Teaching Students How to Retell Using the Five Finger Retell

Comprehension is a very important skill for students to master in order to become proficient readers. As a teacher in a school with a high population of ESL learners I have found that comprehension can be a difficult skill to master. Students learn comprehension through strategies, and the most basic comprehension strategy that students need to learn during the first few weeks of school is the five finger retell.

Using the five finger retell students learn the order of a retelling as well as what elements from the story should be included. A basic retelling should include:

• Characters
• Setting
• Problem
• Important Events
• Solution

As the year progresses students in the upper grades as well as higher level readers in the lower elementary grades should be going deeper with their retell by including details such as character attributes and motivations. They should also be able to pull out big ideas such as morals or themes from the story.

For more information and a full lesson plan that can be used with any text click on the pictures. 

What strategies have you used to increase student comprehension in your classroom?

-Carly

I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!

Teaching Students How to Pick a Just Right Book

Research shows that to increase achievement in reading students need to read books at their independent level. We often refer to these books as just right books. This is an important skill that students need to be taught during the first few weeks of school. 

Before I am able to test each student's reading level at the beginning of the year I teach my students how to pick out just right books using the five finger rule.

How do you use the five finger rule?

1.) Students will select a book that interests them.

2.) Students will turn to a random page with text.

3.) Students will hold up a fist and begin reading.

4.) For each word that students come to that they are unsure of they hold up a finger.

4.) When students get to the end of the page they look at how many fingers they are holding up.

5.) The bookmarks above show what the amount of fingers mean. The majority of books students read independently should be in the 2-3 finger range. 

For the full lesson plan, anchor chart, worksheet, and student bookmarks click on the pictures.

What is your favorite way to teach students about just right books?

-Carly

I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!

5 Behavior Motivating Hacks Every Teacher Should Know

Welcome to the first few weeks of school! As exciting as it can be as a teacher and student to be starting with a clean slate, when it comes to reteaching procedures and expectations even the veteran teachers among us want to pull their hair out.

As you find yourself teaching and reteaching expectations and practicing procedures here is a list of 5 behavior motivators for students to keep in mind:

1. Start by Creating Clear Expectations and Setting a Positive Classroom Culture

Most behavior issues can be eliminated by setting clear expectations for students and creating a positive classroom environment. Two things that I do to keep a positive classroom culture are shout outs and bucket fillers.

Shout outs is a time of the day when teachers and students recognize another person in the classroom for an academic or behavior reason. For example, "I would like to give a shout out to Suzy for organizing the classroom library during recess."

Bucket fillers are similar to shout outs. Read the story Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Talk with students about how everyone has an invisible bucket that they carry around with them. We can either be bucket fillers by saying and doing positive things for others or a bucket dipper by saying or doing negative things to others. You can choose to have a physical representation of this in the classroom such as a bucket for students to fill up with slips of paper to recognize and encourage other students.

2. Positive Reinforcement is More Effective than Negative Reinforcement

For example substitute, "you guys should be able to line up in 10 seconds" with "do you think we can do better? I think we can line up in 10 seconds. Let's try it again."

Set goals with students. I write these goals on the board just like an objective to remind students what we are working towards.

3. Have a Class Compliment Chart

In my classroom I have a laminated hundreds chart that we use as our compliment chart. When the students get a compliment from another teacher or administrator we draw out numbers and those numbers are then crossed off the chart.

If another teacher gives the students a compliment we draw out three numbers, if the compliment is from an administrator we draw out five numbers, and if it is from a substitute teacher we draw out ten numbers. Students can earn compliments for being quiet in the hallways, following directions during specials, as well as other good behaviors that are recognized.

When students get ten numbers in a row they earn whatever reward was agreed upon. My students voted to earn a sports party.

4. Have students Earn Points 

It seems so simple, but students love to earn points in their table groups. As a teacher it also helps students hold each other accountable. The table that earns the most points at the end of the week can earn lunch with the teacher or whatever agreed upon reward.

My students are not in table groups often enough to earn points. However, I use points when lining up. I have two lines. Students can earn points for their line by being quiet and straight. The line with the most points gets to go into the lunchroom first.

5. Leadership List

Have a secret list of students that are following directions throughout the day. When we go out to recess I recognize those students on my list and let them go play first. Students love the mystery behind this motivator, and it is a great way to recognize and reward students for their leadership.

Remember to stay consistent, keep it positive, and try out some of these positive behavior hacks. Share your favorite behavior motivators in the comments. I hope your year is getting off to a great start teacher friends!

-Carly

I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!

Our First Week of Third Grade

It has been a long but fun first week back to school. Here are some snapshots from my favorite activities.

I have heard a lot about the book First Day Jitters from my teacher friends, but this is the first year that I have used it. I read the book to students on our first day of school. After reading we launched our morning meetings using the sentence stem "I feel ________ because _______." I was very surprised at how honest students were about feeling nervous on the first day.

After morning meeting we played a game called step to the line to help students recognize that they are not alone in their feelings.

In the afternoon we wrapped up our First Day Jitters activities by reading The First Day of School Poem by Judith Viorst. Students then wrote their own similar poem about the "What ifs" they were experiencing on the first day of school. You can learn more about my First Day Jitters lessons by clicking on the pictures.

We also read the book How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague and talked about exaggeration. In the story the main character Wallace starts out talking about his summer vacation and then adds in exaggerated details. The students practiced writing their own exaggerated summer vacation stories. Click on the picture to learn more about this activity.

Another one of our first week of school read-alouds was The Tattle Tongue by Julia Cook.  After reading the story we discussed the tattle rules. Above you can see the anchor chart that we created as we talked through different scenarios and which rule they would fall under. You can find the lesson plan and example scenarios by clicking on the picture.

