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

Summer Common and Proper Nouns - Sorting - FREEBIE!!

I needed something exciting and full of color for my centers this week and this is perfect! My students are in the summer mode already! (so am I!!) This was a center I created for my ABC center. The students have to sort the words into proper and common noun categories. I noticed my students still mix them up in their writing so this was a good activity for them to complete!

The words are all beach/summer related to help keep the mood of summer going even in the classroom!  I like activities where students have to sort words or items because it really helps me to see where they are having problems.  

Instead of just having students complete the response page and handing it in, you can have students check each others work.  This gives both students a chance to evaluate responses.  I know my students become very critical when they are checking someone else's work which has its positives.  

You can download this center activity by clicking HERE!!!

Enjoy :)

Beach Bum Literacy Chick!

Be sure to follow my blog for more great activities!!

Book of the Month - May Edition - A Bad Case of Stripes!

This is something new I'm starting, a Book of the Month.  This month I chose A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.  I wanted to come up with easy activities that will help in the classroom.

There are 2 pre reading activities.
* The first one has the students making predictions based on the title.  This is great because the cover lends its way to so many questions about the story!
* The second activity has the students using cause and effect skills to make a prediction as to why the girl is covered in stripes!

There are 2 during reading activities.
* The first activity has the students making visualizations.  This is one of my favorite activities because the students get to interpret the text and draw pictures to go with it based on what they think the character looks like.

* The second activity is to ask the students guided questions as you are reading.  Try to use higher order common core questions as these type of questions usually lead to great discussions!

There are 2 post reading activities.
* Have the students complete a plot diagram to identify the different parts of the story.
* Students can go on a cause and effect scavenger hunt based different cause and effect relationships within the text

You can download this activity FREE by clicking HERE!!

Enjoy!
Beach Bum Literacy Chick