https://theoldreader.com/profile/924cda852bd6485531965434

Above is the link to my “The Old Reader” account. My name is “Nicole Delevan” on the website.

I used Google Alerts to add to my RSS feed as per the module’s instructions. I added the following topics: educational technology, online learning resources kindergarten, special education resources, and synchronous learning tools. I started to follow fifteen blogs and read through them. I unsubscribed to some that were not the quality I thought they would be. I will add Professor Casciole, Kaitlin, and Chris when I find out their usernames. The blogs that I really enjoyed reading so far were as follows: Special Education and Disability Rights Blog, I Heart Teaching Elementary, For the Love of Kindergarten, The Kindergarten Smorgasboard (I follow them on Facebook and Teachers Pay Teachers), On Special Education – Education Week, Considerate Classroom: Early Childhood Special Education Edition, and Fluency Matters. I shared posts that I liked from initial skimming and went back to read the particular blogs later. In addition, it was relieving to read some posts about the ever-growing list of responsibilities of other teachers. I know it is happening everywhere, but to see that others are going through the same thing and feeling the same way makes you feel less alone.

I would be able to use RSS to enhance my own learning as a classroom teacher. Being able to look at updates on a particular topic with just a click would save so much time compared to having to type in every topic individually and scroll before going to the next topic. I would plan to research special education teaching strategies, early literacy and early numeracy teaching strategies, and online learning tools. I would plan to use my lunch time or time before school to read through the RSS feeds at least twice per week. One day would be for Kindergarten-related updates and another day would be for special education updates. I am always coming early and always staying late, anyways, so this doesn’t impact my schedule. I would aim to read posts that would help me develop professionally with ideas, strategies, and tools that I could use immediately versus posts that are strictly discussion of one’s day.

Descriptions of Five Blogs

Fluency Matters: The blogger discussed engagement and breakout room ideas for online learning and had multiple sample activities listed in detail. A digital note taking strategy called “sketchnoting” was discussed in relation to elementary language learning. This is where the students make sketches in their notes to help them represent what they were learning. Photo Reader’s Theater is an activity that was detailed with same pictures. This strategy is supposed to keep them engaged in literature through the online environment. Photo Reader’s Theater involves the students recreating a famous artwork or story cover with people or items from the home and posting for others to view. Another suggestion was to upload the pictures to Kahoot! to see if the students could match the recreated photo to the original.

I Heart Teaching Elementary: This blogger discussed comprehension strategies such as using picture books, antonyms and synonyms, words of the day, drawing pictures for vocabulary, and writing sentences. The blogger recently posted ideas for the end of the school year along with stories that are great for read alouds for this time of year. The blogger suggested Blooket (which I think Professor Casciole mentioned somewhere) for middle elementary math review. They also suggested scavenger hunts and child-created review games. Multisyllabic word decoding assessments and activities were detailed along with reading strategies to help with motivation. There were virtual teaching strategies for math topics, too

For the Love of Kindergarten: This blogger has just recently begun posting again. She detailed some changes and struggles going on currently in her situation. She said that she loves using the following resources: Reading Raven, Monkey Math, and Teach Me Kindergarten, Debbie Diller worksheets, and Sign-up Genius, She also uses ABCMouse, which I am familiar with. I have to research the other resources, she mentioned, though, since I haven’t heard of any of them. She mentioned that Treasures will be her new curriculum next school year. We are looking for a new math curriculum to replace GoMath. I am currently in the group to help look through various programs like Bridges and Illustrative Math. I am interested to see what Treasures is all about. She made a most about Kindergarten Common Core, also.

Considerate Classroom: This is my favorite blog out of all of them. Most recently, she posted an activity related to executive functioning skills and strategies/supports for the students to help improve their executive functioning. To accompany this skill, she has a supply word communication board and visual reminder board. She details synchronous and asynchronous learning rotations and plans as well as posts videos of her classroom. It sounds like her classroom is similar to mine. She has many students with a wide range of abilities but has much more support. She uses centers and flexible seating techniques which she wrote about at length. She also has individual work stations and a whole group area.

The Kindergarten Smorgasboard: He links blog posts that he writes on his website to his RSS account. He sells his creations on Teachers Pay Teachers and started posting on this account in early April of this year. The blogs on his website have visuals about the lessons he is talking about for the week so the viewer can get an idea of all that was involved. It seems as though he is promoting a lot of his for-sale materials through these posts. Although, his last post details a review of “Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Curriculum.” He discussed his takeaways. He said do not teach vocab in a watered-down way, use extended wait time, and have many opportunities for conversations.