To learn about conflict resolution we read A Bug and a Wish by Karen Scheuer and worked on some strategies for dealing with conflict in our classroom. Students then practiced the strategy using the the talking stem "It bugs me when you _________. I wish you would __________." 

Now when a student comes to me with a concern about another student all I have to do is say, "What do you think you should do about that?" Most of the time they respond immediately by saying "bug and a wish". Other times I have to prompt them by pointing to our anchor chart. You can get the lesson plan, practice scenarios, and anchor chart by clicking on the above image.

As our week drew to a close we put our teamwork together by participating in a mini STEM challenge. Students built a tower out of marshmallows and toothpicks. The tower that held the most weight was the winner.

I hope you enjoyed the snapshot of my week. It is now time to get some rest. I am exhausted! Happy first week of school friends.

Leave your favorite first week of school activities in the comments section.

-Carly

I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!

Our Morning Pep Talk

Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. -Rita Pierson
A year ago I found myself sitting in a summer professional development session listening to a TED talk by Rita Pierson. As I listened to her words I felt empowered and inspired as well as honored to have the privilege to be called a teacher. 
In the talk Ms. Pierson explains that over her many years of teaching she had classes that were so academically low that it brought her to tears. She wondered how she was going to lift the self-esteem of these students as well as their academic ability. In order to encourage and uplift her students she developed a saying that she had the students say daily. 

After listening to Ms. Pierson's talk I made an anchor chart with the words of her saying. Every morning my third graders repeat these words. It is a part of our daily routine that we refer to as our morning pep talk. It is a great way to refocus each morning before beginning the day. You can see a copy of my anchor chart above. For a free downloadable version click here. You can also scroll to the bottom of the blog to watch Rita Pierson's TED talk. 
What do you do to connect with and encourage students?
-Carly
I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!

My Superhero Classroom Reveal

Last night was meet the teacher night. As I was greeted with so many smiling faces of my new third grade friends my excitement for the new school year multiplied. 

This is the first year that I had the entire summer to plan out my classroom. I decided to go with the superhero theme using a color scheme of blue, red, yellow, and green. I am so proud of how it turned out, and I look forward to a super year with my third graders! 

*Clicking on the pictures will take you to my TPT store where you can purchase the decor. You can also save by purchasing the Superhero Classroom Decor Pack.

Classroom Job Clip Chart

Leveled and Interest Sorted Library

Our school building used to be a high school so we are using lockers rather than cubbies or hooks.

Word Wall

Our Compliment Board and Classroom Procedures

Student Book Boxes 

I love my table numbers! They really tie the theme all together. 

Have a great school year to all of my fellow teachers! Share your classroom themes and photos in the comments section. 

-Carly

I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!

6 Meaningful Student Investment Strategies

What's your why? 

Why is it that you teach? 

What wakes you up every morning and brings you into the classroom?

If you have lost sight of your why it can be very easy to lose your focus and passion for teaching. It is the same with our students. If they do not have a why or a reason for being in school they lose their motivation and investment in school.

In this blog post I am excited to share some insights about student investment strategies that I learned during my first week of summer PD.

In the previous video Eric Thomas shares with football players the importance of the big picture. He shares with these young athletes the power and desire that comes from working towards a goal that is driven by a why. He states that if you do not have a why you are not going to work as hard as someone who's passion and goals are deeply rooted in a why. 
As teachers this rings true for our students as well. If the students are not driven by a why it will be very difficult to get them to buy into what we are doing in our classrooms. This is especially true these first few weeks of school. We want our students to get on board as quickly as possible, because we know that investment is crucial for the success of our students. 
Teach for America identified six keys to meaningful student investment:

1. "I Can" Succeed It is very important to emphasis the collective responsibility of the class. Our class mantra should be that everything we do has an impact on our collective group. Take some time to explain individual student roles as well as the collective role of the class. Continually share with students your role as their coach this year. Emphasis to students that they can succeed, and that you are there to help.   2. "I Want" Once you have established that the students can succeed you want them to want it for themselves. Create big goals and share them with your students. Chunk large goals into smaller goals and scaffolded along the way when needed. Give students authentic tasks that are connected to the community. Show students how these goals connect with goals they have for themselves. 
3. Role Models Utilize students' role models. These can be community role models, pop culture role models, people from history, or other students in the classroom or school community. Invite people from the community into your classroom to make learning real to students. Invest students with the work ethic of their favorite celebrity. Share about a famous person from history. I like to use Ruby Bridges with my third graders. Explain to students how they can be role models in the classroom or school, and make an example of students who rise to the occasion. 
4. Reinforce Efforts Provide students with positive reinforcement when they reach their goals. This should be in the form of intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation. Get creative! Have students earn a guest speaker or other classroom celebration. Last year my students loved to earn glow stick dance parties for filling up our compliment jar. Get student input to invest students even more. Whatever you select be sure that it is something that you can keep up with and BE CONSISTENT! 
5. Welcoming Environment Open up your classroom for families to visit. I know that this may seem scary to some of us. However, the more families are informed of what is going on the more that they are able to help. Invite parents in for student projects and performances. Parents love these kind of events, and students love their parents to be involved. This leads into the final investment strategy. 
6. Invest Families Make sure that everything you do has a reason, and be sure to communicate that reason to your students and families. Make an effort to be aware of the community in which you teach and be in the community as much as possible. Communicate with parents what is happening in the classroom through newsletters as well as phone calls on a regular basis. There are also several apps available to help you keep in contact with parents.
Finally, invest students to the point that they are so excited they just can't help sharing what they are learning with their family!
What do you do to invest students in their learning?
-Carly
I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog!