Reading

Phonics Instruction Made Easy

November 17, 2019 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Phonics instruction is important because students have to know how to decode print in order to become fluent readers that can comprehend what they read. While decoding comes easily for some students, others need very direct and explicit instruction. Everyone, even your highest readers, need a good understanding of phonics. Once students start reading multisyllabic words, they need to be able to decode them easily. We even use phonetic skills as adults to decode unknown words. Think of all those medical terms or weird chemicals that we see on food labels. Phonetic decoding is truly a lifelong skill. For this reason, I make sure that I use a lot of explicit phonics instruction in my classroom.

I love having a variety of resources for each phonics skill at my fingertips to use each week. Sometimes, I use the same resources over and over each week, and sometimes I like to change it up a bit. I put a variety of my phonics resources into Megapacks organized by phonics skill, and it has made lesson planning so much easier each week.

These Megapacks include everything you need for teaching phonics all year long. The year-long bundle is jam-packed with phonics materials for 27 phonics skills that can be used for interventions, whole group instruction, small group instruction, independent work stations, partner activities, practice pages, and more. (Over 1,800 pages of phonics practice.)

This is the perfect setup for teaching your phonics skill for each week. Simply open the file and print exactly what you need. You will easily be able to integrate your phonics instruction into your reading comprehension and fluency instruction for the week.

Each phonics skill pack can also be purchased separately if you just need some updated resources for one particular phonics skill.

These Megapacks include materials from the following products in my store, but ALL in one place:

★ 5-Step Phonics

★ Phonics Based Fluency Passages {The Bundle}

★ Phonics Based Poems

★ Phonics Color by Code

★ Phonics Roll It! Color It!

★ Phonics Tic Tac Toe Games

★ Reading on the Move Phonics Word Lists

★ Short Vowel Intervention

Check out all of my Phonics Megapacks by clicking on the picture below.

All in One Differentiated Reading Passages

November 4, 2019 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Reading instruction in a classroom with students at various reading levels can definitely be challenging. If you follow a basal program, the text levels for each week may be too hard for your low readers and much too easy for your higher readers. This is why I love doing small groups during my reading block. I want to make sure that my students are reading text at their instructional reading levels.

These Monthly Differentiated Reading passages are my go-to during small group instruction or during our intervention/enrichment time. I love that almost all of my students can read about the same topic and work on the same comprehension skill, but at their own reading level.

Each month includes 4 nonfiction and 4 fiction stories at three different reading levels. Each passage includes “Power Words” to increase their vocabulary skills. The higher level passages include more Power Words than the lower reading level passages. Every story also includes a corresponding comprehension skill, comprehension graphic organizer, and a writing component.

How do I use these Differentiated Reading Passages in my classroom?

I typically use these during small group instruction for one of our weekly lessons during that time. This allows me to differentiate easily for each reading group. I also love that I can be consistent with keeping the same comprehension skill and vocabulary words for the entire class. This year, I have actually been using these with my enrichment group during our I/E (Intervention/Enrichment) time. I am able to really dig deep into each of these stories as we practice our reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension practice.

I love that these Differentiated Reading Passages allow me to integrate reading with science and social studies.

One of my favorite things about these passages is that I can integrate reading with other subject areas by using the nonfiction passages. It is often difficult to get everything in during the school day, so integrating subjects with each other is so important.

What are teachers saying about these Differentiated Reading Passages?

“This is one of the best purchases I’ve made on TPT! It allows you to use the same “Power Words” or vocabulary with your class, but the passages using the vocabulary are written at 3 different reading levels allowing all students to access the content! It also contains a written option and reading response for each reading. Wow! This has saved me so much time! Thank you!” -Sharon

“This is an AMAZING resource for guided reading. I love the prediction pages with a picture that really help the students stay focused on the topic. Also, I love telling them their writing goal for the week which is included.” -Nicole

“These passages are wonderful for comprehension in terms of teaching to look back in the text. I also love the vocabulary piece. The graphic organizers are great too. The passages are just the right length and the topics keep my guided reading group engaged! Thanks!” -June

“One of the BEST resources I have ever bought from TPT (and trust me I have bought A LOT)!! This has everything you can hope for! Absolutely no prep needed for your daily guided reading FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR! Having three different passages for each story at three different levels is amazing! This allows all the students in the class to practice the same reading skill, and learn about the same topic, but at a level that is good for them. LOVE LOVE LOVE this and use this almost everyday throughout the year!”

