Target Finds: Phoneme Mapping

Wow! SO much has happened in life since I've last updated - can you believe how long it's been? I have some tried and true, as well as some new ideas that I'm itching to share with you all!

Being an early reading specialist, phonemic awareness has a special place in my heart.  Not to mention it is SO important! It’s a foundational building block for everything reading and writing – don’t even get me started.

Strolling through the aisles of Target, making googly eyes at all things primary colors in the Dollar Spot section, I came across these mini Building Blocks “hashtags” (meant to be kind of “Lego-esque”) and knew I had to use them for my favorite go-to phonemic awareness activity – Phoneme Mapping.  I mean, how cute are they?

I love phoneme mapping because it helps young readers with a myriad of phonemic awareness skills! They learn that words are made up of individual sounds, they are able to segment and count the sounds in words, and they begin to transition to the idea that spoken words have a written counterpart and can take that idea even further as we begin to add in phonics learning in later learning stages.

Let me show you how it works…

We get started my setting up our materials.  Each student gets 3 (or more) "markers" and we line them up under the boxes.

I choose a word (I might show them a picture, but not the print - that's just so you can visually see my word, too) and say it naturally.

The students repeat the word.

Then we segment the word by tapping one finger for each sound we hear.  I encourage students to:

--> Use their non-donimant hand (so their dominant hand is later free for writing/spelling)

--> Turn their hand to face them so they are tapping from left to right (just as we would read or write a word)

We repeat segmenting the word again, this time pushing one "marker" into a box for each sound we hear. After tapping out "cat," we know there should be three boxes filled.

We say the sounds as we push a marker into each box. "/k/"

"/a/"

"/t/"

Finally, we slide our finger under the boxes and say the whole word, pulling it back together again.

"Cat."

I love to change up this activity by simply giving the kiddos a different item to use for their mapping.  The Dollar Spot is always touting adorable mini holiday erasers that work perfectly, and clear bingo chips are always a favorite.  I’ve had these magnetic ones forever and a day, recommended by my first reading specialist.  She {was amazing and} taught me how to use them with these fancy magnetic wands and called it “Tap It, Map It, Zap It.”  The kids eat this up, ya’ll!  Plus, I love how it encourages and reminds them both visually and kinesthetically to pull those sounds back together quickly after segmenting.

Hurry to the Dollar Spot and grab yourself a set {seriously, they are SO worth the $1}! 

Feeling Patriotic

Hi ya'll!

Between Election Day today and Veteran's Day on Friday, this American girl is feeling pretty darn patriotic.

So I thought I'd celebrate TODAY ONLY by giving away copies of my America Base-10 Scoot Game!  All you have to do is follow my blog, then comment with your email address.  I'll send you your copy!

You can also find it in my store! It'll be on SALE through Friday!

Plus, check back later this week for the same deal on my new Veteran's Day themed Scoot!

Happy Voting! Let's all hope & pray tomorrow finds our country at peace.

Holiday Happiness!

Did you have enough Halloween excitement this past week?
No?
Well just on the off chance that you need a little extra, here's my adorable Turtle totally rocking his first Halloween. Amiright??

To put into perspective just how much we rocked this Halloween, that poor pumpkin is still sitting outside... uncarved, unpainted.  But hey, now it doubles as a decoration for Thanksgiving! #momwin

My mom abs are also on a mission to come out of hiding. I am SO thankful that I get to start a new program, Core De Force, just in time for the holidays! I swear this is going to keep my on track - no all out holiday snack binges this year!
If you want to join me on my mission, I'd love to help you, too!

Finally, I'm gearing up for the Holidays with my Fall & Christmas Scoot Games!
Make sure you follow my TPT store because the Fall Bundle will be on SALE next week for Veteran's Day! {Along with a special surprise!}

Happy End of Fall/Holiday Prep Month!

Scooting into Fall!

Hi ya'll! (<-- we recently relocated to the south, so I'm working on fitting in around here)

Life has been beyond crazy these past 12 months.  We welcomed a sweet baby boy into our family in March, and shortly after we were notified that we were moving to TEXAS!

What an adventure it's been!

I finally feel like I may have my feet under me, and I can get back into doing what I love - creating fun and exciting teaching materials to use in my classroom.

These Scoot games for math have been my most popular item in my little shop.

So I am working on creating more of them with more math standards AND more holidays/seasons.  Help me out though! What would you like to see? What math standards and or holidays would you just LOVE to have a Scoot game for?

I've added a Double Digit Subtraction (no regrouping) for Fall to my shop, as well as a Bundle of my new subtraction and previous addition games!

Go check them out now! They will be PERFECT for getting your little squirmers moving and learning throughout the next month!

Don't forget to let me know what you'd like to see! If you leave me a comment and I create the math scoot topic you suggested, I'll send you one for free! (Don't forget to leave me your email address, too.)

