Layering my Classroom (And the Cybersale!!)

I think my love of 100 Minutes has been well documented since I started reading it this past summer…but today I want to talk about how I think it has helped me build in my classroom routines in my language program and add layers to my teaching.

Side note: 

This is a wordy and lengthy post…I apologize! But if you hang in there I have a whole list of must-have products from TPT sellers towards the end. 

I have already struggled with wanting to start EVERYTHING all at the same time and have my full program up and running. Lisa Donohue talked a lot about the importance of deepening your routines and taking students farther by adding on to previously existing structures and routines. I have found that thinking about my program in this way has really helped me to find the perfect time add a new layer to our existing literacy routines and provide my students opportunities to deepen their understanding of the concepts we are studying. 

Adding layers has been an especially important part to my class' success this year has I have a VERY wide range of abilities and quite a few ELL's and students working below grade level. Building in layers of routines to help deepen my program has really helped me to differentiate and work towards meeting all my students needs. It has been especially helpful as 6 students from my class receive ESL support three out of 5 days…that's a 1/3 of my class!! Then I have 3 other students who receive Spec Ed support everyday and 1 student who goes to a math group twice a week. 

My room is a constant revolving door. 

This has made scheduling guided lessons somewhat difficult but not impossible. Lisa Donohue wrote about intentional sequencing in her book 100 Minutes and it made so much sense to me…it was definitely the missing piece to the puzzle of my literacy program. 

It isn't perfect yet (and probably won't be) but it has helped me to see how to schedule our literacy block and why I should be putting  rotations in a certain order. 

So this is how I plan for guided reading and our literacy rotations. As you can see some of the boxes have X's in them. This is when my ELL's are receiving support and are not in the class with us. As  I said it isn't perfect yet. We have yet to build in Reading Response as a rotation (the goal for next week!) and I haven't yet met with groups for a Writing Conference. 

Sigh.

Always so much to do. 

This is our rotation board. Since it's new to me this year it's work in progress. 

If you like it you can find it here in my TPT store. 

Right now I have been using post-it notes to provide instructions to my students for each of their rotations. I am lucky this year that I have a full time educational assistant in my room to work with one of my students who needs 1:1 support. She has wonderfully taken the initiative to also work with three other students who need 1:1 support for most of their work. I often assign that group extra guided reading with her so that they are being taught in a guided group everyday…plus the time they are being pulled for ELL or Spec Ed support. 

Sometimes the scheduling makes my head spin. 

Here's a closer look at my Guided Reading Literacy Group Labels.

This is also the first year that I have been happy with how my guided reading program is running and I must admit guided reading has been a necessity in my class. I am VERY much behind in my literacy teaching due to the fact that some many of my students have so many different needs. Guided reading has been the key to this problem as I now teach all the components of my reading program in small groups. 

We save whole group time for interactive read alouds, chapter books, building on our routines and scaffolding our writing instruction. In the past I have focused most of my writing instruction on the text forms but this year it just wasn't feeling right so instead I have switched to a much freer writing approach, allowing my students to choose the majority of their own writing topics and forms. We are focusing on the writing process and how to edit and revise. 

Isn't it amazing how much your writing can change from year to year?

So now on to the good stuff…! 

What are some TPT products that I just can't live without?

Well, I'm glad you asked, especially since the Cybersale is on tomorrow. 

 Button from The 3AM Teacher

This amazing writing prompt product from Irene Hines has been the cornerstone for my weekly journal writing program. 

I just love it.

The Fluency Strip pack from The Moffat Girls has really helped my students who are ELL's and working below grade level to build on their fluency skills AND they love tracking their progress through the sets. 

I can not even tell you how much I LOVE The Weekly Word Wizard sets from SunnyDays. Since Grade 3 is a testing year in Ontario this product provides my students with constant practice of valuable grammar and vocabulary skills. 

I am loving it!!

The next few sets are already in my cart for tomorrow.

This next product is a MUST HAVE for anyone doing guided reading in their class. It has saved me sooooo much time when creating my guided lessons and helps to provide a consistent checking system of the skills we have already covered and need to review. Head over to Angeline Stewart's store to check it out. 

So there you have it…

My literacy program in a nutshell. I hope you get some good deals tomorrow and I'd love to hear about any suggestions you have for literacy products from your own TPT store or others that you think might benefit my students. 

Literacy Workshop…Revisiting 100 Minutes

In the past few years a few things have 

totally changed the way I teach. 

Have changed the teacher I am.

