Two Stars & a Wish

Hey Everyone,

I've teamed up with some AWESOME Second Grade Bloggers to share some great 

Back to School Tips with all of you!

What a fun way to get some quick and easy ideas for your classroom!

My first STAR idea is one that I use almost everyday. It's a quick and easy way to keep track of student progress. I like to know who is "getting it" and who needs extra help so I can challenge and meet with the students in question. I walk around with a clipboard and my Quick Assessment Sheet and I simply jot down the names of the students in the correct boxes. I do this for a variety of activities, from math concepts to specific areas of reading response and writing. 

This particular photo depicts a math concept. When assessing reading response and writing, I usually pick a specific area for that particular piece. For example, I may just look at voice or structure for one piece of writing. I don't always assess all areas for every piece. The same goes for reading response, I may only look at meaning for one piece and connections the next time!

You can grab a free copy of this sheet (also included are sheets for Writer's Workshop and Reading Response) or you can create a template for your own that best suits your needs!

Grab this Quick Assessment Freebie HERE! 

I don't know about your kiddies but every year I have a few that cannot get organized! Even though I am SUPER DUPER organized and make sure everything has a "home," these little sweethearts just can't seem to keep up! My second STAR is about helping kiddies get organized. Here is what I do! I help them organize their desk and/or locker (usually both!). We do this together. Then we take a photo of the organized area and we stick it in that place. Every time the student opens his/her desk or locker, he/she sees the picture and is reminded of how to keep it in order! I also tend to do spot checks and give little rewards when it's well organized. 

  I work in an inner city school and we have many struggling students. In turn, my students often come to me as emergent readers My goal this year is to put more focus on letter/sounds at the very beginning of the school year.  I often move too quickly and just review them by pointing at the sound charts each day. This year I want to delve deeper into this instruction with ALL students (I tend to only focus on that with my weaker readers). To accomplish this WISH I created a fun little pack that I call: 

I HEART Phonics (A NO PREP Reading and Writing Pack)

This pack includes four activities for each letter/sound. 

Finding words: Students walk around the room and find words that contain the specific letter/sound.

Write a story: Students write a short story, using as many words as possible with the specific letter/sound.

Draw a picture: Students draw a picture of something that contains the specific letter/sound in its name.

Read a story: Students read a story that contains many words with the specific letter/sound and answer comprehension questions.

This pack is so much fun because it can be used in a variety of ways! From literacy centers, to homework and morning work, etc... 

We are going to have so much fun reviewing our sounds in September!

Check this pack out right HERE and download the preview 

for a sample of the four activities.

I hope you enjoyed these idea! Please consider joining me on Facebook, Instagram, and my Teacher Store.

For more great ideas from over 40 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

An InLinkzLink-up