I Just LuhhhV My Job! & Where I've been!!

Have you ever just had one of those weeks (or a day) when you think.. "I love my job." I definitely had one of those weeks this week. Teaching can be a very tiring job but it really is just the best! It's a job (and I am sure you know) that makes you give everything you've got each day. It takes a lot of drive/motivation and all your patience to get through the day. Then, when the kids leave your pooped! That's me! That was me this week! But, each day when the kids left I was so happy. They left and I knew that day went smoothly... they all learned and they left giving me hugs and smiling. Today, I got my first, "I'm really going to miss you when I leave for second grade." comment. Uh, rips out my heart. I am finding that I really find myself attached to my kids each year (my whole 2 years of teaching) and I end up not really wanting the year to end. I know at the end of this year though I am going to feel so good about what I did for these kids.

This year I have had a particularly challenging group of students. I have a lot of different needs in my classroom and being a second year teacher I needed a lot of guidance which thankfully I received from some colleagues. But, this year I know that I gave it My ALL every single day and I am doing all that I can to make sure my kids are getting the best out of me!

I am beginning this MIA post with that because people I am SCRURRED!!! My fiance and I are moving next year and that means I have to find a new position. I have just been doing a lot of thinking about... what if I don't find a position... what on earth am I going to do to not only fill my time but satisfy my need to TEACH! Of course, TPT could keep me occupied but people... those ideas come straight from my kids and our discussions together! -- Okay, whew enough sweet talk!! :) Now, onto my week because friends; I have been MIA in this blog world.!

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Part 2: I promised a good 2 weeks ago I would be back with an update on my reading stations and how guided reading is going in my room. Like any teacher, I am evolving and finding new (not really) ways to make things work better in my classroom. My reading time is basically Daily 5 with different stations. (Read to Partner, I-pad, Raz-Kids, Writing, Literacy Station). The kids rotate every 12 minutes and I meet with at least 3 groups a day.

My last post was about how I was having the kids read the same book and differentiating the comprehension concept. That worked for a hot week and then I said, "Yah, scratch that." Why you say?!! BECAUSE... we got Raz-Kids! Now, I can differentiate students reading levels as I couldn't before because we did not have differentiated reading materials that were leveled and consistent. So, here are some photos and snip-its of what we have been doing during reading! :)

Right here is a sloppy copy of my guided reading plans. I always type them up in a document so their readable! But, the students are broken up into groups 1-5. Each group reads a different level story and depending on their readiness depends on the comprehension concept that we work on.

The past two weeks I have really been finding my groove in this whole guided reading thing. I do two lessons with my two struggling groups of phonics instruction and phonics readers. We work on spelling and fluency for a good two days. We also work on the concept being covered for the week or the previous week.

The rest of my groups go right into a story with me and a comprehension and language concept.

Here are some pictures below of them hard at work after we read our story and discussed it.

We do lots and lots of talking in guided reading! I <3 it!

These kiddos are reading their books on Raz-Kids and the other one took a quiz on the book we read this week in guided reading! (He got them all right) Whoop, Whoop!!

In the picture above we were working on identifying things that are real and make believe in a story. It was harder for them than I thought it would be. They really had to dig in deep and think of each part of the story.

This group worked on identifying a problem in the story and then coming up with possible solutions to the story! So fun!

This little cutie was working on expanding on her thoughts when retelling a story. A lot of my students struggle with retelling stories using their own words so that's something I have been hitting hard with those students who are having a tough time! I told them, "No more picture drawing about the stories... Now, it is time for sentences!!!" :)

This is how I am organizing my guided reading materials as of right now except I added numbers to the outside of them to correlate with the groups number. My room is teeny tiny so this is really all the space I have to store stuff. A whole two shelves.-HA! My next goal is to set up a guided reading bucket of manipulative materials that I have found my self using over and over again during my small group instruction. I just need to find space to put it. It's looking like the floor will have to do! Fine by me!!

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Now, stations! If you have been keeping up with my blog you know that stations are something I kind of had a tough time with this year. My students like I said earlier struggle a lot with all sorts of things. Organization and problem solving are tough for them so I really had to try to simply and make sure everything follows a routine to make this time of the day run extra smooth! Hey, it's okay right? We're always evolving!

I'm only setting out one 'required' literacy bin a day. So, when the kids visit that station that is their must do activity. If they finish it before the station time is up then they can re-do an old station, catch up on an old station they did not finish or complete a desert bin activity which is the picture you see below.

There are manipulative materials, a word search and a sight word activity in here.

This coming week I put a roll and read and a sight word memory game in there for the kids to do.

For some excitement I bought some JUMBO pencils from wally world! The kids LUHHHV them!!

I am figuring out my writing station too. People... my kids LOVE to write so I have to make sure to do a lot of it during the day! So, each week I put blank paper in one tray and then a sentence activity and at least two writing prompts at the writing station. The kids choose what they want to do but... they do have to finish the sentence activity. This week it is going to be a sentence scramble. They choose which day to do it but it has to be done before Friday. They're pretty good at it.

**Notice the writing above... I just wanted to share it**

-How to pull a tooth-

"First get a string and a remote control car. Then you tie a string to your tooth and make the car go. Then it is out Yaaaa Wawp."

*Can you say ADORABLE?! I giggled when I read this one!!*

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Okay, this last station will soon be having a post of it's own but for now here it is.

The kids have their I-pad station they visit each day. I figured out the whole QR code thing as in making them and how to get the kids to figure out how to use them too.

This week was the first week students had actual activities to do with their i-pads with a recording sheet! They totally rocked it out! They had to unscramble sight words and spelling words. They also put spelling and sight words in ABC order.

I have new ones out for next week from my March QR code literacy station packet! I can't wait for the kids to break into these ones!

 I WILL be back Sunday to share my visual plans and maybe some 100 day stuff! I have all kinds of stuff to catch you guys up on! 

Nighty Night!

Oh, almost forgot!! I have a funny. Look at what one of my kids brought in to share today...

I am one of those people that thinks farts are funny and the kids know it... Needless to say we just shared the cover because boy did this go in depth! Like from elephants to humans... to turtles!!

HA!! Now, you have a good night!! :)