The Barefoot Teacher: reading

Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

Doodle-It gives your phonics lessons an interactive, creative twist and encourages your Preschool, Kindergarten, or even First Grade kids to explore phonics through art and drawing. The Phonics Poetry book with original poems is explores a variety of concepts including alphabet, blends, digraphs, & more. These interactive activities for kids are great for any time of the year. Start Back to School off right, using Doodle-It as an introduction or review. Also great as End of the Year activities too. Bind them together to create a Doodle Phonics Book!

We're all about doodling lately. Are your kiddos into it, too? Doodling with regular pencils. Doodling with scented pencils. Doodling with scented crayons, and those Mr. Sketch gel crayons and markers of all kinds... Basically any type of writing utensil they can get their hands on, they're using it to doodle!

**This post may contain affiliate links.**

So I thought I'd meet them where they're at with their interest in doodling, and find a way to sneak some fun phonics practice into their doodle time. Which leads me to introduce Doodle-It Phonics! A doodling notebook that draws (haha, bad mom joke!) a kid's focus and attention to phonics while letting them exercise and explore their creative side at the same time.

Doodle-It can be used as individual worksheets, or it can also be glued into a composition or regular notebook to create an interactive book that students can flip through time and time again. It covers a wide range of phonics. It includes Alphabet, CVC & Rhyming, Digraphs, Blends, & Long Vowel practice.

There are two ways you can have your learners doodle... they can use guided doodling version, or they can jump right into it and try it on their own. The guided version helps them write words and shows a picture so that they can see a visual of the word and either doodle their own version of the object or doodle one like the picture. They can doodle the word as well! Instructions and examples are included in the download.

You decide how you want to use this resource. You can use the 180 pages here and there as you need them, or you can pick and choose what sounds you're currently working on and create a spiral or stapled notebook for students to hang on to. If you use a 3 prong folder, you can continue to add to it all throughout the year!

You'll notice that on the guided doodling version, students have the option to repeat the picture already shown, or they could also draw their own. At this age, some students don't know where to start when it comes to drawing, so I wanted to make sure that even reluctant drawers had a starting place...even if it meant just attempting to doodle the picture already shown.

Get Doodle-It HERE.

Another interactive Phonics notebook that I use with my kids is this Phonics Poetry Notebook that includes original poetry from my good friend from Let's Learn S'more.

This Phonics Poetry Notebook gives kids a hands-on approach to learning and practicing their reading skills. There are four versions included for each focus. One version has students writing in the various vowels, diphthongs, blends, or digraphs. The other doesn't. And both of these come in either a less-ink, color-me option or a full color option.

Students cut these out on the solid line and glue them in a composition or spiral notebook, which allows them to continually review prior ones completed! Woohoo!

Labels are an option that are also included to put on the cover.

Here's what's covered in this book. Pick and choose what you need:

The Phonics Poetry Book is also available in a Poetry Books Big Bundle:

The bundle includes five different types of poetry books that you can mix and match or do separately.

Get the Poetry Books Big Bundle HERE.

Well, that's a phonics overload for today. Thanks for letting me share these with you. I hope your littles love and enjoy them. I also hope they make your teaching life just a tad bit easier!

-Til next time

Bek

With Halloween right around the corner, now is a perfect time for your Preschool, Kindergarten, or First grade kids to be learning about nocturnal animals! If you're looking for fall activities for kids, these Bats, Owls, & Spiders differentiated readers are a perfect additional to the other activities, crafts, and ideas you have planned for your class this fall. Help your students develop confidence in their reading abilities while learning about bats at the same time. In addition, the last page of each reader incorporates writing practice as students recall facts that they learned in the reader.

With fall upon us and Halloween right around the corner, I'd like to show you some differentiated 'I Am a Bat' emergent readers. And then I have a FREE DOWNLOAD you can try out if you haven't already!

**This post may contain affiliate links.**

While you really can use these readers at any time of year, I tend to do them around our Halloween and Nocturnal Animals units. I have many animal readers in this series, but I'm only going to highlight the bat readers today!

So this is what the cover looks like. It's the same for all three levels of the reader.

Here's what it looks like full size. Each page of the book comes two-to-a-page so that you can easily print the books using the collate and staple options on your copy machine. Then use a paper cutter to quickly slice between the books and just like magic, they're already assembled for you!

