Teacher Wisdom at Dog Obedience Class AND a Big "Thank You!"

 

I was supposed to finish up a "Fall for All" Literacy and Math pack tonight to post...but it just didn't happen.  I am super excited to share it with you!

 

Math games with spider rings? Oh yea. They're in there.

 

Do you have any idea what a child will do for a spider ring?  They go BANANAS for them.

 

 

Go ahead and grab a bag at the Dollar Tree because I hope to be back early in the week to get that pack to you in time to use...before it becomes "Scarecrows and Spiders in Winter" Literacy and Math pack. 

 

Oy.  Not enough time in the day.

 

On another note...I have been absolutely blown away by all of the sweet comments I received in response to my 100 followers giveaway.  It quickly became my 200 followers giveaway...and I couldn't be more thankful to all of you sweet ladies who are helping to make it happen.  Keep spreading the word...giveaway doesn't end until Friday at midnight.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I have read every single comment and the encouraging words have made my heart so happy.  I have not responded to everyone yet...but I will!

 

Here is the link to the giveaway again.

 

I have a big THANK YOU freebie in the works for my new followers and the sweet friends who have helped them find me. :) Stay tuned!

 

This week we are working on a decoding strategy with our reading buddy "Eegore the Eagle."

He uses his "eagle eye" to look for picture clues to figure out unknown words. 

 

You can check out all of my reading "buddies" and strategy cards for FREE if you're interested.

 

So, in the past...I have used coloring book pages to do this activity. 

 

(By the way...that's one of my kid's favorite writing activities.  It's super easy and quick (even for an emergency substitute plan!).  I pick up coloring books whenever I find them cheap, and then I pull out the pages that I like and my kiddos can choose one and write a story about what's happening in the picture.  Then, they get to color it!)

 

My coloring book pages were looking a little rough when I pulled them out again this year so I went ahead and made a little something to use this week that I can share with you.

 

 

 

 

There are ten different pictures.  For each picture, there are three separate pages.  The first page shows a picture with some key words "blacked out."  Students should use clues from the picture to guess the unknown word.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, you can show students the second picture with only the beginning sounds of the "mystery" words showing so that they can make the connection between using phonics with their new picture strategy.  They should think about/revise their guesses based on the beginning sounds.

 

Finally, you can reveal the picture with the entire sentence!  They will get so daggone excited when they realize they guessed the word correctly.

 

 

 

Such a simple activity, but it leads to such great discussions about decoding unknown words.  This is also a great time to introduce "schema" to your students. More specific instructions are included. :)

 

I hope you can use this to make your students more confident readers! 

 

 It is on sale for $1 in my TPT store.  Grab it here.

 

 

 

OK...disclaimer...

 

If you are not interested in a long-winded story about my dog, you should stop reading now.  If you'd like to know what I learned about teaching at dog obedience class today...read on. :)

 

 

I learned a lot at Sawyer's dog obedience class today. I wish I could say the same for Sawyer....

Kidding.

Well, kinda kidding. :)

 

Bless his heart.  That's all I can say.

 

To make a long story short, Sawyer used to go to doggy daycare, the dog park, you name it...I did all of the right "socializing" things a pet mom is supposed to do.

Then, one day at a park, his moron mom (me) didn't put his leash on right and he ran up to a dog that was less than friendly. It made him very unsure about certain dogs. So, we got him "professional help." First...some one on one training sessions. Now, we're in "group therapy" as Andy calls it.

Sawyer's "issues" make me sad. They have even made me cry. Obviously, I may be a tad more attached to my dog than some (or most).

And a tad more emotional than some (or most).

But it does bother me a lot that we can't take him out in public like we used to. It bothers me that people give me a disapproving look when we go on walks. Or worse...when they make snotty comments about how I really should "get him used to other dogs." (Like I've never thought of that before ;))

Not having kids of my own yet, the closest thing I have to try to understand what parents must feel like is how I feel about my dog. I've had some "a-ha" moments throughout the process, especially today.

It's hard to have "that dog" that has to be in the corner because he flips out when dogs walk by him. It's hard not to compare my dog to the other dogs in the class. It's hard not to get frustrated with one step forward and two steps back. It's hard not to want to defend him or blame his behavior on someone or something else. And it's hard to keep going to class celebrate the small successes when the progress is so slow.

Just as I would imagine it's hard for parents when they get a letter that their child must be pulled out for remediation, or that they didn't do well on a math test, or they are having trouble getting along with their peers.

I know that my dog is a sweet, gentle, love bug...just as the parents of my students know how precious their children are. It's hard when you don't think others see that.

I also know how much it means when the trainer points out  progress, gives encouragement, and doesn't constantly dwell on his flaws.

Maybe those of you who have children of your own don't need as much of a reminder about that, but it certainly makes me think about myself as a teacher. 

Especially as we all are heading into "conference season." I know it's a fine line between being informative and being negative...but I also know I will be thinking about the lump in my throat in dog obedience class when I'm talking to my parents at our fall conferences.  

 

And since Sawyer is sitting beside me..he'd also like for me to add that he wasn't THAT bad at class today. 

And finally...I have to steal our sweet trainer's philosophy that she ends each class with...

 

"Practice makes progress."

 

Perfection is not always the end goal...and that's OK. 

 

 I hope you celebrate some small successes this week. Have a FABULOUS one!

 

And remember as you're working with your precious children...practice makes progress. ;)

 

Happy teaching to you!

 

 

 

FREEBIE: Reading Strategy Headers & Strategy Cards

I wanted to revamp my reading strategy board so I made some new headers and strategy cards. I hope someone else can use them!



Click here to download the chevron reading strategy HEADERS.

Click here to download the STRATEGY CARDS with "reading buddy" clipart.

Click here to download the plain STRATEGY CARDS.

You can also download all of them for FREE right here at my Teachers Pay Teachers store!




You can adjust the size of each header and each strategy card a bit by cutting more/less of the background off to fit on your board.  I will post a picture of my finished reading strategy board using these cards as soon as I get back in my classroom!

**These are NOT the exact strategies you will find in The Cafe Book or any other reading program. These are just the reading strategies I find most useful in my first grade classroom. I adapted them to fit the things we concentrate on.So if you're looking for something to match up exactly, this won't work for you!** 

Would love to know if there are any good strategies I'm missing!?!?!

I also like to make an extra set of these to laminate and use in small group.  It's a great visual of the strategies we've learned and I like to ask the kids to articulate which strategy they are using and which ones they've tried, etc.  My small group table is not near a bulletin board so we can't see the strategy board (CAFE board) very well from there.

 I read the Daily 5 & Cafe book several years ago and LOVE so many of the ideas in there.  I have adjusted it a lot to fit with my schedule and needs of my little ones so I don't necessarily like to say that I "do the Daily 5." 

Ya know...in case the Daily 5 police ever observed in my room. Yikes.

I do a "modified version of Daily 5."  There.  Much better. 

The things that I liked so much about the book when I read it were...first of all,  the kids were reading ALL THE TIME.  I know for a fact that a lot of my students do not read a lot at home because they don't have books, or they are just super duper busy, etc.  Plus, it is hard to find books for really early readers at a book store, even if families do have the resources to buy books. 

We are a Title One school so we have had funds in the past to build up a really nice leveled bookroom so being able to put "just right" books in the hands of my kiddos is very doable.  Another thing I loved about the Daily 5 was the expectation of independence.  I am BIG on teaching self-reliance and working through problems on your own.  Helplessness just isn't really my thing.  (Truthfully, It kinda bugs me).

One of my most used phrases in class is "How could you solve that problem?" 

And I'm not talking math problems.

It usually goes something like this...

Student: Hand waving wildly in the air, "ooh" "ooh", "Ms. Journell!!!", (insert more monkey noises and urgent wiggling in seat)

Me: "Yes, dear?"

Student: "My pencil broke."

Me:  (wanting to say something sarcastic but trying hard to refrain...) 

Insert favorite phrase: "How could you solve that problem?"

Student: (a little shocked at first because I didn't fall in the floor and gasp at the news of the broken pencil...I mean, major catastrophe, right??) 

"Umm...I could go get another one?"

Me: "Good idea."

See how easy that is? :)

I like for them to use scissors to open a bag of fruit snacks if they can't open it, get a paper towel if something spills, grab their jacket if they are cold...ya know...basically just develop some life skills without running everything by me. 

It's hard because kids are so conditioned to ask for permission for everything.  It's a fine line between control and independence. 

And a fine line between teaching that independence and just being a big ol' meanie.  I assure you I am not!

I WILL open those darn fruit snacks if they can't...I promise. (As long as they let me have a red one...I'm kidding.  Kind of.)

One of the other main things that I LOVED about the Daily 5 is that it didn't require me to set up a ton of different centers every day and it allows me to meet in small groups with my readers.

There are a few things I didn't like about the Daily 5 though.  One of them being I have to teach math, science, social studies, and writing too!  Umm...I think if I did the Daily 5 as described in the book it would take me from 7:30-2:30.  So I have definitely modified it to suit our needs (and schedule).  I will make another post explaining how the "modified version of the Daily 5" looks in my room in case anyone is interested.

For now...please enjoy the reading strategy cards.  One set has the "reading buddies" I use to introduce each strategy.  I pull out a beanie baby to match each one when we learn a new one and the kids GO BANANAS when they get to meet a new "reading buddy." Sometimes I will let them hold one of them if they do a good job using a strategy, etc.  I like having the tactile object to relate to the strategies but you certainly wouldn't have to.

The other set is without the cutesy animals, if cutesy animals aren't really your thing.

Anyways....help yourself. :)

Even if you do not use Daily 5/Cafe...these would be great to use in whole group/small group or to display in your room as a visual for good reading strategies.

Am I missing any strategies?? Do the links work?? I would love some feedback.

And some followers...just sayin'.  ;)

 

You can find some other awesome freebies here!