Oh boy…it’s Saturday. That means our wonderful, restful break is almost over. I sure do love my students this year but…I’m not ready!!!
Now that my tantrum is over…let’s get down to business. Let’s talk the first week back. Now usually the Monday isn’t too bad, right? Everyone is tired and trying to get back in the groove. Then, Tuesday happens. WE’RE BAAAAAACK! So, I try and ease myself back into the routine. One way I do this is with my reading block.
We have a whole hour of guided reading and reading intervention time. Kiddos are working on independent reading, reading groups, literacy centers and are being pulled out for the reading support groups. For this time I like to be organized and intentional but also take it easy with out having to prep a bunch of stuff.
Let me share with you how I do it.
I LOVE these leveled reading passages! They go from A-I so I can copy what I need for each group. There are so many options that fit winter time including How to Make a Snowman, Perky Penguins, Ice is Nice and Polar Bears, Polar Bears! For my first week back I am going to focus on using Animals in Winter which is from our Winter Wonderland Bundle.
These sets all come with vocabulary cards, a sight word and vocabulary game and vocabulary exit slips. Everything you would need to teach a guided reading group are included. They don’t take much prep, a few copies and slices on the paper slicer, and you are set to go.
We really like to put an emphasis on content vocabulary, so most of our sets include a lot of vocabulary. For the students to be successful, it’s important that we spend a lot of time in this area. This is why we have also included a vocabulary dictionary to help the kiddos keep track of their new words.
We usually spend the whole week on one passage. Ta-da!! That’s how we ease back into it! Plus, because each passage is leveled, I know that the kiddos are working at their level. They are also learning the EXACT SAME content, just at their level.
Now…what about the kiddos that are in literacy centers???? Well…I’m glad you asked!
Enter….Winter Quick Reads!!
This is an independent activity that the kiddos can do during literacy centers. There are five different, leveled, quick reads on each ring. There is also a response booklet that the kiddos can complete with whichever quick read they read that day. Now, D/E is pictured but the quick reads are leveled A-I.
Here is an example. On one day a kiddo can read one of the cards and complete one of the pages in the booklet. Notice how the quick reads connect to the passages?!?!? I mean, just because we are easing into it doesn’t mean we can’t be intentional! Now the kiddos are reading about the same topic, at their level, and practicing the vocabulary, BY THEMSELVES!! This is such an easy way for those kiddos to get in their extra minutes of high success reading! There are five quick reads for each level, so that’s AT LEAST five days worth of thinking and practicing different skills.
With such little prep, I know that the kiddos are working and learning. These are familiar to them, because we have done it all before, and they can really feel successful, happy and, hopefully, well behaved because of they are focused. Just like that, we are back into our guided reading routine.
We really try to be intentional with all of our products and connect them so that they work well together in your classroom. My kiddos LOVE the passages. They LOVE the word games. They LOVE that they get to take the passages home to read and share with their families. They LOVE to be successful with the quick reads. I know your kiddos will LOVE them too!!
Here are the resources that we have. We hope that you find them as helpful as we do! Just click the covers to shop:)
I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend and that your first week back will be a breeze!
