Station Inspiration

See You There!

Patterson Fall Reading Festival

Patterson's Fall Reading Festival was such a success!  We gave away about 200 free books, and 100 free posters. Teachers did a fantastic job with the different activities they housed in their classroom.  There were classrooms that had long lines of parents and students waiting to get in and have fun.  We definitely had a great turn out!

Blending CVC words

What a great way to get your students sounding out words! 

 Mrs. Randolph has shared this idea with me. She uses three battery operated night lights to push as students sound out CVC words. As a student says the beginning sound, they hit the first light. The second light is for the middle sound, and the last light gets turned on with the ending sound is said. When all lights are on, the student blends the sounds together to make a word.  

This would make a great literacy station. Just throw a few words onto a ring, and student can flip through them to work on blending letter sounds, or even playing to create their own words. 

You can also set up three buckets or jars for student to pick a beginning, middle, and ending sound. Then, use the same concept as above. This gives students the opportunity to generate their own words begetter the words are made up or not, your class will be well on their way to reading.  

Check out this center in action:

Do you have any other great literacy idea? Share them with me so I can highlight them on my blog. 

Meet the Teacher

Meet the teacher was a success! It was awesome to see meet the teacher from another perspective. I was able to help point lots of excited and eager boys and girls into the right direction to get to their new teachers classroom. So many smiles...so many supplies...so much fun! Below are some great ideas as you plan for your next "Meet the Teacher."

1. Create stations to keep students and parents time in your classroom organized and well used. Put yourself in the station so that you don't miss meeting any student who comes into your classroom. 

2. Have a designated place where students should put their supplies. This will cut down on the time you have to spend afterwards separating them yourself!

3. Keep your computers on to allow parents to find out what bus they ride, or to even sign up for the bus. 

4.  Keep younger students occupied by letting them create a name tag to wear on the first day. They can string beads on a lanyard at their new seat, while parents finish up paperwork and sort supplies. 

5.  Gather students for a story! This will give you some insight on your soon to be students, and it will also create an ending point for everyone's time at meet the teacher. Ms. Raines did this, and I thought it was awesome!

6. Welcome students to school with refreshments! I saw many teachers do this. Teachers offer things such as cookies, cupcakes, pop rocks and other candies. It's also a great way to tie in the theme of your classroom or grade. 

7. Give students a small gift. Mrs. McDugle gave each of her student a bag full of goodies that went with a clever poem. See the picture below. 

8. Show your tech savvy side by giving you information out with QR code, or even create a trading card with your information that parent can't keep in their wallet. 

Do you have any more ideas?  Leave a comment below and share some of the awesome things you did during meet the teacher this year. 

Home Away From Home

With the change in positions, I had a really hard time not having a classroom to set up. From those mixed emotions came the idea for this post. 

Teachers work extremely hard to make a special place to welcome their students, on the very first day of school. These special places become a second home for the students, as well as the teachers. I have watched lots of Patterson teachers work endlessly on making their classrooms look "Patterson Perfect". I've decided to share their creativity and awesome color schemes with you!  Here are some classroom areas and interesting decor that caught my eye:

This is Miss Russell's 2nd grade classroom. Her decor is as bright as her personality. I love how she has made her reading center comfortable and inviting for her "rays of sunshine!"

Next up, is Mrs. Randolph's classroom. I love how she has designated areas on her small group table for students to write with dry erase marker. I also love her cheveron patterned crate seats. 

More classrooms to come!

CISD Instructional Model

This model goes hand in hand with the CISD Tier I Best Practices.  It basically states that as a teacher, we differentiate to meet all students needs, we teach to all multiple intelligences, and our instructions is rigorous.  It also shows the cycle of instruction.  Teachers should use the TEKS to guide their instruction for students learning and assess them accordingly. 

CISD READ Literacy Model

The following is a literacy model of the different components that should be used during a teacher's language arts 90 minute block.  This model was built to help differentiate for all student groups with  a balance curriculum, that provides time for reading, writing, thinking, and assessment.