Writing Rainbow **FREEBIE**

I LOVE this activity!  My students all complete a rainbow every time they go through the writing process.  It helps them keep track of their writing to ensure they are going through all the correct steps.  I also created a colorful interactive bulletin board where students move a star to each color of the rainbow to represent each step of the writing process.

To download this FREE click HERE!!! 

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Summer Reading Incentives!! - MUST SEE!!

I know I just posted a little while ago but I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share these great resources!  I have stumbled upon many different summer reading incentive programs, and being a reading specialist I couldn't resist sharing them with you!

1.  Barnes and Noble - They have a printable reading log that must be completed.  Children must read 8 books and complete the reading log.  Then they bring it into a participating store and will receive a FREE BOOK!!

2. Scholastic - They have a reading program that tracks the minutes read throughout the summer.  There are also contests to enter! Check it out!

3. TD Bank - Their summer reading program allows kids to earn up to $10!

4.  Half Price Books - Their summer reading program gives kids the opportunity to win a $20 gift card to their site so they can order books!

5. Sylvan Learning Book Adventure - Students search for specific books on their site and then read them.  Once finished the students take a quiz on the book to earn points.  They can earn points for each book they read and use the points to earn prizes!

I really hope your children are able to participate and earn great prizes for reading during the summer!!

Enjoy!

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Check out my Facebook page by clicking HERE!!!

Monkey See, Monkey Do - Vowel Board Game

Yes, I know summer vacation starts today but I just have to continue posting.  It's really important that kids keep up with their reading throughout the summer.  Kids do not want to do "work" over the summer so why not play reading games that still allow them to have fun but they can continue to review their skills.

Monkey See, Monkey Do is a great game to play to review vowels, long and short.  This is important for kids to reinforce so they can keep up with their decoding skills.  In this game students are given cards that have words with the different vowels on them.  The players will roll the dice and move along the banana spaces.  When they land on a banana they will have to pick a word from their hand that contains the vowel written on the banana.  If they have one they put it in the discard pile, if not their turn is over.  The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!

There are 3 different sets of game cards so the game can be played at different levels or many different times by a group!

Enjoy :)

Get a copy of this game by clicking HERE!!!

Make sure to follow my blog on Bloglovin for more great ideas and resources!!

Have a great summer!!!

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Parts of a Letter -- FREEBIE --

Hey everyone! I know I'm counting down the days until summer vacation! I have 4 schools days left and can't wait! I'm so excited to relax but also to create great new activities for the next year!  Today I wanted to touch on writing a letter, especially since many kids go to camp over the summer it would be great that they knew the proper way to write a letter!

This FREEBIE is a great follow up activity for a lesson on the parts of a letter.  It can also be used to assess their understanding, plus its a fun activity and they kids get to use crayons.  I know my students ears perk up when I mention crayons so hopefully that will give them some motivation!!!



Download this activity FREE by clicking HERE!!!

For the complete activity pack click HERE!!!!

Don't forget to follow my blog on Bloglovin to stay updated!

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

END OF SCHOOL SALE!!!

To celebrate the last week of school, for me anyways I know many of you are already finished, I am having a 20% OFF SALE on all items in my TpT store!! Make sure to check them out.  The sale goes from Monday June 23 - Thursday June 26!!!

Also make sure to check back here next week for some FREEBIES and GIVEAWAYS!!!!

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick!

Make sure to follow my blog on bloglovin for more great ideas and resources!!

Cute Koala Contractions!! - Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

So I know I shared a template for this model the other day but I am so excited to start using it that I started creating activities to go with it!  They are a little time consuming so I thought I'd help start everyone out!  This activity is on contractions.  After grading hundreds of final exams I noticed some things kids are struggling with still are contractions!

I really like using this model to teach this because I can see which students are grasping the concept and which students still need further assistance.  I didn't differentiate this lesson but it could easily be done by making adjustments such as underlining sentences that contain words to make a contraction so when the students are reading they can find them easier.

You can find this file in my TpT store by clicking HERE!!!!

Make sure to follow me on Instagram!!! @beachbumliteracychick

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Gradual Release Lesson Plan Template

So I just went to a professional development about the gradual release model and I am so excited to implement it into my classroom next year.  It is something I've really been doing already but I haven't planned my lessons this way.

In case you aren't familiar with this model it looks like this:
1. The teacher models the skill being taught.  It could be a reading skill, math concept, a read aloud or any other lesson you are doing.
2. After the model the next phase is that the teacher and the students complete something similar together.  This is also a good opportunity to have students discuss the concept in groups or pairs.
3. The next step is to have students complete a similar activity in small groups or pairs.  This gives the teacher the opportunity to observe the students and see who is struggling or to work with a small group to give them extra support.
4.  The last phase is to have students complete an assignment independently.  This can be done as a homework assignment depending on the amount of time needed.