Meet your students right where they're at with three differentiated levels to choose from. Your kiddos can highlight any sight words, chunks, or blends that you are currently working on.

Learn some unique facts about bats that many people don't know!

Learn what they eat and how they sleep.

The last page is one of my favorites. It's included in all of the readers of this series. Students write down a list of the favorite things they learned while reading the book! It's a great way to incorporate writing practice. This picture is from a set of rabbit readers, and I just happened to have it handy to show you. This is how the bat books end as well.

Let me show you two ways you can get this bats reader set.

You can get this differentiated reader by itself here:

I Am a Bat Emergent Readers

Or you can get it in a bundle with other readers:

Nocturnal Animals Emergent Readers

Six readers, all about nocturnal animals, are included in this bundle.

Remember reading that book when you were a kid, about the old lady who swallowed a fly? Well, guess what? She swallows a lot more things now, including bats! My students LOVE when I pull this book out. I made some activities and centers to go along with this book.

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat Activities

Now, let me show you a FREE DOWNLOAD you can get right now that will give you an opportunity to try those differentiated readers out!

This is the I Am an Alligator set.

It's set up exactly like the bat readers, only your students will be learning about alligators instead! Oh my!

Try this series FREE right here:

I Am an Alligator Differentiated Readers

Don't forget to leave a rating. I enjoy reading your feedback and hearing what you think!

-Til next time

These FREE non-fiction, differentiated readers will go right along with the other activities, crafts, and ideas you have planned for your class this spring. Help your Kindergarten or First Grade students develop confidence in their reading abilities while learning about alligators at the same time. In addition, the last page of each reader incorporates writing practice as students recall facts that they learned in the reader.

Bek

These Labor Day activities for Preschool, Kindergarten, or First Grade students will go right along with the other lessons, arts and crafts that you have planned for your community helpers unit. Lesson plans that will engage your students! #laborday #labordayforkids #labordayactivities #kindergarten #emergentreaders #labordayactivitiesforkids #labordayreader #firstgrade

How can it be that Labor Day is already upon us?! My kids have been in school for over two weeks now. I'm curious to hear when you went/go back.

Since it kinda just snuck up on me, I'm going to cram this post in real quick so that you'll have a few extra Labor Day ideas for your littles.

Here is a Labor Day Emergent Reader you can use over the next few days (or even next week) to reinforce the high frequency words "I", "Can", & "See" while celebrating Labor Day at the same time.

Each page goes through various community helpers including:
-police officer
-fireman
-teacher
-garbage collector
-nurse
-hair stylist
-baker
-crossing guard
-farmer
-soldier
-doctor

The book is 12 pages total and is created two to a page for easy copy machine copying, stapling, and slicing.

We tie in Labor Day with our Community Helpers unit.
Here are a couple of Community Helpers activities to add to your plans.

These Community Helpers Writing Activity papers are great for a bulletin board or hallway display.

Many occupations are included, most coming in both male and female characters.

Two different formats allow you to choose what's best for your students.

PLUS, there are blank ones so that your littles can write about what they would like to be when they are older.

Pocket chart pieces are a must for your Community Helpers unit.

These ones include:
-artist
-chef
-construction worker
-doctor
-farmer
-fire fighter
-mail carrier
-police officer
-hair stylist
-nurse
-teacher
-vet

Choose from a full color version, or a less-ink one.

Each snapshot is 4"x4.5" in size.

Enjoy your Labor Day!

Til next time,

Bek

Are you looking for activities for an insect or firefly life cycle unit? If so, then here's a blog post for you! This "How to Survive as a Firefly" FREE book companion activity is a fun way for students to gather and organize facts that they learn about fireflies. It's a great way to incorporate science and non-fiction into your lesson plans. #fireflies #insects #bugs #kindergarten #booksforkids #camping #bookcompanion #bugactivities #activitiesforkids #flipbook

**Book images created by Erica Salcedo are used with permission from The Innovation Press**
**This post contains affiliate links.**

I was recently given a copy of the book
How to Survive as a Firefly

by Kristen Lootes and illustrated by Erica Salcedo.

It was my first time seeing (or even having heard of) the book, so I was excited to read it. Before even opening the book, I realized that I really don't know anything at all about fireflies...except that they are a ton of fun to catch in the summer at dusk!

