Where's That Note?

Have you ever spend time looking for an important note that you received from the office, a team, or your district?  I admit that I have spend my valuable planning time looking for a silly note that I really needed.   I decided to find a better solution to locate notes quickly. 

Then, I had an AHA MOMENT!  Now that we have online gradebooks, my planner has many unused pages.  I decided to glue in all the important schedules, testing dates, rotation dates and more in my gradebook.  Now, when I need to find an important note, I know it is in my gradebook.  The second AHA MOMENT hit me when I decided to use Post-it Note Durable Tabs to organize my book.  I hope this teaching hint is helpful.  I know it has saved me tons of time. 

Common Core Math Models- Let's Practice

As I teach math concepts, I am always looking for a way to reinforce concepts.   Fluency is the key.  Kids need ways to practice what they have learned.

This worksheet has been a great resource for reinforcement after teaching multiplication models.  Students can use as a daily worksheet.  The teacher just needs to supply the multiplication problem for the day.

Click here to download: MULTIPLICATION MODELS - ARRAYS, SETS, MEASUREMENT AND FACT FAMILIES 

Reading Graphic Organizer for Retelling a Story

Hello Everyone,

This is my very first blog.  I am so excited to be a part of this new world of blogging.  Teachers, I hope you find some ideas that you love and can use in your classroom. 

My first idea to share is a graphic organizer that I designed.  It is a retelling graphic organizer.  I used this graphic organizer before my class took their midyear state required DIBELS Next Test.  It was extremely successful! My student's scores for the retelling portion of this assessment were excellent. 

In using this form, we took the weekly reading story and completed the retelling graphic organizer together.   I modeled how I wanted the students to retell the story using the graphic organizers.  I explained that I wanted students to touch each part of their hand as they described the characters, setting, problem, events, and solution for the story.  Then, I called on several students to retell the story just as I had modeled.  They did a wonderful job!  My students enjoyed presenting their retelling of our story.   The best part of this lesson is that students remembered how to retell the story without looking back to the graphic organizer. 

I plan on using this retelling strategy all year long for DIBELS Next, guided reading, and Fountas and Pinnell assessments.  

Click the link below for a FREE download of this graphic organizer from my Teacher Notebook Store.

The Common Core Teacher Blog TN Shop