Shifting The Balance: How Comprehension Begins

It's that time of year again - time for the rush to buy school supplies, go to open house, complete all of that pesky enrollment paperwork, and get the kids back to school!

As parents prepare, this is a great time to get all of those IEP documents, assessments, and other school records into order. Organizing your child's files is a great way to ensure that you start the school year out right. With organized files, you are able to find documents quickly, access information regarding your child's needs, and track changes in your child's program. Ultimately, you become a better and more effective advocate for your child.

 Here's our tips for how to do it:

Records to Gather:

• All of your child's IEPs, including annual IEPs, triennial / three-year reviews, and any addendums or amendments
• Any assessments conducted by the school district, including protocols and notes from those assessments
• Any assessment plans or written correspondence related to the district's assessments
• Any assessments, evaluations or other reports that you have obtained privately / independently
• Progress reports, report cards, and results from periodic classroom assessments
• Statewide or districtwide assessment / testing results
• Correspondence to and from your child's school, teachers, providers, etc
• Discipline records or reports regarding your child's behaviors
• Other relevant documentation regarding your child's unique needs and special education program
• Copy of your "parent rights" that you recieve from the school district

* You have a right to review your child's records from the school district. Make a request in writing in order to review the records or obtain copies.

Supplies Needed:

• Three-ring binders - you will need at least one large binder (more if your child is older / has a lot of records) for older records and one medium to large one to organize this year's documents as you receive them
• Dividers with labels. Color-coded ones work well.
• Inserts with pockets for loose documents
• Hole-punch
• Pen or marker
• Colored paper

Organizing Your Records from Previous School Years:

1. If your child is older, and has many years worth of documents, start by dividing up the documents by elementary school years, middle school years, high school years.
2. Separate the documents in piles by the following categories:
a. IEPs
b. Assessments / Evaluations, Independent Reports
c. Progress Reports, Report Cards, Statewide Testing Results
d. Discipline records, behavior notes, behavior logs, etc
e. Correspondence, communications and emails
f. Other documents
* If your child has applicable medical needs, or other areas, you can add additional categories as needed
3. Within each category, put the documents into chronological order
4. Make labels for each section of your binder using the file dividers. The labels should correspond to the above categories. i.e. Make labels for "IEPs" "Evals" "Progress" "Behavior" "Correspondence" "Other"
5. Put documents into sections in chronological order, using a single colored sheet of paper between each separate document.
* Dividing records by category has the benefit of enabling you to easily find information in your child's files and track changes in IEPs, etc from year to year. Other methods could include dividing by school year; or simply putting all documents in chronological order with an index.

Tips for Setting Up a System for Current School Year:

1. Start with labels for your second binder that match the categories discussed above. Throughout the school year, you can add documents to these categories as you receive them, which will make it easy to transfer them into your archiving binder when the year is over.
2. Add an additional divider labeled "Notes." In that section, add blank paper or some format to use as a log or journal throughout the year. Make notes of any phone conversations, meetings or other discussions with teachers and staff regarding your child's educational program.
3. Insert a folder that can be used for forms and other communications that you need to sign and return.
4. Use either the front pocket of the binder or an insert to hold a contact list with teachers, providers, IEP case carriers, district administrators, your advocate, and others who are important to the development and implementation of your child's IEP.
5. Add additional dividers according to your needs.
6. If you can print out a school calendar, put a copy of it at the very beginning of this binder.

Remember that the goal here is to make this system easy for you to utilize and access, so organize in a way that works best for you!

What’s the #1 way to improve reading comprehension? Well, it’s super complicated and I almost don’t want to tell you for fear of scaring you off. 

Just kidding. It’s not complicated at all! The best way to improve reading comprehension is by helping kids improve their vocabulary. That’s it. Sounds so simple right?

Here’s the thing though. The more words kids know, the better they can comprehend what they are read.

But the issue is, fitting in vocabulary instruction into your already busy schedule.

But it’s doable!

Let me share some ideas for ways you can fit vocabulary into your day. You can try all of these or just the ones that are best for you and your students.