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Friday! Friday! Friday!

Friday already?!  Time sure does fly when you're having summer fun!

I just love sleeping in.  I could do it ALL. THE. TIME.

It's my firm belief that nothing of importance should begin before 10 AM.

Am I alone in that? Yes? Okay.

While I was busy sleeping in all week, I know everyone was living it up in Vegas! Jealous!

However, after adequate sleep & caffeine, I was able to accomplish a few things.

1. Track It! Data Tracking Pack is new to my shop & ON SALE while I go on vacation {ahh, vacation}!

You can check out my post about how I use this tool, HERE.

2. This. I loooooove this bathing suit.  As long as I don't look at ice cream or french fries, I can wear it, too.  It's already in my suitcase & going with me on vacation... to HAWAII! {squeeeeals!}

3. I am also loving my new blog design from Megan at iTeach What's Your Superpower?

The cupcake makes me hungry every. time.

4. It has been a BLAST seeing everyone live on Periscope this week! Are you on Periscope?  You should be!

5. This outfit is in my packed suitcase ready for Hawaii! I can't even wait! If you've been to Waikiki, what's your favorite thing to do, eat, etc??

Teach Me How to Data! Teach Me, Teach Me, How to Data!

See, I lured you in with a catchy title.  Now on to the meat & potatoes...

Data.

{Please don't hit the red x in the corner already!}

That word used to make me queezy like I'd just drank a glass of spoiled milk.  Not that I've done that or anything.

I've finally accepted data as a vital classroom tool & not rotten dairy products that were out to make my stomach turn miserable somersaults.

The secret is tracking only data you WILL USE to drive your instruction, & tracking it in an easy, I won't be up organizing this all night, way.

Enter my left hand man...

{My planner gets the right hand, of course.}

My DATA BINDER!

I keep this trusty binder at my small group table & spend a good deal of time with it.  At least it's colorful & not too hard on the eyes.

Here's a quick run down of what's inside & how I use it:

In the front, I keep a few whole class data graphs & several blank small group data sheets.  I use these whole group graphs at the beginning, middle, and end of the year when I want to see a class overview of how we're progressing towards our BIG goals.

The small group sheets are blank to allow for flexible grouping.  I can pull a group of students for a skill or strategy & track their progress, the topics we work on, and activities we use during group time.

Next, I have a separate tab for each kiddo.  This let's me easily track & search for data, and comes in especially handy at RTI meetings and Parent Conferences.

Ok, so behind each student tab I keep 3 main record sheets.  I color code them for my sanity & easy identification, but you could leave them white and use a different color pen as well.  Hi. I'm Mallory, and I am a color coding addict. :)

I track independent reading levels (IRLs), oral reading fluency, and writing (based on our state writing rubric).  I've included these and several others, plus a blank sheet, for you in THIS data tracker pack.

At the beginning, middle, and end of the year, I can quickly flip to each student's section and record their data with each test.  Then, I create my whole group graph (& from there my small group OR one-on-one instruction).

I will record any progress monitoring here, as well as comments from any Daily 5 or Writer's Workshop conferences.

Behind each student tab is also a sheet protector.  This gives me an easy place to store any tests, quizzes, notes, work samples, etc. that are important for conferences {because who keeps a 3-ring hole punch nearby? Not me!}

I always make and keep a few extra sets of everything {tabs, sheet protectors, colored progress monitoring sheets} hole punched and in the back or binder pockets for new kiddos that move in. It saves me from scrambling or searching when the suddenly arrive on a Monday morning. :)

That's it - my data tracking all in one organized binder.

Go grab this little pack & get organized for the new year, now!

Week in Review!

It's Saturday. Which is really the same as Friday in the summer.

I'm in for a busy, busy day of celebrating the 4th & cleaning! {Because they're really the same thing, too, right?}
At least I have this delicious red, white, & blueberry protein shake to keep me going and make me feel festive.

Here's a quick recap of my summer-filled week!

1. I made rockin' nametags for my kiddos desks.  We don't need anything super fancy, but the Melonheadz clip art that I used added just enough adorable rocker vibe for us.  They are FREE in my shop!  I also updated my birthday iPods, here!

2. Vacation is right around the corner, and it's NEVER too early to start packing! {OMG, I better be getting checked baggage on this trip!}

3. One of my goals for this summer is to improve on our writing resources.  This is in the works {and will probably be a whole summer long endeavor, let's be real}. BUT, I have some writing process anchor charts that you can check out NOW! Yay!  What do you think? What would you add/take away from these? I would LOVE your feedback!  I will be adding several anchor lessons, etc that I have in the works, but probably not till after our upcoming vacation.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Willfully-Writing-Process-Anchor-Charts-Chevrons-Stripes-1939276

4. I am LOVING my America decor. It's so summery and just perfect for the 4th!

5. My WHOLE store is on sale through today to celebrate America's birthday!