Snow Day and An Accommodation Checklist to Share...

It's noon.... and I'm sitting here - watching Pioneer Woman making donuts... yummy. I think I'm gaining weight just watching this show. 

We are expecting snow today {in a few hours} so our county actually called off school for TWO....

that's right

T W O

days. :) 

My friend posted this meme and I thought it was so cute that I had to share

;)

We flooded last month and had school - so this is big time folks. BIG. TIME. 

I'm so excited I {may or may not} have washed some of my windows so that I can sit and watch it fall. :) That sounds bad... In my defense.... I have a dog... and he likes to lick and slobber all over them - so they have been cleaned - but I cleaned them again. No spots people.... no spots...

The last time it snowed g1 was 5 and g2 {bubby} was 4 months old. We don't get a lot of snow in south Georgia. 

Anyway - while I am on my snow day - I have been catching up on some of my paperwork. I redid my accommodations paperwork and I'd thought I'd share them here. These are for my ESOL general education teachers - but they can work in most any setting - just cross out a few things. I had a basic checklist when I was a general education teacher ... so that I could keep track of ways I was differentiating instruction in my classroom - extra supports that children were given - These became invaluable as we head into meetings. I guarantee that you are already doing many of these things in your classroom - if you aren't - here is a great way to add some things in!

Click on the picture below and it will take you to my dropbox where you can download my documents! :) 

Happy Snow Day! 

Help! I have two kids that don't speak English!

I don't know if your school is anything like my school.... but if it is.... you've been loaded with new kids.... {not in a bad way - the more the merrier! AKA Job Security!}
We've been back at school for a week now and every time I head into the office, there are new families registering their children. Where are these kids coming from? Wowza! Hopefully it will settle down soon and we can go on with our normally scheduled program. 

Anywho..... during this influx of newbies - I got TWO new children.... They have only been in the United States for two or three weeks, and spent one week at another elementary school before moving to me. Sweetest things in the world! I am so happy they moved to our zone - BUT - the thought of the upcoming English test and these two children - sent me into a straight panic. 

So here is what I made to help all of us {kids, homeroom teachers, me....} out. 

I created some picture dictionaries using my massive amounts of melonheadz clip art..... I added word cards for those Level 1 kids (little to no English) ... and added a place for them to write the word in their native language. 

These are pictures of one of my students.... he cut out the picture, looked it up in the larger dictionary in his native language, found the English word in the dictionary and matched it to the English word card on the picture sheets. Then he glued them in and wrote the word (for this student ... in Korean) to help with the transfer of knowledge. 

I was so happy with the way they turned out I made a Spanish one and two basic English ones that could be used with beginning readers and Kinders. These would be a WONDERFUL resource for the regular education classroom - during those times when you know the content is WAY OVER the ELL's understanding, but don't want them sitting idle.... 

Here are links to the other picture dictionaries...

English/Spanish

English 

English {find it, write it}

I would like to add more school terms .... color words, shapes, school items.... but that probably won't happen until next month.  (and I have more money to buy clip art... hahahah!) 

And - yes - they are in color... no blackline masters....

My reasoning - the children are working on this with little scaffolding at first and then moving to more independence.... I wanted pictures that matched the real items so they would be able to decide what the picture was - without asking you or another student! The more realistic, the better for any ELL! 

sick….again...

I've been home with my little one this week. He started out running a fever this weekend… and it's been on and off for a few days now. He got up to 103 degrees last night and completely freaked me out. I took him to the doctor on Monday, but took him back today because he wasn't improving… and he has…..

a sinus infection. 

yuck.

Hopefully we can both head back to school soon. Anyone else feel guilty about being home sick? 

BUT - I wanted to share a rubric I made to hand out to my gen. ed. teachers at the beginning of the year in their ELL packets - this is just a sheet of ideas that can be used with any level ELL you might have. 

Click on the picture to download from my dropbox link. 

I know many of my teachers have commented about having a hard time grading ELL classwork. I struggled with that also when I was in the general education classroom….so here are some ideas…

Remember - always make accommodations based on the student's level of English proficiency … and grade from there! 

{see below}

AND - these are just my ideas…. I would love to hear feedback! 

Happy Wednesday! 

Here is a chart from Indiana … click on the picture and it will take you to the original. I like this one because it gives you the actions that the students can do… makes it easy to make accommodations for the kids ;)

Gingerbread, Gingerbread…..and a Product Swap!