Check out each month or save on the ENTIRE YEAR Bundle.

Sight Word Notebook

September 1, 2019 by Jodi 2 Comments

There is nothing more tricky than sight words for many kids. While some students pick them up quickly, others need tons of repetition and practice. I am constantly trying to add sight word work into my day to help those students that need the additional practice.

I love using this Sight Word Notebook with my class. My students really enjoy these activities, and the variety of skills gives them the repetitive practice that they need.

These Sight Word Notebooks are available with the 220 Dolch Sight Words or the first 300 Fry Sight Words.

The Dolch Sight Word Notebook includes 44 lessons (5 sight words per lesson) and the Fry packet includes 60 lessons (5 sight words per lesson.)

Each lesson includes the following activities:

Read, trace, and write the sight words.
Color the Sight Words
Roll and Write the Sight Words
Use the sight words in a sentence
(One of the 3 activities) Color-by-Code, Mystery Code, or Sight Word Search

I have also included a clickable Table of Contents that allows you to easily find a particular sight word that you may be looking for.

These are great to use in a whole group at the beginning of the year or as a small group or individual work as the school years progresses. You could also print and bind these for each of your students to work through, or put them into a “Sight Word Folder” to keep track of their progress.

My students’ favorite part of the Sight Word Notebook is the last activity on each page. Whether it’s the Color-by-Code, the Mystery Code Words, or the Word Search, they love completing this last part.

What are teachers saying about the Sight Word Notebook?

“As with ALL of your resources, this is top-notch! Sight words are SO important, and this helps to make them fun and interesting! Thank you!” -Christine B.

“I am so happy that the focus is on more than one sight word at a time. This is well done and does not look babyish for older learners still working on sight words.” -Carol B.

Check out these Sight Word Notebook by clicking on the links below.

Dolch Sight Word Notebook

Fry Sight Word Notebook

I hope this helps your students master their sight words this school year. Remember to follow @funinfirstblog on Instagram for more great ideas for your classroom. Feel free to pin this image for future reference.

Fluency Poems

March 24, 2019 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Reading fluency is the ability to read accurately and with expression. What better way to practice reading fluency than by using poetry? Poetry has a rhythm and melody that is perfect for practicing reading fluency. We all know the importance of rereading when it comes to practicing fluency, but rereading can be boring. Using cut apart poems is one of my favorite ways to have my students practice reading fluency.

I give each student a mixed up poem. They cut the strips apart and work to put the poem into the correct order. Guess what they have to be doing the entire time that they are working on putting the poem in order? They have to be rereading it and rereading it over and over again. They also reread it with a rhythm and expression that helps them to figure out the order of the poem. While they are putting these in the correct order, we can discuss rhyming words and how they will align in a poem. This activity also lends itself to discussing capitals and punctuation. The students can get clues about the order of the lines by looking at where the capitals and ending marks are on each strip.

Want to try using fluency poems in your classroom?

I created a packet of 20 fluency poems that can be used in whole group, small group, or in an independent work station. Each rhyming poem comes with a color and black/white version of the completed poem, mixed up poetry strips, and a matching sheet for gluing on the final poem.

I personally always begin using these in a whole group setting. After students get the hang of it, I like to copy the poems and put them in an independent work station. The strips can be laminated and reused if you want to save on paper usage.

Click on any of the pictures above to head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and check out these poems.

Editable Word Work Activities

August 29, 2018 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Word Work is such an important skill to practice in the primary classroom. Word Work, or word study, is often considered “spelling practice” in classrooms. While word study does involve learning to spell words, it is not your traditional spelling practice of simply memorizing words for a spelling test. Word Work involves learning the patterns and meanings behind our written language. Whether or not you do “spelling” in your classroom is up to you and your school district. My district uses spelling words and gives spelling tests. My goal is to make them the most useful for my students. Instead of focusing on memorizing the spelling words each week, and then forgetting them right away, I want my students to understand the patterns in our spelling words. Our spelling words are related to our phonics skill for the week, plus a couple of high frequency words. We practice these words during our independent Word Work stations, in our whole group instruction, and small group instruction. I created these Editable Word Work activities to use each week with my students.

These Word Work Activities allow you to use ANY words that you would like for your students to practice. Your students can practice spelling words, sight words, or word families. The possibilities are endless. Simply type in your list of words and 12 Word Work Activities are automatically generated for you to use in whole group, small groups, independent word work centers, or homework. See how it works in the video below.