Have changed the way I view my profession.

The first was switching from teaching Grades 7 & 8 rotary to teaching Grades 3 and 4 core.

I used to teach two classes English, History and Geography on a rotary schedule where my students switched classes every 40 minutes.

I now teach one class of students everything and at most they only leave the room for 40 minutes a day. 

And it's so much better. 

I know my students better.

I integrate my content more effectively.

I like it better.

The second major shift was when I read Guided Math by Laney Sammons for an online book study with Brenda from Primary Inspired. 

Thinking about how to differentiate my teaching and teach in a guided setting really helped me to understand how I could help each of my students to achieve success. 

Then this past summer I read 100 Minutes by Lisa Donohue…and wow, did that ever change my teaching. Coming from the intermediate grades I really had no idea about guided reading. How to do it, what it was, how to plan for it, etc. I read The Daily 5 that first summer in an attempt to be ready to teach Grade 4 and have a guided reading program. 
However, I can't say that it really helped me that much. 
It was just too much to wrap my head around.
Too many rotations.
Too many options and choices.

A few years later I read Guiding Readers by Lori Jameson-Rog and lead a book study here on my blog and it really helped me to understand what guided reading was and how it could be used to help work with my students at their instructional reading level. But a few maternity leaves have popped up in the meantime and I just wasn't able to get a successful program up and running.

Until now!

I am pretty proud of my guided reading program even though it is still in the early stages I can see where I am heading with it and I know that it is going to be very beneficial to the students in my class. Especially since this year the reading levels of my students range from D to U!
Yes, in one Grade 3 class. 

The biggest takeaway from 100 Minutes for me was the idea of "intentional sequencing". It just made so much sense and really made all the difference for me with having a literacy workshop program that was up and running the way I wanted it for me.

That doesn't mean it's all gone smoothly by any means…
In my class there are 6 students who receive ESL support 3 days a week during my literacy block so that has made scheduling my guided reading and writing groups somewhat tricky. 

I would recommend 100 Minutes to anyone that is interested in having a workshop style program for their literacy classroom and is unsure of how they might go about organizing the time.

Click here to see how 100 Minutes has helped me layer my classroom and my MUST HAVE products from TPT for my literacy program. 

100 Minutes- My Thoughts on Chapter 8- Small Group Learning

Wow, Chapter 8 already!

Where has the time gone?

Thanks to Emily from Emmy Mac's Class for hosting Chapter 8.

Be sure to head on over and check out her post if you haven't already.

Small group learning is something I have really embraced in the last few years, especially in my math teaching but I still struggle with it in reading and writing. Coming from the intermediate grades (7 and 8) there wasn't any guided reading being done in my class or other classes, and while I did have writing conferences they weren't a regularly schedule thing.

If I could go back in time....wow, would my class/teaching be different.

But I guess that's what reflecting and growth is all about.

One of my goals for this coming school year, and part of the reason I chose to read this book and use it for the book study is that I really want to have a guided reading/ writing conference program in place this year that works for both me and my students.

Really this whole chapter was a great refresher on small group learning but I especially liked-

- the ideas about how to form your guided reading/ writing conference groups on pg 122 (by interest! awesome idea)

- how often to change your groupings (p 123)

- the outline for how to conduct a guided reading lesson

(this reminded me that I want to get out my copy of Guiding Readers by Lori Jameson Rog from the book study 2 years ago and re-read that as well!!)

- the guiding questions based on the reading strategies provided on pages 130-134

- the entire section about Feedback and Writing Conferences on pages 126-127

- "A writing conference is not a time when students hand over their work to the teacher in order to have it corrected." YES!!! YESS!! YESSSSSS!!

- on page 128 Lisa talks about assigning a role to each student during a writing conference so that they have a specific task to do and focus on, she provides some really cute suggestions too

- the feedback prompts for writing conferences on page 135

Lisa states that students should spend the majority of the time during a guided reading lesson actually reading. If the lesson is only 15-20 minutes in length ... is this reading all reading aloud? Shared reading? 

How many lessons do you spend on one text? 

Should the children have had an opportunity to read the text to themselves before coming to the guided reading lesson so they are prepared to read and discuss??

Ahhhhhh!!!!

How I will structure my guided reading lessons so that it works for me and my students.

How I will track my student's writing goals.

My plan to embed word skills (getting ready to start reading Word Nerds very soon!!)

Now that we are into the nitty gritty of the book (and near the end...giveaway coming soon!) I am starting to have so many more questions about how everything will look in my class and how I will structure my 100 minutes. I foresee a lot of time spent re-reading this book, making MORE notes and planning.