Read Picture Books

One way to help kids improve their vocabulary is by reading picture books and having kids figure out difficult words in context. Reading a picture book can not only help you teach context clues, but you can use it in conjunction with reading skills.

Word of the Day

Another way to fit vocabulary in is by having a word of the day and see how many times kids can use it throughout the day. Pick a tier 2 word each day and write it on the board.

You might want to plan out all of the words for the week ahead of time so you don’t have to search for a word each day. They can even come from one of the picture books you’ve read!

Challenge students to use the word as much as possible and have a contest to see who can use it the most in one day. 

Their prize doesn’t have to be anything that costs money. Winning the challenge can be enough motivation for 3rd graders. 

Find Synonyms and Antonyms 

Have students find synonyms and antonyms for the word of the day. This increases word knowledge to 15 words a week for a 5 day school week. Discuss them and talk about why the words mean almost the same thing or the opposite.

They can record them in a journal to keep track or put them in a word jar. Discuss synonyms and antonyms during morning meetings or at dismissal. 

Not only are the kids being exposed to more words, but they’re also practicing the reading skill of synonyms and antonyms.

Write Sentences

Another way is having kids write sentences using the words they learn in class in their own context. This helps them make even more meaning and helps them retain the words.

They can write these sentences in vocabulary journals or on an ongoing Google document. 

When kids use words in their own context, they are more likely to comprehend the word meanings and remember them. 

Use Pictures

Kids can draw pictures for each of their vocabulary words. They can even add them to sentences if they have a vocabulary journal. 

Helping them see the meaning visually helps with retention. For ESL kids, provide pictures that can help them understand the words when you teach the words.

Another option is to display a picture and 3 words. Ask the students which word they think goes with the picture and why. Asking them to explain why the picture goes with the vocabulary word can help you clear up any misunderstandings.

There are so many ways to fit vocabulary into your day. You’ll notice 3rd-grade reading comprehension improve greatly when you implement vocabulary regularly into your schedule.

Would you like some free vocabulary resources to use with the book Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson? You can download your FREE copy HERE!

This a great book to start the school year with and you’ll have vocabulary lesson plans all set to go!

The post The #1 Way to Improve Reading Comprehension appeared first on .

Hello all!  I am so sorry that I have been neglecting my blog, but happy to say I have been working and playing hard!  This past summer was really tough for my family and I, but thankfully things are looking much better and I can return to some fun passions like blogging.  I have always been reading other blogs and getting great ideas as well as buying amazing things on TpT.  That didn't stop! I just didn't have the extra energy to post on my own blog.  I will also admit that I feel less motivated to post because I don't sell on TpT. It seems that many of my favorite blogs are written by creative and hard working teachers who sell great units on TpT.  I'm just not ready for that, nor talented in that way.

Anyway...I hope to post weekly and share some ideas and things that I am doing in my classroom.  So many changes at my school that it is very overwhelming, but exciting!

Here are a few of the newset things I am doing:

• I am using Aimsweb for benchmark assessments and just starting to progress monitor several of my low babies.  Lots of work, but so meaningful!
• I have 2 ipads in my room now and I am loving apps like Reading Raven, Teach Me Kindergarten, Monkey Math and ABCMOUSE.com
• I am using ABCMOUSE.com in the classroom and have sent invites to my students so they can use it at home.  What an awesome site!
• I am doing Debbie Diller style Literacy Workstations.  My students work in pairs and I love it for the most part.  They are getting much more independent and I am ready to begin Guided Reading and small group work.
• I used Sign-up Genius for conference sign-ups and I loved it and so did my parents!
• We just got on board with Gmail as a district and that was a big change.
• New principal, new kinder partner (we still share a classroom and do AM/PM) 30 students
• Our District is beginning to put pressure on us for beginning Common Core (I know we are behind!)
• Rumors have begun that we will be adopting Treasures for next year and I am both scared and excited. (any thoughts on Treasures would be greatly appreciated!)

So much new stuff and yet I am loving my class and my job!

I just got a new Windows 8 laptop with a touchscreen so I can do my assessments on the go.  It is really cool!!!!

Well, thanks for reading my post and I hope to get back into posting photos and such soon.  I use so many wonderful products from bloggers and I hope to share links to their work. 

Ya’ll! I am so excited to join my friend Abby from Kindergarten Chaos for our annual summer book study. This summer we’re reading the book, Shifting The Balance. We have…

To their detriment, teacher preparation programs 'do not center students with disabilities in their curriculum,' a new report from the Center for American Progress concludes.