All the phases of this model should not take a significant amount of time to complete.  For example with my 6th grade ELA class I choose passages to read that are really short.  I may be modeling a close reading technique and I want them to observe how I would complete the activity.  So that part may take 5 or 6 minutes.

This is the template that I created to help me design my lessons.  I also put a space for the Common Core standards, an essential question, and the academic vocabulary that will be used during the lesson.  Also I included a closure activity because I always have my students complete some kind of exit ticket.

This second template I use when I have to differentiate my lesson, which is most of the time.  I typically differentiate the group assignment and the independent assignment.

This is a really great model to use during your class and really allows you to collect data on your students because you are observing them work on the skill multiple times throughout the lesson.  You 

can even walk around with your iPad to collect data using the Confer App that I talked about yesterday! :)

Check out the lesson plan templates by clicking HERE!!! 

I just started an Instagram account so make sure you follow me there!!! @beachbumliteracychick

Have a great day!

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Confer App for iPhone, iPad, or Android! APP REVIEW!

Hey everyone! I just stumbled upon this app today, someone at my school recommended it to me.  I know it was only available for iPhone and iPad but they did come out with the app for Android.  This app really lets your keep good records on your students and even lets you group kids based on their needs with just a touch of a button!

I know the school year is over but I am really looking forward to using this app next year to keep all my data on all my students.  It is going to be so easy to use when I need RTI data especially.  All you have to do is E-mail the notes about that particular student.

Something else I love about this app is that it saves your comments so you can easily write the same comment for more than one student, or you can use the same comment again for the same student if you notice this is something that happens often.  It makes the work of recording data that much faster.

For more information click HERE!!!

(Picture was taken from www.conferapp.com)

I'd really love to know your opinions on this app so please let me know!

Enjoy :)
Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Father's Day Writing

I love when its Friday!  This is going to be such a great weekend, I can tell already.  One thing we all can't forget this weekend is Father's Day!  A great thing to do with your students or your kids is to have them write about their favorite memories with their Dad or their favorite things about their Dad.

The paper below has two options.  Kids who have a lot to say can use the page with the lines.  Kids who really want to draw a picture can use the page with half lines and use the other half to draw Dad a great picture!

This would even look great in a frame!  Print the activity on cardstock so it holds up better and then frame it when your done!  A great gift any Dad would love!

Get this activity FREE by going to my TpT page to download!  

Make sure to follow my blog for more great resources and ideas!

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick

June Literacy Link Up

An InLinkz Link-up

A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

This is a great book to use to teach multiple skills in your class!  It also works well during a lesson on bullying and treating others with respect.

Some great skills to use with this book are visualization, character traits, cause and effect, problem and solution, and answering common core questions.  My students really enjoyed reading this book and the visualization graphic organizer was great!  They really focused on what the text was saying so they could draw an accurate picture!

Other activities include:

* Character trait web - students use the graphic organizer to come up with a character trait and evidence from the story to support it. Students can then put the information on a poster to display.
* Character change writing - A graphic organizer is included to help guide students to write about how Camilla has changed throughout the story. Also includes final copy paper.
* Cause and Effect matching center - Students match the sets of cards and write the response on the recording page.
* True/False - These activity pages have students read different sentences and decide if they are true or false
* Problem/Solution - Graphic organizer to help students locate problems and solutions throughout the story
* Sentence or Fragment - This activity page have the students read each phrase and decide if it is a sentence or a fragment.
* Pre-Reading activity - Students work in groups to determine different reasons why the character on the cover is covered in stripes. Have each group share their responses after with the other groups.
* Higher Level Guided Questions - After reading the story have the students answer the questions
* Carousel of Questions - Put the students into groups and hang up the question pages in different areas of the room. Have each group start at a question and answer it. Each group should have a different colored marker and should be given about 5 minutes to respond to each question. Then they rotate to the next. Once all questions have been answered by each group review the responses given. 
* Comprehension Game - Students can play in groups after reading the book to help them review.

Check out this file on my TpT page by clicking HERE!!!
Don't forget the FREE activity guide that goes along with A Bad Case of Stripes!

Enjoy :)
Beach Bum Literacy Chick

Out of This World - Onset/Rime Activity Cards!

With summer approaching reinforcing reading skills should be at the top of your list!  Whether you are a teacher finishing up for the year, planning for summer school, or a parent getting ready to take on the summer these cards are a perfect way to keep reading fresh in your child's mind!

To use the activity cards:

* Laminate each activity card and all letter cards.
* Give students one activity card and at least 10 letter cards.  (The answer key is provided to know which letter cards go with each activity card although other letter cards can be used)
* The students then put each letter card on the square to determine what word would be made.  Then they can decide if it is a real word or nonsense word.

You can find this activity on my TpT page by clicking HERE!!!

Make sure to follow my TpT page to get more great resources!

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick