Soooo many Bright Ideas

Did you get a chance to hop around and check out the AMAZING ideas in the Bright Ideas Blog Hops?

In case you were extra busy and missed out...here's a recap of what our uber-talented Chalkies contributed...

You can get to the specific posts by clicking the images.

Karen shared how to build reading stamina...



Nicole shared tips for improving student conversation...
 


Deb shared a site for finding great book sales!



Katie shared organization tips... (can't figure out why blogger is changing her formatting...blogger can be such a sassafras!)

Lisa shared tips for successful Partner Reading Conversation...

  

Greg shared how to make glue sponges (have you seen this cutie on video yet?)...

Jessica shared small group planning ideas...

Casey shared tips for making math stations easy...

Heather shared about Testing Goody Bags...

Stacy shared several ways she uses numbers in the classroom...

Monica shared how to use up extra pronged folders as personal slates...

Corinna shared how to organize your A-Z readers...

 

Laura shared how she organizes money...

Anna shared tips for Guided Math Stations...

  

Alyssha shared how to keep track of who you've conferred with...

Randi shared about teaching key words in math problem-solving...

 

I just had SUCH a blast reading through these posts again to snag the images! Chalkies are amazing!!! Can't believe I have not hugged a single one of them in real life! It WILL happen, though!!

P.S. You have until midnight TONIGHT, March 22nd, to enter the March Mystery Box Giveaway...

Smiles - 

 

Reading Center Ideas for Your Classroom!

Hi! Naomi here, from Read Like A Rock Star! This is my first post on the "chalkboard", and I'm so excited! 

I love reading centers! Ever since I was interning and watched the amazingly talented Danielle Peeples run reading centers seamlessly, I was in love. They were so organized, so effective, and so engaging. She is an incredible teacher! I started reading centers my first day of teaching, and I've never looked back. Hopefully you can get some ideas for centers in your class!

I have 18 students in my class. I have two groups of 4, and two groups of 5. Each group rotates through 4 centers EVERY day; SmartBoard, Computer, Teacher, and Reading Center. Each center lasts for 15-20 minutes.

At the board I might give them a response worksheet, a story map to fill out, a writing prompt, or a dry erase board to record their answers.

A great guide for setting up your guided reading center!

My table, the computer center, and the SmartBoard center are easy to take care of each day. The hardest center for me to come up with is the reading center. But I learned to work smarter and not harder. Something as simple as independent reading can happen here if you don't have a lot of time to plan. Grabbing a quick item off of TpT is always an option too! Here are some more ideas!

I put out books, a microphone for discussion, and some discussion cards and I instantly have a book club. This meeting can last up to 3 or 4 days with all of the book club activities involved.

Grab this awesome game here!

Get this sound box activity here!

Grab activities like this here!

My last reading center tip, is to invest in a portable doorbell. I got one at Wal-Mart for about 10 bucks. I ring my bell at the end of each rotation. My students are trained to freeze, clean up their area, then switch to the next area. That's another amazing idea from my dear mentor and friend, Danielle.

Grab this Reading and Math Passport FREEBIE here!!!

You can use the reading center passport to check if your students are reaching their learning goals during centers! It's FREE so check it out! It's a great and fun way to keep the accountable and assess what they've learned.

Hope you found this post helpful!

xo

Naomi