I found this book to be a delightful and incredibly funny informational book for kids ages 5-10. If you teach an insect unit, or about fireflies or the life cycle of fireflies, then this book is a must-have for you and your students.

I made a FREE Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book for students to use as a fun way to gather and organize facts that they learn while reading!

Ok, so let me tell you a little bit about the book. You can also download a PREVIEW of the book and take a look for yourself!

"How to Survive as a Firefly" is written in a story format, having an adult firefly educate the newly hatched firefly eggs on what they will need to do throughout their life to survive.

It covers everything in a very humorous, yet informationally accurate way. From life cycle info, to vocabulary terms, to parts of the body...it has it all! Even a glosser is included at the end of the book.

Students can work on the companion resource before reading the book. This will give them time to gather any background information they have on fireflies, as well as wonder about them.
Have them start out by coloring the flip book cover page.

Then they can cut out all of the pages and glue them together. It can dry while they initially read the book. After reading it, they can go back and look for information that they'd like to include in the flip book. The first page has students simply write out the four stages of a firefly's life cycle. They can add quick sketches of each stage too, if they'd like!

Then they can write down facts specific to each stage of the life cycle. Starting with the Egg stage:

Then on to the Larva stage:

And next the Pupa stage:

And finally, the adult stage:

The final page give students a chance to jot down some unique, or their favorite, facts that they learned about fireflies.

After it's finished, students can use it to review or reflect on. They can use it to study from (if there is any type of assessment over the information) or just take it home to share what they learned with family and friends!

Enjoy How to Survive as a Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book absolutely FREE. Don't forget to leave a review of the resource. I very much appreciate your opinions and feedback on activities that I create!

-Til next time

Bek

This FREE ocean reading comprehension activities download will go great with the other ideas, lesson plans, and crafts you have planned for your Kindergarten or First Grade students!

Are you like me and already looking for what new ocean resources you're going to use this spring for your ocean unit? Today I want to show you some Ocean themed Reading Comprehension Passages that you can use to build your little readers confidence.

I'll show you what it entails, how I use it, and then I'll give you a FREE DOWNLOAD so that you can try it out!

Help your littles develop confidence in their reading abilities while having fun and learning about our Earth at the same time!

I made these reading passages (with corresponding comprehension questions) with Kindergarten students in mind using the Flesch-Kincaid reading comprehension leveling formula. The passages range from .1 - 1.0 levels.

The kid-friendly font that is used in these passages makes reading the text even easier.

There are 10 passages included that teach students about the following topics:

-crabs, sea horses, whales, clown fish, star fish, sea turtles, squid, lobsters, puffer fish, shrimp

When I use these passages with my students, I introduce them by first asking what they know about the topic. This allows me to pulls as much back-ground information as I can so that I can base my direction and discussion around their prior knowledge.

I've found that some of my students tend to instantly shut down when seeing so many words together in one passage like this, so we break it down before reading so that they can see that they actually already know many of the words that they'll be reading.

First, we find out what the topic is about, and then highlight the topic word all throughout the passage with an orange crayon.

Then, we go back through the passage (not yet fully reading it) and highlight with yellow any high frequency words that we can find.

Finally, we notice that there is a word underlined, which probably means it's pretty important! So we highlight that one pink so that we can pay close attention to it.

After we've fully read the passage, we move on to the comprehension questions.

Sometimes I read these questions to the students, sometimes we read them together. If a student is able, I allow them to read the questions to me.

Many times, the students can recall the information needed to answer the question without going back to the passage. But if they don't know the answer, I guide them back to the passage and together we look to see if we can find the area that might give us the answer. Then we fill in a dot next to that question so that later, when I'm recording their data, I can remember that they needed help answering that question.

Here is what I record their data on:

Currently, I have five different Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension Packs. You can get them all in one bundle if you're interested, which allows you to save some money compared to purchasing them individually.

Help your Kindergarten students develop confidence in their reading comprehension abilities while learning about spring at the same time! This free download will go right along with the other Spring activities and crafts you have planned for your class. The strategies used with these worksheets will feel more like playing you are playing games with your student than it will reading!

Now - let's get you that FREE DOWNLOAD! I'm going to give you the Inky Fish reading passage, with its corresponding reading comprehension questions so that you can try it out with your students. Don't forget to leave a rating after downloading, it's important to me to hear what you think!