Nearly 30 disability rights and education advocacy organizations have launched a new resource hub and online network designed to help special educators during the coronavirus crisis.

A leading autism researcher and former special education teacher offers advice to help students cope with the abrupt changes brought on by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

A new resource offers tips on how to keep Individualized Education Program meetings focused and on-schedule.

I often get asked how I keep up with it all!  Sometimes I actually wonder this myself, but I will say one of my key timesavers is the way I organize my classroom centers. 

Each week we focus on a letter and a number.  Each day, we do fifteen to twenty minute rotations at the literacy center, math center, and art center to work on concepts related to the letter and number of the week. 



As you can see in the photos each center is also detailed with a color. Red is literacy, orange is art, and blue is math.  This helps our students know where to go for each activity as the colors are used on the schedules of students who are not yet readers.  



At the literacy center the students practice writing the letter of the week (with the help of Heidi Songs and Handwriting Without Tears concepts).  Then they make and read a story about the letter (with the help of The Printable Princess). Then they identify words that start with the letter (with the help of Crystal McGinnis' I Know My Alphabet Sounds).  These three steps are done using a three drawer worksystem so students know how much work, what work, and when the work is finished as suggested by the TEACCH model.  



Students know that their work is done when they have completed the work in drawers A, B, and C.  For most the drawers themselves are enough for them to understand how much work but for some we add a picture frame to mark off each activity or a match to match icon system for those that need movement, as they stand up and match the icons to the drawers, then bring the contents of the drawer back to table and sit down to work.



Notice that each drawer also has a detailed description of what to do with the contents of the drawer this so staff can support students at each center in a consistent manner.  

But how did we make it simple to switch out materials at the end of the week?  By filing them in a Letter of the Week Bin that is stored on top of the metal cabinet at the literacy center that doubles as a magnetic letter wall and storage for other letter and literacy materials.  



Also inside the bin are letter of the week interactive letter books by Gabriella Dixon from Teaching Special Thinkers for the library center and art projects that are made at the art center each day.   In order to have the materials for the art projects ready for each week, I put them in my staffs' to do tube to work on during free moments a week or two before each letter is the letter of the week.  Then they go in drawer three (the STOP THIS IS FOR TEACHERS drawer) at the art center for future use. 



In drawer one, we have each day's art project and in drawer two we have art choices for the week that  students can play with after they finish each day's art project.  Note on Mondays the students do not have a daily art project as they simply learn how to use and play with the art choices of the week.  Then on Tuesday they do an art project with the capital letter, on Wednesday they do an art project with the lowercase letter and on Friday they make an alphabet zoo letter to add to their alphabet book.  
(On Thursday's our students have the privilege of doing adaptive art with our building's art teacher!)



Note the Friday art projects are stored in a small file system on the cabinet by the art center so we can simply begin alphabetizing each students' book as we complete it page.



That's all I have time for today, but stay tune for how I organize the math center and other classroom areas!

Happy Organizing, 
Lindy

Do you have students who struggle to sit at their desks?  If so this post is for you!

Several months ago,  I shared a few of my favorite classroom jobs.  Today I bring you one more jobs- Milk Count!

Originally, my students were doing one to one correspondence with the milk visual below that sat inside dish tubs.  Students would deliver the dish tubs to the three kindergarten classrooms at snack using our delivery cart.  (NOTE: There are more than 12 students in each kindergarten class but only those that choose to pay for milk do 'special snack milk'.)


At semester I realized it was time for a revamp.  Although the students the job was designed for have not mastered one to one correspondence, with 100% accuracy they needed a change.  After a little brainstorming with my friend Tasha, we came up with this.


Now my students are able to work on looking at a chart for information. . .

  
Then transferring that information to a number line on our delivery cart made of duct tape and a permanent marker. (Note the number line only goes to 10 so our students have an opportunity to do real world addition as they count out snack for Kindergarten C since they need 12 milks.  Also note the numbers on the chart are written with a vis-a-v so my staff and I are able to change the numbers on the count if students are absent or if we want them to use a different set of numbers to get to 12 as many of my students will start to memorize that 7+5 is 12.)    

After finding the number they need on the duct tape number line they mark it with a bulldog clip.  