A few of us are getting together to swap some of our favorite products... and we wanted to share them with you! Our swaps are going live!
Check out the links at the bottom of my post to see the other fabulous bloggers who paired up! :)

I am reviewing  Can't Catch Me - A Gingerbread Thematic Unit from the Applicious Teacher. If you check out the teaser post (last Saturday) you can see the preview pages from tpt (also on her blog)

There are 12 center activities in all in this unit. I was really impressed with her resource page which had links to all of her favorite gingerbread books, videos, and music that can be used with this unit! There were a few gingerbread books that I've never read before - so those were ordered! :) {Like I need an excuse to order more books….. pssssshhhhh…..}

So - here are a few of the activities that we worked on …. in my classroom and at my house with my own child….

First - The uber cute cookie math hunt - for my ell's I circled the number words and the addition or subtraction words to help them locate the important information within the word problem {This can also help your lower readers when it comes to math word problems - so they focus on the mathematical components and not get stuck on the reading.}

Next up - Sweet Treats!

I did this with my younger kids so we did the primary version 

{Ms. Leigh included two versions for instant differentiation….}

In this version they picked a few pieces of candy and added them up… I had them count out the change and 'pay' for their candy. In the more advanced version - they {my addition...can roll dice} to decide how many pieces or scoops they will get… then add it….AND figure out the change due! 

WOW! That component blew my mind - my kids SO need practice with counting back change and this will be a fun way for my older ones to practice that skill. 

{I can't tell you how bothered I get when a cashier won't count back my change….pet-peeve}

 Here are pictures of the synonym center. 

'Synonym Cookies'

You will notice in many of my posts - My kids will practice with these a lot before I give them the recording sheets. I do this for a few reasons…. 

1. Practice, Practice, Practice….especially with ell students

2. I want this to be a 'risk-free' activity for them and not worry about right or wrong. 

{I am in a situation where I don't assign grades…so this is different then many of you in regular classrooms….}

3. I have [MAX] 8 kids in a 45 minute segment - so my kids get a lot of small group and one - on - one time. It is easy for me to see very quickly who 'gets it' and who doesn't. 

 Here is the 'Gingerbread Words' ELA activity.

This was a great review for my 3rd and 5th grade ell's. My 2nd graders LOVED the graphics and backgrounds. 

[Heck - so did I!]

I was pretty blown away by the amount of material you receive for the minimal price… 50 cents a center? DEAL!

I will be using this for the next two weeks of school - The CCSS are already linked to the activities for me - my planning is easy!

Now… I just have to worry about Christmas shopping…. THE HORROR!

One of my favorites - that I didn't' get to showcase here …

Gingerbread Man Sweat Treats printables - they can be used with SO MANY gingerbread stories! 

Check out her homophone freebie…

Follow her store…

and her blog...

tgif

Wow….

 I am so stinking happy this week is over with! 

Only 5 days of school left until Thanksgiving break! 

Do you guys get the whole week off, or just Thursday and Friday? 

I love this time of year in the classroom though…

Today my 5th/2nd combo class was discussing some important things that would need to be done to set up shelter, find food, and get water … if we ever decided to travel to an uninhabited area of the Earth (Pilgrims). There is one child who I have a very difficult time connecting with. She is very resistant to English help and really doesn't want to come to my class… she feels as if she is singled out - I understand it…

Anyway - it is almost impossible to get this child to interact with anything that happens in the classroom - but today - 

She was on FIRE!

It was so amazing to see…. the kids were talking about setting up a shelter on the ground… and she mumbled "that's not a good idea"…. so we kept discussing until she felt compelled to share her idea with us. She states, "Laying on the ground not a good idea - animals….animals will get you." My jaw dropped. I haven't heard her say 5 words, let alone a complete thought… I knew she could… it was just getting through to her! 

I wanted to do a happy dance, even though she told me that I wasn't allowed to stay with her if the zombies came… :) 

We continued on with the discussion - her input noted - and went onto fire, having one, making one, the importance of a fire…. She even told the younger ones about the importance of salt and how we could get it from the ocean! 

I. Was. Blown. Away. … Completely! 

I was so happy to see them discussing these ideas, learning from each other, sharing… it was a huge step for her to share her knowledge with us, all I could say was "Y'all …. she's absolutely right! I didn't think about that! …. What a great idea!"

{Then I told the class that I was going to live on her deserted island…because she knew how to keep us alive…} She promptly refused my company. I guess she would rather be with Wilson… Sadness… ;)

AND - My new planner arrived…. EEEK! :) 

I  haven't written in it yet… It's so pretty and empty! :) 

Peek At My Week

Wow - I am all over the place in my plans this week! 

Planning K - 5 isn't all that easy....!

Click on the pictures to go to my dropbox.

I uploaded a pdf version with links to all the products I plan on using this week and the next few weeks! :) 

WIDA & CCSS lesson planning resources

So - after planning for hours this weekend, and reading Señorita Reina's comment - 

I am not alone! WooHoo! 