What are the Editable Word Work activities that are included?

There are 12 Word Work activities that can be used with 10 words and 12 of the same activities that can be used with 5 words. This allows for easy differentiation for your students who are not ready to work with more than 5 words at a time. You will find the following activities:
•Rainbow Write
•ABC Order
•Spin & Write
•Writing Sentences
•Using Different Tools
•Roll & Color
•Pyramid Writing
•Wiggle Writing
•Roll & Write
•Roll & Read
•Tic Tac Toe
•Secret Code Words
•Flash Cards

“This is a brilliant idea!! Type the list once and instantly get 12 differentiated activities. I can’t wait to use this in my classroom. This has to be one of my all time favorite downloads.” -Darlene

This is truly a huge time saver in my classroom because I can use any list that I want to use for my students. It is easy to differentiate for my students to work on sight words, word families, or spelling words. I also included activities that can be used with 10 or 5 words, which allows me to cut my word list in half for struggling students.

You can learn more about these Editable Word Work activities by clicking on the picture below.

Book Tasting for Primary Students

April 15, 2018 by Jodi 4 Comments

I cannot say enough about how much I loved our Book Tasting Day! My students were so engaged and the discussions that they were having about different genres of books was absolutely amazing. I wish that I could have recorded their conversations. It was truly a melt my heart teacher moment.

How do I host a Book Tasting in my classroom?

I like to set the stage when I am doing an activity like this, but I also don’t want to spend a lot of money or a lot of time doing it. Let’s face it….life is busy! I purchased red checkered tablecloths, glass vases, fake flowers, and battery-powered candles from Dollar Tree. I also purchased a class set of chef hats off of Amazon.

The day before our Book Tasting, I pulled books in six different genres from my classroom library and our school library and put them into book baskets. I personally used the genres biography, nonfiction, fantasy, realistic fiction, fairy tale, and graphic novel, but you could use any book genres that you want for this activity.

On the day of our Book Tasting, we discussed genres. We talked about how there are different genres of movies, tv shows, and books. We reviewed some of the genres that we would be “tasting.” Then, I passed out the Book Tasting trifold. They filled out their reading information. Then, we were set for our tasting.

I told my students that they were required to visit three different genres of books. They could not pick more than one book from one genre. I knew that if I did not make this rule, many of my students would have stayed at graphic novels the entire time. As they browsed, they were to choose a book from the tub of their choice, look at the cover, and flip through a couple of pages. Then, they had to decide if this would be a book that they think they would enjoy reading.

Holy engagement! I could have watched them do this for hours. They were so into this activity. I absolutely loved hearing their conversations and reading their thoughts and feelings about the books. It was truly amazing! When they finished, they filled out the back of their form to rate and review the book tasting.

For the rest of the day, we completed more “restaurant themed” activities. They acted as waiters and waitresses and took each other’s orders off of menus, which they loved. We also completed many other writing, reading, and math activities.

This will DEFINITELY be an activity that I will do every single year from now on. The students loved it and it really increased their enthusiasm for books and reading, which is a win-win situation.

If you would like check out the printables that I used for our Book Tasting, click on the picture below.

If you use these and host your own Book Tasting, I would absolutely LOVE to see pictures of your day. You can email them to me or share them with my by tagging me on Facebook or Instagram @funinfirstblog.

Feel free to pin the picture below to save this idea to use anytime in your classroom.

Phonics Instruction Made Easy

All in One Differentiated Reading Passages

How do I use these Differentiated Reading Passages in my classroom?

I love that these Differentiated Reading Passages allow me to integrate reading with science and social studies.

What are teachers saying about these Differentiated Reading Passages?

Check out each month or save on the ENTIRE YEAR Bundle.

Sight Word Notebook

Fluency Poems

Want to try using fluency poems in your classroom?

Editable Word Work Activities

What are the Editable Word Work activities that are included?

Book Tasting for Primary Students

How do I host a Book Tasting in my classroom?

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Reading

How do I use these Differentiated Reading Passages in my classroom?

I love that these Differentiated Reading Passages allow me to integrate reading with science and social studies.

What are teachers saying about these Differentiated Reading Passages?

Check out each month or save on the ENTIRE YEAR Bundle.

Want to try using fluency poems in your classroom?

What are the Editable Word Work activities that are included?

How do I host a Book Tasting in my classroom?

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