The students then simply line milk up to that number.   Next they have a second opportunity to count as they errorless-ly put the milk lined up on the number line into the three milk tubs (one for each classroom- Kindergarten A, Kindergarten B and Kindergarten C).  

The milk then gets put in our fridge until snack time.  Then our kindergartners deliver the milk to the corresponding classrooms yet another opportunity for academics as they match milk tub A with classroom A, and so on and so forth.  

Our delivery cart gets used for many other jobs throughout the day!  The cart is simply a repurposed technology cart that I added weights to- to help ground the kids, keep them from going to fast and give them some sensory input!  Stay tuned for more ideas using the cart as well as another job Tasha and I modified for this semester.

Best wishes, Lindy

Time to take a look at room two of our kindergarten through fifth grade life skills classroom.  Click below for the video tour!



This room is more small group and center based.  Our kindergarten through first grade students work through a rotation of teacher led and student led activities twice a day in this space.


This took three adults, and significant planning, zoning, scheduling and structuring for our little guys, however by the end of the year they rolled through it like rock stars!  Each working at their own individual level on everything from following one step directives and attending to teacher instruction to reading sight words and adding and subtracting with objects.


The best part of the whole thing is that students learn how to manage their time safely and independently at the technology center (iPads and laptops), independent work area, and self-directed choice area between teacher led times.

I will get into the logistics of that later but I wanted to draw attention to it because so often I hear "I don't have enough staff to teach at each student's individual level."  By training students to work independently, we are able to maximize quality teaching time! Each student can work one on one with a teacher or in a 2 to 1 ratio depending on their needs and what they are working on.  If they need to work on turn taking, waiting or social skills we pair them up with a friend with the ultimate goal of getting them out into the inclusion setting as they gain skills.   If they are at the early stages of learning, and need to work on following teacher directives, in seat behavior, communicating appropriate, etc then their time at the teacher rotations is on a more one on one basis.

Until Next Time, Best Wishes!
Lindy

Preparing for an activity and getting the materials out that you need takes executive functioning skills that can be difficult for young children and students with special needs.  By providing them with a visual support system to prepare for center and desk work students gain the life skills necessary to be responsible and independent!

For example, at the art center, we have a box of supplies for each work area.  In each box, we have the materials students need for art instruction: crayons, markers, glue stick, pencils, colored pencils, and Elmer's glue as well as a What I need for art today tub.



When students come to the art center, they take a look at the What I need for art today board, and get the materials out they need.  Then they set them in their What I need for art today tub and begin their art project so not to be overwhelmed with a full box of supplies.  


Note the board is magnetic and all the visuals for the center are printed on magnet paper for easy use. Also note that I have leveled the visuals for student who are readers, non-readers, and emerging readers.

Because the visuals are all magnetic, we simply post the extras on the metal art supply cabinet so staff can switch them out depending on the daily activity and student needs. 

(Don't have a metal supply cabinet, no problem a cookie sheet can serve the same purpose!)

A similar system is used at the math and reading centers.  The only difference is that the items are stored in pencil bags with a visual on the outside that says what is inside.  The bags are stored in the chair pockets of each student chair.



These systems work so well at centers, I plan to use it for desk work next year as well!  Each student will have a pencil box with needed supplies in their desk to pull from.

If a student is missing a supply that they need, they can ask to borrow a friends using this matching language board.  A great communication and social opportunity for students!  (Sometimes something we manipulate so a student has to problem solve and practice the skills of asking for what they need.)



Because the visuals remind staff and students what should be in each box or bag, the supply systems also serve as a weekly job for students who are working on problem solving, assembling items, and stocking materials as they check to make sure all supplies are in the boxes and bags and restock as needed using our art supply area pictured below!



To ensure that students have all the crayons and markers they need, I created little checklists for markers, crayons, and pencils.  They are in word form for readers, and picture form for non-readers.



Because the cardboard marker, pencil, and crayon boxes you get them in at the store tend to break.  I tape these checklists to more durable containers to last longer.  I use bar soap containers for our crayons, zipper bags for our markers, small pencil boxes for our colored pencils, and toothbrush holders for our pencils.  The beauty is that this offers students' purposeful opportunities to practice zipping, buttoning, and opening snap containers.

Want to use these supply visuals in your classroom, click here to purchase them from My Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

Until next time- Best Wishes, Lindy