Familiar Reading box (more on this later!).

Learning Intention: I usually draw this from the literacy continuum and the English syllabus. My first learning intention for kindergarten students is 'crisp finger pointing'. The prompting that I use is  'when I see a word, I can say a word'. I always refer to the learning intention in my feedback to students e.g. 'I can see your crisp finger pointing under each word, well done'.

New Read and Level: This is their new text. Depending on previous guided reading lesson this may be a new level or the same level as their familiar text. I follow the L3 guided reading structure to introduce this text. This text then becomes their familiar text in the next lesson.

Word to Find: This is a high frequency word from the text. I identify the word to my students prior to reading e.g. this says 'at'. They then repeat the word. I ask them to find the word on another page. Students work their way through the text finding, pointing to and saying the word as they go. This is very quick!

Post Read: This is where I ask questions to clarify meaning. The depth of questioning develops as students move from Red to Magenta and beyond.

Word Work: Here I select a word from the text for students to manipulate using magnetic letters. I use the Phonics and Phonemic Awareness aspects of the literacy continuum to guide my planning. Red level text word work is the simple reformation of a high frequency word from the text using magnetic letters. Beyond red level students begin substituting initial, medial and final sounds to make a new word.

At the bottom of each lesson plan I keep any notes about what words or skills may need to be revisited in follow lessons. I also keep a separate sheet of paper with student names on it to record observations, new learning intentions and any other important information relating to guided reading groups.

This is a very basic overview of how I use this pro forma. The L3 program support folder will give you much more in-depth information about the structure of an L3 guided reading lesson.
I am only in my first year on L3 training and am definitely not an expert, however if you have any questions please leave them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them.

Thanks,

Beck

Up, Up, Up and Away!

I'm slowly back tracking through some of the art and craft that I did with my 2/3 class over the past year and I thought I'd share some of my favourites.

This display was created for the local show. Each year our school creates a number of 'show boards' to help decorate the pavilion. I was very excited to create this, and so were the kids! We went with the theme of balloons after reading Where do Balloons Go? by Lauren Cornell.

I gave each student an outline of a balloon and demonstrated different lines and effects using oil pastels. Once they had a practice with the pastels they moved onto their balloon. I love all the different patterns that they came up with. Next up we just added some water colour paint & we were done.

They practiced their photography skills taking the pictures of each other. Next time I'll encourage them to do some more creative poses. We just use some gift ribbon and a staple gun to pin them to the board.

Adventures in 2015

Wow! It's been awhile! As school is winding down (one day to go!) I thought I would revisit this blog and get a jumpstart on 2015.

Next year I will be teaching a cross stage K/1 class. At the moment my class will have an enrolment of 13 kids, 7 in Kindergarten and 6 in Year 1. With professional development and support I will be implementing L3.

L3 (Language, Learning and Literacy) focusses on giving students explicit instruction in reading and writing using small groups and rotating independent/ group tasks. I am very excited (and a little daunted) by the big changes ahead for me as a teacher. My aim is to write updates of my progress and share anything I learn along the way right here!

So anyone out there who has advice for a first time kindergarten teacher.... feel free to send it this way!


To read more about L3 click here. 

Arrays!

This week we began a new unit of work in Maths. I will write another post (one day when I have some spare time... Haha!) with some more details about my general maths program and lesson structure. Prior to this lesson we revised what multiplication means, how it is represented and created an anchor chart.

Arrays Lesson #2

Introduction- I used simple flashcards and modelled the conversion of an array into a multiplication fact (find my free basic array flash cards on my TPT store here) . I then flipped that flashcard to demonstrate the commutative property of each multiplication fact.
I reinforced this using on online array display (found here).

Guided: I then split my students into two groups. I had most of my year twos working on representing two times tables multiplication facts using counters whilst my year threes worked through visual examples on the IWB (found here).

Independent: For this part of the lesson I used a Notebook file with two dice and a counter that had been infinitely cloned. Students 'rolled' the dice to create a fact. They then had to use the counters to model the fact. Once we had done this a few times as a class students went to their desks in pairs with a set of dice and a bingo marker. From there they rolled their dice and represented the two numbers shown on the dice as an array. They absolutely loved using the bingo markers!