Ok Friends,  it is time for a super GIVEAWAY! I have been asked time and time again about a resource I use to teach fluency.  I know that many of you are familiar with a post I wrote a while back about how I use Shannon Dipple's (of Primary Education Oasis) Teaching Poetry for Fluency and Comprehension.


I have received so much feedback about this product that Shannon and I have decided to give away one copy. This giveaway includes not just one book, but actually three and they are huge! It is a great resource and comes with all the poems, activities and skill sheets you will need to teach either a small fluency group or even use whole group.  Click here to see a free sample of the book.

Now that my students have been using their roles within their reading groups for a few months, I have noticed several things. One - most of the students are working hard and doing their best, but I still have a few who can't seem to get it together. Two - the students who are on-task spend valuable time redirecting the other students.

Yesterday, I pulled my class to the carpet and we discussed what each role is and I modeled what a guided reading group should look like. I chose five other students to model a guided reading group with me and I gave them each a job. As a group we talked about what the roles were and how to do them to the best of our ability.

Today as my students entered the class, I timed how long it took before every child in the class had sat down and began their morning work. I was shocked that it took 15 minutes. I also wrote down notes about what early finishers did. Then it was time for a group discussion.  I told the class today I observed each students time-on-task, or T.O.T (as my students have named it).  I told them the day before I had video taped the class during their guided reading groups and I saw some students who were not on the same page as the rest of the group. I also saw students wasting time looking for supplies and many other things I was not pleased with. We had a good discussion about how much time we had lost yesterday and how that would never happen again. After going through all the procedures for entering the room and what to do when we finish early, I had the students go to their guided reading groups.

While groups began reading their chapter books, I sat out a flip camera to record each group. I could see the shock on the students faces and I walked around and set them up. After the groups had finished, I told them from now on each guided reading group would be recorded. I decided periodically I would pull these groups and let them watch their group. I have made a rubric for them to use to evaluate their time-on-task. I was so impressed at how much better they work. I was also impressed by how I was able to easily work with my group without having to worry about students who were off-task.

I created a poster today I am going to use to record students who were caught exemplifying what great time-on-task looks like. If you would like a free copy click the picture below or head on over to my professional development page. This page has tons of great free downloads!

Last week I decided to change my guided reading groups a little bit. I wrote in a previous post about how each member in the group was responsible for a job. I also shared the job necklaces that my students wear in their groups. A few days ago while searching the internet for a way to ensure that my students were thinking deeply about the text, I ran across some reading sticks with question stems.

I loved the question stems, but it seemed as if the questions were based on picture books. I needed questions that my students could use during chapter books. Therefore I created the Wiz-Kid Sticks. I printed the questions on mailing labels and then stuck them to tongue depressors. I love how they came out! My students love using the sticks and I feel it helps them with discussing the book.

Today I am linking up with Manic Monday to offer you my Wiz-Kid Sticks for free. You can download a free copy by clicking below or heading over to the side bar and clicking on professional development. If you have not been there before there are many free downloads. Enjoy!

Hey Friends! I am linking up with Classroom Freebies to offer my library book bin labels. I love the bright colors and how it makes my library look so much more clean and organized. If you are interested in more freebies click on the professional development tab on the side bar.

This week I have had so much fun teaching my guided reading groups. Several of my guided reading groups are reading chapter books and one of them is working mainly on fluency. Typically, I struggle to manage having three different chapter books going at one time. My biggest issue was I felt like students were forgetting what they had read by the time I was able to meet with their group again. One of my teamies on second grade suggested I have each group read a two chapters a week for homework and together we will read two chapters in our guided reading groups. This has finally worked out and I am feeling good about it.

My fluency group is working on using poetry to build fluency. At the beginning of the year I had students doing the Great Poetry Race but I wanted to integrate this more with the skills I was teaching. After searching the internet for a resource I came across Primary Education Oasis who has a downloadable book with a poem for each week of the year. Each poem comes with activities to do with it. I was so excited about this book that I revamped my whole group. This week I made each of my students a poetry notebook. Now when we meet they bring their notebook to the group. I meet with my fluency group each day. On Monday, I read the poem to them and have them create a mental image. Then we choral read, whisper read and clap to the beat of the poem. After we meet students glue their poem in their book and illustrate a picture to go with it. This week I gave them a quick lesson on what these pictures should look like. Together we made a rubric anchor chart. Then I took a picture of the chart and glued it in their book so they could always look at it when they were illustrating.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I use the activities from the poetry lesson I bought. The thing I love about these lessons is that students use the poem to work on story elements, grammar, phonics and much more. On Friday students present their poem to the class in our Poetry Cafe.





To bring in the home element students take home their poetry book each night and read it to their families. Every person they read it to signs their name on the next page. I ask students to read it to at least 10 people. The student with the most signatures wins a lunch date with a friend.

I also leave the poem in our fluency center. During Daily Five students record themselves reading the poem on a tape and then listen to it. My kids love hearing themselves on tape!

Click here to download a free sample of this lesson book.