I know - it sounds crazy ... but many times I think I am the only one experiencing trouble or that has an issue...chances are ... many others have the same issue..

So - I did some blog stalking research today -

Here is what I've found....

First up - WIDA blog

This blog - by Tammy King - has been up and running for two years. She highlights trainings, ACCESS for ELL's, ed tech, and data analysis with EL's in mind. She has also written a book on implementing effective instruction for EL's into the classroom.

This blog has been added to my bookmarks - I've enjoyed what I have read so far  :) 

#2

Another great ESOL blog - 

I may have blog stalked Laurah for a while..... :) 

She has a giveaway running now {hint, hint} and has some WIDA/CCSS aligned units in her tpt store. I was really sad to learn that someone stole their MacBooks and even more heart-broken that her Donor's Choose project to replace them expired in April! Boohoo!

#3

ColorínColorado.org

This page has a wealth of information - in ABC order! 

It is also a bilingual site!

#4

They also have a blog dedicated to Common Core and ELL's :) 

The blog *might* be my favorite thing....ever....

The first post that comes up is the back to school writing prompt - with CCSS and expectations for each level of ELL student! 

#5

The National Writing Project

This site addresses issues with Common Core and EL focusing on writing.

There are links to journal articles and books for further PD {uh....Christmas Break?}

night peeps - time for more cold meds and bed....

yay for bts germs. 

Motion in the Ocean, Teddy Bear Picnic, and a Freebie

How do you like that for a title? :) 

Motion in the Ocean....

My group of kiddos is learning about ocean animals this week. 

So - I pulled some great readers from 

reading a to z

Two of these are available in the animated version on raz-kids. The Coral Reefs book is multi-level which will be helpful for my 'more capable' ones. 

We are also visiting National Geographic's website to do some animal research! Have you seen the kids site? 

We <3 it="" p="">

Many animals have short video or audio clips so the children can see the animals in their habitat! And... MAPS! So neat!

Here is a screen shot of the Kids: Animals and Pets: All home page. 

I like that it is organized by wildlife or habitat...

And you can print out fact cards for the kids to use later (or put into a book like we did with our animals unit....) 

Teddy Bear Picnic ...

FINALLY got something done... This unit came about when I learned a new little trick in PowerPoint...  Thanks to my friend at Funky Fresh Firsties...

You can fill a shape - with a picture! WHAT? 

I know - mind. blown. 

So I started playing around with that - and before I know it - I had a patterning and graphing unit in the works! 

Here is a preview...

And last... 

A FREEBIE! :) 

Click on FREEBIE - or either picture to download the file from my dropbox. 

Nothing special - just something I made so that my kiddos could write down their 'facts' that we are learning from our books and websites. :) 

And the super cute clip-art is from Nikki at Melonheadz! :) 

Have a great night friends! 

Working My Fingers to the Bone and Channeling My Inner Betsy Ross

I am teaching ESOL summer school and I have been planning for that this weekend. 

I love teaching summer school..

I know... weird... 

I enjoy the shorter days and the ability to work on what my kids NEED. 

NOT what the CCGPS thinks they need.

This year we broke up our summer school classes by their WIDA scores (English ability) in order to better meet their needs. We are only serving 2nd - 5th, but we have 5 groups! I am teaching the 'basic' 2nd graders for the next three weeks. These guys are all new to English (some very new... like have been here a month...) while others need the speaking practice. Even though I am serving the beginning group - their needs are still very diverse! 

One student knows his alphabet, but has no clue what sounds the letters make. 

Another - can't blend.. or segment..

Third - refuses to speak... (I get that, but still....)

I have five kiddos in all this year and I am trying to work out some small group reading rotations like I did in first grade. Two of the five need some intensive instruction with me, while the other three can work somewhat independently. 

{Yes - I am looking at this through a literacy lens... that is what my specialty is...}

I need to work more speaking into our day...

Anywho... 

Here are some of the resources I will be using for the next week. :) 

The Stars and Stripes reader is from reading a to z. If you haven't used them - I HIGHLY recommend that site. They have been one of my go to sites for the last 7 years. 

{P.S. - Flag Day is this week}

My other resource will be a glyph from the glyph girls. :) I love them...

click on either picture and it will take you to the websites. 

We will make an ABC book using the American Symbols - I took this idea from my ABC posters in my classroom. Unfortunately... Summer School is NOT at my school, so I won't be taking my alphabet off the wall. We will recreate it instead. :)

I will also use Teacher To the Core's American Symbols Unit to help with my Alphabet project and the reading comprehension/fluency aspect of WIDA standards.

Hmmmm.... I wonder if there is a 'How It's Made' on American Flags? ;)
Have a great night y'all!

Found this on pinterest... :)