And to be honest... I can't wait!!

So what does all this mean for my classroom?

To be continued...

I'd love to hear more about your guided reading lessons and writing conferences...link up below.

One chapter left!!

Tina from Croft's Classroom is our last co-host for the 100 Minutes book study.

I hope you will go visit her on June 25th.

100 Minutes- Chapter 8- Small-Group Learning

Small group learning has become the cornerstone of my classroom ever since I read Guided Math for the first time two years ago and loved it. If it works in language why wouldn't it work in math?

Chapter 8 is being hosted by my fellow Canadian teacher-blogger Emily from Emmy Mac's Class. 

I think this is a "don't miss chapter" and opportunity to post your thoughts. I hope see lots of link ups for this one.

Don't forget, I'll be back tomorrow with my own post on this great topic. 

100 Minutes- My Thoughts on Chapter 7 "The Foundation of Independence"

Another amazing post and fabulous chapter.

Thanks to Brenda from Primary Inspired for hosting Chapter 7. 

A great friend of mine in transitioning from many years in Grade 6 to Grade 3 next year (hello Sonia!!) and as I read through this chapter my first thoughts were, 

"Yes!! Sonia is going to love this and wow will it really help!"

And of course I texted that to her right away!

Love you, Sonia. 

It's funny. A fellow teacher asked me how I ended up picking this book for the book study and it's strange. I hadn't seen it anywhere else, or read a review of it. While I was browsing the Pembroke Publishers website it stuck out for me, I asked one of the reps about it and thought it sounded good...and here we are.

Aren't you glad I happened across this book by chance? 

I sure am!

So on to my thoughts about the book. Here are some things that really stood out for me...

Reading and Writing Cycle

Throughout my reading of the book I've been a little concerned (but keeping it to myself) about the idea that students would do 2 days of a reading cycle and then 2 days of a writing cycle.

Would this mean that they wouldn't have 

independent reading or writing 

EVERYDAY? 

But upon reading through this chapter I have decided to let go of my concerns and when September comes to go with the outline of the 100 Minutes framework. Everything makes so much sense and I am ridiculously in love with the idea of intentional sequencing that I MUST give the framework a fair chance before I attempt any kind of adaptation.

On page 107 Lisa talk about the "triangulation of student data" which is  HUGE thing in my board right now.

Using observations, conversations and products to assess and evaluate our students is so important. I have found in recent years that I am much more comfortable with this type of assessment and have learned so much more about my students as learners.

One of my goals for the coming year is to have my students track a personal goal for their own writing. It's something that I have read a lot about and have really wanted to try but just haven't done yet. Silly me.

Stamina

A lot of this chapter reminded me of The Daily 5 and the importance of building stamina and practicing routines in order to set the stage for a successful literacy block. If you haven't read the chapters in The Daily 5 where the Sisters discuss the first days/weeks of the year and setting up your routines and developing the students' stamina- I recommend getting your hands on a copy and checking it out. 

So worthwhile.

If you're like me and have read it...then re-read it.

There is nothing more important than the first days/weeks of your literacy block.

Using Book Boxes

Lisa talks about giving your students some time to browse and select up to 6 books for their book boxes prior to starting your independent reading routine (page 111). This is something I haven't really tried before, book boxes I mean, and it something I really want to do this coming school year.

Starting Independent Reading First...

Then Independent Writing

In my class and in my experience, it's better to start reading first and get a routine somewhat established before starting independent writing. 

You may disagree and that's ok!

One of the best things about teaching is that we all have the opportunity to try it our own way.

Somethings I'm going to consider over the summer:

Writer's Notebooks? 

Artifact Box? 

Writing Inspiration Board?

Family survey- "What did you write today?" (weekly homework?)

Reading logs?

Genre challenge- when to start? how will my program fit in to the 100 Minutes framework

I'm going to end with my favourite quote from this chapter...

"When you invest time in establishing routines for independent reading and independent writing, students will understand that the work they do independently is just as important as the work they do when working directly with the teacher."

(Page 116)

What was your favourite part of this chapter?

Don't forget to link up with your post and

 thoughts on Chapter 7.

Emily from Emmy Mac's Class on June 21st.

Stay tuned for Chapter 8- Small Group Learning. 

Also...you really should head over to Learning with Mrs. Leeby and checkout the amazing giveaway she has going on.

I heard a little something about Tiffany earrings!!

Whoa!